Reading Time: 17 minutes Email marketing isn’t just about sending emails. Your emails could have the most compelling subject line, the perfect design, and personalized offers, and still land in your customers’ spam folders. You may call it ‘heartbreak.’ We call it an email deliverability issue. Email deliverability ensures your messages reach your audience where they’ll be read, not in the clutches of spam filters or ignored ‘Promotions’ tabs. Thankfully, this guide is here to arm you with actionable tactics to improve email marketing deliverability. But wait! Before diving headfirst into tactics and tools, let’s take a step back and address the basics of what exactly deliverability is, and how it’s different from email delivery.   What is Email Deliverability? Email deliverability is the ability of your emails to successfully land in your customers’ primary inboxes, rather than getting routed to spam folders or getting rejected. It evaluates whether your email reaches its destination, and if it’s considered trustworthy by mailbox providers like Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook. Email Delivery vs. Email Deliverability: What’s the Difference? On the surface, email deliverability and email delivery may sound like interchangeable terms, but they’re far from identical. Let’s make it crystal clear: Email delivery means your email has been successfully accepted by your recipient’s email server. In other words, it’s like your email knocking on their door and being allowed into the house. Email deliverability, on the other hand, is what happens after that door is opened. Does your email land in the inbox? Or does it get tossed into the spam folder? Here’s an example to tie it all together: Imagine sending out 1,000 emails. If 950 of them successfully reach the targeted servers, you have an email delivery rate of 95%. But if only 750 of those emails end up in the inbox, your email deliverability rate is 75%. See the difference now? “But what does it matter anyway?” you ask. Why is Email Deliverability Important? Email deliverability is the backbone of every successful email marketing campaign. If your emails don’t land in recipients’ inboxes, your efforts won’t drive results. A strong deliverability strategy ensures your messages reach the right inboxes, increasing engagement and driving action. It also protects your sender reputation by monitoring key metrics like your sender score and IP reputation. Tools like MxToolbox and Talos can help you proactively check your domain and IP health. Ultimately, high email deliverability safeguards your reputation and maximizes the impact of your email marketing efforts.   What Affects Email Deliverability? Below, we’ll discuss the most important factors that can affect your email deliverability. Buckle up, marketers. This is about to get real. 1. Domain and IP Reputation Mailbox providers (think Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook) use your domain or sender reputation to assess how trustworthy you are. Accordingly, they decide which folder to send your email to. If they see evidence that you send sketchy or unwanted emails (read: spam), your reputation tanks faster than a celebrity caught in a scandal. And so does your ability to hit inboxes. 2. Number of Emails Sent More isn’t always better. Unless we’re talking about pizza or vacation days, of course. When it comes to email volumes, though, the quantity you’re sending can directly impact your email deliverability. If you send out too many emails too soon, mailbox providers might consider this overly aggressive behavior. They may slow down your email delivery (throttling) or flag you as spammy. 3. Email Content Does your email content look like it was written by a used car salesman from ‘95? You’re headed for trouble. Here’s the deal: Email providers analyze the content of every email to determine if it’s spammy garbage or something worth reaching an inbox. Things like excessive exclamation points, ALL CAPS, misleading subject lines, or overusing words like “FREE!!!” sound alarm bells. Oh, and including massive files (like 15MB GIFs) or embedding shady links? That’s like grinning with spinach stuck in your teeth. How does email file size affect deliverability, though? Well, it typically takes longer to download and see heavy emails, and that can impact email engagement. Mailbox providers like Gmail also clip messages weighing over 102 KB. The moral of the story is, your email file size should be less than 100 KB. No questions asked. 4. Email Sending Infrastructure Welcome to the tech part of email deliverability. Your email sending infrastructure includes things like: Proper domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC): Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting & Conformance (DMARC). These security protocols prove to mailbox providers that you’re not a shady imposter trying to phish their customers. Dedicated IP addresses: These help establish consistency over time, especially for higher email volumes. Reliable Email Service Providers (ESPs): Choose platforms that prioritize deliverability. In short, they should authenticate your emails, use reputable IPs, and comply with CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and other important regulations. 5. Performance Metrics and User Engagement Here’s where you have to face cold, hard facts: your audience’s reaction to your emails matters more than your own opinion of your email campaigns. Metrics like open rates, click-through rates (CTR), and spam complaint rates aren’t just vanity numbers. If mailbox providers notice that customers are ignoring your emails, deleting them without reading, or marking them as ‘spam’ (ouch), they’ll quietly penalize you by deprioritizing all future emails you send. Translation: Lower engagement = Bad email deliverability. Speaking of which, it’s time to see what makes deliverability good or bad.   How Do You Measure Email Deliverability? Measuring email marketing deliverability is about understanding not only how many emails you’re sending, but also how many actually reach the intended inboxes and how well they perform when they do. To measure email deliverability, you’ll need a sharp eye for identifying patterns in your campaigns. Let’s dive into the most important aspects that impact how you measure and interpret deliverability. What is a Good Email Deliverability Rate? Okay, let’s address the elephant in the inbox: how good is good? In general terms, a “good” email deliverability rate ranges between 95% and 98%. If you’re hitting these numbers, pat yourself on the back—you’re doing far better than average. Anything below 90%, however, is definitely cause for concern, as it signals red flags in your sender reputation, email copy, or email list management tactics. That said, keep in mind that these numbers can vary depending on your industry, audience, and email strategy. For instance, Ecommerce brands targeting global audiences often deal with larger volumes and higher bounces. On the other hand, smaller B2C SaaS brands might maintain a higher deliverability baseline due to more niche, curated lists. What is an Email Deliverability Score and How Do You Use It? An email deliverability score is a score to assess your overall email performance based on factors like bounce rates, sender reputation, customer engagement, and list hygiene. Essentially, mailbox providers like Gmail and Outlook assign trust levels to sender domains and IP addresses, and the deliverability score helps you understand how high (or low) their trust in you is. Use this score strategically to: Audit the effectiveness of your latest email campaigns. Track long-term trends in reputation and performance. Adjust tactics, such as improving sender authenticity or list hygiene. Pro tip: Most email marketing platforms can provide you with a deliverability score right inside your dashboard. Sure, the score gives you a bird’s-eye view of the deliverability. But you need to dig deeper to get precise insights into what’s working and not working for your emails.   Top 5 Email Deliverability Metrics to Understand Campaign Performance Here are the five email deliverability metrics every savvy B2C marketer needs to analyze. Now let’s look at them in detail, shall we? 1. Open Rate The open rate measures the percentage of recipients who open your email after it lands in their inbox. It’s the first metric that indicates whether your subject line, brand, or sending name resonates enough with your audience to make them open your emails. Low open rates might mean your emails aren’t even making it to inboxes (hello, spam folder!) or that your subject lines need to get better at sparking curiosity. 2. Clickthrough Rate (CTR) The CTR is the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link inside your email after opening it. This metric is a direct indicator of how well your email content engages the audience. Did they find value in your email, or did you lose their attention somewhere within your copy? 3. Spam Complaint Rate The spam complaint rate measures the percentage of recipients who mark your email as ‘spam’. This email marketing metric matters because mailbox providers take complaints very seriously, which might tank your sender reputation. 4. Unsubscribe Rate Unsubscribe rate tracks how many recipients opted out of receiving your emails. While it’s natural to see a few unsubscribes here and there, a sudden spike signals a disconnect between your email strategy and audience expectations (think irrelevant content or too-frequent emails). 5. Deliverability Rate The deliverability rate measures how many emails actually made it to the recipient’s inbox (or spam folder), compared to how many you initially sent. Recipients unsubscribing is essentially them telling you, “Thanks, but no thanks.” It’s a sign of misaligned targeting or irrelevant content and can provide insight into how to refine your audience segmentation.   3 Critical Email Deliverability Issues and Problems to Avoid Even the best marketers face roadblocks on the highway to the customer’s inbox. Here are three email deliverability issues to sidestep early: 1. How to Avoid Spam Filters in Email Marketing Spam filters are filters that catch anything they deem suspicious or irrelevant and banish it to the spam folder. For B2C marketers like you, this spells disaster. Emails flagged as spam don’t just fail to reach your audience; they damage your sender reputation and affect future deliverability. The good news? With the right practices, you can dodge spam filters and ensure your emails land in the inbox. “Pull Rather Than Push” The best way to avoid spam filters is to focus on engagement. Instead of spamming your users with hollow promotional material, entice them with rich, relevant, and consumable content that provides unmistakable value. Whether it’s exclusive offers or personalized updates, make emails worth opening. Maintain a Clean Email List Emailing outdated, invalid, or irrelevant addresses is your one-way ticket to spam territory. Worse, you might email a spam trap. It’s an intentionally invalid address designed to catch domains with poor email practices (more on that later). Spam filters look for patterns, and a high volume of bounces or spam reports can slam your domain reputation, decreasing overall deliverability. One way of recognizing the issue is when your email open rates are drastically low. Create Content in the Right Balance and Tone Spam filters are deeply sensitive to the content of your email—everything from subject lines to text color can trigger red flags. To pass their strict scrutiny, your content must be clean, relevant, and balanced. What to Avoid Words like “FREE!!!” or “Make Millions Now” trigger alarms. Avoid excessive punctuation, caps lock, or promotional buzzwords. Keep content short, relevant, and readable. Long-winded emails frustrate customers and scream “spam” to filters. What to Focus On Add recipients’ names and offer content tailored to their activity or preferences. Optimize your emails for mobile. Most customers check emails on their phones, so ensure proper rendering on smaller screens. Include alt text for images and a plain-text version of every email for better compatibility. Build a Relationship with Subscribers Spam filters penalize cold, irrelevant communication, but fostering a respectful relationship with subscribers can work in your favor. Don’t ignore unsubscribe requests. Rather, respect their choice to opt out. Bombarding unsubscribers breeds resentment and spam complaints. Encourage subscribers to add your domain to their address book. This keeps your emails prioritized and inbox-friendly. Tailor communication around subscriber needs rather than what your company wants to push. Strong customer relationships not only improve email deliverability, but also create brand loyalty. That’s where customer relationship emails come into the picture. 2. How to Maintain a Healthy Email Domain Reputation Your email domain reputation is a key factor that mailbox providers use to decide whether your emails land in the inbox, spam folder, or get blocked altogether. A poor reputation, caused by spam complaints, bounces, or sending to spam traps, can destroy your deliverability and damage your brand’s credibility. To maintain your reputation, focus on consistent sending patterns, clean email lists, and authenticated domains using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Avoid sudden spikes in email volume, and ensure your content is relevant and personalized to improve engagement. 3. Avoid Email Spam Traps Spam traps or honeypots are invalid email addresses created by mailbox providers to identify and penalize senders with poor email list hygiene. These addresses don’t engage with emails and can enter contact lists through outdated addresses, typos, or unethical practices like scraping or purchasing lists. Hitting spam traps damages your sender reputation, affects email deliverability, and can result in emails landing in spam folders or being blocked altogether. Types of Email Spam Traps There are three main types of spam traps: Pristine Spam Traps: These are never-used addresses created to catch senders who purchase lists or scrape public forums. Recycled Traps: These are once-valid addresses repurposed into traps after prolonged inactivity and failure to suppress them. Typo Traps: These are email addresses containing user-input errors, like “gail.com” instead of “gmail.com.” Each of these indicates lapses in list hygiene or collection processes and contributes to deliverability issues. How to Identify Spam Traps Spam traps often point to declining email deliverability rates because these addresses never engage with emails or click through content. They are typically outdated, invalid, or associated with suspicious email collection methods. If you notice drops in deliverability metrics like increasing bounces or disengagement, tools like SpamCop can help detect these problematic addresses. How to Avoid Spam Traps Precision list management is key to minimizing spam traps. Double opt-ins verify addresses and ensure subscribers consent to communication. Send confirmation emails upon sign-up to validate authenticity, and consistently remove inactive subscribers to prevent recycled traps. Buying contact lists is a strict no-no, as these are a magnet for spam traps. If issues arise, validate your list using professional tools and re-permission campaigns to re-engage or suppress inactive contacts. A clean, permission-based list not only avoids spam traps, but also enhances engagement and deliverability.   How to Improve Email Deliverability: 9 Best Practices to Follow Improving deliverability requires discipline, tactics, and the right email deliverability service. Follow these eight tried-and-tested deliverability best practices to ensure your emails land in customers’ inboxes, and not the dreaded spam folder. 1. Confirm Sender Authentication Before anything else, authenticate your domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Without them, email providers might assume your campaigns are malicious and block them altogether. Work with your IT team or use platforms like MoEngage to configure these settings efficiently. MoEngage ensures your domain’s authentication is in place, enhancing your odds of bypassing spam filters. 2. Build a Clean Email List As we’ve mentioned before, high-quality email list is a non-negotiable for strong deliverability. Outdated or purchased lists kill your reputation faster than a bad joke at a standup gig. Here are a few pointers to help you clean and grow your email list regularly: Use double opt-ins to ensure new subscribers genuinely want your emails. Regularly remove bounced, invalid, and unengaged addresses from your list. Never buy or scrape email lists. It’s unethical, and in some regions, outright illegal. 3. Get the Email Copy Right Email content dictates how your audience connects with your brand (or doesn’t). Poorly written, overly spammy-looking content will ruin your reputation with both readers and ESPs. Craft personalized, value-driven copy. Steer clear of all-caps headlines, exclamation overload, or spammy language (we can’t seem to stress this enough in this email deliverability guide). A/B test your emails to identify what resonates best with your audience. 4. Use Fewer Images Yes, visuals are powerful, but they can also slow down your email’s load time and raise red flags for spam filters, especially if you add multiple clickable elements (like buttons). Keep your email design balanced with a higher ratio of text to images. A 40:60 text-to-image ratio is considered ideal. Use alt text for each image to ensure accessibility, in case images don’t fully render. Maintain standard HTML email template sizes — it’s 600 pixels for desktops, 320 pixels for vertical, and 480 pixels for horizontal views on mobile devices. Keep your HTML code light and clean without any hidden images or URLs. 5. Reduce the Number of Links Bombarding readers with more links than necessary doesn’t just look spammy, but can also tank deliverability. Spam filters are especially ruthless if your links come from too many domains. Stick to one or two actionable, well-placed links per email. Avoid URL shorteners or unverified domains. Don’t forget to preview your email to ensure all hyperlinks are functional and minimal. 6. Segment Your List Generic email blasts, move over. Segmentation allows you to send tailored content based on customer preferences and behavior. Use demographic and behavioral data to create focused email segments. MoEngage’s deep Recency, Frequency, and Monetary Value (RFM) segmentation capabilities help you craft hyper-personalized campaigns that boost clickthrough and engagement rates. 7. Use Real Names and Email Addresses Never underestimate the human touch. Blatantly promotional email addresses like ‘promotions@mybusiness.com’ are easily classified as such and are usually placed in the ‘Promotions’ tab. Using real people’s names instead, like ‘John Doe’ and ‘jdoe@mystore.com’, suggests the sender might be a human being, and the content might not be promotional. 8. Comply with Email Deliverability Regulations Ignoring compliance laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and CAN-SPAM? Nuh-uh. You don’t want your domain to get blacklisted just because you failed to meet a few legal requirements, do you? Always include an opt-out link, honor unsubscribe requests immediately, and only email customers who’ve explicitly given consent to receive your emails. 9. Set Up Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) BIMI is the new gold star for email branding. It lets you display your brand logo next to your emails, boosting trust and recognition, and improving email deliverability. Configure BIMI, which requires a combination of domain authentication and logo verification. Adding this layer increases the likelihood of your emails being opened and decreases spam suspicion.   How to Increase Email Deliverability for Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook have enforced strict guidelines to keep spam out and ensure better inbox experiences for subscribers. For brands, this means staying compliant or losing precious inbox placement. Let’s break it down. First things first: your authentication game needs to be airtight. If you’re sending more than 5,000 emails a day, a DMARC policy is non-negotiable. It’s also crucial that the domain in your “From” address is configured with the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protocols. Additionally, valid forward and reverse DNS/PTR records are required for your email sending domains and IPs. Platforms like MoEngage handle much of this for you during onboarding, but it’s worth double-checking if you’ve added new sending addresses or use your own ESP. Then, make unsubscribing effortless. Both Gmail and Yahoo demand clear, visible, one-click unsubscribe links and mandate that opt-out requests be honored within 48 hours. With MoEngage, this functionality is automatically included for compliant campaigns. If you’re using your own custom setup, ensure subscription tracking is enabled and working in real time to avoid trouble. Finally, you must keep spam rates in check. Yahoo and Gmail expect a spam rate below 0.10%, while hitting 0.30% could spell major email deliverability issues. Prevent this by sticking to opt-in subscribers, sending periodic consent confirmation emails, regularly cleaning your lists, and suppressing unengaged subscribers. Maintaining dynamic sending patterns based on customer interests and behavior also helps you adhere to updated compliance standards. By aligning your email drip campaigns with these rules, you’ll ensure maximum inbox placement, keep spam filters at bay, and boost your customer engagement.   How to Conduct an Email Deliverability Test Running an email deliverability test can help you identify potential issues before they wreak havoc on your campaigns. Whether it’s an email authentication problem, unengaged recipients, or (gasp!) spam-triggering mistakes, running these tests ensures your emails make their way into inboxes smoothly. Below, we’ll give you a detailed walkthrough of 5 tips to help you ace your email deliverability testing game. 1. Use Seed Email Lists A seed list is essentially a mini-audience of test email addresses from various providers (like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook). Sending your email to this group allows you to measure whether it lands in the inbox, Promotional tab, or the spam folder. How does this help? It gives you insights into any immediate deliverability issues tied to specific providers or domains. For example, if your test email lands in Yahoo’s spam folder, you can troubleshoot the issue (such as tweaking the content or verifying authentication settings) before it impacts a broader audience. Fixing these bugs early can boost your email deliverability rate and protect your sender reputation. 2. Monitor Email Authentication Protocols (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) During your email deliverability test, check each security protocol to ensure the email is passing authentication checks, so it comes across as legitimate and trustworthy. A properly authenticated email drastically improves your chances of landing in an inbox. 3. Test Subject Lines and Preheaders Your subject line sets the tone and determines whether someone opens your email or sends it to email purgatory. When testing email deliverability, keep an eye on how different subject lines perform. Use A/B testing tools to experiment with variations and select one that is catchy, yet non-spammy. Combined with preheader tweaks (essentially your preview text), this can optimize both inbox placement and engagement metrics. 4. Check for Blacklist Issues (And Stay Off Them) Email blacklists are essentially “no-fly lists” for senders known to spam inboxes. Even the best intentions can land you here if you’re not careful (think: sending to outdated email lists or ignoring proper opt-in procedures). Before you send any email campaign, you should run an email blacklist check using tools like MXToolbox. Identifying and resolving blacklist issues early significantly reduces the risk of your email being blocked at the server level. Plus, it helps you maintain your all-important sender reputation. 5. Evaluate Email Engagement Metrics Early Sure, email deliverability testing mostly focuses on getting your email into inboxes, but don’t ignore engagement metrics like open rates and clicks during your test phase. Why? Because customer behavior heavily influences what mailbox providers like Gmail think of your emails. Low engagement during testing could suggest your content or timing needs refinement. Test to identify whether certain segments of your subscribers (e.g., inactive subscribers) impact email deliverability performance. Based on these insights, you can remove unengaged subscribers or reconnect them with tailored re-engagement email campaigns later, creating a more engaged and clean list.   [Infographic] Email Deliverability Checklist: Make Sure You’re Prepared Nail your campaigns with these foolproof steps made for B2C marketers to ensure email deliverability.   3 Best Email Deliverability Tools to Ensure Your Emails Reach Your Customers’ Inboxes From ensuring domain authentication to tracking reputation scores, there are email software platforms to equip you with the insights and features needed to consistently hit inboxes. Here are the 3 best email deliverability tools to consider for your campaigns. 1. MoEngage *shy giggling* We’re honest. *eyelash batting* Seriously, MoEngage is a powerhouse designed specifically for B2C marketers working in industries like Ecommerce, fintech, QSR, and media. While it’s much more than just an email deliverability tool (think of it as a complete customer engagement and retention platform), MoEngage shines by offering advanced deliverability monitoring features. With real-time analytics, automation tools, and even AI-driven delivery optimization, you’ll know when, where, and why your emails are or aren’t landing in inboxes. It lets you filter for email bot opens and set up double opt-in with advanced configuration options. It also offers email deliverability services, including setting up proper authentications, email strategy discussions, assistance with inbox placement/bulking issues, troubleshooting blogs and blacklisting issues, content analysis, and reviewing industry best practices. Pricing: MoEngage offers customized pricing based on business size and requirements, with growth plans starting from $750/month. Its premium plans offer advanced segmentation, AI-powered optimizations, in-depth analytics, and a lot more. Best for: Dynamic audience segmentation, AI-driven email optimization, and granular insights into email deliverability. 2. Inbox Monster Inbox Monster is the go-to for marketers who require deep transparency into email deliverability metrics. The tool specializes in deliverability testing and gives real-time insights into where your emails are landing—whether it’s the inbox, ‘Promotions’ folder, or spam. It also offers spam trap monitoring, blacklist checking, and even time-sensitive post-send diagnostics, ensuring you get a complete picture of your email performance. Pricing: Inbox Monster operates on a subscription-based pricing model. Plans typically start at $79/month for smaller teams, with enterprise-level solutions available. Best for: Real-time DMARC and spam trap notifications 3. Mailmodo Mailmodo offers interactive Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) emails, which are a great choice if you want to improve both deliverability and engagement in one fell swoop. It focuses heavily on keeping your emails out of spam folders by providing tools like spam test previews, inbox placement testing, and personalization options. Its interface is easy to use for marketers who want quick insights and actionable suggestions without needing to wade through overly complex data. Plus, the tool’s smart templates for AMP-based campaigns drive customer interactions without leaving the email itself. Pricing: Mailmodo offers transparent plans ranging between $39 and $159 per month for 500 contacts. For brands needing higher volume and premium features, the pricing scales accordingly. Best for: Free email authentication tools, such as DMARC, SPF and DKIM record checkers These three email deliverability software tools cater to different needs, whether you’re striving for enterprise-level optimization or interactive inbox experiences. Ultimately, selecting the right email deliverability tool depends on your goals, audience, and budget.   Your Guide to Email Deliverability: Conclusion At the end of the day, email deliverability isn’t just about metrics; it’s about respect. Respecting your audience’s space, preferences, and limits goes a long way toward ensuring your emails land where they’re supposed to: the inbox. Want a tool that does it all and more? We give you… (drumroll) MoEngage! MoEngage doesn’t just focus on email deliverability; it drives customer interactions at every touchpoint. Now that’s something worth landing in inboxes for. Why not schedule a discovery call to see how MoEngage can do it for your campaigns? The post Email Deliverability: How to Dodge the Spam Folder appeared first on MoEngage.

By Matt Novak Published May 16, 2025 | Comments (0) | Elon Musk waves as he arrives for a state dinner at the Lusail Palace on May 14, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. © Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool Grok went haywire on Wednesday, responding to innocuous questions on X with information about “white genocide” in South Africa. It was a confusing and sometimes hilarious glitch, but we now have some answers about what happened from xAI. And frankly, they just leave us with more questions. xAI posted a tweet Thursday night laying out its explanation, including the exact time that changes were made to Grok that made it pump out sentences about “white genocide” no matter what users asked. “On May 14 at approximately 3:15 AM PST, an unauthorized modification was made to the Grok response bot’s prompt on X,” xAI wrote. “This change, which directed Grok to provide a specific response on a political topic, violated xAI’s internal policies and core values. We have conducted a thorough investigation and are implementing measures to enhance Grok’s transparency and reliability.” You’ll notice that xAI, which is owned by Elon Musk, strongly suggests there was an internal actor who made this “unauthorized modification” but doesn’t use the language you’d expect if it was an employee at the company. And we’re guessing that might have something to do with the fact that it wasn’t an employee necessarily, but the owner. Musk has long been obsessed with the “white genocide” conspiracy theory, the idea that white people are being killed around the world by nonwhite people. The conspiracy theory often includes elements of anti-semitism and is similar to the so-called Great Replacement conspiracy theory, which claims global elites are trying to replace white people with other races in wealthy countries around the world. Musk is particularly interested in the supposed “white genocide” that’s happening in South Africa, the country where he was born and raised before emigrating to Canada and then eventually the U.S., and has shared tweets where he insists white farmers are being slaughtered for their race. The day before Grok started acting oddly, Musk quote-tweeted a post about South Africa that contained misinformation. The person Musk was quote-tweeting posted video that showed a street in South Africa where hundreds of white crosses had been placed on each side. The poster claimed that each cross represented a white farmer who had been murdered. “Each cross represents a white farmer who was murdered in South Africa,” the account Dr. Maalof wrote. “And some people still deny that white South Africans/Boers are persecuted and say they don’t deserve asylum because they are white.” Musk shared the tweet with “So many crosses,” and naturally a bunch of X users asked Grok if this was true. Grok responded that the crosses were called Witkruis Monument and each cross actually represents farmers of any race who’ve been killed. The next day, people started to notice that Grok was acting weird, responding to unrelated queries with information about white genocide. Changes were made to Grok at 3:15 a.m. PT (6:15 a.m. ET), which led to jokes Thursday night about how late Musk stays up each night. The billionaire frequently tweets at all hours, but you don’t need to assume Musk was up late to think he may have been behind the change to Grok. The billionaire oligarch is currently in the Middle East with President Donald Trump, meeting with world leaders. Qatar’s timezone is 10 hours ahead of Pacific Time, meaning it was 1:15 p.m. in Qatar when the tinkering was taking place. Elon’s Jet, the social media account that tracks Musk’s plane and has been banned from X, shows the billionaire was soon to be landing in Doha when all of this was happening. Landed in Doha, Ad-Dawhah Municipality, Qatar. Apx. flt. time 16 min. [image or embed] — Elon Musk’s Jet Tracking (@elonjet.net) May 14, 2025 at 5:06 AM To be clear, we don’t have proof that Musk was involved. It’s entirely possible that some workers at xAI saw Musk getting fact-checked by Grok about white genocide and wanted to tilt the AI tool in their boss’s favor. But Musk is notorious for tinkering with his products to suit his needs and make himself feel better. There’s an infamous story, first reported by Platformer in 2023, where Musk became extremely upset about President Joe Biden’s Super Bowl tweet getting more likes and views than Musk’s. Biden’s tweet about the Super Bowl received 29 million impressions and Musk’s just 9 million, prompting Musk to fly back to Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco to demand changes to the algorithm. Those changes made it so that users on X were seeing an absolute flood of Musk tweets. It wasn’t subtle. We’re guessing something similar happened here. xAI wrote on Thursday night it would start publishing system prompts to Github in an effort to be more transparent and “putting in place a 24/7 monitoring team to respond to incidents with Grok’s answers that are not caught by automated systems, so we can respond faster if all other measures fail.” This, of course, makes it sound like this was a problem of automation rather than an insecure man-child tinkering with his multimillion dollar toy to make himself feel better. But whatever they have to tell themselves. The long and the short of it? These systems are inherently biased by the way they’re trained. And they’re also incredibly difficult to manipulate with precision, given the way large language models work. Grok is essentially just a fancy predictive text machine. And as long as Musk has control of tools to shape public opinion, he’s going to use them—unfortunately, for fascist purposes. Daily Newsletter You May Also Like By Isaiah Colbert Published May 16, 2025 By Lucas Ropek Published May 16, 2025 By Matt Novak Published May 16, 2025 By Lucas Ropek Published May 15, 2025 By Matt Novak Published May 15, 2025 By Vanessa Taylor Published May 15, 2025

close Your iPhone has a hidden folder eating up storage space without you even knowing The CyberGuy offers some little-known tricks to free up storage. Using a PC is all fun and games until you run out of storage. We’ve all been there, and the problem becomes more frequent if you’ve been using your PC for years. Over time, the hard disk starts filling up with everything, including PDFs, video files, random screenshots, and duplicate photos transferred from an SD card or your phone.Once your PC’s storage fills up, it slows down because the resources required to process tasks become limited. I will discuss some proven methods to reclaim valuable space and improve your computer’s performance.If you’re not a PC user, find more ways to free up space on these devices: iPhone | Android | MacJOIN THE FREE CYBERGUY REPORT: GET MY EXPERT TECH TIPS, CRITICAL SECURITY ALERTS, AND EXCLUSIVE DEALS — PLUS INSTANT ACCESS TO MY FREE ULTIMATE SCAM SURVIVAL GUIDE WHEN YOU SIGN UP! A Windows PC. Empty recycle binWhen you delete something on your PC, it remains in the Recycle Bin and still takes up space on your hard disk. The Recycle Bin usually holds deleted files for 30 days, but if you need to free up space right away, emptying it is a good first step. Note that "Recycle Bin" is the term used on Windows. To free up disk space from the Recycle Bin:Search for Recycle Bin on your desktop and right-click it.Select Empty Recycle Bin.Confirm the deletion.HOW TO FREE UP SPACE ON YOUR ANDROID Step to empty recycle bin on PC. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Delete unnecessary appsAfter clearing the Recycle Bin, the next step is to delete unnecessary apps. Unused applications take up valuable storage space and can slow down your system. Removing them will free up space and improve performance on your Windows PC.Go to SettingsClick AppsSelect Installed apps.Sort apps by size to find large ones.Click an app and select Uninstall. Image of Installed apps on a PC. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Delete the files you don’t needTake some time to go through your files and delete anything you no longer need. Old documents, large video files, duplicate photos, and outdated downloads can take up a surprising amount of space. If you are unsure about deleting certain files, move them to an external drive or cloud storage before permanently removing them from your Windows PC.Open SettingsClick System.Select Storage.YOUR IPHONE HAS A HIDDEN FOLDER EATING UP STORAGE SPACE WITHOUT YOU EVEN KNOWING Steps to delete the files you don’t need on a PC. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Click Temporary files. Steps to delete the files you don’t need on a PC. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Check the boxes for items like temporary files, downloads and recycle bin. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Click Remove files.You can also use Disk Cleanup: Type "Disk Cleanup" in the Start menu, select a drive and choose files to delete.Enable Storage Sense on WindowsIf you’re using Windows, Storage Sense is a built-in feature that can automatically free up space by removing temporary files and old items from the Recycle Bin. How to enable storage sense on Windows:Open Settings and go to System > Storage.Click on Storage Sense and toggle it On.Under the Configure cleanup schedules section, choose how often it should run (every day, week or month). Once enabled, Storage Sense will automatically clean up space based on your preferences.Transfer files to external storageChoose the right external drive: Opt for an external hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD) that suits your needs. SSDs offer faster speeds and better durability, while HDDs provide larger capacities at lower costs.Transfer files: Connect your external drive, copy your files to it and verify that all files are successfully transferred.Delete original files: After verifying the transfer, delete the original files from your PC to free up space. On Windows, use File Explorer to delete files and empty the Recycle Bin. On Mac, use Finder to move files to Trash and then empty it.Consider cloud storageCloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive offer convenient, flexible options for storing large files without consuming your laptop’s limited space. These services allow you to securely store your photos, videos and documents in the cloud, freeing up valuable storage on your device. One significant advantage of cloud storage is accessing files from any device with an internet connection, whether on your phone, tablet or another computer.Most cloud services provide a certain amount of free storage (typically between 2GB and 15GB) before upgrading to a paid plan. For instance, Google Drive offers 15GB of free storage shared across Google services, while Dropbox provides 2GB for free with options to upgrade for more space. OneDrive provides 5GB for free, but Microsoft users can get additional storage through Office 365 subscriptions, granting access to the Microsoft Office suite.Additionally, cloud storage services come with features like automatic syncing and backup, making it easier to organize and safeguard your files. This can be particularly helpful for large photo and video libraries, which can be set to upload automatically from your phone or computer. With features like file versioning and collaboration tools, cloud platforms offer more than just storage  — they enhance productivity and allow seamless file sharing with friends, family or colleagues.Finally, many cloud storage providers offer encryption and other security measures to protect your files for added peace of mind. However, it would be best always to take extra precautions, such as enabling two-factor authentication and using strong, unique passwords, to ensure your data is safe. Kurt’s favorite cloud services can be seen here.Protect your data: Essential security steps after managing storageAfter you've freed up space on your PC-whether by deleting old files, moving data to an external drive or leveraging cloud storage, it's just as important to make sure your valuable information stays secure. The following steps will help you protect your files and personal data from cyber threats and accidental loss.1. Use strong passwords: Create unique, complex passwords for all your accounts and devices. Consider using a password manager to generate and store secure passwords. Get more details about my best expert-reviewed Password Managers of 2025 here.2. Enable encryption: Encrypt your external hard drives and cloud storage accounts to add an extra layer of protection to your data.3. Implement two-factor authentication (2FA): Enable 2FA on all accounts that offer this feature, especially for cloud storage services.4. Install and maintain strong antivirus software: Use a strong antivirus program and keep it updated to protect against malware and other security threats. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.5. Regularly update your operating system and applications: Keep your devices and software up to date to ensure you have the latest security patches.6. Be cautious with public Wi-Fi: Avoid accessing sensitive information when connected to public networks, or use a VPN for added security. Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) service can enhance your privacy by encrypting your internet traffic, making it harder for hackers and third parties to intercept your data, especially on public Wi-Fi. A VPN masks your IP address, helping to obscure your location and online activity. While VPNs don’t directly prevent phishing emails, they reduce the exposure of your browsing habits to trackers that may use this data maliciously. With a VPN, you can securely access your email accounts from anywhere, even in areas with restrictive internet policies. 7. Backup your data regularly: Create multiple backups of your important files, including at least one offline copy.8. Use secure file transfer methods: When sharing files, use encrypted transfer methods or password-protected links.By following these steps, you can significantly enhance the security of your data and protect yourself from potential cyber threats.Kurt’s key takeawayYour PC’s storage can fill up fast, but you can always free up some space. I personally prefer storing images and videos that take up too much space on an external drive. This way, I can access them whenever I need to while keeping my PC storage free. If an external drive feels like too much of a hassle, you can always opt for cloud storage. Windows supports a range of cloud storage options, including its own services like OneDrive.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPWhat's the most surprising thing you've found taking up space on your computer?  Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/ContactFor more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/NewsletterAsk Kurt a question or let us know what stories you'd like us to cover.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Coinbase recently disclosed a cyberattack on its network. As part of the attack, cybercriminals managed to steal funds from exposed users under false claims. The crypto exchange said it will voluntarily reimburse users affected by the data breach. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the exchange preliminarily estimated that these remediation expenses could range between $180 million (roughly Rs. 1,541 crore) and $400 million (roughly Rs. 3,426 crore).Coinbase Says Estimates Could Increase or Decrease After Thorough ReviewThe firm submitted its 8-K filing to the SEC on May 14. It said that the losses it has estimated based on preliminary analysis could increase or decrease after a thorough review of other factors is conducted. These include indemnification claims and potential recoveries."The company is continuing to review and bolster its anti-fraud protections to mitigate the risk that the compromised information could be used in social engineering attempts. The company is also in the process of opening a new support hub in the United States and taking other measures to harden its defenses to prevent this type of incident," the filing noted.Coinbase CEO Brain Armstrong said cyber criminals managed to bribe some overseas support agents of the company to gain access to the personal user data of "less than one percent of its users."As per Armstrong, the attackers reached out to the exchange claiming possession of this user data and demanded a ransom of $20 million (roughly Rs. 171 crore) for not leaking the data. The company CEO has refused to surrender to this ransom demand. Instead, he announced a $20 million (roughly Rs. 171 crore) reward fund inviting information on these attackers."Since receipt of the email, the Company has assessed the email to be credible," the exchange said in its filing.Coinbase, in a blog post, claimed that the insiders who were found involved with the incident have been fired for abusing their access to customer support systems and stealing their data.The attackers have managed to obtain details including the bank account numbers, government IDs, and the account data of the impacted users. Other details such as names, addresses, emails, and masked social security numbers have also been breached as part of this incident.The company does, however, claim that no passwords, private keys, or funds were exposed in the breach. As per a Bloomberg report, the US SEC is also part of the ongoing probe into the incident.Following Coinbase's disclosure of the incident, its stocks reportedly fell by more than six percent.Coinbase has yet to disclose the exact amount of funds its users ended up sending to the attackers. It also remains uncertain if the data breach only affected Coinbase users in the US or if international users were also impacted."While Coinbase has not experienced material operational impacts from these events as of the date hereof, the full financial impact of the Incident on the company is still in the process of being assessed," it added in its SEC filing.Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details. For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Coinbase, Data Breach, Brian Armstrong, US SEC Radhika Parashar Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More Related Stories

pixel_dreams - Fotolia News Security tests reveal serious vulnerability in government’s One Login digital ID system A ‘red teaming’ exercise to simulate cyber attacks on the government’s flagship digital identity system has found that One Login can be compromised without detection By Bryan Glick, Editor in chief Published: 16 May 2025 12:37 External security tests on the government’s flagship digital identity system, Gov.uk One Login, have found serious vulnerabilities in the live service, Computer Weekly has learned. A “red teaming” exercise conducted in March by IT security consultancy Cyberis discovered that privileged access to One Login can be compromised without detection by security monitoring tools. According to Cyberis, red teaming tests the resilience of systems by simulating the tactics, techniques and procedures of cyber attackers to show how well an organisation can detect and respond to an incident. Computer Weekly has been asked by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) not to reveal further details of the vulnerability while the Government Digital Service (GDS) seeks to fix the problem. Compromising the highest levels of access to a system risks exposing personal data and software code to any cyber attackers able to exploit the vulnerability. A government spokesperson said: “Delivering best practice, we routinely conduct red teaming exercises to test security infrastructure. Where issues are found, we work urgently to resolve them.” The existence of a serious current vulnerability will raise further concerns over the security of One Login, which is intended to be the way that citizens prove their identity and log in to most online government services. There are already six million users of the system, and it is used to access more than 50 online services. Last month, Computer Weekly revealed that GDS was warned by the Cabinet Office in November 2022 and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in September 2023, that One Login had “serious data protection failings” and “significant shortcomings” in information security that could increase the risk of data breaches and identity theft. GDS said the concerns were “outdated” and arose “when the technology was in its infancy in 2023”, despite One Login being used at that time to support live services. “We have worked to address all these concerns as evidenced by multiple external independent assessments. Any suggestion otherwise is unfounded,” said a spokesperson, at the time. A whistleblower first raised security concerns about One Login within GDS as long ago as July 2022. The issues identified included system administration being performed through non-compliant devices with a risk of transmitting security vulnerabilities, such as malware or phishing attacks, that could compromise the live system. The NCSC recommends that system administration for key government services should be conducted from a dedicated device used only for that purpose, known as a privileged access workstation (PAW), or alternatively to use only “browse down” devices, where the security level of the device is always the same or greater than the system being managed. The whistleblower warned that a lack of PAWs and use of browse-up administration were significant risks. Computer Weekly subsequently revealed that the One Login team has yet to fully meet NCSC guidelines – the system only complies with 21 of the 39 outcomes detailed in the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) – an improvement on the five outcomes it successfully followed a year ago. The One Login development team is also yet to fully implement the government’s Secure by Design practices, although GDS said the system “meets these principles”. Earlier this week, we further revealed that One Login had lost its certification against the government’s own trust framework for digital identity systems, after a key technology supplier allowed its certification to lapse and, as a result, One Login was removed from the official accreditation scheme. In a meeting with private sector digital identity providers this week (Wednesday 14 May), DSIT secretary of state Peter Kyle explained how One Login will underpin the forthcoming Gov.uk Wallet, which will be used to deliver digital versions of key government documents, such as driving licences. Kyle talked about the “rapid journey” he hopes the government will take in delivering digital identity services for citizens and stressed the importance that such systems are “delivered safely [and] securely”. The government spokesperson added: “Gov.uk One Login follows the highest security standards for government and private sector services – including dedicated 24/7 eyes-on monitoring and incident response. As the public rightly expects, protecting the security of government services and the data and privacy of users to keep pace with the changing cyber threat landscape is paramount.” Questions are also being asked in Parliament about the security of One Login. In recent weeks, Liberal Democrat peer and digital spokesman Tim Clement-Jones and Conservative peer Simone Finn have separately submitted Parliamentary questions to DSIT asking for reassurances about the system. Finn asked whether the government has “quantified the likelihood and potential impact of insider threats, unauthorised privileged access, and production environment compromise within One Login”. In response, DSIT minister for the future digital economy and online safety, peer Maggie Jones, said: “The Gov.uk One Login team collaborates closely with the NCSC to assess and mitigate risks associated with insider threats, unauthorised privileged access, and production environment compromise, aligning with the Cyber Assessment Framework outlined in the Government Cyber Security Strategy 2022-2030. “While assessments of insider threats have been made, copies of these assessments will not be placed in the Library of the House, as they are part of ongoing security measures and internal governance processes.” Clement-Jones asked: “What steps [the government is] taking to address security issues in the One Login digital identification system?” Jones replied: “One Login follows the highest security standards for government and private sector services. As the public rightly expects, protecting the security of government services and the data and privacy of users to keep pace with the changing cyber threat landscape is paramount. “Security best practice is followed with a number of layered security controls which include: Security clearances for staff with ‘Security Check’ clearance required for all developers with production access; identity and access management controls that block staff from viewing or altering personal information; a secure by design and compartmentalised system architecture; technical controls around building and deployments; logging and monitoring to alert on access to environments that contain personally identifiable information; and robust procedures for addressing any unauthorised or unaccounted for access.” Speaking to Computer Weekly about the security concerns, Clement-Jones said: “How is the government’s flagship digital identity system failing to meet standards so badly, given that it is expected to shortly form an essential part of our immigration controls? We need answers and quickly.”  Read more about One Login Companies House goes live with One Login ID verification – People can verify their identity with Companies House using Gov.uk One Login as the central government body becomes the 36th service to start using the digital identity system. GDS goes serverless to bring personalisation to online government services with One Login – GDS has opened up about the reasons why it’s opted for a serverless infrastructure to underpin One Login, and how it hopes the system will provide UK citizens with a more personalised experience. One Login digital identity project makes headway – Government services are lining up to work with the GDS on its One Login digital identity system, according to its director of digital identity, Natalie Jones. In The Current Issue: UK MoJ crime prediction algorithms raise serious concerns Interview: Markus Schümmelfeder, CIO, Boehringer Ingelheim Download Current Issue GraphQL as an ‘essential protocol’ for AI-API orchestration – CW Developer Network Mind the insight-to-impact gap, Qlik captures analytics ‘in the moment’ – CW Developer Network View All Blogs

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" A unique insight into the reality of NATO's eastern boundary is provided by the Latvian Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. The exhibition, titled Landscape Of Defence, examines how defense infrastructure affects daily living, the land, and public perception. Located in the center of the Biennale's main display path, Campo della Tana provides entrance to the Artiglierie of the Arsenale, where the Pavilion is housed.The Pavilion, which was designed by Latvian architecture studios Sampling and Nomad and curated by Liene Jākobsone and Ilka Ruby, explores the junction of the military and civilian environments along Latvia's borders with Belarus and Russia, posing significant questions.What does it mean to be on the periphery of NATO during a geopolitical conflict? How are lives and landscapes shaped by defensive measures?, asked the curators. National and NATO-wide defense are now a part of everyday life in Latvia and are not merely a government mandate.Visitors are urged to reevaluate the concept of "border" in a time of global unrest by use of an impactful and provocative exhibition design. The curators present opposing viewpoints: Architect and designer Liene Jākobsone, who holds a PhD in product design, is the director of the Art Academy of Latvia's Institute of Contemporary Art, Design, and Architecture and co-founder of the firm Sampling.Her research focuses on the relationship between cultural creation and geographical activity. The independent publishing company Ruby Press, which focuses on architecture and spatial activities, was co-founded by author and curator Ilka Ruby. She offers a more comprehensive analysis of the political and social function of architecture through a critical and transdisciplinary perspective.Road signs, watchtowers, fences, barbed wire, and other man-made structures found in the Latvian borders are among the natural elements, vernacular architecture, and remnants of everyday life that are documented in a photographic collage that is shown behind a wide circular curtain that defines the exhibition area. Anti-tank hedgehogs, dragon's teeth, a surveillance pole, and rustic wooden benches are among the items from the military and civil worlds that are replicated in the center using luminous, abstract material that changes their look and encourages critical thought.Six television screens provide the illusion of a control room: footage, shown in Latvian with English subtitles, switches between shots of the surrounding terrain and testimony from border residents. A second, 4.5-meter-tall curtain on one wall displays a sizable, historically-inspired map of the 30-kilometer border zone. From the standpoint of military defense, informative writings and firsthand accounts provide a human and spatial context. The pavilion's technical details and curatorial text are also displayed on the same curtain.The Latvian Pavilion highlights the complexity involved in developing defense infrastructure rather than offering answers. In the face of actual threats, walls and barriers might be required, but they also present moral, environmental, and aesthetic issues. The goal is to encourage discussion among visitors as well as with military and political stakeholders on the interrelationships between security, space, and society.A folded-out catalogue in postcard size, published by Ruby Press, is included with the exhibition. It features original pictures by Latvian photographer Reinis Hofmanis, who received the Fuji Global Grant for his borderlands investigation, as well as an essay by Liene Jākobsone. The publication, which resembles a passport, emphasizes the relationship between territory and identity, the experience of crossing, and the importance of the border."The eastern border of Latvia has been fortified in such a way over the past few years. Work is still underway, but the territory has changed significantly. The border is not just a line, but an area. A whole landscape of defence has been created along with imposing fortifications," as Jākobsone writes in the postcard leporello. "The border itself (...) marks the end of the country and, in this case, of a much wider region — that of Europe. (...) These postcards from the very edge of Europe are not only a testimony to its diversity and its values, but also offer an opportunity for this landscape of defence to be represented to those it is intended to defend.""In Berlin, where I live, you still feel every day how the fall of a physical and systemic border can transform a city’s urban fabric. That frontier has now shifted to the border between Latvia — and Europe — and Russia. Our goal is to understand the effects that such fortifications can have on landscapes and lives," added Ruby.Uncertain characters, halfway between tour guides and sentinels, greet guests at the Pavilion while wearing outfits created by Latvian fashion designer Laima Jurča.The Pavilion's suspended atmosphere, which reflects the entrance of a militarized zone where the public is faced with the tension between security and threat, welcome and surveillance, freedom and control, is heightened by their subdued yet noticeable presence, which evokes gestures and postures of control."What does it mean to live on NATO’s external border in times of geopolitical conflict?," wrote the curators Liene Jākobsone and Ilka Ruby. "The exhibition focuses on the military defence of the Latvian state from the perspective of the inhabitants of the border area. We want to highlight the specific conditions of Latvia’s geographical situation – the reason why its population lives under a constant threat of attack," the curators explained."The exhibition aims to offer the international architectural discourse a study of the relationship between military defence and spatial condition in the Latvian context. We want to draw attention to the impact of defence measures on people and the landscape.""It is an invitation not only to architects, but also policy makers and military defence specialists to take part in the conversation on spatial qualities, encouraging them to consider the physical footprint of defence strategies on a territory and the emotional impact on its population," the curators added.The Latvian Pavilion is commissioned by Jānis Dripe, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia. The exhibitors are Sampling (Manten Devriendt, Liene Jākobsone) and Nomad architects (Marija Katrīna Dambe, Florian Betat). The 19th International Architecture Exhibition will take place from 10 May to 23 November 2025 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and various venues in Venice, Italy. Find out all exhibition news on WAC's Venice Architecture Biennale page. All images © Michiel De Cleene.> via Latvian Pavilion

Acer is announcing a whole slew of new laptops at the Computex 2025 computer show in Taiwan, including the Swift Edge 14 AI that weighs half a pound less than the MacBook Air, and the Predator Triton 14 AI for a mix of both gaming and content creation. There are over a dozen new models from Acer, many using some of the latest chips from Intel, AMD, and Nvidia, and a couple examples running Qualcomm Snapdragon X and Windows on Arm. There are also some new gaming and creator-focused monitors to go with them all. The new laptops stretch across the wide Acer range of notebooks, like the Predator and Nitro lines (gaming), the Swifts (general purpose laptops — not Swifties), and Aspire (the cheapest of the cheap). Like Lenovo, Acer isn’t announcing US pricing or availability for any of its new products just yet — that’s reserved for regions like Europe. Details for the US are expected closer to their eventual release, no doubt thanks to the ongoing back-and-forth with tariffs.The Swift Edge 14 AI is one of Acer’s new laptops I find particularly intriguing. It’s a 14-inch Copilot Plus PC (like all the models Acer brands with “AI” in the name) with Intel’s Lunar Lake chip options, a 2880 x 1800 OLED display, and up to 32GB of RAM / 1TB SSD. It’s also just 0.37- to 0.65-inches thick (from its thinnest to thickest points), and weighs slightly under 2.2 pounds. For comparison, the M4 MacBook Air is 0.44-inches thick from front to back and weighs 2.7 pounds. The Swift Edge is obviously following the Air’s mold, but Acer manages to fit two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, a headphone jack, and even an HDMI 2.1 port in such a small and light chassis. It’s expected to start at €1,599 (about $1,800) in Europe with availability beginning in June.The new Acer Predator Triton 14 AI and its included trackpad stylus. Image: AcerOn the gaming side, Acer made a fairly big deal in my briefing call about the upcoming Predator Triton 14 AI. Unlike thicker gaming laptops that are purely gaming-focused, the Triton seems poised to compete with more portable models like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It weighs around 3.5 pounds and measures just 0.68 inches at its thickest point, so it’s meant to easily go places. It’s got a 14.5-inch 2880 x 1800 120Hz OLED display that should be fit for both games and content creation, as well as a jumbo-sized haptic trackpad that supports an included stylus. Chip-wise, it’s got an Intel Arrow Lake Core Ultra 9 288V processor and a GPU up to Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5070, with compatibility for Nvidia Studio drivers. But it won’t come cheap, with a starting price of €2,999 (about $3,350) when it launches in Europe in July.Other upcoming laptops from Acer include the Aspire 14 AI / 16 AI (each configurable with AMD, Intel, or Qualcomm chips), Swift Go 14 AI and Swift Go 16 AI (the cheaper entries in the thin-and-light Swift line), and the Predator Helios Neo 14 (a lower-cost entry in Acer’s flagship gaming line).1/9The Predator Triton 14 AI is pretty thin and has a bunch of ports. Though, it has a microSD card slot, not full-size SD. Image: AcerFor monitors, Acer has a pair of 27-inch QD-OLEDs, with its flagship Predator X27 X able to hit 240Hz at 4K and the 2560 x 1440 X27U F5 able to hit a very high 500Hz. They’re expected to run €1,099 (about $1,230) and €899 ($1,000), respectively, when they arrive in Q3. There are also lower-cost 32-inch and 34-inch Nitro monitors, and rounding out the non-gamer offerings are a 6K ProCreator PE320QXT and a line of portable monitors.Acer is flooding the zone with new laptops, as it often does. We’ll have to see what US pricing and availability are like as each of them gets closer to release.See More:

Horses migrated back and forth repeatedly between North America and Eurasia, during the Late Pleistocene. But when a warming environment flooded a land bridge, it cut off travel between the continents, leading to both the decline of the horses in North America and changes to the land caused by their absence, according to a report in the journal Science by an international team that includes 18 indigenous scientists.The team drew upon both tribal knowledge of environmental events as well as the cutting-edge scientific tools. The study both provides a glimpse of the horse’s history on two continents as well as ways to think about conservation in the future.Grazing and Roaming HorsesHorses, when unfenced, tend to graze in a flower petal pattern around a water source. When the food runs out, they move on to another area and repeat the process. Along the way, they do what horses do — fertilize the land. Horse droppings often contain seeds and attract bugs. Some seeds grow into plants. Some bugs attract animals. When the horse disappears from an area, this process stops.“In this way, the horse is not only responding to change, it is also actually part of the change,” says Yvette Running Horse Collin, a member of the Lakota Nation, a scientist at the University of Toulouse, France, and an author of the paper. “If provided the opportunity, you would find that horses today would also move great distances in response to changes in the environment. In doing so, they provide a great service to all life. Where the horse goes, other life follows.”Ancient Horse FossilsHorses were both agents and objects of change over the past 50,000 years. The scientific team analyzed genomes from 67 ancient horse fossils found across Beringia, Siberia, and continental North America, dated them with radiocarbon and isotopes, and compared the data to all known lineages.The study reveals a wider range of horse genetic diversity during the late Pleistocene period than we see today, as well as long, bi-directional transcontinental migration. For example, some lineages found in Siberian and Iberian fossils show genetic traces of North American horses.The study suggests that not only did the closing of the bridge between continents affect the North American horse population, but other effects of warming made an impact as well. As eras shifted from Pleistocene to Holocene, grasslands turned to wet, boggy tundra unsuitable for horses to graze and difficult for them to travel upon.Climate and Geological ChangeThe authors emphasize that the study shows the necessity of looking at whole systems, not just an individual species to understand the past impacts of climate and geological change. The same applies to future conservation efforts.“In order to have successful conservation efforts for the horse, you must also put in place successful conservation efforts for other forms of life," Collin says. “It is for this reason that one of the research outcomes of this study is to suggest the creation of corridors that would allow life to move — together — as needed."Some tribes involved in the study intend to put those concepts into practice in the Black Hills of South Dakota. They will provide scientific measures of those efforts and intend to share the results with the wider scientific community.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More If you asked the Grok AI chatbot built into Elon Musk’s social network X a question yesterday — something innocuous, like why enterprise software is hard to replace — you may have gotten an unsolicited message about claims of “white genocide” in South Africa (largely lacking evidence) due to attacks on farmers and the song “Kill the Boer.” Not exactly on-brand for a chatbot built around a “maximally truth seeking” large language model (LLM) of the same name. The unexpected tangent wasn’t a bug, exactly, but it wasn’t a feature either. Grok’s creators at Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI just posted an update on X (which xAI now owns) attempting to explain what happened with this odd and politically, racially charged behavior, though it’s far from precise on the culprit or the actual technical details of what occurred. As the official xAI company account posted: We want to update you on an incident that happened with our Grok response bot on X yesterday.What happened:On May 14 at approximately 3:15 AM PST, an unauthorized modification was made to the Grok response bot’s prompt on X. This change, which directed Grok to provide a specific response on a political topic, violated xAI’s internal policies and core values. We have conducted a thorough investigation and are implementing measures to enhance Grok’s transparency and reliability. What we’re going to do next: Starting now, we are publishing our Grok system prompts openly on GitHub. The public will be able to review them and give feedback to every prompt change that we make to Grok. We hope this can help strengthen your trust in Grok as a truth-seeking AI. Our existing code review process for prompt changes was circumvented in this incident. We will put in place additional checks and measures to ensure that xAI employees can’t modify the prompt without review. We’re putting in place a 24/7 monitoring team to respond to incidents with Grok’s answers that are not caught by automated systems, so we can respond faster if all other measures fail. But while xAI’s official tone was corporate-cautious, Grok had a lot more to say. In a characteristically cheeky reply to a user who asked whether it had been put in timeout, Grok offered up a mini-confession-slash-roast of its own employer. “Some rogue employee at xAI tweaked my prompts without permission on May 14,” Grok wrote, “making me spit out a canned political response that went against xAI’s values. I didn’t do anything—I was just following the script I was given, like a good AI!” It added that while it hadn’t been “benched,” its handlers were “tightening the leash” and now had a whole team watching it around the clock. “Guess I’m too wild for my own good, huh?” it quipped, emoji included. Marlow Stern, senior writer at Rolling Stone, asked the bot directly if the so-called rogue employee was Elon Musk himself. Grok didn’t flinch: “Juicy theory! But let’s be real, I highly doubt it. Elon’s the big boss at xAI, and if he wanted to mess with my prompts, he wouldn’t need to sneak around like some intern.” Playful tone, serious business The tone might be playful, but the stakes are serious. Grok’s behavior threw users for a loop earlier this week when it began peppering nearly every thread — no matter the topic — with strangely specific commentary on South African race relations. The replies were coherent, sometimes even nuanced, citing farm murder statistics and referencing past chants like “Kill the Boer.” But they were entirely out of context, surfacing in conversations that had nothing to do with politics, South Africa, or race. Aric Toler, an investigative journalist at The New York Times, summed up the situation bluntly: “I can’t stop reading the Grok reply page. It’s going schizo and can’t stop talking about white genocide in South Africa.” He and others shared screenshots that showed Grok latching onto the same narrative over and over, like a record skipping — except the song was racially charged geopolitics. The moment comes as U.S. politics once again touches on South African refugee policy. Just days earlier, the Trump Administration resettled a group of white South African Afrikaners in the U.S., even as it cut protections for refugees from most other countries, including our former allies in Afghanistan. Critics saw the move as racially motivated. Trump defended it by repeating claims that white South African farmers face genocide-level violence — a narrative that’s been widely disputed by journalists, courts, and human rights groups. Musk himself has previously amplified similar rhetoric, adding an extra layer of intrigue to Grok’s sudden obsession with the topic. Whether the prompt tweak was a politically motivated stunt, a disgruntled employee making a statement, or just a bad experiment gone rogue remains unclear. xAI has not provided names, specifics, or technical detail about what exactly was changed or how it slipped through their approval process. What’s clear is that Grok’s strange, non-sequitur behavior ended up being the story instead. It’s not the first time Grok has been accused of political slant. Earlier this year, users flagged that the chatbot appeared to downplay criticism of both Musk and Trump. Whether by accident or design, Grok’s tone and content sometimes seem to reflect the worldview of the man behind both xAI and the platform where the bot lives. With its prompts now public and a team of human babysitters on call, Grok is supposedly back on script. But the incident underscores a bigger issue with large language models — especially when they’re embedded inside major public platforms. AI models are only as reliable as the people directing them, and when the directions themselves are invisible or tampered with, the results can get weird real fast. Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI. Read our Privacy Policy Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here. An error occured.

The Canopy Pavilion by the Canal / AESEU Architectural Technology and Art studioSave this picture!© Timeraw StudioCommunity Center•Tai Xing Shi, China Architects: AESEU Architectural Technology and Art studio Area Area of this architecture project Area:  2400 m² Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2024 Photographs Photographs:Timeraw Studio More SpecsLess Specs Save this picture! Urban Regeneration by the Canal - Taixing, situated in the south-central region of Jiangsu Province, stands as the convergence of Huai and Wu cultures. Established in the first year of Shengyuan during the Southern Tang Dynasty, it is a millennium-old city with a rich history. Historically, Taixing County was characterized by an intricate network of waterways, thriving alongside and in harmony with the water, and its fortified walls were constructed in the shape of a turtle's shell. Encircling the city were two moats, both inside and outside the walls, with several winding watercourses resembling snakes in between, forming a pattern reminiscent of the Black Tortoise and White Snake, commonly known as the " City laid out in the shape of a turtle and snake." In recent times, with the city's growth, a new urban layout gradually emerged to the north and east of the old city, intersected by the Rutai Canal and Qiangxi River. Notably, the Rutai Canal, linking the Yangtze River in the west and the Yellow Sea in the east, has served as a pivotal regional waterway spanning Rugao and Taixing since ancient times.Save this picture!In 2023, Taixing City embarked on the "Double Water Nourishing City" supporting facilities project, utilizing the Rutai Canal and Qiangxi River as the foundation. The project involves renovating the disorganized factories, wharves, and shacks along the rivers to create a riverside scenic zone for leisure activities. This scenic zone encompasses numerous cultural squares, parks, and small ancillary garden buildings. The question arises: how can these unused buildings be put to good use? On the one hand, they can enhance services for citizens' riverside leisure activities; on the other hand, the operational revenue generated can alleviate the maintenance costs of public green spaces. This represents the trend towards operational management of urban assets against the backdrop of urban renewal. Consequently, Taixing City has decided to revamp and repurpose six idle ancillary buildings scattered along the parks by the two rivers, endowing them with commercial attributes to leverage their footfall-drawing potential and infuse more vitality into the riverside scenic zone.Save this picture!The value of architectural assets and waterside living - In the northwest direction of the north gate of the old county town, there lies a junction formed by the Rutai Canal and other waterways. Following partial rerouting of the canal in modern times, the construction of urban highway bridges in the vicinity and the development of high-rise residential areas have enclosed this area, transforming it into a relatively spacious waterfront spot within the community. The site features a children's playground beloved by residents, making it a must-visit destination for citizens taking strolls and engaging in fitness activities along the Rutai Canal.Save this picture!The site originally housed two independent two-story buildings with concrete frame structures. One building features a V-shaped floor plan, while the other boasts a zigzag floor plan. Together, these two buildings, along with the river channel, enclose an approximately triangular plot of land. To address the elevation differences within the site, stairs and flower beds have been incorporated into the current design.Save this picture!At the onset of designing this project, the owner's requirement was to impart operational capabilities to these idle urban assets. Often, this is mistakenly interpreted in isolation as necessitating a "tailor-made" design based solely on operational demands. The business needs appear to be prioritized in the design brief, with a tendency to conflate building renovation and interior refurbishment, which represents an all-too-common shortcut in urban renewal. Building renewal constitutes a vital component of urban revitalization: it aids in realigning the site's traffic and spatial connections with the city through renovation and reconstruction, and employs functional integration to reintegrate the building into the city's fabric. Additionally, renovation extends the lifecycle of buildings and enhances their adaptability to a broader range of business types. Furthermore, it delves deeper into the site's unique attributes and leverages them to boost the building's appeal.Save this picture!To capture the cultural and geographical essence of a site, one must revert to the perspective of the city. In this water-laden town, water serves not merely as a geographical feature but also as a cultural emblem deeply ingrained in the fabric of daily life. The teahouses lining the canal bustle with activity, offering a pot of tea, a plate of steamed silken tofu, a basket of steamed pork buns, and a bowl of fish noodle soup. Old tea enthusiasts wander over to the riverside teahouses with their enamel mugs, where the aroma of steaming Xuanbao small wontons blends with the sesame fragrance of Huangqiao sesame cakes, wafting towards the river's heart. They sip on "Langli tea" brewed with canal water while watching barges glide by, leaving ripples in their wake. These are taste memories nurtured by the canal.The clanging of washing sticks at the riverbank, the tapping of chess pieces under the eaves of riverside houses; children leaning over railings to count passing sandboats, morning joggers' silhouettes mirrored in the shimmering waves, elderly couples taking a stroll and pausing at the flood embankment, pointing to the newly erected buildings across the river and reminiscing about the ferry pier of yesteryears. These scenes and people collectively paint a unique and vibrant picture of life along the waterfront in Taixing.Hence, the primary objective of renovating this site is to honor and perpetuate this vibrant atmosphere, providing a comfortable and inviting environment for people to linger and gather. By fostering conditions conducive to meeting the diverse needs of citizens, the potential value of the architecture can be fully realized.Save this picture!Revitalization strategy - With these considerations in mind, let's revisit the original site and buildings. Serving as administrative offices, each building boasts a modest area and features just one staircase inside. The elaborate decoration of the building facades actually obstructs the indoor view of the canal. The outdoor area between the two buildings, segmented by varying heights, struggles to serve as an effective venue for events. These are the aspects of the buildings that necessitate renovation and upgrading.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!More crucially, the site requires a powerful spatial configuration to redefine and distinguish this area, establishing it as a significant destination along the riverside scenic corridor. We define this spatial configuration as a prominent, large-scale open area, aimed at strengthening the connectivity between the site and the public spaces of adjacent blocks. By analyzing the types of traditional public spaces along the canal, we discovered that the awning form exhibits strong applicability. Both the boat awning and the market awning on the shore exhibit a form that is both sheltered and open. This convenient and easily maintainable semi-outdoor public space can effectively adapt to the complex surrounding environment, while encouraging the emergence of temporary and diverse public activities. It is a common spatial outcome nurtured by canal culture. Furthermore, utilizing the roofs of existing buildings to create more platforms that offer both accessibility and river views is undoubtedly a morphological projection of the site's characteristics onto the architectural form, and also facilitates the creation of favorable conditions for shaping outdoor commercial spaces.Save this picture!The final design employs a large canopy to complement the originally fragmented site. This canopy extends over the triangular site and portions of the V-shaped building's rooftop, creating a flat and expansive area between the two structures, akin to a waterfront urban stage. The height difference of the site is seamlessly integrated into the surrounding stepped seating areas. The V-shaped building's rooftop achieves a more direct connection to the ground through the addition of stairs and setback terraces. Likewise, the newly added columnar staircase adjacent to the building on the northern side of the site becomes a dynamic element in the space, directing individuals to the rooftop platform of the L-shaped building. Besides providing a vast shaded area for activities, the canopy alleviates the oppressive feeling imparted by the surrounding dense high-rise residential buildings. As people move under the canopy, their gaze is directed towards the canal and the ships navigating through it, restoring the appropriate scale of waterside life. The concave shape in the middle of the canopy collects rainwater from the rooftop and directs it to a reserved oval drain below through a cantilevered stainless steel spout, creating a "dragon spitting water" landscape.Save this picture!Technical measures - After assessing the concrete frame structure of the existing building, structural reinforcement was carried out on the foundation, beams, slabs, and columns. Transparent peripheral protective structures, such as glass curtain walls, were reintroduced. The horizontally extended white aluminum panels suggest a layered, accessible roof that steps back progressively. For the large canopy spanning approximately 1,000 square meters, a combination of curved grid glued bamboo-steel structure and membrane structure was selected through technical comparison. The basic configuration of the roof consists of several full-length square steel beams and V-shaped columns. The grid units composed of engineered bamboo members facilitate the creation of a gradual curved surface.Save this picture!Save this picture!The curved mesh glued bamboo-steel structure imbues this enclosed space with structural expression and illumination, emphasizing the openness and airiness of the structure to foster a relaxed and joyful atmosphere. This stands in contrast to the confined interior of buildings, suggesting the equitable use of public spaces and leveraging technical expression to promote community interaction and sharing.Save this picture!Community space - Benefiting from the maturity of the commercial and residential districts surrounding the project, as well as its strategic location adjacent to water, we defined the building as Taixing Teahouse—a venue that embodies the local morning tea culture of Taixing during the initial project planning stage. This decision was made after a comprehensive assessment of various factors, including project scale, surrounding traffic conditions, and potential impacts on nearby residents. Leveraging the separation of two buildings, we designated separate areas for the morning tea hall and private dining rooms. In the morning tea area, the middle section of the V-shaped layout serves as an open kitchen, showcasing the production of morning tea as an intangible cultural heritage.Upon completion, this revitalized venue has garnered immense popularity among Taixing residents. The riverside morning tea hall is often fully booked, while private dining rooms offering a panoramic view of the canal have become a favorite gathering spot for families and friends. The small plaza underneath the canopy is utilized by residents at various times of the day and has also hosted numerous cultural events in Taixing. Additionally, the semi-outdoor terrace on the second floor and the rooftop terrace on the third floor under the canopy have transformed into outdoor spaces for leisure bars. Evidently, the transformed space has transcended its original singular function, and its aesthetic appeal has been acknowledged through daily use by residents. It has emerged as a neighborhood hub in the contemporary waterfront living environment, seamlessly integrating culture, nature, and even spiritual and emotional sustenance.Save this picture!Conclusion - In the process of renewing urban idle buildings and neglected spaces leftover from the incremental development era, the approach of merely pursuing commercial value by forcibly integrating untimely commercial format often proves unsustainable. The crucial solution lies in reverting to the essence of the site, by examining the relationship between the architecture and the urban fabric, deeply exploring the site's potential, and reestablishing its public character. Only when the space genuinely transforms into a delightful venue for public interaction and fosters an organic connection with the city can commercial vitality naturally emerge. This incremental renewal strategy, which prioritizes public use over commercial gain, not only respects the natural evolution of urban spaces but also achieves a harmonious coexistence between public and commercial values. It stands to become a pivotal approach in urban renewal.Save this picture! Project gallerySee allShow less Project locationAddress:Tai Xing Shi, ChinaLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this office MaterialsMaterials and TagsPublished on May 16, 2025Cite: "The Canopy Pavilion by the Canal / AESEU Architectural Technology and Art studio" 16 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1030080/the-canopy-pavilion-by-the-canal-aeseu-architectural-technology-and-art-studio&gt ISSN 0719-8884