On the Road to Mosul With the Pesh Merga: Here’s What We’re Reading Today

Colin Rabyniuk November 16, 2016

The Daily 5 is Sharp’s essential reading list for what’s happening in the world today. Make sure to follow us on Twitter or subscribe to the Sharp Insider newsletter to stay up to date.

Here’s what we’re reading today:

1. How Facebook is radicalizing you

“‘Facebook doesn’t want to challenge you, they don’t want to upset you, because they know that if you’re challenged on their platform, you wouldn’t want to use it as much.'” – BuzzFeed News

+1: The dark irony behind Facebook’s fake news problem – MacLeans

+1: Facebook admits to more false metrics – Gizmodo

+1: Twitter banned several prominent alt-right accounts, but will that only make things worse? – The Atlantic

2. Riding to Mosul with the Kurdish pesh merga

“Before dawn on a Sunday late last month, a battalion of pesh merga soldiers — about 600 Kurdish men, along with a few women — gathered in the shadow of Bashiqa Mountain, on the western edge of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. They were sons, daughters, fathers, grandfathers. They wore an assortment of camouflage fatigues and traditional Kurdish flowing pants, waist sashes and head scarves. They carried antique Kalashnikovs and new assault rifles. Few had helmets, and fewer had body armor. Strapped to their backs and belts and legs were daggers, revolvers, axes. Some of them had received the call to duty only the day before and were driven to the front by family or rode overnight in taxis.” – The New York Times

3. Something weird is going on with Wikileaks

Mysterious files released by the organization as a form of insurance, should something happen to founder Julian Assange, do no match the expected output. So what is happening? “Theories range from someone uploading fake-out insurance files in order to conduct ‘psyops’ and discredit WikiLeaks to full-out proof that Julian Assange is dead.” – Select/All

+1: Head of NSA says that a “nation-state” used Wikileaks to influence the US election. – Quartz

4. Globe and Mail admits diamond mine-funded story about diamond mines lacked balance

“The article, ‘Diamond mines give economic sparkle to Canada’s North,’ resulted in a reader complaint to Sylvia Stead, the Globe’s public editor. Stead’s review concluded that the piece ‘lacked balance’.

The story’s author, Deirdre Kelly, has not responded to CANADALAND’s questions about a recent picture on her Instagram account that seems to display a gift she received from Birks, a jewellery retailer who initially (but not presently) sold Victor mine diamonds.” – Canadaland