A Reddit user who faced a legal fight to reveal their identity has been allowed to stay anonymous, a court has ruled.

The user, who posts with the name “Darkspilver,” was represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and was concerned the revelation of his identity would put him at risk of being cut off from friends and family.

In the case, “Darkspilver” chose the male pseudonym “John Doe,” although their gender remains undisclosed.

“Darkspilver” had been a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses for his entire life, and was posting his concerns on a subreddit for ex-members of the organization. He posted anonymously, as so to allow him to speak out without fear of retaliation.

These posts included an advertisement asking for donations published on the back of The Watchtower magazine, to show how it represented “major changes from the teachings and practices the organization had … espoused in the past.”

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Another post included a chart of the information stored and processed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization. “Darkspilver” had himself created the image, concerned with information the group was collecting and deleting.

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the legal entity of the Jehovah’s Witnesses group, filed a subpoena against Reddit in January to reveal the identity of “Darkspilver,” declaring that it needed to do so to pursue a copyright claim against him.

The organization argued the posting of the advertisement had caused harm by directing people away from the donation website.

In March, the EFF and “Darkspilver” sought to quash the subpoena, arguing the posted content was a fair use of that content, as per the First Amendment, which protects free speech. 

But here’s a curious bit: “Darkspilver” is not a U.S. resident, and Watch Tower argued that he was not entitled to those free speech protections, as he is outside the country.

Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim disagreed, deeming that as Reddit has a primarily U.S. audience — and given the First Amendment protects the audience, as well as the speaker — “Darksilver” was also entitled to those free speech protections. 

It’s not the end of the legal battle, as the court has ordered limited disclosure of the identity of “Darkspilver,” which will allow Watch Tower to continue with its copyright claim. Only lawyers attached to the case will be allowed to view information which identifies him.

The EFF disagreed with the court allowing Watch Tower the opportunity to shore up its copyright claim, but if anything, the ruling serves as a win for Reddit users and the First Amendment — no matter where in the world they may be from. 

“On Reddit, there are highly personal topics that get discussed in a real and straightforward way because of the protection that anonymity allows, including frank opinion-sharing about social and religious organizations,” a Reddit spokesperson told Mashable. 

“We support Electronic Frontier Foundation in their defense of our user’s right to anonymous speech.”

Human or robot driver, left-hand turns in a car are tough. Unprotected turns? Even harder.

Cruise, the self-driving car company backed by General Motors, put out a video Thursday showing its self-driving electric Bolts making left turns all over San Francisco’s busy streets. The company says it makes 1,400 unprotected left turns every 24 hours.

For an autonomous car company it seems like this shouldn’t be hailed as such an achievement, but it is. Waymo, the Google self-driving car spinoff company, notoriously struggled in Phoenix to turn left during testing on public roads. Its Chrysler Pacifica minivans were just too timid to make it through the oncoming traffic. People have noted that the robo-taxis have improved in those situations.

In an emailed statement, Cruise president and CTO Kyle Vogt said, “In an unpredictable driving environment like SF, no two unprotected left-turns are alike. By safely executing 1,400 regularly, we generate enough data for our engineers to analyze and incorporate learnings into code they develop for other difficult maneuvers.” 

So while this is an important step for Cruise in its goal of launching a fleet of robo-taxis in San Francisco by the end of the year, it’s also a good reminder about the limits of autonomous vehicles.

Bob Leigh, senior market development director of autonomous systems at RTI, works with 40 different companies building autonomous vehicles of some sort: passenger vehicles, flying cars, hyperloops, and more. In a phone call Thursday he started off explaining that left-hand turns are just hard. Period.

Human drivers in the U.S. crash 10 times more making left-hand turns than right-hand turns. But the machines should be able to handle judging the risk, details, and surroundings required to successfully turn left. You can plug in a risk algorithm and have the car system scan for pedestrians,  the timing of oncoming traffic, and more. And yet, the machines still struggle with the maneuver. 

Ultimately it comes down to this: turning left on American roads is a very human, social move. It’s almost a negotiation, Leigh says. Drivers edge out into the lane, trying to assert themselves through. 

“A right-hand turn is a consistent maneuver,” Leigh explained. “A left-hand turn is a lot of variability.”

There’s pedestrians, oncoming traffic, and small gestures and nudges drivers make that are hard for a machine to emulate. It takes a lot of training, data, simulations, and iteration to teach an autonomous vehicle to balance a reckless, dangerous move barreling across oncoming traffic and staying timid and conservative and waiting for 10 minutes just to turn left. 

“That’s all communication,” Leigh said. And we know social interaction is not self-driving cars’ strongest suit – it’s a computer, after all. Cruise’s video shows it’s mastering what’s considered one of the hardest parts of autonomous driving in the U.S. “You can show a level of maturity,” Leigh said.

After all, we can’t all be like UPS, making only right-hand turns.

Who needs deepfakes when you can just run a video at reduced speed?

An edited clip of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, altered to make it look like she’s slurring her words, is making the rounds online following a Wednesday discussion at a Center for American Progress event.  

The news comes by way of the Washington Post, which notes that the only digital trickery required to fool millions of Americans into thinking the Democratic congresswoman was drunk in public was to run the video at 75 percent speed and tweak the pitch. 

That’s it. No fancy AI or special video editing skills were needed. If you just let out a heavy sigh, you’re not alone. 

It’s unclear at present who produced the video, but its murky providence isn’t slowing its success. As of this writing, since being shared Wednesday on the right-wing site PoliticsWatchdog’s Facebook page, the manipulated video has been viewed 2 million times. 

It’s also surfaced on various Twitter accounts and other Facebook pages, where many of those sharing the edited film present it as legitimate. 

“Nancy is sooo flippin’ drunk… Don’t miss this… Can she be removed for impairment,” read one such tweet. 

“She obviously has a substance problem,” reads another tweet both linking to the video and tagging Donald Trump’s Twitter account. “Too funny not to watch over and over.”

SEE ALSO: A guide to ‘deepfakes,’ the internet’s latest moral crisis

It’s unclear if those sharing the video realize it’s been manipulated (and are spreading it anyway) or have simply been fooled. While either explanation is possible, the latter is of greater cause for concern. Pelosi has long been a Republican punching bag and this isn’t the first edited video that manipulates her speech — one posted earlier this month to YouTube, which has since been taken down, clocked over 28 million views, the Post reports.

If all it takes to convince people that the Speaker of the House wanders around drunk in public is a slightly edited video, then we’re in serious trouble. If social media denizens can’t spot this low-tech attempt at political manipulation, there’s not much hope they’ll successfully identify more sophisticated efforts in the future. 

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

“All this because of a puppy?”

“It wasn’t just a puppy.”

Animals rule the third instalment of the John Wick franchise, Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which rolls around in dirty action, drops a bunch of kills at your feet, and rarely raises a snoot for air. 

Director Chad Stahelski’s Keanu Reeves-fronted action thriller pounces from one elegantly choreographed yet brutal fight scene to the next, with our titular hero piling up the body count faster than the audience can tally (I tried). But at the core of the films lies a secret weapon — doggos, horses, pigeons, camels, and one cat.

Since the very first John Wick film, the vengeful narrative has stemmed from one gorgeous (and doomed) little beagle pupper, Daisy. So, it’s only natural that the other animals in the series are given the respect they deserve — as mainly four-legged badasses worthy of their own spinoff series (seriously, take my money).

To honour these courageous critters, we ranked Parabellum‘s fight scenes by the involvement of those most excellent creatures we do not deserve. Two words: dog assassins.

6. The NYPL fight

There’s nothing quiet about this library visit, as John Wick gets jumped by a rather tall Dante-quoting assassin named Ernest (played by NBA star Boban Marjanović) in the New York Public Library five minutes before his dreaded excommunicado status goes into effect. Wick’s respect for library protocol is made plain, however — after using a book (Russian Folk Tale, Aleksandr Afanasyev, 1864) as a deadly weapon, his first instinct is to replace that book where he found it. Great work.

Level of creature feature: Zero. Only human bookworms.

5. The Grand Central/motorbike fight

Kicking off in the hallowed halls of Grand Central station, this fight starts with smoke and mirrors, and ends on the steps of the Continental. Everything revs up when John Wick smacks two assassins from their damn motorcycles and hits the road. Pursued by sushi chef/assassin Zero (played by martial artist, actor, and casually immortal Iron Chef chairman Mark Dacascos), Wick careens through the scaffolding of New York. No animal involvement, but fine bike stuntwork.

SEE ALSO: John Wick director talks about hitting Keanu Reeves with a car

Level of creature feature: None again. It’s coming up, guys, dw.

4. The antique shop fight

It’s truly one of the best scenes in the film, albeit lacking in animal assistance. After being stitched up by the Continental doctor, Wick finds himself officially out of time and ex-communicated. So, naturally everyone’s out for his blood. Cue Wick battling assassins in some kind of chandeliered, mirrored antique shop, grabbing at every old cleaver, axe, dagger, hunting knife, and sword a glass case could hold. The sheer amount of knives thrown in this tightly choreographed scene make for one hell of a fight. 

Level of creature feature: Zero, again. Points for that horrific smooshed eye sound though…

3. The Continental fight

Here we go. This humdinger of a fight sequence aside, let’s just remember the very good boy in the scene: John Wick’s doggo. This staffy cross, whom Wick rescued from being euthanised at the pound, is (rightly) allowed to sit in the back of a cab at the start of Chapter 3, and thanks to one of our main man’s shiny gold coins, is driven right to the door of the Continental. “See he’s received by the concierge,” Wick politely requests.

It’s here, safe in the hotel, under the watch of Charon (the ever-hospitable Lance Reddick) he remains until the final glorious, lengthy, multi-roomed, approximately six-staged fight scene, where he snuggles up with Winston (the constantly lightly amused Ian McShane) in the weapons vault, listening to Vivaldi and snoozing on a Chesterfield lounge while Wick battles through wave after wave of enemies. Smart dog.

Level of creature feature: Relaxed.

2. The stables fight

Fleeing assassins with cars, Wick runs into a Manhattan stable, brimming with pretty horses and plenty of opportunities for crazy fight choreography. Among other things, Wick employs the fatal kicking techniques of his newfound equine friends to help him send his opponents flying. A simple smack on the rump, and you’ve got a horse-shaped weapon.

Then, Wick rides a noble steed right outta there and into another fight, this time with motorbikes. Watching a perfect-haired Keanu Reeves lean around his horse-o, Wild West-style, to deliver a fatal shot to a biker, is worth watching the entire film for. Despite all the gunfire, no horses are shot.

Level of creature feature: Big time.

1. The Casablanca fight

If you’ve yearned to see Halle Berry work with a trained ‘assassin dog’ that leaps from her back to scamper up a wall to a higher mezzanine area and take down a looming opponent, this is your moment (and yes, that very good doggo actually did that stunt). We lost count during this scene trying to keep up with the amount of casualties, but know this: None of this would be possible without the efforts of two obedient, incessantly crotch-biting doggos.

SEE ALSO: John Wick director Chad Stahelski talks Keanu Reeves and training groin-biting dogs

Donning bullet-proof vests, trained to pull grown men to the ground in battle, and patted then almost killed by Berrada (played by Game of Thrones‘ Jerome Flynn), these two pooches work as a team with Sofia, rendering John Wick himself almost a mere afterthought in this scene. 

Level of creature feature: SUPERCHARGED. DOGGOS FOREVER.

Honourable mention: these pigeons

Though they can’t really do anything in their cages, we’re pretty sure the Bowery King’s winged “internet” of pigeons would have flocked together to save their leader from the dreaded nine cuts.

Honourable mention: this cat

Casually attends a blowfish-catered High Table business meeting when the Adjudicator (played with absolutely no nonsense by Asia Kate Dillon) pays a visit to Zero’s restaurant. What a chiller.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is in cinemas.