72: Although trust in specific technology and social media companies is falling, 72 percent of Americans polled still say technology has a net positive effect on society, according to a new survey by our friends at Axios. Is there an algorithm that separates babies from bathwater?
10: The Malaysian government has proposed a 10-year jail term for publishing “fake news,” and the law covers articles published abroad. As elections approach — in which Prime Minister Najib Razak is keen to avoid reminders of the massive corruption allegations against him — the proposal has raised fears of a press crackdown ahead of the vote.
6: Since 1979, only six cabinet-level US officials, and no sitting presidents, have visited Taiwan, out of respect for Beijing’s “One China” policy. But that number could rise now that Trump has signed a bill meant to boost high-level exchanges with the island. China isn’t pleased.
3.3: There are currently about 3.3 billion people living under political systems considered autocratic, according to the latest annual report by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, a research institution. That’s the highest number registered since they began regular surveys in 2006. Still, 4.2 billion people live in democracies.
0: The number of tweets that @realdonaldtrump has written about Stormy Daniels, the porn star who says she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006. Well, my spiritual adviser Willis Sparks pointed out that the only people Donald Trump is afraid of offending are Vladimir Putin and a porn star. So there’s that.
