Our picksLas Vega & fake news; FBI & threat of black identity; plague in East Africa, and more

The Vegas shooting generated boatloads of fake news (Mike Pearl, Vice)
After the worst mass shooting in modern US history came the hoaxes.

Google and Facebook failed us after the Las Vegas shooting (Jay Hathaway, Daily Dot)
Social media and search algorithms are losing the battle against fake news.

The sociological explanation for why men in America turn to gun violence (Tristan Bridges and Tara Leigh Tober, Quartz)
It is important to collectively mourn those lost to senseless violence, but it is equally important to understand that mass shootings are not isolated events in American society. Mass shootings are still relatively rare in the US, but occur much more often here than in other countries. There are far too many to consider them random, unpreventable acts of violence committed by a deranged individual.

Why a Congressional ban on bump stocks is unlikely(Russell Berman, The Atlantic)
Some Republican lawmakers and the National Rifle Association are calling for more regulation of the devices used in the Las Vegas massacre. But party leaders have no plans yet to act.

Plague is spreading at an alarming rate in Madagascar. Yes, plague. (Julia Belluz, Vox)
The Indian Ocean island has already seen 231 plague cases and 33 deaths — and it’s early in the season.

The worst-case scenario for John Kelly’s hacked phone (Lily Hay Newman, Wired)When evidence suggested President Trump was still using his personal Android phone in the White House earlier this year, security experts expressed both alarm and dismay at what might happen if hackers broke into that device. It has now emerged that White House chief of staff John Kelly has used a personal smartphone, possibly for months, that was compromised. That is bad.

FBI terrorism unit says “black identity extremists” pose a violent threat (Sam Levin, Guardian)
Leaked report, citing concerns of retaliation over ‘perceptions of police brutality against African Americans’, prompts fears of crackdown on activists

At least 100 European Isis fighters ‘to be prosecuted in Iraq, with most facing death penalty’ (Will Worley. The Independent)
Among those detained are Belgians, Russians and fighters from Central Asia