Image: Protocol
Facebook’s tardy self-reflection

Good morning! This Tuesday, Facebook's election influence study, Walmart's new not-quite-everything bundle, and Apple gives in to developers (a little).
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Facebook: We're going to dig deep into our own effect on the presidential election, so we can hold ourselves accountable!
Also Facebook: We will tell you our findings roughly nine months after the election, kbye.
Here's the deal with the new study, according to Protocol's Issie Lapowsky: "The new research project, which Facebook announced Monday, will study how the 2020 election is playing out on the world's largest social network, and how the platform affects things like political polarization, voter participation, trust in democracy and the spread of misinformation." It'll include 17 researchers and two dozen Facebookers, and their findings will be public and published with no interference from the company.
The obvious question: Why didn't this start three years ago? Still, on the plus side, it does seem like progres: I don't think I've ever heard Facebook so thoroughly acknowledge its role in the electoral process. Facebook's Nick Clegg described the platform's political debate as "raucous, often intense, but undoubtedly now part of the fabric of an open democracy."
In related news:Facebook's threatening to no longer allow news to be shared on its platform in Australia if new regulations requiring Facebook to pay publishers are passed. There are lots of questions about how that would work, but for now it's a leverage play against what Facebook (and a lot of others) see as a ridiculous new law.
After months of teasing and rumors, Walmart finally took the wraps off Walmart+, its bundle of stuff that could help it compete with Amazon Prime. So far, though, it looks … a lot like a Costco membership?
The program launches September 15, and will cost $12.95 a month or $98 a year. Here's what subscribers get for their money:
So far, Scan & Go is by far the cleverest thing about Walmart+. It'll help get subscribers to download and use the Walmart app, get them used to paying with Walmart Pay, and teach them new ways to shop both in stores and online.
Walmart told TechCrunch that Walmart+ isn't a Prime competitor, which is just obviously not true. It's just not a very complete one yet! But Walmart's right to start with shipping and delivery, and it's playing to its strengths: Amazon may have a Whole Foods app, but it's hardly maximizing the potential of offline-online commerce. Walmart has a chance to get there first.
Developers I've talked to in recent months are frequently irritated with Apple's App Store policies, and the way it seems to be getting more aggressive over forcing in-app purchases and demanding a cut of all possible revenue.
But one thing they're really annoyed about is the way it happens: Devs submit an innocuous update, to fix some tiny problem, and Apple drops the rejection hammer. That old feature that hasn't changed at all? Apple suddenly changed its mind about it.
But Apple extended a bit of an olive branch to those developers yesterday:
Developers can also suggest changes to the guidelines, by filling out a form that I'm guessing has gotten some … emotional submissions already. Or at least it will at some point: The portal was actually down much of the day yesterday. Still, thoughts and prayers to whoever's going through that inbox when it comes back online.
Stronger care … from anywhere, to anywhere
A strong healthcare system can scale to meet increasing patient demands. At Philips, we're charting a new way forward by moving care beyond the hospital's walls with advanced virtual health capabilities that expand clinical reach and increase care team capacity.
On Protocol: Climate startups can't save the planet alone, Josh Felser said, but neither can the big companies:
Should ad exchanges be regulated like stock markets? Antitrust scholar Dina Srinivasan says yes, because they already operate the same way:
AT&T's Joan Marsh is cheering on Section 230 reform, asking for a different way of thinking about net neutrality:
Sal Khan's biggest worry about distance learning? Making sure kids are able to show up and do the work:
The SEC changed its rules on who counts as an investor, and Serena Williams is all for it:
Jennifer Jarrett is leaving Uber. She's been at the company for about a year and a half, and led the dealmaking process for its Postmates acquisition. Next, it sounds like she's headed back to the biotech world.
Marc Andreessen and Gokul Rajaram are joining the board at Coinbase. As others have pointed out, this is only the latest people-sharing move between a16z and Coinbase, but Andreessen is obviously the biggest name on the team and will be a loud voice guiding the company from now on.
Brian Boland is leaving Facebook. He's been at the company for 11 years, leading many of the company's partnerships and product marketing efforts. He'd also been overseeing partnership data, according to CNBC, which put him in the middle of some of the company's thorniest issues.
Everybody thinks they know who @VCBrags is on Twitter, except it turns out almost everybody is probably wrong. In the midst of this odd parlor game — and with VCBrags' reputation changing from "silly fun" to "mean-spirited thing that the VC industry hates" — the user behind the account shut it down. "The intention was to make people laugh in a 'Silicon Valley' TV show type of way, not to make anyone feel belittled or even threatened with gif and emoji response," said the screenshot announcing the account's end. But still: Who is it? Not Sahil Lavingia, though everyone thought so for a minute. Jason Calacanis swears it was his doing, but who knows? @VCBrags: Gone, probably soon forgotten, but hopefully always a mystery.
Stronger care … from anywhere, to anywhere
A strong healthcare system can scale to meet increasing patient demands. At Philips, we're charting a new way forward by moving care beyond the hospital's walls with advanced virtual health capabilities that expand clinical reach and increase care team capacity.
Today's Source Code was written by David Pierce, with help from Shakeel Hashim. Thoughts, questions, tips? Send them to david@protocol.com, or our tips line, tips@protocol.com. Enjoy your day, see you tomorrow.
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