An independent audit has blasted Facebook for its "vexing and heartbreaking" policy decisions.

A lengthy report on Facebook's policies was released on Wednesday after the company commissioned an independent audit in 2018, and it determined that Facebook has not done enough to crack down on hate speech, Variety and The New York Times report.

"Unfortunately, in our view Facebook's approach to civil rights remains too reactive and piecemeal," the report says.

Facebook's "prioritization of free expression over all other values, such as equality and nondiscrimination, is deeply troubling," the report also says, and the auditors express "considerable alarm" that Facebook decided to recently leave up controversial posts by President Trump that they believe "clearly" violated the platform's policies, including one that Twitter flagged for glorifying violence.

"These decisions exposed a major hole in Facebook's understanding and application of civil rights," the report says of leaving up Trump's posts. "While these decisions were made ultimately at the highest level, we believe civil rights expertise was not sought and applied to the degree it should have been and the resulting decisions were devastating."

Facebook has made some "positive and consequential steps," the report says, but "the auditors are concerned that those gains could be obscured by the vexing and heartbreaking decisions Facebook has made that represent significant setbacks for civil rights."

The report was released after CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a meeting with the organizers of an ad boycott against Facebook, which calls for the company to do more against hate speech. The boycott organizers came away from the meeting unhappy, saying "the company's leaders delivered the same old talking points." Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on Wednesday called the independent audit the "beginning of the journey, not the end," adding it has become "increasingly clear" that "we have a long way to go." Brendan Morrow

President Trump's campaign isn't letting up on its request for another presidential debate. And to make the job easier, it has a list of potential hosts already picked out.

On Wednesday, the Trump campaign yet again called for a fourth, earlier presidential debate between the incumbent and former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, arguing the first debate scheduled for Oct. 22 will come after many Americans have already voted early. The campaign submitted 24 people it would like to see moderate the proposed September debate along with that request, and nearly half of them work for Fox News.

Along with the Fox News hosts, many of whom have been constantly sympathetic to and even supportive of Trump in the past, the list includes other members of the conservative media who've supported Trump as well. And to round it all off, there are a few high-profile journalists from ABC News, CBS News, and a few other major outlets.

This isn't Trump's first attempt to get another debate on the schedule, though he previously tasked Rudy Giuliani with advocating for a free-for-all, moderator-less debate where Trump and Biden ask each other the questions. Kathryn Krawczyk

Students at a Georgia high school that went viral this week after a photo of its crowded, mostly mask-less hallways on the first day of school surfaced online told BuzzFeed News they had little choice to attend class in person despite the coronavirus pandemic.

One North Paulding High School student's parents were prepared to keep him home after seeing the photo, but when his mother spoke to the school she learned students who chose to stay home because of concerns over the virus could face expulsion or suspension, BuzzFeed reports.

A parent of a student at a nearby school said she tried to enroll her daughter in the Paulding County School District's virtual learning option, but wound up on the waiting list after it filled up and was told her daughter "would be withdrawn" from the school if she didn't show up in person.

Per BuzzFeed, many parents, students, and teachers at North Paulding High School — where there are reports of positive coronavirus cases among students and staff — are concerned about the situation and think it's irresponsible in-person learning is back in session, but others are in favor, noting that virtual distancing is a challenge for many families. Read more at BuzzFeed News. Tim O'Donnell

In a summer largely without sports, one team is making a triumphant return to entertain you: The U.S. Army esports team.

The team took a brief hiatus from streaming their Call of Duty games on Twitch in July, after a First Amendment controversy when commenters asking about war crimes were banned.

Now, they are reinstating access to the accounts that were previously banned for what the army calls "harassing and degrading behavior." The team is establishing clarified guidelines and will resume streaming soon, the Army told Vice.

The Army, Navy, and Air Force have esports teams, often used as recruitment measures, but the Marines do not have a team. This is "in part to the belief that the brand and issues associated with combat are too serious to be 'gamified' in a responsible manner," Marine Corps Recruiting Command wrote, reports Vice.

The sentiment was echoed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) last week as she defended a proposed amendment to stop the military from using games as a recruiting method, which the House ultimately blocked. "War is not a game," Ocasio-Cortez said. "We can not conflate war and military service with this kind of gamified format."

A specific date has not been set for the U.S. Army esports team's return to Twitch, but they said it will be in the "near future." Taylor Watson

The Pentagon is distancing itself from President Trump's claims about the Beirut blast that killed more than 100 people.

Trump on Tuesday said his unnamed "great generals" told him they thought the massive explosion was a "terrible attack." In the early aftermath, there was speculation that the catastrophe was intentional, but it the consensus quickly became that it was almost certainly accidental — albeit brought on by neglect and mismanagement — and not linked to any foreign power, proxy forces, or terrorist organizations. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other department officials affirmed they believe it was an accident, as well.

The president hasn't repeated his claim from Tuesday, possibly indicating he understands there was no basis for it. But that's what's raised some eyebrows, considering he said he got the information from unnamed high-ranking military officials. A senior Pentagon official, however, told The Associated Press on Wednesday they had "no idea" what Trump was referring to with his comment, leaving some to wonder if it came out of thin air. Tim O'Donnell

A security vulnerability in Twitter for Android could have allowed attackers to access some users' direct messages, the company has disclosed.

Twitter on Wednesday said it has fixed a vulnerability in the Android app that for some users "could allow an attacker, through a malicious app installed on your device, to access private Twitter data on your device (like direct messages), by working around Android system permissions that protect against this." This was "related to an underlying Android OS security issue" on Android OS versions 8 and 9, the company said.

Twitter said it believes 96 percent of Android users have a patch protecting them from the vulnerability, and it doesn't have evidence that attackers actually exploited the flaw, but the company adds it "can't be completely sure" of that. It's sending notifications to the users who may have been affected, requiring them to update the Android app, and promising to identify "changes to our processes to better guard against issues like this."

This disclosure from Twitter comes after the company last month grappled with a massive hack, in which high-profile accounts including those belonging to former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden were taken over to promote a Bitcoin scam. The company said that 130 accounts were targeted, and the attackers accessed direct messages on "up to 36" of them, including that of an elected official in the Netherlands. Brendan Morrow

More than 100 foreign policy experts — including former White House officials in Reagan, (both) Bush, Clinton, Obama, and Trump administrations — laid out six proposals for how the United States should alter its relationship with Russia in an open letter published by Politico on Tuesday.

The letter calls for squelching Russian interference in U.S. elections, while also engaging with Moscow about the matter through negotiations "out of the public square." Another top priority, the signatories believe, is for the White House and Congress to restore "normal diplomatic contacts" with Russia after several were shuttered following the Crimea invasion in 2014. "Too often we wrongly consider diplomatic contacts as a reward for good behavior, but they are about promoting our interests and delivering tough messages," the letter reads.

The other ideas include taking on a dual leadership role with Moscow in nuclear arms control, focusing on "three-way cooperation" between Washington, Moscow, and Beijing, and emphasizing that even in areas of genuine disagreement between the countries — like Ukraine and Syria — "measured and phased steps" are key to improving the "overall relationship."

Finally, the letter argues that Washington's sanction strategy needs to change. While, the signatories agree sanctions should remain part of the U.S.'s Russia policy, they need to be more flexible so they can be "eased quickly" should Russia engage productively in negotiations. At the moment, Moscow lacks the incentive to change course even in the face of sanctions, the letter says, because it considers U.S. sanctions "permanent." Read more at Politico. Tim O'Donnell