If an explosive whistleblower complaint is true, then Twitter executives deceived federal officials about extensive security issues within the app that leave users’ personal information vulnerable and could even pose a risk to national security.

The whistleblower, who agreed to have his identity revealed publicly, was...a pretty big deal at Twitter—it’s the company’s former security chief Peiter “Mudge” Zatko. In an 84-page complaint sent to Congress last month and obtained by the Washington Post and CNN, Zatko alleged that senior Twitter execs covered up major security flaws for more than a decade, and that multiple foreign intelligence agencies may have employees embedded within the company.

If a government investigation finds that Zatko’s allegations are true, Twitter could face billions of dollars in fines as it heads into a costly legal battle with Elon Musk. So what exactly does the whistleblower complaint say, and how could it affect the Musk case? Well…

It’s bad

Under the terms of a 2011 FTC settlement, Twitter agreed to create and maintain a robust security plan subject to independent audits.

According to Zatko’s complaint, that didn’t happen. Zatko alleges that the company’s servers use outdated software, and key information about security breaches was withheld from directors. As a result, he alleges, Twitter deals with approximately one security incident per week that’s serious enough to require disclosure to government agencies.

In an email to employees, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal criticized the whistleblower complaint as being “a false narrative that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies.”

What it all means for Musk

Zatko alleges that executive bonuses of up to $10 million tied to daily user growth have significantly disincentivized them to eliminate spam on Twitter. That claim could help Elon Musk’s attempt to pull out of his $44 billion purchase of the company, as his case hinges on allegations that Twitter is miscounting how many bots it has.

While the binding agreement Musk signed to purchase the company didn’t include any exceptions for bot numbers, the accusation that Twitter has misled shareholders and regulators about the number could help his case.—MK

No day but today for a student loan announcement. President Biden is expected to reveal his ultra-hyped decision on student loan relief today. The administration is reportedly considering wiping out $10,000 of student loan debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 annually, and extending the freeze on loan payments for another four months. Biden is balancing competing pressures from the progressive wing of his party, which is pushing for even more relief, and the moderates, who warn that too much forgiveness could hurt the fight against inflation.

Crist to take on DeSantis in Florida. Rep. Charlie Crist won the Democratic primary for governor of Florida, setting up a high-stakes contest in the fall against incumbent Republican Ron DeSantis. This will be one of the most closely watched races of the midterms: DeSantis has become a national figure for pushing back against what he considers “woke” culture, including waging public battles with corporations that have criticized his policies, like Disney. Democrats hope Crist, who was formerly the FL governor as a Republican, can blunt DeSantis’s rise.

US life expectancy plunged in 2020. Life expectancy in the US dropped the most in 2020 since World War II, declining in all 50 states and DC due to Covid and “unintentional injuries” (such as drug overdoses), the CDC said. The state where residents can expect to live the longest is Hawaii, at 80.7 years. Coming in last is Mississippi with a life expectancy of 71.9 years. New York’s life expectancy dropped by a whopping three years in 2020.

On Monday, an Australian news site named—this is not a joke—Crikey took out an ad in the New York Times imploring Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch to sue it.

So he did.

Yesterday, Murdoch filed a defamation lawsuit against Crikey over an article that called the Murdochs the “unindicted co-conspirators” in former President Trump’s attack on democracy and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. The article didn’t mention Lachlan by name (or his father, the media mogul Rupert), but Lachlan’s lawyers claimed the allegations in the article were “false and calculated to harm Mr. Murdoch.”

Zoom out: There are two points of context that make this story particularly noteworthy.

1. Australia’s defamation laws are much more favorable to the plaintiff than they are in the US. In urging Murdoch to sue, Crikey said the ensuing legal case would “test what an honest, open and public debate actually means for free speech in Australia.”

2. As Murdoch pursues his own defamation case in Australia, where he is a citizen, Fox News is facing two multibillion-dollar lawsuits from voting machine companies in the US, which are accusing the network of repeatedly making false claims that they played a role in siphoning votes from Trump in the 2020 election.—NF

Instagram’s imitation game rolls on with “Candid Challenges,” a prototype feature discovered by independent developer Alessandro Paluzzi on Monday. It’s an obvious copy of the current No. 1 free app in the App Store, BeReal.

Candid Challenges would add the core functionality of BeReal to the Instagram app in the same way that Reels is essentially TikTok-in-Instagram and Stories is Snapchat-in-Instagram.

That core functionality: In Candid Challenges, Instagram would send users a notification that prompts them to take a photo within two minutes. By using the front and back cameras simultaneously, the resulting image would contain both a selfie and a picture of the scene in front of the phone, which...is exactly how BeReal works.

BeReal has tried to position itself as a place for you to interact with your friends, something Instagram has moved away from recently to prioritize algorithmic-driven video. The same week Instagram was getting blasted for deprioritizing users’ friends in their feeds, BeReal tweeted, “Maybe what we all just wanted was an app to see photos of your friends.”

Looking ahead…Instagram told Engadget yesterday that its BeReal clone is an “internal prototype” that it’s “not testing externally.” But the mere existence of Candid Challenges suggests Instagram is worried about the young app’s potential—and may be preparing to snuff it out before it becomes a legit competitor.—JW

Quote: “We hadn’t really expected it to be this good, to be honest.”

Jupiter is now the front-runner for People’s Sexiest Planet Alive 2022 after new pictures of the gas giant taken by the James Webb Space Telescope impressed scientists, including Imke de Pater, planetary astronomer and professor emerita at UC Berkeley. In the image above, you can see Jupiter’s rings (yes, it has rings) and two of its dozens of moons.

Stat: The first House of the Dragon episode Sunday night was HBO’s biggest premiere ever and the most-viewed episode of an HBO show since the original Game of Thrones show ended, with nearly 10 million people tuning in, the network said. For comparison, the season two finale of Euphoria, HBO’s most popular show since GoT, pulled in 6.6 million viewers in February.

Read: The story behind the mammoth $1.6 billion political donation bolstering conservatives. (New York Times)

Matt Damon spitting facts: While downing hot wings, the actor explains why movies just aren’t like they used to be.

BOGO burritos: You can claim a buy one, get one free offer from Chipotle by being among the first 100,000 daily players to ace a quiz on its website. The offer runs each day through Aug. 26.

Leadership workshop: Remember Tyler Cowen, the economist we interviewed about how to find talent? He’s doing a free leadership workshop with us on Sept. 1. Sign up now.

People motivate people, which is why the Future app is a health and fitness game changer, with personalized daily coaching and custom workout plans. Get 50% off your first 3 months.*

Turn spare change into crypto: Bits lets crypto-curious investors round up their everyday purchases to the next dollar and automatically invest the spare change into crypto. Get Bits.*

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The latest addition to the Brewniverse is here: CFO Brew. CFO Brew tackles the rapidly changing world of global finance and serves up the news corporate finance pros need to know in a quick, witty format.

Get on board here.

This editorial content is supported by Oracle NetSuite.

Word Search: If you like the window seat on a plane, you’re going to love today’s Word Search. Play it here.

Shelf life

Some pantry items you have to use within weeks—others last virtually forever. Can you rank the following five pantry items in order of shelf life, from shortest to longest?

Brown rice, hot sauce, vanilla extract (real), pretzels/chips, tomato paste

Soledad O’Brien has been a staple of broadcast news for years. On Imposters, the award-winning journalist and producer discusses how smart preparation and having confidence in her own abilities allowed her to pivot when things didn’t go her way. Listen or watch here.

Check out more from the Brew:

💲 How has inflation affected dating? We took to the streets of New York to find out. Watch here.

Why learn through abstract principles when you could be learning from expert operators? In the Business Essentials Accelerator, you’ll engage with industry leaders and get their solutions to modern business problems.

1. Pretzels/chips (two months)

2. Brown rice (six months)

3. Tomato paste (12–18 months)

4. Hot sauce (five years)

5. Real vanilla extract (indefinitely)

Assuming you don’t open them, of course.

Source