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Oil Prices Surge as OPEC+ Maintains Steady Production Increase

In a strategic move, OPEC+ opted to uphold its production hike of 411,000 barrels per day into July, mirroring increases over the last two months. This decision offered a haven to markets anticipating a heftier output boost. Consequently, oil prices climbed significantly, with Brent crude futures escalating by 2.13% to $64.12 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate also saw a rise to $62.31.

Interestingly, this steadfast approach by OPEC+ comes amidst pressure from within its own ranks, as nations like Kazakhstan signal resistance to reducing their output levels, complicating the group’s objective to regulate market supply.

Expectations now turn to August, where analysts from Goldman Sachs foresee another incremental increase. The group’s strategy aligns with anticipated robust global oil demand patterns, a sentiment further buoyed by a notable spike in gasoline demand—marking the advent of the U.S. driving season.

A New Twitter-Inspired Social Network Is Taking Shape

A new social network called Twitter.now is entering the market, with a founding team that includes former Twitter trademark counsel Stephen Coates. The service is being developed by startup Operation Bluebird.

As Ars Technica reported, X sued the company last year and asked a Delaware judge to block the launch. Operation Bluebird argued in a petition that X had abandoned trademarks including “Twitter” and “Tweet.”

Coates has said the project is not an attempt to recreate the original Twitter. In a LinkedIn post, he described the platform as a new public space focused on trust, transparency and user choice.

AI System To Rate Posts

Twitter.now is currently being tested, with early access priced at $20. Its main feature is VERA, an AI system designed to evaluate posts, verify claims and provide sources and context.

Posts receive a trust score, with users eventually able to set a minimum score to filter their feeds. The company says this approach will give people more control over what they see instead of leaving those decisions entirely to an algorithm.

Moderation Remains A Challenge

Scaling moderation will be one of the platform’s biggest tests. Social networks have repeatedly struggled with content moderation as their communities grow, and newer platforms such as Bluesky have faced similar criticism.

Operation Bluebird says VERA will form the basis of its moderation and verification system. A second version is already planned, with expanded tools that would let users set a specific trust threshold for the posts appearing in their feeds.

For now, Twitter.now remains in an early testing phase, combining the familiarity of the Twitter name with an AI-driven approach to evaluating online information.

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