The Download: escalating pandemic risks, and ask us anything on Reddit

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Meta’s new speech policies allow the denigration of trans people
The revamped guidelines now permit previously-forbidden insults and allegations. (Platformer $)
+ The changes have left Meta’s employees feeling embarrassed and ashamed. (404 Media)
+ Axed fact-checkers held an emergency meeting after Meta said it no longer required their services. (Insider $)

2 The US Supreme Court will hear TikTok’s final plea
Justices are likely to make their decision before the end of next week. (The Guardian)
+ If the ban is enacted, you can probably still access TikTok via a VPN. (NYT $)
+ ByteDance’s founder could be TikTok’s secret weapon. (The Information $)

3 Those pictures of the Hollywood sign burning are AI-generated 
AI slop is making the Los Angeles fires appear even worse than they are. (404 Media)
+ Elon Musk and Donald Trump aren’t helping matters by spreading disinformation. (The Verge)
+ AI cameras are keeping tabs on the spreading destruction in California’s hills. (Insider $)
+ The scale of the destruction is truly horrifying. (NY Mag $)

4 Last year was officially the hottest ever recorded
The average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above the pre-industrial baseline for the first time. (New Scientist $)
+ Consequently, we’re edging closer to breaching the Paris Agreement. (Politico)

5 How to prevent another zoonotic pandemic
It all hinges on early detection. (FT $)

6 Foxconn has stopped sending Chinese workers to Indian iPhone factories
It’s bad news for Apple, as it’s likely to disrupt production. (Rest of World)

7 This new cell could change plastic surgery as we know it
Lipochondrocytes have the rigidity of cartilage and the squishiness of fat. (Wired $)
+ Cosmetic surgery is booming in middle-income countries. (Economist $)

8 Yandex’s co-founder is shaking off Putin
Arkady Volozh has condemned Russia’s actions in the war with Ukraine, and started a new company. (Bloomberg $)
+ How Russia killed its tech industry. (MIT Technology Review)