Hard Numbers: SBF’s illegal foray into politics, Meta’s role in Ethiopia’s war, more bad news for Trump, Kosovo’s EU long shot
40 million: The now-disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, pumped around $40 million into the recent US election cycle, most of which went to Democratic-aligned super-PACS. Federal prosecutors say SBF illegally siphoned these funds from his crypto hedge fund.
2 billion: Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is being sued for $2 billion for allegedly enabling inflammatory rhetoric that fanned the flames of Ethiopia’s recent civil war. Among the plaintiffs is Abrham Meareg, whose father – a Tigrayan academic – was murdered in 2021 after Facebook refused to remove provocative posts written about him.
56: Most Republican-leaning voters – 56% – would prefer Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis to be the party’s presidential nominee in 2024, compared to 33% who favor Donald Trump, according to a new Suffolk University/USA Today poll. Don’t overestimate just one poll you say? Well, a new Wall Street Journal survey found similar results. Still, it’s early days.
5: Kosovo, Europe’s youngest state, officially applied for EU member status, in a move that’s seen as a long shot. Kosovo’s path to membership is being blocked in part by five EU member states – Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Greece and Cyprus – that don’t recognize its independence.