Ars Technica considers how the new iMac Pro could spell opportunities for creatives, software developers, and third-party applications. "It is a much more powerful machine, with CPU options up to 18 cores and up to 128GB of RAM,” AT notes. As such, “Creative apps are among the obvious use cases for the iMac Pro, but there’s some attraction for developers, too,” it writes. “While the iMac Pro offers much faster compile times (2.5 times the other iMac in some cases), the multiple cores create some impressive multitasking opportunities, too.”

BuzzFeed details how ad networks and publishers are using page redirects and “pop-unders” to produce what it calls “legitimate-look” traffic. “These networks can ‘originate traffic out of thin air’ and direct it to a specific site thanks to code that instructs them when to load a specific webpage, and how long to keep it open before automatically loading the next website in the chain,” BF writes. “No human action is required.”

Facebook says it has so far found no evidence of a “significant” Russian effort to interfere in the British referendum last year, The New York Times reports. “The government-linked Russian organization accused of using social media to seek to influence the United States presidential election in 2016, the Internet Research Agency, spent only 97 cents on Facebook advertisements that were delivered to British users during the two months before the referendum,” The Times reports, citing a statement from Facebook.

The NBA has agreed to stream some of its developmental league games on social video service Twitch. “Known for the giant audiences who watch other people playing video games, Twitch will begin showing up to six weekly NBA G League games on December 15,” Fast Company reports. “In addition to evaluating players, the NBA also uses the G League, formerly known as the D League, to test out new technologies and other systems that might one day make their way to the big leagues.”

Target is shelling out $550 million for same-day grocery delivery startup Shipt. “Like its chief rival, Instacart, Shipt partners with a network of brick-and-mortar grocery chains to pick orders off of their shelves and deliver them to customer’s doors on the same day they are ordered,” Recode writes. “Target plans to join the Shipt online marketplace, while Shipt intends to keep serving its other retail partners.”

In response to criticism from former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya, a company spokesperson tells Business Insider  it “was a very different company" during the period Palihapitiya worked there. At an event hosted by Stanford’s business school last month, Palihapitiya said that Facebook and other social networks “are destroying how society works.”

Pushing Facebook aside, Google has regained its position as main source of referral traffic for web publishers. “Over the course of 2017, the search engine has become publishers’ main source of external page views,” Recode reports, citing new data from Parse.ly. “In January, Facebook provided nearly 40 percent of publishers’ external traffic; now that’s down to 26 percent.”

Steve Bannon and his buddies at Breitbart News apparently had it infor Twitter. Together, they "planned a broad financial, legal, and editorial campaign to damage Twitter,” BuzzFeed reports, citing obtained documents. “The campaign … sought to devalue and weaken the social network that had banned his employees and, he believed, silenced conservative voices.”

This year’s Golden Globe nominations were just announced, and Netflix racked up more than ever. With nine nods, the digital network is second only to HBO and its 12 nominations, TechCrunch reports. “Its nominations include ‘The Crown’ and ‘Stranger Things’ for Best TV Drama,” TC writes. “The shows’ stars also earned nods, with David Harbour vying for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or TV movie, in ‘Stranger Things,’ and ['The Crown''s] Claire Foy for Best Actress in a TV Drama.”

Some producers of harmless video content say YouTube’s recent crackdown on inappropriate material put them out of business. “YouTube says it’s working to address users’ concerns, acknowledging in a statement that ‘it’s been a tough year for creators,’” Bloomberg reports. Yet, some creators have quit posting on YouTube, and defected for rival sites like Amazon’s Twitch, Bloomberg writes.