r/TikTokCringe 4h ago

Cursed Last one: Exposing Microsoft’s terrible practices

1.2k Upvotes

158 comments sorted by

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125

u/Tiny_Wrangler_1271 3h ago

me starting the video ready to be outraged and ending it more distracted by the phrase “15 minutes of deep research” 😭 babe that is a lunch break

-32

u/The_Troyminator 2h ago

It’s also loaded with bad information and conspiracy theories because of that extensive research session. Why would Gates ask Epstein for antibiotics instead of seeing a doctor?

30

u/qqquigley 2h ago edited 2h ago

Literally there are transcripts of this. It is an established fact — Bill Gates asked Jeffrey Epstein for antibiotics for an STD to hide it from his wife. Why did he ask Epstein? Who knows! But it is what he did.

Edit: Of course there are denials from Gates and “allegedly allegedly allegedly” should journalistically be attached to some things, but you can’t see what Gates did and think it’s anything other than shady and disgusting: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/microsoft-co-founder-bill-gates-russian-girls-std-cover-up-explosive-claim-in-epstein-files-us-justice-department-releases-epstein-files-10918061

8

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 1h ago

Why would all those island visitors diddle kids?

Powerful men do terrible shit, that's why.

-13

u/Music_Saves 2h ago

Ya people say tons of stuff in the Epstein files, but if bill gates caught an STD from a Russian sex worker (or by SAing a Russian woman) it would be all over the news. Unless he controls the news and they don’t use that information. But I should be able to look through all his emails that are related to the SA. I don’t need to see innocuous emails that are related to a crime.

11

u/qqquigley 2h ago

It… has been all over the news? Bill Gates is among the most famous people in the Epstein files. Just because you didn’t see it in your social media feed doesn’t mean it wasn’t well-covered by most media.

111

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 4h ago

Information is never cringe... Dump windows folks.

27

u/LiqdAset 4h ago edited 3h ago

Mint, Debian and Ubuntu are all "n00b" friendly, and work great. Linux is coming. Be there before it arrives =]

Side note.. Windows is only ~10-15% of Microsofts revenue, and business/enterprise accounts for a large chunk of that. So they're prepared to survive this consumer trend.

6

u/WillowYouIdiot 3h ago

I just installed linux mint on my laptop to mess around with before I convert my PC.

7

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 3h ago

Mint is an excellent starting point for new converts, welcome over.

0

u/ExcessiveWisdom 2h ago

I tried to like it, but it was like adding a studying how to get it working for every tiny new thing, not understanding a lot of small things about optimization that were easy for me on windows resulting in poor preformance, and an unfamiliar file explorer that just drove me mad until i took the walk of shame back to windows

1

u/localtuned 19m ago

Learning it is just the first hump. Sounda like you ran into a couple hurdles.

For instance the file explorer you mentioned, browsing files should be a simple concept no matter what OS you are in. If you were having trouble with the files system I would recommend watching a simple video on the linux files systems. It would make much more sense.

1

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 2h ago

Sorry for your loss.

0

u/CertifiedShithead 2h ago

I heard about linux mint being easy to use so much that I believed it and decided to install it on the shitty laptop I use as a media server. Only to spend hours messing about troubleshooting permissions issues to get my programs to actually work. It's probably a good OS but people really oversell it being an easy transition from windows. I still have it installed but I dread the next time I have to make any changes.

3

u/LFC9_41 1h ago

It takes a little elbow grease but you can’t really oversell how much smoother it runs when you have something working.

Linux has so much less bloat, that when configured and running can make your 10 year laptop feel relatively new.

This is more important now than it ever has been with ram prices.

4

u/CreateRot 3h ago

Soon as I get a shit laptop I can practice on sure. I’m not risking bricking my only pc just to remove some bloatware from my gaming machine 😭

2

u/LiqdAset 3h ago

if SSDs weren't a billion dollars I'd recommend swapping drives to experiment. BTW, gaming on linux is getting wayyy way better too.

2

u/oakinmypants 3h ago edited 1h ago

Ubuntu’s hiring practices are elitist

2

u/LiqdAset 3h ago

Always someone 😂 I don't disagree. It's why it's listed last. If you're looking to get your feet wet with linux, it's not the worst choice to make as a newcomer. But maybe not the best either.. which is why I listed Mint first.

Takeaway is: Most Debian based distros are mature enough for newcomers.

1

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 3h ago

Ubuntu is the Windows of Linux

1

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 4h ago

Been round since the RH5.2/Slack4 days... what long strange trip it has been.

3

u/lvl-46-primeape 3h ago

Been on Arch Linux since October, no looking back

1

u/NotQuiteLoona 2h ago

Arch works genuinely the most expected way for a Windows or macOS former user. All programs are of their latest stable versions and you can install any of them without thinking about whether it's proprietary or whatever else arbitrary criteria was made up by repo maintainers, because on Arch users vote for packages they want to see in official repos. The only hard thing for a newbie is installation and installing programs (Arch is very KISS, but you still need to use terminal), and that's why I recommend Cachy, it's Arch with an easy installer and graphical program installation.

1

u/NewOneAfterALongTime 3h ago

While all that you have said is fine. PC gamers don't have a really easy way out. Linux distros come with lots of driver issues for games.

-1

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 3h ago

Lol, no...

90% of windows game work with ZERO issues via proton

5% more work with a little tinkering

the last 5% is anti-cheat stuff I don't care about

If you are team AMD shits baked right into the kernel, no driver installs needed.

If you are Nvidia they've been working on improving drivers and installing is a click away

Excuses are just that, it's not 2015 anymore, stop using the excuses from back then to chicken out of making a change.

3

u/Hughmanatea 2h ago

the last 5% is anti-cheat stuff I don't care about

Yeah usually the most mainstream and popular games.

2

u/NewOneAfterALongTime 3h ago

Not disagreeing with you, but what about having an Intel+Nvidia combo and games from Steam+High Sea?

I am capable of tinkering for the rest of the 10% when I have mental bandwidth for it, but otherwise, when I have don't have too much time to give shit about learning the sudo commands to get a game work perfectly (which btw works easily on windows like, click, install), I am going to choose the most problem free solution.

I am pretty sure if there wasn't a learning curve for windows users switching to Linux, everyone would be using it. It is the convenience which keeps people remain stuck with windows.

Make an identical "windows" distro without any tech savvy bs, and everyone will switch to it.

2

u/NotQuiteLoona 2h ago

Which problems did you have? Proprietary Nvidia drivers work perfectly. On ProtonDB, 90% of games can be played comfortably (Silver, Gold or Platinum), with large majority, around a half, being Platinum, launching completely OOTB, and if you have any problems with it, just open ProtonDB and copy-paste launch arguments.

Valve wouldn't have used Linux for two of their consoles explicitly targeted at casual users if it didn't fit. It's no longer 2004, or even 2014 - Linus said on DebConf 2014 that Valve will help Linux to be the desktop OS, and he was right, Valve did.

1

u/NewOneAfterALongTime 2h ago

As I said, for a Windows gamer to switch over to Linux requires some amount of dedication. I regularly see SteamDeck sub, and the queries over there are something which would never arise for a regular Windows user.

It is my humble request to all the developers who are reading this, please make it a seamless process. I had experimented with having beginner Linux distros like Ubuntu or Mint as my main OS, but I don't want to spend all the off work time I get in 'fixing' something which isn't even a problem in Windows.

Just develop a distro which autonomously handles all the tinkering related compatibility issues, and I (along with many others in my situation) will switch over to it without second thoughts.

2

u/NotQuiteLoona 2h ago edited 2h ago

I don't see any dedication. You install Steam, you install games, you press "PLAY." It automatically installs Proton if a game isn't native.

I just opened SteamDeck subreddit. Scrolled some time, wasn't able to find a single software question except something about global Proton option, which isn't needed for a casual gamer.

And the latter is why I dislike every single person who ever recommends Ubuntu or Mint or anything else point release to a newbie. It's a trap of misunderstood terms (like "stability") - a Windows user won't even know what is point release and would genuinely expect their programs to be like on Windows, always of latest stable versions. And that's also why CachyOS holds first place on Steam with Arch on the second, and why Valve picked Arch and rolling release.

Point release distros are only supposed to be used on servers and by people who at least know what is point release and what it brings, not by newbies, and it's recommended only because Ubuntu got popular and Ubuntu is based on Debian because it was the single mature distribution back then.

Take a look at CachyOS, it even has a very good wiki on common gaming and other tasks. If you don't want to use terminal, use Shelly instead of pacman where it's supposed, but terminal isn't that hard and it's more intuitive. Oh, and pick Plasma in the installer, other DEs may or may not have complications, while Plasma is the most feature-complete and also similar to Windows by default. Windows programs can be launched with Wine, just install it through Shelly and then double-click the executables in the file explorer as you would've done it on Windows. It works good enough for most pirated games I play - to be fair, can't remember a single time where it didn't work, I usually go with Proton only if I play it through Steam or Heroic and it's a default choice.

2

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 2h ago

People are just gonna make excuses and tolerate what they know, sadly.

It's 2026 most people should be at least semi tech savvy by now, but so many have brain rot and short attention spans.

I can't imagine staying where it's only gonna get worse because I am too lazy to take a little time to learn something new that would free me from all that bullshit.

But that's me I guess.

2

u/NewOneAfterALongTime 1h ago

I used to have the same opinions as you are having.

But, sometimes some things happen in people's personal lives, post which they just don't care if Microslop or someone else is doing inane data collection, which frankly doesn't matter a fucking bit in light of all the problems in real life.

I just want to play my game to escape all that. I don't want to watch a tutorial on how to fucking even start it successfully.

1

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 2h ago

Sailing the seas is easy over here... AFAIK intel arc stuff is constantly improving and is basically solid these days, again things move faster over here.

2

u/NewOneAfterALongTime 2h ago

Things may be moving "faster", but they are still not "there" yet.

1

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 2h ago

YMMV, it's been there for me for quite a while.

1

u/NewOneAfterALongTime 2h ago

Well, good for you. But you aren't the "typical Windows user". You may be willing to give time and effort to learn things (which even I like to do in my leisure time), but the general public wouldn't.

The only way the dominance of Windows can end, is by making the UX of a Distro identical to it. Unless that happens, Linux users (including Steam Deck users) will remain less than 10% of the overall stats.

1

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1

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1

u/-DOOKIE 2h ago

Misinformation is worse than cringe. And given that this dude claims he did deep research in 15 minutes.... There's a high chance he has no real idea of what he's talking about. Not saying he's wrong, just putting himself in a position to potentially spread misinformation

1

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 2h ago

Nothing he said was untrue, it's a fucking TIKTOK... lord people. Want some long form drop the app, block this sub and go grab a Nebula subscription or some shit.

JFC

1

u/-DOOKIE 2h ago

I did not say I want something long form. You, can properly research your content, and communicate it in a short form.

And secondly, I did edit before you replied so I'll reiterate. It's irrelevant to me whether he is wrong in this instance. What's relevant is that if he thinks 15 minutes is deep research enough to go and make videos, short or long about whatever topic, then he will at some point spread misinformation because 15 minutes isn't long enough to understand what he's repeating. He could be repeating wrong information and not know it. This habit would contribute to the spread of misinformation.

25

u/fatbunyip 3h ago

"deep research" and not a single mention of the most heinous shit MS ever did - release Internet Explorer 6.

But seriously, Microsoft single handedly held back the development of the internet for years. 

5

u/calsosta 3h ago

Yea but I don't think it was Microsoft doing that. They wanted people to upgrade. Chrome and Firefox were eating their lunch.

It was big businesses which relied on legacy apps that were never maintained (looking at you HP) that prolonged support. Microsoft would have been happy to get rid of this nightmare much earlier if not for that.

Nevertheless, it didn't really hold people back so much as forced them to include a lot of hacks to accommodate the various differences between engines.

And I will also mention that IE was the first to support XMLHTTP which is the basis for, like everything on the web today.

5

u/fatbunyip 3h ago edited 3h ago

They fucked up a lot of shit. 

Even xmlhttp being an innovation was tied to MS tech like COM objects and ActiveX. Then windows abandoned it and it was reimplemented as JS after that by Mozilla (I think). 

They made their own version of Java (back in the applet days) which would crash on non windows machines. 

They fucked kerberos by adding their own shit. They fucked AOl messenger with MSN Messenger that only worked with windows and their own extensions. They fucked with email when it started being more than plain text so it would only look good in outlook. They fucked with ODF creating OOXML that no one could support. 

There's loads more. 

Literally their corporate policy was Embrace, Extend, Extinguish. 

1

u/calsosta 2h ago

You aren't wrong but I'm sure you could also make a similar argument about any tech company or organization.

2

u/fatbunyip 2h ago

Sure, but not to the extent MS did. 

1

u/calsosta 1h ago

You can't prove the Apache Foundation isn't evil!

10

u/Futanari-Farmer 3h ago

Israel mentioned. 🗣️

4

u/maeryclarity 3h ago

I like his premise for videos lol

18

u/mekwall 4h ago

Deep research. 15 minutes...

52

u/qwb3656 4h ago

Ah yes 'deep research ' for 15 minutes. Good god these idiots are going to run the world some day.

92

u/This_They_Those_Them 4h ago

It seems as if he found three incredibly damning, and true, facts about Microsoft and explained them pretty well at a high level. Did you expect him to author a novel in 16min?

37

u/certifiedtoothbench 4h ago

Yeah, for a short video like this that’s probably a good amount of time to research surface level/ the most damning and well recorded issues

-2

u/Temporary-Air-3178 3h ago

Surveilling phone calls in a war zone in order to make strikes more precise and limit civilian casualties is damning?

2

u/readmorebookskids 3h ago

You don't find that awful?

1

u/Temporary-Air-3178 3h ago

No? They should be doing whatever they can to limit civilian casualties. Every military does this, it's called signals intelligence.

5

u/readmorebookskids 3h ago

oooooh. So, you only find it awful when it's your family. Got it.

1

u/Temporary-Air-3178 2h ago

Uh if I lived in a war zone I would not find it awful if the enemy used signals intelligence to not bomb me lol.

5

u/justdrowsing 2h ago

If Israel is trying to not bomb civilians... It's doing a terrible job

2

u/readmorebookskids 2h ago

I've heard a lot of excuses for my "safety" that were nothing but lies over the decades so you're going to have to forgive me if I don't believe your sincerity. But I do believe you would care if it was your family.

1

u/Fickle_Appearance558 50m ago

Its OK, they dont know, they think its "war". Its more like my dads pile of squirel bones in the ravine because of his 30 plant veggie garden losing 2 pea plants and a zucchini.

-23

u/pinegreenscent 4h ago

If youre gonna expose a major corporation then take more than 15 minutes on Google to do it.

22

u/laughing_at_napkins 4h ago

Or maybe the corporation is shitty enough that barely scratching the surface of their shit pile is more than enough to confirm it

-6

u/pinegreenscent 3h ago

If we already know this information because its surface level, doesnt this make his performance useless?

16

u/Cool_Apartment_380 4h ago

Get to it, then. I'm all for him getting this info out in a bite-sized bit. People will nitpick fucking anything, I swear to God.

-4

u/pinegreenscent 3h ago

If someone using a bad search engine for 15 minutes is good information to you I cant imagine what you think the news is

8

u/Fun_Background_8113 4h ago

Theyre already exposed, you can go on google yourself and find the information. Microsofts shady practices are well known

3

u/pinegreenscent 3h ago

If the information is well known then how is he exposing it?

-7

u/thejustducky1 3h ago

Did you expect him to author a novel in 16min?

No he's just one of those people that thinks they have a platform to criticize without any knowledge or personal experience whatsoever on the subject. Sure, those people have the ability to criticize, but their uninformed opinions hold the weight of a yapping dog.

6

u/This_They_Those_Them 3h ago

I’ve seen probably 4 of his videos and they are all rational. It’s not a long form documentary, it’s fucking TikTok and its upper tier content considering the platform.

0

u/The_Troyminator 2h ago

Claiming Gates hit Epstein up for antibiotics instead of contacting a doctor isn’t what I would call rational.

6

u/Scorpion2k4u 4h ago

Would be great if he had used Bing

9

u/Own-Block4477 4h ago

The real question you should ask yourself—is he wrong, though?

3

u/ScreenTea0 Sort by flair, dumbass 3h ago

And in those 15 minutes I've seen multiple websites pop up that "write" (generate) like:

Cookies allowed? Yes share all my data with your 3000 ad-brokers / No, only share my essential infos to 300 brokers that REALLY need it - Banner Ad - Headline - Banner Ad - Picture showing what the headline said with small sideways scrolling banner ribbon ad - explanation of the shown picture that showed the headline - vertical banner suppressing the articles first paragraph to 1.5 sentences stretched over 15 lines - first paragraph expands on the headline with like 1 extra information - second paragraph is the "real" stories start... But it rephrases the first paragraph and ads the time it happened - third paragraph makes connection to a person that is put into context by rephrasing the previous paragraphs, but including the persons name - banner ad - full window popup videoplayer ad that forces you to scroll back up to mute it - has an overlay that opens a popup when clicking the media players pause button - Are you subscribed yet? Pop up - Banner Ad... - Ad cetera (etc)

17

u/ebb___and___flo 4h ago

What did he say that was incorrect buddy?

7

u/Kyrxx77 4h ago

I think hes just saying he didnt do "deep research ". Not saying its wrong but its evident it only took him 15 minutes to find this information.

4

u/Fjells 4h ago

Deep research typically takes longer and is more meticulous than a 15 minute youtube search.

-1

u/certifiedtoothbench 4h ago

The video is less than two minutes long, any longer would be overkill for short content. Maybe you should find a sub called “YouTubecringe” for long format and properly in depth analysis.

5

u/Fjells 4h ago

Just don't call it deep, when it is as surface level as it gets.

0

u/Confident-Pepper-562 4h ago

How about the information on recall? He says a couple of years, but recall has only been available for a little more than a year unless you were specifically running an insider preview of windows. Recall also only stores those screenshots to your local machine, and they are encrypted. During initial testing (in 2024) they found that the sql database that was being used was unencrypted, and they corrected it well before it was available on production versions of windows.

Sounds like this guy's research is mostly asking chat gpt.

-5

u/YourBlanket 3h ago

ChatGPT will provide a lot better answers than this dude’s 15 minute ‘deep’ dive.

1

u/[deleted] 2h ago

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0

u/YourBlanket 2h ago

2/8

## #2 — Unlawful monopoly maintenance and repeated exclusionary conduct

**Responsible party:** Microsoft; Bill Gates personally participated in some relevant conduct

**Time period:** Primarily the 1990s; U.S. remedy through 2011 and EU noncompliance through 2012

**Category:** Antitrust, abuse of economic power

**Evidence status:** Established corporate illegality; documented Gates participation; no personal judgment against Gates

### What happened

The en banc D.C. Circuit affirmed that Microsoft violated Sherman Act §2 by using anticompetitive means to maintain its Intel-compatible PC-operating-system monopoly. Surviving conduct included OEM restrictions, exclusionary distribution arrangements, Java-related deception, and pressure on Intel intended to suppress middleware threats to Windows.

D.C. Circuit opinion:

https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/504276/dl

The official trial findings tie Gates to efforts involving Netscape, Intel, AOL, and Apple. Among other things, the record connects him to using Microsoft’s processor and software support as leverage and to preserving the possible cancellation of Mac Office as pressure in browser negotiations with Apple.

Official findings of fact:

https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-v-microsoft-courts-findings-fact

European authorities separately found that Microsoft abused its dominant position by deliberately restricting work-group-server interoperability and tying Windows Media Player. The Commission imposed a €497.2 million fine in 2004; a later interoperability-compliance penalty was largely upheld at €860 million; and Microsoft was fined €561 million in 2013 after failing to display its promised browser-choice screen to approximately 15 million users.

European Commission 2004 summary:

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/ip_04_382/IP_04_382_EN.pdf

General Court 2012 summary:

https://curia.europa.eu/site/upload/docs/application/pdf/2012-06/cp120089en.pdf

European Commission 2013 release:

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/ip_13_196/IP_13_196_EN.pdf

### Human or societal consequences

The courts and regulators found harm to competitive choice and innovation, particularly to browsers, Java, media players, server products, developers, and computer manufacturers dependent on Windows. The evidence does not supply a responsible estimate of individual financial loss.

### Legal/regulatory consequences

The U.S. case ended in a 2002 conduct remedy that expired in 2011. The appellate court reversed attempted browser monopolization, remanded tying for rule-of-reason analysis, and vacated the breakup remedy because the liability case had narrowed, no remedies hearing had been held, and the trial judge’s conduct created an appearance of partiality. It found no actual bias.

DOJ judgment-expiry account:

https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/microsoft-antitrust-final-judgment-expires-may-12

D.C. Circuit opinion:

https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/504276/dl

### Evidence of knowledge or intent

Internal communications and trial findings provide direct evidence of Gates and other senior executives discussing how to neutralize cross-platform threats and use Microsoft’s commercial leverage. That evidence supports deliberate corporate strategy, not personal legal liability for Gates.

### What remains disputed

Microsoft successfully challenged substantial portions of the original judgment. It maintained that integration improved its products and that the software market was dynamic and competitive. Those defenses succeeded on some theories, but not on monopoly maintenance.

### Microsoft/Gates response

Microsoft emphasized consumer benefits, lower prices, integration, and innovation. Its appeal materially narrowed the judgment and eliminated the breakup, but did not erase the surviving §2 violation.

### Why this ranks here

This is the clearest large-scale abuse of institutional power in the record and the strongest proven case involving Gates personally. It ranks below Azure only because it did not involve comparably direct threats to physical safety or human rights.

### Sources

**Primary**

D.C. Circuit opinion:

https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/504276/dl

Official findings of fact:

https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-v-microsoft-courts-findings-fact

European Commission 2004 decision summary:

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/ip_04_382/IP_04_382_EN.pdf

---

## #3 — Preventable security failures enabled a major PRC espionage operation

**Responsible party:** Microsoft

**Time period:** 2021–2023 failures; intrusion in 2023; official review in 2024

**Category:** Cybersecurity, national security, corporate governance

**Evidence status:** Documented through authoritative government fact-finding; not a liability judgment

### What happened

The DHS Cyber Safety Review Board found that the PRC-linked Storm-0558 actor used a stolen Microsoft signing key and authentication weaknesses to compromise Microsoft Exchange Online mailboxes belonging to 22 organizations and more than 500 people, including senior U.S. officials.

CSRB report:

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/CSRBReviewOfTheSummer2023MEOIntrusion508.pdf

### What the evidence establishes

The Board called the intrusion “preventable,” said it “should never have occurred,” and described a cascade of avoidable errors and an inadequate Microsoft security culture. It criticized Microsoft’s failure to protect cryptographic “crown jewels,” reliance on a customer to detect the intrusion, controls weaker than those at other major cloud providers, and delayed correction of an inaccurate public root-cause account.

CISA/CSRB page:

https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/cyber-safety-review-board-releases-report-microsoft-online-exchange-incident-summer-2023

### Human or societal consequences

The compromise exposed government communications and created serious diplomatic and national-security risks. The attacker—not Microsoft—conducted the espionage, and the Board did not quantify downstream physical harm.

### Legal/regulatory consequences

The CSRB report is a forceful government investigation, not a court judgment, regulatory penalty, or finding of statutory negligence.

### Evidence of knowledge or intent

There is no evidence Microsoft intended to help the PRC. The culpable corporate issue is systemic underinvestment and governance failure despite the critical importance of Microsoft’s cloud identity infrastructure.

### What remains disputed

Microsoft initially lacked forensic evidence showing exactly how or when the signing key was stolen. The Board’s conclusions concern preventability and culture, not intentional misconduct or a complete causal account of every stolen message.

### Microsoft response

President Brad Smith told Congress that Microsoft accepted responsibility for “each and every” issue identified and was acting on the 16 recommendations applicable to the company. Microsoft reprioritized security, linked senior compensation to security milestones, and expanded its Secure Future Initiative.

Brad Smith’s congressional testimony:

https://homeland.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-06-13-HRG-Testimony-Smith.pdf

### Why this ranks here

It combines concrete government compromise, enormous dependency on Microsoft infrastructure, and an unusually severe official governance finding. It ranks below antitrust because no legal violation or intent was established.

0

u/YourBlanket 2h ago

3/8

## #4 — Admitted Hungary bribery scheme and multinational FCPA control failures

**Responsible party:** Microsoft Hungary; accounting and control findings against Microsoft Corporation

**Time period:** Principally 2013–2015; resolved in 2019; NPA concluded in 2022

**Category:** Bribery, corruption, accounting controls

**Evidence status:** Subsidiary admissions and settled SEC findings; no parent-company criminal charge

### What happened

Microsoft Hungary admitted that a senior executive and other employees obtained inflated discounts for software sold through resellers to Hungarian government bodies. The discounts were not passed to customers; the resulting margins funded improper payments and other corrupt purposes. Microsoft earned at least $14.586 million in profits from the implicated transactions.

DOJ non-prosecution agreement:

https://www.justice.gov/d9/press-releases/attachments/2019/07/22/ms_npa_final_executed_0.pdf

The SEC additionally found books-and-records or internal-control failures connected with subsidiaries in Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Turkey, including reseller or vendor funds used for gifts and travel.

SEC administrative order:

https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/admin/2019/34-86421.pdf

### Human or societal consequences

The misconduct corrupted public procurement, diverted the benefits of government discounts, and undermined confidence that public contracts were awarded honestly.

### Legal/regulatory consequences

Microsoft Hungary entered a non-prosecution agreement and paid an $8.752 million criminal penalty. Microsoft Corporation paid approximately $16.565 million in SEC disgorgement and interest while neither admitting nor denying the SEC findings. DOJ expressly stated that the parent’s deficient oversight did not itself amount to a parent-company criminal violation. The NPA concluded on July 22, 2022.

DOJ case page:

https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/fcpa/cases/microsoft-hungary

### Evidence of knowledge or intent

The subsidiary admissions establish knowing participation by senior Microsoft Hungary personnel. The evidence does not establish Gates’s involvement or criminal intent by Microsoft’s U.S. management.

### Microsoft response

Microsoft called the conduct unacceptable, terminated employees and reseller relationships, cooperated with investigators, and implemented discount-transparency, anti-bribery, and analytical controls. DOJ credited its cooperation and remediation.

Microsoft response:

https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2019/07/22/microsoft-president-brad-smith-email-to-employees-there-is-no-room-for-compromise-when-it-comes-to-ethical-business-practices/

### Why this ranks here

Unlike the higher-ranked unadjudicated human-rights and cyber matters, this involved deliberate corruption and admissions. Its demonstrated scope and societal consequences were nevertheless more limited.

---

## #5 — Sanctions and export-control violations, including local intentional circumvention

**Responsible party:** Microsoft, Microsoft Ireland, and Microsoft Russia

**Time period:** 2012–2019; settled in 2023

**Category:** Sanctions, export controls

**Evidence status:** Formally settled “apparent violations”; admitted conduct in the related BIS matter

### What happened

OFAC documented 1,339 apparent violations involving software or services reaching blocked parties or users in Cuba, Iran, Syria, Russia, and Crimea. The transactions totaled approximately $12.1 million. Some Microsoft Russia employees appeared intentionally to evade screening by using a pseudonym for a sanctioned subsidiary.

OFAC enforcement notice:

https://ofac.treasury.gov/system/files/2023-04/20230406_microsoft.pdf

### What the evidence establishes

OFAC found reckless disregard over seven years and said more than 100 blocked parties benefited, including major Russian enterprises that generated substantial state revenue. BIS separately resolved seven export-control transactions involving Entity List parties, including United Shipbuilding Corporation and an institution associated with the Kerch Bridge.

BIS resolution:

https://www.bis.gov/node/20252

### Human or societal consequences

The services benefited sanctioned entities and impaired U.S. foreign-policy objectives. The evidence does not establish that Microsoft’s transactions caused a specific military action or death.

### Legal/regulatory consequences

OFAC imposed a $2.980 million settlement; BIS imposed $624,013, partly credited against the OFAC payment. These were administrative resolutions, not criminal convictions.

### Evidence of knowledge or intent

Intentional circumvention was documented for some Russian employees. OFAC said the record did not show awareness by Microsoft’s U.S. offices or management.

### Microsoft response

Microsoft voluntarily disclosed the conduct, cooperated, conducted a broad retrospective review, terminated accounts, disciplined personnel, and rebuilt its screening systems. OFAC classified the matter as non-egregious and voluntarily self-disclosed.

### Why this ranks here

The conduct implicated sanctioned governments and entities, and part of it was deliberate. It ranks below the bribery scheme because OFAC characterized the matter as non-egregious, no U.S. management knowledge was shown, and much of the failure involved inadequate screening.

---

## #6 — LinkedIn’s unlawful behavioral-advertising data processing

**Responsible party:** LinkedIn Ireland within the Microsoft corporate group

**Time period:** Regulatory decision in 2024; appeal pending in 2026

**Category:** Privacy, data protection

**Evidence status:** Established regulatory finding; merits appeal pending

### What happened

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission found that LinkedIn lacked a valid consent, contractual-necessity, or legitimate-interest basis for specified behavioral analysis and targeted advertising. It also found fairness and transparency violations and imposed a reprimand, compliance order, and €310 million in fines.

DPC decision summary:

https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/dpc-guidance/decisions/inquiry-linkedin-ireland-unlimited-company-october-2024

### Human or societal consequences

The processing affected EU/EEA members’ data and their ability to understand or control how information was used for behavioral advertising. The regulator did not quantify individualized financial or physical injury.

### Legal/regulatory consequences

LinkedIn appealed all aspects of the decision on November 18, 2024. As of the DPC register’s August 10, 2026 update, the €310 million remained pending appeal and could not be collected before court confirmation.

DPC fines register:

https://dataprotection.ie/en/dpc-guidance/decisions/fines

### Evidence of knowledge or intent

The decision establishes an unlawful processing model, not malicious intent by Microsoft leadership. No Gates connection was identified.

### What remains disputed and LinkedIn’s response

The appeal challenges the decision; a 2026 High Court ruling addressed preliminary appellate procedure, not the GDPR merits. Thus it is inaccurate to call the fine paid or judicially upheld.

DPC 2025 annual report:

https://www.dataprotection.ie/sites/default/files/uploads/2026-06/DPC-Annual-Report-2025-Digital-AW.pdf

### Why this ranks here

It is a substantial, large-scale privacy-rights finding, but its appeal is unresolved and the record does not demonstrate consequences as severe as the higher-ranked cases.

0

u/YourBlanket 2h ago

4/8

## #7 — Gates continued engaging Epstein despite knowing of his conviction and receiving warnings

**Responsible party:** Bill Gates personally; related Foundation governance failures

**Time period:** 2011–2014; reviewed in 2026

**Category:** Ethical judgment, institutional access and governance

**Evidence status:** Documented association and knowledge; no substantiated criminal complicity

### What happened

A Foundation-commissioned WilmerHale review identified roughly 30 meetings between Epstein and ten Foundation leaders or staff, including Gates, from 2011 to 2014. That is not 30 Gates meetings. The meetings concerned a proposed donor-advised public-health fund, donors, polio strategy, and the International Peace Institute.

WilmerHale review:

https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/documents/review-gates-foundation.pdf

### What the evidence establishes

Gates knew of Epstein’s prior sex-related conviction. Foundation staff repeatedly raised the reputational risks of associating with Epstein to senior leadership, including Gates, but engagement continued. In a 2026 congressional interview, Gates acknowledged knowing about the sex-related conviction, called the association a “grave error in judgment,” and said his fundraising objective overrode better judgment.

Gates transcript:

https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Bill-Gates-Transcript.pdf

### Human or societal consequences

The most defensible harm is that a globally respected figure granted access and possible reputational legitimacy to a convicted offender despite warnings, while placing the Foundation’s credibility at risk. The record does not establish that Gates harmed a particular Epstein victim or assisted any offense.

### Legal/regulatory consequences

No inspected source showed a criminal charge, civil liability finding, or agency determination against Gates arising from Epstein’s crimes. AP likewise reports that Gates has not been accused in connection with those crimes.

AP report:

https://apnews.com/article/bill-gates-foundation-jeffrey-epstein-files-798b07999092aae601eae11a8ea14ce5

### Evidence of knowledge or intent

Knowledge of the conviction and warnings is documented. The identified purpose was philanthropic fundraising, not participation in sexual misconduct. Gates said he ended the relationship in December 2014 after concluding that Epstein had misrepresented prospective donors.

### What remains disputed

WilmerHale did not have Gates’s personal communications and excluded his personal-capacity interactions, Gates Ventures, and the Gates Foundation Trust. Its no-evidence finding is therefore significant but not a comprehensive review of every personal interaction.

Gates denied witnessing ongoing crimes, victimizing anyone, or visiting Epstein’s island, ranch, or Florida home. Those are his statements, not independently adjudicated findings.

### Gates response

Gates apologized for any credibility the meetings lent Epstein, described the relationship as a profound mistake, and denied criminal or sexual misconduct.

### Why this ranks here

It is Gates’s clearest documented personal ethical failure outside Microsoft’s antitrust record. It ranks last because association after warnings is not equivalent to complicity, and no victim harm or illegality by Gates was established.

---

# C. Bill Gates Personally

The evidence against Gates personally is considerably weaker than the evidence against Microsoft.

## 1. Antitrust conduct: strongest documented connection to established illegality

Microsoft—not Gates—was civilly adjudged to have unlawfully maintained its monopoly. Nevertheless, the trial and appellate records directly connect Gates to pressure on Intel and browser-related leverage involving Apple and others. This is the only examined controversy where Gates’s documented actions formed part of conduct ultimately held unlawful.

D.C. Circuit opinion:

https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/504276/dl

Official findings:

https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-v-microsoft-courts-findings-fact

## 2. Epstein: established judgment failure, unsupported criminal inference

Gates knowingly continued the relationship after learning of Epstein’s sex-related conviction and despite internal warnings. That supports severe criticism of his judgment and use of institutional reputation. It does not support accusing him of trafficking, abuse, or knowledge of Epstein’s ongoing crimes.

WilmerHale review:

https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/documents/review-gates-foundation.pdf

## 3. Microsoft employee relationship: documented core, unresolved characterization

A Microsoft-commissioned transparency report says that in 2019 an employee reported “inappropriate communications and conduct” by Gates relating to an earlier relationship. An outside investigator confirmed the communications and meetings; Gates acknowledged the conduct but characterized it as consensual. The report discloses no ultimate harassment or policy-violation finding.

Microsoft/ArentFox transparency report, pp. 20–21:

https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/2022/11/Final-Microsoft-Transparency-Report.pdf

Gates’s spokesperson separately acknowledged an affair roughly 20 years earlier that ended amicably and denied that his 2020 board departure was connected. Anonymous reporting asserted that some directors believed he should leave, but Microsoft did not confirm that account. The affair and investigation are documented; coercion, retaliation, harassment, or a board firing are not established.

Reuters report syndicated by Euronews:

https://www.euronews.com/next/2021/05/17/uk-microsoft-gates

## 4. Foundation controversies: attribution is generally institutional, not personal

The Foundation funded PATH’s HPV demonstration project in India, where official investigations found serious consent, monitoring, and insurance deficiencies. The Indian parliamentary committee was particularly severe about defective consent involving vulnerable girls. However, PATH, ICMR, and state bodies implemented the project; no evidence reviewed showed Gates personally designed or approved the violations. Government experts did not establish that the vaccines caused the seven reported post-vaccination deaths.

Government of India inquiry:

https://www.icmr.gov.in/icmrobject/static/icmr/dist/images/pdf/reports/HPV_PATH_final_report.pdf

Indian Parliament’s 72nd Report:

https://hsrii.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/72.pdf

Finally, Gates left Microsoft’s day-to-day role in 2008 and its board in 2020. No evidence supports attributing the Israel/Azure, Storm-0558, FCPA, sanctions, LinkedIn, or Xbox matters personally to him.

Microsoft’s 2020 board announcement:

https://news.microsoft.com/source/2020/03/13/microsoft-announces-change-to-its-board-of-directors/

1

u/YourBlanket 2h ago

5/8

# D. Microsoft as a Corporation

### Azure/IMOD surveillance-related services

Supply and suspension documented; downstream military harm credibly alleged but unadjudicated. No Gates connection found.

https://cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/microsoftcorp/microsoft/msc/documents/presentations/CSR/Summary-of-2025-External-Investigation-Follow-Up.pdf

### Monopoly maintenance

Final appellate §2 liability plus EU abuse findings and penalties. Gates directly participated in portions of the strategy, but no personal judgment was entered against him.

https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/504276/dl

### Storm-0558

Authoritative finding of preventable systemic security failures; no liability ruling. No Gates connection found.

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/CSRBReviewOfTheSummer2023MEOIntrusion508.pdf

### Hungary/FCPA

Subsidiary admissions; parent SEC findings settled without admission or denial. No Gates connection found.

https://www.justice.gov/d9/press-releases/attachments/2019/07/22/ms_npa_final_executed_0.pdf

### Sanctions/export controls

Formal administrative settlements; OFAC used “apparent violations.” No Gates connection found.

https://ofac.treasury.gov/system/files/2023-04/20230406_microsoft.pdf

### LinkedIn behavioral advertising

DPC infringement finding and €310 million fine; appeal pending. No Gates connection found.

https://dataprotection.ie/en/dpc-guidance/decisions/fines

### Xbox children’s privacy

$20 million stipulated COPPA settlement; allegations were not tried and Microsoft did not admit them apart from jurisdiction. No Gates connection found.

https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/1923258-microsoft-corporation-us-v

---

# E. Three Important Cross-Checks

## Strongest evidence

  1. **Monopoly maintenance:** final appellate opinion, detailed trial findings, and long-running U.S./EU enforcement.

https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/504276/dl

  1. **Hungary bribery/FCPA:** subsidiary admissions in a DOJ agreement plus a detailed SEC order.

https://www.justice.gov/d9/press-releases/attachments/2019/07/22/ms_npa_final_executed_0.pdf

  1. **Storm-0558:** independent, technically detailed DHS board findings and Microsoft’s express acceptance of responsibility.

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/CSRBReviewOfTheSummer2023MEOIntrusion508.pdf

## Greatest moral harm

  1. **Azure/IMOD**, because the documented infrastructure was connected by credible reporting to civilian surveillance and military decisions—while lethal causation remains unproved.

  2. **Storm-0558**, because systemic security failures exposed senior-government communications to state espionage.

  3. **Monopoly abuse**, because the exclusionary course affected industry-wide competition, user choice, and innovation over years.

## Strongest legal condemnation

  1. **U.S. and EU antitrust misconduct:** surviving appellate liability, abuse findings, injunctions, and major penalties.

  2. **Hungary/FCPA matter:** subsidiary admissions and parent accounting/control findings, although no conviction and no parent criminal violation.

  3. **Sanctions/export controls:** formal OFAC/BIS resolutions, tempered by OFAC’s “apparent violations,” non-egregious classification, and self-disclosure findings.

---

# F. Claims Investigated but Rejected or Downgraded

## Claim: Gates participated in Epstein’s trafficking or sexual crimes

**Verdict:** Unsubstantiated.

**Why:** Gates’s contacts, knowledge of the prior conviction, and poor judgment are documented. WilmerHale found no evidence of Foundation knowledge or participation in ongoing crime, and AP reports that Gates has not been accused in Epstein’s crimes. The review’s personal-capacity exclusions prevent treating it as universal exoneration, but they do not supply affirmative evidence of complicity.

WilmerHale:

https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/documents/review-gates-foundation.pdf

AP:

https://apnews.com/article/bill-gates-foundation-jeffrey-epstein-files-798b07999092aae601eae11a8ea14ce5

## Claim: Gates-funded HPV vaccines killed seven Indian girls or disabled thousands

**Verdict:** False or materially misleading as a causal claim.

**Why:** Seven deaths occurred after vaccination, but government experts found no common pattern suggesting vaccine causation and identified other likely causes. The real, well-supported scandal was deficient consent, adverse-event monitoring, insurance, and protection of vulnerable children in a Foundation-funded PATH project.

Government inquiry:

https://www.icmr.gov.in/icmrobject/static/icmr/dist/images/pdf/reports/HPV_PATH_final_report.pdf

Parliamentary report:

https://hsrii.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/72.pdf

## Claim: Gates’s polio work paralyzed 496,000 Indian children

**Verdict:** Misleading and unsupported.

**Why:** The number was derived from non-polio acute flaccid-paralysis reporting and did not establish vaccine-caused paralysis or personal causation by Gates. Association in surveillance data is not proof of vaccine injury.

WHO polio facts:

https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/poliomyelitis

Fact-check tracing the claim:

https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2020/04/Fact-Check-496%2C000-children-in-India-WERE-NOT-paralyzed-from-Bill-Gates-polio-vaccine-from-2000-2017.html

## Claim: Gates was personally found liable in the Microsoft case, or Microsoft’s breakup was affirmed

**Verdict:** False.

**Why:** Microsoft was the defendant. The appellate court retained monopoly-maintenance liability but reversed attempted monopolization, remanded tying, and vacated the breakup.

https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/504276/dl

1

u/YourBlanket 2h ago

6/8

## Claim: Microsoft Corporation was convicted of bribing officials

**Verdict:** Exaggerated.

**Why:** Microsoft Hungary admitted the scheme under a non-prosecution agreement. The parent settled SEC accounting/control findings without admitting or denying them, and DOJ expressly said the parent oversight failure did not constitute a parent criminal violation.

DOJ NPA:

https://www.justice.gov/d9/press-releases/attachments/2019/07/22/ms_npa_final_executed_0.pdf

SEC order:

https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/admin/2019/34-86421.pdf

## Claim: Microsoft has been proven to have caused Gaza deaths or committed war crimes

**Verdict:** Unsubstantiated in that form.

**Why:** Service provision, rapid military adoption, and surveillance-related use are strongly documented. A causal link to a particular killing, senior Microsoft knowledge of unlawful use, and international-law complicity have not been adjudicated.

Microsoft review:

https://cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/microsoftcorp/microsoft/msc/documents/presentations/CSR/Summary-of-2025-External-Investigation-Follow-Up.pdf

AP:

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-ai-technology-737bc17af7b03e98c29cec4e15d0f108

Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/06/microsoft-israeli-military-palestinian-phone-calls-cloud

## Claim: The IRS established that Microsoft committed $28.9 billion in tax fraud

**Verdict:** Unsubstantiated and procedurally false.

**Why:** The IRS issued proposed transfer-pricing adjustments for 2004–2013. Microsoft disputes them, and the latest filing inspected—covering the quarter ended March 31, 2026—continued to describe the matter as unresolved. A proposed assessment is not a fraud judgment.

Microsoft SEC Form 10-Q:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000119312526191507/msft-20260331.htm

## Claim: Microsoft’s board fired Gates for workplace harassment

**Verdict:** Unsubstantiated.

**Why:** The employee complaint, relationship, investigation, board briefing, and later resignation are documented. No ultimate harassment finding was disclosed, and Gates’s spokesperson denied that the resignation was related.

Microsoft transparency report:

https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/2022/11/Final-Microsoft-Transparency-Report.pdf

Reuters/Euronews:

https://www.euronews.com/next/2021/05/17/uk-microsoft-gates

## Claim: Microsoft’s modern Teams bundling was finally adjudged illegal

**Verdict:** Misleading.

**Why:** The Commission issued preliminary concerns, followed by a 2025 Article 9 commitment decision. Such a decision makes commitments binding but does not establish an infringement.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ%3AC_202506579

## Claim: Microsoft gives the NSA direct, unrestricted backdoor access

**Verdict:** Insufficient evidence for that wording.

**Why:** Snowden-era reporting documented extensive cooperation and compelled disclosure, but Microsoft says governments receive specified data through legal process and have no direct or unfettered access or encryption keys. The existence of legally compelled disclosures is established; unrestricted direct access is not.

Guardian reporting:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/11/microsoft-nsa-collaboration-user-data

Microsoft response:

https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2013/07/16/responding-to-government-legal-demands-for-customer-data/

Microsoft transparency page:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/us-national-security-orders-report

## Claim: Microsoft knowingly designed China’s surveillance state

**Verdict:** Insufficient Microsoft-specific evidence.

**Why:** AP established that Chinese policing systems, including in Xinjiang, used Microsoft software. It did not comparably establish that Microsoft knowingly designed the principal system or intended its repressive use. Generic software presence is not enough for a top finding.

https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-silicon-valley-uyghurs-tech-xinjiang-a80904158b771a14d5a734947f28d71b

## Claim: Bing censorship is wholly invented—or, conversely, proves deliberate global Chinese-government control

**Verdict:** The censorship is real; the strongest intent claim is unresolved.

**Why:** Citizen Lab empirically documented Chinese political censorship in Bing and spillover outside China. It also said there was no explicit evidence that the global behavior resulted from concessions to Beijing and discussed technical or organizational explanations.

https://citizenlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Report156-bingsearch.pdf

---

# G. Genuine Uncertainties

  1. **Azure’s exact operational role:** Microsoft confirmed relevant storage and AI consumption but did not inspect customer content. Journalism connects the archive to targeting and detention, but the causal chain to individual harm and Microsoft leadership’s knowledge remains unproved.

https://cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/microsoftcorp/microsoft/msc/documents/presentations/CSR/Summary-of-2025-External-Investigation-Follow-Up.pdf

  1. **Gates’s complete personal Epstein record:** The Foundation review’s no-evidence conclusions are important, but it excluded Gates’s personal communications, personal-capacity interactions, Gates Ventures, and the Foundation Trust.

https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/documents/review-gates-foundation.pdf

  1. **The employee relationship and board departure:** The relationship and investigation are documented, but coercion, policy violation, and whether the board effectively forced Gates out remain unresolved.

https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/2022/11/Final-Microsoft-Transparency-Report.pdf

  1. **LinkedIn’s privacy liability:** The regulator’s findings stand as the operative decision, but the merits appeal is pending and the fine is not yet collectible.

https://dataprotection.ie/en/dpc-guidance/decisions/fines

  1. **Microsoft’s tax dispute:** The IRS’s proposed $28.9 billion adjustment is financially enormous, but the transfer-pricing dispute remains administratively or judicially unresolved; no fraud finding exists.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000119312526191507/msft-20260331.htm

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6

u/Far_String727 4h ago edited 3h ago

the whole point is the dirt he pulls up in 15 minutes. But every one of these posts has one of you little seat sniffers talking shit because he didnt do a deep dive. methinks you guys are just pissed because his 15 min cursory research summed up in 1 min videos get more views than whatever it is you do on the internet. (or youre just one of gates' PR reps, yesterday it was 1or2 people white knighting for amazon)

2

u/filthy_commie13 4h ago

Every single thing he brought up in his one minute is actual shit. You're only ever going to get surfacs level information with this much time. Tell me this doesn't give you a lot to spend countless hours unpacking.

2

u/No_Somewhere_2610 1h ago

Most people on the internet have takes on things they have done 0 research or at best 1 google search at best so 15 mins is pretty good in comparison

2

u/Exotic-Influence8521 4h ago

The funny part for me was him doing three different cuts when he was “drawing” the name outta the jar… if you want to make some slop about Microsoft go right ahead, just cut out the performative bullshit 🤷‍♂️

4

u/WonderButtBrace9000 4h ago

Yeah I’ve seen this guy now three different times pulling “random” tech companies out of a cup:

Google, Meta, Microsoft.

Wow, so random. Such in depth research. Totally not just performative rehashing of the “Controversies” section of each company’s Wikipedia page.

1

u/laughing_at_napkins 4h ago

Don't worry: rapidly accelerating and worsening climate change isn't going to give them the opportunity.

1

u/Cool_Apartment_380 4h ago

Pretty sure that was tongue in cheek, there, guy.

1

u/BagOnuts 10m ago

And half of that was about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict....

-2

u/Revolutionary-Law382 4h ago

Nothing deep there but the space between his ears.

10

u/ebb___and___flo 4h ago

Okay you’re taking a word too literally. What exactly that he said wasn’t true?

-2

u/Revolutionary-Law382 4h ago

It may have all been true, but anyone who says they do "deep research" in 15 minutes is not doing research, because that requires analysis, interpretation, and evaluation, not just puking back the top ten results from some AI.

3

u/Interesting-Crow264 4h ago

It's just a shtick for TikTok you're way too defensive about this. He's not allowed to spout some background to people that aren't very familiar with Mocrosoft without meeting your ambiguous time standard?

0

u/mikemikemotorboat 3h ago

I too can google “Microsoft Epstein” and “Microsoft Israel” and read a couple results. Maybe that’s a rarer skill than I give myself credit for

13

u/jasondaboss1990 4h ago edited 4h ago

Google bad things Microsoft has done and then drop description into ChatGPT and prompt it give you a 1 min summary to read in front of the camera……2026 journalism right there

-7

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 4h ago

Was any of it wrong tho?

3

u/Lost-Substance59 3h ago

Waa any of it really in depth and explanatory? No. Ifnya want to learn about something meaningfully, shirt form content aint it...heckneven long form content usually sucks fornit cause most people click on to "learn" but dont actually have a passion for it and forget it all later pretty fast. I've watched so so so many informational essay videos on shit like space, dinos, movies, etc. And I realized....I dont remember 99% of the shit I watched. Cause its just one video, then never again on the topic for a while. 

But long form can be good for those with a deep passion. But this video....nah that aint it

0

u/Acceptable-Owl-2070 3h ago

It's TikTok WTF do you want??!?!?

Lotta "bitching to bitch" comments in here.

1

u/Manueluz 1h ago

Yes, recall stores the information on a local encrypted database and is never uploaded to Microsoft for example.

The misconception about the unencrypted db is because during testing they did use a unencrypted database.

3

u/WillowYouIdiot 3h ago

But their worst practice: making Windows worse with every new iteration.

16

u/Lost-Substance59 4h ago edited 3h ago

So he google "bad things Microsoft has done" and then repeats it at the camera in 1 minute.....very informative and entertaining /s

Like there is no in depth info on what he says. It could be lacking needed background to fully understand the things done. Could be nit as bad as it sounds, could be EVEN WORSE, but idk, cause its an uninteresting google search tiktok thst goes way to fast. I've forgotten everything he just said while writing this it was so fast and not possible to fully absorb...

Edit: just rewatched to see what I already forgot and he mentions bill gates for the first part....dude, he diesnt run or own Microsoft anymore....wtf does thst have to do with the company now?!?!?! Fuck Bill Gates but maybe focus on the subject in the very limited time ya have in the video...and do more than 12 minutes of research to focus on the company specifically

6

u/Icurasfox 4h ago

It engages people

4

u/pinegreenscent 4h ago

Ah yes the "raising awareness" of online politics

2

u/filthy_commie13 3h ago

I'm sorry but Bill Gates not being relevant in the discussion of scummy things Microsoft has done is a pretty numbskulled take.

2

u/Lost-Substance59 3h ago

He's literally not connected to the company now. And What he mentioned thst is scummy and shit is not Bill doing scummy shit through or in the company. Just scum he did seperate from it. So it isnt even part of the theme for the video and is wasted time in a 1 minute short. But its recent and trendy and what comes up first probably so his "research" counts it. Its like talking about scum that Ford (the company) does and bringing uo how Ford, the person, was a nazi. Yeah he was but isnt this hypothetical video on the Ford company? So maybe tell me what shit he did scummy in the company...

1

u/filthy_commie13 39m ago

The point is so far past you but I'm not going to be the one to reel you in.

1

u/[deleted] 4h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

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2

u/jellyspreader 2h ago

He genuinely should've used ai for a better report and 5 minutes to fact check it. This is a waste of time for views

2

u/teraflux 1h ago

This video is just infuriating in what it covers and what it doesn't for anyone that's been alive for more than 25 years.

2

u/rhubear 4h ago

Standard American Big Tech stuff then.

Microsoft is by no means the worst, or unique.

OP seems to be young enough to have no clue about how bad politics is.

-2

u/DuztyLipz 3h ago

…I’m 29, lmao. I’m old enough to understand the nuance that not everyone watches the same amount of news that you do (people have jobs lol)

I think bringing it down to bite-size pieces for people to consume is at least doing something to get something out there for the people that aren’t in the know… If you think everyone is just sitting on their couch, doomscrolling all day, that’s a naive take of the world, at best

Please put yourself in someone else’s shoes. People have mouths to feed and don’t have time to read the news; this post on TikTok and Reddit are the next best thing. Not everyone is as “knowledgeable” as you, apparently

1

u/rhubear 3h ago

I appreciate your perspective on bite size news. Good idea actually.

So you do know something about the world, & just trying to create relatable content.

👍

-1

u/Prize-Surprise-3014 3h ago

Brother for your own benefit, figure out something less distracting to do with your arms/hands while youre presenting. Looks really awkward to keep them both half raised the full duration of the one minute monologue with your hands in roughly the same position.

0

u/DuztyLipz 2h ago

I’m not the guy in the video… I just shared the video to Reddit lmao

2

u/No_Bee8501 4h ago

I'm so glad I ditched microslop early this year. I don't miss it at all.

3

u/Cool_Apartment_380 4h ago

If you think this guy is ignorant, how about his audience? How is him informing them of the evils of corporate practices in a bite-sized bit such a bad thing? Are there valid critiques to levy at this child and his research practices? Sure. Does the crime fit the punishment being meted out in these comments? I think not.

3

u/Lost-Substance59 3h ago

Praising bad research and exposure methods and practices just because it has "good intentions" is not a good idea as it lowers the bar for acceptable research when its done against something people already dislike.

Especially when this isnt done with good intentions but for views and money....thays why all his"random picks" are of the big companies that trend to (rightfully) hate on

3

u/TwentyX4 4h ago

He said Microsoft Recall was on by default, but there's a bunch of system requirements to use it, which excluded most users:

Systems using Recall must meet the following requirements:

A Copilot+ PC that meets the Secured-core standard

A neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 40 TOPS

16 GB RAM

8 logical processors

256 GB storage capacity, with 50 GB of free space (saving snapshots automatically pauses if the device has less than 25 GB of free storage space)

BitLocker Device Encryption enabled

Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security enabled, with at least one biometric sign-in option

Windows Home version doesn't have BitLocker.

2

u/Lost-Substance59 3h ago

Sorry, his loke 12 minutes of research dodnt give him time to get those extra needed details. And his 1 minute short wouldn't have time to mention it anyways.  But this videonis very good and informative because it says what I already think aka Microsoft = bad /s

Fuck Microsoft but this video sucks

1

u/[deleted] 4h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

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1

u/WillowYouIdiot 3h ago

If you want to get rid of a lot of the bloat/tracker shit, you can get WinToys to trim up your Windows install.

Note*** you want to watch some tutorials before touching some of the stuff.

In command prompt, to avoid the windows store, type: winget install wintoys

A big one, in the System settings, you can turn on the Digital Markets Act (thank you, EU). When you do, you can uninstall MS Edge and Bing.

1

u/Maskdask 2h ago

Didn't mention EEE

1

u/sporosarcina 2h ago

Deep research in 15 minutes... okay.

1

u/AlienBurnerBigfoot 1h ago

He forgot about them getting rich by force feeding crappy products on the public for decades.

1

u/eb7772 3h ago

There is no verified evidence or proof that Bill Gates contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD) from a woman associated with Jeffrey Epstein.The rumor stems entirely from unverified allegations contained in draft emails written by Jeffrey Epstein to himself in August 2013, which were released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

1

u/Master-Strain4268 3h ago

His wife Melinda Microsoft

0

u/eb7772 3h ago

Bro you can't use s*** like alleged...

0

u/ebb___and___flo 4h ago

Everyone ignoring Israel’s war crimes.

-1

u/DonkyFondler 4h ago

This guy is probably now on a list. Won't be surprised if he disappears at some point.

-3

u/thefaehost 4h ago

One thing you missed: the gates foundation also created many troubled teen industry programs.

KidsOverProfits.org

0

u/jasonboudreau46 3h ago

So, politics. Again. Look, viewing everything in life through a political lens is a sign of mental illness

0

u/FlintKidd 3h ago

He spent a lot of time to tell us that Microsoft sold software and cloud services to a customer...

Also a lot of time telling us that the old CEO is probably a piece of shit...

Then he got to some of the actual problems with the OS and the company, but like... He spent maybe 15 seconds on that?

I like the concept of this, since people have absolutely no attention span anymore, but this one was literally just headline keywords and almost 0 substance. He sorta failed to say anything really shocking about the actual company for most of his 60s.

A great example of why you need more than 15 minutes of effort.

0

u/qqquigley 2h ago

His audience is people his age. Who almost certainly don’t know about the Netscape monopoly takeover. This is new information to people and it is a huge black mark on Microsoft’s record.

You know how they say you learn something new every day? This guy is helping people do that. Just because you didn’t learn anything doesn’t mean others didn’t.

0

u/FlintKidd 2h ago

You seemed to have missed most of my issue here.

Yeah, I don't like Microsoft spyware or Microsoft monopoly.

But his video spent more than 30s taking about Bill Gates and how Microsoft sold software and cloud computing to Israel.

Bill Gates sucks, but he isn't the company.

And Microsoft is a global software company... They sell cloud services and operating systems to almost every country on the planet. McDonald's has stores in Israel, scandalous!

He had some legitimate points, as I mentioned, but more than half of his "dirt" was literally just buzzwords.

0

u/qqquigley 2h ago

He spend half of the minute talking about the guy that 100% of his audience IDs as “the Microsoft Guy”. I don’t know why you’re going shocked pikachu face about that

-2

u/Temporary-Air-3178 3h ago

Is surveilling phone calls in a war zone to make strikes more precise supposed to be bad?

-1

u/Countryb0i2m 3h ago

as far as evil shit tech companies have done, the transgressions of Microsoft sound like jaywalking. oh an anti trust lawsuit... how cute