Tag Archives: Facebook

Social media is no longer a mere secondary method of communication. In recent years, it has become a powerful tool that can influence public opinion and educate and influence the youth — facets demonstrated over the last decade by the impact of networks on major political and social events in …

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Saturday distanced the government from the NSO Group, a firm blacklisted this week by the United States over alleged misuse of its phone hacking spyware. An investigation by 17 media organisations published in July said NSO’s Pegasus software had targeted smartphones of journalists, rights …

Former Facebook data scientist turned whistleblower Frances Haugen on Monday told lawmakers in the United Kingdom working on legislation to rein in social media companies that the company is making online hate and extremism worse and outlined how it could improve online safety. Haugen appeared before a parliamentary committee scrutinizing …

For a platform with at least 2.91 billion “friends,” Facebook has been creating a lot of enemies of late, even among its own ranks. Just this week, former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before members of the US Senate, delivering a scathing overview of how the world’s largest …

US President Joe Biden did not fall asleep during a meeting last week with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, according to a Reuters fact check of the incident. The false claim was widely disseminated on social media, in the US and Israel, including by a Likud MK. Biden and Bennett met …

Saudi social media influencers have become a key element in the Kingdom’s advertising market in recent years, but many are increasingly aware they risk a backlash if their growing power is not used wisely. While many observers argue that influencers serve a positive purpose, others say they are simply filling …

TikTok has announced new features to safeguard the mental well-being of users on the app in honor of World Suicide Prevention Month. TikTok, like other social media platforms, has come under fire for a perceived weak response to mental health issues. Earlier this year, the AFP reported that a Pakistani …

For Ali Hedieloo, a 40-year-old making wooden furniture in Iran’s capital, Instagram is more than just a surfeit of glossy images. Like an estimated 1 million other Iranians, it’s how he finds customers, as the app has exploded into a massive e-commerce service in the sanctions-hit country. But now, the …

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) released a report on Monday citing that the vast majority of anti-vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding coronavirus disease (COVID-19) originated from just 12 people. The CCDH report found that 12 online personalities, dubbed the “disinformation dozen,” have a combined 59 million followers …

In early May, the world witnessed an escalation in violence committed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against Palestinians, prompting a flood of thousands of posts on social media feeds around the globe. Throughout the month, the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media (7amleh) documented more than 700 …

The US and the European Union voiced concern over Nigeria’s decision to indefinitely ban Twitter after the US social media giant deleted a tweet from the president’s account for violating its rules. International human rights groups have also condemned the move, which followed previous attempts by the government of Africa’s …

Microsoft Corp. on Friday blamed “accidental human error” for its Bing search engine not showing results for the query “tank man” in the United States and elsewhere after users raised concerns about possible censorship around the Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary. Users, including in Germany and Singapore, reported Friday that when …

Around 200 Facebook employees signed an open letter last week urging the platform to address mounting criticism that it was censoring Palestinian content and suppressing pro-Palestinian voices. The letter demanded that Facebook take measures to guarantee the equal treatment of pro-Palestinian content and ensure that such posts are not unfairly …

Instagram announced on Monday that the platform would be making changes to the way it displays content after receiving accusations of censoring Palestine-related content during the latest wave of violence in Gaza. The “stories” feature on Instagram was built according to an algorithm that favors original content as opposed to …

Facebook was slammed on Sunday with a coordinated social media campaign launched by pro-Palestine activists in an attempt to push down the Facebook app’s ranking on Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play. The campaign was launched in solidarity with Palestinians and in response to Facebook’s censorship of content supporting …

Facebook removed a video of an interview with former President Trump conducted by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, saying any content “in the voice of Donald Trump” would be scrubbed from the social media platform. Is Facebook trying to erase the former US president? By Arthur BlokFacebook permanently banned the former president from their …

Pakistan on Thursday blocked the popular social media app TikTok after a court order over a complaint that it ran indecent content, a spokesman for the country’s telecoms regulator said. “The court has asked PTA to block access to TikTok,” Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) spokesman Khurram Mehran told Reuters, adding …

Social media is inundated with offensive content, including hate, anger, personal attacks and, of course, exaggerated and false claims. Much of it is driven by angry political hyperbole and partisan attacks. It can be nauseating. But every once in a while you come across a social media account that is …

Death threats. Racist abuse. Sexist slurs. And social media accounts allowed to stay active even after spreading bile. English football has reached breaking point with players, coaches, referees and officials aghast at the ongoing proliferation of hate aimed at them on Instagram and Twitter. A week that began with the …

Australia will introduce landmark legislation to force Alphabet’s Google and Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content next week, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Friday. Australia is on course to become the first country to require Facebook and Google to pay for news content, legislation that is being closely …

Facebook Inc. said on Wednesday it would temporarily reduce political content appearing on New Feeds for some users in Canada, Brazil and Indonesia this week and in the United States within the coming weeks. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in January that he wanted to “turn down the temperature” …

It’s Saturday night in Jerusalem and a group of protesters dressed in fluorescent pink are preparing to join a weekly demonstration outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence demanding he quit. They call themselves “The Pink Front”, and participate in anti-Netanyahu protests that are held across the country each …

Egyptian authorities on Saturday released a journalist working for Qatar’s Al Jazeera television network who was held in pre-trial detention for more than four years, his brother and a lawyer told Reuters. Mahmoud Hussein, an Egyptian detained in December 2016‮‮ ‬‬after arriving in Cairo from Doha on vacation, was held …

Florida lawmakers, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, intensified their battle with Facebook, Twitter and Silicon Valley when they announced new proposals Tuesday aimed at reigning in platforms they accuse of squelching the free speech of conservatives. “Over the years, these platforms have changed from neutral platforms that provide Americans with the …

Facebook said on Monday it removed a post and suspended a messenger bot from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s page, after it posted that he wanted phone numbers to call and convince people to get COVID-19 vaccinations. Netanyahu on Thursday posted a video on Twitter encouraging senior citizens to get …

Facebook Inc said on Saturday it will ban advertisements for weapon accessories and protective equipment in the United States with immediate effect until at least two days after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Following the attack by supporters of President Donald Trump against the U.S. Capitol on …

By the time social media companies took action against users and groups spurring on the siege of Capitol Hill this week, culminating in the suspension of US President Donald Trump’s accounts, it was too little too late. For weeks, content on Big Tech platforms Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet …

YouTube has decided to appoint a local representative to Turkey in a move designed to comply with the country’s new social media law, the company said on Wednesday. According to state media, Turkey fined YouTube, Facebook and Twitter some 40 million lira each in the last two months for not …

A group of US states is taking aim at Google with an antitrust lawsuit, saying the Internet giant abused its power when ranking its own offerings in search results, Politico reported Tuesday. A complaint led by attorneys general from Colorado and Nebraska could be filed as early as Thursday, Politico …

Lebanon’s largest Christian political party said on Saturday it would not back the nomination of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to lead a government to tackle a deep economic crisis, further complicating efforts to agree a new premier. Hariri, who quit as prime minister last October in the face of …

Thirteen men, seven of them associated with an anti-government militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen, have been arrested on charges of conspiring to kidnap the Michigan governor, attack the state legislature and threaten law enforcement, prosecutors said on Thursday. The suspects had plotted to abduct Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat …

Facebook on Tuesday launched a climate science information center to elevate credible sources on climate change, as critics question its role in the spread of misinformation on the issue. Facebook said the project is modeled on its COVID-19 Information Center, and launched a similar feature last month on voting in …

The U.S. Commerce Department plans to issue an order Friday that will bar people in the United States from downloading Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok starting on September 20, three officials told Reuters. The officials said the ban on new U.S. downloads of TikTok could be still …

Two years after agreeing to a self-regulatory code of practice to tackle disinformation, Facebook, Alphabet’s Google, Twitter and other tech rivals must try harder to be more effective, the European Commission said on Thursday. Fake news related to COVID-19 has accelerated calls for social media to be more proactive in …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD       “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat, or a prostitute.” — Rebecca West   “The more identities …

TikTok Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mayer has left short video app firm just three months since joining – and days after TikTok sued the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over an executive order banning transactions with it in the country. He will be replaced by U.S. General Manager Vanessa …

Facebook Inc (FB.O) on Wednesday took down a post by U.S. President Donald Trump, which the company said violated its rules against sharing misinformation about the coronavirus. The post contained a video clip, from an interview with Fox & Friends earlier in the day, in which Trump claimed that children …

On an average day, US President Donald Trump sends about 14 posts to the 28 million Facebook followers of his campaign account. His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, delivers about half that many posts to an audience of just 2 million. The numbers are similarly skewed in other spheres of the …

In times of crisis and panic, going against the flow is seen by many as inconvenient. This is precisely the case in the current Covid-19 pandemic where people who dare to oppose the official information coming from institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and other local health institutions …

Andy Warhol predicted a time everyone would have 15 minutes of fame. He was nearly right – it is actually 15 seconds. That is the maximum duration of a video clip with music (non-music clips can last up to a minute) on TikTok, the video-sharing platform that has taken the …

By Qais Ahmadi* — Marketing is primarily the most important part of any business or organization. An efficient and effective marketing strategy will ensure the success of your business. Whether you go to this website and utilize an SMS strategy, want to market using Google Ads, or rely on referrals, …

Social media platform Facebook has closed 68 pages and 43 accounts linked to a marketing group believed to be promoting the chances of Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro. Facebook issued a statement saying it had acted against the pages and accounts linked to Raposos Fernandes Associates (RFA) “for violating …

WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton has broken his silence about why he left Facebook last year in an explosive interview with Forbes- and it is a gnarly Silicon Valley fight for the ages. Acton left Facebook in 2017, three years after the company acquired WhatsApp for $16 billion. His cofounder, Jan …

Tech platforms and internet activists protested the outcome of a European Parliament vote Wednesday to back copyright rules that would help video, music and other rights holders seek compensation for use of their content online. Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Facebook Inc. and other tech firms may now be forced to negotiate …