Twitter shareholders to meet amid Elon Musk’s takeover drama
Elon Musk on Wednesday revised the financing plan for his proposed $44 billion purchase of Twitter, raising investor hopes that the unpredictable billionaire still intends to pull off a deal roiled by market turbulence and Musk's own unpredictable fixation with the number of fake accounts on Twitter.
One of the possible killers of unarmed civilians in Bucha has been identified
Ukrainska Pravda - SATURDAY, 21 MAY 2022, 16:56 CHINGIZ ATANTAYEV IN BUCHA (LEFT) AND A PHOTO OF HIM FROM SOCIAL MEDIA (RIGHT). Russian investigative journalists have identified one of the possible killers of unarmed civilians in Bucha.
news.yahoo.comElon Musk reaches deal to acquire Twitter for $44 billion
Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on a wide range of issues to more than 83 million followers.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen fears the metaverse. Here’s why
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is warning that the virtual reality world at the heart of the social media giant’s growth strategy will be addictive and rob people of personal information while giving the company another monopoly online.
Elon Musk: I’ll sell 10% ($20B) of Tesla stock based on Twitter poll
Tesla shares closed Monday down nearly 5% after CEO Elon Musk said he would sell 10% of his holdings in the electric car maker — more than $20 billion worth by most calculations — based on the results of a poll he conducted on Twitter over the weekend.
18-year-old from Lansing charged in connection with threats made against CPS schools after Simeon shootings
A south suburban man has been charged with a misdemeanor after multiple threats were made against several Chicago schools, including Simeon Career Academy, a school that lost two students in fatal shooting hours apart Tuesday, police said.
chicagotribune.comChinese social media giant WeChat shuts LGBT accounts
China LGBT Social Media In this Aug. 7, 2020, file photo, icons for the smartphone app WeChat is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing. China’s most popular social media service has deleted accounts on LGBT topics run by university students and nongovernment groups, prompting concern the ruling Communist Party is tightening control over gay and lesbian content. WeChat sent account holders a notice they violated rules but gave no details, according to the founder of an LGBT group, who asked not to be identified further out of fear of possible official retaliation. The official attitude is increasingly strict, the founder of the LGBT group said. University officials asked students two months ago to shut down LGBT social media groups or to avoid mentioning their school names, according to the LGBT group founder.
wftv.comRussia fines Facebook, Telegram over banned content
Russia Social Media A user holds a smartphone with an opened Facebook page in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 10, 2021. Russian authorities have ordered Facebook and messaging app Telegram to pay steep fines for failing to remove banned content. A Moscow court fined Facebook a total of 17 million rubles (roughly $236,000) and Telegram 10 million rubles ($139,000). A Moscow court fined Facebook a total of 17 million rubles (roughly $236,000) and Telegram 10 million rubles ($139,000). Since then, a growing number of restrictions targeting messaging apps, websites and social media platforms have been introduced in Russia.
wftv.comFlorida law seeks to rein in large social media companies
Social Media Florida Florida Gov. Federal law prevents internet companies from being sued for removing posts and federal law trumps state law when there is a conflict. It will also allow individual Floridians to sue social media companies for up to $100,000 if they feel they've been treated unfairly. The bill targets social media platforms that have more than 100 million monthly users, which include online giants as Twitter and Facebook. The law will require large social media companies to publish standards on how it decides to “censor, deplatform, and shadow ban.”Regardless of the federal law, the new Florida law is constitutionally flawed, said Computer and Communications Industry Association President Matt Schruers.
wftv.comOswego area residents call for justice, transparency following Portillo’s fight that started when a beverage spilled into a customer’s vehicle
More than a dozen Oswego and Aurora area residents spoke out during an Oswego Village Board meeting Tuesday night, many asking for justice to be served in relation to a physical altercation at a Portillo’s between a customer and an employee.
chicagotribune.comPolice warn of 2011 ‘serial rapist’ sketch recirculating on social media
OCALA, Fla. – Ocala police are issuing a warning about an old sketch of a suspected serial rapist that’s currently recirculating on social media. According to the Ocala Police Department, the sketch is from a news story in 2011 but has recently been shared by social media users as though it’s current. [TRENDING: Woman arrested in hit-run involving sheriff | Gov: Fla. won’t require ‘vaccine passports’ | Girl missing for weeks]The post includes a photo of a man with short hair and glasses, as well as a tattoo believed to be on the suspect’s left forearm. AdRUMOR CONTROL 🚨 This picture, referencing a news article, has been part of a post that is circulating social media as of... Posted by Ocala Police Department on Friday, March 19, 2021The police department published the “rumor control” post on Facebook Friday, saying “We are here to tell you that this article was from 2011, this is not current and there is not a serial rapist on the loose in Ocala.”The department followed up with a friendly reminder about spreading misinformation online. “Remember, do your research before sharing information,” the post read.
2 shot in apparent ‘targeted attack’ in Orland Park, police chief says
Mitchell said shots were fired from one vehicle into a second vehicle, and the vehicle from where the shots were fired fled north on Will-Cook Road. The victims drove into the Kinder Care lot after the shooting, but no one at the Kinder Care was injured, police said.
chicagotribune.comWing city: Downtown Sanford filled with butterfly murals for fun photo opps
In need of a new social media profile photo? Historic downtown Sanford is now filled with butterfly murals that would make a great backdrop to your next photo session. The Seminole County town posted a sampling of the murals to its Instagram account and each one has its own unique look. Now that you’re ready to update your social content with a fresh look, scout out your locations using this map below. For a full list of locations, click here.
Man who dangled from Trump Tower for more than 13 hours is pulled to safety by cops who ‘literally saved this young man’s life'
“It was something that we train for. It’s something that we’re very used to. It’s very challenging and sometimes when someone is looking at it from the outside they think, ‘wow, why does it take so long?’ ” Matias said. “There’s different tactics in our toolbox that we utilize and I think today we probably utilized every single one.”
chicagotribune.comCelebs join Instagram 'freeze' to protest Facebook inaction
FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 file photo, Kim Kardashian West speaks at the "Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project" panel during the Oxygen TCA 2020 Winter Press Tour at the Langham Huntington, in Pasadena, Calif. Celebrities including Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio are taking part in a 24-hour freeze Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020 on Instagram to protest against the failure of the social media platform's parent company, Facebook, to tackle misinformation and hateful content. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)LONDON – Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio are among celebrities taking part in a 24-hour Instagram “freeze” on Wednesday to protest against what they say is parent company Facebook's failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation. The movement asks people to put up a message highlighting what they called the damage Facebook does but otherwise refrain from posting on Instagram for a day. With 188 million followers, Kardashian West is one of the most influential people on Instagram and support from her and other big names for the boycott saw Facebook shares slide in aftermarket trading late Tuesday.
Mom handcuffed for advocating against coronavirus lockdown
The 28-year-old has since been charged with using social media platforms to incite others to break pandemic restrictions by attending weekend rallies. You know, I’m not someone that would you know ever commit a crime or anything like that,” she added. Victoria is Australia’s COVID-19 hot spot and its capital Melbourne has been under lockdown restrictions unprecedented in Australia since early August. Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius described police cuffing Buhler as “entirely reasonable.”“The optics of arresting someone who is pregnant are terrible,” Cornelius said. Police have also arrested three men and charged them with inciting others to break pandemic restrictions over planned protests in Melbourne on Saturday.
Viral TikTok star uses money donated from followers to dish out more than $80,000 in tips to servers
Many viral social media challenges are just bad ideas, but this latest one from TikTok will restore your faith in humanity. The servers receiving the tips that night were blown away. And from there Kadey hasn’t stopped receiving money and turning it into more tips. One video of Kadey tipping a street violinist that was raising money to help his mom pay rent went viral with more than 12.7 million views. See, this is one viral challenge you should get behind.
Bud Light Seltzer will pay you $5,000 a month to create memes
If you answered yes to both questions Bud just may have a job for you. The company wants to hire a CMO, which stands for "Chief Meme Officer," for the Bud Light Seltzer portfolio. Bud Light's vice president of marketing made the announcement on Instagram. Through Sept. 18 anyone 21 or older can apply for the CMO job online and download meme templates to experiment with. The job will entail creating ten viral memes and sharing them on social media.
Florida teens sold drugs on Snapchat, detectives say
POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Three teens who were supposed to be doing virtual school were instead selling drugs over a popular social media platform, Polk County deputies said. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit received information that THC cartridges and marijuana were being sold on Snapchat to Polk County students. Undercover detectives said they were able to identify one of the teens as a 17-year-old boy from Lakeland. “The boy in the back seat sold the undercover detective 56.8 grams of high-grade marijuana for $400,” investigators said. Without the proper supervision, many of them are going to get into trouble,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Facebook launches a new TikTok clone, Instagram Reels
NEW YORK Facebook's Instagram is launching its answer to the hit short video app TikTok Instagram Reels. Instagram Reels will let users record and edit 15-second multi-clip videos with audio, and will let users add visual effects. Users will be able to share Reels with followers in Instagram in a dedicated section called Reels in Explore, or in the Story feature where posts disappear after 24 hours. The Instagram Story" feature, which lets people share photos and videos that expire in 24 hours, is similar to Snapchat. Reels is launching in over 50 countries, including the US, India, Brazil, France, Germany, U.K., Japan, Australia and others on iOS and Android.
Q&A: What would a US ban on Chinese-owned app TikTok mean?
NEW YORK President Donald Trump says he wants to take action to ban TikTok, a popular Chinese-owned video app that has been a source of national security and censorship concerns. A. ByteDance launched TikTok in 2017, then bought Musical.ly, a video service popular with teens in the U.S. and Europe, and combined the two. The app would be pulled from the app store of Apple and Google and not function unless used by a virtual private network, experts say. What does a ban mean for TikTok creators? What are the political consequences for a ban on TikTok?
Instagram adds pinned comments feature for all users
If you're trying to inject some positivity into your Instagram posts, a new feature called pinned comments could be just the thing. Instagram began testing the feature in May, but now the social media app is rolling out the feature for all its users. The added option allows you to pin a few comments to the top of the comments thread on your posts. This is just one of the new features Instagram designed to help limit the harassment and bullying that can go on within the social media app. Programmers hope the ability to pin comments might encourage more people on Instagram to want to post nice ones.
TikTok app might be banned in US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. is considering a ban on Chinese social media apps, including TikTok. Pompeo made the remarks during an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. Pompeo says people should only download the popular video app if they want their private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based Byte-Dance, though the app has previously said it operates separately from them. TikTok claims its data centers are located outside China and not subject to Chinese law.
Twitter adds ‘glorifying violence’ warning to President Trump tweet
WASHINGTON – Twitter escalated tensions with President Donald Trump on Friday, adding a warning to one of his tweets for the first time and saying he violated the platform’s rules by glorifying violence when he suggested protesters in Minneapolis could be shot. “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” Trump tweeted about the protesters. That section generally protects social media platforms from liability for material users post on their platforms. Twitter first outlined in early 2018 that it wouldn't block world leaders from the platform or remove their controversial tweets. The staffer's husband also recently demanded that Twitter remove the tweets.
NHC: 20% chance of cyclone for system extending across Florida
Traffic navigate flood waters in Miami, Florida, U.S. May 25, 2020, in this still image obtained from a social media video. Courtesy of Ryan Rea/Social Media via REUTERS. (Reuters) - A broad trough of low pressure extending across Florida and the adjacent Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters has a 20% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday. The low pressure system is not expected to become a tropical cyclone due to strong upper-level winds, the Miami-based weather forecaster said. Regardless of development, heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding over portions of southern and central Florida tonight, spreading northward to coastal sections of northeastern Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas on Tuesday and Wednesday, the NHC added.
feeds.reuters.comFacebook rolls out new avatar feature, 50-person video messenger
If so, Facebook rolled out two new features to make your time spent on its platform more fun. One of the features you’ve probably already seen all over your Facebook feed: avatar characters. Look for the blue Facebook icon button at the bottom of the screen. (Screenshot) (Facebook)Avatar customization includes selecting different facial features, body shape, clothing, accessories and more. Your new Avatar wasn’t the only new feature to roll out on Facebook recently.
Earth Day organizers say we should celebrate 50th anniversary online -- so, how do we do that?
Have you ever celebrated Earth Day, perhaps by planting a tree or doing something good for the environment? Considering the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, the Earth Day Network has announced a shift to “global digital mobilizations.”It’ll be Digital Earth Day! Earth Day Network will provide live coverage of these “global digital mobilizations," which you can follow on its social media accounts. But organizers still want to “mobilize millions in a call for transformative action for our planet.”“At Earth Day Network, the health and safety of volunteers and participants in Earth Day events is our top concern. That’s now been postponed to October 24-25, 2020 to mark the half birthday of Earth Day.