Social Media

From Facebook’s corporate blog: Today, we’re launching new ways to inform people if they’re interacting with content that’s been rated by a fact-checker as well as taking stronger action against people who repeatedly share misinformation on Facebook. Whether it’s false or misleading content about COVID-19 and vaccines, climate change, elections or other topics, we’re making sure fewer people see misinformation …

Playbook reports: Twitter removed a tweet from ’80s pop singer Richard Marx for violating its rules after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said it encouraged violence against him. (The tweet came days before someone sent a suspicious package with white powder to the senator’s home in Kentucky.) But that hasn’t stopped Marx from spreading the message in his original tweet — …

The BBC reports: India’s government has instructed social media companies to remove any content that refers to the “Indian variant” of Covid-19. The IT ministry said the World Health Organization (WHO) listed the variant as B.1.617 and any reference to “Indian” was false. Geographical terms have been used to describe a number of other variants, including the UK and Brazil. …

The Washington Post reports: When social media network Parler came back to life on Apple’s App Store Monday, it was designed to be a less offensive version than what users are able to see elsewhere. Posts that are labeled “hate” by Parler’s new artificial intelligence moderation system won’t be visible on iPhones. There’s a different standard for people who look …

Axios reports: The leading social media sites — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube — are all “categorically unsafe” for LGBTQ people, according to a new study from GLAAD, the results of which were revealed Sunday on “Axios on HBO.” GLAAD had planned to give each of the sites a grade as part of its inaugural social media index, but …

NBC News reports: The Department of Homeland Security has begun implementing a strategy to gather and analyze intelligence about security threats from public social media posts, DHS officials said. The goal is to build a warning system to detect the sort of posts that appeared to predict an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 but were missed or …

NBC News reports: Most Americans admit they use social media at least once a day, but they also believe platforms like Facebook and Twitter are doing more to divide the nation than to bring it together, according to brand-new results from the latest national NBC News poll. Overall, 66 percent of adults say they use social media once a day …

The New York Daily News reports: Fox News correspondent and law school graduate Geraldo Rivera is accusing Facebook of denying Donald Trump his constitutional rights. Twitter spoke freely about the mustached pundit’s understanding of the First Amendment. “Facebook is full of s–t,” Rivera tweeted after the social media platform decided to uphold its suspension of the 45th president’s account following …

The Washington Post reports: Facebook’s Oversight Board on Wednesday upheld the social network’s decision to ban former president Trump four months after Capitol riot, but also gave Facebook six months to review the decision. The binding ruling by the 20-member Oversight Board, which is largely independent and funded by the social network, could set the stage for a new political …

Politico reports: Facebook’s oversight board will announce its ruling on whether former President Donald Trump’s account should be reinstated or remain suspended on Wednesday morning, the group said. An imminent decision on a blockbuster case: The ruling, which Facebook has said will be binding, could usher in Trump’s return to the world’s biggest social network — or cut him off …

“That is anti-American. That is anti-free speech. It’s anti-First Amendment and make no mistake, the left is cheering them on. You hear the Democrats sometimes talk about these companies — they love the power that these companies have. “They love it. They love the power over speech that Facebook and Twitter have, and they want them to do more. The …

Florida lawmakers this week approved a bill that provides fines of up to $100,000 a day when a social media platform bans a political candidate. The bill goes back to the Florida House next week for reconciliation after the Florida Senate approved the item with a very curious amendment. TechDirt reports: Seeing as this is Florida, which (obviously) is a …

CBS News reports: In one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top priorities of the legislative session, the Florida Senate on Monday passed a measure to crackdown on social media companies that remove users from their platforms. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 22-17, along almost straight party lines, to approve the proposal, which now will go to the House. The bill, in part, …

The Verge reports: Twitter has said it’s exploring features like tipping to give people a way to pay other Twitter users, and now we have further evidence that a tip feature may be on the way. App researcher Jane Manchun Wong shared images on Thursday and Friday showing that Twitter could offer a tipping button right on user profiles. Twitter …

Religion News Service reports: When the unfamiliar pop-up touting a new feature appeared on Robert P. Jones’ Facebook, the CEO and founder of PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute) posted a screen grab to Twitter. “Wondering what fb algorithm thinks it knows about me?” Jones mused. The new Facebook feature? Prayer posts. The function will allow members of Facebook groups to …

Yahoo News reports: The law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service has been quietly running a program that tracks and collects Americans’ social media posts, including those about planned protests, according to a document obtained by Yahoo News. The details of the surveillance effort, known as iCOP, or Internet Covert Operations Program, have not previously been made public. The …

CNN Business reports: Apple has approved Parler’s return to the iOS app store following improvements the social media company made to better detect and moderate hate speech and incitement, according to a letter the iPhone maker sent to Congress on Monday. The decision clears the way for Parler, an app popular with conservatives including some members of the far right, …

The Daily Dot reports: James O’Keefe, the controversial founder of the conservative outlet Project Veritas, was suspended from Twitter on Thursday. O’Keefe, who boasted more than 900,000 followers, claimed in a post on Facebook that the suspension was linked to his recent reporting on CNN. In a statement to the Daily Dot, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed that O’Keefe had been …

The Verge reports: Facebook is testing a video speed-dating app called Sparked. The app, which requires a Facebook profile to create an account, is developed by the company’s NPE Team, Facebook’s in-house group that works on experimental apps. You can view the Sparked webpage here, where it describes the app as “video dating with kind people.” It also promises no …

Politico reports: Facebook’s oversight board is expected to rule in the coming weeks on whether to uphold or overturn Trump’s indefinite suspension from the platforms, which the company imposed after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots over fears he might incite further violence. So far, the panel of scholars, lawyers and other outside experts has bucked Facebook’s judgment in five of …