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Tumblr confirms 84 Russian accounts were used to spread disinformation
It's not just Facebook or Twitter that were co-opted during the 2016 election. Just a month after accusations from researchers and Buzzfeed, Tumblr confirmed today that it uncovered 84 user accounts linked to the Russian government and its Internet Research Agency (IRA). The company says that these accounts were used in conjunction with a disinformation campaign to influence the elections. Tumblr notified law enforcement, terminated the accounts and deleted the original posts.
How Facebook plans to colonize gaming
Facebook is in the middle of a public relations nightmare, caused by reports that research firm Cambridge Analytica used its site to harvest data from 50 million user profiles. But, that's not stopping the company from talking up the potential of its platform, in this case as it pertains to gaming. As part of Facebook's GDC 2018 announcements, it revealed last week that any developer can now make Instant Games, thanks to new tools that let them create HTML5-based web titles for Messenger or the News Feed. Additionally, Facebook has made it easy for devs to build livestreaming features directly into their PC games, without any capture hardware or software required, in a clear attempt to challenge the likes of Twitch and Youtube.
Report: Twitter violates human rights by failing to protect women
Amnesty International's latest report discusses what a lot of Twitter's female users already know: the social network is toxic for women. The non-government organization says the platform fails to respect women's rights by not "investigating and responding to reports of violence and abuse in a transparent manner." By being inconsistent in the enforcement of policies and by failing to clarify what is and isn't acceptable on the platform, it's fostering a hostile environment. That forces women to self-censor and even to stay silent due to fear of receiving abusive messages, including rape and death threats. According to Amnesty, that makes the problem a human rights issue.
Facebook knows it must do more to fight bad actors
Not everything at SXSW 2018 was about films or gadgets. A few blocks away from the Austin Convention Center, where the event is being held, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) hosted a number of panels for its Innovation Policy Day. In a session dubbed "Fighting Terror with Tech," Facebook's Lead Policy Manager of Counterterrorism, Brian Fishman, spoke at great length about what the company is doing to keep bad actors away from its platform. That doesn't only include terrorists who may be using the site to communicate, or to try to radicalize others, but also trolls, bots and the spreading of hate speech and fake news.
London Mayor: Tech companies aren't above the law
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, kicked off his SXSW 2018 keynote with some jokes that sparked a deafening laugh and applause from the audience. He first talked about how he was shocked by the amount of hipsters here in Austin, Texas, followed by a comment that he's excited to be on almost the same time zone as President Donald Trump. Just in case Number 45 decides to feud with him on Twitter. But Khan didn't come to SXSW for his comedy, though his sense of humor was certainly appreciated by those in attendance. Once he got to his real message, London's mayor mainly focused on discussing the impact of social media and technology as a whole on the world.
Twitter and Fox Sports have high hopes for their World Cup live show
With the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia just around the corner, right holders to the event are starting to share more details about their coverage plans. And, to no surprise to anyone, social media will play a major role in that. Fox Sports, FIFA's English-language broadcast partner in the US, is going all out on Twitter this year with a partnership that includes a daily, 30-minute live show from Russia and bringing near-live highlights to the platform. Twitter, which has around 330 million active users, has been ramping up its sports efforts in recent years, and it plans to use the upcoming World Cup to showcase the power (and potential) of its platform. Just yesterday, the company announced a three-year deal with Major League Soccer to stream 24 games per season.
Vimeo turned popular internet films into an art exhibition
It was hard to leave Westworld at SXSW, but it had to be done. Thankfully, the show here in Austin is full of other tech-themed places to check out. One of them is Vimeo's "The Decade," an art exhibition that turns popular internet films into immersive experiences. The company says the space, which is located inside a hostel in downtown ATX, was created to celebrate 10 years of its favorite Staff Picks. There are eight different installations total, with each being inspired by some of Vimeo's best videos from the past decade. The documentary Jim Carrey: I needed Color, for instance, was brought to life with a showcase of Carrey's real artwork and his painting boots -- all while the film was playing in the same room, naturally.
UK asks Facebook to try harder in Russia-Brexit investigation
The end of 2017 saw Facebook launch an investigation into Russia's use of the social network to influence the EU Referendum, aka Brexit. The company didn't find anything nefarious, but the House of Commons asked that it continue its probe. Now, Facebook has delivered its findings -- again suggesting no foul play -- and UK officials remain unsatisfied with the conclusion.
Facebook has big plans to bring internet to more people in rural areas
Over the past few years, Facebook has been rolling out several initiatives to bring free and cost-reducing internet to people in underdeveloped areas all around the world. That includes things like Terragraph, a millimeter-wave wireless technology that not only serves connectivity but does so in speedy form -- it runs on the same frequency as the one being tested by operators for proposed 5G cellular networks. Then there are others such as the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), a collaboration between tech industry firms to accelerate the development of internet infrastructure in rural areas. OpenCellular, meanwhile, is a low-power base station optimized for underserved regions across the globe. In order for all of these projects to be successful, though, Facebook can't do it alone.
Canon's entry-level Rebel T7 DSLR targets social media users
On top of its M50 mirrorless with 4K video, Canon also took the wraps of its latest DSLR, the Rebel T7 (also known as the EOS 2000D in some parts of the world). The successor to the two-year-old, 18-megapixel Rebel T6 now has a much bigger 24.1-megapixel sensor, making it more attractive next to excellent smartphone cameras on the iPhone X and Galaxy S8+, for instance.
No, postcards won’t solve our Russian interference problem
We just learned all the ways Russian propaganda agents fooled American social media companies, thanks to the recent indictments of Russian nationals by Team Mueller. After years of these companies forcing us to adhere to their contrived "community safety" policies and made-up rules to police our identities (which they swore was for our own good), their failures are rather spectacular.
Twitter’s fake news problem is getting worse
Earlier this week, we endured another school shooting. This time, in Parkland, Florida, where at least 17 students were killed. During the shooting's aftermath, hoaxes and disinformation spread on Twitter. It's a phenomenon that happens after every tragedy, and it doesn't seem to be going away.
Facebook: Two-factor authentication spam was caused by a bug
A number of people have been receiving random notifications from Facebook after giving the social network their phone number for two-factor authentication. Worse, if they attempt to cancel that by replying to the message, say with STOP or CANCEL, Facebook would post their replies as a status update for all to see. Now, the social network has admitted that the issues were caused by a bug and promised to roll out a fix that will stop non-security-related notifications in the next few days.
Logan Paul hasn’t learned his lesson
Logan Paul, the YouTube star who came under fire recently after posting a video of a corpse, is at the center of yet another controversy. This time around, Paul is facing backlash for uploading a video in which he's seen shooting two lifeless rats with a Taser gun. As if that wasn't enough, in a now deleted tweet, he joined the Tide Pods internet challenge, suggesting he'd eat one of the detergent capsules for every retweet he got. Perhaps that's just his sense of humor, but Paul should have known that everything he does from now on will be heavily scrutinized.
Facebook's 'downvotes' test tries to fix comment moderation
Back in 2016, Facebook reportedly chose to roll out Reactions instead of a dislike button, because the latter would've sown too much negativity. According to The Daily Beast, though, the social network is now testing a "downvote" button, which has its own place underneath comments separate from Reactions. While it's easy to think of it as the antithesis to Like, Facebook told us that's not the case at all. "We are not testing a dislike button," a spokesperson told us. "We are exploring a feature for people to give us feedback about comments on public page posts. This is running for a small set of people in the US only."
Snapchat swaps mess for money
Snap Inc. took a major risk when it completely redesigned Snapchat a few months ago -- it's no secret that people don't like change. But after constantly struggling to add new users since going public last February, the company decided it needed to make adjustments in order to attract people and keep others coming back. The solution was to refine the app with an easier-to-use layout and to separate friends' posts from media content. Suddenly Snapchat became a more refined app. It no longer feels like an overwhelming, discombobulated mix of stories from people you know, others you don't and publishers that are trying to get your attention. And based on Snap's Q4 2017 earnings report, the move seems to be paying off.
UK to review online trolling laws
Over the last nine months, the UK government has looked at various ways to make the internet safer for people across Britain. In October 2017, culture secretary Karen Bradley published an Internet Safety Green Paper, which discussed a voluntary levy on major social media companies to fund awareness and preventative activity against online trolls and in turn help users report threatening behaviour. Today, the Prime Minister -- supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport -- announced a new independent review "to make the UK the safest place to be online." It'll seek to clarify whether current laws are effectively treating online and offline behaviour the same.
We spend less time on Facebook, but it still makes loads of money
The past few weeks haven't been easy for Facebook. After announcing an overhaul to its News Feed earlier this month, one that places emphasis on people's interactions over content from brands, the company has been taking heat for its new approach. Not only because Facebook is leaving publishers who relied on its platform behind, but it also isn't offering the best solution to fix its fake news problem. A blunt two-question "trusted" news survey simply won't cut it. CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg said that, with these changes, he expects users' time on the site to go down, but he believes keeping people happy will be better for Facebook's bottom line in the long run.
FEC reviews stricter rules for political ads on social media
The Federal Exchange Commission has begun reviewing a stricter set of rules for political ads on social media. FEC chief Ellen Weintraub has revealed at a tech conference in Washington that the agency has finished writing up a draft of new rules, months after it agreed to do so following requests from politicians and tech titans alike. She said the commission is hoping to "to be able move this rule-making forward within" the 2018 midterm elections.
Snapchat drops white frames around Snaps from Camera Roll
Snapchat has (finally!) completely killed off the white frame around snaps not captured with its own camera. The app's latest version drops the border when you add Snaps from the Camera Roll to your Story -- an extension of its update last year, which gets rid of that white space around photos and videos shared from Memories. Now, there's not much difference between Snaps you take on the spot and old photos and videos you post as Snaps. The only way you'll know if something wasn't truly taken right at that moment is to look for the small note on it that says "From Camera Roll" or "From Memories."