Facebook: Our Preparations Ahead of Inauguration Day. “We began preparing for Inauguration Day last year. But our planning took on new urgency after last week’s violence in Washington, D.C., and we are treating the next two weeks as a major civic event. We’re taking additional steps and using the same teams and technologies we used […]
CNET: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says banning Trump was the ‘right decision’. “Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said Wednesday he thought the company made the right call by permanently barring President Donald Trump’s account after violence broke out on Capitol Hill last week, but it was a decision he isn’t celebrating.”
News @ Northeastern: On Twitter, Journalists And Politicians Have More Credibility On Vaccines Than Medical Experts, Study Finds . “Black, Indigenous, and other non-white people in the United States are more likely to rely on trusted voices within their own communities for information about the pandemic and the coronavirus vaccine, finds a new study led […]
Reuters: Uganda bans social media ahead of presidential election. “Uganda banned social media and beefed up security in the capital on Tuesday, two days ahead of a presidential election pitting Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, against opposition frontrunner Bobi Wine, a popular singer.”
Harvard Business Review: How to Hold Social Media Accountable for Undermining Democracy. “While the blame for President Trump’s incitement to insurrection lies squarely with him, the biggest social media companies — most prominently my former employer, Facebook — are absolutely complicit. They have not only allowed Trump to lie and sow division for years, their […]
Neowin: Facebook’s Access Your Information tool gets a makeover and a new search tool. “Facebook today announced a visual redesign for its privacy settings tool called Access Your Information. The tool was first launched in 2018 in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Back then, the tool had two data categories that were rather […]
The Guardian: Twitter’s Trump ban could lead to regulation rethink, says Hancock. “The decision by Twitter to permanently suspend Donald Trump from its platform could justify tightening the regulation for social media companies, a cabinet minister has suggested. Matt Hancock said the move showed Twitter ‘taking editorial decisions’ and by implication accepting that social media […]
CNET: Conspiracy theories about Capitol riot are still popping up on social media. “Ashli Babbitt, a President Donald Trump supporter, was identified by US Capitol Police as one of the five people who died after a mob stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday. It didn’t take long, though, for conspiracy theorists to falsely claim the […]
University at Buffalo: Twitter was right to suspend Trump’s account, UB expert says. “UB geographer Monica Stephens agrees with Twitter’s decision to suspend President Donald Trump’s account following Wednesday’s insurrection in which his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the process of confirming President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory. ‘I think that given the circumstances, […]
News-Medical: Study: Words should match the pictures when broadcasting social media safety messages. “When using social media to nudge people toward safe and healthy behaviors, it’s critical to make sure the words match the pictures, according to a new study. After looking at social media posts, parents of young children were better able to recall […]
Wired: Platforms Must Pay for Their Role in the Insurrection. “In their relentless pursuit of engagement and profits, these platforms created algorithms that amplify hate speech, disinformation, and conspiracy theories. This harmful content is particularly engaging and serves as the lubricant for businesses as profitable as they are influential. These platforms also enforce their terms […]
Daily Sabah: TikTok joins social media platforms appointing representatives in Turkey. “TikTok announced on Friday that it will set up a legal entity in Turkey to serve as a local representative, a move that followed a series of other social media platforms, including YouTube.”
CNN: Trump is losing his powerful social media machine. Now what?. “After four years of using social media platforms to bypass traditional media and spread his message directly to millions of people, President Donald Trump is now losing his digital bully pulpit.”
BuzzFeed News: “Stop The Steal” Groups Are Still Flourishing On Facebook. “A search on Facebook for the words ‘Stop the Steal,’ a rallying cry that the mob who forced Congress to flee chanted, turned up dozens of places where new plots could be coordinated. There are at least 66 groups dedicated to the slogan, the […]