Social media
Biden says social media misinformation on COVID 'killing people'
The White House is turning up the pressure on social media companies to weed out what officials say is widely spread misinformation on coronavirus vaccinations.
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Cuba restores internet access after protests, but not social media
Social media is the only way Cubans can access independent media, while messaging apps are their main means of communicating amongst themselves.
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THANDI SMITH: Bordering incitement - the cases of Duduzile Zuma & Julius Malema
Leaders and people of influence need to be overt about denouncing violence and desist from saying inflammatory things, even if it is not illegal, writes Thandi Smith.
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Being Nigerian 101: Social media group debates identity
Hosted on the platform Clubhouse, the group's 45,000 members can join chatrooms on languages and culture, politics and citizenship, pop culture, technology and well-being.
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TikTok removes 7 million underage users
The Chinese-owned app, which is wildly popular with young smartphone users, also said it took down nearly 62 million videos in the first quarter for violating community standards - including for "hateful" content, nudity, harassment or safety for minors.
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WhatsApp launches court action against India's social media clampdown
The regulations, which took effect the same day, come at a time of growing tensions between social media giants and the Indian government, which has demanded tech companies remove content critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Fake news on the rise ahead of Mexico elections
One widely shared post said that the ruling Morena party wanted voters to use new identity cards linked to poll technology firm Smartmatic, which it accused of being 'a Venezuelan electoral fraud company.'
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Twitter lets people leave tips for some tweeters
A Tip Jar icon on a profile page indicates an option to be taken to services such as Patreon, PayPal or Venmo to send money to a creator, and Twitter does not take a cut of the tips.
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Trump moves to assert party control despite Facebook ban
Despite losing the presidency to Joe Biden last year and enduring a second impeachment after January's deadly insurrection at the US Capitol, the brash billionaire remains his party's most influential figure.
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Facebook oversight board upholds Trump ban
The board said Donald Trump "created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible" with his comments regarding the January 6 rampage by his supporters at the US Capitol.
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Twitter bolsters subscription plans with ad-free news
Twitter on Tuesday said it is buying Scroll and its ad-free news app to bolster a coming subscription service, and channel money to journalism in the process.
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MAHLATSE MAHLASE: Defending media freedom in SA is a continuous battle
Despite the fact that the media’s rights are enshrined in our Constitution, we have learnt in the 27-year journey of our democracy that even when guaranteed, freedom still needs defenders, says Sanef’s Mahlatse Mahlase.
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Instagram lets users filter insults in private message requests
Running on the user's device to preserve privacy, rather than Instagram's servers, the new filters will block requests to open a direct messaging conversation that contain offensive words, expressions or emojis.
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Russia probes YouTube for 'abusing' dominant position: regulator
The move comes as Russia ramps up pressure on foreign tech platforms, with Moscow stepping up its efforts to control the Russian segment of the internet.
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Mark Zuckerberg urged to nix kids' version of Instagram
Campaign for a Commercial-free Childhood and the Electronic Privacy Information Center were among nearly 100 groups and individuals from North America, Europe, Africa and Australia to make the plea in a letter to Mark Zuckerberg.
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HEALTH CHECK: Beware of social media posts promoting rooibos tea as a ‘cure-all’
According to the internet, one of South Africa’s favourite beverages, rooibos tea, can cure many ills. But are these claims accurate?
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Instagram dabbles with letting people hide 'likes'
Some experts say the insatiable quest for "likes" can be addictive and have devastating effects, particularly for younger people.
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Facebook panel to review requests to remove 'harmful' content
The move broadens the mandate of the so-called 'supreme court' of Facebook, which up to now had been tasked with reviewing instances of whether content was improperly taken down from Facebook or Instagram.
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Influenced by Clubhouse, Facebook experiments with audio
Social media stalwarts are scrambling to prevent users from being lured away by audio-only online rivals.
