Tag: social media

YouTube cracks down on anti-vaccine misinformation

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — YouTube announced Wednesday it would remove videos and some high-profile users that falsely claim approved vaccines are dangerous, as social networks seek to crack down on health misinformation around Covid-19 and other diseases. Video-sharing giant YouTube has already banned posts that spread false myths around coronavirus treatments, including ones that share inaccurate claims about Covid-19 vaccines shown to be safe. But the Google-owned site said its concerns about the […]

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Texas bans social networks booting users over politics

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Texas on Thursday made it illegal for popular social media platforms to ban users “simply based on their political viewpoints.” Political conservatives have accused Facebook, Twitter and other social media giants of stifling their voices, providing no evidence to support the claims. Social media platforms have consistently defended themselves against such accusations. Former US president Donald Trump was booted from Facebook and Twitter after a group of his supporters […]

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Immigration bureau warns vs scammers offering “entry permits” on social media

(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Immigration cautioned the public against unscrupulous individuals offering supposed entry permits in exchange for a fee. The bureau issued the warning after a complaint was filed against a netizen who told victims they had contacts with an immigration officer who would supposedly ensure the smooth entry of foreigners in exchange for the grease money. A check by the bureau found, however, that the supposed immigration officer was not a […]

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Biden drops plan to ban Chinese-owned apps TikTok, WeChat

  by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) President Joe Biden has revoked executive orders from his predecessor Donald Trump seeking to ban Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat from US markets on national security concerns, a move receiving a cautious welcome from Beijing. Trump had claimed the apps posed national security risks and sought to force a sale to US investors of TikTok, which is owned by China-based ByteDance and remains one […]

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Social media giants mishandled Trump: Wikipedia founder

  by Callum PATON Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Twitter and Facebook repeatedly mishandled Donald Trump as he pushed baseless claims, including his assertion that US presidential election he lost was rigged, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales told AFP. The two social media giants indefinitely suspended Trump after his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, an attack on the seat of democracy that on Wednesday led to Trump’s second impeachment. Wales […]

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Twitter chief says Trump ban sets ‘dangerous’ precedent

  by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter chief Jack Dorsey on Wednesday backed the messaging platform’s ban of US President Donald Trump, but said it sets a “dangerous” precedent and represents a failure to promote healthy conversation on social networks. “Having to ban an account has real and significant ramifications,” Dorsey said in a string of tweets about his take on the company’s decision late last week to […]

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YouTube suspends Trump channel for week over violence fears

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Google-owned YouTube on Tuesday temporarily suspended President Donald Trump’s channel and removed a video for violating its policy against inciting violence, joining other social media platforms in banning his accounts after last week’s Capitol riot. Trump’s access to the social media platforms he has used as a megaphone during his presidency has been largely cut off since a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington DC […]

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Twitter permanently suspends Trump citing risk of more violence

  SAN FRANCISCO, United STates (AFP) — Twitter said Friday it has permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account, citing the risk of further violence following the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters. “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account,” Twitter said in a blog post explaining its decision, “we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” Twitter — Trump’s favorite megaphone — blocked […]

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UK to impose tougher rules on Google, Facebook

  by Anna MALPAS Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain announced Friday it will set up a watchdog to regulate tech giants such as Facebook and Google, help protect smaller competitors and give consumers more control over personal data. Britain’s announcement comes as US tech giants are facing increasing scrutiny around the world over their power and as other countries step up their regulatory powers. “Our new, pro-competition regime for digital markets […]

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Twitter service restored following global platform outage

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter service appeared to be restored Thursday evening after a technical problem caused a global outage of nearly two hours on the social media platform used by hundreds of millions worldwide. The outage marked a new setback for the network, which is fending off accusations of bias over its decision to block a news report critical of Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden. “Twitter has been down for […]

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Why the novel coronavirus became a social media nightmare

by Arthur MacMillan with W.G. Dunlop in Washington Agence France Presse New York, United States (AFP) — The biggest reputational risk Facebook and other social media companies had expected in 2020 was fake news surrounding the US presidential election. Be it foreign or domestic in origin, the misinformation threat seemed familiar, perhaps even manageable. The novel coronavirus, however, has opened up an entirely different problem: the life-endangering consequences of supposed cures, misleading claims, snake-oil sales […]

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Turkey detains 64 over ‘provocative’ coronavirus posts

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey has detained 64 people over “provocative and baseless” social media posts about the new coronavirus pandemic, the interior ministry said. The ministry did not give details but there have been instances in other countries of misinformation shared online including in Indonesia and the United States. “We have found 242 suspects making baseless and provocative coronavirus posts on social media, and 64 have been detained,” the ministry said on Twitter late […]

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