Page 11 - Mark Zuckerberg

Harvard muzzled disinformation team after $500 mn Zuckerberg donation

A prominent disinformation scholar who left Harvard University in August has accused the school of muzzling her speech and stifling then dismantling her research team as it launched a deep dive in late 2021 into a trove of Facebook files she considers the most important documents in internet history. The actions impacting Joan Donovan's work coincided with a USD500 million donation to Harvard by a foundation run by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. In a whistleblower disclosure made public Monday, Donovan seeks investigations into inappropriate influence" from Harvard's general counsel, the Massachusetts attorney general's office and the US Department of Education. The CEO of Whisteblower Aid, a legal nonprofit supporting Donovan, called the alleged behavior by Harvard's Kennedy School and its dean a shocking betrayal of academic integrity at the elite school. "Whether Harvard acted at the company's direction or took the initiative on their own to prote

Thousands of fake Facebook accounts created to polarise US election: Meta

Someone in China created thousands of fake social media accounts designed to appear to be from Americans and used them to spread polarizing political content in an apparent effort to divide the US ahead of next year's elections, Meta said Thursday. The network of nearly 4,800 fake accounts was attempting to build an audience when it was identified and eliminated by the tech company, which owns Facebook and Instagram. The accounts sported fake photos, names and locations as a way to appear like everyday American Facebook users weighing in on political issues. Instead of spreading fake content as other networks have done, the accounts were used to reshare posts from X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that were created by politicians, news outlets and others. The interconnected accounts pulled content from both liberal and conservative sources, an indication that its goal was not to support one side or the other but to exaggerate partisan divisions and further inflame ...

Zuckerberg vetoed ban on certain filters despite concerns for kids: Lawsuit

The suit, initially filed in federal court in Oakland last month, added to growing scrutiny of social media giants over how they serve their youngest users

WhatsApp launches 'Check the Facts' safety campaign to fight misinformation

WhatsApp has launched a 'Check the Facts' safety campaign to drive user awareness around its safety features and curb the spread of misinformation on the platform. The month-long campaign highlights the Meta-owned messaging platform's in-built product features, safety tools like block and report, and forward labels that equip users to spot misinformation and prevent its circulation. It encourages people to verify information that sounds suspicious or inaccurate via fact-checking organisations on WhatsApp Channels, according to a statement. "WhatsApp has launched an integrated safety campaign Check the Facts' in an effort to drive user awareness around WhatsApp's safety features and promote digital best practices that help prevent the spread of misinformation on the platform and empower people to take control of their messaging experience," it said. While there is no single action that can help prevent the spread of misinformation and fake news online, WhatsApp's 'Check the Facts' .

WhatsApp channels cross 500 million monthly active users mark: Zuckerberg

Recently launched as a feature on WhatsApp, channels allow users to get updates from people, organisations, and teams that they follow on the messaging platform

Instagram allows sharing posts and Reels with 'close friends': Details

Initially available for Instagram Stories, 'Close Friends' feature expands to feed posts and Reels.

Instagram tests a feature to let users disable read receipts for messages

Currently under testing, the feature is expected to roll out as a stable update for Instagram app in the coming month

Meta mulls paid option for ad-free Instagram, Facebook in India: Details

It follows Meta's talks to launch a similar plan in the European Union (EU) to conform with its privacy concerns

Meta to lay off employees in metaverse-oriented silicon unit today

The FAST unit, which has roughly 600 employees, worked on developing custom chips to equip Meta's devices to perform unique tasks and operate more efficiently

Instagram without ads: Meta to charge $14 per month from mobile users in EU

Meta will charge the users $17 for the desktop versions of Facebook and Instagram together in the coming weeks

Mark Zuckerberg kicks off Meta event on future of AR, VR investments

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the tech giant's Connect developer conference on Wednesday with a focus on virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. The company, which renamed itself Meta two years ago, unveiled the next version of its virtual reality headset, the Quest 3. It will cost USD 499 and begin shipping October 10. Standing in a courtyard at his company's Menlo Park, California headquarters, Zuckerberg told the audience of developers, employees and journalists that Meta is focused on building the future of human connection and painted a near-future where people interact with hologram versions of their friends or coworkers and with AI bots built to assist them. Soon the physical and digital will come together in what we call the metaverse, he said. Meta is in the midst of a corporate transformation that it says will take years to complete. It wants to evolve from a provider of social platforms to a dominant power in a nascent virtual-reality world call

Zuckerberg to open developer conference with AI, virtual reality focus

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will kick off the tech giant's Connect developer conference on Wednesday with a focus on virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence (AI). The company, which renamed itself Meta two years ago, is expected to unveil the next version of its virtual reality headset, the Quest 3 and discuss AI chat-bots and other tools and features designed to keep users interested in Facebook and Instagram as competition with TikTok continues. This remains Meta's biggest challenge, said Insider Intelligence analyst Yoram Wurmser. A lot of this effort around chat-bots and stories and other ways just to keep engagement going (like) AI-driven personalization and stuff like that, that's the overarching challenge for the company, he said. Squeezed by a slump in online advertising and uncertainty around the global economy, Meta has cut more than 20,000 jobs since last November. Zuckerberg dubbed 2023 the company's year of efficiency as it reduces its workforce while ..

Soon, Instagram's Threads to let users edit published posts: Details here

Unlike X, which offers this feature only to premium subscribers, the edit feature will be open to everybody on Instagram's Threads

Meta monetises business messaging with WhatsApp in 'key market' India

These features were unveiled at a WhatsApp Conversations event held in Mumbai. This was the second annual Conversations conference being held by the company, and the first one in India

India leading the world on how people, biz embraced messaging: Zuckerberg

Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said India is leading the world on how people and businesses have embraced messaging as a better way to get things done, as the social media giant unveiled a slew of new tools aimed at supercharging businesses using WhatsApp. Announcing the line-up of key offerings for WhatsApp, Zuckerberg said the company has continued to innovate with its messaging formats, group chats and broadcast channels. "India, (is) a country that's at the forefront of a lot of what we're going to talk about today. You're (India is) leading the world in terms of how people and businesses have embraced messaging as the better way to get things done. Zuckerberg said during a virtual address at Conversations event in Mumbai. The announcements included Meta verified badge for businesses, and expansion of payments service that will facilitate completion of purchases directly in the chat. Zuckerberg also spoke about WhatsApp Flows, which will give businesses the .

Threads rolls out X-inspired quote post feature on web client: Details here

Users can now quote a post on Threads similar to the X (formerly Twitter) on its web client. It is yet another feature that brings Threads closer to X in terms of user experience

WhatsApp denies report that the platform is exploring ads to boost revenue

The report said that teams at Meta were discussing whether to show ads in lists of conversations with contacts on the WhatsApp chat screen, but no final decisions had been made

Mark Zuckerberg launches WhatsApp Channels in India; global rollout begins

The Indian Cricket team and Bollywood actors including Katrina Kaif, Diljit Dosanjh, Akshay Kumar, Vijay Deverakonda, Neha Kakkar launch their WhatsApp Channels

WhatsApp introduces Channels for instant celebrity and news updates

Along with India, Channels launched in 150 countries

European Union's enforcer wants big tech players to play by his rules

3-years ago, the EU was drafting what would become the bloc's landmark content moderation and competition rules, and executives had come to present their perspective