Twitter is trialing a new feature allowing users to flag tweets for misinformation. The trial only covers users in the U.S., Australia, and South Korea, though it’s reasonable to assume it will eventually be expanded if it’s successful. Yay, I guess? Announced Tuesday, the test basically just adds another category you can report tweets under.…
The new iteration of music bloggers is TikTokkers with wildly popular Spotify playlists. Some TikTokkers have gained popularity from sharing their musical tastes in videos based around their unique or relatable Spotify playlists. These users have thousands of followers on both TikTok and Spotify, and the music industry is taking notice of their influence. TikTok…
With video calls taking hold as a major part of our lives during a way-too-long pandemic, Facebook is doing a little bit more to protect those made on its Messenger platform. But only a little bit. Facebook announced Friday that end-to-end encryption is coming to voice and video calls made in the Messenger app, effective…
Twitter may never figure out how to handle account verification. The micro-blogging platform announced Friday that it would once again pump the brakes on taking applications for account verification, the process by which accounts belonging to famous or otherwise noteworthy people can get a blue checkmark badge on their profile. Existing applications will still be…
TikTok has revealed new privacy settings for teens, aiming to protect them from predatory DM slides and harassment. The new features rely heavily on teens to self-regulate, but at least they draw a bit more attention to privacy issues. Announced in a blog post on Thursday, TikTok will now automatically switch off direct messaging for…
People are trying to sell fake vaccine cards to anti-vaxxers on Telegram. The research arm of security firm Check Point has a new report on the proliferation of fake vaccine card black markets on Telegram. It estimates that there are now over 2,500 active groups and channels selling fake vaccination records from countries all over…
While Instagram can be fun for connecting with friends and scouting potential hookups, not every comment or DM slide is friendly. Now the social media platform has introduced an update aimed at curbing spikes in abusive messages, so you can get back to posting thirst traps in peace. Announced in a blog post on Wednesday,…
A picture is worth a thousand words — and also maybe some laughs, cries, and goat bleats. In July, Facebook Messenger introduced “soundmojis”: Emoji that play a sound when you send them within Messenger. Facebook’s sound design team has assigned unique sounds to 30 emoji. So, for example, if you want to send a hands…
Facebook has created a library of sound bites that are pretty fun to snack on. In July, the social media company introduced “soundmojis”: A menu of emojis in Facebook’s chat application Messenger that each have an associated sound effect. When you send a soundmoji, the person who receives it taps on the emoji to hear…
On Tuesday, Facebook stopped a team of researchers from New York University from studying political ads and COVID-19 misinformation by blocking their personal accounts, pages, apps, and access to its platform. The move was meant to stop NYU’s Ad Observatory from using a browser add-on it launched in 2020 to collect data about the political…