News

The main take away from our research is that when it comes to preventing the spread of fake news, privacy is key   The term “  fake news  ” has become ubiquitous over the past two years. The Cambridge English dictionary defines it as “false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke”. As part of a global push to curb the spread of deliberate misinformation, researchers are trying to understand what drives people to share fake news and how its endorsement can propagate through a social network. But humans are complex social animals, and technology misses the richness of human learning and interactions. That’s why we decided to take a different approach in our research. We used the latest techniques from artificial intelligence to study how support for – or opposition to – a piece of fake news can spread within a social network. We believe our model is more real...

The government is more concerned with Telegram, fast becoming the preferred medium for many people The government has said it expects popular social media applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook, which have large user bases in the country, to be responsible. In a bid to check the spread of fake news through social media and messaging platforms — leading to mob lynching in some cases — the government is exploring the possibility of blocking WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram. The government is also trying to curb child abuse and pornography spread through these platforms. The government has already issued notices on WhatsApp to keep a check on content. But, it is more concerned with Telegram, fast becoming the preferred medium for many people. Sources said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had expressed concerns about Telegram to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Based on the letter from MeitY, DoT had asked the telecom an...

Under the present framework, instructions for blocking of websites or URLs are issued by the DoT to internet service licensees, based on the directions of Meity and according to directions from courts In a bid to check the spread of  fake news  through social media and messaging platforms — leading to mob lynching in some cases — the government is exploring the possibility of blocking mobile applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram. The government is also trying to curb child abuse and pornography spread through these platforms. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had written to telecommunications service providers (TSPs) and internet service providers (ISPs) on July 18, seeking inputs about options for blocking mobile applications, especially when national security and public order are under threat. According to officials, the DoT had a meeting on July 4 with telcos and ISPs to discuss measures. “Issues have been raised by the M...

Facebook's quarterly profit surges 186% to $2 billion Facebook’s profit leapt 186% from a year ago to $2 billion, as the world's biggest social network blasted past most analyst forecasts for the second quarter. With its global base of monthly active users growing to 1.71 billion,   Facebook   saw a 59% jump in total   revenues   to $6.4 billion, mostly from online advertising. Facebook shares jumped seven percent in after-hours trade on the stronger-than-expected results. "Our community and business had another good quarter," said Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. "We're particularly pleased with our progress in video as we move towards a world where video is at the heart of all our services." Facebook has been dominating the social media space as well as related   online advertising   as it seeks to diversify into areas such as messaging, virtual reality and other fields. The research firm eMarketer estimates that Fa...

'Pakistan group uses disfigured celebrity faces to campaign against use of pellet guns in Kashmir' Pellet   guns were first introduced to   Jammu and Kashmir   police in 2010 during   Omar Abdullah   government. The use of such guns, however, has shot to the forefront after protests against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani saw the use pellets for crowd control. ( more )

Facebook to live stream US Democratic, Republican conventions Social networking giant   Facebook   has partnered with the US television network ABC for a non-stop live streaming of both the   Democratic   and   Republican   National Conventions. The Republican National Convention started in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday night and will run till Thursday while the Democratic National Convention is set for July 25-28 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Not just livestreaming, Facebook will provide an in-depth coverage of both the events, reported on Monday. Earlier, micro-blogging site Twitter had signed a deal with the US television network CBS to stream both the conventions. Twitter has permission to broadcast the CBSN feed—the company's 24-hour digital news streaming service—and anyone online can watch for free even if they do not have a Twitter account.   Read More

France terror attack: Facebook activates Safety Check tool Facebook on Friday turned on its   Safety Check Tool   feature after a large truck mowed through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France, killing at least 80 people. According to CNET, it is the third time in nearly a month that the social networking giant has activated the tool. The feature allows people to notify their friends if they are in the affected area and mark themselves as safe. A click or tap on the "I'm Safe" button lets friends and loved ones know straight away. Users can also check to see whether their friends are safe too. "Last month, we began testing features that allow people to both initiate and share Safety Check on   Facebook ," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. "We hope the people in the area find the tool a helpful way to let their friends and family know they are OK," the spokesperson added. The feature was activated in early June a...

Facebook investors OK new share class to keep Mark Zuckerberg at helm Facebook Inc shareholders approved a proposal to create a new class of non-voting shares, a move aimed at letting Chief Executive Officer   Mark Zuckerberg   give away his wealth without relinquishing control of the social media company he founded. The company's plan to issue two "Class C" shares for each Class A and Class B share held by shareholders, in what is effectively a 3-for-1 stock split, was approved by   Facebook shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Monday. The   Class C   shares will be publicly traded under a new symbol. Zuckerberg said in December that he intended to put 99% of his Facebook shares into a new philanthropy project focussing on human potential and equality. The creation of the Class C shares would allow Zuckerberg to sell the non-voting stock, but keep the voting Class A and Class B shares that would let him retain control of Faceboo...

Facebook introduces 360-degree photos Social media giant  Facebook  on Thursday introduced a new feature that enables users upload and view 360-degrees photos right in the News Feed, a media report said. "Along with 360 photos from your friends and family, you can discover stunning new 360 photos on Facebook from public figures, publishers, and other organizations," technology website  The Verge  quoted Andy Huang, product manager, Facebook, as saying. "360 photos give you the ability to take the stage in front of 100,000 fans with Paul McCartney, get behind-the-scenes access to the Supreme Court via  The New York Times, visit the International Space Station with NASA, and more," he said. After capturing a panorama or  360-degree photos  with smartphone camera or a third-party app, users can now post the photo directly to the social network, where it will be converted into an image that can be viewed on desktop or any smartphone, the report...

Indian worker in Australia tells court his pro-ISIS post was 'sarcastic' An Indian-origin aviation worker in   Australia   who was sacked last year for posting pro-Islamic State messages on   Facebook   has told a court   that his comments were "sarcastic". Nirmal Singh was facing the 'Fair Work Commission' to argue that his dismissal was 'unfair' by his previous employer Aerocare and was seeking $7,000 in lost wages. The Commission heard Singh had written "We All Support   ISIS " above a shared post from HT (Hizb ut-Tahrir) Australia about the shooting of police account Curtis Cheng by Islamic youth Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar in Sydney. There were five posts in total that concerned Aerocare, two of which included pictures of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Under cross-examination by solicitor Stephen Hughes for Aerocare, Singh said he made the posts on Facebook under a different name and believed he was conversing with a ...

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube face hate speech complaints in France Three French anti-racism associations said on Sunday they would file legal complaints against social networks  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Google 's  YouTube  for failing to remove "hateful" content posted on their platforms. French law requires websites to take down racist, homophobic or anti-semitic material and tell authorities about it. But French Jewish students union UEJF and anti-racism and anti-homophobia campaigners SOS Racism and SOS Homophobie said the three firms had removed only a fraction of 586 examples of hateful content the anti-racism groups had counted on their platforms between the end of March and May 10. Twitter removed only four percent, Youtube seven percent and Facebook 34 per cent, according to the associations. "In light of Youtube, Twitter and Facebook's profits and how little taxes they pay, their refusal to invest in the fight against hate is unacceptable,"...

Facebook launches WhatsApp desktop app for Windows, Mac Social media giant Facebook has made available its   WhatsApp   instant messaging smartphone service on Macand Windows desktops, media reports said on Wednesday. "The new desktop app mirrors your mobile device, allowing you to message friends and family while your phone is in your pocket," Product reviews, how-tos, deals and the latest tech news quoted WhatsApp as saying. Because it runs natively on your desktop as opposed to through an app on your browser, the app allows for native notifications and better keyboard shortcuts, WhatsApp said in a post. The app runs on Windows 8 and above and Mac OS 10.9 and above. To sync the newly-launched Facebook-owned desktop app with smartphone, open the app and scan the QR code with your phone. After several months of beta testing, Facebook recently rolled out Facebook and Messenger apps on Windows 10. The company also updated photo-sharing Instagram app for Windows 10...

Facebook accused of 'trending' bias Facebook  workers have often omitted conservative political stories from the website's "trending" list, the technology news site Gizmodo said on Monday in a report that sparked widespread comment on social media. An unnamed former Facebook employee told Gizmodo that workers "routinely suppressed news stories of interest to conservative readers," according to Gizmodo, while "artificially" adding other stories into the trending list. Facebook told Reuters on Monday that there are "rigorous guidelines in place" to maintain neutrality and said that these guidelines do not prohibit any news outlet from appearing in trending topics. Facebook did not respond directly though to questions about whether employees had suppressed conservative-leaning news. "These guidelines do not permit the suppression of political perspectives. Nor do they permit the prioritisation of one viewpoint over another or ...