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New York, NY (CNN)New York University researchers discovered scathing new data on the spread of misinformation on Facebook, despite the site curtailing their research, even going so far as deplatforming them. The study found that from August 2020 to January 2021, misinformation got six times more clicks on Facebook than posts containing factual news. Misinformation also accounted for the vast majority of engagement with far right posts — 68% — compared to 36% of posts coming from the far left. Facebook blocked the researchers' personal accounts and site access last month. The company said their decision to deplatform the researchers was related to a separate study on political ads that involved using a browser extension that allowed users to anonymously share the ads they saw on Facebook with the researchers."NYU's Ad Observatory project studied political ads using unauthorized means to access and collect data from Facebook, in violation of our Terms of Service. We took these actions to stop unauthorized scraping and protect people's privacy in line with our privacy program under the FTC Order," Mike Clark,  » Read More

Facebook has apologized for an AI-powered feature that asked users if they wanted to "keep seeing videos about Primates" after they finished a Daily Mail video featuring Black men.The New York Times reported that the video featured "clips of Black men in altercations with white civilians and police officers" and "had no connection to monkeys or primates." The video was published in June 2020; the report didn't say for how long the offending prompt was shown.Facebook told the NYT the label appearing on that video was "an unacceptable error" and said it would investigate the feature to "prevent this from happening again." The recommendation engine that applied the label to that video has been disabled while the company looks into it.This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Google Photos sorted an image of two Black people into a category labeled "gorillas" in 2015, for example, and Twitter recently confirmed that its image-cropping algorithm was biased in favor of white individuals.  » Read More

The Transform Technology Summits start October 13th with Low-Code/No Code: Enabling Enterprise Agility. Register now! This article was written by Mat Lebowitz, designer and technophile. Am I the only one feeling a little ambivalent about separating from my technology? Facebook is rumored to track and collect 52,000 data points on every user, and not just while we’re on Facebook. Facebook’s tentacles reach after us as we journey to other parts of the world, digital or otherwise, always observing, always monitoring, always gathering data. So when Apple recently raised its sword in defense of privacy and announced that it would require all users of its devices to “allow” app tracking or “ask app not to track” (rather than continue the need to seek out hidden preferences to control this) it felt like a no brainer and a big win for humanity’s right to privacy. In the last few days, whenever I’ve opened a social application on my iPhone, the opportunity to “ask app not to track” appeared.  » Read More

Russian censors are continuing a crackdown on Western social media giants with the latest round of threatened fines. File Photo by Pixelkult/Pixabay Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Western social media giants Telegram, Facebook and Twitter will be called into a Moscow court this month where they will face fines of nearly $1 million for refusing to remove "prohibited content," Russian media reported Saturday. The companies will face a total of nine administrative offenses during a hearing to held in the Tagansky district of Moscow on Sept. 14, the government news agency Tass reported. Facebook is facing five charges with a possible total fine of around $550,000 while Twitter and Telegram face two charges each with fines of more than $400,000. The report didn't detail which content the authorities considered offensive, but the latest charges continue a recent pattern of Russian censors clamping down on Western social media giants in the run-up to legislative elections that begin Sept. 17. Facebook has already been fined nearly $675,000 so far this year by Roskomnadzor,  » Read More

This article was originally published on Simply Wall St NewsFacebook (NASDAQ:FB) has had a great run on the share market, with its stock up by a significant 14% over the last three months. Since the market usually pay for a company's long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company's key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. In this article, we decided to focus on Facebook's return measures, particularly on its ROE. If some parts feel a bit more complex, jump to the conclusion to get the important takeaways! Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders. Check out our latest analysis for Facebook How Is ROE Calculated?ROE can be calculated by using the formula:Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' EquitySo,  » Read More

Facebook, Twitter, President Biden, the Department of Health and Human Services and other defendants were hit with a civil rights lawsuit Tuesday in California Southern District Court over social media posts related to COVID-19. The lawsuit was filed by Tyler & Bursch and Liberty Justice Center on behalf of Justin Hart, whose Facebook account was suspended and Twitter account locked per the platforms’ policies against spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Hart contends that the federal government has been colluding with the social media giants to target and silence dissenting views. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 3:21-cv-01543, Hart v. Facebook, Inc. et al. This suit was surfaced by Law.com Radar, a source for high-speed legal news and litigation updates personalized to your practice. Law.com Radar publishes daily updates on just-filed federal cases like this one. Click here to get started and be first to know about new suits in your region, practice area or client sector. Want to continue reading?Become an ALM Digital Reader for Free!  » Read More

With Twitter recently updating its verification guidelines, and Instagram making it easier for the general public to apply for profile verification in the app, Facebook has today provided a new overview of its approach to verification, and who, exactly, qualifies for the blue checkmark in its apps. First off, Facebook clarifies exactly what its verification tick represents: “At its core, verification is a way for people to know that the notable accounts they are following or searching for are exactly who they say they are. It’s a way for people to know which accounts are authentic and notable. Verification badges aren’t an endorsement from us, nor do we consider them a symbol of importance.” This has been a source of consternation at Twitter, which, over the last year, has worked to re-establish what its verification marker actually means, after some had confused the checkmark as a level of endorsement from the company itself. Here,  » Read More

The only way to deactivate Messenger is to first deactivate your Facebook account. If you don't want to go that far, you can disable your active status, or just delete the app. Once you've deactivated your account, you can reactivate it by logging back into Messenger or Facebook. Visit Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Loading Something is loading. Getting too many Facebook messages is fun for some people, but a nuisance for others. If you're in the latter category, you might be wondering if there's a way to deactivate Messenger.Unfortunately, the only way to deactivate Messenger is to first deactivate your entire Facebook account. But there are a few alternatives you can take advantage of too, like disabling Messenger instead.Here's how to do them all. How to deactivate Messenger by deactivating FacebookAlthough they're separate apps now, Messenger is still heavily connected to Facebook. They use the same account, and settings you change in one app often carry over to the other app.  » Read More

Texas is on the verge of passing a new law that would crack down on social media companies Republicans say are censoring conservative speech.The GOP-controlled state Senate passed the bill Tuesday night. If it heads to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who has publicly backed the bill, he's expected to sign it.The new law, passed in the final days of the second special session called by Abbott, would allow any Texas resident banned from Facebook, Twitter or Google's YouTube for their political views to sue the companies. The state attorney general  also would be able to sue on behalf of a user or a group of users. It is similar to a Florida law that was blocked by a federal judge one day before it was set to take effect.Trade groups representing the technology industry have pledged to challenge it as unconstitutional.“By ignoring the First Amendment,  » Read More

The Monticello community has come together to help an abandoned kitten who was is need of extensive medical care.Now Peaches is on the mend and living a happy kitten life at the home of its rescuer, Adam Rolf.Rolf found the 6-week-old kitten on Friday, Aug. 20. Peaches was on the Highway 25 bridge over the Mississippi River heading from Monticello to Big  Lake, Rolf told the Monticello Times.Peaches appeared to have been abandoned and had issues moving its back legs. In addition, the kitten had a wound near its groin, according to Rolf.An appointment was made with a veterinarian in St. Cloud. Peaches was found to have a severely fractured leg.Rolf was presented with two options for the care of Peaches: surgery estimated at about $700 or the amputation of a leg estimated to cost about $1,200.Faced with the high medical costs, Rolf established a Go Fund Me account with a goal of raising money to help pay for some of Peaches’ medical expenses.  » Read More