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by: Madalyn Bierster Posted: Nov 6, 2020 / 10:42 PM CST / Updated: Nov 6, 2020 / 10:46 PM CST PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — Online scams are known to be common around the holidays, and with the pandemic, they’ve only gotten worse. Many of the scams are online, and a local family has now fallen victim to one of these social media scams. Christina Lewis’s grandmother responded to a Facebook ad and purchased a toy for her grandson thinking it would come to their house “life-size” like the image portrayed online. What was supposed to be a four-foot-tall dinosaur toy can actually fit in just both of their hands. Lewis said her grandmother purchased the toy for about $200. After receiving it, she requested a refund and wrote complaints to both the toy company and Facebook. “She contacted Facebook, Facebook said there was nothing they could do about it, and that they don’t have any control over the ads that are placed on their site,” said Lewis. This could lead to bigger fraud issues, especially this time of  year with Christmas less than two months away. “I can’t imagine the grandparents that this is the gift they are supposed to get their grandchildren, and it shows up and it’s not at all what they expected. It’s dangerous because now that company has her credit card information potentially,” Lewis said. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said a lot of scammers use technology to target buyers. “Facebook has got to be held accountable in some shape or form because their platform is giving an outlet to create fraud at your household,” Patronis said. If the company is based in Florida, Patronis said it is easier to go after them. “If you’re outside of the country of the United States,…

‘Stop the Steal’ group acquired 40,000 members after a similar group was shut down, then changed its name without explanation An earlier Facebook group called ‘Stop the Steal’ acquired 350,000 members before it was disabled for misinformation, causing other groups to emerge in its place. Photograph: Amy Harris/Rex/Shutterstock Thousands of Donald Trump supporters have unwittingly found themselves in a Facebook group called “Gay Communists for Socialism”, after being tricked by its creators into joining what they thought was a pro-Trump election group. On Thursday, a Facebook group called “Stop the Steal”, a reference to the president’s false claims that Joe Biden is “stealing” the US election, was disabled by the social network for misinformation after gaining more than 350,000 members. Other groups emerged in its place, including a second “Stop the Steal” group that attracted more than 40,000 castaways from the original group. But less than 24 hours later, an administrator for the group changed its name to “Gay Communists for Socialism” without explanation, confounding the new members. Dozens of posts from angry and confused Trump supporters asked, “What happened to stop the steal?” and, “Why is this group called gay communists for socialism?”, while others demanded, “Get me off this page!!!!!!” The Guardian confirmed the group was created on 5 November as “Stop the Steal” before being renamed. One administrator, whose real identity could not be verified, told the Guardian the group was a planned operation to troll conservatives with a fake “Stop the Steal” group. “We had no idea it would take off like this or suck in as many clueless people as it did when we made the switch,” the administrator said. He said the group, which now has 60,000 members, has an additional 20,000 member requests. Another group administrator further trolled its members by telling them…

RIVER FALLS — It started with a Halloween trick when someone walked off Saturday, Oct. 31, with a donation box set up at the West Wind Supper Club, but ended with a treat after an online fundraiser in response to the theft raised $1,200 for a local nonprofit. “It’s not surprising to me that the folks of River Falls stepped up and helped in the ways that they have,” said Shelly Smith, executive director of social services provider Our Neighbors’ Place. What transpired was a tale about the power of community connections during a pandemic that is keeping people apart. READ MORE: RF Community Theatre sets the stage, online | 4 things to know in the 2021-2022 River Falls budget Lois Cernohous is a former West Wind employee and more recently a volunteer for Our Neighbors' Place. When COVID-19 hit, she used her sewing skills to make face masks for the community in exchange for free-will donations. A collection box was set up on a table at the West Wind with proceeds going to Our Neighbors’ Place’s backpack program, which provides nearly a hundred River Falls School District students with food on the weekends. “She has been sewing up a storm,” Smith said of Cernohous, thanking her for all the work. “She goes out and finds the most fun fabric — something that appeals to everybody.” Cernohous retired from the West Wind four years ago. She said at first it was fun having more free time, but soon she was looking for ways to keep productive. “Then when all this COVID-19 thing started, I started making masks for our family and friends,” Cernohous said. That led to her asking West Wind owner Tony Leone about giving out masks at the restaurant, to which he generously agreed. “I was all about…

As states wrap up vote counting, Facebook is preparing to notify users of its apps as soon as a winner is projected.The company said it will provide users of Facebook and Instagram with a notification at the top of their screens that says "A Presidential Winner Has Been Projected." The notifications will provide users with accurate information and direct them to the company's voting information center.Here's what those labels will look like:Facebook will rely on the news outlet Reuters, the Associated Press, ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, NBC News and CNN to determine when a presidential winner has been projected, the company said.Additionally, the company said it will place labels on candidates' posts, providing users with accurate information about the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.Here's what those labels will look like:The company on Thursday also said that it will limit the distribution of Live videos related to the election. This is part of a series of features that the company recent paused or limited in an effort to reduce the spread of misinformation across its services in relation to the U.S. election.

David Howell and Grant Sparks are more than just business partners. They’re childhood friends who grew up together and went to school together. So when Sparks was looking for someone to help grow the mattress store he started, he knew just whom to turn to.  Howell and Sparks, the Home Furnishings Association’s newest members, own Relaxerie Sleep Shop, a two-store chain just outside Indianapolis that Howell says they hope to grow to 10 stores within five years.  Ambitious? Maybe, but Howell says sales continue to grow over the previous month, and their e-commerce line is just now starting to gain traction. “We’re really excited how people have responded to our (business) model,” says Howell. “I think people have a strong desire these days to shop local and avoid all the hassles of buying a bedroom or dining room set. We’re doing a good job of  making this easy for them while still offering a good value.”  Sparks started the business a few years back as a side job. He saw how well a friend was doing selling mattresses, so he bought mattresses on a whim and sold them himself – all within a few hours on Facebook. “So it became, ‘Let’s buy some more.’ And then it kind of took off from there,” says Sparks.  Howell and Sparks have no intention of opening a store in Indianapolis, the nation’s 17th-largest city, according to the U.S. Census, and one of the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest. Instead, they want to cover the Indianapolis-Carmel suburbs with stores. Already they have two in Shelbyville and Batesville. Howell says they hope to open two more stores in other cities next year.  Expanding to furniture “Business has been good – we want to build on that momentum,” says Howell. So good, in fact, the Relaxerie, which once sold only mattresses and bedroom furniture, is now selling other categories. Howell just came back from his first High Point Market as a buyer and is…

A provocative but unfounded post from conservative commentator Tomi Lahren has gone viral on Facebook suggesting key states in the presidential race are starting to “flip blue” due to a fraudulent mail-in voting system such as the one used in California.  “This is the California model spreading across the country. When you need to flip things blue there’s always some mysterious mail-in ballots lying around that’ll do the trick. Shameful!” The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s effort to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about PolitiFact California’s partnership with Facebook.) It received more than 700,000 views and 25,000 likes on the platform by early Wednesday afternoon.  Facebook added a warning label at the bottom of the post citing the trustworthiness of voting by mail.  With the nation’s focus on the still-undetermined presidential race, we set out to fact check Lahren’s claim. A ‘False And Unsupported Statement’  While early election night results in several battleground states favored President Donald Trump, continued counting and reporting on Wednesday of legally voted mail-in ballots in Wisconsin and Michigan have turned the still-preliminary results in favor of Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.  Several battleground states were legally not allowed to tally mail-in votes before Election Day. That meant many votes from Democrats, who relied much more heavily on mail-in voting, were reported after figures from Tuesday’s in-person voting, which Republicans relied on in greater numbers.  Officials in those states have not cited evidence that unexplained mail-in ballots are turning states “blue.”   “There is no support for the claim that ballots ‘lying around’ are mysteriously included in the count. This is a false and unsupported statement,” Rick Hasen, a UC Irvine law professor and elections expert, wrote in an email, referring to both the contested…

When the polls close at 7 p.m., people across Alabama and the nation will start watching for results. Not only will we be providing results on AL.com’s website, but also on al.com’s Facebook page with live hourly video updates.Reporters and columnists from our organization will join throughout the night, bringing live updates from the Doug Jones and Tommy Tuberville campaign headquarters and from across the state. Find those videos on our Facebook page here, or our Youtube page here. The videos will be added here once they have aired on social media.In Alabama, one of the top races is the U.S. Senate seat up for grabs. While Democrat Jones won the seat in a special election in December 2017, challenger and Republican Tuberville is leading in the polls.“You never put it in your mind that the end is near where it comes to fruition,” said former Auburn football coach Tuberville, who launched his campaign in April 2019. “It’s kind of like winning a conference championship game in the SEC or titles at the end of the year. You don’t think about it. You just work till you get to that point.”Also on the ballot was the presidential race, between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. There were a host of other statewide and local races on the ballot, along with six constitutional amendments.Voters throughout the state on Election Day faced long lines at polling places, some waiting hours to cast their ballot. The lines come after thousands voted ahead of time via absentee ballots. While absentee provisions are typically limited, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill allowed people who preferred to vote without going to the polls to use absentee ballots due to COVID-19.The election is the third during the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing was in…

A link to Facebook’s Voting Information Center will also be provided Facebook By David Cohen 4 hours ago As the polls begin to close on Election Day, beginning with the East Coast, Facebook will adjust the notification it is displaying atop users’ News Feeds.People are currently seeing information about in-person voting or options to drop off mail-in ballots.However, the social network said that as polls begin to close, its notifications will remind people that as long as they are already in line at closing time, they are eligible to vote.A link to Facebook’s Voting Information Center will also be provided. {"taxonomy":"","sortby":"","label":"","shouldShow":""}

Defend East County, the controversial social media group formed after Black Lives Matters protests in La Mesa in May, has been removed from Facebook, but in a swift reaction, the creator of the group has re-established a similar page. It’s still not officially known why the original group was removed over the weekend. An email request from NBC 7.com to Facebook has yet to be returned. Download our free NBC 7 mobile app for iOS or Android to get San Diego’s latest First Alert Weather and breaking news. Local The group, which had more than 22,000 members, was established by Justin Haskins, who has also not responded to requests for comment from NBC 7. Defend East County’s logo can now be found on a page called Working Class Patriots. Haskins posted a message that said, “We are working to vet and approve.” By Monday afternoon, the page had grown to 1.6k members. Haskins also posted an interview that said Facebook was “suppressing conservative voices" and mocked the social media site as “Facistbook” for shutting down what he called the “most successful patriot group in California.” Defend East County has been a controversial site that some say promotes racism and violence. The foiled abduction plot of the Michigan governor has put a new spotlight on domestic militia groups. NBC 7's Artie Ojeda explains if there's any risk locally. In an October interview with NBC7.com, Haskins sought to distance the page from any militia groups, though he steadfastly said he supported the intent of militias. “Defend East County is a community,” Haskins said at the time. “The group grew very quickly, and we realized we had a platform, and I’ve tried to use that platform to bring the community together in defense and support of the community,” added Haskins in the October interview. Haskins did say at…

Between October 24 and 30, President Donald Trump’s campaign spent $4.48 million on Facebook ads while former vice president Joe Biden’s campaign spent $9.28 million. L to R: JIM WATSON/AFP-Getty Images, MORRY GASH/AFP/Getty Images While political advertising on Facebook has been part of presidential candidates’ campaigns for the past several election cycles, the hyper-targeted and fragmented nature of advertising on the platform has made taking a granular look at their strategies nearly impossible. This time, however, the social network has collected and made publicly available tens of thousands of ads from President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. That’s thanks to Facebook’s Ad Library, which debuted in 2018 as a way of improving transparency on the platform after foreign actors used it to influence the 2016 election. (Facebook’s political advertising came under additional scrutiny last week after the platform’s technical systems mistakenly blocked thousands of ads from Biden’s election campaign along with some from Trump’s as a part of its new ban on political ads a week before the election.) Now, every ad bought by a Facebook page on behalf of a political candidate or political or social issue is available for review and shows both the content of the ads running at any given time along with who they’re targeting, how many users they’re reaching and what they cost. Given the sheer scale and variety ads created and placed and the different groups they reach, it’s hard to concisely describe—let alone take stock of—both candidates’ ad libraries. (Facebook has also faced criticism for allowing politicians to run ads with lies, and recently sought to shut down a research project at New York University that examined the company’s practices around political ad-targeting.) However, looking at each candidates’ library allows users and voters alike to make decisions based on…