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By Jane WakefieldTechnology reporter Publishedduration1 hour agoimage copyrightJosh Steenimage captionJosh Steen (right) says Facebook had chances to halt the live-streaming of his friend Ronnie's deathThree weeks ago, Josh Steen watched his close friend Ronnie McNutt kill himself live on Facebook.Now, he is fighting for answers from the firm and other social media platforms where clips of the suicide are widely available."For the last two and a half weeks Ronnie's image has been one of the most recognisable on the internet and yet these companies claim to have detection software to stop it, so something isn't right," he said.He reported it to Facebook during the livestream, at 22:00 Mississippi time - two hours after the video had started, and half an hour before Ronnie killed himself. He said that he didn't get a response until 23:51, when Facebook told him that the video did not violate its community guidelines.By then, Mr McNutt was dead.Josh Steen said the social network had an opportunity to stop the stream when Ronnie misfired his gun before 22:00 - which he says is a clear violation of the guidelines."If Facebook had intervened then, my friend may still have committed suicide but at least there wouldn't be this video."'False' back storyimage copyrightRonnie McNuttimage captionRonnie McNutt regularly went on streaming services to talk about his lifeMr McNutt was a 33-year-old army veteran who had seen active service in Iraq, and subsequently dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental-health issues.He had recently broken up with his girlfriend and had been drinking on the night of his death. He was talking about suicide and arguing with people who were trying to comfort him. At some point the police turned up outside his apartment.More than 200 people were watching the stream when he died, including Mr Steen and several…

Facebook has launched a new service designed to make it easier for college students to connect with others at their school. The service comes as colleges across the United States seek to find new ways to operate during the coronavirus health crisis. The move takes Facebook back to its very beginning. The social network launched in 2004 as a college-only network called TheFacebook. At the time, founder Mark Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard University. He built the website as a way for Harvard students to personally connect with each other. In a statement, the company says the new service has a similar purpose: “to help students connect with fellow classmates over shared interests.” The service, called Facebook Campus, is designed to “make it easy to find and start conversations” within college communities. Many social media users reacted to the new service by noting Facebook’s early history. “So basically @Facebook launched the original Facebook?” Jolie Lindley wrote on Twitter. “They didn't have to put too much worker power into that concept.” Another Twitter user wrote, “I thought the same thing. Facebook launched...Facebook?” The launch comes as colleges and students across the U.S. are facing new educational realities created by the coronavirus crisis. With many schools deciding to hold most or all classes online, “it’s more important than ever to find a way to stay connected to college life,” Facebook said. The company said the service can help students form new relationships “even if they’re away from their college.” Where to find it Facebook Campus is a separate area of the main Facebook app that is designed for students only. Users can create a profile in Campus that is different from their main Facebook profile. To sign up, students are required to provide their college email and the year they will…

The seventh annual Facebook Connect virtual and augmented reality conference, formerly known as Oculus Connect, is being streamed online today. Facebook is expected to announce a new Oculus Quest VR headset, which has been widely leaked over the past few months. But we could also see a slate of new virtual reality games, extra Spark AR features, updates on Facebook’s Horizon virtual world, and hints at the company’s long-term AR headset plans. And like many events during the pandemic, Connect 7 is being held fully online. Facebook Connect 7 starts with a keynote at 10AM PT / 1PM ET, then continues with panels and developer sessions. It concludes at 7PM PT/ 10PM ET with an “afterparty” concert from Jaden Smith. Unlike the physical events of past years, it’s being condensed into a single day. Connect is being streamed on Facebook Live through the page for Facebook Reality Labs, the company’s AR / VR division. The keynote will go live at 9:55AM PT / 12:55PM ET here, and FRL’s page includes links for the day’s other events, including the highly anticipated 5:30PM PT / 8:30PM ET annual talk by Oculus consulting CTO John Carmack and the 7PM PT / 10PM ET Jaden Smith afterparty. If you’ve got an Oculus Quest VR headset, you can also view the event in Venues, a live VR event space. Venues is currently in beta and doesn’t appear to be available to everyone. But if you’ve got access, you can use the event link here. You can view the full Connect schedule on Facebook’s event page, but there are a few highlights. Connect keynotes typically feature appearances from Facebook executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and chief scientist Michael Abrash, covering the day’s big VR and AR news. In addition to product and game announcements, they outline…

Here’s what we are watching as markets kick into gear Wednesday. —U.S. stocks are poised to extend their rally as investors await the Federal Reserve’s latest views on economic growth and inflation prospects. Oil prices jumped over 2% after data showed that U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly declined. Read our full market wrap here. —What’s coming up. The Federal Reserve releases a policy statement and economic projections at 2 p.m.; Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference at 2:30 p.m., at which he could explain how he and his colleagues are thinking about possible additional steps. Market Movers to Watch — FedEx surged over 8% in offhours trading after the delivery company posted the highest quarterly revenue in its history. United Parcel Service , or UPS, got a leg up as well, advancing about 4.5%. — Facebook ticked down 1.5% in premarket trading on the news that the Federal Trade Commission is gearing up to file a possible antitrust lawsuit against the social-media company by year-end.

(FOX26) — The Visalia Police Department says a guy was able to get his stolen motorcycle back after he saw it up for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

The blame game over the Oregon wildfires is playing out across social media, and Facebook says it’s stepping in to tackle some of the false claims circulating on its platform. Law enforcement agencies have been flooded with calls about online rumors that members of Antifa, an anti-fascist, often far-left-wing movement, were arrested for setting fires across the state. “Reports that extremists are setting wildfires in Oregon are untrue,” the FBI Portland said in a tweet Friday. Since the FBI and other law enforcement agencies confirmed the claims are false, Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said the platform will work to remove the rumors. “This is consistent with our past efforts to remove content that could lead to imminent harm given the possible risk to human life as the fires rage on,” Stone said about the decision. Big Tech has been facing tremendous pressure in recent years to tackle the spread of misinformation on their platforms. The claims that Antifa set the fires started when the anonymous account behind QAnon posted a link to a tweet by Paul Joseph Romero Jr., a former Republican US Senate candidate from Oregon, claiming the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office had six Antifa “arsonists” in custody. It took hours for the rumors to be amplified by QAnon’s followers. Speaking to CNN Saturday, Romero claimed, “My original tweet is not 100% accurate, there is no question about that, but it is mostly accurate.” He said he is not a QAnon follower but has seen some of Q’s posts and said, “I don’t think you can discount more than you can discount anybody.” Romero said he does not plan to remove the tweet. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is urging the public to follow official sources of information and local reputable news outlets. In a Facebook post, the…

ALBANY — What is an artist’s social responsibility? Do artists who make their work public in institutions and galleries across the nation even have a responsibility to deliver inspiration, hope and guidance in their work?A Facebook Live event exploring those questions, Art & Social Responsibility with Juan Logan, will feature the North Carolina artist and be hosted by AMA Executive Director Andrew J. Wulf. The virtual discussion will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday on the museum’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/AlbanyMuseumOfArt.“It is a rare treat to spend time with artist Juan Logan,” Wulf said. “At this event, he shall share his thoughts on the artist’s social responsibility and the human condition. As he says, the issues we confront today are relevant to us all. We are delighted to welcome him and our Facebook Live guests virtually to the AMA.”AMA Director of Education and Public Programming Annie Vanoteghem said the Facebook Live event will be easy for people to join.“There are no hoops to jump through,” Vanoteghem said. “You don’t need a password or any special permissions. Just go to the AMA Facebook page at 7 p.m. and join in.”Those who participate will be able to make comments and ask questions of Logan, whose exhibition “JUAN LOGAN: creating & collecting” is currently showing in the Haley Gallery at the AMA, through the Facebook Live commenting feature. Logan said he will begin with observations and comments, followed by the question-and-answer session with Wulf, including questions posed by the public.The event will conclude with a group of AMA members joining with Logan and Wulf in the conversation. Vanoteghem said AMA members who want to participate in the final segment may email her at annie.vanoteghem@albanymuseum.com. “We will have a maximum of 10 members participating in that part,” she said.Logan’s work addresses American culture as a…

Disinformation On Facebook Could Affect The Way You Vote NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Jessica Feezell, of the University of New Mexico, about how much disinformation on Facebook affects voting. September 6, 20207:59 AM ET Disinformation On Facebook Could Affect The Way You Vote Download Embed NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Jessica Feezell, of the University of New Mexico, about how much disinformation on Facebook affects voting.

In the aftermath of the Kenosha shooting, an activist group called Change the Terms is calling on Facebook to institute new policies around potentially dangerous content, including a blanket ban on “event pages that encourage people to bring weapons to events.” In a letter to Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, group called for a broad enhancement of Facebook’s moderation against extremism, including more automated tools for proactive enforcement and better systems for detecting event pages that promote violence. Another recommendation echoes an internal Facebook report (obtained by Buzzfeed News last week) that suggested better monitoring of spikes in user feedback reports. “We cannot stress enough the urgency of our requests,” the letter reads. “You have the power to save lives and significantly influence the health of our democracy.” Reached for comment, Facebook said it was considering the recommendations, but declined to comment further. “We are reviewing Change the Terms’ thoughtful suggestions and look forward to continuing the ongoing conversation with them,” a Facebook representative said. The questions come after the killing of two protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which came after a number of militia-linked event listings on Facebook had encouraged armed attendance. A number of Facebook users reported the pages as likely to incite violence, but moderators refused to remove them prior to the shooting. The morning after the rally, Facebook pulled down the pages, affirming that they did violate Facebook policy. In a public speech, Mark Zuckerberg called the decision “an operational error” resulting from the specialized training given to the moderators who enforce the platform’s Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. Facebook policy on firearm moderation is mixed, and is more lax than many of its competitors. Unlike Google, Facebook does not block gun ads, provided they’re made by a registered dealer and are in accordance with local laws. Facebook…

Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket: Facebook (FB) – Facebook announced it would not accept new political ads in the week before Election Day, and will remove posts that claim people will get Covid-19 if they take part in voting. Facebook will also add informational labels to any posts that seek to delegitimize election results. Tesla (TSLA) – The automaker's largest shareholder, investment management firm Baillie Gifford, has cut its stake in Tesla to less than 5% from 6.32%. Baillie Gifford said it took the action due to portfolio restrictions after the rapid runup in Tesla shares increased its overall percentage of the firm's holdings. Kansas City Southern (KSU) – Private-equity firms Blackstone (BX) and Global Infrastructure Partners have made a takeover offer for the rail operator, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. Kansas City Southern currently has a market value of nearly $18.3 billion, and the paper said the value of the takeover bid could not be learned. Beyond Meat (BYND) – Baird initiated coverage of the plant-based burger maker with an "outperform" rating, saying increased distribution should give Beyond Meat substantial growth over the next several years. Eli Lilly (LLY) – Morgan Stanley upgraded the drug maker's stock to "overweight" from "equal weight," pointing to prospects in the areas of diabetes and Alzheimer's. Verizon (VZ), Amazon.com (AMZN) – Verizon and Amazon are considering a $4 billion investment in India-based telecom company Vodafone Idea, according to a report in India's Mint newspaper. Vodafone Idea is a joint venture between Britain's Vodafone (VOD) and India's Idea Cellular, and such an investment might help it pay $6.8 billion that it owes to the Indian government. Costco (COST) – The warehouse retailer reported a 13.2% rise in August…