Social Networks

by Colin Kirkland , 3 hours ago WhatsApp's new leader will be Kunal Shah, the Indian entrepreneur and founder of Cred, a fintech startup that Meta has decided to invest $900 million into during a recent financing round. Per the arrangement, Shah will step down as the CEO of Cred -- an 8-year-old company that operates a platform for credit-card bill payments, money lending, and other payment services -- but will retain his personal shares. Moving WhatsApp’s leadership to India marks a strategic move by Meta to focus on the platform’s largest market. Currently, over 500 million of WhatsApp’s 3 billion total users live in India. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hopes Shah can help construct WhatsApp's next phase of growth. According to Zuckerberg's recent Facebook post, the CEO feels that Shah “brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective” it will require to run WhatsApp. advertisement advertisement “While it's come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive,” Shah added in a post on X, noting that despite its 20% stake in Cred, Meta will not have any access to the startup’s member data. Investing almost $1 billion in Cred, however, aligns Meta with

Britney Spears says there’s a reason her social media has looked bolder in recent years. The pop star, 44, opened up in a deeply vulnerable Instagram post on Sunday, June 21, looking back on an alleged theft that she says hit her harder than anyone realized, while also making it clear that she is not after sympathy “Not a victim, I’m just curious as to how people were able to make me feel so cheap and crazy when my coats, jewelry and half my wardrobe went missing 3 years ago,” she wrote. She added, “I’m going back to that week because it actually did something to me physiologically when the response was nothing we can do about it … it 100 percent hurt me emotionally and felt completely helpless.” Britney Spears/Instagram Looking back, Spears believes the experience shaped the version of herself fans have watched online ever since. “I will say ever since that happened I 100 percent rebelled on Instagram and showed myself as cheap and probably secretly angry,” the mother of two wrote. The Grammy winner even questioned whether the theft was random, asking whether “whomever came into my home and stole that much money know exactly what

#WATCH | 🚨 Kunal Shah is the new boss of WhatsApp, and Meta is investing $900 million in CRED. 🤯 What does this landmark deal mean for India's fintech ecosystem, digital payments landscape, and CRED's next phase of growth? Chandra R. Srikanth breaks down the story behind the investment, why Meta is betting big on Kunal Shah's vision, and the opportunities this partnership could unlock. #Meta #CRED #KunalShah #WhatsApp #Fintech #StartupIndia Like Comment Transcript So Kunal Shah is the new big boss of WhatsApp. Last week, Money Controlled reported exclusively that Meta is evaluating an investment in credit, and one of the options on the table is for the founder of Crete, Kunal Shah, to join Mehta in an operating role. Well, guess what? Both have happened today because Meta and CRED have announced the contours of this huge, huge deal, possibly the biggest deal in the startup ecosystem this year. So basically, Kunal Shah. The founder of CRED will now become the global CEO of WhatsApp and unprecedented move for an Indian startup founder to lead a global platform. So he will transition out of credit but retain his shareholding his -1 Methane. Sampath is going to become the

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Vercel Security Checkpoint | cle1::1782185825-VGLHHrShxkvRl5TjX7L1m4cj5SjZDxv4

Elon Musk’s X was down for thousands of users globally on Monday, according to Downdetector.com. There were more than 9,800 reports of issues with the social media platform, as of 10:18 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector. Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources. The actual number of affected users may differ from what is shown, as the reports are submitted by users. X was also down for over 1,300 users in Canada, as of 10:16 a.m. ET, and for over 1,400 users in the UK, as of 10:18 a.m. ET. SpaceX, which owns X, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on what caused the outage. (Reporting by Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

A new partnership between Troy University’s Montgomery Campus and the Montgomery TechLab (MTL) officially launched last week, making the Montgomery Campus the future home of the MTL Defense Accelerator. The announcement marks a significant milestone in Montgomery’s growing defense innovation ecosystem, creating a dedicated hub where entrepreneurs, students, faculty, industry leaders, and defense stakeholders can collaborate to advance technology, workforce development, and economic growth. Beginning this summer, TROY’s Montgomery Campus will serve as the home base for accelerator programming, workshops, founder engagement activities and community innovation events. The partnership strengthens the connection between higher education and entrepreneurship while creating new opportunities for students to engage directly with high-growth technology companies operating in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, application development, and national security markets. Charisse Stokes, Partner Liaison for Montgomery TechLab, speaks during reception on the Montgomery Campus. “This partnership represents much more than a new location,” said Charisse Stokes, Partner Liaison for Montgomery TechLab. “It creates a visible and accessible center for innovation in downtown Montgomery where founders, students, faculty, industry, and government can come together to solve real-world challenges. By establishing a home at Troy University Montgomery, we’re building stronger pathways between talent, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunity while continuing to grow

By Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Mon Jun 22, 2026 | 12:37pm Press releases are posted on Independent.com as a free community service. Credit: Courtesy Santa Barbara, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in identifying additional survivors following the arrest of a Santa Maria man accused of using social media and messaging applications to contact and exploit minors. On May 28, 2026, Sheriff’s detectives began an investigation into allegations that 20-year-old Edward “Eddie” Alessandro Zarate of Santa Maria was communicating with underage girls online and exchanging sexually explicit material. During the investigation, detectives learned Zarate used applications including Whipd, Purp, Wizz, Snapchat, and text messaging to communicate with minors. Detectives believe Zarate communicated with minors in multiple states, including Florida and Illinois, as well as throughout California. Detectives believe Zarate also had contact with minors from Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Paso Robles, Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, Oxnard, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Investigators discovered that Zarate’s profiles on these applications appeared to portray him as a juvenile. Once he established communication with minors, he would often encourage them to move conversations off the platform and continue communicating via text message. During

TL;DR Bending Spoons is pricing its US IPO at $26 to $28 per share, seeking up to $1.62B at a $19B valuation with an early-July debut. Bending Spoons, the Italian software company that acquires and restructures digital businesses, is seeking to raise as much as $1.62 billion in its US initial public offering, Reuters reported on Monday. The company plans to market 58 million shares at $26 to $28 each, with an early-July debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker BSP. At the top of the price range, Bending Spoons would carry a valuation of roughly $19 billion, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. That represents a significant jump from the $11 billion pre-money valuation the company achieved when it raised $710 million in late 2025, in a round backed by T. Rowe Price, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity, and Durable Capital Partners. About 60 percent of the IPO shares are expected to come from the company as primary stock, with the remainder sold by existing shareholders including Baillie Gifford. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Allen & Co are leading the offering. The listing would be one of the largest IPOs by a European company this year and

Italian tech powerhouse Bending Spoons is aiming to raise up to $1.62 billion in a highly anticipated U.S. initial public offering. The Milan-based firm, known for buying and aggressive revamping digital platforms, plans to market 58 million shares priced between $26 and $28 each. At the top of that target range, the company's valuation would soar to $19 billion, News.Az reports, citing Reuters. The company is targeting an early July debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "BSP," with financial heavyweights Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Allen & Co leading the offering. Bending Spoons' rapid expansion has been fueled by major acquisitions. Its current portfolio includes: Vimeo (Video-sharing platform) WeTransfer (File-sharing service) AOL (Legacy internet brand, acquired this year) Eventbrite (Ticketing marketplace, acquired this year) The planned listing comes amid a major resurgence in the U.S. IPO market, following massive debuts from companies like SpaceX and Cerebras Systems earlier this year. It will serve as a crucial gauge of investor appetite for software firms as the industry navigates shifts driven by artificial intelligence. Bending Spoons recently turned a sharp financial corner, reporting a net income of $27.5 million on $601 million in revenue for the first quarter of the