Social Networks

Photo for representation only. — iStock San Francisco, August 21 At least 235 million users of Instagram, China-based TikTok and Google-owned YouTube have been hit by a massive data leak and their personal profiles were up for grabs on the Dark Web. “The data was spread across several datasets and the most significant being two coming in at just under 100 million each and containing profile records apparently scraped from Instagram,” reports Forbes, quoting the security researchers. The third-largest was a dataset of some 42 million TikTok users, followed by nearly 4 million YouTube user profiles. — IANS

Former Dance Moms star JoJo Siwa is turning heads online with her latest makeover. The young 17-year-old performer and YouTube personality appeared with fellow YouTube star James Charles for a makeover that is the complete opposite of her youthful, ponytail look that fans have grown accustomed to at this point."This is my dream, and my nightmare at the same time," the young star said in the video. "Getting my makeup done is just, like a NO. I like to do it, I don't let anybody else do it. It's just a no. My hair, even more so."Both have a pleasant conversation about their careers, according to Entertainment Tonight, but the final product is the real draw for fans. The results are shocking for them but also shocking for Siwa."I don't know how you got me to do this!" Siwa says to Charles. "I will say it's very pretty and you did a wonderful job on the hair and the makeup. The makeup is stunning…It's obviously, it's not me. You know how I showed up here in sparkles, hot pink and neon…I feel like a different version. I feel like I'm Joelle right now."The new look sat well with most fans of the teenage star and others made it clear that they felt Siwa was already beautiful without the makeover. "Jojo Siwa is pretty. period, you don't have to qualify that by stating the makeover made her more anything. She's always been stunning and conventional beauty standards are bulls—," a fan wrote on Twitter. make sure you check out our video if you haven’t seen it! https://t.co/ahyfYqvzU6 — James Charles (@jamescharles) August 21, 2020 0commentsThat said, many fans were not too happy and took it out on Charles according to tweets from the YouTube star after the makeover video went live.…

Dark mode is one of the most significant additions Facebook By David Cohen 5 hours ago The thorough overhaul of Facebook’s desktop experience, initially introduced at F8 2019 last May, will become the only option sometime next month.Some users began seeing notifications alerting them to the imminent demise of “classic” Facebook, and the social network said on a Help Center page, “If you’re using the new Facebook.com, you can switch back to the classic Facebook temporarily. Starting in September, everyone will have the new design.”CEO Mark Zuckerberg debuted the new look at F8 2019, calling it FB5 and saying that there had been four major versions of Facebook up to that point, and this was the fifth.Changes in the new layout include: dark mode; faster load times and transitions between pages; larger fonts; a more simplified layout; and easier access to sections such as events, Facebook Watch, groups and Stories.

We are not ashamed of running yet another story, an update, on the situation with Ellen Kessler, the animal activist who has been appointed to the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine.Our efforts to stop this appointment are so important especially as now she has targeted 4-H youth, saying that 4-H clubs, “teach children that animal lives don’t matter.”I just read a story on AgDaily about Victoria Banks, a member of a 4-H club in Michigan who started a Facebook page to share her 4-H projects and activities with others.The page is called Victoria’s 4-H Page and recently one of her friends shared a photo of Victoria and her hog Tequila to a group called Vegan Revolution.As you can imagine Victoria’s page was flooded with negative comments, which Victoria’s mother described as “aggressive, demeaning, vulgar, hateful and disgusting.”In other words, the animal activists were bullying a 14-year-old at a time when bullying is being blamed for many pre-teen and teen suicides.Luckily they messed with the wrong person this time.Although her parents were skeptical, Victoria decided to keep her page pubic because she respects others opinions and is not ashamed about anything that she does and has nothing to hide.“Everyone has different opinions, and I never said that anyone’s opinion is wrong because it is not like mine. Not allowing people to express them is wrong,” Victoria said in the AgDairy article. “I respect everyone for their opinion but was never rude to those who believe differently than I do.”So just as all of you supported our #showingup for rural Colorado campaign, let’s share that support for Victoria on her Facebook page Victoria’s 4-H Page.Let’s let her know that she is not alone and that her courage and convictions in the face of this onslaught from animal activists is appreciated.In other…

Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. GOOGLE has warned its free services such as YouTube and Google Search are "at risk" for millions of people. Google warns free services are 'at risk' for millions of users (Image: GETTY)Google has today warned that a proposed law change could lead to a "dramatically worse" Google Search and YouTube experience that puts its free services "at risk". Those that would be affected are millions of Google and YouTube users in Australia, and the stark warning comes in response to plans down under to make digital giants pay for news content. Next week public consultation will begin on draft laws that would make Google and Facebook pay for news content that appears in their news feeds and search results.But in an 'open letter to Australians' Google has said this could not only lead to user data being handed to "big news businesses" but also put free services at risk.The search engine giant said: "A proposed law, the News Media Bargaining Code, would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia."The letter, written by Australia and New Zealand MD Mel Silva, added: "We deeply believe in the importance of news to society. We partner closely with Australian news media businesses — we already pay them millions of dollars and send them billions of free clicks every year. We’ve offered to pay more to license content. But rather than encouraging these types of partnerships, the law is set up to give big media companies special treatment and to encourage them to make enormous and unreasonable demands that would put our free services at risk."This law…

Chris Jordan, Asbury Park Press Published 11:19 p.m. ET Aug. 18, 2020 | Updated 12:54 a.m. ET Aug. 19, 2020CLOSE On the day of his 70th birthday, staff at the Monmouth County Historical Society in Freehold prepare for their 'Springsteen: My Hometown' exhibit. Asbury Park PressOops. Facebook flagged Bruce Springsteen for spreading "false information" on Tuesday, Aug. 18, but FB says it was all a mistake.  The Democratic National Convention video of the Bruce Springsteen song “The Rising,” in which Springsteen and wife Patti Scialfa make an appearance, was removed from Springsteen’s verified Facebook page at approximately 9:30 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Aug. 18.“Facebook found this post repeats information about COVID-19 that multiple independent fact-checkers say is false,” read an explanation superimposed over a faded image of the video.About two and a half hours later, the label was removed and the video was viewable."The label was applied by mistake and was quickly removed once we became aware of the issue," said Facebook's spokesperson Katie Derkits to the USA Today Network New Jersey via email.    The video features Springsteen's 2002 song “The Rising” framed as a message of resiliency against the Donald Trump presidency. Scenes of a COVID-19 ravaged  America, including an empty subway and football stadium, are shown as “The Rising” begins. That's contrasted with the march of neo-Nazis with torches in Charlottesville, Virginia and Trump throwing paper towels to hurricane victims in Puerto Rico.After that, first responders, George Floyd protesters, Black Lives Matter sign makers, mask wearers and more who are dedicated to the Rising  are shown.More: Bruce Springsteen 'The Rising' video takes on Donald Trump at Democratic ConventionMore: Why the concept of time is different for Bruce Springsteen than it is for you and meA Facebook “Science Feedback” explanation of the video removal, accessible by a click on the label, said that “SARS-CoV-2 is a novel…

The “From Facebook” part of virtual reality unit Oculus From Facebook will soon be emphasized a bit more when it come to logging into its VR devices.Starting in October, people using Oculus devices for the first time must login with a Facebook account.Existing users can choose to login with Facebook and merge their Oculus and Facebook accounts, or continue using their Oculus accounts until Jan. 1, 2023, at which point support for Oculus accounts will cease.Oculus said in a blog post that people can continue using their devices after Jan. 1, 2023, but they will not be able to take advantage of their full functionality without a Facebook account.The VR unit explained, “We will take steps to allow you to keep using content you have purchased, although we expect some games and applications may no longer work. This could be because they include features that require a Facebook account or because a developer has chosen to no longer support the app or game you purchased. All future unreleased Oculus devices will require a Facebook account, even if you already have an Oculus account.”Oculus said giving people a single way to login will make it easier for them to find, connect and play with friends in VR and allow it to introduce more Facebook-powered multiplayer and social experiences, such as social VR world Facebook Horizon, where people can explore, play and create worlds.The VR unit pointed out that the majority of its users already login to Oculus with Facebook accounts in order to use features including chats, parties and events and to tune into live experience in Oculus Venues.Oculus users will soon be able to use their VR avatars on other Facebook apps and technologies.People who login via Facebook accounts can still create and maintain unique VR profiles and make their…

YouTube Gaming has announced the “Celebration of Mobile Gaming” tournament with a prize pool of $50,000. Seven creators will compete in Brawl Stars, PUBG Mobile, and Clash Royale on Aug. 27 to become the champion. This includes Clash with Ash, Orange Juice Gaming, KairosTime, Medalcore, Lex, Her Gaming, and Powerbang Gaming. The winner will get the chance to donate the prize money to a charity of their choice.The Celebration of Mobile Gaming will be streamed on the VidCon YouTube channel on Aug. 27 at 1pm CT. More details will likely be announced soon.YouTube Gaming unveiling a mobile games tournament isn’t surprising. YouTube is the primary platform for most mobile gamers. PUBG Mobile streamers like Namam “MortaL” Mathur and Tanmay “Sc0utOP” Singh frequently pull over 100,000 concurrent viewers.Recently, YouTube’s global head of gaming, Ryan Watt said the company was making “significant strides” on live gaming. He added they can’t wait to reveal more details regarding this.

New York, Aug 16 (IANS): Struggling to tame the spread of misinformation on its platform, Facebook can better reduce the extent to which their users fall for and spread fake news articles by deploying a better designed fake news flag. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin found that although Facebook users may be too quick to believe or share misinformation, flagging fake news can also make a significant difference. The new paper published in Information Systems Research, studied what tools would help Facebook users spot fake news. Lead author Tricia Moravec, an assistant professor in the McCombs School of Business, and co-authors, Antino Kim and Alan R Dennis of Indiana University, found that two simple interventions, especially when combined, had a strong effect on helping people discern reality from fake news. The first intervention the researchers tested was a stop sign icon. The second was a strong statement, "Declared Fake by 3rd Party Fact-Checkers". Each intervention was effective, but when combined, they were almost twice as powerful. "Ideally, we would see Twitter and especially Facebook use some type of flag for misinformation with a brief statement to nudge people to think more critically," Moravec said. Twitter has begun using labels and warning messages. Facebook uses technology and fact-checkers to identify false information and moves the information lower in the News Feed so it's less likely to be seen. Facebook says that people who repeatedly share false news will see their distribution reduced and their ability to advertise removed. "Twitter has been doing a much better job than Facebook at managing misinformation, since they actively flag misleading information," Moravec said. "It is a good step that Facebook is taking to at least demote misinformation and punish repeat offenders, but based on the misinformation I have seen about COVID-19 on…

How realistic are hopes that agriculture will revive demandin a pandemic-hit economy? Himanshu crunches the numbers in Mint. A senior Facebook executive opposed the idea of removing contentious posts by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, warning that this could hurt the company’s business prospects in India, reports the Wall Street Journal.   Having Kamal Harris in the White House would mean someone with a strong understanding of India might speak thoughtfully and criticallyabout Kashmir, or the Indian nationalism that has marginalised the country’s Muslim community and led to a controversial citizenship law that excludes Muslim immigrants – issues President Trump has failed to meaningfully address, says Akanksha Singh in CNN.   It was expected that the introduction of Goods and Services Tax would increase India’s Gross Domestic Product of the country because the simplified tax structure would eliminate the cascading effect of taxes and increase the government’s revenue. This has not happened, says Vinay K Srivastava in the Hindustan Times. Was there any dharma in flaunting the bhoomi puja for the Ram temple, making a national spectacle of it, knowing full well that an entire section of the population, not just Muslims, was feeling excluded, deprived and diminished? TM Krishna writes about Modi’s visit to Ayodhya in The Indian Express. When your name is Osama and you’re living in post-9/11 America, you always know “The Question” is coming. Osama Shehzad, a Pakistan national, on the travails of traveling with a dreaded name.   Scarred by trauma and devoted to Donald Trump, a man began mailing explosives to the president’s critics on the eve of an election. Garrett M Graff in Wired describes the race to catch the man.   Danielle Tcholakian in Longreads puts together a reading list on Kamala Harris.   Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu’s quest to open relations with Arab countries without settling the Palestinian conflict long seemed quixotic. External events…