Social Networks

By Paresh Dave OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - At least nine popular YouTube channels were promoting on Thursday debunked accusations about voting fraud in the U.S. presidential race, conspiratorial content that could jeopardize advertising and memberships revenue they get from the video service. Reuters found the channels, ranging from ones with 1,000 followers to more than 629,000, endorsing claims that fact-checking units of the Associated Press, Reuters and other organizations have deemed false or inaccurate. YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc's Google , has rules that forbid channels using its revenue-generation tools from making "claims that are demonstrably false and could significantly undermine participation or trust in an electoral or democratic process." Google did not immediately respond when asked if it would suspend ads and membership sales on the channels, a penalty commonly known as "demonetization." With ballot tallying ongoing in a few states whose results will decide the hotly contested race between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Trump has made unsubstantiated accusations about the Democratic party's stealing the election. Trump's supporters have rallied behind the misinformation on social media and in protests outside vote-counting sites. Google, Facebook and Twitter and others have struggled to guard against the misinformation as millions of posts arrive each day. Researchers who track misinformation say it is fueled by content creators who see an opportunity to profit from it. Over the last few years, they have pressured YouTube and its advertisers to tighten scrutiny. Some YouTube advertisers now avoid sponsoring political content. But the memberships offering, under which fans pay a few dollars monthly for exclusive content and promotional merchandise, has helped offset lost ad sales. One of the channels seen by Reuters, JohnTalks, shared two videos on Thursday about alleged voter fraud in Michigan - a key battleground state in the…

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed YouTube icon is seen in front of a displayed YouTube logo in this illustration taken October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Ilustration reuters_tickers This content was published on November 6, 2020 - 03:59 November 6, 2020 - 03:59 By Paresh Dave OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - At least nine popular YouTube channels were promoting on Thursday debunked accusations about voting fraud in the U.S. presidential race, conspiratorial content that could jeopardize advertising and memberships revenue they get from the video service. Reuters found the channels, ranging from ones with 1,000 followers to more than 629,000, endorsing claims that fact-checking units of the Associated Press, Reuters and other organizations have deemed false or inaccurate. YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc's Google , has rules that forbid channels using its revenue-generation tools from making "claims that are demonstrably false and could significantly undermine participation or trust in an electoral or democratic process." Google did not immediately respond when asked if it would suspend ads and membership sales on the channels, a penalty commonly known as "demonetization." With ballot tallying ongoing in a few states whose results will decide the hotly contested race between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Trump has made unsubstantiated accusations about the Democratic party's stealing the election. Trump's supporters have rallied behind the misinformation on social media and in protests outside vote-counting sites. Google, Facebook and Twitter and others have struggled to guard against the misinformation as millions of posts arrive each day. Researchers who track misinformation say it is fueled by content creators who see an opportunity to profit from it. Over the last few years, they have pressured YouTube and its advertisers to tighten scrutiny. Some YouTube advertisers now avoid sponsoring political content. But the memberships offering, under which fans pay a few…

Twitter enjoys River Cracraft's overturned TD in 49ers-Packers originally appeared on NBC Sports BayareaIf there is a silver lining of the 49ers missing so many players for Thursday's game against the Green Bay Packers, it's that we might get to witness a career-first at some point.Wide receiver River Cracraft came very close to notching his first career touchdown, but the call was overturned after the referees ruled that he didn't control the football through the ground.Cracraft is a fourth-year pro who signed with the 49ers this summer and has been on the practice squad most of the season. They elevated him prior to Sunday's game against and he was forced into a bigger role Thursday night due to all the injuries and COVID-19-related issues the 49ers had this week.The pass from quarterback Nick Mullens would have been the second catch of Cracraft's career. He caught one pass for 44 yards in 2018 while with the Denver Broncos.If Cracraft had come down with the touchdown reception, it would have been his first time hitting pay dirt since 2016 when he was at Washington State. That might be River Cracraft's first TD catch since his senior year at Washington State in 2016. #49ers— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) November 6, 2020 Twitter had fun with Cracraft's name during and after the official review. I’m seeing a lot of River Cray Cray on my timelineI however think RIVER WARCRAFTIf he has a great game, that is what I will call him.— Jennifer Lee Chan (@jenniferleechan) November 6, 2020 that River Cracraft TD will be overturned on account of him having a name that sounds completely made up— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) November 6, 2020 River Cracraft sounds like a WR on One Tree Hill.— Paul Pabst (@PaulPabst) November 6, 2020 River Cracraft is the prefect name of a banjo-playing cartoon dog—…

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.

Text size The IAC Building in New York City. Mario Tama/Getty Images IAC reported better-than-expected earnings, the result of both strong financial performance at its Vimeo and Dotdash units and a large noncash gain on its 12% stake in the casino company MGM Resorts International. For the third quarter, the internet holding company posted revenue of $788.4 million, up 12% from a year ago, and ahead of the Street consensus at $766.7 million. Net income was $184.9 million, or $2.04 a share, including a $227.7 million gain in the value of the company’s 59-million-share MGM (ticker: MGM) stake. Adjusted Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, was $35.2 million, down 41% from a year ago. IAC (IAC) said revenue at ANGI Homeservices (ANGI), in which it holds a majority stake, were $389.9 million, up 9%. Revenues at Vimeo, the company’s video creation tools business, were $75.1 million, up 44%. The company also said Thursday that it raised $150 million in outside capital for Vimeo, valuing the business at $2.75 billion. IAC is considering spinning off Vimeo as a public company. Dotdash, the company’s collection of content-focused websites, had revenue of $50.8 million, up 26%. Late in the quarter, Dotdash acquired the food and recipe sites Simply Recipes and Serious Eats. Search revenue was $145.2 million, down 22%, while “emerging and other” revenue was $127.4 million, up 82%, in part reflecting the company’s acquisition of Care.com, a website that provides referrals to home care workers. In a letter to shareholders, IAC CEO Joey Levin laid out the company’s thinking about spinning off Vimeo. “For several years now, we’ve espoused our belief that every business needs video to communicate, both internally and externally,” he writes in the letter. “The lockdowns not only accelerated that necessity by a few years, but…

One of the most famous streamers in the gamer world, the Moroccan Imane Anys, known internationally for her pseudonym Pokimane, surprised the Twitch and YouTube community by asking her fans not to send her large cash donations. Famous for its live streams playing Fortnite, League of Legends and Among Us, the personality took to Twitter earlier this month to thank the support so far received, “to the point of considering anything beyond that unnecessary”, and to ask people support start-up channels, charities, and take care of yourself. To prove that the refusal of a lot of money is really real, Anys has partnered with Streamlabs, the livestreaming software service, so that donations to his channel are limited to $ 5 (R $ 28). Although the attitude goes against the grain of most streamers, the gesture was well received by most fans and also by other famous streamers, such as the controversial Kacey “Kaceytron” Caviness, who declared: “Girl, you rocked again. Constantly raising the bar level for all of us “. Today, Anys can afford to refuse generous donations. As one of Twitch’s biggest channels, she signed a long-term contract with the site earlier this year, and although the figures have not been released, it is thought that the amounts involved far exceeded what was necessary. Fame, however, cannot be limited: Pokimane gained even more prominence by participating in a livestream with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for more than 435 thousand people. In addition, the streamer awaits the release of the movie Free Guy, where she will star opposite Ryan Reynolds.

Twitch is a live streaming video platform where gamers can livestream video games they play while receiving donations from viewers. Twitch streamers have come under fire in the past for the fact that they don’t need to pay in order to stream games to a large audience. This might be changing soon due to recent events concerning Twitch streamers and the platform itself. Alex Hutchinson, the creative director at Stadia Games & Entertainment (SG&E) Montreal Studio, weighed in on the issue by claiming that Twitch streamers should have to buy licenses to be able to stream games on the Twitch platform.   This claim was made after Twitch handed out multiple Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claims to several Twitch streamers for playing copyrighted music during their streams. According to gameranx.com, Hutchinson commented on online gaming service company, Google Stadia, saying that streamers should have to pay developers and publishers a licensing fee to stream their games. Google Stadia has since distanced themselves from Hudson, saying that his opinion was his own and that it did not reflect the views of Stadia, YouTube or Google. However, since Twitch streamers get paid for streaming games despite it not being considered a real full-time job, I do think Twitch streamers should have to pay some sort of licensing fee. I feel like if the Twitch streamers had to pay a licensing fee for playing a company’s specific game, they would appreciate the game a lot more, and might be motivated to tell their followers about the game, or maybe even play the game themselves. This would more directly benefit the studios and companies behind the games financially.  I do think it was a good idea for Google Stadia to back away from the controversy surrounding Twitch streamers and whether they should be buying…

Courtesy of YeetCoryGardner CultureSenator Gardner has, indeed, been yeeted, and even Sentor-elect John Hickenlooper got in on the fun. By Haley Gray •  November 5, 2020 I know I don’t have to tell you this. You already know. Cory Gardner has been yeeted, and it is in no small part because of the Instagram account @yeetcorygardner. After emerging from the ether on September 21, the satirical meme account amassed more than 21,000 followers before Election Day. It also got Senator-elect John Hickenlooper to do this: But where did @yeetcorygardner come from? And who is the comedic mind behind it? While Coloradans watched the square state yeet Gardner on Tuesday night, and the electoral college yeet … well, no one yet … I set out on a very important election-night mission: Find the small-town girl behind the biggest meme account in Colorado’s history (my label, not hers). This is her story. The anonymous woman behind the account is 27 and works in marketing. Her dreams were always big, but she started small. “I had been talking to a couple of my friends about the Colorado Senate race and how stressful it was, and I said, ‘I’ve been really wanting to do T-shirts that say Cory Gardner goes to Casa Bonita for the food,’ and then I talked about doing, like, little illustrations.” But with the election so close, there just wasn’t enough time for all that. “One of my friends told me that was going to take too long and suggested that I just use photos and put text over them. And so as a joke, I made a couple and then threw them up on an Instagram account.” There’s only one way to yeet: fast. That was September 21. “I went to bed that night with three followers,” she says, and one…

Europe’s telecoms industry on Thursday slammed proposed tweaks to planned EU rules governing Facebook’s WhatsApp and Microsoft unit Skype that would tighten the rules faced by telecoms providers to use electronic communications metadata. The planned EU rules subject WhatsApp and Skype to the same rules as telecoms providers, Reuters reported. The bloc’s 27 countries have struggled to find common ground on the ePrivacy regulation drafted by the European Commission in 2017 because of disagreement on rules for cookies tracking users’ online activities crucial for targeted advertising, and consent requirements. Germany, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, shared its proposed tweaks with other EU countries on Wednesday evening. The document reduces the legal grounds for telecoms providers to use electronic communications metadata for other purposes or to further process the data, in a blow to the telecoms industry looking to use network location data for smart transport services as a potential money-spinner. Lobbying group ETNO, whose members include Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Telefonica, and mobile operators group GSMA were scathing about the German proposal. “Germany’s proposed text fails to bridge the gap between protecting privacy and confidentiality and stimulating innovation in European service providers,” they said in a joint statement. They urged other EU countries not to back the proposal unless it allows them more freedom to use metadata for legitimate purposes and for further compatible processing. The bloc will have to agree on a common stand before thrashing out details of the rules with the Commission and European Parliament.