X

The girl had apparently forgot to put her mic on mute during a Microsoft Teams callNew Delhi: If there weren't enough tales of caution about the perils of video-conferencing in these pandemic times, Twitter added one more for the history books after one of the most cringe-loaded gossip sessions was beamed live by a young woman who did not know her mic was on.The hashtag #Shweta trended for hours on Twitter after a recording of the call between the eponymous woman with her friend Radhika went viral on the microblogging website.Shweta, who apparently forgot to put her mic on mute during a Microsoft Teams call with her colleagues, can be heard sharing intimate details about a man with her friend. The discussion continues for nearly three minutes despite other participants trying to tell Shweta "your mic is on". One of her colleagues also jokes about Shweta letting 111 people in on her secrets.Soon, Twitter users started sharing memes and #Shweta began trending as one of the top trends on the social media platform.Never share your OTP, PIN and SECRET with anyone. Not with shweta also....#Shweta— કલબલાટ (@Thekalabalat) February 18, 2021— Neelambuj Singh (@NeelambujSingh) February 18, 2021Can't wait for Yashraj's new…

Demonstrators in New Delhi shout slogans during a protest against the arrest of climate change activist Disha Ravi for allegedly helping to create a guide for anti-government farmers protests. Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators in New Delhi shout slogans during a protest against the arrest of climate change activist Disha Ravi for allegedly helping to create a guide for anti-government farmers protests. Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images On Feb. 1, the editor of an award-winning Indian magazine got a call from his social media manager: The magazine's Twitter account was down. "I said, 'Are you sure? Can you just refresh, and check again?'" recalled Vinod K. Jose, executive editor of The Caravan, which covers politics and culture. "But she said, 'No, no, it's real.'" Jose went online, and instead of The Caravan's tweets, he saw a message: "withheld in India in response to a legal demand." It was one of more than 500 accounts – belonging to Indian activists, opposition politicians and media – that Twitter blocked that week, on orders from the Indian government. Days earlier, farmers who'd been rallying for months against the deregulation of Indian agriculture clashed…

ISLAMABAD — A Pakistani Taliban militant who nine years ago is alleged to have shot and badly wounded Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai has threatened a second attempt on her life, tweeting that next time, "there would be no mistake." Twitter on Wednesday permanently suspend the account with the menacing post. The threat prompted Yousafzai to tweet herself, asking both the Pakistan military and Prime Minister Imran Khan to explain how her alleged shooter, Ehsanullah Ehsan, had escaped from government custody. Ehsan was arrested in 2017, but escaped in January 2020 from a so-called safe house where he was being held by Pakistan's intelligence agency. The circumstances of both his arrest and escape have been shrouded in mystery and controversy. Since his escape, Ehsan has been interviewed and has communicated with Pakistani journalists via the same Twitter account that carried the Urdu-language threat. He has had more than one Twitter account, all of which have been suspended. The government is investigating the threat and had immediately asked Twitter to shut down the account, said Raoof Hasan, an adviser to the prime minister. Ehsan, a longtime member of the Pakistani Taliban or Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan as they are known, urged Yousafzai to "come…

CLOSE Joe and Jill Biden made an appearance on the White House front lawn with their dogs to check out White House Valentine's Day decorations. USA TODAYWASHINGTON – Joe Biden had been the nation’s 46th president for just 36 minutes when he made use of a powerful presidential tool newly at his disposal.He tweeted from the @POTUS account on Twitter.“There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face,” Biden tweeted minutes after wrapping up his inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20. “That’s why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families.”The tweet, meant to reassure a nation still in the midst of a deadly pandemic, was markedly different in style, tone and content from the incendiary and often untrue messages that got his predecessor, Donald Trump, banned indefinitely from the platform just two weeks earlier.Trump often used Twitter to hurl insults, settle scores and promote baseless conspiracy theories. In the first month of his presidency, Biden has used the popular digital platform primarily to promote his policies and his political philosophy. “Wear a mask. Save lives,” he tweeted on Jan.…

David Thompson   | The Fayetteville Observer DURHAM — Duke freshman Jalen Johnson announced Monday night that he was opting out of the rest of the season to get ready for this summer's NBA draft. Johnson said his decision was based on getting "100 % healthy in preparation for the NBA Draft," and that it was not an easy decision but the best decision for his future.Coach K: Jalen Johnson's foot injury could be 'a major factor in his career' if not dealt with properlyAs expected, the internet was gracious and understanding of his decision.Not. Jon Rothstein, a college basketball insider for CBS Sports, was one of the first to call Johnson a quitter. There were plenty of others willing to pile on Johnson. Coach K also released a statement Monday night in support of Johnson's departure.“While we are encouraged by what we are seeing medically, for Jalen’s future, we believe this decision is in his best interest,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski in a statement released by the team. “We are ultimately careful with every one of our players and will continue to support Jalen as he progresses toward his goal of playing professional basketball. He deserves to be fully healthy for the upcoming NBA Draft.”More: Is…

ViralUpdated on : Tuesday, February 16, 2021, 7:57 PM IST Of all the social media applications, Twitter is perhaps one of the most volatile ones. Every day the platform's feed is a war zone with Twitterati waging war on various topics and stirring up controversies every second. Currently, one such trending controversy is the one about the Founder and owner of Squeaks Media, Neel Patel.Recently, Nishant Kumar Singh, released a video on YouTube and a Twitter thread which allegedly accuses Patel of multiple scams. Singh made a 36 minute long YouTube video along with Abhimanyu Singh Rana, wherein they discuss various alleged scams by Patel. Singh is known for making political videos on YouTube whereas Rana is an independent blogger who writes political blogs. In the YouTube video, Singh and Rana discuss the life history of Patel and accuse him of various scams through the years. The Twitter thread about the issue lists all the alleged scams. They have also accused him of using his ventures 'Squeaks Media' and 'eGyaan' to con people.However, what has brought the controversy to the limelight is the alleged 'Iphone scam'. According to Singh and Rana, using his digital venture NaaradPay, Patel offered Iphone 11…

An ongoing tussle between the Indian government and Twitter over digital content regulation has drawn global attention to the threats facing freedom of expression in India. India's Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in Parliament last week that social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn would have to follow the Indian Constitution.       He warned the platforms of "strict action" if they were "misused to spread fake news and fuel violence." "We respect social media a lot. It has empowered common people. Social media has a big role in the Digital India program. However, if social media is misused to spread fake news, violence, then action will be taken," said Prasad. The statement comes against the backdrop of growing tension between the Indian government and Twitter over the company's refusal to fully comply with orders to remove certain accounts that were critical of the government's handling of ongoing farmer protests over controversial agriculture reforms. Twitter recently suspended hundreds of accounts in India at the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which has been trying to contain protests by clamping down on demonstrators' online activity. But the company stopped short of complying with demands to block accounts that belonged to…

In recent weeks, a controversy has broken out around Twitter and free speech. Things came to a head when Twitter blocked over 200 tweets and handles that the Central government wanted to be removed from public view. Within hours of the block, the social media network went on to restore some of the accounts and tweets – including the handles of Caravan magazine and Kisan Ekta Morcha. Over the last few years, the government’s decision to block websites, hashtags and Twitter accounts under legal provisions that cover the “sovereignty and integrity of India” have raised questions about the transparency surrounding the blocking process. It’s now a lock jam – the government warns of serious consequences for Twitter’s executives in India while the social media company reiterates its commitment to balancing the removal of content with the idea of protecting public conversation. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre and Twitter India and sought responses from them on a petition seeking a mechanism to “check Twitter content and advertisements spreading hatred through fake news and instigative messages through bogus accounts.” In conversation with Mitali Mukherjee, Apar Gupta, executive director at the Internet Freedom Foundation pointed out that…

National ReviewBiden’s Executive Order on Housing: Replacing Old Sins with New OnesPresident Biden’s flurry of executive orders has now extended to housing policy — and to a pledge to reverse the Trump administration’s approach to “fair housing.” Specifically, that would mean reversing the Trump reversal of an Obama-era rule known as “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” — designed to introduce “affordable” (read “subsidized”) housing into higher-income, suburban zip codes. To justify a return to this controversial policy, President Biden rehearsed a long litany of federal housing-policy sins. He’s right about many of those — but wrong about his approach to redress. More subsidized housing, in the tragic public-housing tradition, will only spur division and do little to help minority groups in their quest for upward mobility. It is incontrovertible, as President Biden stated in his executive order, that “during the 20th century, Federal, State, and local governments systematically implemented racially discriminatory housing policies that contributed to segregated neighborhoods and inhibited equal opportunity and the chance to build wealth for Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Native American families, and other underserved communities.” Most significantly, the Federal Housing Authority would not insure mortgages for blacks in white neighborhoods, and racial…

Feb 14 2021, 2:21 PMFeb 14 2021, 2:21 PMFebruary 14 2021, 2:21 PMFebruary 14 2021, 2:21 PMTwitter accounts of an investigative news magazine, a member of parliament, and an organisation supporting farmer protests in Delhi were among the handles that suddenly became inaccessible for Indian users on Feb 1. The takedown was in response to the central government’s orders under the Information and Technology Act.But soon after, some of the accounts were restored. As of Friday, Twitter has again reportedly complied with the government’s orders and over 97% of the accounts flagged have been blocked.The restoration and blocking of these accounts have raised several critical questions:The lack of transparency from the government in issuing such orders.The ability of big tech to refuse compliance citing international laws.And an intermediary’s liability if it fails to comply with the government’s orders.The Back And Forth Between Feb. 1 And 12Over the course of the last 10 days, according to Twitter, it received multiple blocking orders, including two emergency orders from the government that were issued under Section 69A of the Information and Technology Act.Section 69A of the IT Act allows the government to issue reasoned and written orders to intermediaries or any government agency…