Seoul, Barbados check into metaverse as governments eye virtual presence
Thomson Reuters Foundation The metaverse will soon be a place to not just buy virtual goods and meet avatars, but to also get essential public services, as governments prepare to enter the rapidly expanding digital world despite concerns about privacy and other rights. The city of Seoul and the island nation of Barbados earlier this month […]
AI bots to user data: Is there space for rights in the metaverse?
SONIA ELKS, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, looks at the rising issue of rights in the digital realm…
“Information combat”: Inside the fight for Myanmar’s soul
FANNY POTKIN and WA LONE, of Reuters, report on the information war taking place on social media in Myanmar…
Essay: Celebrate Facebook’s outage? Many faith communities couldn’t talk at all
In an article first published on Religion News Service, PAUL BRANDEIS RAUSHENBUSH, senior adviser for public affairs at US-based Interfaith Youth Core, looks at the impact of Monday’s social media outage on religious communites…
Facebook removes dozens of vaccine misinformation “superspreaders”
Reuters Facebook Inc said it removed over three dozen pages spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, after the White House called on social media firms to tighten controls on pandemic-related facts shared on their platforms. Companies like YouTube, Twitter and Google have come under fire from the Biden administration for the alarming spread of vaccine misinformation […]
Some praise, some doubts: Reactions mixed to Facebook’s new prayer tool
HOLLY MEYER and DAVID CRARY, of Associated Press, report on reactions to Facebook’s new prayer feature rolled out in the US recently…
Facebook asks: Are your friends becoming extremists?
Reuters Facebook Inc is starting to warn some users they might have seen “extremist content” on the social media site, the company said on Thursday. Screenshots shared on Twitter showed a notice asking “Are you concerned that someone you know is becoming an extremist?” and another that alerted users “you may have been exposed to […]
Twitter hears from record respondents over world leader rules
Reuters Twitter Inc has received a record number of responses to a survey on how it should handle world leaders on its site, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday, an issue in the spotlight ahead of the possible return of former US President Donald Trump to Facebook. Twitter, which permanently banned Trump after the 6th January […]
Likes and prayers: Facebook tests new ‘prayer post’ feature
RNS When the unfamiliar pop-up touting a new feature appeared on Robert P Jones’ Facebook, the CEO and founder of PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute) posted a screen grab to Twitter. “Wondering what fb algorithm thinks it knows about me?” Jones mused. Facebook is currently testing a new prayer post feature. ILLUSTRATION: Kit Doyle The new […]
Holocaust survivors use social media to fight anti-Semitism
Berlin, GermanyAP Alarmed by a rise in online anti-Semitism during the pandemic, coupled with studies indicating younger generations lack even basic knowledge of the Nazi genocide, Holocaust survivors are taking to social media to share their experiences of how hate speech paved the way for mass murder. With short video messages recounting their stories, participants in the #ItStartedWithWords campaign […]