Month: October 2021

Donald Trump’s plans to launch a platform are good news for Mark Zuckerberg, who’ll be busy prebutting the next damning exposé of his company By rights, these should really be what we might euphemise as Donald Trump’s “hidden years”. Though he might not have been expected to descend immediately to full late-era Howard Hughes – …

Finally, Facebook can say it’s not the most toxic social network | Marina Hyde Read More »

Home feed promotes rightwing tweets over those from the left, internal research finds Twitter has admitted it amplifies more tweets from rightwing politicians and news outlets than content from leftwing sources. The social media platform examined tweets from elected officials in seven countries – the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and Japan. It also …

Twitter admits bias in algorithm for rightwing politicians and news outlets Read More »

Danny Robins returns to examine listeners’ freaky real-life tales. Plus: Radiolab pays homage to the cassette tape, and Home/Front tells the story of an unusual anti-war activist Uncanny “Are you Team Believer or Team Sceptic?” asks Danny Robins of The Battersea Poltergeist fame, as he launches his 15-part podcast about supernatural encounters. After appealing to …

Best podcasts of the week: more supernatural spookiness with the creator of the Battersea Poltergeist Read More »

23 October 1871: Babbage’s calculating machines are seen as the forerunners of modern programmable computers The death is announced of Mr Charles Babbage, who has long held high rank among the mathematicians of the day. He was born on 26 December 1792, and having been privately educated, proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge where he took …

The death of Charles Babbage, mathematician and inventor – archive, 23 October 1871 Read More »

Social media firm announces deal after long-running battle with national and regional newspapers France has hailed a victory in its long-running quest for fairer action from tech companies after Facebook reached an agreement with a group of national and regional newspapers to pay for content shared by its users. Facebook on Thursday announced a licensing …

France hails victory as Facebook agrees to pay newspapers for content Read More »

Revelations about World Doctors Alliance pages raise questions about platform’s efforts to control misinformation An international pressure group that spread false and conspiratorial claims about Covid-19 more than doubled the average number of interactions it got on Facebook in the first six months of 2021 in spite of renewed efforts to curb misinformation on the …

Group that spread false Covid claims doubled Facebook interactions in six months Read More »

The company’s car sales are set to overtake last year’s figures even as construction of its new Texas factory is underway Tesla saw its biggest quarterly net earnings in history, the company said on Wednesday, propelled by record electric vehicle sales last summer, amid a shortage of computer chips and other materials. The company made …

Tesla reports record quarterly earnings despite global supply chain meltdown Read More »

After news broke of the troubled social media company planning to rebrand its toxic image, ideas flew fast and plentiful Facebook is reportedly preparing to unveil a new name as the company seeks to rebrand, and the internet has already come through with some pointed suggestions. The plans, first reported by the Verge on Tuesday, …

Facebonk, Bacefook, Hellsite: Zuck, the internet has some suggestions Read More »

Account behind the advert has been suspended after appearing on the platform’s Stories feed Explainer: how do I get a Covid digital vaccine certificate? Australia vaccine rollout tracker; cases and data tracker Get our free news app; get our morning email briefing Instagram has displayed an ad promoting fake vaccination certificates in Australia at a …

Instagram displays ad offering fake Covid vaccine certificates in Australia Read More »

Pinterest approached about possible deal, Bloomberg reports Financial firm PayPal has benefited from online shopping boom ​​PayPal is reportedly exploring the acquisition of social media company Pinterest, according to Bloomberg News. PayPal, the financial technology company based in San Jose, California, recently approached Pinterest about a potential deal that would value Pinterest at roughly $39bn, …

Pinterest shares soar amid reports of $39bn takeover by PayPal Read More »