Facebook, Airbnb Go on Offense Against Nazis After Violence

When white supremacists plan rallies like the one a few days ago in Charlottesville, Virginia, they often organize their events on Facebook, pay for supplies with PayPal, book their lodging with Airbnb and ride with Uber. Tech companies, for their part, have been taking pains to distance themselves from these customers.But sometimes it takes more than automated systems or complaints from other users to identify and block those who promote hate speech or violence, so companies are finding novel ways to spot and shut down content they deem inappropriate or dangerous. People don't tend to share their views on their Airbnb accounts, for example. But after matching user names to posts on social-media profiles, the company canceled dozens of reservations made by self-identified Nazis who were using its app to find rooms in Charlottesville, where they were heading to protest the removal of a Confederate statue.At Facebook, which relies on community feedback to flag hateful content for removal, the social network's private groups meant for like-minded people can be havens for extremists, falling through gaps in the content-moderation system. The company is working quickly to improve its machine-learning capabilities to be able to automatically identify posts that should be reviewed by human moderators. Continue reading at AdAge.com Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2017-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Gov. Gavin Newsom's Facebook ads in swing states stir 2020 speculation

Political ads featuring California Gov. Gavin Newsom are popping up on Facebook in Ohio, Florida and other swing states in the 2020 presidential election, stirring speculation about whether the Democrat is testing the waters for a potential White House run. Newsom, who was sworn into office less... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Publishers were always a second priority’: Confessions of a former Facebook exec on the platform’s struggles with video

"We generated revenue from brands. If content was so important, you’d think we would be trying harder to please publishers." The post ‘Publishers were always a second priority’: Confessions of a former Facebook exec on the platform’s struggles with video appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook just purged hundreds of fake accounts linked to a Russian news network

This is just the last announcement in its crackdown on “inauthentic” behavior. Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher published a blog post this morning saying the company has discovered and removed hundreds of pages and accounts it deemed to be “inauthentic.” The pages came... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook is funding more programs catering to local news publishers

Facebook announced over $30 million in grants to organizations trying to help local news publishers. The post Facebook is funding more programs catering to local news publishers appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Efficient’: Publishers are recycling their Instagram efforts for Facebook Stories

Once a ghost town, Facebook Stories has gotten increasingly more attractive to publishers. The post ‘Efficient’: Publishers are recycling their Instagram efforts for Facebook Stories appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook rolls out fact-checking operation in UK

Social network brings in independent charity in attempt to tackle misinformationFacebook’s fact-checking operation is launching in the UK, with the independent charity Full Fact selected to be the first British publisher to review and rate the accuracy of content on the social network.Posts,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Older people more likely to share fake news on Facebook, study finds

Researchers suggest over-65s may lack skills to determine veracity of online newsOlder people are almost four times more likely to have shared fake news on Facebook than the younger generation, according to research published in the journal Science.On average, American Facebook users over 65... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The proof that Facebook is broken is obvious from its very modus operandi | John Naughton

Despite employing a small army of contractors to monitor posts, it’s clear the company is no longer fit for purposeWay back in the 1950s, a pioneering British cybernetician, W Ross Ashby, proposed a fundamental law of dynamic systems. In his book An Introduction to Cybernetics, he formulated his... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Resign from Facebook': experts offer Mark Zuckerberg advice for 2019

The CEO sets himself a personal challenge every new year. But after a bruising 12 months, what should he do next? When Mark Zuckerberg began his annual “personal challenges” in 2009, he set the bar pretty low: he dressed like an adult every day for a year. Subsequent challenges were squarely in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What It Means to Delete Facebook

Facebook is closing out a bruising 2018 filled with high-profile scandals. It started with additional fallout from Russian election meddling and soon included misinformation, Cambridge Analytica, security breaches, and a shady opposition research firm. A new report published just this week found... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2018-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Didn’t think Facebook could get any worse? Think again.

Just about 24 hours ago, we published a story recapping Facebook's terrible 2018. But the year isn't over, and it looks like the drama is going to continue until the bitter end. According to an investigation by The New York Times that cites interview... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Would you delete Facebook for $1,000? This economist put that theory to the test

Tufts University economist Sean Cash doesn’t normally dabble in the valuations of giant tech companies. As the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy professor puts it, “My bread and butter is bread and butter.” But a few years ago, Cash got interested in answering the question of how... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2018-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook may finally face a reckoning as more grave misdeeds are revealed | Jill Abramson

Moves to oust the company’s leadership team of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg suddenly look a lot more serious as its legal position becomes more perilous So far, the public and political reaction in the US to Facebook’s grave misdeeds has been surprisingly muted. That’s about to change.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook users cannot avoid location-based ads, investigation finds

No combination of settings can stop location data being used by advertisers, says reportFacebook targets users with location-based adverts even if they block the company from accessing GPS on their phones, turn off location history in the app, hide their work location on their profile and never... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook's privacy problems: a roundup

The social media giant’s troubles have led to lawsuits, House of Commons hearings and several apologiesFacebook disclosed on Friday that a bug may have affected up to 6.8 million users, allowing app developers to see photos that users had uploaded but never posted – but this was hardly the first... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Audience Network Joined Google’s Open Bidding Program

Publishers using mobile ad network Facebook Audience Network now have another bidding option: the Open Bidding program from Google. The social network wrote in a blog post announcing the move, "Publishers are increasingly using unified auctions to maximize their advertising revenue. Bidding, as... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2018-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sean Parker built Napster and helped lead Facebook. Now he’ll guide you to the beach

When Sean Parker crossed California's beach access police over his wedding in Big Sur, the tech billionaire agreed to create a coastal access app for the people. The app launches Thursday after an unusual collaboration between two very different, but very California, worlds. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook building in Menlo Park cleared after bomb threat

A bomb threat forced the evacuation Tuesday afternoon of a building on Facebook’s campus in Menlo Park, Calif., authorities said. Bomb detection dogs searched the building at 200 Jefferson Drive and found no suspicious packages or devices, the Menlo Park Police Department said. The incident began... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Viral publisher First Media joins Snapchat with repurposed Facebook video

First Media decided to join Snapchat after the platform no longer required publishers to share only exclusive content. The post Viral publisher First Media joins Snapchat with repurposed Facebook video appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2018-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Revealed Several Updates to Its Test of Subscriptions to Instant Articles

Facebook announced several updates to its test of subscriptions to Instant Articles, as well as 26 new publishers that were added to the test group. The social network began testing subscriptions in Instant Articles with 10 publishers in October 2017. The implementation approach for the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2018-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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