By , (Reuters) - The board of Parler, a social media platform backed by Republican Party donor Rebekah Mercer and favored by U.S conservatives, has fired its CEO John Matze, he said on Wednesday.Matze confirmed the move to Reuters, after it was originally reported by Fox News, and said that he had not been given a settlement.“On January 29, 2021, the Parler board controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO of Parler. I did not participate in this decision,” Matze said in a memo sent to Parler staff.“Over the past few months, I’ve met constant resistance...…By , (Reuters) - The board of Parler, a social media platform backed by Republican Party donor Rebekah Mercer and favored by U.S conservatives, has fired its CEO John Matze, he said on Wednesday.Matze confirmed the move to Reuters, after it was originally reported by Fox News, and said that he had not been given a settlement.“On January 29, 2021, the Parler board controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO of Parler. I did not participate in this decision,” Matze said in a memo sent to Parler staff.“Over the past few months, I’ve met constant resistance...WW…

By (Reuters) - The foundation that operates Wikipedia will launch its first global code of conduct on Tuesday, seeking to address criticism that it has failed to combat harassment and suffers from a lack of diversity.“We need to be much more inclusive,” said María Sefidari, the chair of board of trustees for the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. “We are missing a lot of voices, we’re missing women, we’re missing marginalized groups.”Online platforms have come under intense scrutiny for abusive behavior, violent rhetoric and other forms of problematic content, pushing them to revamp content...…By (Reuters) - The foundation that operates Wikipedia will launch its first global code of conduct on Tuesday, seeking to address criticism that it has failed to combat harassment and suffers from a lack of diversity.“We need to be much more inclusive,” said María Sefidari, the chair of board of trustees for the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. “We are missing a lot of voices, we’re missing women, we’re missing marginalized groups.”Online platforms have come under intense scrutiny for abusive behavior, violent rhetoric and other forms of problematic content, pushing them to revamp content...WW…

By (Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday the company would no longer recommend civic and political groups to users of the platform.The social media company said in October that it was temporarily halting recommendations of political groups for U.S. users in the run-up to the presidential election. On Wednesday Facebook said it would be making this permanent and would expand the policy globally.On Tuesday, Democratic Senator Ed Markey wrote to Zuckerberg asking for an explanation of reports, including by news site The Markup, that Facebook had failed to stop...…By (Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday the company would no longer recommend civic and political groups to users of the platform.The social media company said in October that it was temporarily halting recommendations of political groups for U.S. users in the run-up to the presidential election. On Wednesday Facebook said it would be making this permanent and would expand the policy globally.On Tuesday, Democratic Senator Ed Markey wrote to Zuckerberg asking for an explanation of reports, including by news site The Markup, that Facebook had failed to stop...WW…

By Slideshow (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Monday it launched a pilot program that has users flag tweets that they believe are misleading and write notes to provide context.The project, called Birdwatch, is initially offered in the United States, the social media firm said in a blog post .Twitter and other social media companies have been under pressure to combat misinformation on their platforms. Twitter last year started adding labels and warnings about misinformation on the site, including about the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. election.Birdwatch is on a separate section of Twitter ,...…By Slideshow (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Monday it launched a pilot program that has users flag tweets that they believe are misleading and write notes to provide context.The project, called Birdwatch, is initially offered in the United States, the social media firm said in a blog post .Twitter and other social media companies have been under pressure to combat misinformation on their platforms. Twitter last year started adding labels and warnings about misinformation on the site, including about the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. election.Birdwatch is on a separate section of Twitter ,...WW…

By Slideshow (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Monday it launched a pilot program that has users flag tweets that they believe are misleading and write notes to provide context.The project, called Birdwatch, is initially offered in the United States, the social media firm said in a blog post .Twitter and other social media companies have been under pressure to combat misinformation on their platforms. Twitter last year started adding labels and warnings about misinformation on the site, including about the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. election.Birdwatch is on a separate section of Twitter ,...…By Slideshow (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Monday it launched a pilot program that has users flag tweets that they believe are misleading and write notes to provide context.The project, called Birdwatch, is initially offered in the United States, the social media firm said in a blog post .Twitter and other social media companies have been under pressure to combat misinformation on their platforms. Twitter last year started adding labels and warnings about misinformation on the site, including about the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. election.Birdwatch is on a separate section of Twitter ,...WW…

By Slideshow (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Monday it launched a pilot program that has users flag tweets that they believe are misleading and write notes to provide context.The project, called Birdwatch, is initially offered in the United States, the social media firm said in a blog post .Twitter and other social media companies have been under pressure to combat misinformation on their platforms. Twitter last year started adding labels and warnings about misinformation on the site, including about the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. election.Birdwatch is on a separate section of Twitter ,...…By Slideshow (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Monday it launched a pilot program that has users flag tweets that they believe are misleading and write notes to provide context.The project, called Birdwatch, is initially offered in the United States, the social media firm said in a blog post .Twitter and other social media companies have been under pressure to combat misinformation on their platforms. Twitter last year started adding labels and warnings about misinformation on the site, including about the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. election.Birdwatch is on a separate section of Twitter ,...WW…

By , , , SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - For three years, adherents of the sprawling QAnon conspiracy theory awaited a so-called Great Awakening, scouring anonymous web postings from a shadowy “Q” figure and parsing statements by former U.S. President Donald Trump, whom they believed to be their champion.On Wednesday, they grappled with a harsh reality check: Trump had left office with no mass arrests or other victories against the supposed cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophile cannibal elites, especially Democrats, he was ostensibly fighting.Instead, Democratic President Joseph Biden was...…By , , , SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - For three years, adherents of the sprawling QAnon conspiracy theory awaited a so-called Great Awakening, scouring anonymous web postings from a shadowy “Q” figure and parsing statements by former U.S. President Donald Trump, whom they believed to be their champion.On Wednesday, they grappled with a harsh reality check: Trump had left office with no mass arrests or other victories against the supposed cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophile cannibal elites, especially Democrats, he was ostensibly fighting.Instead, Democratic President Joseph Biden was...WW…

By , , (Reuters) - Parler, a social media website and app popular with the American far right, has partially returned online with the help of a Russian-owned technology company.Parler vanished from the internet when dropped by Amazon Inc’s hosting arm and other partners for poor moderation after its users called for violence and posted videos glorifying the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.On Monday, Parler’s website was reachable again, though only with a message from its chief executive saying he was working to restore functionality.The internet protocol address it used is owned by...…By , , (Reuters) - Parler, a social media website and app popular with the American far right, has partially returned online with the help of a Russian-owned technology company.Parler vanished from the internet when dropped by Amazon Inc’s hosting arm and other partners for poor moderation after its users called for violence and posted videos glorifying the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.On Monday, Parler’s website was reachable again, though only with a message from its chief executive saying he was working to restore functionality.The internet protocol address it used is owned by...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Parler on Thursday urged a U.S. judge to order Amazon.com Inc to restore the company’s account, saying Amazon had no evidence the social media platform was used to incite last week’s storming of the U.S. Capitol.At a hearing in Seattle federal court, Parler’s lawyer David Groesbeck said the company would suffer irreparable harm if forced to close and that keeping it alive served the public interest. He also downplayed Parler’s role in the riots in Washington.“Millions of law-abiding Americans have had their voices silenced,” Groesbeck told U.S. District Judge Barbara...…By , (Reuters) - Parler on Thursday urged a U.S. judge to order Amazon.com Inc to restore the company’s account, saying Amazon had no evidence the social media platform was used to incite last week’s storming of the U.S. Capitol.At a hearing in Seattle federal court, Parler’s lawyer David Groesbeck said the company would suffer irreparable harm if forced to close and that keeping it alive served the public interest. He also downplayed Parler’s role in the riots in Washington.“Millions of law-abiding Americans have had their voices silenced,” Groesbeck told U.S. District Judge Barbara...WW…

By (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google will stop selling political ads referencing U.S. elections across its services until at least Jan. 21, following last week’s violence at the Capitol, according to an email to advertisers seen by Reuters.The email said the action was taken “following the unprecedented events of the past week and ahead of the upcoming presidential inauguration,” which takes place on Jan. 20.In a statement, Google said it would “temporarily pause all political ads in addition to any ads referencing impeachment, the inauguration, or protests at the U.S. Capitol.”The move, to...…By (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google will stop selling political ads referencing U.S. elections across its services until at least Jan. 21, following last week’s violence at the Capitol, according to an email to advertisers seen by Reuters.The email said the action was taken “following the unprecedented events of the past week and ahead of the upcoming presidential inauguration,” which takes place on Jan. 20.In a statement, Google said it would “temporarily pause all political ads in addition to any ads referencing impeachment, the inauguration, or protests at the U.S. Capitol.”The move, to...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google on Friday suspended the Parler social networking service from its app store, citing posts inciting violence and demanding “robust” content moderation from the app favored by many supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump.Apple Inc on Friday also gave the service 24 hours to submit a detailed moderation plan, pointing to participants using the service to coordinate Wednesday’s siege of the U.S. Capitol building.The actions by the two Silicon Valley companies mean that the network seen as a haven for people expelled from Twitter could become unavailable...…By , (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google on Friday suspended the Parler social networking service from its app store, citing posts inciting violence and demanding “robust” content moderation from the app favored by many supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump.Apple Inc on Friday also gave the service 24 hours to submit a detailed moderation plan, pointing to participants using the service to coordinate Wednesday’s siege of the U.S. Capitol building.The actions by the two Silicon Valley companies mean that the network seen as a haven for people expelled from Twitter could become unavailable...WW…

By , Slideshow WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Friday that it has permanently suspended U.S. President Donald Trump’s account due to the risk of further incitement of violence following the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday by hundreds of his supporters.“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” the company said in a tweet.Social media companies have cracked down on Trump’s accounts in the wake of the turmoil on...…By , Slideshow WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Friday that it has permanently suspended U.S. President Donald Trump’s account due to the risk of further incitement of violence following the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday by hundreds of his supporters.“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” the company said in a tweet.Social media companies have cracked down on Trump’s accounts in the wake of the turmoil on...WW…

By (Reuters) -Twitter Inc said on Wednesday that users will be required to remove new tweets that advance harmfully false or misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccinations, in an expansion of its rules on coronavirus misinformation.The social media company said in a blog post that users could be required to remove tweets with false claims that suggest vaccines are “used to intentionally cause harm to or control populations, including statements about vaccines that invoke a deliberate conspiracy.”The policy, announced the same week that the first Americans received COVID-19 vaccinations as...…By (Reuters) -Twitter Inc said on Wednesday that users will be required to remove new tweets that advance harmfully false or misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccinations, in an expansion of its rules on coronavirus misinformation.The social media company said in a blog post that users could be required to remove tweets with false claims that suggest vaccines are “used to intentionally cause harm to or control populations, including statements about vaccines that invoke a deliberate conspiracy.”The policy, announced the same week that the first Americans received COVID-19 vaccinations as...WW…

By (Reuters) -Twitter Inc said on Wednesday that users will be required to remove new tweets that advance harmfully false or misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccinations, in an expansion of its rules on coronavirus misinformation.The social media company said in a blog post that users could be required to remove tweets with false claims that suggest vaccines are “used to intentionally cause harm to or control populations, including statements about vaccines that invoke a deliberate conspiracy.”The policy, announced the same week that the first Americans received COVID-19 vaccinations as...…By (Reuters) -Twitter Inc said on Wednesday that users will be required to remove new tweets that advance harmfully false or misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccinations, in an expansion of its rules on coronavirus misinformation.The social media company said in a blog post that users could be required to remove tweets with false claims that suggest vaccines are “used to intentionally cause harm to or control populations, including statements about vaccines that invoke a deliberate conspiracy.”The policy, announced the same week that the first Americans received COVID-19 vaccinations as...WW…

By (Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s independent Oversight Board announced on Tuesday the first six cases where it could overrule the social media company’s decisions to remove certain pieces of content from its platforms.The board, which Facebook created in response to criticism of its handling of problematic content, said it had received 20,000 cases since it opened its doors in October.Three of the six cases involved content that Facebook removed for breaking hate speech rules.An Oversight Board spokesman said hate speech cases had been “the most significant proportion” of appeals...…By (Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s independent Oversight Board announced on Tuesday the first six cases where it could overrule the social media company’s decisions to remove certain pieces of content from its platforms.The board, which Facebook created in response to criticism of its handling of problematic content, said it had received 20,000 cases since it opened its doors in October.Three of the six cases involved content that Facebook removed for breaking hate speech rules.An Oversight Board spokesman said hate speech cases had been “the most significant proportion” of appeals...WW…

By (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it was globally launching tweets that disappear after 24 hours, similar to the stories feature that is popular on Snapchat and Facebook’s photo-sharing app Instagram.Twitter has previously announced its plan for these ephemeral tweets, dubbed “fleets”, and tested the feature in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea.“Some of you tell us that Tweeting is uncomfortable because it feels so public, so permanent, and like there’s so much pressure to rack up Retweets and Likes,” design director Joshua Harris and product manager Sam Haveson said in a blog...…By (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it was globally launching tweets that disappear after 24 hours, similar to the stories feature that is popular on Snapchat and Facebook’s photo-sharing app Instagram.Twitter has previously announced its plan for these ephemeral tweets, dubbed “fleets”, and tested the feature in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea.“Some of you tell us that Tweeting is uncomfortable because it feels so public, so permanent, and like there’s so much pressure to rack up Retweets and Likes,” design director Joshua Harris and product manager Sam Haveson said in a blog...WW…

By , , (Reuters) - Spanish-language misinformation flourished online in the days surrounding the U.S. election, even as social media companies moved to stem falsehoods that could affect the vote or spark violence.Spanish-language social media posts from online celebrities, radio commentators and others have repeatedly questioned the reliability of mail-in voting and falsely described presidential candidate Joe Biden as a socialist, according to Spanish-language disinformation experts and posts seen by Reuters.Other postings have pushed QAnon in Spanish, a conspiracy theory that claims...…By , , (Reuters) - Spanish-language misinformation flourished online in the days surrounding the U.S. election, even as social media companies moved to stem falsehoods that could affect the vote or spark violence.Spanish-language social media posts from online celebrities, radio commentators and others have repeatedly questioned the reliability of mail-in voting and falsely described presidential candidate Joe Biden as a socialist, according to Spanish-language disinformation experts and posts seen by Reuters.Other postings have pushed QAnon in Spanish, a conspiracy theory that claims...WW…

By , , (Reuters) - As U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies flooded social media on Wednesday with false claims of victory and unsupported allegations of voter fraud, social media companies warned users that the presidential election had yet to be decided.But it is not clear whether the disclaimers and fact-checks, which often occur well after posts have been shared tens of thousands of times, are curbing the circulation of baseless claims. And in the case of Facebook, staff rewrote the rules regarding state victories on the fly.Critics say that, in environments explicitly built to...…By , , (Reuters) - As U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies flooded social media on Wednesday with false claims of victory and unsupported allegations of voter fraud, social media companies warned users that the presidential election had yet to be decided.But it is not clear whether the disclaimers and fact-checks, which often occur well after posts have been shared tens of thousands of times, are curbing the circulation of baseless claims. And in the case of Facebook, staff rewrote the rules regarding state victories on the fly.Critics say that, in environments explicitly built to...WW…

By , , (Reuters) - As U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies flooded social media on Wednesday with false claims of victory and unsupported allegations of voter fraud, social media companies warned users that the presidential election had yet to be decided.But it is not clear whether the disclaimers and fact-checks, which often occur well after posts have been shared tens of thousands of times, are curbing the circulation of baseless claims. And in the case of Facebook, staff rewrote the rules regarding state victories on the fly.Critics say that, in environments explicitly built to...…By , , (Reuters) - As U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies flooded social media on Wednesday with false claims of victory and unsupported allegations of voter fraud, social media companies warned users that the presidential election had yet to be decided.But it is not clear whether the disclaimers and fact-checks, which often occur well after posts have been shared tens of thousands of times, are curbing the circulation of baseless claims. And in the case of Facebook, staff rewrote the rules regarding state victories on the fly.Critics say that, in environments explicitly built to...WW…

By Slideshow Twitter hid the president’s tweet, sent the day before the U.S. presidential election, behind a label which said the content was “disputed” and “might be misleading.”Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly said, without evidence, that mail-in votes are prone to fraud, although election experts say that is rare in U.S. elections. Trump’s tweet also said the Supreme Court’s decision would “induce violence in the streets.”Social media companies are under pressure to curb misinformation on their platforms ahead of the U.S. election. Twitter has labeled or put warnings on...…By Slideshow Twitter hid the president’s tweet, sent the day before the U.S. presidential election, behind a label which said the content was “disputed” and “might be misleading.”Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly said, without evidence, that mail-in votes are prone to fraud, although election experts say that is rare in U.S. elections. Trump’s tweet also said the Supreme Court’s decision would “induce violence in the streets.”Social media companies are under pressure to curb misinformation on their platforms ahead of the U.S. election. Twitter has labeled or put warnings on...WW…

By (Reuters) - In the run-up to the U.S. vote in November, social media companies like Facebook Inc and Twitter have announced new rules for various post-election scenarios.The companies, which have been criticized by social media researchers and lawmakers over the enforcement of their content policies, have laid out plans for how they will handle candidates claiming victory before results are certified or calls for election-related violence.Here is how major social media companies plan to approach election challenges:If candidates or campaigns make premature victory claims, Facebook said...…By (Reuters) - In the run-up to the U.S. vote in November, social media companies like Facebook Inc and Twitter have announced new rules for various post-election scenarios.The companies, which have been criticized by social media researchers and lawmakers over the enforcement of their content policies, have laid out plans for how they will handle candidates claiming victory before results are certified or calls for election-related violence.Here is how major social media companies plan to approach election challenges:If candidates or campaigns make premature victory claims, Facebook said...WW…

By , The video platform said it would now ban any content with claims about COVID-19 vaccines that contradict consensus from local health authorities or the World Health Organization.YouTube said in a blog post that this would include removing claims that the vaccine will kill people or cause infertility, or that microchips will be implanted in people who receive the vaccine.A YouTube spokesman told Reuters that general discussions in videos about “broad concerns” over the vaccine would remain on the platform.YouTube says it already removes content that disputes the existence or...…By , The video platform said it would now ban any content with claims about COVID-19 vaccines that contradict consensus from local health authorities or the World Health Organization.YouTube said in a blog post that this would include removing claims that the vaccine will kill people or cause infertility, or that microchips will be implanted in people who receive the vaccine.A YouTube spokesman told Reuters that general discussions in videos about “broad concerns” over the vaccine would remain on the platform.YouTube says it already removes content that disputes the existence or...WW…

By , The video platform said it would now ban any content with claims about COVID-19 vaccines that contradict consensus from local health authorities or the World Health Organization.YouTube said in a blog post that this would include removing claims that the vaccine will kill people or cause infertility, or that microchips will be implanted in people who receive the vaccine.A YouTube spokesman told Reuters that general discussions in videos about “broad concerns” over the vaccine would remain on the platform.YouTube says it already removes content that disputes the existence or...…By , The video platform said it would now ban any content with claims about COVID-19 vaccines that contradict consensus from local health authorities or the World Health Organization.YouTube said in a blog post that this would include removing claims that the vaccine will kill people or cause infertility, or that microchips will be implanted in people who receive the vaccine.A YouTube spokesman told Reuters that general discussions in videos about “broad concerns” over the vaccine would remain on the platform.YouTube says it already removes content that disputes the existence or...WW…

By Twitter said in a blog post that, from next week, users will get a prompt pointing them to credible information before they can retweet content that has been labeled as misleading.It said it would add more warnings and restrictions on tweets with misleading information labels from U.S. political figures like candidates and campaigns, as well as U.S.-based accounts with more than 100,000 followers or that get “significant engagement.”Twitter, which recently told Reuters it was testing how to make its labeling more obvious and direct, said people will have to tap through warnings to see...…By Twitter said in a blog post that, from next week, users will get a prompt pointing them to credible information before they can retweet content that has been labeled as misleading.It said it would add more warnings and restrictions on tweets with misleading information labels from U.S. political figures like candidates and campaigns, as well as U.S.-based accounts with more than 100,000 followers or that get “significant engagement.”Twitter, which recently told Reuters it was testing how to make its labeling more obvious and direct, said people will have to tap through warnings to see...WW…

By (Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s long-delayed independent Oversight Board plans to launch in mid-late October, just before the November U.S. presidential election, but a Facebook spokeswoman said on Thursday it was unlikely that the board would handle election-related cases.The board, created by Facebook in response to criticism of its handling of problematic content, will initially have the power to review decisions to take down posts from Facebook and Instagram, and recommend policy changes.Oversight Board member Alan Rusbridger told Reuters in an interview this week the board was now aiming...…By (Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s long-delayed independent Oversight Board plans to launch in mid-late October, just before the November U.S. presidential election, but a Facebook spokeswoman said on Thursday it was unlikely that the board would handle election-related cases.The board, created by Facebook in response to criticism of its handling of problematic content, will initially have the power to review decisions to take down posts from Facebook and Instagram, and recommend policy changes.Oversight Board member Alan Rusbridger told Reuters in an interview this week the board was now aiming...WW…