As Facebook faces intense fake news scrutiny after disclosing the details about the presence of Russian political ads worth $100,000 on its platform during the 2016 US presidential election, it was none other than former President Barack Obama who had warned CEO Mark Zuckerberg about fake news on Facebook. 
 
According to a report in The Washington Post late on Sunday, in November last year, Obama made a personal appeal to Zuckerberg to take the threat of fake news and political disinformation seriously.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Unless Facebook and the government did more to address the threat, Obama warned, it would only get worse in the next presidential race,&quot; the report added.&nbsp; 
 
However, Zuckerberg acknowledged the problem posed by fake news but &quot;told Obama that those messages weren`t widespread on Facebook and that there was no easy remedy&quot;. 
 
Now, after an extensive legal and policy review, the social media giant has announced it would now share those 3,000 Russian ads with Congressional investigators. 
 
Facebook announced it had found more than 3,000 ads addressing social and political issues that ran in the US between 2015 and 2017 and that appear to have come from accounts associated with a Russian entity known as the Internet Research Agency. 
 
Facebook earlier handed over the details to American Special Counsel Robert Mueller that included copies of the ads and details about the accounts that bought them and the targeting criteria they used.

Zuckerberg, who returned after taking parental leave after his second daughter was born, said in a post last week that he deeply cares about the democratic process and protecting its integrity.&nbsp; 
 
Zuckerberg said &quot;We will continue our investigation into what happened on Facebook in this election. We may find more, and if we do, we will continue to work with the government&quot;. 
 
The Facebook CEO noted that the social media company has already provided information regarding this issue with the special counsel and have also briefed Congress about it. 
 
He stressed the company would now make political advertising more transparent. When someone buys political ads on TV or other media, they are required by law to disclose who paid for them.&nbsp; 
 
The company would strengthen the ad review process for political ads. Facebook would now increase investment in security and specifically election integrity.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;In the next year, we will more than double the team working on election integrity. In total, we`ll add more than 250 people across all our teams focused on security and safety for our community,&quot; Zuckerberg said.

According to a report in The Washington Post late on Sunday, in November last year, Obama made a personal appeal to Zuckerberg to take the threat of fake news and political disinformation seriously.?

As Facebook faces intense fake news scrutiny after disclosing the details about the presence of Russian political ads worth $100,000 on its platform during the 2016 US presidential election, it was none other than former President Barack Obama who had warned CEO Mark Zuckerberg about fake news on Facebook. According to a report in The Washington Post late on Sunday, in November last year, Obama made a personal appeal to Zuckerberg to take the threat of fake news and political disinformation seriously. "Unless Facebook and the government did more to address the threat, Obama warned, it would only get worse in the next presidential race," the report added. However, Zuckerberg acknowledged the problem posed by fake news but "told Obama that those messages weren`t widespread on Facebook and that there was no easy remedy". Now, after an extensive legal and policy review, the social media giant has announced it would now share those 3,000 Russian ads with Congressional investigators. Facebook announced it had found more than 3,000 ads addressing social and political issues that ran in the US between 2015 and 2017 and that appear to have come from accounts associated with a Russian entity known as the Internet Research Agency. Facebook earlier handed over the details to American Special Counsel Robert Mueller that included copies of the ads and details about the accounts that bought them and the targeting criteria they used. Zuckerberg, who returned after taking parental leave after his second daughter was born, said in a post last week that he deeply cares about the democratic process and protecting its integrity. Zuckerberg said "We will continue our investigation into what happened on Facebook in this election. We may find more, and if we do, we will continue to work with the government". The Facebook CEO noted that the social media company has already provided information regarding this issue with the special counsel and have also briefed Congress about it. He stressed the company would now make political advertising more transparent. When someone buys political ads on TV or other media, they are required by law to disclose who paid for them. The company would strengthen the ad review process for political ads. Facebook would now increase investment in security and specifically election integrity. "In the next year, we will more than double the team working on election integrity. In total, we`ll add more than 250 people across all our teams focused on security and safety for our community," Zuckerberg said.

Obama personally warned Zuckerberg over fake news

Former Philippines president Gloria Arroyo was released from detention today following nearly five years in a military hospital after the Supreme Court dismissed her corruption charges, her lawyer said. 
 
The 69-year-old, who suffers from a spinal illness, was accused of stealing 366 million Pesos ($8.8 million) in state lottery funds meant for charity programmes while she was in office between 2001 and 2010.&nbsp;The Supreme Court threw out the case on Tuesday, citing insufficient evidence, but her release was delayed for procedural reasons. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s a happy day today because she has just been freed,&quot; said Laurence Arroyo, who is also a distant relative through marriage.&nbsp;&quot;Finally justice has been done.&quot; 
 
A convoy of vehicles carrying Arroyo, her supporters and lawyers left the suburban hospital compound near Manila but she could not be seen from her car&#39;s tinted windows.&nbsp;Outside the gates of the hospital, supporters drenched by rain cheered Arroyo&#39;s release and carried placards reading: &quot;We love Gloria&quot;. 
 
Arroyo returned to her home in a smart area of the capital minutes after her release. Laurence Arroyo said she may now seek medical treatment abroad for her disease.&nbsp;In a statement issued by her lawyers on Wednesday, Arroyo thanked the Supreme Court and newly-installed President Rodrigo Duterte for not standing in the way of her release. 
 
Government Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales defended the decision to charge Arroyo for plunder, and said on Wednesday she was preparing another corruption charge against her. 
 
The former leader was jailed in 2011 under the administration of arch critic, then-president Benigno Aquino.&nbsp;Aquino questioned the ruling to free Arroyo today, saying she should be held accountable for the mismanagement of funds that were supposed &quot;to alleviate the suffering of many of our countrymen&quot;. 
 
Duterte succeeded Aquino in June, and said he was willing to pardon Arroyo.&nbsp;Another of Arroyo&#39;s lawyers, Estelito Mendoza, had suggested that the Supreme Court waited until Aquino stepped down before issuing its ruling as a &quot;courtesy&quot; to Aquino. 
 
Arroyo was initially arrested on charges of electoral sabotage for allegedly conspiring with election officials to rig 2007 senatorial polls.&nbsp;Because of her illness, the government allowed her to be detained in a military hospital. 
 
She was granted bail for the vote-rigging case in July 2012 after the court, while not dismissing the charge, ruled evidence against her was weak.&nbsp;But the corruption case against Arroyo was lodged the same year, keeping her in detention. 
 
Despite being detained, Arroyo has won a seat in the House of Representatives in the past three elections, serving as a congresswoman while being held in the hospital. 
 
(AFP)

Gloria Arroyo was accused of stealing $8.8 from lottery funds meant for charities. She served as a congresswoman while in hospital

Former Philippines president Gloria Arroyo was released from detention today following nearly five years in a military hospital after the Supreme Court dismissed her corruption charges, her lawyer said. The 69-year-old, who suffers from a spinal illness, was accused of stealing 366 million Pesos ($8.8 million) in state lottery funds meant for charity programmes while she was in office between 2001 and 2010. The Supreme Court threw out the case on Tuesday, citing insufficient evidence, but her release was delayed for procedural reasons. "It's a happy day today because she has just been freed," said Laurence Arroyo, who is also a distant relative through marriage. "Finally justice has been done." A convoy of vehicles carrying Arroyo, her supporters and lawyers left the suburban hospital compound near Manila but she could not be seen from her car's tinted windows. Outside the gates of the hospital, supporters drenched by rain cheered Arroyo's release and carried placards reading: "We love Gloria". Arroyo returned to her home in a smart area of the capital minutes after her release. Laurence Arroyo said she may now seek medical treatment abroad for her disease. In a statement issued by her lawyers on Wednesday, Arroyo thanked the Supreme Court and newly-installed President Rodrigo Duterte for not standing in the way of her release. Government Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales defended the decision to charge Arroyo for plunder, and said on Wednesday she was preparing another corruption charge against her. The former leader was jailed in 2011 under the administration of arch critic, then-president Benigno Aquino. Aquino questioned the ruling to free Arroyo today, saying she should be held accountable for the mismanagement of funds that were supposed "to alleviate the suffering of many of our countrymen". Duterte succeeded Aquino in June, and said he was willing to pardon Arroyo. Another of Arroyo's lawyers, Estelito Mendoza, had suggested that the Supreme Court waited until Aquino stepped down before issuing its ruling as a "courtesy" to Aquino. Arroyo was initially arrested on charges of electoral sabotage for allegedly conspiring with election officials to rig 2007 senatorial polls. Because of her illness, the government allowed her to be detained in a military hospital. She was granted bail for the vote-rigging case in July 2012 after the court, while not dismissing the charge, ruled evidence against her was weak. But the corruption case against Arroyo was lodged the same year, keeping her in detention. Despite being detained, Arroyo has won a seat in the House of Representatives in the past three elections, serving as a congresswoman while being held in the hospital. (AFP)

Former Philippines president freed after 5 years in military hospital detention

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced plans to quit his role as head of France&#39;s Les Republicains party on Saturday, setting up a potential bid to become head of state for a second time. 
 
Supporters of Les Republicains and other Right and Centre-Right parties will vote in November to decide who will be their candidate in the 2017 presidential election. 
 
The winner will face the far-right National Front&#39;s Marine Le Pen and a Socialist candidate, likely to be President Francois Hollande. 
 
Sarkozy would not be able to run in those presidential primaries if he remained head of the party. He would need to resign two weeks before the application deadline on September 9. 
 
&quot;This national council will be my last one as president of Les Republicains,&quot; he told a party meeting, calling for a fair contest and no acrimony between the potential nominees. 
 
&quot;This primary will be a time of competition between some strong personalities, between people of significant talent,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;When the right goes into battle it has a front on the left and a front on the extreme right. That is why it is unacceptable that we should attack each other.&quot; 
 
For much of this year, Centre-Right rival Alain Juppe has outpaced Sarkozy in opinion polls, but the man who was president between 2007 and 2012 is making a comeback among party supporters, a recent survey showed, a sign the battle could be more open than many thought. 
 
(Reuters)

The former president is making a comeback among party supporters, a recent survey showed

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced plans to quit his role as head of France's Les Republicains party on Saturday, setting up a potential bid to become head of state for a second time. Supporters of Les Republicains and other Right and Centre-Right parties will vote in November to decide who will be their candidate in the 2017 presidential election. The winner will face the far-right National Front's Marine Le Pen and a Socialist candidate, likely to be President Francois Hollande. Sarkozy would not be able to run in those presidential primaries if he remained head of the party. He would need to resign two weeks before the application deadline on September 9. "This national council will be my last one as president of Les Republicains," he told a party meeting, calling for a fair contest and no acrimony between the potential nominees. "This primary will be a time of competition between some strong personalities, between people of significant talent," he said. "When the right goes into battle it has a front on the left and a front on the extreme right. That is why it is unacceptable that we should attack each other." For much of this year, Centre-Right rival Alain Juppe has outpaced Sarkozy in opinion polls, but the man who was president between 2007 and 2012 is making a comeback among party supporters, a recent survey showed, a sign the battle could be more open than many thought. (Reuters)

Sarkozy sets up French presidential bid by quitting party role

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