The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has ordered Delhi Police to file a FIR against Twitter for supplying misleading information during an investigation, amid the uproar over the microblogging site's non-compliance with the new IT standards.

NCPCR requests Delhi Police to file a FIR against Twitter

Will social media companies like Facebook and Twitter fail to operate in India in two days? Palki Sharma tells you why major social media companies are in trouble in India.

Gravitas: Twitter raided in India

Social Media giants Facebook and Twitter had three months to comply with India's new rules. They failed to meet the deadline. Can Facebook and Twitter get banned for non-compliance? Palki Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: Social Media giants face heat in India

With the deadline to comply with the new IT rules meant for big social media platforms in India ending on Tuesday, Facebook said that the company aims to comply with the provisions of the new intermediary guidelines and is working towards it. 
 
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had asked the social media platform to abide by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 by May 25, or face strict action. A Facebook spokesperson said that the company is putting operational processes in place to meet the new IT rules. 
 
"We aim to comply with the provisions of the IT rules and continue to discuss a few of the issues which need more engagement with the government," a company spokesperson said in a statement. 
 
"Pursuant to the IT rules, we are working to implement operational processes and improve efficiencies. Facebook remains committed to people`s ability to freely and safely express themselves on our platform," the spokesperson added. 
 
Twitter was yet to speak officially on the May 25 deadline. 
 
The MeitY had announced it's draft new IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules for social media platforms on February 25. 
 
As per the new rules, social media platforms will have to remove offending content within 36 hours after a government directive or a legal order. 
 
The new rules mandate that the intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, must establish a grievance redressal mechanism for receiving/resolving complaints from the users or victims. 
 
Only homegrown micro-blogging platform Koo has met the compliance requirements of the new IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2021. 
 
Koo said it has also implemented due diligence and grievance redressal mechanism supported by an Indian resident Chief Compliance Officer, Nodal Officer and Grievance Officer. 
 
"Complying with the new social media guidelines published by the government of India within time clearly shows why it`s important to have Indian social media players thriving in the country," said Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-Founder and CEO of Koo.

With the deadline to comply with the new IT rules meant for big social media platforms in India ending on Tuesday, Facebook said that the company aims to comply with the provisions of the new intermediary guidelines and is working towards it.

With the deadline to comply with the new IT rules meant for big social media platforms in India ending on Tuesday, Facebook said that the company aims to comply with the provisions of the new intermediary guidelines and is working towards it. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had asked the social media platform to abide by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 by May 25, or face strict action. A Facebook spokesperson said that the company is putting operational processes in place to meet the new IT rules. "We aim to comply with the provisions of the IT rules and continue to discuss a few of the issues which need more engagement with the government," a company spokesperson said in a statement. "Pursuant to the IT rules, we are working to implement operational processes and improve efficiencies. Facebook remains committed to people`s ability to freely and safely express themselves on our platform," the spokesperson added. Twitter was yet to speak officially on the May 25 deadline. The MeitY had announced it's draft new IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules for social media platforms on February 25. As per the new rules, social media platforms will have to remove offending content within 36 hours after a government directive or a legal order. The new rules mandate that the intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, must establish a grievance redressal mechanism for receiving/resolving complaints from the users or victims. Only homegrown micro-blogging platform Koo has met the compliance requirements of the new IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2021. Koo said it has also implemented due diligence and grievance redressal mechanism supported by an Indian resident Chief Compliance Officer, Nodal Officer and Grievance Officer. "Complying with the new social media guidelines published by the government of India within time clearly shows why it`s important to have Indian social media players thriving in the country," said Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-Founder and CEO of Koo.

Working hard to meet Indian IT rules for social media: Facebook

Misinformation, hate speech and calls for violence about the conflict have circulated on social media platforms amid the deadly fighting.

Facebook Inc set up a 24-7 "special operations centre" last week to respond to content posted on its platform about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid violence in the region, the company said on Wednesday.

Misinformation, hate speech and calls for violence about the conflict have circulated on social media platforms amid the deadly fighting.

"This operations centre allows us to closely monitor the situation so we can remove content that violates our community standards faster, while also addressing possible errors in enforcement," Monika Bickert, Facebook's vice president of content policy, told reporters on a conference call.

Facebook has previously set up similar operations centres to focus on situations like global elections.

Facebook spokesman Andy Stone told Reuters that Facebook's head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, and other executives had on Tuesday spoken to Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. Facebook executives previously met with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz via Zoom, Politico reported last week.

A Reuters fact-checking team has debunked images shared on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that falsely claim to be related to the conflict.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Jewish extremists had formed new groups on WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned encrypted messaging service, to commit violence against Palestinians.

"As a private messaging service, we do not have access to the contents of people's chats through when information is reported to us, we take action to ban accounts we believe may be involved in causing imminent harm," a WhatsApp spokesman said. "We also quickly respond to valid legal requests from law enforcement for the limited information available to us."

Social media platforms have also faced accusations of censorship. Last week, BuzzFeed News reported that Facebook-owned Instagram had mistakenly removed content about al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem where Israeli security police clashed with worshippers.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation also reported that Instagram and Twitter Inc had blamed glitches for the deletion of posts mentioning the possible eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem.

Facebook has banned Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas from its platform and removes content praising the group regarded by Israel, the United States and the European Union as a terrorist group.

Facebook's Bickert said the new operations centre was staffed by experts, including native Arabic and Hebrew speakers. California-based Facebook has been criticized in the past for lacking local language expertise and resources amid violent situations in other countries.

Misinformation, hate speech and calls for violence about the conflict have circulated on social media platforms amid the deadly fighting. Facebook Inc set up a 24-7 "special operations centre" last week to respond to content posted on its platform about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid violence in the region, the company said on Wednesday.

Misinformation, hate speech and calls for violence about the conflict have circulated on social media platforms amid the deadly fighting. Facebook Inc set up a 24-7 "special operations centre" last week to respond to content posted on its platform about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid violence in the region, the company said on Wednesday. Misinformation, hate speech and calls for violence about the conflict have circulated on social media platforms amid the deadly fighting. "This operations centre allows us to closely monitor the situation so we can remove content that violates our community standards faster, while also addressing possible errors in enforcement," Monika Bickert, Facebook's vice president of content policy, told reporters on a conference call. Facebook has previously set up similar operations centres to focus on situations like global elections. Facebook spokesman Andy Stone told Reuters that Facebook's head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, and other executives had on Tuesday spoken to Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. Facebook executives previously met with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz via Zoom, Politico reported last week. A Reuters fact-checking team has debunked images shared on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that falsely claim to be related to the conflict. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Jewish extremists had formed new groups on WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned encrypted messaging service, to commit violence against Palestinians. "As a private messaging service, we do not have access to the contents of people's chats through when information is reported to us, we take action to ban accounts we believe may be involved in causing imminent harm," a WhatsApp spokesman said. "We also quickly respond to valid legal requests from law enforcement for the limited information available to us." Social media platforms have also faced accusations of censorship. Last week, BuzzFeed News reported that Facebook-owned Instagram had mistakenly removed content about al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem where Israeli security police clashed with worshippers. The Thomson Reuters Foundation also reported that Instagram and Twitter Inc had blamed glitches for the deletion of posts mentioning the possible eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem. Facebook has banned Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas from its platform and removes content praising the group regarded by Israel, the United States and the European Union as a terrorist group. Facebook's Bickert said the new operations centre was staffed by experts, including native Arabic and Hebrew speakers. California-based Facebook has been criticized in the past for lacking local language expertise and resources amid violent situations in other countries.

Facebook deploys special team to tackle misinformation, hate speech on Israel-Gaza conflict

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Saturday that world leaders and tech firms looking to stamp out violent extremism online would need to focus efforts on understanding social media algorithms that drive content. &nbsp;

Ardern was speaking at a virtual summit to mark the second anniversary of the global initiative to end online hate, called the Christchurch Call, launched by Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron in 2019 after a white supremacist killed 51 people at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch while live-streaming his rampage on Facebook.&nbsp;

Since then, more than 50 countries, international organisations and tech firms have supported the initiative including firms, such as Facebook, Google, Twitter and Microsoft.&nbsp;

"The existence of algorithms themselves is not necessarily the problem, it's whether or not they are ethically used. That is one of the biggest focus for the community over the next year alongside expanding the network itself," Ardern said a news conference after the forum.&nbsp;

Ardern said major tech firms expressed a real desire at the forum to use algorithms for positive interventions. She, however, did not elaborate on how firms would change the use of algorithms that drive harmful content and lead to radicalisation. &nbsp;

The Christchurch Call was joined for the first time by the United States, which made a policy change two years after the administration of former president Donald Trump declined to participate citing concerns of free speech.&nbsp;

The event was attended by global leaders including Macron, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.&nbsp;

The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), an NGO founded by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube that joined the Christchurch Call, said progress has been made since 2019.&nbsp;

The agency responded to over 140 incidents since 2019 with member companies sharing information and situational awareness to understand if an attack has a particular online dimension, it said in a separate statement.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Saturday that world leaders and tech firms looking to stamp out violent extremism online would need to focus efforts on understanding social media algorithms that drive content.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Saturday that world leaders and tech firms looking to stamp out violent extremism online would need to focus efforts on understanding social media algorithms that drive content. Ardern was speaking at a virtual summit to mark the second anniversary of the global initiative to end online hate, called the Christchurch Call, launched by Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron in 2019 after a white supremacist killed 51 people at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch while live-streaming his rampage on Facebook. Since then, more than 50 countries, international organisations and tech firms have supported the initiative including firms, such as Facebook, Google, Twitter and Microsoft. "The existence of algorithms themselves is not necessarily the problem, it's whether or not they are ethically used. That is one of the biggest focus for the community over the next year alongside expanding the network itself," Ardern said a news conference after the forum. Ardern said major tech firms expressed a real desire at the forum to use algorithms for positive interventions. She, however, did not elaborate on how firms would change the use of algorithms that drive harmful content and lead to radicalisation. The Christchurch Call was joined for the first time by the United States, which made a policy change two years after the administration of former president Donald Trump declined to participate citing concerns of free speech. The event was attended by global leaders including Macron, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), an NGO founded by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube that joined the Christchurch Call, said progress has been made since 2019. The agency responded to over 140 incidents since 2019 with member companies sharing information and situational awareness to understand if an attack has a particular online dimension, it said in a separate statement. (With inputs from agencies)

New Zealand PM says to fight hate, study social media algorithms 

US President Joe Biden on Friday (local time) revoked an executive order by former President Donald Trump against social media platforms. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump had issued the order in 2020 to direct US regulators to limit liability protections enjoyed by the social media platforms.

The Center for Democracy and Technology, which had sued to block Trump's May 2020 order, praised Biden's reversal, arguing Trump's order "was an attempt to use threats of retaliation to coerce social media companies into allowing disinformation and hateful speech to go unchecked."

Trump unsuccessfully demanded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set new rules to limit protections for social media firms under the 1996 Communications Decency Act. It shields the companies from liability for content posted by their users and allows them to remove lawful but objectionable posts.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/not-orange-donald-trump-appears-on-walls-of-national-portrait-gallery-385208">'Not orange': Donald Trump appears on walls of National Portrait Gallery</a>

Trump's executive order was issued after Twitter tagged his tweets having claims of widespread voter fraud in US Presidential Election 2020. Trump had continued his claims of voter fraud even after US Supreme Court had rejected the assertions.

After Trump's posts following the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks, Twitter and Facebook barred Trump from posting on their sites, and the following day FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he would not act on Trump's request to limit social media liability protections.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Twitter declined comment but referred to its initial statement about Trump's order, which called it "reactionary and politicized."

(With inputs from agencies)

US President Joe Biden on Friday (local time) revoked an executive order by former President Donald Trump against social media platforms. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US President Joe Biden on Friday (local time) revoked an executive order by former President Donald Trump against social media platforms. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump had issued the order in 2020 to direct US regulators to limit liability protections enjoyed by the social media platforms. The Center for Democracy and Technology, which had sued to block Trump's May 2020 order, praised Biden's reversal, arguing Trump's order "was an attempt to use threats of retaliation to coerce social media companies into allowing disinformation and hateful speech to go unchecked." Trump unsuccessfully demanded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set new rules to limit protections for social media firms under the 1996 Communications Decency Act. It shields the companies from liability for content posted by their users and allows them to remove lawful but objectionable posts. Also Read | 'Not orange': Donald Trump appears on walls of National Portrait Gallery Trump's executive order was issued after Twitter tagged his tweets having claims of widespread voter fraud in US Presidential Election 2020. Trump had continued his claims of voter fraud even after US Supreme Court had rejected the assertions. After Trump's posts following the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks, Twitter and Facebook barred Trump from posting on their sites, and the following day FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he would not act on Trump's request to limit social media liability protections. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Twitter declined comment but referred to its initial statement about Trump's order, which called it "reactionary and politicized." (With inputs from agencies)

Joe Biden revokes Trump executive order against social media platforms

Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Saturday that it will take action against those who disturb peace in the valley by posting sensitive social media posts about Palestine. They said that action will be taken against social media users who try ' ‘to leverage the unfortunate situation in Palestine to disturb public peace and order in the Kashmir valley.’

“We are a professional force and are sensitive to public anguish. But J&amp;K police has a legal responsibility to ensure law and order as well. It, however, wouldn’t allow cynical encashment of the public anger to trigger violence, lawlessness and disorder on Kashmir streets," said Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of Kashmir

The police say people have the right to express their opinions but they cannot hold any protests during the Covid pandemic. IG Kashmir Vijay Kumar stressed that engineering and inciting violence on streets is unlawful.

All irresponsible social media comments that result in actual violence and breaking of the law including Covid protocol will attract legal action.

Police have urged people to cooperate and desist from inciting tension in the valley.

Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Saturday that it will take action against those who disturb peace in the valley by posting sensitive social media posts about Palestine.

Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Saturday that it will take action against those who disturb peace in the valley by posting sensitive social media posts about Palestine. They said that action will be taken against social media users who try ' ‘to leverage the unfortunate situation in Palestine to disturb public peace and order in the Kashmir valley.’ “We are a professional force and are sensitive to public anguish. But J&K police has a legal responsibility to ensure law and order as well. It, however, wouldn’t allow cynical encashment of the public anger to trigger violence, lawlessness and disorder on Kashmir streets," said Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of Kashmir The police say people have the right to express their opinions but they cannot hold any protests during the Covid pandemic. IG Kashmir Vijay Kumar stressed that engineering and inciting violence on streets is unlawful. All irresponsible social media comments that result in actual violence and breaking of the law including Covid protocol will attract legal action. Police have urged people to cooperate and desist from inciting tension in the valley.

Jammu and Kashmir Police to take action against sensitive social media content on Palestine

Pulverizing the agony hindrance to save a Test match is by no action a little accomplishment except for Hanuma Vihari says the greatest fulfillment comes from having the option to organize a bed or oxygen chambers for urgent COVID-19 patients through an organization of companions.&nbsp;

The flood in fatalities and cases during the pandemic's subsequent wave has made an uncommon wellbeing emergency where social media has become a significant device to look for and give crisis help. A ton of Indian cricketers have been doing their touch, going from causing monetary donations to assisting individuals with securing fundamental medical facilities.

Hanuma Vihari left for England towards the beginning of April to play the county stint for Warwickshire and will join Team Indian in the UK when they show up on June 3.

Hanuma Vihari, similar to each Indian, has been stunned by the impediments that COVID-19 patients and their families have experienced consistently. The troubles have included discovering something as hospital beds, oxygen supplies, and fundamental medicines.&nbsp;

Hanuma Vihari has made a group of 100 volunteers, including companions and supporters from across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. Disclosing how he figured out how to assemble a group in spite of not being in India.

“With the second wave being so strong, getting a bed became a difficulty and that is something which is unthinkable. So, I decided to use my followers as my volunteers and help as many people as I can” - he said.

“My goal is to actually mainly reach out to those people who are not able to afford or arrange for plasma, beds, and essential medicine. But this is not enough. I would like to do more service in the future” - he added.

For Hanuma Vihari, when the anguish calls and directives for help began pouring in, he needed to make an organization of help suppliers and he found that help from common citizens, his own family, and Andhra colleagues like Prithviraj Yarra.&nbsp;

“I built my own team. It’s all about good intentions and people do get inspired and come out to help me" - he said.

“I have around 100 people on a WhatsApp group as volunteers and it’s their hard work that we have been able to help a few people. Yes, I am a cricketer, well known but I am able to help because of their untiring efforts to reach the distressed" - he added.

He began on Twitter yet his group has now spread across different stages to help and when he isn't confronting a Stuart Broad or Olly Stone in the gnawing cold English climate, he by and by guarantees that he and his companions vet every one of the allures for help.&nbsp;

“I started as one and now we have many friends on different platforms through my following on social media. I send them requests I get and they do the search. I chip in if any recommendations are required or to post on social media” - he signed off. 
&nbsp;

Pulverizing the agony hindrance to save a Test match is by no action a little accomplishment except for Hanuma Vihari says the greatest fulfillment comes from having the option to organize a bed or oxygen chambers for urgent COVID-19 patients through an organization of companions.

Pulverizing the agony hindrance to save a Test match is by no action a little accomplishment except for Hanuma Vihari says the greatest fulfillment comes from having the option to organize a bed or oxygen chambers for urgent COVID-19 patients through an organization of companions. The flood in fatalities and cases during the pandemic's subsequent wave has made an uncommon wellbeing emergency where social media has become a significant device to look for and give crisis help. A ton of Indian cricketers have been doing their touch, going from causing monetary donations to assisting individuals with securing fundamental medical facilities. Hanuma Vihari left for England towards the beginning of April to play the county stint for Warwickshire and will join Team Indian in the UK when they show up on June 3. Hanuma Vihari, similar to each Indian, has been stunned by the impediments that COVID-19 patients and their families have experienced consistently. The troubles have included discovering something as hospital beds, oxygen supplies, and fundamental medicines. Hanuma Vihari has made a group of 100 volunteers, including companions and supporters from across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. Disclosing how he figured out how to assemble a group in spite of not being in India. “With the second wave being so strong, getting a bed became a difficulty and that is something which is unthinkable. So, I decided to use my followers as my volunteers and help as many people as I can” - he said. “My goal is to actually mainly reach out to those people who are not able to afford or arrange for plasma, beds, and essential medicine. But this is not enough. I would like to do more service in the future” - he added. For Hanuma Vihari, when the anguish calls and directives for help began pouring in, he needed to make an organization of help suppliers and he found that help from common citizens, his own family, and Andhra colleagues like Prithviraj Yarra. “I built my own team. It’s all about good intentions and people do get inspired and come out to help me" - he said. “I have around 100 people on a WhatsApp group as volunteers and it’s their hard work that we have been able to help a few people. Yes, I am a cricketer, well known but I am able to help because of their untiring efforts to reach the distressed" - he added. He began on Twitter yet his group has now spread across different stages to help and when he isn't confronting a Stuart Broad or Olly Stone in the gnawing cold English climate, he by and by guarantees that he and his companions vet every one of the allures for help. “I started as one and now we have many friends on different platforms through my following on social media. I send them requests I get and they do the search. I chip in if any recommendations are required or to post on social media” - he signed off.

'Never imagined getting a hospital bed would be so difficult', says Hanuma Vihari while using social media to aid India

Properly understanding and responding to customer feedback on social media platforms is crucial for brands, and it may have just gotten a little easier thanks to new research by computer science researchers at the University of Central Florida who have developed a sarcasm detector.

Social media has become a dominant form of communication for individuals, and for companies looking to market and sell their products and services.

Properly understanding and responding to customer feedback on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms are critical for success, but it is incredibly labour-intensive.

A UCF team developed a technique that accurately detects sarcasm in a social media text.The team`s findings were recently published in the journal Entropy.

The team effectively taught the computer model to find patterns that often indicate sarcasm and combined that with teaching the program to correctly pick out cue words in sequences that were more likely to indicate sarcasm. They taught the model to do this by feeding it large data sets and then checked its accuracy.

"The presence of sarcasm in the text is the main hindrance in the performance of sentiment analysis," says Assistant Professor of engineering Ivan Garibay.

"Sarcasm is not always easy to identify in conversation, so you can imagine it's pretty challenging for a computer program to do it and do it well. We developed an interpretable deep learning model using multi-head self-attention and gated recurrent units. The multi-head self-attention module aids in identifying crucial sarcastic cue-words from the input, and the recurrent units learn long-range dependencies between these cue-words to better classify the input text," he added.

The team, which includes computer science doctoral student Ramya Akula, began working on this problem under a DARPA grant that supports the organization`s Computational Simulation of Online Social Behavior program.

"Sarcasm has been a major hurdle to increasing the accuracy of sentiment analysis, especially on social media, since sarcasm relies heavily on vocal tones, facial expressions, and gestures that cannot be represented in text," says Brian Kettler, a program manager in DARPA`s Information Innovation Office (I2O).

"Recognising sarcasm in textual online communication is no easy task as none of these cues is readily available."

This is one of the challenges Garibay`s Complex Adaptive Systems Lab (CASL) is studying. CASL is an interdisciplinary research group dedicated to the study of complex phenomena such as the global economy, the global information environment, innovation ecosystems, sustainability, and social and cultural dynamics and evolution.

CASL scientists study these problems using data science, network science, complexity science, cognitive science, machine learning, deep learning, social sciences, team cognition, among other approaches.

"In face-to-face conversation, sarcasm can be identified effortlessly using facial expressions, gestures, and tone of the speaker," Akula says.

"Detecting sarcasm in textual communication is not a trivial task as none of these cues is readily available. Especially with the explosion of internet usage, sarcasm detection in online communications from social networking platforms is much more challenging."

(With inputs from agencies)

Properly understanding and responding to customer feedback on social media platforms is crucial for brands, and it may have just gotten a little easier thanks to new research by computer science researchers at the University of Central Florida who have developed a sarcasm detector.

Properly understanding and responding to customer feedback on social media platforms is crucial for brands, and it may have just gotten a little easier thanks to new research by computer science researchers at the University of Central Florida who have developed a sarcasm detector. Social media has become a dominant form of communication for individuals, and for companies looking to market and sell their products and services. Properly understanding and responding to customer feedback on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms are critical for success, but it is incredibly labour-intensive. A UCF team developed a technique that accurately detects sarcasm in a social media text.The team`s findings were recently published in the journal Entropy. The team effectively taught the computer model to find patterns that often indicate sarcasm and combined that with teaching the program to correctly pick out cue words in sequences that were more likely to indicate sarcasm. They taught the model to do this by feeding it large data sets and then checked its accuracy. "The presence of sarcasm in the text is the main hindrance in the performance of sentiment analysis," says Assistant Professor of engineering Ivan Garibay. "Sarcasm is not always easy to identify in conversation, so you can imagine it's pretty challenging for a computer program to do it and do it well. We developed an interpretable deep learning model using multi-head self-attention and gated recurrent units. The multi-head self-attention module aids in identifying crucial sarcastic cue-words from the input, and the recurrent units learn long-range dependencies between these cue-words to better classify the input text," he added. The team, which includes computer science doctoral student Ramya Akula, began working on this problem under a DARPA grant that supports the organization`s Computational Simulation of Online Social Behavior program. "Sarcasm has been a major hurdle to increasing the accuracy of sentiment analysis, especially on social media, since sarcasm relies heavily on vocal tones, facial expressions, and gestures that cannot be represented in text," says Brian Kettler, a program manager in DARPA`s Information Innovation Office (I2O). "Recognising sarcasm in textual online communication is no easy task as none of these cues is readily available." This is one of the challenges Garibay`s Complex Adaptive Systems Lab (CASL) is studying. CASL is an interdisciplinary research group dedicated to the study of complex phenomena such as the global economy, the global information environment, innovation ecosystems, sustainability, and social and cultural dynamics and evolution. CASL scientists study these problems using data science, network science, complexity science, cognitive science, machine learning, deep learning, social sciences, team cognition, among other approaches. "In face-to-face conversation, sarcasm can be identified effortlessly using facial expressions, gestures, and tone of the speaker," Akula says. "Detecting sarcasm in textual communication is not a trivial task as none of these cues is readily available. Especially with the explosion of internet usage, sarcasm detection in online communications from social networking platforms is much more challenging." (With inputs from agencies)

Researchers develop artificial intelligence that can detect sarcasm in social media

Britain said on Wednesday a planned new law would see social media companies fined up to 10% of turnover or 18 million pounds ($25 million) if they failed to stamp out online abuses, such as racist hate crimes, while senior managers could also face criminal action.&nbsp;

The Online Safety Bill also seeks to strengthen the right to freedom of expression, and ensure democratic political debate and journalistic content is protected, the government said.&nbsp;

"It's time for tech companies to be held to account and to protect the British people from harm. If they fail to do so, they will face penalties," interior minister Priti Patel said.&nbsp;

Tech firms have been accused of doing far too little to address online abuse, with soccer clubs and other sporting authorities boycotting the world's biggest social media platforms last month to highlight the growing problem.&nbsp;

The bill will place a duty of care on social media firms and websites to ensure they take swift action to remove illegal content, such as hate crimes, harassment and threats directed at individuals, including abuse which falls below the criminal threshold.&nbsp;

There will also be a requirement to remove and limit the spread of terrorist material, suicide content and child sexual abuse, which they would need to report to the authorities.&nbsp;

Those companies, which fail to do so, face hefty fines from regulator Ofcom, which can also block access to their sites.&nbsp;

"The draft Bill contains reserved powers for Ofcom to pursue criminal action against named senior managers whose companies do not comply with Ofcom's requests for information," the government said. "These will be introduced if tech companies fail to live up to their new responsibilities."&nbsp;

The proposed law will also require companies to safeguard freedom of expression, and reinstate material unfairly removed.&nbsp;

It will also forbid tech firms from discriminating against particular political viewpoints, and Ofcom will hold them to account for the arbitrary removal of journalistic content, the government added. &nbsp;

Britain said on Wednesday a planned new law would see social media companies fined up to 10% of turnover or 18 million pounds ($25 million) if they failed to stamp out online abuses, such as racist hate crimes, while senior managers could also face criminal action.

Britain said on Wednesday a planned new law would see social media companies fined up to 10% of turnover or 18 million pounds ($25 million) if they failed to stamp out online abuses, such as racist hate crimes, while senior managers could also face criminal action. The Online Safety Bill also seeks to strengthen the right to freedom of expression, and ensure democratic political debate and journalistic content is protected, the government said. "It's time for tech companies to be held to account and to protect the British people from harm. If they fail to do so, they will face penalties," interior minister Priti Patel said. Tech firms have been accused of doing far too little to address online abuse, with soccer clubs and other sporting authorities boycotting the world's biggest social media platforms last month to highlight the growing problem. The bill will place a duty of care on social media firms and websites to ensure they take swift action to remove illegal content, such as hate crimes, harassment and threats directed at individuals, including abuse which falls below the criminal threshold. There will also be a requirement to remove and limit the spread of terrorist material, suicide content and child sexual abuse, which they would need to report to the authorities. Those companies, which fail to do so, face hefty fines from regulator Ofcom, which can also block access to their sites. "The draft Bill contains reserved powers for Ofcom to pursue criminal action against named senior managers whose companies do not comply with Ofcom's requests for information," the government said. "These will be introduced if tech companies fail to live up to their new responsibilities." The proposed law will also require companies to safeguard freedom of expression, and reinstate material unfairly removed. It will also forbid tech firms from discriminating against particular political viewpoints, and Ofcom will hold them to account for the arbitrary removal of journalistic content, the government added.

UK unveils law to fine social media firms which fail to remove online abuse 

Facebook said on Thursday that it had taken down network of hundreds of fake accounts and pages that targetted people in Ukraine. These accounts and pages were linked to indviduals who were previously sanctioned by the US for interfering in US elections.

Facebook said that this network was managing a deceptive campaign across multiple social media platforms posing as independent news outlets. Facebook said it started its own probe after FBI tipped them off.

Facebook attributed the activity to individuals and entities sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department including politician Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russian lawmaker who was blacklisted by the U.S. government in September over accusations he tried to interfere in the 2020 U.S. election won by President Joe Biden. Facebook said it removed Derkach's accounts in October 2020.

Reacting to the investigation, Derkach said big firms were building a "dictatorship in the name of liberal values" and that he was preparing to submit draft legislation to Ukraine's parliament to regulate global social media companies.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-suspends-several-accounts-that-tried-promoting-donald-trumps-content-383358">Twitter suspends several accounts that tried promoting Donald Trump's content</a>

"I proceed from the fact that no one has the right to restrict basic human rights and freedoms. Neither Facebook nor the state," he said in a statement sent to Reuters on Friday.

Facebook also attributed the network to political consultants associated with Ukrainian politicians Oleh Kulinich and Volodymyr Groysman, Ukraine's former prime minister. Kulinich did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Groysman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Facebook said that as well as promoting these politicians, the network also pushed positive material about actors across the political spectrum. This was likely as a paid service.&nbsp;

"You can really think of these operators as would-be influence mercenaries, renting out inauthentic online support in Ukrainian political circles," Ben Nimmo, Facebook's global influence operations threat intelligence lead, said on a call with reporters.

Facebook's investigation team said Ukraine, which has been among the top sources of "coordinated inauthentic behavior" that it removes from the site, is home to an increasing number of influence operations selling services.

Facebook said it removed 363 pages. These pages were followed by 2.37 million accounts. In addition to these pages, 477 accounts have been removed.

The network also spent about $496,000 in Facebook and Instagram ads, Facebook said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Facebook said on Thursday that it had taken down network of hundreds of fake accounts and pages that targetted people in Ukraine. These accounts and pages were linked to indviduals who were previously sanctioned by the US for interfering in US elections.

Facebook said on Thursday that it had taken down network of hundreds of fake accounts and pages that targetted people in Ukraine. These accounts and pages were linked to indviduals who were previously sanctioned by the US for interfering in US elections. Facebook said that this network was managing a deceptive campaign across multiple social media platforms posing as independent news outlets. Facebook said it started its own probe after FBI tipped them off. Facebook attributed the activity to individuals and entities sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department including politician Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russian lawmaker who was blacklisted by the U.S. government in September over accusations he tried to interfere in the 2020 U.S. election won by President Joe Biden. Facebook said it removed Derkach's accounts in October 2020. Reacting to the investigation, Derkach said big firms were building a "dictatorship in the name of liberal values" and that he was preparing to submit draft legislation to Ukraine's parliament to regulate global social media companies. Also Read | Twitter suspends several accounts that tried promoting Donald Trump's content "I proceed from the fact that no one has the right to restrict basic human rights and freedoms. Neither Facebook nor the state," he said in a statement sent to Reuters on Friday. Facebook also attributed the network to political consultants associated with Ukrainian politicians Oleh Kulinich and Volodymyr Groysman, Ukraine's former prime minister. Kulinich did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Groysman could not immediately be reached for comment. Facebook said that as well as promoting these politicians, the network also pushed positive material about actors across the political spectrum. This was likely as a paid service. "You can really think of these operators as would-be influence mercenaries, renting out inauthentic online support in Ukrainian political circles," Ben Nimmo, Facebook's global influence operations threat intelligence lead, said on a call with reporters. Facebook's investigation team said Ukraine, which has been among the top sources of "coordinated inauthentic behavior" that it removes from the site, is home to an increasing number of influence operations selling services. Facebook said it removed 363 pages. These pages were followed by 2.37 million accounts. In addition to these pages, 477 accounts have been removed. The network also spent about $496,000 in Facebook and Instagram ads, Facebook said. (With inputs from agencies)

Facebook removes 'influence-for hire' network that targetted Ukrainian people

After getting banned from the majority of the popular social media platforms, former US President Donald Trump has decided to launch his own social media space. He has decided to launch a space on his own website where he can post messages, which can then be shared on Twitter and Facebook.

Donald Trump launches his own social media space on his website

It's a world of memes. From depicting heartbreak to shooting a sarcastic, funnily helpless comment at life, memes do it all. And some memes have achieved legendary status. But how legandary? Well just say a meme brought a woman about half a million dollars.

Enter 'disaster girl'.

We have all seen this meme. A girl smiling (sort of!) while a house burns like crazy in the background! The disaster girl meme came to represent many things. From heartless maniacs laughing while someone else's property burns to helpless souls who were forced to smile as their life burned in the background.

The girl in the original picture is all grown up. Zoe Roth was just four-years-old when her dad clicked this picture in 2005. Roth has now sold the original picture for a cool $ 473,000.

She is 21 now and is a university student. The money, she says, is going to be used to pay of her student debt and remaining money will be given to charity.

The buyer of her photo simply identifies as 3FMusic. It is believed his real name is Farzin Fardin Fard. As per media reports he is chief executive of a music production company based in Dubai

But what was happening in the picture after all?

It turns out that Zoe Roth was not smiling wickedly. And the fire behind her was started by firefighters on purpose as a controlled blaze.

It's a world of memes. From depicting heartbreak to shooting a sarcastic, funnily helpless comment at life, memes do it all. And some memes have achieved legendary status.

It's a world of memes. From depicting heartbreak to shooting a sarcastic, funnily helpless comment at life, memes do it all. And some memes have achieved legendary status. But how legandary? Well just say a meme brought a woman about half a million dollars. Enter 'disaster girl'. We have all seen this meme. A girl smiling (sort of!) while a house burns like crazy in the background! The disaster girl meme came to represent many things. From heartless maniacs laughing while someone else's property burns to helpless souls who were forced to smile as their life burned in the background. The girl in the original picture is all grown up. Zoe Roth was just four-years-old when her dad clicked this picture in 2005. Roth has now sold the original picture for a cool $ 473,000. She is 21 now and is a university student. The money, she says, is going to be used to pay of her student debt and remaining money will be given to charity. The buyer of her photo simply identifies as 3FMusic. It is believed his real name is Farzin Fardin Fard. As per media reports he is chief executive of a music production company based in Dubai But what was happening in the picture after all? It turns out that Zoe Roth was not smiling wickedly. And the fire behind her was started by firefighters on purpose as a controlled blaze.

'Disaster Girl' sells original meme-worthy photo for half a million

Both houses of legislature in Florida passed a bill that would possibly stop tech companies from de-platforming politicians. As per the bill, tech platforms will allowed to suspend accounts of the politicians for 14 days, said BBC. The legislation is awaiting nod from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who is considered to be an ally of former US President Donald Trump.&nbsp;

As per the media report, tech companies may be fined USD 250,000 per day under this legislation if they continued the de-platforming beyond the 14-days window.

Former US President Donald Trump was an avid user of the social media. His tweets were often criticised. He was also dubbed a 'Twitter president' during his tenure.

Trump was given the boot by major tech platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others after the deadly Capitol Hill riots in January this year. Trump supporters attacked the Capitol building as US Congress was certifying current President Joe Biden's victory in US Presidential Election 2020.

Trump was accused of being too late to make an appeal for calm through social media.

After his defeat in the elections, Trump has spent most of his time at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He is believed to have been close with Governor DeSantis and other high-ranking Republicans in the state.

Both houses of legislature in Florida passed a bill that would possibly stop tech companies from de-platforming politicians. As per the bill, tech platforms will allowed to suspend accounts of the politicians for 14 days, said BBC.

Both houses of legislature in Florida passed a bill that would possibly stop tech companies from de-platforming politicians. As per the bill, tech platforms will allowed to suspend accounts of the politicians for 14 days, said BBC. The legislation is awaiting nod from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who is considered to be an ally of former US President Donald Trump. As per the media report, tech companies may be fined USD 250,000 per day under this legislation if they continued the de-platforming beyond the 14-days window. Former US President Donald Trump was an avid user of the social media. His tweets were often criticised. He was also dubbed a 'Twitter president' during his tenure. Trump was given the boot by major tech platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others after the deadly Capitol Hill riots in January this year. Trump supporters attacked the Capitol building as US Congress was certifying current President Joe Biden's victory in US Presidential Election 2020. Trump was accused of being too late to make an appeal for calm through social media. After his defeat in the elections, Trump has spent most of his time at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He is believed to have been close with Governor DeSantis and other high-ranking Republicans in the state.

Florida approves bill stopping tech companies from de-platforming politicians

Britain`s three current Formula One drivers, led by seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton, joined leading sports bodies on Friday in a growing boycott of social media to protest online abuse. 
 
The soccer-led campaign has gathered momentum, spreading from clubs and leagues to national and international bodies in tennis, cricket, rugby and cycling. 
 
European soccer body UEFA has said it will stay silent across its platforms over the weekend, starting at 1500 BST (1600 CEST) on Friday. 
 
"To stand in solidarity with the football community, I will be going dark on my social media channels this weekend," said Hamilton, Formula One`s only Black driver, on Instagram where he has 22 million followers. 
 
"There is no place in our society for any kind of abuse, online or not, and for too long it`s been easy for a small few to post hate from behind their screens. 
 
"While a boycott might not solve this issue overnight, we have to call for change when needed, even when it seems like an almost impossible task," added the Mercedes driver, who is racing in Portugal this weekend. 
 
McLaren`s Lando Norris, who has suffered abuse from online trolls and has a million followers on Twitter, said he was also supporting the boycott. 
 
"Everyone struggles with abuse on here at some point and social media companies need to do more to tackle it," said the 21-year-old. "Hiding behind a keyboard is not okay. Enough is enough." 
 
McLaren said the team was not planning to do a blackout, however. 
 
"We think it`s very important for us over the course of a race weekend to have this positive engagement with our fans," team principal Andreas Seidl told reporters on a video call from Portimao. 
 
Williams` George Russell, 23, said it was time to make a change. 
 
"There is far too much online abuse, hatred, negativity, racism that is just undeserved," he said. "I thought it`s our duty to raise as much awareness as possible, not just in sport."

Britain`s three current Formula One drivers, led by seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton, joined leading sports bodies on Friday in a growing boycott of social media to protest online abuse.

Britain`s three current Formula One drivers, led by seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton, joined leading sports bodies on Friday in a growing boycott of social media to protest online abuse. The soccer-led campaign has gathered momentum, spreading from clubs and leagues to national and international bodies in tennis, cricket, rugby and cycling. European soccer body UEFA has said it will stay silent across its platforms over the weekend, starting at 1500 BST (1600 CEST) on Friday. "To stand in solidarity with the football community, I will be going dark on my social media channels this weekend," said Hamilton, Formula One`s only Black driver, on Instagram where he has 22 million followers. "There is no place in our society for any kind of abuse, online or not, and for too long it`s been easy for a small few to post hate from behind their screens. "While a boycott might not solve this issue overnight, we have to call for change when needed, even when it seems like an almost impossible task," added the Mercedes driver, who is racing in Portugal this weekend. McLaren`s Lando Norris, who has suffered abuse from online trolls and has a million followers on Twitter, said he was also supporting the boycott. "Everyone struggles with abuse on here at some point and social media companies need to do more to tackle it," said the 21-year-old. "Hiding behind a keyboard is not okay. Enough is enough." McLaren said the team was not planning to do a blackout, however. "We think it`s very important for us over the course of a race weekend to have this positive engagement with our fans," team principal Andreas Seidl told reporters on a video call from Portimao. Williams` George Russell, 23, said it was time to make a change. "There is far too much online abuse, hatred, negativity, racism that is just undeserved," he said. "I thought it`s our duty to raise as much awareness as possible, not just in sport."

British F1 drivers join social media boycott against online abuse

Pakistan witnessed a 3-hour social media blackout as Islamist radicals tried taking the country hostage. Has Imran Khan exposed his hypocrisy on blocking the Internet? WION's Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: Social media blackout in Pakistan

Chennai Super Kings pacer Deepak Chahar dismantled Punjab Kings last night to seal the first win for Dhoni and Co. in IPL 2021. The bowler dedicated his performance to a social media critic who asked him not to play against Punjab Kings after a poor show in the first match.&nbsp;

IN PICS|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-dhoni-to-kohli-highest-paid-players-with-mind-boggling-salaries-in-ipl-2021-377532" hreflang="en">From Dhoni to Kohli: Highest-paid players with mind-boggling salaries in IPL 2021</a>

“I was watching social media after reaching my room. A boy had texted me saying, ‘Bhai aap bohot acche bowler ho but ek request hai — agla match mat khelna’ (You are a good bowler but I request you to not play the next match),” Chahar said after the match in a video posted by IPL.

“Expectations are very high and performing in every match is important. So, this is for that guy who messaged me. This performance would not have come if I was not playing. Don’t declare a player bad on the basis his one performance. Please support them," he added.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🔝 bowling performance 
1⃣st win of the season 
Interesting social media message 😉 
 
Wrecker-in-chief <a href="https://twitter.com/deepak_chahar9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@deepak_chahar9</a> chats with <a href="https://twitter.com/imShard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@imShard</a> after <a href="https://twitter.com/ChennaiIPL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChennaiIPL</a>'s win at Wankhede. 👌👌 - By <a href="https://twitter.com/NishadPaiVaidya?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NishadPaiVaidya</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VIVOIPL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VIVOIPL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PBKSvCSK?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PBKSvCSK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Vivo_India?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Vivo_India</a> 
 
Full interview 🎥👇 <a href="https://t.co/y51FcTVFNS">https://t.co/y51FcTVFNS</a> <a href="https://t.co/tjk6x2FObh">pic.twitter.com/tjk6x2FObh</a>
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IPL/status/1383269109752762371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Deepak Chahar went on to talk about the wicket at Wankhede and said that it is his favourite ground.&nbsp;

"Looking at today's wicket and today's performance, I must say that Wankhede is my favourite ground because you get help in the starting (from the pitch)," Chahar told IPL's official website.

"It was a good feeling. It (the spell) came at an important time as we needed to win this game. "It was thus necessary to provide a good start and this was an important match for us and I am very happy that I could contribute to the team's win," Chahar said.

"After the first few matches were high-scoring, there were a lot of meetings about what I needed to do in this particular over and set the field accordingly. "But in the last game, I got a bit of support. But today (on Friday night) plan B, C wasn't needed and plan A worked. So the meetings that we had might help us in the upcoming matches," he said.

Deepak Chahar conceded just 14 runs while scalping four big wickets in four overs including a wicket maiden.&nbsp;

Chennai Super Kings pacer Deepak Chahar dismantled Punjab Kings last night to seal the first win for Dhoni and Co. in IPL 2021. The bowler dedicated his performance to a social media critic who asked him not to play against Punjab Kings after a poor show in the first match.

Chennai Super Kings pacer Deepak Chahar dismantled Punjab Kings last night to seal the first win for Dhoni and Co. in IPL 2021. The bowler dedicated his performance to a social media critic who asked him not to play against Punjab Kings after a poor show in the first match. IN PICS| From Dhoni to Kohli: Highest-paid players with mind-boggling salaries in IPL 2021 “I was watching social media after reaching my room. A boy had texted me saying, ‘Bhai aap bohot acche bowler ho but ek request hai — agla match mat khelna’ (You are a good bowler but I request you to not play the next match),” Chahar said after the match in a video posted by IPL. “Expectations are very high and performing in every match is important. So, this is for that guy who messaged me. This performance would not have come if I was not playing. Don’t declare a player bad on the basis his one performance. Please support them," he added. 🔝 bowling performance 1⃣st win of the season Interesting social media message 😉 Wrecker-in-chief @deepak_chahar9 chats with @imShard after @ChennaiIPL's win at Wankhede. 👌👌 - By @NishadPaiVaidya #VIVOIPL #PBKSvCSK @Vivo_India Full interview 🎥👇 https://t.co/y51FcTVFNS pic.twitter.com/tjk6x2FObh — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 17, 2021 × Deepak Chahar went on to talk about the wicket at Wankhede and said that it is his favourite ground. "Looking at today's wicket and today's performance, I must say that Wankhede is my favourite ground because you get help in the starting (from the pitch)," Chahar told IPL's official website. "It was a good feeling. It (the spell) came at an important time as we needed to win this game. "It was thus necessary to provide a good start and this was an important match for us and I am very happy that I could contribute to the team's win," Chahar said. "After the first few matches were high-scoring, there were a lot of meetings about what I needed to do in this particular over and set the field accordingly. "But in the last game, I got a bit of support. But today (on Friday night) plan B, C wasn't needed and plan A worked. So the meetings that we had might help us in the upcoming matches," he said. Deepak Chahar conceded just 14 runs while scalping four big wickets in four overs including a wicket maiden.

IPL 2021: Deepak Chahar dedicates his fiery spell to a social media critic

The Imran Khan government in Pakistan on Friday announced a ban on social media websites including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram till 3&nbsp;pm, in the wake of violent Islamist protests against France.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has been directed to close down social media websites and apps for a few hours.&nbsp;The blocked sites&nbsp;and apps include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok.n

The move comes a day after the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority banned all TV and radio coverage of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

TLP is engaged in a days-long protest against France over depiction of Prophet Muhammad in cartoons in that country. The Islamist group is demanding the expulsion of the French envoy to Pakistan and snapping of diplomatic ties. France has asked its citizens to leave the country.

According to the statement issued by the Pakistan government, "Complete access to social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Telegram) may be blocked from 1100hrs to 1500hrs on 16th April 2021 across the country.”

Last year, the government formed a new draconian social media lawn titled "Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020," under the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2016 (PECA).

As per the ambit of new rules, it includes all social media users, social media companys', service providers, website owners or information systems.

Under the new rules, they cannot publish, host, display, change, transmit, update or share any content that belongs to someone else, is blasphemous, pedophilic, pornographic, is against the religious, cultural, ethnic sensitivities and beliefs, harms minors, or threatens the security, integrity of Pakistan's defence or public order.

(With inputs from agencies)

The Imran Khan government in Pakistan on Friday announced a ban on social media websites including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram till 3 pm, in the wake of violent Islamist protests against France.

The Imran Khan government in Pakistan on Friday announced a ban on social media websites including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram till 3 pm, in the wake of violent Islamist protests against France. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has been directed to close down social media websites and apps for a few hours. The blocked sites and apps include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok.n The move comes a day after the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority banned all TV and radio coverage of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). TLP is engaged in a days-long protest against France over depiction of Prophet Muhammad in cartoons in that country. The Islamist group is demanding the expulsion of the French envoy to Pakistan and snapping of diplomatic ties. France has asked its citizens to leave the country. According to the statement issued by the Pakistan government, "Complete access to social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Telegram) may be blocked from 1100hrs to 1500hrs on 16th April 2021 across the country.” Last year, the government formed a new draconian social media lawn titled "Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020," under the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2016 (PECA). As per the ambit of new rules, it includes all social media users, social media companys', service providers, website owners or information systems. Under the new rules, they cannot publish, host, display, change, transmit, update or share any content that belongs to someone else, is blasphemous, pedophilic, pornographic, is against the religious, cultural, ethnic sensitivities and beliefs, harms minors, or threatens the security, integrity of Pakistan's defence or public order. (With inputs from agencies)

Pak govt blacks out social media in wake of Islamist protests

Out of the 740 million users that are now part of the LinkedIn service, Data from over 500 million users is being sold online to hackers, marking the second major cybersecurity incident to be revealed in the past week, following news of a similar occurrence involving Facebook.&nbsp;

&nbsp;An archive with data purportedly scraped from 500 million LinkedIn profiles has been put for sale on a popular hacker forum, with another 2 million records leaked as a proof-of-concept sample by people behind the hack.

"The four leaked files contain information about the LinkedIn users whose data has been allegedly scraped by the threat actor, including their full names, email addresses, phone numbers, workplace information, and more," reports CyberNews.

The leaked data up on sale includes LinkedIn IDs, full names, email addresses, phone numbers, genders, links to LinkedIn profiles, links to other social media profiles, professional titles and other work-related data

"While users on the hacker forum can view the leaked samples for about $2 worth of forum credits, the threat actor appears to be auctioning the much-larger 500 million user database for at least a 4-digit sum, presumably in bitcoin," the report mentioned.

LinkedIn said in a statement on Thursday that it has "investigated an alleged set of LinkedIn data that has been posted for sale and have determined that it is an aggregation of data from several websites and companies".

"It does include publicly viewable member profile data that appears to have been scraped from LinkedIn. This was not a LinkedIn data breach, and no private member account data from LinkedIn was included in what we've been able to review," the company said.

"When anyone tries to take member data and use it for purposes LinkedIn and our members haven't agreed to, we work to stop them and hold them accountable".

The author of the post, however, claims that the data was scraped from LinkedIn.

Earlier this month, personal data of nearly 533 million (53.3 crores) Facebook users, including 61 lakh Indians, emerged online after a hacker posted the details on a digital forum.

The leaked data included Facebook ID numbers, profile names, email addresses, location information, gender details, job data, and other details.

Facebook said this was old data that it previously reported on in 2019.

"We found and fixed this issue in August 2019," a Facebook spokesperson said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Out of the 740 million users that are now part of the LinkedIn service, Data from over 500 million users is being sold online to hackers, marking the second major cybersecurity incident to be revealed in the past week, following news of a similar occurrence involving Facebook.

Out of the 740 million users that are now part of the LinkedIn service, Data from over 500 million users is being sold online to hackers, marking the second major cybersecurity incident to be revealed in the past week, following news of a similar occurrence involving Facebook. An archive with data purportedly scraped from 500 million LinkedIn profiles has been put for sale on a popular hacker forum, with another 2 million records leaked as a proof-of-concept sample by people behind the hack. "The four leaked files contain information about the LinkedIn users whose data has been allegedly scraped by the threat actor, including their full names, email addresses, phone numbers, workplace information, and more," reports CyberNews. The leaked data up on sale includes LinkedIn IDs, full names, email addresses, phone numbers, genders, links to LinkedIn profiles, links to other social media profiles, professional titles and other work-related data "While users on the hacker forum can view the leaked samples for about $2 worth of forum credits, the threat actor appears to be auctioning the much-larger 500 million user database for at least a 4-digit sum, presumably in bitcoin," the report mentioned. LinkedIn said in a statement on Thursday that it has "investigated an alleged set of LinkedIn data that has been posted for sale and have determined that it is an aggregation of data from several websites and companies". "It does include publicly viewable member profile data that appears to have been scraped from LinkedIn. This was not a LinkedIn data breach, and no private member account data from LinkedIn was included in what we've been able to review," the company said. "When anyone tries to take member data and use it for purposes LinkedIn and our members haven't agreed to, we work to stop them and hold them accountable". The author of the post, however, claims that the data was scraped from LinkedIn. Earlier this month, personal data of nearly 533 million (53.3 crores) Facebook users, including 61 lakh Indians, emerged online after a hacker posted the details on a digital forum. The leaked data included Facebook ID numbers, profile names, email addresses, location information, gender details, job data, and other details. Facebook said this was old data that it previously reported on in 2019. "We found and fixed this issue in August 2019," a Facebook spokesperson said. (With inputs from agencies)

Data from half a billion LinkedIn users leaked and put online

Facebook on Wednesday launched Hotline, an experimental online forum in an attempt by the social media giant to occupy space in live audio trend made popular by Clubhouse. The Facebook application is essentially a spin on Reddit's Ask Me Anything sessions and Clubhouse, the audio-only social media sensation launched a year ago which has boomed during the pandemic.

Hotline provides users with a blend of voice, text and video options for participating in online discussions with hosts.&nbsp;

On Hotline, users can ask the questions in writing. This is not possible on Clubhouse. &nbsp;Speakers, meanwhile, can choose who to invite "on stage" to speak.

"With Hotline, we're hoping to understand how interactive, live multimedia Q&amp;As can help people learn from experts in areas like professional skills, just as it helps those experts build their businesses," a Facebook spokeswoman told AFP.

Session headliners will have the option of turning on their web cameras to be seen, and can also remove abusive comments from text chats, Facebook said, confirming an earlier report on the website TechCrunch.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that Twitter held discussions to acquire Clubhouse for USD 4 billion. However, it was further reported that the talks are no longer taking place.

(With AFP inputs)

Facebook on Wednesday launched Hotline, an experimental online forum in an attempt by the social media giant to occupy space in live audio trend made popular by Clubhouse.

Facebook on Wednesday launched Hotline, an experimental online forum in an attempt by the social media giant to occupy space in live audio trend made popular by Clubhouse. The Facebook application is essentially a spin on Reddit's Ask Me Anything sessions and Clubhouse, the audio-only social media sensation launched a year ago which has boomed during the pandemic. Hotline provides users with a blend of voice, text and video options for participating in online discussions with hosts. On Hotline, users can ask the questions in writing. This is not possible on Clubhouse. Speakers, meanwhile, can choose who to invite "on stage" to speak. "With Hotline, we're hoping to understand how interactive, live multimedia Q&As can help people learn from experts in areas like professional skills, just as it helps those experts build their businesses," a Facebook spokeswoman told AFP. Session headliners will have the option of turning on their web cameras to be seen, and can also remove abusive comments from text chats, Facebook said, confirming an earlier report on the website TechCrunch. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that Twitter held discussions to acquire Clubhouse for USD 4 billion. However, it was further reported that the talks are no longer taking place. (With AFP inputs)

Facebook, Twitter move to capture social space bagged by Clubhouse

Social media may have become a compulsive, annoying and an omnipresent thing but it surely has its uses. There have been times when social media and tech in general have actually saved lives. Be it due to networking or due to a more direct intervention.

One such incident has helped&nbsp;underline the far-reaching effect of social media that can come handy in critical situations.

Twelve-year-old Trent Jarett was live-streaming on TikTok&nbsp;as he rode a quad bike.

You know what quad bike is right?

<img alt="Quad bike" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="17a319e7-5726-44c3-b0da-1d490db2ff7d" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_8QC3QN.jpg" />

Quad bike is an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) that is used for adventure sports. Quad bike's durability makes it ideal for a ride on any terrain.

But at the same time, the person riding the quad bike needs absolute control of the vehicle that jumps and lands quite violently. It's because of this that quad bike may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Now 12-year-old Jarrett was live-streaming himself as he rode the bike. And right in the middle of the stream, Trent crashed it. He was pinned under the bike and was unable to move

About 800-miles away, 13-year-old Caden Cotnoir was stunned to see what was happening on his screen. The sudden crash took him by surprise.

While under the vehicle, Trent managed to shout a phone number. It was this when Caden decided he needed to do something to save Trent who was clearly in pain and unable to move.

Caden called on the number and was able to tell Trent's family what was happening. Things moved quickly and Trent's family was able to rescue him from under the quad bike.

Fortunately, all Trent suffered were minor cuts and bruises.

Caden's quick action is being praised all over. His step-father is a police chief. He termed the entire incident an "Easter miracle," according to a report in&nbsp; The Guardian.

Social media may have become a compulsive, annoying and an omnipresent thing but it surely has its uses. There have been times when social media and tech in general have actually saved lives.

Social media may have become a compulsive, annoying and an omnipresent thing but it surely has its uses. There have been times when social media and tech in general have actually saved lives. Be it due to networking or due to a more direct intervention. One such incident has helped underline the far-reaching effect of social media that can come handy in critical situations. Twelve-year-old Trent Jarett was live-streaming on TikTok as he rode a quad bike. You know what quad bike is right? Quad bike is an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) that is used for adventure sports. Quad bike's durability makes it ideal for a ride on any terrain. But at the same time, the person riding the quad bike needs absolute control of the vehicle that jumps and lands quite violently. It's because of this that quad bike may not be everyone's cup of tea. Now 12-year-old Jarrett was live-streaming himself as he rode the bike. And right in the middle of the stream, Trent crashed it. He was pinned under the bike and was unable to move About 800-miles away, 13-year-old Caden Cotnoir was stunned to see what was happening on his screen. The sudden crash took him by surprise. While under the vehicle, Trent managed to shout a phone number. It was this when Caden decided he needed to do something to save Trent who was clearly in pain and unable to move. Caden called on the number and was able to tell Trent's family what was happening. Things moved quickly and Trent's family was able to rescue him from under the quad bike. Fortunately, all Trent suffered were minor cuts and bruises. Caden's quick action is being praised all over. His step-father is a police chief. He termed the entire incident an "Easter miracle," according to a report in The Guardian.

Boy crashes bike during TikTok livestream, viewer saves his life

After Instagram, social media platform, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/facebook">Facebook</a>, has also rolled out the feature of turning off comments on posts.

The social media giant announced on Wednesday that every user — including celebrities, politicians, brands and news outlets — will also be able to switch off comments on their posts.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/us-lawmakers-press-big-tech-for-internal-research-on-kids-mental-health-374497" hreflang="en">US lawmakers press Big Tech for internal research on kids' mental health</a>

Users can now control the audience interaction, including who can view the posts, tagged audience's interaction and commenting rights for friends and users.

This new feature has come after an Australian ruling that concluded that the news media companies are liable for the defamatory comments posted by users on Facebook pages.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/global-outage-of-facebook-services-including-whatsapp-causes-mayhem-on-twitter-371849" hreflang="en">Global outage of Facebook services including WhatsApp causes mayhem on Twitter</a>

The ruling had found that social media companies are responsible to&nbsp;pre-moderate comments before them getting published. However, earlier there was no feature or resource to do so.

This feature will now give control to Facebook to moderate comments posted on their profiles.

Twitter, too, had recently rolled in a similar feature which allows authors to limit who can reply to the tweets.

After Instagram, social media platform, Facebook, has also rolled out the feature of turning off comments on posts. The social media giant announced on Wednesday that every user — including celebrities, politicians, brands and news outlets — will also be able to switch off comments on their posts.

After Instagram, social media platform, Facebook, has also rolled out the feature of turning off comments on posts. The social media giant announced on Wednesday that every user — including celebrities, politicians, brands and news outlets — will also be able to switch off comments on their posts. Also read | US lawmakers press Big Tech for internal research on kids' mental health Users can now control the audience interaction, including who can view the posts, tagged audience's interaction and commenting rights for friends and users. This new feature has come after an Australian ruling that concluded that the news media companies are liable for the defamatory comments posted by users on Facebook pages. Also read | Global outage of Facebook services including WhatsApp causes mayhem on Twitter The ruling had found that social media companies are responsible to pre-moderate comments before them getting published. However, earlier there was no feature or resource to do so. This feature will now give control to Facebook to moderate comments posted on their profiles. Twitter, too, had recently rolled in a similar feature which allows authors to limit who can reply to the tweets.

Facebook rolls out feature to turn off comments on posts

There’s no denying social media has been a life-saver during the pandemic, but a reliance on it can have a detrimental effect on your mental health.

How is social media affecting mental health of minors?

Anger with Nike Inc erupted on Chinese social media late on Wednesday after China`s netizens spotted a statement from the sporting goods giant saying it was "concerned" about reports of forced labour in Xinjiang and that it does not use cotton from the region.

Topics around the Nike statement were among the highest trending on China`s Twitter-like social media Weibo on Thursday, and the social media backlash had a wider fallout.

Popular Chinese actor Wang Yibo terminated his contract as a representative for Nike in response to social media criticism over the company`s Xinjiang statement, his agency said on Weibo on Thursday.

It was unclear when Nike had put out the statement, which did not have a date on it. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"We are concerned about reports of forced labor in, and connected to, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)," Nike said in the statement.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-which-global-brands-are-using-uighur-labour-373196">Watch |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-which-global-brands-are-using-uighur-labour-373196/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"Nike does not source products from the XUAR and we have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region."

The social media fallout comes as relations between the United States and China have deteriorated in recent years.

In the latest development, the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada on Monday imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China retaliated with sanctions on European lawmakers and institutions.

Earlier this week, at least one Chinese online retailer appeared to drop H&amp;M`s products amid social media attacks on the Swedish company for saying it was "deeply concerned" about reports of forced labour in Xinjiang.

Activists and some Western politicians accuse China of using torture, forced labour and sterilisations in Xinjiang. China has denied these claims and says it is providing vocational training, and that its measures are needed to fight extremism.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state-run Global Times urged Western companies on Wednesday to be "highly cautious" and not to "suppress China`s Xinjiang" in a social media post.

To do so would "undoubtedly arouse the anger of the Chinese public," he added. He did not single out any companies.

Anger with Nike Inc erupted on Chinese social media late on Wednesday after China`s netizens spotted a statement from the sporting goods giant saying it was "concerned" about reports of forced labour in Xinjiang and that it does not use cotton from the region.

Anger with Nike Inc erupted on Chinese social media late on Wednesday after China`s netizens spotted a statement from the sporting goods giant saying it was "concerned" about reports of forced labour in Xinjiang and that it does not use cotton from the region. Topics around the Nike statement were among the highest trending on China`s Twitter-like social media Weibo on Thursday, and the social media backlash had a wider fallout. Popular Chinese actor Wang Yibo terminated his contract as a representative for Nike in response to social media criticism over the company`s Xinjiang statement, his agency said on Weibo on Thursday. It was unclear when Nike had put out the statement, which did not have a date on it. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "We are concerned about reports of forced labor in, and connected to, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)," Nike said in the statement. Watch | "Nike does not source products from the XUAR and we have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region." The social media fallout comes as relations between the United States and China have deteriorated in recent years. In the latest development, the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada on Monday imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China retaliated with sanctions on European lawmakers and institutions. Earlier this week, at least one Chinese online retailer appeared to drop H&M`s products amid social media attacks on the Swedish company for saying it was "deeply concerned" about reports of forced labour in Xinjiang. Activists and some Western politicians accuse China of using torture, forced labour and sterilisations in Xinjiang. China has denied these claims and says it is providing vocational training, and that its measures are needed to fight extremism. Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state-run Global Times urged Western companies on Wednesday to be "highly cautious" and not to "suppress China`s Xinjiang" in a social media post. To do so would "undoubtedly arouse the anger of the Chinese public," he added. He did not single out any companies.

Nike faces social media storm in China over Xinjiang statement

The past year has been a major eye-opener about the racial injustice that prevails in the world against the people of colour and the minority communities.

In light of the same, a recent survey released by the Anti-Defamation League revealed that Asian Americans and Black Americans have experienced an alarming increase in online hatred in the past year.

Despite the continuous steps taken by social media platforms to fight racial injustice and harassment, in 2020 Asian Americans experienced the largest single rise in virtual/online hatred and harassment in year-by-year analysis.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-this-is-why-john-oliver-has-a-problem-with-joe-biden-calling-atlanta-mass-shootings-un-american-372461">This is why John Oliver has a problem with Joe Biden calling Atlanta mass shootings 'un-American'</a>

Nearly 17 per cent of Asian Americans reported having encountered sexual harassment, stalking, sustained harassment, physical threats and much more. The number has seen an alarming increase from previous year's 11 per cent.

This survey has come at a time when the Asian American community is struggling to find a feeling of safety in the US and a few other countries.

"Not surprisingly, after a year where national figures including the president himself routinely scapegoated China and Chinese people for spreading the coronavirus, Asian-Americans experienced heightened levels of harassment online, just as they did offline," said Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive officer of the Anti-Defamation League.

Have a look |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/after-atlanta-spa-shootings-colorado-supermarket-attack-rocks-us-372591">&nbsp;After Atlanta spa shootings, Colorado supermarket attack rocks US</a>

Recently, six Asian women were shot dead in a series of open firing in three massage parlors in Georgia. Shortly before that, a 75-year-old man from Hong Kong was robbed, assaulted and declared dead by a man who, the police claims, had a history of attacking elderly Asian people.

As per the study, it is not just the Asian American community but other minority communities, too, who have seen a sharp increase in racially-motivated harassment.

The African Americans saw an increase from 42 per cent last year to 59 per cent this year — a year which saw repeated protests and discussions following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, and an uproar of Black Lives Matter across the world.

In addition to these, the LGBTQ+ community has also reported an increase in overall harassment as 64 per cent have admitted to having been harassed online simply due to their identities.

Social media platforms have been claiming to do their best when it comes to filtering content.

According to the data collected, people have been mainly harassed on Facebook (75 per cent), followed by 24 per cent on Twitter and Instagram, and 21 per cent on YouTube.

"It has become increasingly clear that on their own, technology companies are not effectively preventing hate and extremism from proliferating online," Greenblatt said.

The past year has been a major eye-opener about the racial injustice that prevails in the world against the people of colour and the minority communities. In light of the same, a recent survey released by the Anti-Defamation League revealed that Asian Americans and Black Americans have experienced an alarming increase in online hatred in the past year.

The past year has been a major eye-opener about the racial injustice that prevails in the world against the people of colour and the minority communities. In light of the same, a recent survey released by the Anti-Defamation League revealed that Asian Americans and Black Americans have experienced an alarming increase in online hatred in the past year. Despite the continuous steps taken by social media platforms to fight racial injustice and harassment, in 2020 Asian Americans experienced the largest single rise in virtual/online hatred and harassment in year-by-year analysis. Also read | This is why John Oliver has a problem with Joe Biden calling Atlanta mass shootings 'un-American' Nearly 17 per cent of Asian Americans reported having encountered sexual harassment, stalking, sustained harassment, physical threats and much more. The number has seen an alarming increase from previous year's 11 per cent. This survey has come at a time when the Asian American community is struggling to find a feeling of safety in the US and a few other countries. "Not surprisingly, after a year where national figures including the president himself routinely scapegoated China and Chinese people for spreading the coronavirus, Asian-Americans experienced heightened levels of harassment online, just as they did offline," said Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive officer of the Anti-Defamation League. Have a look | After Atlanta spa shootings, Colorado supermarket attack rocks US Recently, six Asian women were shot dead in a series of open firing in three massage parlors in Georgia. Shortly before that, a 75-year-old man from Hong Kong was robbed, assaulted and declared dead by a man who, the police claims, had a history of attacking elderly Asian people. As per the study, it is not just the Asian American community but other minority communities, too, who have seen a sharp increase in racially-motivated harassment. The African Americans saw an increase from 42 per cent last year to 59 per cent this year — a year which saw repeated protests and discussions following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, and an uproar of Black Lives Matter across the world. In addition to these, the LGBTQ+ community has also reported an increase in overall harassment as 64 per cent have admitted to having been harassed online simply due to their identities. Social media platforms have been claiming to do their best when it comes to filtering content. According to the data collected, people have been mainly harassed on Facebook (75 per cent), followed by 24 per cent on Twitter and Instagram, and 21 per cent on YouTube. "It has become increasingly clear that on their own, technology companies are not effectively preventing hate and extremism from proliferating online," Greenblatt said.

Asian Americans and Blacks experienced increased online harassment in 2020: Survey

While technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help the world deal with dangerous climate and environmental change, fake news on social media about global warming and biodiversity loss has emerged as a barrier in the climate change mitigation efforts, a group of scientists has warned.&nbsp;

The report, published in Ambio, a journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, concludes that inequality and environmental challenges are deeply linked. Reducing inequality will increase trust within societies.&nbsp;

Trust is essential for governments to make long-term decisions, the report argues. Social media and access to reliable knowledge is also highlighted as a barrier to progress.&nbsp;

"As the pressure of human activities accelerates on Earth, so too does the hope that technologies such as artificial intelligence will be able to help us deal with dangerous climate and environmental change," said Co-author Victor Galaz, Deputy Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre.&nbsp;

"That will only happen however, if we act forcefully in ways that redirects the direction of technological change towards planetary stewardship and responsible innovation."&nbsp;

Human actions are threatening the resilience and stability of Earth's biosphere -- the wafer-thin veil around Earth where life thrives, according to the report published for the first Nobel Prize Summit, a digital gathering to be held in April to discuss the state of the planet in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.&nbsp;

"In a single human lifetime, largely since the 1950s, we have grossly simplified the biosphere, a system that has evolved over 3.8 billion years. Now just a few plants and animals dominate the land and oceans," said lead author Carl Folke, Director of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics and Chair of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.&nbsp;

"Our actions are making the biosphere more fragile, less resilient and more prone to shocks than before."&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

While technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help the world deal with dangerous climate and environmental change, fake news on social media about global warming and biodiversity loss has emerged as a barrier in the climate change mitigation efforts, a group of scientists has warned.

While technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help the world deal with dangerous climate and environmental change, fake news on social media about global warming and biodiversity loss has emerged as a barrier in the climate change mitigation efforts, a group of scientists has warned. The report, published in Ambio, a journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, concludes that inequality and environmental challenges are deeply linked. Reducing inequality will increase trust within societies. Trust is essential for governments to make long-term decisions, the report argues. Social media and access to reliable knowledge is also highlighted as a barrier to progress. "As the pressure of human activities accelerates on Earth, so too does the hope that technologies such as artificial intelligence will be able to help us deal with dangerous climate and environmental change," said Co-author Victor Galaz, Deputy Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre. "That will only happen however, if we act forcefully in ways that redirects the direction of technological change towards planetary stewardship and responsible innovation." Human actions are threatening the resilience and stability of Earth's biosphere -- the wafer-thin veil around Earth where life thrives, according to the report published for the first Nobel Prize Summit, a digital gathering to be held in April to discuss the state of the planet in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. "In a single human lifetime, largely since the 1950s, we have grossly simplified the biosphere, a system that has evolved over 3.8 billion years. Now just a few plants and animals dominate the land and oceans," said lead author Carl Folke, Director of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics and Chair of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University. "Our actions are making the biosphere more fragile, less resilient and more prone to shocks than before." (With inputs from agencies)

Fake news on social media barrier hampering climate fight 

Former US President Donald Trump is planning to launch his own social media platform, his senior advisor told Fox News on Sunday. Trump has been banned from Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites after January 6 attack on Capitol Hill

Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump's 2020 campaign, told the network that Trump would re-enter the social media space with a new platform of his own that would "completely redefine the game."

Twitter last week said it would seek public input on when and how it should ban world leaders, saying it was reviewing policy and considering whether the leaders should be held to the same rules as other users.

Twitter, Facebook and others have been under scrutiny for the way they handle accounts of politicians and government officials after their ban of Trump for inciting violence.

Facebook, which indefinitely suspended Trump in January, has asked its independent oversight board to decide whether the ban should stand.

Former US President Donald Trump is planning to launch his own social media platform, his senior advisor told Fox News on Sunday. Trump has been banned from Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites after January 6 attack on Capitol Hill Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump's 2020 campaign, told the network that Trump would re-enter the social media space with a new platform of his own that would "completely redefine the game.

Former US President Donald Trump is planning to launch his own social media platform, his senior advisor told Fox News on Sunday. Trump has been banned from Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites after January 6 attack on Capitol Hill Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump's 2020 campaign, told the network that Trump would re-enter the social media space with a new platform of his own that would "completely redefine the game." Twitter last week said it would seek public input on when and how it should ban world leaders, saying it was reviewing policy and considering whether the leaders should be held to the same rules as other users. Twitter, Facebook and others have been under scrutiny for the way they handle accounts of politicians and government officials after their ban of Trump for inciting violence. Facebook, which indefinitely suspended Trump in January, has asked its independent oversight board to decide whether the ban should stand.

Trump planning to return to social media with own platform, says his advisor

A Facebook internal study has found that a small group of users is actually sowing major doubts about the Covid-19 vaccines, discouraging people from taking the vital jab.&nbsp;

The findings showed that just 10 out of the 638 population segments contained 50 per cent of all vaccine hesitancy content on the platform.&nbsp;

In the population segment with the most vaccine hesitancy, just 111 users contributed half of all vaccine hesitant content, according to a report in The Washington Post.&nbsp;

The Facebook study has also found a QAnon connection behind the campaign to malign the use of coronavirus vaccines and spreading 'vaccine hesitancy'.&nbsp;

QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory group in the US.&nbsp;

The research is a large-scale attempt to understand the spread of ideas that contribute to vaccine hesitancy, "or the act of delaying or refusing a vaccination despite its availability, on social media, a primary source of health information for millions of people," the report said on Sunday.&nbsp;

"While Facebook has banned outright false and misleading statements about coronavirus vaccines since December, a huge realm of expression about vaccines sits in a gray area," it added.&nbsp;

Facebook spokesperson Dani Lever said that the social network has partnered with more than 60 global health experts to allay the Covid-19 vaccine fears.&nbsp;

"Public health experts have made it clear that tackling vaccine hesitancy is a top priority in the Covid response, which is why we've launched a global campaign that has already connected two billion people to reliable information from health experts and remove false claims about Covid and vaccines," Lever was quoted as saying.&nbsp;

Facebook has stepped up its fight against the misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, and now removes false claims about these vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts on its platform as well as Instagram.&nbsp;

As part of their effort to reduce the spread of 'vaccine hoaxes' on its platform, Facebook and its photo-messaging app Instagram said recently not to allow advertisements that include misinformation about vaccines.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

A Facebook internal study has found that a small group of users is actually sowing major doubts about the Covid-19 vaccines, discouraging people from taking the vital jab.

A Facebook internal study has found that a small group of users is actually sowing major doubts about the Covid-19 vaccines, discouraging people from taking the vital jab. The findings showed that just 10 out of the 638 population segments contained 50 per cent of all vaccine hesitancy content on the platform. In the population segment with the most vaccine hesitancy, just 111 users contributed half of all vaccine hesitant content, according to a report in The Washington Post. The Facebook study has also found a QAnon connection behind the campaign to malign the use of coronavirus vaccines and spreading 'vaccine hesitancy'. QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory group in the US. The research is a large-scale attempt to understand the spread of ideas that contribute to vaccine hesitancy, "or the act of delaying or refusing a vaccination despite its availability, on social media, a primary source of health information for millions of people," the report said on Sunday. "While Facebook has banned outright false and misleading statements about coronavirus vaccines since December, a huge realm of expression about vaccines sits in a gray area," it added. Facebook spokesperson Dani Lever said that the social network has partnered with more than 60 global health experts to allay the Covid-19 vaccine fears. "Public health experts have made it clear that tackling vaccine hesitancy is a top priority in the Covid response, which is why we've launched a global campaign that has already connected two billion people to reliable information from health experts and remove false claims about Covid and vaccines," Lever was quoted as saying. Facebook has stepped up its fight against the misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, and now removes false claims about these vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts on its platform as well as Instagram. As part of their effort to reduce the spread of 'vaccine hoaxes' on its platform, Facebook and its photo-messaging app Instagram said recently not to allow advertisements that include misinformation about vaccines. (With inputs from agencies)

Just 111 Facebook users spread half of Covid vaccine doubts 

A top Pakistani university has expelled two students for hugging and proposing on campus, after a video of the incident went viral on social media.&nbsp;

A special disciplinary committee of the University of Lahore held a meeting on Friday and summoned the two students but they failed to appear.&nbsp;

The committee then decided to expel the boy and the girl and banned them from entering any of the university's campuses.&nbsp;According to the University of Lahore, the two students were involved in gross misconduct and violation of university rules.&nbsp;The students in question were summoned before the committee but failed to appear. Thus, in pursuance of Section 9 of the General Discipline and Code of Conduct on the Campus, the committee has decided to expel the two students for violating the varsity's rules and regulations and serious infraction of the code of conduct. Furthermore, as per Section 16, they are debarred from entering the premises of University of Lahore and all its sub-campuses," read a statement from the University of Lahore.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
University of Lahore WTF...........🙂 <a href="https://t.co/PiCt5FD78Q">pic.twitter.com/PiCt5FD78Q</a>
— NنDEEM (@Nadeem_M7) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nadeem_M7/status/1370009639660761089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

The video of the proposal took Twitter by storm, it was one of the top trends on social media last Thursday when the incident took place.&nbsp;The viral footage shows the girl with her right knee bent on the ground, holding a bouquet of roses, proposing to the boy, who then takes the flowers and pulls the girl for a hug. Nearby students are seen cheering them along.&nbsp;

As the footage went viral, the university took notice of it.&nbsp;

Expulsion of the couple drew mixed reactions on the internet. A social media user posted the picture of Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan from the movie 'Mohabbatein' where he played a college principal, who was against romance in college.&nbsp;

"Presenting to you, the Principal of the University of Lahore," read the caption with a photograph of Bachchan.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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University of Lahore administration purportedly expelled Hadiqa and Shehryar from university for publicly going for marriage proposal &amp; momentary display of affection. University says both students violated code of conduct and committed gross misconduct in the university. <a href="https://t.co/MDIVJ4Mk9U">pic.twitter.com/MDIVJ4Mk9U</a>
— Zahid Gishkori (@ZahidGishkori) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZahidGishkori/status/1370444536099446784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Slain prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto's daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari termed the university action ridiculous.&nbsp;

Former cricketer Wasim Akram's wife Shaniera Akram said in a tweet: Apply all the rules you want but you can't expel love! It's in our hearts, it's the best part about being young and it what makes life worth living! You learn more about love than you can ever learn at an institution.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

A top Pakistani university has expelled two students for hugging and proposing on campus, after a video of the incident went viral on social media. A special disciplinary committee of the University of Lahore held a meeting on Friday and summoned the two students but they failed to appear.

A top Pakistani university has expelled two students for hugging and proposing on campus, after a video of the incident went viral on social media. A special disciplinary committee of the University of Lahore held a meeting on Friday and summoned the two students but they failed to appear. The committee then decided to expel the boy and the girl and banned them from entering any of the university's campuses. According to the University of Lahore, the two students were involved in gross misconduct and violation of university rules. The students in question were summoned before the committee but failed to appear. Thus, in pursuance of Section 9 of the General Discipline and Code of Conduct on the Campus, the committee has decided to expel the two students for violating the varsity's rules and regulations and serious infraction of the code of conduct. Furthermore, as per Section 16, they are debarred from entering the premises of University of Lahore and all its sub-campuses," read a statement from the University of Lahore. University of Lahore WTF...........🙂 pic.twitter.com/PiCt5FD78Q — NنDEEM (@Nadeem_M7) March 11, 2021 × The video of the proposal took Twitter by storm, it was one of the top trends on social media last Thursday when the incident took place. The viral footage shows the girl with her right knee bent on the ground, holding a bouquet of roses, proposing to the boy, who then takes the flowers and pulls the girl for a hug. Nearby students are seen cheering them along. As the footage went viral, the university took notice of it. Expulsion of the couple drew mixed reactions on the internet. A social media user posted the picture of Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan from the movie 'Mohabbatein' where he played a college principal, who was against romance in college. "Presenting to you, the Principal of the University of Lahore," read the caption with a photograph of Bachchan. University of Lahore administration purportedly expelled Hadiqa and Shehryar from university for publicly going for marriage proposal & momentary display of affection. University says both students violated code of conduct and committed gross misconduct in the university. pic.twitter.com/MDIVJ4Mk9U — Zahid Gishkori (@ZahidGishkori) March 12, 2021 × Slain prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto's daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari termed the university action ridiculous. Former cricketer Wasim Akram's wife Shaniera Akram said in a tweet: Apply all the rules you want but you can't expel love! It's in our hearts, it's the best part about being young and it what makes life worth living! You learn more about love than you can ever learn at an institution. (With inputs from agencies)

Watch: Social media erupts as Pak varsity expels students for 'hugging' on campus 

Russia has restricted the use of Twitter across the nation by moving to slow down the speed of the service after it was accused of failing to remove banned content from its website.

Russia restricts use of Twitter over failure to delete illegal content

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