DigiTech Geeks

Facebook is now using AI to sort content for quicker moderation Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook has always made it clear it wants artificial intelligence to handle more moderation duties on its platforms. Today, it announced its latest step toward that goal: putting machine learning in charge of its moderation queue. Here’s how moderation works on Facebook. Posts that are thought to violate the company’s rules (which includes everything from spam to hate speech and content that “glorifies violence”) are flagged, either by users or machine learning filters. Some very clear-cut cases are dealt with automatically (responses could involve removing a post or blocking an account, for example) while the rest go into a queue for review by human moderators. Facebook employs about 15,000 of these moderators around the world, and... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to downlo...

Facebook must delete insults to Austrian politician worldwide, says court Photo by Manfred Schmid / Getty Images Facebook has lost its appeal in a landmark online speech case, as Austria’s Supreme Court determined that it must remove comments that are defamatory in Austria worldwide. The comments, which must be blocked while an injunction is active, insult Austrian Green Party politician Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek. Austrian news outlet Der Standard reported the news earlier today. It echoes a similar ruling from the European Court of Justice, which handed a defeat to Facebook late last year. Glawischnig-Piesczek originally sued Facebook in 2016, arguing that a series of insults — including calling her a “lousy traitor” and a member of a “fascist party” — damaged her reputation. But the comments would likely be protected speech in some countries, and... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here t...

Facebook’s Vanish Mode on Messenger and Instagram lets you send disappearing messages Image: Facebook Facebook’s latest take on a signature Snapchat feature is arriving today, and it’s called Vanish Mode. First announced as part of its big September redesign of Messenger, Vanish Mode is an ephemeral messaging mode for both Facebook Messenger and Instagram that will you let you send texts, photos, voice messages, emoji, and stickers that disappear immediately once they’re viewed by other parties and the chat window is closed. Some users may have already noticed Vanish Mode in the chat settings on Messenger, as Facebook has been rolling out it slowly to some users since the redesign was announced two months ago . And on Instagram, some elements of Vanish Mode are already part of the core direct messaging feature set, including disappearing... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to download our ...

Why wait for Apple or Facebook when you can build your own DIY smart glasses today? Photo by Sam March Smart glasses — depending on who you ask — are the future. But if you’d rather not wait for a company like Apple or Facebook to actually sell you a pair, you can do what product designer Sam March did and simply build your own smart glasses from scratch . (March is no stranger to building his own wearable tech, as his DIY smartwatch from last year shows.) Much like the smartwatch build, March has fully documented every step of the process he took in creating the glasses, which feature a connected app and use integrated LEDs to indicate walking directions to a specified location. Photo by Sam March If you do want to build your own pair, it will take a fair amount of technical skill. March’s process involves machining... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to download our DTG Android App ...

Chinese gadget makers have to overcome stigma to launch in the US Photo illustration by Becca Farsace and Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Jenkin Xia knows how hard it can be to launch a gadget in the US. She makes a smart doorbell called Wuuk and crowdfunded it on Indiegogo in 2019, raising more than $900,000. Although many of the backers were excited about the products, others were wary, saying they worried about their data because the team is based in China. Backers wanted to know more about the founders, like where they’re located and their background, she says. “People seem to really care about this, and sometimes the stigma of being a Chinese founder really haunts us,” she says. “For instance, recently we [saw] some backers posted [a question] on Facebook or social media about the name Wuuk, like, what does Wuuk mean?” Some backers thought Wuuk meant “military” or... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech New...

Facebook extends political ad ban another month as Trump refuses to concede Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook on Wednesday announced an extension on its political advertising ban for at least another month, citing delays in election results due to COVID-19 and unprecedented rates of mail-in and absentee voting. The extension was announced in an update posted to its original blog post on the topic. “The temporary pause for ads about politics and social issues in the US continues to be in place as part of our ongoing efforts to protect the election. Advertisers can expect this to last another month, though there may be an opportunity to resume these ads sooner,” the update reads. “Getting the US election results this year may take longer than in previous elections due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and more people voting by mail.... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to ...

Facebook removes election misinformation pages tied to Steve Bannon Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images Facebook has removed a series of pages linked to former Trump advisor Steve Bannon. The pages were removed after nonprofit organization Avaaz flagged them as spreading — and artificially amplifying — election-related misinformation under the “Stop The Steal” tag . Facebook confirmed to The New York Times that it removed “several clusters of activity” late last week “for using inauthentic behavior tactics to artificially boost how many people saw their content.” That included pages tied to Bannon as well as a “Stop the Steal” group that lured Trump supporters into joining and then changed the title to “Gay Communists for Socialism.” Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone says the group “misled people about its purpose using deceptive tactics.” A... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to downlo...

Parler, a conservative Twitter clone, has seen nearly 1 million downloads since Election Day Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Conservative angst over President Trump’s loss has resulted in a surge of downloads for Parler, a conservative social network founded as an ideological alternative to Facebook and Twitter. According to data from SensorTower, Parler’s app saw 980,000 downloads in total between November 3rd (Election Day) and November 8th, with more than half of those downloads (636,000) coming on Sunday alone. (The totals represent both Google Play Store and iOS App Store downloads.) That surge in downloads has also pushed Parler to the top of the app store rankings. It is currently the #1 free app in the iOS App Store, up from #1,023 on November 2nd. It’s also #1 in the Google Play rankings, up from #486 the previous week. The app has been downloaded... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: C...

Facebook says it will put groups on probation for violating its content rules Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In yet another attempt to slow the spread of misinformation on its platform, Facebook plans to put groups on its platform with too many posts that violate its content rules on a kind of probation, the company said. First reported by The Washington Post , Facebook will restrict any groups— both public and private ones— with multiple posts violating its community standards. Moderators for the groups will have to approve any posts manually for 60 days, and there’s no appeal available for groups on probationary status. “We are temporarily requiring admins and moderators of some political and social groups in the US to approve all posts, if their group has a number of Community Standards violations from members,” Facebook spokesperson Leonard... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here t...

‘Stop the Steal’ spreads across the internet after infecting Facebook Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In the wake of a Facebook ban and dimming electoral hopes for President Trump, the “Stop the Steal” movement is finding a home on smaller platforms and in-person rallies. A movement supporting Trump’s false claims of election fraud and hoping to halt the ongoing vote-certification process, Stop the Steal groups are currently promoting pro-Trump rallies in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Georgia, and organizing through platforms like Parler and Discord. “President Trump has the votes,” wrote Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon supporter newly elected to Congress, on Parler. “But the Democrats, Big Tech, and the Fake News Media are trying to STEAL this election. You and I cannot let that happen! This is the biggest VOTER FRAUD operation in... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to downlo...

Two Vergecast episodes today: election and Xbox Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge With so much news this week in different sections of The Verge , The Vergecast recorded two episodes to cover it all. The first episode is dedicated to the policy news coming out of the 2020 presidential election. While the counting of votes continues, The Verge ’s Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Adi Robertson discuss what steps social media platforms have taken to limit misinformation during the practice of democracy. Additional reading: Watch the great people of Philadelphia count ballots live Facebook, Twitter take steps to limit the president’s false election claims Twitter restricts Trump campaign official’s tweet alleging Philadelphia voter fraud Before the votes are fully counted, Trump falsely claims victory Twitter restricts yet... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to download our DTG Android A...

WhatsApp finally begins rolling out payment service in India The service lets users in India send and receive payments directly in chats. | Image: WhatsApp Facebook is rolling out its WhatsApp payment service for users in India after receiving approval from the country’s regulators. The service first launched in India as a beta in 2018, but a full rollout was delayed for years by concerns about data storage and sharing . It’s an important launch for what is WhatsApp’s biggest market , home to some 400 million users. India’s regulatory body for retail payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), gave its approval to WhatsApp on Thursday, with Facebook confirming the rollout of the service just hours later in a blog post . The news was significant enough for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to create a video (embedded below) explaining some of its features. “Now you’re going to be... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App ...

Facebook will announce presidential election result in Facebook and Instagram notifications Facebook Facebook plans to put the name of the winner of the US presidential election at the top of Facebook and Instagram once it’s been projected by a majority of media outlets, the company says. The company also will label presidential candidates’ posts with a link to its voting information center, according to Facebook spokesperson Tom Reynolds. The company plans to “show the candidate’s name in notifications at the top of Facebook and Instagram that say ‘A Presidential Winner Has Been Projected — <name> is the projected winner of the 2020 US Presidential Election,’” Reynolds explained in an email to The Verge. Facebook Facebook will put the name of the winner of the US election on Facebook and Instagram Facebook... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to download our DTG Android App #Digi...

Facebook sees a rise in misinformation as reports warn of incitement Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook is seeing an increase in worrying activity around the US election, according to reports from The New York Times and BuzzFeed News . According to BuzzFeed News , which viewed a post on Facebook’s internal message board, the company has been tracking a rise in “violence and incitement trends” associated with hashtags and keywords. Facebook did not respond for comment about a potential rise in the organization of violent activity on its platform by the time of publication, but Facebook spokesperson Liz Bourgeois told BuzzFeed News that the company is “staying vigilant in detecting content that could incite violence during this time of heightened uncertainty.” In a statement given to The Verge and others, Facebook said that the... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to download...

Facebook and TikTok block hashtags used to spread election conspiracy theories Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook and TikTok have blocked hashtags that were being used to spread misinformation and conspiracy theories about the presidential election. The hashtags generally revolved around unfounded claims that Democrats are trying to manipulate the election to defeat President Trump. On Facebook, the blocked hashtags include #stopthesteal, which has been broadly used to make unsubstantiated claims of election fraud by Democrats, and #sharpiegate, which incorrectly alleges that the use of Sharpie markers caused Trump votes to go uncounted in Arizona. TikTok blocked #sharpiegate, #stopthesteal, and the more general term #riggedelection. Both sets of blocked hashtags were spotted by TechCrunch . Social media companies have been trying to quickly... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click ...

Facebook shuts down huge ‘Stop the Steal’ group Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As of Thursday morning, a huge Facebook group called “Stop the Steal” was organizing rallies and fundraising to challenge election results across the US. The group accumulated more than 300,000 members in the less than 48 hours it existed before Facebook removed it on Thursday afternoon. “In line with the exceptional measures that we are taking during this period of heightened tension, we have removed the Group ‘Stop the Steal’ which was creating real-world events,” a Facebook company spokesperson said in a statement. “The group was organized around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from members of the group.” “We have removed the Group ‘Stop the Steal’ which was creating real-world... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to download our DTG Android App ...

YouTube says video claiming Trump won does not violate its election misinformation policies Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube says a video claiming President Donald Trump won the election does not violate any of its policies and has allowed it to stay on the platform, despite the election not being called by major news outlets for either candidate yet. The decision stands in contrast to Twitter and Facebook’s more aggressive attempts to clamp down on misleading claims and misinformation over election results. The video, titled “Trump Won. MSM hopes you don’t believe your eyes,” was published by pro-Trump network One American News Network (OANN) on Wednesday. YouTube says the video violates its advertising guidelines but not its content policies, so it can stay online but will run without ads, the company confirmed to The Verge. The story was first... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Cli...

Twitter, Facebook label Trump posts alleging election theft Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter has placed sharing restrictions on a tweet from President Donald Trump, setting up a high-profile standoff between the president and the platform in the aftermath of Election Day. Facebook has added labels to the president’s posts, saying the final vote count isn’t in yet. “We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election,” the message reads, on both platforms. “We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!” Early returns were promising for the president, but a number of pivotal states are still counting votes, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. This work does not involve additional votes being cast, but instead deals with the unprecedented surge of mail-in ballots... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to download our DTG ...

How should social media handle the election? Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Election Day is here, and in the next few days or weeks, we’ll know who won — but for lots of people, tonight isn’t just about choosing the next president. It’s also a stress test for online platforms and a measure of how carefully they can handle information when the stakes are this high. By now, we know what failure could look like. In one nightmare scenario, a candidate (likely Trump) could preemptively declare victory before the votes are counted. In another, a fast-spreading rumor could cause serious offline unrest — like a viral hoax or misleading video that encourages vigilante violence. Since election night might not end with a clear winner, sites could be dealing with these threats for days. The biggest platforms have laid out a... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to download our DTG Android App ...

WhatsApp makes it easier to free up space with new storage management tool The new storage management tool on WhatsApp. | Image: WhatsApp WhatsApp has redesigned its storage management tool, making it easier for users to find and delete files that are taking up too much space on their phone. The new tool will be “rolling out to users worldwide this week,” says the Facebook-owned company, and will be available in the app by heading to Settings > Storage and data > Manage storage. The current WhatsApp “Storage Usage” tool simply sorts all available chats by the amount of space they take up, listing the number of messages, photos, GIFs, and videos in each chat, and letting the user delete each category with a few taps. This is handy, but doesn’t give users a way to browse the content they’re removing. That’s important if you need to clear out, say, a family group chat, and... Continue reading… Click here to read full article. Download our Android App for all the latest...