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Social media and online
The latest social media news and insight on the changing internet. Verdict covers the developing technology of social media and the online world, from regulations to innovations and the business beyond. Social media has seen dramatic maturation in recent years, but has faced an increasingly challenging time as its true impact is felt. So what does the future hold?
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17 Jan
Alphabet has reached a trillion, but does it really matter?
Google’s parent company Alphabet has reached a trillion-dollar valuation, making it the fourth US company to achieve this.
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14 Jan
LinkedIn down: Users report outage for some features
LinkedIn is currently down according to a number of reports, with many users unable to use a number of features on the business networking platform.
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9 Jan
Publishers slam tech firms’ efforts to combat misinformation
Publishers from around the world feel that technology firms such as Facebook, YouTube and Google did not do enough last year to combat misinformation on their platforms, according to research published today by the Reuters Institute for Journalism.
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19 Dec
Social media advertising: Ban targeted ads not political ads
Twitter caused a media sensation recently when it announced it would be banning all political advertising, and other social media giants like Facebook look to be following suit.
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10 Dec
How disinformation hijacked the ‘Leeds Hospital’ narrative
There is a very popular senior nursing sister at Leeds General Infirmary.
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9 Dec
Conservatives harness Facebook ads to take Ed Miliband’s Labour safe seat
In the last few days before the UK general election, the Conservatives have launched a string of highly targeted Facebook ads focused on key constituencies, with former Labour leader Ed Miliband’s Doncaster North constituency among the key targets.
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4 Dec
Amnesty finds clear appetite for regulating Big Tech
A survey carried out by Amnesty International has found a clear appetite for greater regulation of Big Tech.
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2 Dec
Digital privacy after death: What happens to social media accounts when we die
People have chased immortality since ancient times.
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29 Nov
Smartphone addiction symptoms found in a quarter of children
One in four children and young people are using their smartphone in a manner that is characteristic of behavioural addiction, according to research published today.
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28 Nov
Mob mentality: Research sheds light on how we make choices online
The role of online platforms in the spread of fake news and dissemination of extreme ideologies is an ongoing issue that can have serious real-world consequences, with the responsibility of those behind the platforms called into question.
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25 Nov
Contract for the Web: Tim Berners-Lee launches plan to combat “digital dystopia”
The creator of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has launched a plan to combat what he describes as an emerging “digital dystopia” called the Contract for the Web.
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22 Nov
Amnesty condemns “insidious” Facebook and Google surveillance
Amnesty International has slammed the “insidious” surveillance business models of Facebook and Google, warning that they pose an “unprecedented danger” to human rights.
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15 Nov
Christopher Wylie: US privacy law needed to control “reckless behaviour of the tech industry”
In 2018, Canadian data scientist Christopher Wylie found himself at the heart of an international scandal after exposing that Cambridge Analytica harvested the data of 87 million Facebook users without consent, using that data to target voters with political ads.
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14 Nov
Facebook deleted pro-vaccination adverts on political grounds, study finds
A landmark study into health-related advertising on Facebook has found that the social media giant has removed numerous adverts promoting vaccination on the grounds that they are political.
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13 Nov
Instagram Reels poses “real threat” to TikTok’s market dominance
The launch of Instagram Reels, a video remix feature bearing a close resemblance to TikTok, poses a serious threat to the Chinese social media brand, according to experts.
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11 Nov
Free internet essential to maintaining human rights, research finds
The internet should be made free to access for all as it now plays a vital role in upholding other human rights, according to research published today.
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8 Nov
Facebook political advertising is “not democracy”: Margrethe Vestager
Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, has slammed Facebook political advertising, arguing that the micro-targeted approach lacks oversight and is “not democracy”.
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6 Nov
Facebook Messenger launches new Privacy and Security Hub
After Facebook’s poor track record with user privacy came to light in 2018, the social media giant’s drive to improve its public image in this area continues.
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5 Nov
Online freedom declines for ninth year due to mass surveillance and political manipulation
Freedom on the internet has declined for the ninth year running, with mass surveillance and political manipulation key contributing factors.
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4 Nov
Researchers analyse tweets to predict loneliness
Estimated to affect around one in five adults in the United States, with young people more likely to be affected, the problem of loneliness is a public health issue that urgently needs addressing.
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31 Oct
Twitter bans political ads, but has bigger bots to fry
Twitter’s decision to ban all political adverts has been widely welcomed, but the prevalence of fake bot accounts will remain its biggest challenge in upcoming elections.
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30 Oct
Facebook agrees to pay £500k Cambridge Analytica fine
Social media giant Facebook has agreed to pay the UK’s data regulator a £500,000 fine for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
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23 Oct
Snapchat results: Despite growing user numbers, Snapchat “faces fierce competition”
Shares in Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, dropped following the release of the company’s third quarter results, despite growing user numbers.
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22 Oct
Firefox 70 lets you see the companies tracking you online
Firefox has launched a feature that lets users view the companies tracking them as they browse online.
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21 Oct
Podcasts get search and monitoring capabilities for first time
For the first time, it will be possible for brands and marketers to search and monitor what is said on podcasts with the launch of a new product from media monitoring service TVEyes.
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17 Oct
Brits more likely to ditch Facebook than Huawei, survey finds
UK consumers are more likely to stop using Facebook’s products and services than Huawei’s, according to a survey conducted by open-source communications software provider Open-Xchange.
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2 Oct
Is Twitter down? Users in Europe and Asia report issues
Is Twitter down?
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1 Oct
What’s a deepfake? 72% of Brits don’t know
Do you know what a deepfake is?
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30 Sep
Norwegian Refugee Council: The importance of internet and tech training for displaced people
During the Syrian crisis, people fleeing the conflict travelled to Turkey and on to Europe via the Greek islands.
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27 Sep
Google is 21: What could the next 21 years mean for the company?
The 27th of September is Google’s birthday, with the company reaching the age of 21, marking the occasion with the now customary Google Doogle.