Big Tech goes up against Russian state media
Google, Meta, and Twitter are blocking Kremlin owned channels from selling ads and pushing propaganda as part of ongoing sanctions against Russia. It’s been four days since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, and Big Tech is starting to respond. Sanctions against Russia from EU nations and members of NATO continue...
Current in Social
Is age verification on UK pornography viewing a good idea?
The UK is once again attempting to pass age verification checks for porn viewers. The bill asks all upload-based websites to act with a ‘duty of care’ and remove harmful or illegal content. It may sound like a good idea in theory, but the parameters are also worryingly vague....
How AI can lead to verbal abuse and unhealthy attachments
Smartphone app Replika is enabling users to find companionship in artificially intelligent chatbots. But what happens when the human emotion of users gets in the way of keeping things casual? It’s getting a little too real in the world of tech right now. The recent and rapid expansion of the metaverse,...
YouTube is working on a dedicated NFT marketplace
YouTube has finally jumped on the NFT bandwagon, according to chief product officer Neal Mohan. Could this open up a fresh and lucrative avenue for creator monetisation on the platform? If you’re sick of seeing ‘Bored Ape’ PNGs plastered all over social media, you’ll have to grit your teeth and...
TikTok set to ban all content that promotes disordered eating
The app has announced major changes to its community guidelines in an effort to protect the wellbeing of users who may be vulnerable to videos glorifying unhealthy behaviour. A little over a year ago, TikTok began investigating videos promoting starvation following reports that potentially harmful pro-weight-loss accounts were still...
Concerns about user privacy in the metaverse continue to grow
Tech giant Meta is working on body pose tracking technology, clothing that detects movement, and in-home sensor devices to enhance the metaverse experience - but has yet to outline any details of data privacy and user safety. As the digital and physical world have become increasingly interwoven, we’ve become accustomed...
Fact checkers label YouTube a ‘major conduit’ for misinformation
Organisations involved in fact-checking have come together to demand YouTube finally address its misinformation problem. YouTube has a little something for everyone, whether you’re looking for an amusing review of a takeaway chain or a comprehensive history lesson on the Mayans. The only issue with allowing almost anything to end up on the platform, so long as it doesn’t breach terms brazenly, is that information is able to circulate rapidly without...
Twitter bans ‘Politics For All’ account without specifying why
The integrity of Twitter as a democratic platform is again under scrutiny. This time, after permanently banning a political news aggregator account for a strange and minor offence. Another day, another censorship storm involving Twitter. The topical social media giant is under scrutiny after removing a popular political news aggregator account called Politics For All earlier this week. It has since specified that Twitter will not be reinstating the page. Removed on...
Exclusive – Impactr, the app turning social media into social change
Thred has been given an exclusive, pre-launch peek at new app Impactr, the self-proclaimed ‘anti-Amazon’ about to revolutionise online interaction. What’s next in social media? It’s a question people have asked themselves since David Fincher’s The Social Network premiered in 2010, seemingly the swan song of a digital juggernaut that was fast losing its novel sheen and youth-centric flavour. Throughout the 2010s, we’ve gone through various incarnations of the connected media...
