TOPLINE Twitter’s shares plunged 7% in pre-market trading on Monday after the platform permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account Friday — Twitter was one of several sites to deplatform the president for his role in inciting violence among supporters Wednesday, including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



After a review of Trump’s recent tweets, Twitter said it felt there was a “risk of further incitement of violence” from the president, who at the time was one of the most followed people on the platform.



The company then virtually chased Trump across the internet to take down posts as the president repeatedly tried to subvert the ban and tweet from other accounts he had access to, such as the official presidential @POTUS account and his presidential campaign account.&nbsp;



The president&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/08/president-trump-responds-to-twitter-account-ban-in-tweet-storm-from-potus-account/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claimed</a>&nbsp;he would set up his own social media network in the future.



Twitter also cracked down on the accounts of a number of Trump’s supporters who were encouraging violence and spreading misinformation, like lawyer L. Lin Wood who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2021/01/07/lin-wood-lawyer-closely-tied-to-trump-permanently-banned-from-twitter-after-claiming-capitol-siege-was-staged/?sh=44dc23851be3">suggested</a>&nbsp;the Wednesday insurrection was a coup “staged” by antifa protesters and described Vice President Mike Pence as a traitor and communist.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



After years of pressure to crack down on misinformation, conspiracy and hate speech from Trump, platforms are now abandoning him in droves after the president incited violence among his supporters Wednesday. Of these, Twitter is the most consequential. Twitter was Trump’s preferred way of engaging with the world around him and the president used the platform for everything from announcing policies and denouncing detractors to spreading hate, misinformation and lies. Trump’s communications channels are certainly narrowing — Facebook also banned the president and right wing app Parler has been practically&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/01/10/conservative-social-media-app-parler-is-pretty-much-dead/?sh=73e7a2a66a53">run off the internet</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



Twitter and San Francisco police are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-braces-for-possible-pro-Trump-15860077.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;preparing for a pro-Trump protest outside the company’s headquarters on Monday in the wake of the ban.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h4>



88 million. That’s how many Twitter followers Trump had when his account was suspended. This made him one of the most followed on the platform.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.axios.com/platforms-social-media-ban-restrict-trump-d9e44f3c-8366-4ba9-a8a1-7f3114f920f1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">All the platforms that have banned or restricted Trump so far</a> (Axios)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/01/08/twitter-permanently-bans-trump/?sh=3969f0e3158d">Twitter Permanently Bans Trump</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/01/10/conservative-social-media-app-parler-is-pretty-much-dead/?sh=73e7a2a66a53">Conservative Social Media App Parler Is Pretty Much Dead</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-11/twitter-shares-fall-6-following-permanent-trump-ban?srnd=premium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter Shares Fall 7% Following Permanent Trump Ban</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/01/10/parler-at-risk-of-going-offline-after-bans-from-amazon-apple-and-google/?sh=31fcce28312b">Parler At Risk Of Going Offline After Bans From Amazon, Apple And Google</a> (Forbes)



-By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

Twitter Permanently Suspends President Donald Trump’s Twitter Account

Twitter Shares Down 7% In Pre-Market Trading After Trump Is Permanently Banned From The Platform

The Pakistani government has banned TikTok, claiming that it has received a number of complaints against “immoral/indecent” content on the video-sharing app, a move that comes a few months after the platform received a “final warning” on the issue.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h3>



The ban was&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PTAofficialpk/status/1314536530325762048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1314536532791963649%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.medianama.com%2F2020%2F10%2F223-tiktok-ban-pakistan%2F" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">issued</a>&nbsp;by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) which said in a press release that it had given TikTok “considerable time” to develop an “effective mechanism for proactive moderation of unlawful online content,” but the platform failed to do so.



The regulator, however, left the door open to review its decision if TikTok manages to create a “satisfactory mechanism” to moderate content.



While issuing TikTok a warning in July, Pakistan had&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PTAofficialpk/status/1285287980370931712" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">banned</a>&nbsp;a Chinese-owned live-streaming app Bigo for similar reasons.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITIC</h3>



Pakistan-based digital and women&#8217;s rights lawyer Nighat Dad told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;that the ban is being seen as unconstitutional and a violation of people’s fundamental rights. “The lack of transparency around the PTA’s decision means that one authority can choose to ban anything by calling it immoral,” she said. “TikTok offered breathing space for people who consider themselves as minorities in the country, and the platform enabled them to enjoy the freedom that they did not find in public spaces.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h3>



43 million. That’s the total number of times the TikTok app has been downloaded in Pakistan, according to data shared by mobile app intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Prior to the ban Pakistan was TikTok’s 12th largest market.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h3>



In June, Pakistan’s neighbor India had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/06/29/india-bans-tiktok-58-other-chinese-apps-citing-security-concerns/#3054d1157e60">banned</a>&nbsp;the Chinese-owned video-sharing app claiming that it was stealing users’ personal data. India’s Ministry of Electronics &amp; IT said it had taken the decision after receiving “many complaints” of TikTok and other Chinese-owned apps “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India.” The video-sharing platform has also been threatened with a ban in the U.S. by the Trump administration over a similar allegation of sharing user data with the Chinese government, something TikTok vehemently denies.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



Internet platforms have regularly run afoul of Pakistan’s laws on morality and objectionable content. YouTube, which has borne the brunt of such actions so far, was banned for more than three years between September 2012 and January 2016. The video-sharing platform was only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-youtube-idUSKCN0UW1ER" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reinstated</a>&nbsp;after it launched a local version that allows the government to demand the removal of material it considers offensive. In August this year, the Pakistani telecom regulator&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medianama.com/2020/08/223-pakistan-youtube-objetionable-videos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asked</a>&nbsp;YouTube to “immediately block vulgar, indecent, immoral, nude and hate speech content” in the country. In September, the country had&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PTAofficialpk/status/1300778356288425984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1300778356288425984%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.medianama.com%2F2020%2F09%2F223-pakistan-bans-tinder-grindr%2F" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">banned</a>&nbsp;dating apps Tinder and Grindr calling them “immoral or indecent.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/06/29/india-bans-tiktok-58-other-chinese-apps-citing-security-concerns/#3054d1157e60">India Bans TikTok, 58 Other Chinese Apps, Citing Security Concerns</a> (Forbes)



-By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

In this photo illustration the TikTok logo seen displayed on

Pakistan Bans TikTok For Allowing ‘Immoral/Indecent’ Content

Facebook will soon allow people on the social media platform to send direct messages to Instagram users and vice versa, the social media giant said in a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/new-messaging-features-for-instagram/" target="_blank">blog post</a>, signaling the first step in the company’s plan to unify messaging systems across all of its platforms, which also includes WhatsApp.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



Instagram’s inbuilt instant messenger will also be updated to include a few additions including selfie stickers, custom backgrounds, and disappearing messages.



The feature will be open to all users by default but Instagram users who may want to keep their chats separate from Facebook may choose to opt-out of the update altogether, although this means they will also not receive all the other new features.



It is unclear as to when the cross-platform messaging will become available to all users, but CNN&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/30/tech/instagram-messenger-messaging/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;that the feature is presently being “tested in select markets and will expand globally in the coming months.”



The cross-platform integration presently excludes Facebook-owned messaging behemoth WhatsApp which has over 2 billion users worldwide.



Unlike Facebook Messenger and Instagram’s direct messages, WhatsApp features end-to-end encryption that prevents third parties including government and law enforcement from peering into messages in transit.



In 2019, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had&nbsp;<a href="http://facebook.com/notes/mark-zuckerberg/a-privacy-focused-vision-for-social-networking/10156700570096634/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outlined</a>&nbsp;a plan that would see his company pivot away from public communications to focus on encrypted private messaging.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



Responding to a question on WhatsApp integration on Twitter, Facebook’s EMEA Technology Communications Manager Alexandru Voica&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/alexvoica/status/1311287329701724170" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a>, “Right now, we are focused on cross-app communications Messenger and Instagram. We are still determining how cross-app communications will work with WhatsApp. WhatsApp will continue to remain a separate, end-to-end encrypted app at this time.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITIC</h4>



After Zuckerberg announced his company’s intention to integrate its service, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/opinion/sunday/chris-hughes-facebook-zuckerberg.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a>&nbsp;for the&nbsp;New York Times, calling for Facebook to be broken up. Arguing that Facebook has become a monopoly which in turn has limited competition and held back innovation, Hughes wrote, “Mark’s influence is staggering, far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government. He controls three core communications platforms — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — that billions of people use every day.” He then called on the government to move quickly to split Facebook from Instagram and WhatsApp adding, “Until recently, WhatsApp and Instagram were administered as independent platforms inside the parent company, so that should make the process easier. But time is of the essence: Facebook is working quickly to integrate the three, which would make it harder for the F.T.C. to split them up.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h4>



On Tuesday, Facebook&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/privacy-matters-accounts-center/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;that it was testing a unified ‘Accounts Centre’ that would control login and other activity on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger from a single platform. Once operational this will allow users to log into all three of the apps from a single platform and cross-post content. “Whether you want to share a story to Instagram and Facebook at the same time, or use your Facebook account to log into Instagram, setting up your Accounts Center will allow you to control connected experiences that work across our apps,” Facebook said in its blog post.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Lawmakers around the world have <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/29/facebooks-plan-to-merge-messaging-services-could-be-barred-in-the-eu.html" target="_blank">expressed concern</a> over Facebook’s plan to integrate its messaging platforms. The company is presently facing antitrust scrutiny in both the U.S. and the European Union. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/heres-how-we-can-break-up-big-tech-9ad9e0da324c" target="_blank">called</a> for the breaking up of big tech companies including Facebook. The Democratic presidential candidate <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://nypost.com/2019/05/13/joe-biden-says-hes-open-to-breaking-up-facebook/" target="_blank">Joe Biden</a> and his running mate <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://gizmodo.com/kamala-harris-says-we-need-to-seriously-take-a-look-at-1834706259" target="_blank">Kamala Harris</a> have both said that the issue of breaking up Facebook is something that needs to be given a serious look. However, breaking the company up may become difficult if Facebook manages to merge all its services under a single umbrella.



-By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

INDIA-US-INTERNET-FACEBOOK

Facebook, Instagram Users Will Soon Be Able To Send Each Other Direct Messages

As TikTok and Oracle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/oracle" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ORCL</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/oracle">-0.3%</a>&nbsp;work out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/08/27/walmart-joins-microsofts-bid-to-acquire-tiktoks-us-business/">an acquisition deal</a>, the social media company is also thinking about who will be its next CEO after its last chief, Kevin Mayer,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/08/27/tiktok-ceo-kevin-mayer-exits-as-company-faces-threat-of-ban-in-us/#794266db114c">departed&nbsp;</a>after only a few months.



One of the people in the running for the job is Instagram billionaire Kevin Systrom, who left Facebook in 2018,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/technology/tiktok-deal-revisions-trump-review.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a>&nbsp;a&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/new-york-times" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NYT</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/new-york-times">-1.2%</a>&nbsp;story. The discussions between Systrom and Tiktok are only in the early stages, the&nbsp;Times&nbsp;reports. TikTok could not be reached to comment for this story. A spokesperson for Systrom declined to comment.



TikTok’s divestiture from its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance very much remains a work in progress.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-17/oracle-bytedance-said-to-accept-new-treasury-terms-on-tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg&nbsp;</a>reported this afternoon that the U.S. Treasury department has tentatively approved a deal that would leave TikTok’s U.S. operations largely in the hands of American stakeholders, including Oracle. ByteDance still needs to get approval from President Trump by Sunday, the day when a Trump-issued executive order goes into effect that would effectively ban TikTok in the U.S.



Mayer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/05/20/inside-the-hunt-for-tiktoks-new-ceo-and-whats-next-for-the-worlds-hottest-app/#711472b5abb4">was seen</a>&nbsp;as a strong choice when his hiring was announced in May. He had spent years at Disney&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/walt-disney" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DIS</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/walt-disney">-0.1%</a>&nbsp;overseeing its M&amp;A deals and working on the launch of its streaming service, Disney+. But Mayer unexpectedly departed last month, saying he had not expected to be caught up in tensions between the U.S. government and China. Vanessa Pappas, TikTok’s general manager, has been serving as TikTok’s interim chief.



In Systrom, TikTok would get someone who has already created one social media giant—and someone immensely familiar with one of TikTok’s main rivals: Mark Zuckerberg. Systrom sold Instagram to Zuckerberg and Facebook in 2012 for almost $1 billion and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/2016/08/01/instagram-the-50-billion-grand-slam-driving-facebooks-future-the-forbes-cover-story/#3fdf40ee278f">then built it up</a>&nbsp;to over a half-billion users before leaving.



Zuckerberg and Facebook clearly see TikTok as a threat already. Instagram has rolled out a number of new features that copy TikTok, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/08/05/instagram-intensifies-battle-with-tiktok-as-influencers-ponder-their-options/">a short-form-video editing tool</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/08/19/instagram-reaches-for-more-of-tiktoks-magic-with-a-change-to-its-main-feed/">changed its main feed</a>&nbsp;to make it more like TikTok. In Washington, Zuckerberg&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-stoked-washingtons-fears-about-tiktok-11598223133" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;stressed to politicians that TikTok was a threat to American users; Trump and other Republicans have expressed worry that TikTok may mishandle user data to satisfy the Chinese government.



Add Systrom to the mix, and the battle between TikTok and Facebook becomes one of the most intriguing rivalries in the corporate world.



By Abram Brown,Forbes Staff

2019 SXSW Conference And Festival – Day 4

TikTok Reportedly Considering Instagram Billionaire Kevin Systrom For Vacant CEO Role

Next to the familiar content from family and friends in Instagram’s main feed will now be something else: photos and videos from accounts you don’t already follow. The introduction of these algorithmically chosen “Suggested Posts” is a significant change to the app and a response to the technology that has allowed TikTok to establish itself as a surging rival.



Starting today, Instagram will include the Suggested Posts at the bottom of the Home feed, which users will reach only after scrolling through all the new content from the accounts they follow. Suggested Posts are picked based on what the app thinks interests you, and it gleans this from a number of factors, including analyzing what content you liked and shared and the accounts that you follow.



“So if you’re typically excited about specifics interests—like for me, food and interior design—you would hopefully see more content that would have loved to have seen,” says Instagram’s Robby Stein, the executive responsible for the new feature. “We saw an opportunity to actually help bring some of the best of Instagram to you&#8230;instead of relying entirely on you to find all of the best content on Instagram.”Recommended For You



This is a departure point for Instagram. Instagram’s Home feed, the app’s default starting point, has been a place only for content that you’ve knowingly told Instagram to put there. TikTok works in the opposite way. TikTok’s For You page is its starting point and displays content based entirely through an algorithm, surfacing content from accounts you don’t know and from ones that have interested you in the past.



TikTok’s For You page has enabled content to more easily go viral than on Instagram and for more influencers to amass bigger followings. It has become a beloved hallmark of TikTok: Users like it because they find more things. Influencers like having the greater shot at fame (and possibly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/08/06/tiktoks-highest-earning-stars-teen-queens-addison-rae-and-charli-damelio-rule/#4bbb5e245087">the money</a>&nbsp;that can follow with that).



By mimicking TiKTok, Instagram is indicating how far it’ll go to beat back its new competitor, including changes to core real estate on its app. Instagram displayed similar behavior earlier this month when&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/08/05/instagram-intensifies-battle-with-tiktok-as-influencers-ponder-their-options/#4dacb30c67a2">it debuted</a>&nbsp;its own short-form video editing function, Reels, a product meant to directly compete with TikTok. In the past, Instagram’s parent company Facebook&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/facebook" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FB</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/facebook">+2.4%</a>&nbsp;has been widely criticized for its copy-cat tendencies as have many other large tech companies.



For now, Suggested Posts is tucked away in an innocuous place on Instagram. It’s not clear whether many users regularly get to the bottom of their Home feeds. But Instagram says it will be refining Suggested Posts in the future and wouldn’t comment on whether these posts could later appear higher in a user’s feed or whether they might eventually include content from Reels.



Suggested Posts are similar to what Instagram already displays in its algorithmically driven Explore page. The company declined to give details about how the content selected for Suggested Posts will differ from what would already appear in Explore.



Instagram’s Home feed hasn’t been altered much in past years. In 2016, Instagram changed how it displayed posts, switching from chronologically displaying them to an algorithmic method that prioritizes content from the accounts you interact with the most. Before this, the Home tab was changed in 2013 when Instagram began including ads there.



TikTok’s future, of course, remains a mystery. President Trump has given its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, until November to sell off the app’s U.S. operations out of concerns that ByteDance may be improperly handling user data. ByteDance has maintained that it does not.



-Abram Brown, Forbes Staff

Social Media Logos

Instagram Reaches For More Of TikTok’s Magic With A Change To Its Main Feed

TikTok will begin financing emerging creators on its short-form video platform with a $200 million fund that it announced today, an unusual move by a social media company and one that comes after several weeks of concerns about TikTok’s future.



The company, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, didn’t provide many specific details about how it will give out that money or who may qualify for it. It may be directed toward users from minority groups—with the press release about the fund’s debut singling out creators like Boman Martinez-Reid, a LGBTQ comedian who has signed with CAA, and Tabitha Brown, who’s become famous for her videos about family life and veganism.



TikTok is in a multi-front battle right now. The Trump Administration is considering banning the app over concerns it may share data with the Chinese government, and the users who flocked to TikTok over the past year have been exploring other platforms for their content. In the past few weeks, TikTokers have posted videos urging their fans to also follower them on apps like Instagram, while others have turned to rival music-and-video apps such as Dubsmash and Byte to produce work.



The best way to keep them on TikTok is to offer a clear path toward earning money. Instagram and other social platforms have struggled to do that, and YouTube’s ad-sharing scheme—based on the views generated by someone’s videos—remains the quickest and simplest monetization for influencers. Companies such as Chipotle and E.L.F. cosmetics are already paying for sponsored content on TikTok, where influencers post videos advertising these companies for a fee, as much as six figures now for the top stars. But those deals are typically hashed out between the brands and the influencers without the social media companies getting involved.



TikTok’s $200 million fund is a different step, something neither Instagram nor YouTube have done. It theoretically would allow more creators to flourish as they start out and begin searching for commercial work, such as the sponsored content posts.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/">Abram Brown</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

gettyimages-1133793965-594×594

TikTok Launches $200 Million Fund To Finance Up-And-Coming Stars

TOPLINE Twitter announced Wednesday that it will test a new feature that will prompt users to open up a link to an article before sharing it, which appears to be a move to further combat the spread of misinformation on the platform.



KEY FACTS



<ul><li>Some Twitter uses may be subject to a prompt to click on a link if they try to retweet without reading the article first, billed by Twitter as a feature “designed to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270821434462539783?s=20" target="_blank">empower</a> healthy and informed public conversation.”</li></ul>



<ul><li>English speakers on <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270783537667551233?s=20" target="_blank">Android devices</a> will be the first to see the tests.Users will still have the ability to retweet a message without clicking the link first if they chose to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270783537667551233?s=20" target="_blank">tap through</a> the prompt.</li></ul>



<ul><li>According to Twitter Support, an official company account, the platform will only check if a user has clicked the article link recently <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270804405886091266?s=20" target="_blank">through Twitter</a>, not elsewhere on the internet.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Twitter denied some skeptical users’ accusations that the platform is testing the feature to establish a revenue stream via click-through to outside websites, saying the platform is not <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270821781843124227?s=20" target="_blank">testing ad products</a> with the prompts.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Twitter Support told one user it would watch to see if reminding users to read an article before they share it leads to more <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270809139917225985?s=20" target="_blank">informed discussion</a>.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Sharing an article can spark conversation, so you may want to read it before you Tweet it. To help promote informed discussion, we&#39;re testing a new prompt on Android –– when you Retweet an article that you haven&#39;t opened on Twitter, we may ask if you&#39;d like to open it first.&mdash; Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270783537667551233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



CRUCIAL QUOTE



“It&#8217;s easy for links [and] articles to go viral on Twitter. This can be powerful but sometimes dangerous, especially if people haven&#8217;t read the content they&#8217;re spreading. This feature (on Android for now) encourages people to read a linked article prior to retweeting it,” Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kayvz/status/1270788548002631681?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">commented</a>&nbsp;upon the announcement of the feature testing.



KEY BACKGROUND



The new prompt tests are the latest Twitter effort to curb the spread of misinformation on the platform. Twitter last month displayed <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2020/05/29/twitter-flags-trump-tweet-threatening-violence-against-minneapolis-protesters/#5684bf57bc33">fact-check tags</a> on two of President Donald Trump’s tweets that featured misleading information regarding mail-in ballots and voter fraud. Twitter also rolled out testing for a new feature to allow users to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theverge.com/21286855/twitter-articles-prompt-unread-feature-conversations" target="_blank">limit</a> who can reply to their tweets. The platform has faced <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/05/27/heres-why-twitter-is-facing-attacks-from-both-trump-and-democrats/#3a95dad95df0">criticism</a> from both sides of the aisle in recent weeks, from conservatives over accusations of censorship and from the left for not doing enough to stifle misinformation.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/">Carlie Porterfield</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

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Twitter Begins Asking Users To Actually Read Articles Before Sharing Them

TOPLINE Black tiles flooded social media on Tuesday alongside the hashtags #blackouttuesday and #theshowmustbepaused as the music industry paused to remember the killings of black people at the hands of police, but some artists are warning that #blacklivesmatter posts are being silenced in the process.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="448" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gettyimages-1201588338-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45719" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gettyimages-1201588338-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gettyimages-1201588338-594x594-1-300x226.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>Kehlani posted about the risk of useful information being drowned out by black tiles   (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Warner Music)</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



The initiative was set up by Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, two black music industry executives at Atlantic Records and Platoon respectively, in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and “countless other Black citizens at the hands of police.”



The founders wrote in an<a href="https://www.theshowmustbepaused.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;online statement</a>: “Tuesday June 2nd is meant to intentionally disrupt the work week&#8230;It is a day to take a beat for an honest, reflective and productive conversation about what actions we need to collectively take to support the Black community.”



They added that the initiative is not for 24 hours only. “We are and will be in this fight for the long haul. A plan of action will be announced.”



Major labels Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and Universal Music Group pledged support for the initiative, while Interscope records says it&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Interscope/status/1267153567078469632?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">won’t release</a>&nbsp;new music this week.



Companies observing the ‘pause’ have done so in different ways: networks BET and MTV went dark for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in response to Floyd’s death, while Spotify has replaced the artwork on some playlists with a black tile.



Businesses outside the music industry are also pledging their support for the initiative, including Rihanna-founded Fenty Beauty, which in a statement said it would&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/fentybeauty/status/1267668080747884545?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not conduct</a>&nbsp;any business on Tuesday.



The accompanying hashtags #blackouttuesday and #theshowmustbepaused have already been used more than 6 million times on Instagram. Blackout Tuesday was the top trending topic on Twitter with more than <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BlackOutTuesday&amp;src=trend_click" target="_blank">500,000</a> hashtags used by people both in and outside of the music industry signalling their support.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheShowMustBePaused?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheShowMustBePaused</a> <a href="https://t.co/JHTUG34Ibj">pic.twitter.com/JHTUG34Ibj</a>&mdash; theshowmustbepaused (@pausetheshow) <a href="https://twitter.com/pausetheshow/status/1267316487909326848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://t.co/fZvZPw3tLD">pic.twitter.com/fZvZPw3tLD</a>&mdash; Columbia Records (@ColumbiaRecords) <a href="https://twitter.com/ColumbiaRecords/status/1267164123680440320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">It looks like <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackOutTuesday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlackOutTuesday</a> isn’t just the music world. A number of actors are also posting a black screen in solidarity of the protest against the death of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GeorgeFloyd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GeorgeFloyd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheShowMustBePaused?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheShowMustBePaused</a> <a href="https://t.co/8NLOW4T32q">pic.twitter.com/8NLOW4T32q</a>&mdash; Chi Chi Izundu (@blondeafro) <a href="https://twitter.com/blondeafro/status/1267688755596537857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



CRUCIAL COMMENT



Thomas and Agyemang wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theshowmustbepaused.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>: “The music industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. An industry that has profited predominantly from Black art. Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations and their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people accountable.&nbsp;



“To that end, it is the obligation of these entities to protect and empower the black communities that have made them disproportionately wealthy in ways that are measurable and transparent.”



CHIEF CRITICS



Some on Twitter pointed out that people’s use of the #blacklivesmatter hashtag alongside a post of a black square could silence the movement, instead of amplifying black voices.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">This is counter-productive. Please understand what ur doing before u do it. Amplify black voices WITHOUT silencing the movement <a href="https://t.co/pahDbXnYOO">pic.twitter.com/pahDbXnYOO</a>&mdash; 💲🤍 (@makeupbyshaniah) <a href="https://twitter.com/makeupbyshaniah/status/1267716830996697088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/ProfMCBrown/status/1267782385115922434?s=20
</div></figure>



Several users are urging participants to use the designated hashtags #TheShowMustBePaused and #BlackoutTuesday to prevent the #blacklivesmatter hashtag, and vital information about ways to support the cause, being drowned out by black squares.



Singer Kehlani posted about the black tiles and the risk that they could drown out useful information. Others criticised participation in the initiative as performative and “virtue signalling.” Musician Bon Iver tweeted: “I love you all, but this music industry shutdown thing feels tone deaf to me,” before deleting the tweet.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">I don’t understand calling for silence in the middle of mass protesting &amp; uprising. Especially when silence is part of the problem. This happens frequently during uprisings against police brutality. I also don’t trust the music industry lol <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackOutTuesday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlackOutTuesday</a>&mdash; DEFUND &amp; ABOLISH POLICE, REFUND OUR COMMUNITIES (@BreeNewsome) <a href="https://twitter.com/BreeNewsome/status/1267797727309684736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Separately, the words “<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%22My%20Instagram%22&amp;src=trend_click" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">My Instagram</a>” was trending on Twitter on Tuesday morning as users questioned the usefulness of the black tiles on their Instagram feeds.&nbsp;



KEY BACKGROUND



The death of 46-year-old Floyd has reignited Black Lives Matter protests across the U.S. and the world, and companies are increasingly bowing to public pressure to stand by the black community and publicly denounce racism and police brutality, as well as donate to anti-racism efforts.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/">Isabel Togoh</a>, Forbes Staff<a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">, Business</a>

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#BlackOutTuesday Brings Music Industry To A Pause, But Some Artists Warn Against Obscuring Black Lives Matter Posts

TOPLINE Former Facebook moderators will receive at least $1,000 each after Facebook agreed to pay $52 million to settle a lawsuit over allegedly failing to protect moderators being exposed to harmful content online.



KEY FACTS



<ul><li>Moderators were exposed to the worst types of content online including terrorism, pedophilia and animal abuse. They were hired by Facebook through third-party firms.</li></ul>



<ul><li>The settlement covers more than 11,000 current and former moderators across California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. It was filed at San Mateo County Superior Court on Friday.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Plaintiffs who have been diagnosed with a mental illness, including PTSD, qualify for additional compensation of up to $50,000.</li></ul>



<ul><li>The social media giant says it will change its policies in response to the case, and introduce compulsory group counseling sessions for moderators, while third-party firms will be required to step up support for moderators’ mental health.</li></ul>



CRUCIAL COMMENT



Lawyer Steve Williams, representing the plaintiffs, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/12/facebook-settlement-mental-health-moderators" target="_blank">told</a> The Guardian: “The harm that can be suffered from this work is real and severe. So the fact that we got some real, meaningful relief going forward just feels really good.”



KEY BACKGROUND



Facebook was sued in September 2018 by former content moderator Selena Scola, who developed PTSD after nine months in the job, thanks to regular exposure to images of rape and murder. The scale of the mental toll on moderators was exposed by The Verge last year. The outlet <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona" target="_blank">reported</a> that some Facebook content moderators working for IT firm Cognizant <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/cognizant" target="_blank">CTSH</a> in Arizona had developed fringe views after exposure to extreme right-wing and conspiracy theorist content, while some had developed PTSD. To cope, some moderators at the firm smoked weed to numb their emotions, while being paid just $28,800 a year. A Guardian report last year found that moderators for Facebook based in Berlin were becoming <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/17/revealed-catastrophic-effects-working-facebook-moderator" target="_blank">addicted</a> to extreme content, were overworked and paid little. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Thank you and the team for all of your diligent efforts, work, and support on this case for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/content?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#content</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/moderators?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#moderators</a> at <a href="https://twitter.com/Facebook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/instagram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/lydiaannewright?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lydiaannewright</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/d_charest_law?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@d_charest_law</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealthMatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealthMatters</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealthAwareness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealthAwareness</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealthMonth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealthMonth</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PTSD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PTSD</a> <a href="https://t.co/fXhq7UyS8n">https://t.co/fXhq7UyS8n</a>&mdash; Selena Scola (@selena_scola) <a href="https://twitter.com/selena_scola/status/1260321806633721858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/">Isabel Togoh</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

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Facebook Will Pay Out $52 Million After Failing To Protect Moderators From Dangers Of Extreme Content

Twitter published its latest diversity report on Wednesday, revealing, for the sixth consecutive year, that the bulk of its staff is white or Asian and skews male.



Still, the social platform did make good on its two-year&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2018/growingtogetherattwitter.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diversity targets</a>&nbsp;for female, black and Latinx employees—meeting and, in some cases, exceeding its goals.



Globally, women represent 42.5% of all roles, just half a percentage point shy of Twitter’s 2018 target, and a bump from 38.4% two years ago. Black and Latinx employees make up 5.8% and 4.9% of all roles, compared to 3.4% for both groups at the end of 2017. Twitter’s two-year timeline was 5% for each.



While Twitter’s 2018 goals weren’t exactly ambitions, the results are a promising step in the right direction and show a slight headway on an issue that has long eluded the tech industry.



Broken down by technical and leadership roles, however, the diversity numbers aren’t so laudable. Women represent just a quarter of all technical positions and nearly 36% of leadership positions, while black and Latinx employees combined make up almost 8% of technical roles and 8.7% of leadership roles. Interestingly, a majority of the small percentage of black and Hispanic employees are in leadership positions: 86% and 76% respectively.



Twitter says that its vision is to become the world’s “most diverse and inclusive tech company,” but the company’s relatively homogeneous workforce still mirrors the broader industry’s, and doesn’t fully reflect the community that it serves.Take, for instance, the popularity and influence of Black Twitter. About&nbsp;<a href="https://www.walterkaitz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/nielsen-from-consumers-to-creators.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">28% of Twitter’s 67 million users</a>&nbsp;are African-American, though they represent just 14% of the total U.S. population, and 40% of African-Americans are on Twitter.&nbsp;



“The stakes are incredibly high and we don’t have the luxury of time or incrementalism. We have a unique responsibility to be bold, move fast–and get this right,” Dalana Brand, Twitter’s head of inclusion and diversity, writes in a blog post.



For Twitter, that means committing to new diversity goals. By 2025, the company pledges to have women comprise half of its global workforce, 42% of technical roles and 41% of leadership positions. The company also set a 25% target for the representation of minority ethnic and racial groups–specifically black, Latinx, Native American, Alaskan or Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or multiracial–and is launching an Inclusive Hiring Program, although no details were given on when that initiative will begin.



Later this year, Twitter plans to publish its progress on workforce representation of military veterans, employees with disabilities and LGBT+ workers for the first time.



Since introducing diversity targets in 2018, the company’s global representation of women has increased by 4% and the figures for black and Latinx employees in the U.S. has climbed by 2.4% and 1.5%. In 2019, nearly half of all new hires were women, 47.1%, and 15.7% of U.S. hires were black or Latinx.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthumoh/">Ruth Umoh</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/diversity-inclusion">Diversity &amp; Inclusion</a>

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Twitter’s 2020 Diversity Report Shows Modest Gains As Company Sets New Goals For Representation

Facebook said late Tuesday that roughly 100 developers may have improperly accessed user data, which includes the names and profile pictures of individuals in certain Facebook Groups.



The company&nbsp;<a href="https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2019/11/05/changes-groups-api-access/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">explained in a blog post</a>&nbsp;that developers primarily of social media management and video-streaming apps retained the ability to access Facebook Group member information longer than the company intended.



The company did not detail the type of data that was improperly accessed beyond names and photos, and it did not disclose the number of users affected by the leak.



Facebook restricted its developer APIs—which provide a way for apps to interface with Facebook data—in April 2018, after the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke the month before. The goal was to reduce the way in which developers could gather large swaths of data from Facebook users.



But the company’s sweeping changes have been relatively ineffective. More than a year after the company restricted API access, the company continues to announce newly discovered data leaks.



“Although we’ve seen no evidence of abuse, we will ask them to delete any member data they may have retained and we will conduct audits to confirm that it has been deleted,” Facebook said in a statement.



The social media giant says in its announcement that it reached out to 100 developer partners who may have improperly accessed user data and says that at least 11 developer partners accessed the user data within the last 60 days.



Facebook has been reviewing the ways that companies are able to collect information and personal data about its users since the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/technology/mark-zuckerberg-testify-congress.html" target="_blank">New York Times reported</a> that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvested data of millions of users. Facebook later said the firm connected to the Trump campaign may have improperly accessed data on 87 million users.



The Federal Trade Commission slapped Facebook with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mnunez/2019/07/24/ftcs-unprecedented-slap-fines-facebook-5-billion-forces-new-privacy-controls/#13f0183c5668" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$5 billion fine</a>&nbsp;as a result of the breach. As part of the 20-year agreement both parties reached, Facebook now faces new guidelines for how it handles privacy leaks.



“The new framework under our agreement with the FTC means more accountability and transparency into how we build and maintain products,” Facebook’s director of platform partnerships, Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=678106196&amp;story_fbid=10157721394281197" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>.



“As we work through this process we expect to find examples like the Groups API of where we can improve; rest assured we are committed to this work and supporting the people on our platform.”



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mnunez/">Michael Nuñez</a>

facebook__wikipedia

Facebook Is Still Leaking Data More Than One Year After Cambridge Analytica

Facebook is hiring a small team of journalists to help curate breaking news and repair its strained relationship with news publishers, the social media giant announced Tuesday. 



The company says it will employ journalists to select breaking news and top stories that will appear in its soon-to-be-launched feature called News Tab, rather than using algorithms to determine what is shared with its vast network of users.



With the move, Facebook is part of a growing trend in the tech industry. Apple, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat have all employed journalists to help their companies sort through the news and cozy up to news organizations.



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Facebook Recommits To A More Personalized Dating App, Your Privacy (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2019/05/02/facebook-recommits-to-a-more-personalized-dating-app-your-privacy/" target="_blank">Facebook Recommits To A More Personalized Dating App, Your Privacy</a>



Apple, for example, has used some form of human curation since its subscription Apple News app launched in 2015. In June 2017, the company hired former New York magazine executive editor Lauren Kern as the app’s editor-in-chief. Twitter has also employed some form of human news curation since 2015. 



Even with a team of in-house journalists, companies like Twitter continue to struggle in the fight against misinformation. On Monday, Twitter announcedit will no longer accept advertising from state-controlled media, in large part as a response to the discovery that China ran a misinformation campaign to combat Hong Kong protesters. 



Facebook, facing similar scrutiny for the same Chinese misinformation campaign, said that employing journalists will help “surface more high quality news.”



“Our goal with the News tab is to provide a personalized, highly relevant experience for people,” Campbell Brown, Facebook’s head of news partnerships said in a statement sent to Forbes. “The majority of stories people will see will appear in the tab via algorithmic selection. To start, for the Top News section of the tab we’re pulling together a small team of journalists to ensure we’re highlighting the right stories.”



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Google, Facebook, Twitter Fail To Live Up To Fake News Pledge (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2019/02/28/google-facebook-twitter-fail-to-live-up-to-fake-news-pledge/" target="_blank">Google, Facebook, Twitter Fail To Live Up To Fake News Pledge</a>



Facebook says the team will take into account user controls, pages and publisher as well as the news that users interact with or share,&nbsp;and other unnamed signals from its vast network to personalize content.&nbsp;



The company has been under pressure to mitigate its misinformation problem since it was revealed in 2016 that Russian operatives carried out a misinformation campaign in a “sweeping and systematic fashion” on the network, as it was described by special counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.



The Mueller Report found that Russia spent $1.25 million per month on digital advertisements in an effort to sow discord in the U.S. and influence the presidential election. On Monday, Facebook came under fire for taking money from China to spread disinformation about Hong Kong protests.



The social media giant remains an important part of many Americans lives, much more than its rivals Twitter and Snapchat. According to Pew Research, about 69% of American adults use Facebook, and of those who use it, about 74% visit the site once a day. By comparison, only one in five U.S. adults (22%) use Twitter.



According to a survey conducted in 2018, about four in ten (43%) U.S. adults get at least some news from Facebook.



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="How To Use Twitter To  Boost Your Business (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/09/22/use-twitter-boost-business/" target="_blank">How To Use Twitter To  Boost Your Business</a>



In January 2017, Facebook hired Campbell Brown, a former television news anchor, to lead its news partnerships team. She remains a key figure in easing the tension between large national news outlets—those who have historically provided an endless trove of free content for the social media giant—and the company.



Publishing executives have slammed Facebook for siphoning advertising revenue away from traditional news publishers while also demanding that those same companies provide content for free. Following years of backlash, the social media company is now trying to work with publishers to create a more even relationship.



Facebook’s news partnership program involves deals that are potentially worth millions of dollars. The Wall Street Journal reports that several news outlets including the Washington Post, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, and the New York Times have discussed receiving as much as $3 million per year to license news content.



The News Tab, which has not been publicly viewed, is being positioned in stark contrast to the company’s Trending Topics news section, which shut down in 2016 following increasing pressure from users.



In 2016, the tech website Gizmodo published an article alleging contractors hired to curate the now-defunct Trending Topics feed were actively suppressing conservative news stories. In a letter to Congress, Facebook said, “We could not reconstruct reliable data logs from before December 2014, so were unable to examine each of the reviewer decisions from that period,” thus suggesting that it may have very well suppressed conservative news when the tool first launched.



-Michael Nuñez; Forbes

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Facebook Joins Other Tech Giants In Employing Journalists To Curate News

While a growing number of influencers are dictating what
brands sell, beauty entrepreneur Jackie Aina is of the view they have the duty
to use their platforms responsibly.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Mixing up the inspirational with informative, the
thought-provoking with tongue-in-cheek, and sarcasm with calling out brands for
not being inclusive, Jackie Aina is influencing the beauty industry one product
at a time. 



With over three million YouTube followers and 1.2 million on
Instagram, Aina is one of the stand-out digital influencers cashing in on
online followings to broadcast messages to millennials, lifestyle brands and
billion-dollar cosmetic conglomerates. 



Although Aina does all of this with a dose of humor, the journey to YouTube stardom started some 10 years ago for the 31-year-old beauty entrepreneur, when she was desperately searching for a way to escape loneliness and unfulfillment. 



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Her Brush With Business (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2019/03/27/her-brush-with-business/" target="_blank">Her Brush With Business</a>



“I had gone on to marry the guy who inspired me to join the
military. We were stationed in Hawaii and we were very unhappily married. I
didn’t have a job and YouTube was buzzing in 2009. We had a lot of Asian faces
who were really the faces of beauty on YouTube and I didn’t really see anyone
like me. So, my best friend, literally every day, said ‘why don’t you put your
makeup looks on YouTube’ and I always said no.”



Her friend’s unrelenting pursuit finally paid off.&nbsp; 



“So, one day, I decided I wasn’t doing anything, and being
bored and not being fulfilled emotionally and I didn’t have a lot of positive
things going on for me at the time, so that left me a lot of time to consume
content and then I started creating it.



&nbsp;“I truly tapped into
something that I needed at the time mentally and that was great. People didn’t
know me but they would just gas me up; they were so nice and would always give
me positive encouragement which I really needed at the time,” Aina says.



That was a lifetime ago. These days, the Los Angeles-born influencer, who was called&nbsp; ‘beauty influencer of the year’ by Women’s Wear Daily last year, is short-listed among the top beauty influencers in the United States, with lucrative brand collaborations behind her. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">Most notably is her collaboration with the Estée Lauder-owned brand, Too Faced, as part of the Born This Way foundation range, which she helped to create. </blockquote>



Celebrities and influencers are increasingly being paid
several thousands of dollars per tweet or Instagram post to promote products,
services and even social causes. 



With most millennials avoiding posts that look like
sponsored ads, brands are now increasingly interested in ads that appear
organic. And that is where influencers come in. 



Remuneration for such posts is usually decided after
considering factors like number of followers, popularity, engagement, frequency
of posts, as well as the format of the post. 



Furthermore, influencer accounts with&nbsp; massive follower counts can leverage their
social media clout to showcase brands to their followers and perhaps, most
importantly, use their brand voice to fight against injustice in the industry,
something Aina is passionate about.



“A lot of years on YouTube were spent seeing comments from
people who say things. It is easy to sit and complain but what are you doing to
change the industry?” 



In response, Aina decided to use her platform to fight for
the change she wanted to see in the industry. She holds other influencers
accountable for offensive remarks and joins controversial and tough discussions
about issues like colorism in the beauty industry. And brands are starting to
listen. 



It was her outspoken voice in the beauty space that caught the attention of the beauty conglomerate, Too Faced, which short-listed Aina to help expand its foundation range and ensure the makeup undertones would also compliment women of color.



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“That was a testament to brands actually listening. Just
because you think someone is not watching, doesn’t mean they are not watching.
They are definitely watching. Sometimes all you really need is that one
opportunity and that can be leveraged over and over again,” Aina says.



As brands increasingly turn away from traditional marketing,
towards social influencers, young, connected digital natives like Aina, will
continue to play an important role in the success of beauty brands for the
foreseeable trend-obsessed digital future.

Jackie

Making Up For Millions

Many perspectives have been shared on influencer marketing, but very few from the brands themselves. What are its business imperatives and ROI?



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



In the heart of Sandton, Africa’s richest square mile, is
Brittany Preece, a social media manager at Investec Bank. 



As part of the Private Banking marketing team, Preece and
her team have managed to successfully implement disruptive digital strategies
to meet the growth objectives of the bank. 



Traditionally, the role of marketing has been to support business objectives. Yet when companies experience financial difficulty, more often than not, marketing is seen to be the first in line on the chopping block. As a way of adapting to this reality, most marketing managers have had to look at cost-effective, yet creative, ways of achieving business impact.



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Social and digital media have given room for new ways
businesses can engage and sell to their customers. 



Increasingly gaining traction in South Africa is influencer
marketing, an entirely new branch of the sales and marketing funnel which has
seen brands leverage popular personalities on social media to promote their
products and services online. Globally, the influencer marketing industry is
forecast to be worth $5 billion to $10 billion by 2020, according to a study by
Mediakix.



For Investec, attracting and diversifying into new markets
has informed their decision to leverage influencers as part of their marketing
strategy. 



“Since 2015, we as Investec, have predominantly used influencer marketing to reach the young professional audience,” Preece says. 



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“We (Investec Private Bank) have recently evolved our
qualifying criteria. We’re no longer just the preferred banking partner for
accountants, engineers, lawyers, doctors and actuaries. We’re positioned to be
the bank of choice for those who are under the age of 30, consistently earning
more than R600,000 ($42,582)a year, with a university degree and working in
their area of expertise.” 



Seated in front of a glass wall which looks out to a view of
a bustling and upbeat office environment, she elaborates that to effectively
reach the young professionals’ target market, it is important to identify
individuals that can speak to that audience. 



“What influencer marketing gives you, that a lot of the other marketing channels can’t, is great reach and engagement with your target audience. Using [influencers] brings a lot of authenticity to the brand, where Investec Private Banking was seen as unattainable to a lot of young professionals,” Preece says. 



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In the digital universe, content is king. Authenticity is
paramount. A study conducted by the Mobile Marketing Association reported that
most consumers have banner blindness and suffer from advertising fatigue. They
cannot recall the last digital banner ad that they saw. 



Ad-blocking continues to be a growing phenomenon, further
demonstrating the shift in consumer behavior. Consumers simply don’t want to be
marketed to. To this effect, influencers assist brands to reach their customers
through content that is more relevant to those consumers.



According to Business Insider’s 2018 Influencer Marketing
Report: Research, Strategy &amp; Platforms for Leveraging Social Media
Influencers, the average social media engagement rate from influencer marketing
averages 5.7% per post. 



This is a feat compared to content generated by brands which
fluctuates around 2% – 3% per post. 



With this in mind, it’s even more essential for brands to
involve influencers upfront to co-create an envisioned campaign. 



“You want your influencer to buy into what you stand for as a brand. It shouldn’t be a hard sell – consumers see through that. If not done properly, it can look very fake and [we] never want to make it feel like an ad,” Preece says. 



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Brands and agencies measure awareness and engagement by
analyzing a few parameters, including, inter alia, number of likes, comments,
shares and followers. Proponents of this theory believe an increase in these
parameters lead to brand success. 



Detractors of the theory believe awareness and engagement
alone are not sufficient indicators of brand success. “Likes and follows are
unimpressive without an increase in the bottom line,” says Sinesipho Maninjwa,
a financial analyst and commentator. 



But technology has its limitations. Dianne Joseph, the
Commercial Director of Digital at Nielsen, a leading global information, data
and measurement company, elaborates that there are real challenges in measuring
sales attribution as a result of influencer marketing. 



“The influencer models are difficult to measure because most
influencers use their own personal pages to post, and these organic posts don’t
offer us the opportunity to implement a tag (for tracking purposes) and,
therefore, we aren’t able to track the outcomes,” Joseph says.



The ability to measure what is happening on and off digital
platforms, or across social media platforms, is a challenge that most digital
marketers face. Different platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have their own
unique methods of tracking and storing data. The link between these platforms
is, therefore, a lot more tenuous. 



But in support of influencer marketing, a number of global
studies have come out and shown that influencer marketing does yield a positive
return on investment (ROI). 



Pierre Cassuto, of social media influencer platform Humanz,
who recently set up shop in South Africa from Tel Aviv in Israel, believes that
the use of influencers can lead to increased sales. “In the US market, there is
about a four times ROI on money spent in the influencer marketing space for
retailers, cosmetics and FMCG brands,” he adds.



Cassuto agrees that engagement on its own doesn’t yield conversion. For influencer marketing to yield conversion, the message being broadcast by influencers has to be well thought out and carefully constructed to achieve that objective. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">There has to be a reason for someone to do something now as opposed to anytime. That can be around creating urgency around something specific, it can be around creating a limited time availability offer.</blockquote>



Essentially, brands can become creative and purposeful in
how they design their entire campaign to track conversion from the ground up.
“The way we suggest measuring conversion is by making sure that the influencers
have a way that [brands] can track the relationship between the influencers
post and the actual conversion,” Cassuto says.



The first looks at providing the influencer a coupon code
that they can distribute and share. In doing so, the specific brands will know
that the people who redeemed the coupon code came from the influencers. The
second options measures sell over time related to increase in traffic due to
influencer marketing towards a landing page that the brand is driving to. With
this, Cassuto states that brands can do A/B testing to see the impact on days
influencers are posting and days when they’re not. 



With all the advantages of influencer marketing, should
brands solely invest in this sales channel? 



Preece firmly holds the view that influencer marketing on
its own isn’t the be all and end all. “I do believe that it should be a mix. I
believe that an integrated marketing plan that uses out-of-home, billboards, TV
and digital is where you see the most results.”



“Things can go wrong with influencer marketing. You are
putting faith and trust into a human being who is imperfect. We have a saying:
A tweet can tank an economy,” Preece says.



With consumers becoming increasingly selective about what
they consume, influencer marketing continues to grow as an attractive sales
channel. It is imperative that brands place the necessary care and due
diligence before partnering with any influencer. 



The perfect fit between an influencer and the brand will
determine the overall ROI. After all, effective influencer marketing is the
online equivalent of the highly valuable word-of-mouth advertising that
marketers have always coveted.

gettyimages-981661932-170667a

‘A Tweet Can Tank An Economy’

Online platforms have become an important site for political and social engagement. On the one hand they have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special-report/2014/11/07/technology-democracy-social-media/">praised</a>&nbsp;for their progressive characteristics. This is because they offer great organising potential, enhance political accountability and disrupt old media practices that tend to exclude less powerful voices from important social and political discussions.



On the other hand, they have invited notes of&nbsp;cautioun. This is because new media platforms embolden and even midwife bullies, ethnic jingoists, and nationalist radicals who are a threat to social cohesion.



Both points of view have merit. New media platforms can be powerful forces for democracy and also a space for dangerous, sectarian and divisive ideas. A number of governments seem to be exploiting these fears in a bid to control these platforms.



These attempts are likely to become a lot more commonplace across Africa. Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Gambia have already passed laws that target social media users specifically. Some of these laws&nbsp;criminalise free speech online, while others have made the use of social media too&nbsp;expensive for users.



Nevertheless, new media platforms are increasingly being used. Their importance on the political landscape can’t be over-emphasised. This is because they have allowed people excluded from public communication to articulate their fears and desires in a way that wasn’t previously possible. The widespread use of applications such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp has been particularly instrumental in including a broad range of users in public discussions.



Rather than rely on the mainstream press to cover important political stories, citizens are able to discuss issues in the digital space. When their stories go viral the mainstream media then begins to cover them as important news items.



Twitter in particular has become a&nbsp;useful political tool&nbsp;for many. And Twitter’s standard vernaculars such as hashtags and memes have also been creatively appropriated to reflect local inflections. Humour, local languages, and idioms abound.



The fact that participants are also able to “tag” their leaders further means that authority is confronted directly. And a poor person living in an informal settlement is now able to confront the head of state with just as much authority as anyone else. These small victories matter.



These platforms have also enabled users to link local issues with international concerns to give them global currency and legitimacy. In Kenya for example, an anti-rape campaign which coalesced around #JusticeForKemunto could be seamlessly linked to the [#MeToo movement], a similar rebuke and articulation of anger against sexual violence against women.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Government control</h4>



The shift from legacy media has not been accidental.&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-african-governments-use-advertising-as-a-weapon-against-media-freedom-75702">A number of African governments still exert enormous control</a>&nbsp;over the media sector. The is because the state remains the single largest advertiser in the media in sub-Saharan Africa, and so can influence coverage and content.



In some countries, presidents and high-level politicians even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/Kenyatta-business-empire-goes-into-expansion-drive/539550-2069704-liwltz/index.html">own media </a>houses.



This is why the digital space is so important. The emergence of a relatively new structure of communication – which is amorphous, unrestrained, and largely unaffected by state control – has meant there are new ways of&nbsp;holding governments to account.



But their popularity has drawn negative reactions from some governments.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Cracking down</h4>



Some are now&nbsp;employing digitally savvy state operatives&nbsp;to counter opposition discourses online.



Others have gone further by enforcing regulations to control online discourse through punitive laws and taxation.



In Tanzania for example, digital content producers – including bloggers – are&nbsp;required to get yearly licences&nbsp;which cost $900 dollars. In Uganda, data bundles are now much more expensive with a&nbsp;$0.05 levy charged per day. And Zambia plans to introduce&nbsp;similar measures.



Other countries have been a lot more brazen in their efforts to clamp down on free online speech. Cameroon, Egypt, and Ethiopia, for example, have regularly&nbsp;shut down the internet. Users considered too critical of the government are routinely arrested,&nbsp;threatened or even jailed.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Fake news</h4>



This is not to say that new media platforms are entirely without problems. Social media has been used to create and disseminate fake news. This has contributed to a dangerous regime of misinformation that has undermined democratic processes in a number of African countries.



This was the case during&nbsp;Kenya’s 2017 general elections&nbsp;when the ruling Jubilee party&nbsp;employed Cambridge Analytica, a UK-based public relations company, to boost its electoral prospects. The company was later accused of populating social media and using bots to create and circulate fake news.



Similarly, in South Africa, both the ruling African National Congress and the opposition Democratic Alliance were reported to have&nbsp;used social media to spread fake news&nbsp;to besmirch opponents during municipal elections.



These trends reflect the fact that fake news, misinformation and disinformation have infected the continent’s body politic, which is a dangerous development.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Future threats</h4>



It’s however safe to say that new media platforms are now firmly part of Africa’s public culture and any attempt to stop, frustrate or undermine their significance in public life is bound to fail.



However, the creative use to which they are put must be constructive and progressive. For example, in countries where collective political organisation and expression is increasingly being undermined by the state – such as Tanzania – instances of self-expression through new media form important pockets of resistance. These pockets, when viewed collectively, can help focus attention on state repression and excesses.



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