Meta

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Trump's Inauguration Just Got a Big Donor

In a break with tradition, Meta donates $1M to president-elect's inaugural fund

(Newser) - Mark Zuckerberg is continuing his campaign to woo the president-elect, with Meta donating $1 million to Donald Trump's inaugural fund. Meta confirmed the donation to news outlets Wednesday, with the Wall Street Journal reporting it's part of "efforts to court the incoming administration." Trump has called...

Meta to Build Massive AI Data Center in Rural Louisiana

The $10B facility will be the company's largest AI data center to date

(Newser) - The largest artificial intelligence data center ever built by Facebook's parent company Meta is coming to northeast Louisiana, bringing hopes that the $10 billion facility will transform an economically neglected corner of the state, reports the AP . Congressional leaders and local representatives from across the political spectrum heralded the...

Zuckerberg Dines With Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Zuckerberg Has
Dinner With Trump
Nov 28, 2024 11:25 AM CST

Zuckerberg Has Dinner With Trump

Meeting comes years after Trump was banned from Facebook

(Newser) - Donald Trump dined on Wednesday with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, bringing together the Facebook founder and the former president who was once banned from that social network. Insiders tell the New York Times that the meeting was initiated by Zuckerberg amid worries...

Meta, TikTok Weigh In on Australia's Ban on Social Media

Tech companies complain age verification methods have yet to be ironed out

(Newser) - Tech companies are urging Australia's government to delay its proposed social media ban for under-16s amid criticism that the bill is being rushed into law. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left government introduced the bill in parliament last week and aims to pass it by the end of the...

X Has Become Too 'Toxic' for Stephen King

Horror author leaves Elon Musk's social media site for Meta's Threads

(Newser) - The prolific Stephen King is known for his extra-long novels, but the exit message he posted Thursday on X was short and sweet. "I'm leaving Twitter. Tried to stay, but the atmosphere has just become too toxic," the horror author wrote, using the platform's former name,...

Bees Complicate Meta's Nuclear-Powered AI Plans

Sources tell Financial Time s that rare bees were found at proposed site near reactor

(Newser) - Meta, like rivals including Microsoft and Amazon, has been seeking to use nuclear power to meet the vast power demands of its artificial intelligence projects, but the quest has been complicated by bees. The company had planned to build an AI data center near an unspecified nuclear plant in the...

Meta Shuts Down Student Who Tracks Jets
Plane-Tracking Student
Just Got 'Zucked'
in case you missed it
Oct 27, 2024 7:10 AM CDT

Plane-Tracking Student Just Got 'Zucked'

Jack Sweeney, who's annoyed stars by keeping tabs on their jets, says Meta suspended accounts

(Newser) - Elon Musk and Taylor Swift have long been irked by the antics of Jack Sweeney, the college student who tracks the jets of celebrities (including Musk, Swift, Kim Kardashian, Jeff Bezos, and Donald Trump, among others) and posts their locations online. Now, Meta has jumped into the fray, according...

Meta Staffers Canned for Abusing Meal Perks

About 2 dozen workers in LA were fired after using their per diem for groceries, cosmetics, other items

(Newser) - Pro tip: If you work for Meta and have extra meal credits lying around, don't use them to pick up groceries, cosmetics, or other household goods. About two dozen of the company's employees who worked in Los Angeles have found that out the hard way, after being fired...

To Boost Chatbot's Appeal, Meta Turns to Celeb Voices

Meta AI can now speak in the voice of John Cena, Judi Dench, Kristen Bell

(Newser) - An AI-version of John Cena is now at your command, sort of. The actor-wrestler is one of several celebrities who've lent their voices to Meta's AI-powered chatbot, which counts some 400 million users across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, and is expected to become the most used AI...

Instagram Unveils New Rules for Young Users

Accounts of minors will be set to private by default, for one thing

(Newser) - Instagram on Tuesday unveiled promised new rules designed to better protect users under the age of 18:
  • Any minors who sign up will have their accounts set to private by default, meaning only their approved followers can see posts, reports the New York Times . This will be phased in to
...

Zuckerberg: We Stifled COVID Info at White House's Request

Meta CEO alleges White House turned up heat on his teams to take down certain items on COVID

(Newser) - During the height of the pandemic, Meta scrubbed tens of millions of items on Facebook and Instagram that it said pushed misinformation on COVID-19, vaccinations, and the like, with warnings placed on nearly 200 million more pieces of content. Now, the company's CEO is saying that the Biden administration...

Facial Recognition Costs Meta $1.4B in Texas

Lone Star State had sued over unauthorized use of Texans' biometrics

(Newser) - Meta has agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas in a privacy lawsuit over claims that the tech giant used biometric data of users without their permission, officials said Tuesday. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the settlement is the largest secured by a single state, reports the...

Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Off Another Fourth of July Stunt

Meta CEO got all dressed up for his latest video showing his Independence Day antics in Tahoe

(Newser) - Three summers ago, Mark Zuckerberg entertained (and completely annoyed) the masses with a "full-cringe" Fourth of July video that showed him riding an electric hydrofoil surfboard, American flag in hand. This year he's back with similar antics, albeit a slightly fancier version. Per Fox Business , the Meta CEO...

Ad Featuring Young Girl Shown to Sex Offenders on Instagram

Meta disputes 'New York Times' test as a 'manufactured experience'

(Newser) - Instagram's algorithms are putting innocent photos of children in front of men with pedophilic tendencies, the New York Times reports, offering data from its own tests as evidence. The outlet began investigating after a maker of children's jewelry who paid to advertise her products to a mostly female...

Fired X Exec Who Went Viral for Sleeping at Office Joins Rival

Esther Crawford now a director of product at Meta's Messenger

(Newser) - Twitter product head Esther Crawford went viral in late 2022, soon after Elon Musk took over the company, when she shared a photo of herself sleeping on her office floor as a sign of dedication—only to wind up fired. She's now bounced back into the social media landscape,...

Russia Convicts Meta Spokesperson of Justifying Terrorism

Andy Stone, tried in absentia, receives 6 years

(Newser) - A court in Russia on Monday convicted the spokesperson of US technology company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, of justifying terrorism and sentenced him to six years in prison in a swift trial in absentia, Russia's independent news site Mediazona reported. According to the outlet, the charges against...

Musk's Bottom Line Takes a Hit From His Tesla Woes

Mark Zuckerberg displaces Tesla CEO from No. 3 spot on Bloomberg Billionaires Index

(Newser) - While much of social media was commenting Thursday on a fake "bearded Mark Zuckerberg" picture , the Facebook co-founder notched a more substantial achievement: displacing Elon Musk on Bloomberg's Billionaires Index . Zuckerberg, 39, is now third on that list, with a net worth of about $178 billion, while the...

Instagram Begins Blurring Nudity in Messages

It's part of a move to protect teens from sextortion

(Newser) - Instagram says it's deploying new tools to protect young people and combat sexual extortion, including a feature that will automatically blur nudity in direct messages. The social media platform said in a blog post Thursday that it's testing the features as part of its campaign to fight sexual...

Canadian Schools Sue Social Media Giants

Lawsuits say apps are wreaking havoc with students' education

(Newser) - Four of the largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario launched lawsuits Thursday against TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat, alleging the social media platforms are disrupting student learning. The lawsuits claim platforms like Facebook and Instagram are "designed for compulsive use, have rewired the way children think, behave,...

Meta Hit by Widespread Outage
Meta Hit by Widespread Outage
Mar 5, 2024 11:12 AM CST

Meta Hit by Widespread Outage

Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Messenger all hit on Tuesday

(Newser) - Users of Meta's Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Messenger platforms are experiencing login issues in what appears to be a widespread outage. Internet traffic observer Downdetector is reporting vast outages on several Meta platforms Tuesday. The problems are being reported across the world, reports the AP , suggesting that the outage...

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