Article Credit: https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-bug-has-camera-activated-while-people-are-using-the-app/

“Multiple people have found and reported that their iPhone cameras were turned on in the background while they were looking at their feed.” This is the alarming introduction to an article detailing how Facebook may be running your camera application while you browse through your everyday feed.

The reports claimed that after watching a Facebook video in fullscreen, returning to normal would cause Facebook’s interface to shift a bit to the right and in the open space on the left, you could see your camera activated in back. Yikes!

Facebook officials have released statements on Twitter saying this was obviously a glitch in the system and the company is currently looking into the matter. However, in the meantime I would have to say that staying off Facebook seems like a pretty good resolution.

The company also told users that there is no evidence of any photos or videos being uploaded, but individuals are still wary of the privacy breach. As they should be.

This article is surprising to me because such a massive company like Facebook shouldn’t be experiencing bugs and glitches. Especially bugs and glitches that cause users to fear their information os being compromised. It seems Facebook really hasn’t learned anything from its past mistakes. As a media company in this digital day and age, professionals should know that data privacy is of the utmost importance to its millions of users. This raises questions and fears in the minds of what I imagine to be its entire population.

Disney Stock Rises As Investors Overlook Tech Glitches Hitting Disney+ Debut – Update

Disney Plus has finally arrived, but it’s not entirely flawless. The expected high demand of the service was forecasted by analysts and Disney executives, but they did not expect this much of an incredible response. After its luanch date, more than 8,000 Disney Plus subscribers experienced technical issues , according to DownDetector.com.

Many users complained that they were having trouble logging in with their passwords or were frustrated that the Disney Plus app was not easily accessible on the App store. Other subscribers reported that their attempts to watch Disney Plus content were met with error messages.

The company highlighted the fact that the unexpected amount of high volume could be causing some of these errors, but Disney is no stranger to losing its digital footing. Although the company reported that it had successful trial runs over the last several months, internet issues have haunted Disney in the past, as redesigned and struggled to create a viable main website over the course of three times in five years from 2007-2012. These problems are dated, but still preface the issue that a company of Disney’s size and scale should be able to project these type of occurrences.

Although the first day has had some incurring obstacles, we shouldn’t be surprised by user overload. Disney has since resolved the matters, and even stock investors don’t seem to mind.

Disney reportedly led the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher, rising 1.5% to close at $138.74 on twice its normal trading volume.While the gains were slim and most media and tech issues moved only slightly, Disney Plus’ inevitable rise amongst the streaming wars will not deter a majority of investors–especially on the first day.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/11/is-tiktok-threat-national-security/

Over the past year Tik Tok has become a popular social media app. The mini-video app mimics Vine, a popular video app that ended in 2016. In 2016 Tik Tok was created by Douyin and ByteDance two China based app developing companies, the app only took 200 day before it was offered to the public. Since its launch the app has continued to grow harnessing over 500 million users ranging in ages 18 to 24. However, The company’s growth has raised some privacy concerns that have many users and developers wondering how safe the app actually is.

Tik Tok has now caught the attention of the  Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The reason that CFIUS is investigating the app is still unclear, but the major issue that put the app on the governments radar was the Chinese government having access to U.S user data. The data that U.S users are giving through the terms of use agreement could give ByteDance more information than normal, If Byte Dance is required to report that information to the Chinese government, many U.S TikTok users could be put at risk

The apps developers censored the Hong Kong protests. Actions like these could make the app a threat to national security. Worst case scenario is that CFIUS could request or demand divestment, which it has done in the past with  apps such as Grindr and PatientsLikeMe. Divestment would mean that Byte Dance  might have to sell off Tik Tok venture. Selling off the apps venture could prohibit international expansion, or making the app unavailable in this country..

Twitter has spoken out on how it plans to take on what it describes as “synthetic and manipulated media.” They have released draft guidelines on how it plans to handle deepfakes, but it wants its users to chime in and help shape their potential polices. Twitter deems- any media that has significantly altered or fabricated with the intention to mislead people or misconstrued the original message- as its definition for synthetic and manipulated media, these are often through deepfakes and shallow-fakes.

The current guidelines allow Twitter may place notice, warn people before they share or like, or add a link citing why it is believed the media to be false. If Twitter thinks a deepfake has harmful intentions it can remove the tweet entirely, the site already banned porn deepfakes last year. But none of these guidelines are finalized, and users have until November 27th to give feedback using through surveys and hashtags. The Twitter teams will review the feedback and incorporate it into its guidelines, releasing the finalized version 30 days before they go into full effect.

This is the first time I have seen or heard any social media platform to start taking action against deepfakes and other forms of media manipulation and I am quite honestly impressed. To see Twitter taking a notion on a problem, that might not be too dangerous now, but could cause issues in the foreseeable future is important. Deepfakes and other related media are starting to become more common, but since they haven’t caused major chaos nobody does anything until its too late. To be ahead of the game and prevent any major disasters is so important in the digital age filled of fake news and bad intentions. I also commend Twitter utilizing it user base and allowing the people to tell them what they think should be put in place as guidelines, it means they care about taking the right measures to ensure their people feel protected.

Article

The high amount of trust that Americans have in the local news has long been exploited. Now, this problem is changing in nature due to Americans’ increase skepticism about the national news they consume.

Some misinformation in local news comes from foreign governments seeking to meddle in American domestic politics. We have seen this is the 2016 presidential election when Russian bots invaded the likes of Facebook and Twitter, spreading false and extremist views. Things are changing and becoming more trickier, however. Websites are becoming more creative with the way they trick readers. Many fake news websites impersonate real local news outlets with faux-local names. In Michigan, The Lansing State Journal ( a real news outlet) reported the existence of a network of more than 35 faux-local websites across the state of Michigan with names like Battle Creek Times, Detroit City Wire, Lansing Sun and Grand Rapids Reporter. These sites can easily trick someone into believing they’re real.

As this tactic has become more common, some influential political figures have unknowingly promoted these independent local news sites. For example, a website called the California Republican promised to inform its readers with the latest news, sports and analysis in the Central Valley area. However, it was later found out that California Republican congressman Devin Nunes’, campaign committee team had paid for the website. Similarly, Kelli Ward, a Republican representative from Arizona, promoted an election endorsement from a pseudo-local Arizona news site. This could

When it comes down to it, Americans trust local news outlets more than national outlets.  This is especially true of Republicans, who are the most skeptical of national media news. That is why it’s so easy for local news outlets to manipulate readers and be impersonated. These fake local news sights often align with the readers views, which is another reason why the content is likely to be well-trusted and believed..

Article Credit/Photo Credit: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/16/nike-wins-emmy-for-ad-featuring-colin-kaepernick.html

In September of last year, Nike released an advert titled “Dream Crazy.” The ad featured famous athletes like the former NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. His catch phrase in the clip, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. Just Do It.” was obviously in reference to his own protesting the national anthem by taking a knee which eventually resulted in him leaving the San Francisco 49ers in 2017.

This campaign was ultimately deemed a success. However, it didn’t get by without its fair share of backlash. Donald Trump, among other ridiculed Nike for spreading such a “terrible message” that “shouldn’t be sent.” Videos on Twitter and Instagram showed people burning their Nike products and swearing to never give them their business again.

However, these critics can say what they want because the ad won an award for outstanding commercial at the Creative Arts Emmys.

I think this article ties in the progressive way media can be used to inspire change and spread messages. But, also the fact that critics were so enraged shows that not all the emotions being evoked are positive. Nike and Kaepernick received horrible backlash for the campaign but ultimately continued to push their vision. I’d say it paid off.

Fact-Checking – An Effective Weapon Against Misinformation?

In recent news, over one hundred fact-checkers from around the world gathered in Menlo Park, California this past week to participate in a Fact-Checking Partner Summit held by Facebook. The event was held to gather third-party fact-checkers together to provide each other with experiences and feedback relating to fact-checking.

To start off the meeting, Facebook announced to the attendees the three tracks they are using to fight misinformation. Facebook stated that they are focused on targeting and taking down fake accounts through technology, spammers that have financial reasons to post false content in the platform, and also on providing content and context to its users. There were also two major announcements made at the meeting. First, the International Fact-Checking Network announced their joint endeavor with Facebook, The Fact-Checking Innovation Initiative. This initiative was created to “support the development of projects focused on new and creative ideas around fact-checking, misinformation, and disinformation.” Second, Facebook announced their plans to partner with Agence France Press to fact-check content in Bolivia, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru.

After the announcements, fact-checkers from various countries including Brazil, India, Kenya, Spain, Israel, and the United States took the stage to share case studies, experiences, lessons they’ve learned, and feedback regarding fact-checking in their countries. In one case, India presented on false ads and posts regarding a pill created by a fake doctor. In another case, Spain showed how easy it is to mix migration and false numbers to create a false narrative within their country.

Fact-checking and fake news topics have been seen all over the news in recent months and it will only continue to get worse. In my opinion, I think technology/social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram need to take more action toward fact-checking content. It is extremely important to monitor this as it can drastically effect large populations of people, especially those who are not as good with technology. It is also important to realize that not everything you see on the internet is real and that individuals should conduct their own research on information they see online. It would be cool to see companies provide free crash courses for users on fact-checking and spotting misinformation.

Over 100 fact-checkers are in Menlo Park for Facebook’s Fact-Checking Partner Summit. So how did it start?