social media

San Bruno-based YouTube sometimes lags behind other social-media platforms in cracking down on different types of misinformation. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)

YouTube’s moves against election misinformation were potent

Video-streaming giant’s stricter policies resulted in fewer false and misleading videos on other social networks

  • Oct 17, 2021

 

For years, Facebook employees have identified serious harms and proposed potential fixes. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, pictured in 2019, and COO Sheryl Sandberg have rejected the remedies, causing whisteblowers to multiply. (Eric Thayer/New York Times)

Facebook’s problems at the top: Social media giant is not listening to whistleblowers

Whistleblowers multiply, but Zuckerberg and Sandberg don’t heed their warnings

  • Sep 27, 2021

 

Irish regulators said WhatsApp was not clear with users about how data was shared with other Facebook properties. (Shutterstock)

Facebook’s WhatsApp fined for breaking EU’s data privacy law

By Adam Satariano New York Times Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service was fined…

  • Sep 2, 2021

 

The suspended Twitter account of U.S. President Donald Trump appears on a laptop screen on January 08, 2021 in San Anselmo, California. Citing the risk of further incitement of violence following an attempted insurrection on Wednesday, Twitter permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/TNS)

Democrats fume at tech companies, but legislation may be elusive

Gopal Ratnam and Dean DeChiaro CQ-Roll Call Top Democrats in Congress who…

The suspended Twitter account of U.S. President Donald Trump appears on a laptop screen on January 08, 2021 in San Anselmo, California. Citing the risk of further incitement of violence following an attempted insurrection on Wednesday, Twitter permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/TNS)
San Francisco Police stand guard behind barricades outside Twitter headquarters at 10th and Market streets as reports of a possible right-wing protest circulated online on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

Rumored Pro-Trump rally outside Twitter fails to materialize

San Francisco police came out in force Monday morning for a rumored…

San Francisco Police stand guard behind barricades outside Twitter headquarters at 10th and Market streets as reports of a possible right-wing protest circulated online on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)
False information on Twitter and other platforms can be manipulative and destructive.<ins> (Courtesy photo)</ins>

Social media can turn us against each other

Only empathy can alleviate the hate spread by misinformation

False information on Twitter and other platforms can be manipulative and destructive.<ins> (Courtesy photo)</ins>
Abstaining from technology can help put one’s priorities ­— and life — in perspective. (Courtesy photo)

Fasting from technology

So, I finally did it. After weeks of writing about it, I…

Abstaining from technology can help put one’s priorities ­— and life — in perspective. (Courtesy photo)
California jurors beware: Commenting about a case on social media or researching it on the Internet may soon cost you as much as $1,500. (Spencer Weiner/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

California jurors misusing the Internet could face fines

Jurors who threaten to derail trials by researching them on Google or…

California jurors beware: Commenting about a case on social media or researching it on the Internet may soon cost you as much as $1,500. (Spencer Weiner/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)
University of Missouri grounds maintenance workers begin to clean up Mel Carnahan Quad on the University of Missouri campus Wednesday. (John Happel/Columbia Missourian via AP)

Online threats against blacks net arrest at Missouri campus

COLUMBIA, Mo. — A white college student suspected of posting online threats…

University of Missouri grounds maintenance workers begin to clean up Mel Carnahan Quad on the University of Missouri campus Wednesday. (John Happel/Columbia Missourian via AP)
This undated photograph made available by WDBJ-TV shows reporter Alison Parker, left, and cameraman Adam Ward. Parker and Ward were fatally shot during an on-air interview Wednesday. (Courtesy of WDBJ-TV via AP)

In TV shooting, a volatile, angry man ‘waiting to go BOOM’

Long before he filmed himself gunning down a TV reporter and cameraman…

This undated photograph made available by WDBJ-TV shows reporter Alison Parker, left, and cameraman Adam Ward. Parker and Ward were fatally shot during an on-air interview Wednesday. (Courtesy of WDBJ-TV via AP)
In this Jan. 8, 2014 file photo, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo speaks during a panel discussion at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Costolo will step down as CEO of Twitter after almost five years, the company and Costolo announced Thursday, June 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Twitter’s lame-duck CEO ‘over the moon’ about changes ahead

Twitter's lame-duck CEO Dick Costolo says he is leaving the company with…

In this Jan. 8, 2014 file photo, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo speaks during a panel discussion at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Costolo will step down as CEO of Twitter after almost five years, the company and Costolo announced Thursday, June 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
File photoThe nonprofit #iCANHELP seeks to eliminate negativity and cyber-bullying on social media.

Cyber helpline seeks to address online bullying, social media problems

Several weeks ago at a high school in Arizona, a Facebook page…

File photoThe nonprofit #iCANHELP seeks to eliminate negativity and cyber-bullying on social media.
mike koozmin/the s.f. examinerDaniel Polk

SF advocate sees opportunity for homeless on social media

It all started when San Francisco resident Daniel Polk walked past the…

mike koozmin/the s.f. examinerDaniel Polk