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  • BREAKING NEWS

Alleghany County woman pleads guilty to abducting boy from Giles County church

An Alleghany County woman has pleaded guilty to abducting a boy from a Giles County church in 2021.

11 hours ago

Richmond Police say they received tip that prevented July 4 mass shooting

Richmond authorities said they received a tip that prevented a mass shooting planned for July 4, according to NBC 12.

A watch and 2 advisories in effect for 6 regions in the area

See the complete list

BREAKING NEWS

Alleghany County woman pleads guilty to abducting boy from Giles County church

Richmond Police say they received tip that prevented July 4 mass shooting

A watch and 2 advisories in effect for 6 regions in the area

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JACK DORSEY


Ray Dalio, Bill Gates and Jack Dorsey started their careers before turning 15—now they're all billionaires

Billionaires Ray Dalio, Bill Gates and Jack Dorsey leveraged the skills they learned as teenagers into influential — and lucrative — careers. Here's how.

cnbc.com

Elon Musk revises Twitter financing plan to include more equity

News alleviates investor doubts over billionaire's resolve, sending Twitter stocks up 5.5% in after-hours trading.

cbsnews.com

Twitter jumps after Musk increases commitment in takeover bid to $33.5 billion, in talks for other funding

Elon Musk, during an event at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. A new filing reveals that Elon Musk plans to front $33.5 billion in his bid to take over Twitter. Musk is in talks with Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey and others to help finance, or roll their shares over, to complete the deal. As CNBC's David Faber previously reported, Elon Musk is expected to serve as a temporary CEO of Twitter for a few months after he completes the $44 billion acquisition. Shares of Twitter rose 7% on the news.

cnbc.com

Elon Musk revises Twitter financing plan; shares jump

Elon Musk on Wednesday revised the financing plan for his proposed $44 billion purchase of Twitter, raising investor hopes that the unpredictable billionaire still intends to pull off a deal roiled by market turbulence and Musk's own unpredictable fixation with the number of fake accounts on Twitter.

Judge dismisses lawsuit against Musk, Tesla and Twitter fan

A federal judge has dismissed a securities fraud and defamation lawsuit filed by a Tesla investor against CEO Elon Musk, the company and a Musk supporter.

Jack Dorsey outlines Block's bitcoin-centric future at first investor day in five years: 'No longer just a payments company'

At Block's first investor day since 2017, executives describe how crypto and music-streaming businesses make up an "ecosystem" beyond the original card-reader.

cnbc.com

Musk met Twitter execs for three days before making a bid, unclear if they discussed bots

Twitter's filing didn't say what was discussed in its meetings or if Musk brought up his concerns about the proliferation of spam accounts on the platform.

cnbc.com

New filing reveals the full story behind Musk's bid to buy Twitter

Former CEO Jack Dorsey told Musk he personally believes Twitter would be better equipped to focus on execution as a private company, according to the filing..

cnbc.com

Crypto industry wields its influence in Washington after pouring over $30 million into campaigns

Crypto executives and lobbyists are moving to gain a foothold in Washington as lawmakers scramble to find a way to regulate the industry.

cnbc.com
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Elon Musk’s ever-expanding empire

The electric car and space mogul is venturing into a new realm with Twitter

washingtonpost.com

As Musk buyout looms, Twitter searches for its soul

A toxic cesspool.

Musk Says He Would Reverse Twitter's Ban Of Former President Trump

Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey voiced his agreement Tuesday saying, "generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don't work."

newsy.com

Dorsey weighs in on Twitter bans after Musk says Trump’s would be lifted

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said he does not believe there should be permanent bans on the platform, with limited exceptions, after Elon Musk said Tuesday he would reverse Twitter’s ban of former President Trump following the completion of his acquisition. “Musk says @jack agrees with him that there shouldn’t be permanent bans on individual…

news.yahoo.com

She’s in charge of Twitter safety. Her days there may be numbered.

Twitter’s top lawyer Vijaya Gadde has been targeted by the right as Elon Musk seeks to take over the company. But insiders say she’s not the ‘chief censor’ critics imagine.

washingtonpost.com

Judge dismisses Trump's lawsuit against Twitter

The former president, joined by five other plaintiffs, sued Twitter in July 2021, months after the social media giant permanently banned him from the platform.

cbsnews.com

Elon Musk expected to serve as temporary Twitter CEO after deal closes

Elon Musk is expected to serve as a temporary Twitter CEO for a few months after he completes his takeover of the company, sources told CNBC's David Faber.

cnbc.com

Wall Street, tech investors back Musk Twitter bid with $7B

Elon Musk has strengthened the equity stake in his offer to buy Twitter with commitments of more than $7 billion from a range of investors, including Oracle co-founder and Tesla board member Larry Ellison.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was re-banned from Twitter 3 hours after returning to the platform since his initial ban in 2021

A Twitter spokesperson said the account was banned for violating the ban evasion policy. Lindell was first banned for election misinformation.

news.yahoo.com
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What Jack Dorsey gets wrong about Elon Musk and Twitter

Jack Dorsey welcomed Elon Musk as “the singular solution” to save Twitter. That obscures a key factor in Musk's success at Tesla and SpaceX: a team of talented employees who bought wholeheartedly into his vision.

washingtonpost.com

What Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover Means for CEO Parag Agrawal

As owner of the company, Musk will have the power to transform the board and fire key individuals who don’t align with his vision for the platform.

news.yahoo.com

Why Elon Musk has Jack Dorsey's 'trust' to run Twitter—a look back at their friendship

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey says he trusts Elon Musk to run Twitter – but it isn't the first time he's expressed admiration for the world's richest man.

cnbc.com

Musk's 'free speech' push for Twitter: Repeating history?

Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, seemingly intent on making the old new again, has successfully arranged to buy Twitter for about $44 billion.

Jack Dorsey says Elon Musk is the 'singular solution I trust' to run Twitter

After Twitter agreed to sell itself to Elon Musk, co-founder Jack Dorsey posted a Spotify link to the Radiohead song "Everything In Its Right Place."

cnbc.com

Will Musk’s hands-off ideal for Twitter have broad appeal?

Coming up with $44 billion to buy Twitter was the easy part for Elon Musk.

Don't call him CEO: Jack Dorsey says he's 'Block Head' now

Technology entrepreneur and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has a new title: Block Head.

Why Twitter is an easy target for outsiders like Elon Musk intent on change

To ward off Elon Musk, Twitter's board will have to show it finally has a plan to address long-standing business problems.

npr.org

Jack Dorsey’s new title: Block Head

Jack Dorsey has been busy as of late, and now he has given up the title of CEO for something a little different.

cnbc.com
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Half-clothed Asbury Park High School football coach discovered by police

Officers found Nicholas Famularo, 26, with his pants off as he covered the front lower half of his body with a football jersey

news.yahoo.com

Musk says Twitter board will be paid nothing if he acquires the company

Currently, Twitter spends about $2.9 million in cash and stock awards to board members.

cnbc.com

Ex-CEO Dorsey criticizes Twitter board, Musk says it 'owns almost no shares!

The board is currently considering a $43 billion bid from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to buy the company and take it private.

cnbc.com

Elon Musk tweet hints at possible tender offer to Twitter shareholders

A tender offer would be the latest in the saga over his dramatic bid to take control of Twitter.

cnbc.com

Former Reddit CEO says if Elon Musk takes over Twitter he's 'in for a world of pain' and will be 'forced to censor things' due to difficulty of enforcing free speech

In a viral Twitter thread, former Reddit CEO Yishan Wong broke down why he thinks Elon Musk "shouldn't waste his time and energy on Twitter."

news.yahoo.com

Why an NFT auction of the first tweet flopped

Sina Estavi was hoping to sell his nonfungible token for $48 million, but managed a high bid of just $12,600.

cbsnews.com

For Elon Musk, Twitter is the latest shiny object

He builds electric cars, rockets, tunnels and brain interfaces. Sticking to one task has never been Elon Musk's style.

washingtonpost.com

EXPLAINER: What is Musk really doing as he guns for Twitter?

Mercurial billionaire Elon Musk now says he wants to buy Twitter outright, taking it private to restore its commitment to what he terms “free speech.”.

An NFT of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet has lost almost all of its $2.9 million value

An NFT of Jack Dorsey's first tweet that originally sold for $2.9 million has lost almost all of its value.

cnbc.com
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Tesla, Block and Blockstream team up to mine bitcoin off solar power in Texas

Blockstream and Jack Dorsey's Block are breaking ground on a solar- and battery-powered bitcoin mine in Texas using solar and storage technology from Tesla.

cnbc.com

Elon Musk to address Twitter staff after internal outcry

After days of internal outcry, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal will host a town hall AMA with Elon Musk for Twitter employees.

washingtonpost.com

Jack Dorsey regrets that he’s ‘partially to blame’ for the state of the internet today

Twitter co-founder and ex-CEO Jack Dorsey recently tweeted that he regrets the role his company has played in creating a centralized internet. Here's what that means.

cnbc.com

Cash App says data breach could affect millions of users

Former employee accessed names and brokerage account numbers in December, payments company discloses.

cbsnews.com

Twitter confirms it's considering adding an edit button

The announcement came one day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who owns a 9.2% share of Twitter, tweeted​ out a poll asking if users wanted an edit button.

cbsnews.com

Twitter confirms it's considering adding an edit button

The announcement came one day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who owns a 9.2% share of Twitter, tweeted​ out a poll asking if users wanted an edit button.

cbsnews.com

EXPLAINER: What Elon Musk at Twitter might mean for users

Tesla CEO Elon Musk now has a 9% stake in Twitter and a seat on its corporate board of directors, raising questions about how the billionaire business magnate could reshape the social media platform.

Elon Musk bought a 9% stake in Twitter and got a board seat — here's what he can do with that power

Billionaire Elon Musk is now Twitter's largest outside shareholder, and joining its board of directors. Here's what it means for Twitter and Musk going forward.

cnbc.com

Elon Musk Joins Twitter Board After Amassing Large Stake In Company

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is now the social media platform's largest shareholder after purchasing 73.5 million shares worth about $3 billion.

newsy.com
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Twitter says it's testing an 'edit' button

Twitter tweeted Tuesday that it is indeed working on a way for users to edit their 280-character messages, although it says the project has nothing to do with the fact that edit-function fan Elon Musk was just revealed as the company’s largest shareholder and now sits on its board.

Elon Musk joins Twitter board after amassing massive stake

Elon Musk is joining Twitter’s board of directors, one day after it was disclosed that the Tesla CEO took a 9% stake in the social media platform.

Elon Musk snaps up $3bn Twitter stake

Tesla founder Elon Musk has bought almost a tenth of Twitter shares, worth almost $3bn.

bbc.co.uk

Shake Shack is partnering with Jack Dorsey's Block to offer a bitcoin rewards program

Shake Shack announced that it will offer cash-back rewards in the form of bitcoin to customers who pay for their order using Cash App's Cash Card.

cnbc.com

Twitter to reopen offices March 15, though remote work remains an option

Twitter's new CEO says employees can continue working from home if they want, but he's touting the advantages of a return to the office.

cnbc.com

'We were terrified': Block co-founder explains how the fintech giant avoided 'death by Amazon'

In 2014, Amazon launched a competitor to Block. The company was "terrified," according to co-founder Jim McKelvey. But it didn't give up.

cnbc.com

How Square grew from a scrappy hardware start-up to payments powerhouse in a just over decade

Square is now called Block, and in the thirteen years since launching, Jack Dorsey's company has grown into a $50 billion-plus financial powerhouse.

cnbc.com

Twitter posts loss for 2021, but stock up on share buyback

Twitter’s stock is rising after it posted strong revenue growth last year and announced a $4 billion share buyback program.

Gates, French Gates top list of biggest U.S. charity donors

A handful of Americans donated at least $1 billion to charity last year, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual ranking of the 50 Americans who gave the most to charity in 2021.

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Rihanna's foundation donates $15 million to climate justice

Rihanna is backing her belief that climate change is a social-justice issue by pledging $15 million to the movement through her Clara Lionel Foundation.

Security firm reports Crypto.com lost $15 million and 5 other important crypto updates to know

Here are six important things that happened in the crypto space last week.

cnbc.com

A year on, could Trump social media ban backfire?

The ex-president was expelled from Twitter a year ago. What impact has it had - and will he be back?

bbc.co.uk

Have Social Media Companies Changed Ways Since Jan. 6?

Lawmakers have spent the last year looking into the role social media sites have played in the Capitol insurrection.

newsy.com

Have Social Media Companies Changed Ways Since Jan. 6?

Lawmakers have spent the last year looking into the role social media sites have played in the Capitol insurrection.

www1.newsy.com

Explaining Web3: From the blockchain and crypto to NFTs and the metaverse

Experts explain what's behind the year's biggest technology buzzword and the players that are driving its marketing.

cbsnews.com

Explaining Web3: From the blockchain and crypto to NFTs and the metaverse

Experts explain what's behind the year's biggest technology buzzword and the players that are driving its marketing.

cbsnews.com

Markets 2021: Stocks soar, IPOs explode, crypto goes wild

Wall Street delivered another strong year in 2021, as a spike in consumer demand fueled by the reopening of the global economy pumped up corporate profits.

Jack Dorsey blocked on Twitter by Marc Andreessen after Web3 comments

Jack Dorsey has been blocked on Twitter, the social media platform he co-founded, by renowned venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

cnbc.com
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Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey are talking about 'Web3' – here’s what it is and why it matters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey have been voicing their thoughts on a hypothetical new version of the internet this week: "Web3".

cnbc.com

The Tech Moguls Are Looking for a New Playground

Jack Dorsey’s decision to leave Twitter, like Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot to the metaverse, shows us where the internet is heading.

theatlantic.com

From Square to Block: Another tech company changes its name

There's a new Silicon Valley corporate name change on the block.

New Twitter CEO steps from behind the scenes to high profile

Newly named Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal (PUH-rag AH-gur-wahl) has emerged from behind the scenes to take over one of Silicon Valley’s highest-profile and politically volatile jobs.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey steps down as CEO

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has stepped down as CEO of the social media platform.

Collins Dictionary picks NFT as word of the year 2021

Collins Dictionary has chosen the term NFT as its word of the year after surging interest in the digital tokens that can sell for millions of dollars brought it into the mainstream.

Prince Harry says he warned Twitter CEO of U.S. Capitol riot

Britain’s Prince Harry says he warned the chief executive of Twitter ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots that the social media site was being used to stage political unrest in the U.S. capital.

Trump asks US judge to force Twitter to restore his account

Former President Donald Trump wants a federal judge in Florida to force Twitter to restore his account, which the company suspended in January following the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol.

A road not taken: verified Cormac McCarthy account is fake

Sorry, Cormac McCarthy fans.

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Square to buy installment payment firm Afterpay in $29B deal

Digital payments company Square Inc. says it has agreed to acquire Afterpay, which provides a “buy now, pay later’’ option for merchants, in an all-stock deal valued at about $29 billion.

Free money for all? Mayors hope local tests bring big change

Dozens of cities and counties and the state of California are experimenting with giving some low-income residents a guaranteed income of $500 to $1,000 each month to do with as they please, and tracking what happens.

EXPLAINER: Why has the price of Bitcoin been falling?

The price of the famously volatile digital currency Bitcoin fell nearly 30% at one point Wednesday after the China Banking Association warned member banks of the risks associated with digital currencies.

The Latest: Twitter grilled about blocking a NY Post article

Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – The latest news from a House committee questioning the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter. ___2:30 p.m.Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, raised the long-running conservative talking point that Twitter, Facebook and Google are biased against conservative viewpoints and censor material based on political or religious viewpoints. Scalise highlighted Twitter’s blocking of a New York Post article on Hunter Biden, which CEO Jack Dorsey said was a mistake that the company corrected within 24 hours. AdThis would include product vice presidents of integrity, trust and safety and vice presidents of platform policy — at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube (rather than Google, which owns YouTube) and perhaps an upstart like TikTok. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai, CEO of YouTube parent Google, are facing questioning at a hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Lawmakers press Big Tech CEOs on speech responsibility

Republicans raised long-running conservative grievances, unproven, that the platforms are biased against conservative viewpoints and censor material based on political or religious viewpoints. There is increasing support in Congress for legislation to rein in Big Tech companies. The tech CEOs defended the legal shield under Section 230, saying it has helped make the internet the forum of free expression that it is today. Trump enjoyed special treatment on Facebook and Twitter until January, despite spreading misinformation, pushing false claims of voting fraud, and promulgating hate. The tech blog Gizmodo eventually revealed the device was a “BlockClock” that shows the latest prices of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.

Report: Extremist groups thrive on Facebook despite bans

More than two-thirds of the groups and pages had names that aligned with several domestic extremist movements, the report found. Facebook acknowledged that its policy enforcement “isn't perfect,” but said the report distorts its work against violent extremism and misinformation. In October, it banned QAnon groups across its platform. It has also banned extremist and militia movements and boogaloo groups with varying degrees of success. ___This story has been corrected to show that the groups were still active on the platform as of Feb. 24, not March 18.

Stripe continues cash haul, now valued at $95 billion

The online payment company continues to attract investors, raising $600 million in funding to reach a company valuation of $95 billion, making it the most valuable private fintech company in the world. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)The online payment company Stripe continues to attract investors, raising $600 million in funding to reach a whopping company valuation of $95 billion. Stripe is by far the most valuable private fintech company in the world. Robinhood, the trading platform recently making headlines, just raised $3 billion to reach a valuation of around $11.2 billion. Companies that enable online payments have thrived in the pandemic.

Square, Inc. to buy majority of Tidal and put Jay-Z on board

FILE - In this July 23, 2019, file photo, Jay-Z makes an announcement of the launch of Dream Chasers record label in joint venture with Roc Nation, at the Roc Nation headquarters in New York.Financial technology company Square, Inc. says it has reached an agreement to acquire majority ownership of Tidal, the music streaming service partly owned by Jay-Z. (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP, File)SAN FRANCISCO – Financial technology company Square, Inc. said Thursday that it has reached an agreement to acquire majority ownership of Tidal, the music streaming service partly owned by Jay-Z. Under the deal, Square will pay $297 million in cash and stock for Tidal, Jay-Z will be named to Square's board of directors, and he and other artists who currently own shares in Tidal will remain stakeholders. Tidal has presented itself as the artist-friendly alternative to other music streamers, and Square says it will take that phenomenon further for musicians just as it has for businesses with its financial systems. AdJay-Z said in the statement that the “partnership will be a game-changer for many.” I look forward to all this new chapter has to offer!"

English soccer at breaking point over abuse on social media

Racist abuse. And social media accounts allowed to stay active even after spreading bile. English football has reached breaking point with players, coaches, referees and officials aghast at the ongoing proliferation of hate aimed at them on Instagram and Twitter. The police appear more determined to intervene and prosecute offenders who have used social media to hurl hatred. The government is also introducing legislation — the online safety bill — that could see social media companies fined for failing to protect their users.

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English soccer heads ask Zuckerberg, Dorsey to act on racism

The leaders of English soccer have asked the heads of Facebook and Instagram to show basic human decency by taking more robust action to eradicate racism and for users identities to be verified. There has been growing outrage that players from the Premier League to the Womens Super League have been targeted with abuse on Twitter and Facebook-owned Instagram. “The language used is debasing, often threatening and illegal,” the eight English soccer leaders, including from the Football Association and Premier League, wrote to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook chairman Mark Zuckerberg. The letter was signed by the CEOs of the English Football Association (Mark Bullingham), Premier League (Richard Masters), English Football League (Trevor Birch), Professional Footballers’ Association (Gordon Taylor) and League Managers’ Association (Richard Bevan). Threats of violence on social media have also alarmed English soccer this week.

EXPLAINER: What is Clubhouse, the buzzy new audio chat app?

The icon for the social media app Clubhouse is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. You can also download the app and get on a waiting list to be let into Clubhouse. Although Clubhouse hasn't divulged how many people are using its service, its app has been downloaded 5.3 million times, according to analytics firm App Annie. Thousands of Chinese users have flocked to the app in recent months, lured by the unfettered discussions it allowed with people abroad — particularly about democracy, Taiwan and other sensitive topics. Users still could download it if they had access to an Apple app store abroad.

Twitter posts strong Q4 results as user base, revenue jumps

Twitter posted solid results for the last three months of 2020, capping what CEO Jack Dorsey called an extraordinary year for the platform. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 29 cents per share and revenue of $1.18 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. Twitter had 192 million daily users, on average, in the third quarter, up 27% year-over-year. By comparison, Facebook had 1.84 billion daily users on average in December 2020, an increase of 11% year-over-year. But he added that advertising revenue should remain strong as the company continues to invest in ad infrastructure.

Bezos and Bloomberg among top 50 US charity donors for 2020

Bezos is one of the 50 Americans who gave the most to charity in 2020, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropys annual rankings. “There has been change building among private donors.”All told, the 50 biggest donors contributed $24.7 billion in 2020, compared with $15.8 billion in 2019. The $1 billion-plus of giving by each of the top five on the Philanthropy 50 matches last year’s record. No more than three donors gave $1 billion or more in any of the previous years. Colleges and universities received $2.2 billion from Philanthropy 50 donors in 2020.

Facebook's oversight board to rule on Trump ban

But it said it's referring the matter to the oversight board for what it called an “independent judgment” on upholding the decision. The board does not set Facebook policies or decide if the company is doing enough to enforce them in the first place. The first four board members were directly chosen by Facebook. Facebook also pays the board members’ salaries. CEO Jack Dorsey defended his company’s Trump ban in a philosophical Twitter thread last week, saying that resulting risk to public safety created an “extraordinary and untenable circumstance” for the company.

President Trump to leave Washington on morning of Biden’s inauguration

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, file photo, President Donald Trump arrives on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, after returning from Texas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will leave Washington next Wednesday morning just before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration to begin his post-presidential life in Florida. He has not invited the Bidens to the White House for the traditional bread-breaking, nor has he spoken with Biden by phone. Stewart D. McLaurin, the president of the White House Historical Association, said he had reached out to the White House chief usher, who manages the building's artifacts with the White House curator, because of questions raised by the images. That includes White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

Twitter CEO defends Trump ban, warns of dangerous precedent

Dorsey broke his silence to defend his companys ban of President Donald Trump as the right decision, but warned that it could set a dangerous precedent. The ban, he said, revealed Twitters failure to create an open and healthy space for what Dorsey calls the global public conversation. (Michael Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP, File)SAN FRANCISCO – Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey defended his company’s ban of President Donald Trump in a philosophical Twitter thread that is his first public statement on the subject. “I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump from Twitter,“ Dorsey wrote. The Twitter co-founder, however, had little specific to say about how his platform or other Big Tech companies could avoid such choices in the future.

Twitter bans Trump, citing risk of violent incitement

This Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 image shows the suspended Twitter account of President Donald Trump. On Friday, the social media company permanently suspended Trump from its platform, citing "risk of further incitement of violence." (AP Photo/Tali Arbel)Twitter banned President Donald Trump's account Friday, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence" following the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. On Thursday, Facebook suspended Trump's account through Jan. 20 and possibly indefinitely. Twitter merely suspended Trump's account for 12 hours after he posted a video that repeated false claims about election fraud and praised the rioters who stormed the Capitol.

Timeline: After years of slow steps, Facebook muzzles Trump

Nov. 10, 2016: Days after Trump's election, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls the idea that “fake news” on Facebook had influenced the election “a pretty crazy idea." Jan. 4, 2018: Zuckerberg declares his 2018 resolution is to “fix” Facebook. October-November 2018: Ahead of the 2018 U.S. midterm election, Facebook removes hundreds of accounts, pages and groups for suspected links to foreign election interference. May-June 2020: Facebook declines to remove Trump posts that suggest protesters in Minneapolis could be shot. Facebook also declines to take action on two Trump posts spreading misinformation about voting by mail.

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Amazon's Bezos tops list of richest charitable gifts in 2020

– The world's richest person made the single-largest charitable contribution in 2020, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual list of top donations, a $10 billion gift that is intended to help fight climate change. Amazon's founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, whose “real-time” worth Forbes magazine estimates at roughly $188 billion, used the contribution to launch his Bezos Earth Fund. According to the left-leaning Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies, from March 18 through Dec. 7, 2020, Bezos' wealth surged by 63%, from $113 billion to $184 billion. Bezos and the Zuckerbergs made up the next spots on last year's top 10 list, with $100 million donations — Bezos for Feeding America to aid food banks across the country and the Zuckerbergs to the same election security group. In February, the Chronicle will publish its list of the 50 biggest donors, which counts cumulative donations, not individual gifts.

Twitter launches disappearing tweets that vanish in a day

Twitter is launching tweets that disappear in 24 hours called “Fleets” globally, echoing social media sites like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram that already have disappearing posts. Twitter tested the feature in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea, before rolling it out globally. Fleets are a “lower pressure” way to communicate “fleeting thoughts” as opposed to permanent tweets, Twitter executives Joshua Harris, design director, and Sam Haveson, product manager, said in a blog post. The news comes the same day Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced questions from a Senate Judiciary Committee about how they handled disinformation surrounding the presidential election. Such features are increasingly popular with social media users looking for smaller groups and and more private chats.

Twitter, Facebook CEOs vow election action; GOP touts curbs

Republican senators, including Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, revived complaints of censorship and anti-conservative bias against the social media platforms. The actions that Twitter and Facebook took to quell the spread of disinformation angered Trump and his supporters. They have focused their concern on hate speech and incitement on social media platforms that can spawn violence. Twitter and Facebook have both slapped a misinformation label on some content from Trump, most notably his assertions linking voting by mail to fraud. For days after the election as the vote counting went on, copycat “Stop the Steal” groups were easily found on Facebook.

Facebook, Twitter CEOs to be pressed on election handling

The committee summoned the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google to testify during the hearing. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – The CEOs of Facebook and Twitter are being summoned before Congress to defend their handling of disinformation in the 2020 presidential election, even as lawmakers questioning them are deeply divided over the election's integrity and results. Twitter and Facebook have both slapped a misinformation label on some content from Trump, most notably his assertions linking voting by mail to fraud. Facebook insists that it has learned its lesson from the 2016 election and is no longer a conduit for misinformation, voter suppression and election disruption. The organization had pressed Facebook to take down the “Stop the Steal” group.

Social media CEOs rebuff bias claims, vow to defend election

The committee summoned the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google to testify during the hearing. Dorsey said Twitter was working closely with state election officials. Dorsey told Cruz that he does not believe that Twitter can influence elections because it's only one source of information. GOP senators raised with the executives an array of allegations of other bias on the platforms regarding Iran, China and Holocaust denial. “We approach our work without political bias, full stop," Pichai said.

Social media CEOs to face grilling from Republican senators

WASHINGTON – Less than a week before Election Day, the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google are set to face a grilling by Republican senators who accuse the tech giants of anti-conservative bias. With the election looming, Republicans led by President Donald Trump have thrown a barrage of grievances at Big Tech’s social media platforms, which they accuse without evidence of deliberately suppressing conservative, religious and anti-abortion views. The tech platforms are gateways to news online. It proposes that Congress enact rules preventing tech platforms from taking local news content without fair payment. “For too long, social media platforms have hidden behind Section 230 protections to censor content that deviates from their beliefs,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the committee chairman, said recently.

Facebook, Twitter CEOs ordered to testify by GOP senators

FILE - This combination of photos shows logos for social media platforms Facebook and Twitter. (AP Photo/File)WASHINGTON – The GOP push against Facebook and Twitter accelerated Thursday after Republican senators threatened the CEOs of the social media companies with subpoenas to force them to address accusations of censorship in the closing weeks of the presidential campaign. Russia backed President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign through hacking of Democratic emails and a covert social media campaign. It was the first time in recent memory that the two social media platforms enforced rules against misinformation on a story from a mainstream media publication. With Trump leading the way, conservatives have stepped up their claims that Facebook, Twitter and Google, which owns YouTube, are biased, charging without evidence Silicon Valley’s social media platforms are deliberately suppressing conservative views.

Nigeria's anti-police brutality protests block major roads

Nigerian protests against police brutality continued Friday for the ninth day, with demonstrators fending off attacks from gangs suspected to be backed by the police, warnings from the Nigerian military, and a government order to stop because of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)LAGOS – Nigerian protests against police brutality continued Friday for the ninth day, with demonstrators fending off attacks from gangs suspected to be backed by the police, warnings from the Nigerian military, and a government order to stop because of COVID-19. In Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, protesters blocked the road to the international airport and the main highway into the city. The Lagos-Ibadan highway, one of Nigeria's busiest, is the main road linking the port city to the rest of Nigeria. The protests erupted last week after a video circulated online showing a man being beaten, apparently by police from the SARS unit.

Twitter CEO says it was wrong to block links to Biden story

Twitter was wrong to block weblinks to an unverified political story, CEO Jack Dorsey said on Friday, as the company responded to criticism over its handling of the story that had prompted cries of censorship from the right. “Straight blocking of URLs was wrong, and we updated our policy and enforcement to fix,” he tweeted. Dorsey was weighing in after an executive at the social media company announced changes late Thursday to its policy on hacked content following an onslaught of criticism. And instead of blocking links from being shared, tweets will be labeled to provide context, Gadde said. San Francisco-based Twitter initially responded by banning users from sharing links to the article in tweets and direct messages because it violated the company’s policy prohibiting hacked content.

Why tech giants limited the spread of NY Post story on Biden

OAKLAND, Calif. – When Facebook and Twitter moved quickly this week to limit the spread of an unverified political story published by the conservative-leaning New York Post, it led to predictable cries of censorship from the right. But if social media titans aren’t careful, their attempts to clamp down on a story can amplify it further. For the first time in recent memory, the two social media platforms enforced rules against misinformation on a story from a mainstream media publication. Twitter, meanwhile, blocked users from tweeting out the link to the story and from sending it in private messages. In part because of this, and in part by the mere act of trying to limit the story, the tech platforms soon became the story, especially in conservative circles where purported bias from Big Tech is already a prime talking point.

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