Facebook is Exploring New Audio Apps
Facebook is said to be working on a series of audio tools for users, reports Recode. A spokesperson from the social media company says that “we’ve been connecting people through audio and video technologies for many years, and are always exploring new ways to improve that experience for people”. According to the Vox publication, Facebook’s audio plans include: An audio-only version of Rooms, a videoconferencing product it launched a year ago, when the pandemic spurred massive adoption of Zoom. A Clubhouse-like product that will let groups of people listen to and interact with speakers on a virtual “stage.” A product that will let Facebook users record brief voice messages and post them in their newsfeeds, like they currently can do with text, pictures, and videos. A podcast disco...
US: Chad rebels heading towards capital from north
The United States said rebel fighters in Chad appeared to be moving towards the capital N’Djamena and ordered non-essential staff to leave, warning of possible violence. A spokesman for the rebel Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said its fighters had “liberated” the province of Kanem, some 220 km (136 miles) from the capital N’Djamena, but the government denied this. “The authors of these false statements are not even on the ground, but somewhere in Europe,” the government said in a message posted to Facebook. A day earlier the British government urged its citizens to leave Chad because of information that two rebel convoys on the move, one near the town of Faya, some 770 km (478 miles) northeast of N’Djamena, and another by the town of Mao, the provincial capital of Kanem. On S...
Unpacking the Economic Impact of COVID 19 on SMBs in South Africa
One in two small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in South Africa has yet to see revenues recover to pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest edition of Facebook’s Global State of Small Business Report. 50% of operational South African SMBs on Facebook reported that their sales in February were lower than the equivalent month last year. Some 74% reported that they were operational or engaging in any revenue-generating activities, while 8% of operational SMBs on Facebook expected challenges related to cash flow and 20% expected challenges related to demand or a lack of customers in the next few months. Continuing trends observed throughout the pandemic: Women-owned South African businesses have been hit especially hard. Some 71% of women-led SMBs (vs. 77% of men-led SMBs) on Facebook ...
14.3 Million South African Facebook Users Implicated by Data Breach
On April 3, Business Insider uncovered how more than 530 million Facebook users personal information had been made publicly available in an unsecured database – this included names, email addresses, and phone numbers. And now, VPN provider Surfshark has revealed that of the affected users, Egypt is the number one victim of this hack with the accounts of 45.1 million users being exposed while 14.3 million users were South African. In general, the top 10 countries by breaches make up 50% of all the breach cases – and of those cases, fewer than 10% of the profiles had their addresses exposed. On the other hand, nearly 90% of the users suffered from phone number leaks /* custom css */ .tdi_3_009.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_009.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Faceb...
Virtual Vibes: 2 Chainz To Perform As Part of TIDAL X Facebook’s Oculus Livestream Series
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Prince Williams / Getty We can’t physically be at concerts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Tidal and Facebook have found a way virtually for us to enjoy some tunes performed live by 2 Chainz. Monday (Apr.12), global music and entertainment streaming platform TIDAL and Facebook’s virtual reality platform Oculus announced the “I’m Different” crafter will be the fourth artist to perform as part of the ongoing six-show Livestream series. The concert will take place on 4/20, so roll up a joint and grab your Oculus headsets if you got one because the concert will be live-streamed in VR in the Venues app, available on Oculus Quest. Now, if you don’t have an Oculus Quest VR headset, don’t worry. The concert will also be streamed n 2D Video ...
Facebook Says it Won’t Notify Users Implicated in ‘Hack’
On April 3, Business Insider revealed that more than 530 million Facebook users personal information had been made publicly available in an unsecured database – this included names, email addresses, and phone numbers. Facebook has now disclosed that it doesn’t plan to notify the users whose data was exposed online. According to The Verge, the social media platform “cited two reasons as to why it’s not telling users proactively: it says it’s not confident it would know which users would need to be notified and that users wouldn’t be able to do anything about the data being online”. Facebook believes that the data leak is the result of malicious actors who obtained the data by scraping it from the platform prior to September 2019. “We believe the data in question was scraped from ...
533 Million Facebook User’s Personal Data Leaks Online, Here’s How To Check If Your Account Was Affected
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: SOPA Images / Getty Facebook is definitely the can’t get right of social media mediums. According to security researcher Alon Gal, the personal data of 533 million Facebook accounts leaked online for free99. Insider has verified several of the leaked records. “The exposed data includes personal information of over 533 million Facebook users from 106 countries, including over 32 million records on users in the US, 11 million on users in the UK, and 6 million on users in India,” Insider reports. “It includes their phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and — in some cases — email addresses.” The alarming number of accounts that have been leaked isn’t new. Motherboard reported back in January that the information from the ...
AFCONQ: CAF confirms new date for Sierra Leone vs Benin clash
The Confederation of African Football has announced the postponed Africa Cup of Nations qualification encounter between Sierra Leone and Benin Republic will now take place during the June international window. The Group L fixture initially billed for Tuesday, March 30, at the National Stadium, Freetown did not take place owing to a Covid-19 controversy. However, both teams will now square up against one another in three months’ time – a game that will determine the last team to secure a place for Cameroon 2022. “The Africa Cup of Nations organizing committee has decided to postpone the above-mentioned match to the next Fifa international window scheduled for June 2021. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding,” a post from Benin Football Federation Facebook page read....
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry to quit social media
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has vowed to remove himself from all social media from tomorrow until platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram take more serious action against racism and other abuses. Henry suggested that, as things stand, the companies are quicker to take action against copyright infringements than they are to the toxic behaviour poisoning the platforms. In a statement posted online, Henry said: “From tomorrow morning I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms with the same vigour and ferocity that they currently do when you infringe copyright. “The sheer volume of racism, bullying and resulting mental torture to individuals is too toxic to ignore. “There HAS to be some accountability. It is far too eas...
Dagrin’s duet partner Lala passes on
A Nigerian music star, Alayande Lola Oladapo Quam, better known as Lala, is dead. Lala became popular following his released hit single, “Idi Nla,” which featured the late rapper, Dagrin, in a duet by the duo. According to a Facebook post by his brother, Alayande Tunde Adisa, Lala died on Tuesday. Adisa, however, didn’t disclose the cause of his death. Lala was a graduate of Project Management at Lagos State University. He also obtained his Master’s degree from the same institution. The death of the singer is coming just a few weeks after the death of music producer, Dokta Frabs, who produced “Idi Nla.” Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. G...
Russia calls U.S. allegations over Putin-directed election meddling ‘baseless’
Russia on Wednesday described U.S. intelligence allegations that President Vladimir Putin had likely directed efforts to try to swing the 2020 U.S. presidential election to Donald Trump as baseless. A 15-page American intelligence report, released on Tuesday, added heft to longstanding allegations that some of Trump’s top lieutenants were playing into Moscow’s hands by amplifying claims made against then-candidate Joe Biden by Russian-linked Ukrainian figures in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election. “The document prepared by the U.S. intelligence community is another set of baseless accusations against our country for interfering in American domestic political processes,” Russia’s embassy in the United States said in a statement on Facebook. “The conclusions of the report on Russia conducting...
Facebook Launches a Paid Events Tool for South African Content Creators
Facebook has launched a Paid Online Events tool that will allow content creators in South Africa to earn extra money. Paid Online Events is available in 20 countries and is expanding to 24 additional countries in the coming weeks, with South Africa being the first country in Africa where the tool is launching. “Since launching Paid Online Events in August 2020, it has grown tremendously, providing creators and businesses with another valuable way to earn money on Facebook,” says Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Head of Strategic Media Partnerships for Sub-Saharan Africa. “Many conference organisers, musicians, trainers, theatre producers, creators and businesses are losing revenue during the pandemic due to social distancing measures. Paid online events will help them to reconnect with their fans, mo...
