Source: PRAKASH SINGH / Getty Twitter has been pretty firm on its strong stance against sharing misinformation and straight-up nonsense on its service that could impact the presidential election. But the social media company had to revise one of its policies following some belly-aching from right-wing snowflakes. This week the New York Post, who isn’t shy about their love for Donald Trump, dropped a story about Hunter Biden that got its information from emails from a real shady source *coughs* Rudy Guiliani. Twitter wasn’t here for it and began blocking links to the fake news shared by right-wing accounts claiming that it violated its policies when it comes to sharing “hacked materials.” As expected, Republican officials cried about Twitter blocking the story and claimed that Twitter was o...
Source: Pacific Press / Getty When it comes to finding “Black Trump Supporters,” it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, but they do exist. On social media, though, it would seem they are more prevalent than believed, but it turns out they are as real as a Louis Vuitton bag on Canal Street. Wednesday (October 14), Forbes reported that Twitter has removed several accounts claiming to be Black supporters of the super-spreader-in-chief Donald Trump, claiming they violate spam and account manipulation guidelines. The accounts were using photos of real Black people, aka digital Black face, and all were pushing the same message “YES I’M BLACK AND I’M VOTING FOR TRUMP.” Darren Linvill, a Clemson University communications professor, revealed that two dozen of the accounts have been retweeted...
Source: Facebook / Instagram If you have wished that Facebook would combine Messenger and Instagram DMs, then this news will sit well with you. Announced Wednesday (Sept.30), Facebook officially launched its new cross-messaging platform to combine both its Messenger and Instagram’s DM feature. Despite being “launched” today, select users will be able to utilize the overhauled IG DM feature that now features tools that were once only available on Facebook Messenger. Now when you hop in someone’s DMs on the gram, you can look forward to using tools like new chat colors, selfie stickers, custom emojis, vanishing messages, a new way to block unwanted messages. Plus, the new Watch Together feature will you and a friend to watch videos together while conducting a video call. Users will also now ...
The State Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has suspended Governor Kayode Fayemi. Fayemi was accused of holding meetings and fraternising with PDP members like Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK), Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike. According the statement, Fayemi was suspended due to “his numerous anti-party activities, especially his role in the recently concluded governorship election in Edo State which is contrary to the provisions of Article 21 (A) (ii) of the APC constitution.” The Ekiti chapter of the APC claims that five days before the Edo election, Fayemi hosted FFK in government house Ekiti. “For five days prior to the Edo election, Gov Fayemi hosted PDP big wig Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode in the government house in Ado Ekit...
Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the Kwara State High Court has sentenced a 29-year-old man, Usman Muhammed, to jail for posing as a lady and using nude pictures to dupe men. Muhammed was arrested at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun state, according to an operative of the EFCC. EFCC’s counsel, Adenike Ayoku stated that the defendant is an internet fraudster, who pretended to be female and used female nude photographs to fraudulently obtain money from unsuspecting internet users as evidenced in his Facebook and WhatsApp accounts. He was then prosecuted by the Ilorin zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge of impersonation. The charge read, “That you, Usman Muhammed (a.k.a Adepeju Omolara and Guns Omolara Valle), sometime in February 2020 or thereab...
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says social media is a major tool influencing young Nigerians to leave Nigeria. Franz Celestin, IOM Chief of Mission, said this in an interview with newsmen. Citing the number of Nigerian returnees from Libya, Celestin stated that their reason for migration could not have been poverty or insecurity. He disclosed most were from Southern parts of the country whose states were more secured and economically viable. The IOM boss observed that young Nigerians get easily moved by ‘success stories’ people post on social media. Celestin said that in spite of the North-East situation, statistics showed that less people were migrating from the region. “One of the strongest push for migration is aspiration and not just poverty, conflict or disasters. ...
The Los Angeles City Attorney has brought charges against two prominent TikTok influencers, Bryce Hall (21) and Blake Gray (19). The young men threw a series of parties — including a massive birthday bash — in defiance of emergency pandemic orders. As TMZ reports, both have been slapped with one misdemeanor for violating a local ordinance. They’ve also each been issued a noise citation. The city described the charges as a “crackdown on party houses.” The biggest of the bashes took place August 14th at “Sway House”, a $50,000-a-month rental in the Hollywood Hills. It’s occupied by a small collective of hard-partying, often shirtless TikTok influencers, including Gray and Hall. The party was thrown in honor of Hall’s 21st birthday and his first legal consumption of alcohol. The resulting bac...
Bryce Hall’s “Sway House” crew (photo via Instagram) and Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh (photo by Heather Kaplan) Buried in a story about how obnoxious young social media stars can be (surprise!) is a report that Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh apparently had a severe bout with COVID-19. Mothersbaugh’s wife, Anita, revealed the news to The Daily Mail, saying her 70-year-old husband came “close to death” while in the ICU in June. “This virus is no joke, I’ve experienced it first-hand,” she told the tabloid paper. “There was a week where my daughters thought he would die.” All this despite Devo having their own line of energy dome face shields. So why is this coming out now? Because rich youths are inconsiderate, privileged, jagoffs, that’s why. The Daily Mail’s story is ac...
TikTok vs. Donald Trump TikTok is suing the Trump administration for trying to ban the app’s American operations. In a statement, the popular video sharing platform said that Trump’s recent executive order violates its right to due process and offers no evidence that the app presents a national security threat. “We do not take suing the government lightly, however we feel we have no choice but to take action to protect our rights, and the rights of our community and employees,” TikTok contends. Trump’s executive order halts transactions between the Beijing-based ByteDance and TikTok’s US-based users and employees, essentially killing the app in America, where it boasts an estimated 80 million users. Trump’s purported reason for issuing the August 6th order was that the app presented possib...
Demonstrators massed in central Minsk on Sunday after opposition leaders called for a huge rally to demand the resignation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the latest in a wave of protests against his disputed re-election. The authoritarian leader dispatched his notorious riot police to disperse spontaneous rallies that erupted after he claimed a sixth presidential term in an election two weeks ago that critics say was rigged. Tens of thousands of demonstrators draped in the red-and-white flags of the opposition flooded Independence Square and marched through the capital chanting “freedom” and “we will not forget, we will not forgive” as passing cars honked in support. “We have just two demands: fair elections and stop the violence,” 32-year-old Igor told AFP. Officials issued...
General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, has denied involvement in any fraudulent activities as being portrayed in some sections of the media, which he accused of being bent on churning out malicious stories against him and the church. Defending Dr. Olukoya, in a statement, his media aide, Mr. Collins Edomaruse, said the seven allegations laid against the general Overseer and the MFM were without foundation, but intent to damage his reputation and destroy the global image of the church. Edomaruse also said “It has become pertinent for the purpose of clarity to respond to the false allegations being peddled against the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries and our General Overseer – Dr. D. K. Olukoya in the social media particularly...
DSS quizzes Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage over ‘political statement’
Music producer Don Jazzy and singer Tiwa Savage have been cautioned against making social media comments against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, after an invitation by the Department of State Security, DSS. Tiwa Savage earned the invitation after she ran a campaign, ‘WeAreTired’, in reaction to a rise in cases of rape in the country. She also made social media posts to draw the attention of the Buhari administration to the issue. The singer and Don Jazzy were invited to the Lagos office of the DSS where they were warned to be mindful of the kind of posts they make on social media. Since the meeting with the DSS at their Shangisha office two weeks ago, Tiwa Savage has not continued with the campaign against rape, while Don Jazzy has toned down his activities on Twitter. Sh...