Latest Social media News

Who is Alex Jones? The conspiracist and dietary supplement salesman built an empire over decades

Jun. 14, 2024 18:24 PM EDT

HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Jones has pushed many conspiracy theories over the last three decades, including that the U.S. government was behind or failed to stop the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks. As the outlandish nature of his false claims grew, so did his media empire,...

Myanmar's embattled military government cracks down on free flow of news by blocking VPNs

Jun. 14, 2024 16:00 PM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government has launched a major effort to block free communication on the Internet, shutting off access to virtual private networks, or VPNs, which can be used to circumvent blockages of banned websites and services. The attempt to restrict...

A Chinese military buff inadvertently bought 4 books of military secrets for under $1

Jun. 13, 2024 10:10 AM EDT

BEIJING (AP) — A military history buff in China appears to have made an alarming discovery after picking up four discarded books for less than $1 at a neighborhood recycling station: They were confidential military documents. The country's Ministry of State Security told the story...

What happened to the likes? X is now hiding which posts you like from other users

Jun. 12, 2024 17:36 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Social media platform X is now hiding your likes. In an update posted on the platform formerly known as Twitter earlier this week, X's engineering team said it would be “making Likes private for everyone to better protect your privacy." That means that users will...

Officials work to bring home US instructors recovering after stabbing attack at Chinese park

Jun. 11, 2024 18:18 PM EDT

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. officials worked Tuesday to bring home four injured instructors from Iowa’s Cornell College who were stabbed in the northeast Chinese city of Jilin, where they were teaching. Jilin city police said a 55-year-old man surnamed Cui was walking in a public park...

Jennifer Aniston launches children's book series with best 'friend' Clydeo the dog

Jun. 11, 2024 15:33 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Inspired by her beloved dog, Jennifer Aniston will soon become a children's author. The “Friends” star has a four-book deal with HarperCollins Publishers and animation studio Invisible Studio for a series of works featuring the animated dog Clydeo, based on the...

Facebook owner Meta seeks to train AI model on European data as it faces privacy concerns

Jun. 10, 2024 14:00 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Meta wants to use data from users in privacy-conscious Europe to train its artificial intelligence models, the social media giant said Monday as it faces concerns about data protection while battling to keep up with rivals like OpenAI and Google. The company, which...

Mississippi is the latest state sued by tech group over age verification on websites

Jun. 07, 2024 16:19 PM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A new Mississippi law requiring users of websites and other digital services to verify their age will unconstitutionally limit access to online speech for minors and adults, a tech industry group says in a lawsuit filed Friday. Legislators said the new law is...

New York moves to ban 'addictive' social media feeds for kids

Jun. 07, 2024 15:33 PM EDT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York state Legislature on Friday passed a bill that would allow parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm — a regulation that tries to curtail feeds that critics argue are addicting to children. ...

Vietnam national security police confirm arrest of prominent writer Truong Huy San for Facebook post

Jun. 07, 2024 13:24 PM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — Authorities in Vietnam announced Friday that they have charged prominent journalist and historian Truong Huy San with violating a national security law because of writing he had posted on Facebook, the website of the newspaper Tuoi Tre and other state media reported. ...