Imagine this: a social media giant suddenly decides to loosen its rules on hate speech and ditch its fact-checkers. This is what's happening at Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, sees this as a return to the company's roots, promoting free speech.
A group of tech leaders and advocates has launched a campaign called Free Our Feeds to protect social media from being controlled by billionaires. They want to safeguard the technology behind Bluesky, known as the AT Protocol. Their goal is to create an open social media ecosystem that can't be cont
Last week, Meta announced plans to cut its US-based fact-checkers, just as wildfires raged in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, fact-checkers were busy debunking conspiracy theories about the fires. They faced a tough challenge: misinformation spread fast, and influential figures were pushing false claims. So
Social media has become a hotbed for spreading facts, false claims, and propaganda, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) are great at processing language, but detecting propaganda is tricky because of the complexity of text interactions and the need to understand cont
It's no secret that physical activity is great for our health. But why do some people do it regularly while others don't? Research often uses surveys and interviews to figure this out. However, these methods can have biases that make their results less reliable. This is where social media platforms
Are you tired of billionaires controlling your social media experience? A group of famous people and tech experts, including Mark Ruffalo, think so too. They're working together to create a new social media system that puts people first, not profits. This system, called FreeOurFeeds, is built on a d
Imagine being bored at home during a snowy week in Fairmont, West Virginia. That's exactly what happened to Rowdy and Damon Dorman, a father-son duo who decided to make the most of the winter weather. They started building an igloo using snow blocks and an ice cooler. But they didn't stop at a regul
Think of smart speakers – those handy gadgets that let you control your home with a simple voice command. Well, they’re not just for entertainment anymore. In the world of health and social care, these devices are becoming superstars. Thanks to advancements in AI, machine learning, and understanding
Think about this: some people believe that how doctors talk to patients might depend on the patient's race or ethnicity. This could be a big deal, right? So, researchers checked out a bunch of studies to see if there's any truth to this. They found a mix of results. Most studies said doctors talk th
You won't believe who's helping to keep Social Security running: undocumented immigrants. In 2022 alone, they contributed a whopping $25. 7 billion in taxes to the program, according to a study by a tax research group. The kicker? They can't collect benefits without legal status, so their money supp
