NEW YORK — Apple says Facebook can no longer distribute an app that paid users, including teenagers, to extensively track their phone and web use. In doing so, Apple closed off Facebook's efforts to sidestep Apple's app store and its tighter rules on privacy. The tech blog TechCrunch reported late Tuesday...
Elderly, Conservatives Shared More Facebook Fakery in 2016
WASHINGTON — Sharing false information on Facebook is old. People over 65 and ultra conservatives shared about seven times more fake information masquerading as news on the social media site than younger adults, moderates and super liberals during the 2016 election season, a new study finds. The first major study...
Fox, NBC and Facebook Turn Down Trump Ad Deemed Racist
NEW YORK — NBC, Fox News Channel and Facebook all said Monday they will stop airing President Donald Trump's campaign advertisement (shown below) that featured an immigrant convicted of killing two police officers. CNN had rejected the same ad, declaring it racist. Asked before leaving for campaign rallies if he...
Facebook Wants People to Invite Its Cameras into Their Homes
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook is launching the first electronic device to bear its brand, a screen and camera-equipped gadget intended to make video calls easier and more intuitive. But it's unclear if people will open their homes to an internet-connected camera sold by a company with a questionable track record...
Like Facebook, Twitter Blocks Heng Video, Then Changes Mind
For the second time in a month, Elizabeth Heng said a social media service blocked her campaign video. And, for the second time in a month, a social media company restored it. This time around, Twitter removed Heng’s video on grounds that it violated the company’s policy. According to Heng’s...
Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Fired Heng Campaign Consultant Sues
A breakup between a Fresno congressional candidate and her former campaign management team is leading to bad blood and a pending court date. Elizabeth Heng’s former campaign consultant filed suit against her after she fired the firm in June. Heng’s attorney, Roger Bonakdar, said that the legal action is politically motivated....
National Spotlight Helps Heng. Will She Flip Blue Congressional Seat?
Getting banned on Facebook may have been the best thing to happen to Fresno congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng's campaign. In the least, it has elevated a second Valley congressional race into the national spotlight. Heng, a Republican, hopes to unseat seven-term Democrat Jim Costa of Fresno in the 16th District...
Heng Claims Victory as Facebook Restores Banned Campaign Ad
(Update, 8/08/18: this story now includes a statement from Facebook). Days after accusing Facebook of removing her campaign ad, congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng is claiming victory over the social media giant. According to Heng’s campaign, Facebook removed an ad that featured the candidate's life story because of violent images from...
Was Facebook Right or Wrong to Ban Heng's Campaign Ad?
Facebook turned down an ad for Republican congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng on Friday, her campaign said, deeming it too graphic for the social media site. Elements of the video focused on Heng's immigrant parents, who survived the atrocities inflicted by the Khmer Rouge communists during and following the 1975 end...
Facebook Uncovers 'Sophisticated' Efforts To Disrupt US Elections
NEW YORK — Facebook said it has uncovered "sophisticated" efforts, possibly linked to Russia, to influence U.S. politics on its platforms. The company said it removed 32 accounts from Facebook and Instagram because they were involved in "coordinated" political behavior and appeared to be fake. Facebook stopped short of saying...