Facebook and Instagram will bar President Donald Trump from posting on its system at least until the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, the platform said Thursday. In a post announcing the unprecedented move, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the risk of allowing Trump to use the platform is too great...
Facebook Launches a New TikTok Clone, Instagram Reels
NEW YORK — Facebook's Instagram is launching its answer to the hit short video app TikTok — Instagram Reels. The new Instagram feature will let users record and edit 15-second videos with audio, and will let users add visual effects. Users will be able to share Reels with followers in Instagram...
Insta-Help Now Available to Struggling Small Businesses Through Instagram
Digital gift cards, fundraising stickers, and online food orders to help your favorite restaurants during COVID-19 restrictions are now embedded into the digital fabric of the Instagram community. Instagram appropriately shared the announcement through a blog post. Tap to Make Your Purchase "When you see gift cards or food orders,...
California Could Require Parents' OK for Social Media Access
SACRAMENTO — California is considering tightening the rules for children under 13 using social media. The state Senate voted 31-4 on Thursday to require social media companies to first get the consent of a parent or guardian before creating an account for a child the company knows is under 13. Federal...
Facebook Bans Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones for Hate Speech
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook has banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and others from its main service and from Instagram, saying they violated the company's ban against hate and violence. The company said Thursday that it has also banned right-wing extremists Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer,...
Vaccine Wars: Social Media Battle Outbreak of Bogus Claims
SAN FRANCISCO — Like health officials facing outbreaks of disease, internet companies are trying to contain vaccine-related misinformation they have long helped spread. So far, their efforts at quarantine are falling short. Searches of Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram turn up all sorts of bogus warnings about vaccines, including the soundly...
Meet This Year's Gerber Baby. She's First of Hmong Descent.
Meet the new Gerber baby for 2019 in the video above. She is 1-year-old Kairi Yang from Hickory, North Carolina, and she's the first Gerber baby contest winner of Hmong descent. “Hmong in our eyes is all about the close bonds we have with our relatives during life and afterlife,”...
Thieves Break into Bakersfield Office of Rep. Kevin McCarthy
BAKERSFIELD — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy says thieves broke into his office in Bakersfield and that he's hoping for help from the public to identify them. Photos posted on the Republican representative's Instagram account Monday evening show photos of the men and a large rock on the office floor: View...
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...
Zuckerberg Loses $16 Billion in a Day. Facebook Stock Plunges.
NEW YORK — Facebook faced a day of reckoning as its shares plunged Thursday in the company's worst trading day since going public in 2012. It was among the biggest one-day losses of market value in U.S. stock market history. The 19 percent drop in Facebook shares vaporized $119 billion...