Nov 17 Watch 7:06 How online hoaxes and fake news played a role in the election By PBS News Hour Tech giants like Google and Facebook face mounting criticism over whether they used insufficient discretion in weeding out fake news. A Buzzfeed analysis found that false stories generated more engagement than content from real news sites in the three months… Continue watching
Nov 15 Facebook, Google take aim at fake news by blocking ad revenue By Ryan Connelly Holmes Facebook and Google banned fake news sites from collecting funds via their advertising networks on Monday. Continue reading
Oct 28 Sex offender's challenge to Facebook ban to go before Supreme Court By Associated Press The justices on Friday agreed to review a North Carolina Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law. The high court acted on an appeal from Lester Packingham, who was convicted of violating the law after maintaining a Facebook account under… Continue reading
Aug 17 Students who use social media score lower in math, reading and science By Liana Heitin, Education Week Students who use social media daily score lower in math, reading and science. But don't worry gamers, the research shows you score higher. Continue reading
Jul 07 'He killed my boyfriend' -- Woman broadcasts aftermath of fatal traffic stop in Minnesota By Joshua Barajas The St. Anthony Police Department confirmed Thursday morning that Castile died from the "officer-involved shooting" and that a handgun was recovered at the scene. St. Anthony Interim Police Chief John Mangseth did not identify the officer involved in the fatal… Continue reading
Jun 23 C-SPAN uses social media feeds to cover sit-in protest By David Bauder, Associated Press With the cameras it uses to cover Congress shut off, C-SPAN turned to social media feeds on to beam live coverage of the House Democrat's sit-in to demand votes on gun control legislation. Continue reading
Jun 02 Watch 2:37 Teens on being tethered to their phones and social media By PBS News Hour Teenagers today have never known a world without smartphones and social media, and most of them can’t even conceive of a time where people sat around the dinner table without checking their Instagram pages. We asked a handful of eighth-graders… Continue watching
May 12 If humans are curating your Facebook news, does that mean there's bias? By Joshua Barajas What are the ethics surrounding Facebook’s involvement in journalism? What level of transparency should platforms like Facebook provide?… Continue reading
May 10 Senate Republicans ask Facebook to explain reports it excluded conservative topics By Associated Press Senate Republicans on Tuesday demanded an explanation from Facebook after reports that former company staffers excluded links to conservative political stories. A senior Facebook executive said the company has found no evidence to back up the anonymous allegations. Continue reading
Mar 03 Watch 5:14 News Wrap: Big tech supports Apple's defiance of court order By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Thursday, a dozen major tech companies, including Facebook, Google and Microsoft, filed briefs supporting Apple’s refusal to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone despite federal court order. Also, Florida lawmakers approved a bill that could reinstate… Continue watching