Social Media Archives – GV Wire

Reddit Down for Thousands of Users Worldwide

Reuters — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 16:12:54 +0000

(Reuters) – Social media platform Reddit was down for thousands of users globally on Monday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.

On its status page, Reddit said it was investigating elevated errors across its website and the app.

Over 112,400 users reported that the platform was down at 11.39 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from various sources.

Reddit did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

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AI Action Figures Flood Social Media (Accessories Included)

The New York Times — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 23:12:18 +0000

This week, actress Brooke Shields posted an image of an action-figure version of herself that came with a needlepoint kit and a pet terrier. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., imagined her own figurine accompanied by a gavel and a Bible.

These hyper-realistic dolls are nowhere to be found in toy stores, at least for the time being. They are being created using artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT.

The AI Doll Trend Takes Off

In recent weeks, social media users have been turning to AI to generate Barbie-fied versions of themselves, their dogs or their favorite famous figures. Anna Wintour has not been spared the AI-doll treatment. Neither has Ludwig van Beethoven.

The trend has frustrated illustrators who oppose the use of unlicensed artwork to train these artificial intelligence tools, and who remain concerned about the effects of AI on their livelihoods. Several have responded by posting similar images of figurines that they illustrated themselves.

“HUMAN MADE,” reads a text bubble in the corner of one such illustration by Linh Truong, who depicted herself with her sketchbook and her cat, Kayla.

Truong, 23, an artist who lives in New York City, sees the AI action figures, the latest of several AI portraiture trends, as a way that tech companies are trying to connect with users on a personal level.

“They’re like, ‘We want you to see yourself in our product,’” she said.

Users Embrace AI Self-Portraits

To plenty of people, that’s a tempting possibility.

Suzie Geria, 37, a fitness trainer in Toronto, thought the action figure created for her by ChatGPT was surprisingly realistic. It came with a kettlebell and a cartoon peach to represent the glute-focused class she teaches at a nearby gym.

“It’s kind of cool to see yourself reflected in a cartoon form,” she said. “I think we’re looking at other ways to see ourselves in the world we live in, which is very much online.”

Geria said she had empathy for those who worked in industries that might suffer job loss because of AI. “It’s a tough one, but it’s bringing people joy as well,” she said.

Pat Bassermann, 42, who works in marketing and lives in Andover, Massachusetts, typed a paragraph-long prompt into ChatGPT to create an action figure of himself on Thursday.

“Use this photo of me to create an action figure of myself in a blister pack, in the style like a premium collectible toy,” he wrote, adding requests for grilling tongs and a “relaxed, friendly smile.” He uploaded a headshot, and was presented with an image seconds later.

“Wife & Kids Not Included. Messy House Sold Separately,” reads a line of text at the bottom of the image.

Soon, his three daughters wanted their own versions. In a few more minutes, they were presented with figurines with ponytails, accessorized with ballet slippers, a video game controller and a cup of Boba tea.

Artists Voice Concerns Over AI

As AI platforms have surged in popularity, their image-generating abilities have come under scrutiny. Artists and musicians have argued that the technology threatens their livelihoods. Deepfake images, many of them explicit, have confounded schools, political campaigns and celebrities.

(The New York Times filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, accusing them of using published work without permission to train artificial intelligence. They have denied those claims.)

In March, social media was flooded with videos that used ChatGPT to replicate the style of Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. In response, some users circulated a clip of Miyazaki calling AI “an insult to life itself” in a 2016 documentary.

Martha Ratcliff, 29, an illustrator in Leeds, England, said she spent years developing a distinctive style of portraiture. She said she felt frustrated every time she saw a new AI portrait trend that ostensibly drew from the work of real artists without compensation.

She gets that it’s fun to hop on a trend, she said. “But I think if you look at the bigger picture, there are a lot of creatives that are worried,” she added. “You just don’t want it to wipe out the whole creative industry.”

She spent about 20 minutes on Saturday making her own hand-drawn rendition of the trend. She depicted herself holding her newborn, surrounded by flowers, colored pencils and a steaming mug that said “mama.”

“A human doing it is so much better than a robot,” she said.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Callie Holtermann/The New York Times via ChatGPT
c. 2025 The New York Times Company

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Meta to Start Testing Crowd-Sourced Fact-Checking, Based on X Example, Next Week

Associated Press — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 17:13:08 +0000

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms Inc. said Thursday it will begin testing its crowd-sourced fact-checking program, Community Notes, on March 18. It will initially based on a ratings system used by Elon Musk’s X.

Meta ended its fact-checking program in January. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at the time that fact-checkers had become “politically biased,” using some of the language that conservatives have long used to criticize his platforms. But media experts and those who study social media were aghast at Meta’s policy shift.

The decision “not only removes a valuable resource for users, but it also provides an air of legitimacy to a popular disinformation narrative: That fact-checking is politically biased. Fact-checkers provide a valuable service by adding important context to the viral claims that mislead and misinform millions of users on Meta,” said Dan Evon, lead writer for RumorGuard, the News Literacy Project’s digital tool that curates fact checks and teaches people to spot viral misinformation.

Meta began fact checks in December 2016, after President Donald Trump was elected to his first term, in response to criticism that “fake news” was spreading on its platforms. For years, the tech giant boasted it was working with more than 100 organizations in over 60 languages to combat misinformation.

The Associated Press ended its participation in Meta’s fact-checking program more than a year ago.

Community Notes: The New Approach

Community Notes will replace fact checks, although not right away. Meta said potential contributors in the U.S. can begin to sign up to take part in the program, but the notes they write won’t appear immediately.

“We will start by gradually and randomly admitting people off of the waitlist, and will take time to test the writing and rating system before any notes are published publicly,” Meta said.

Meta said it won’t decide what gets rated or written and the notes “won’t be published unless contributors with a range of viewpoints broadly agree on them.” And unlike with fact checks, where posts that were determined to be misinformation had their distribution reduced, posts with Community Notes won’t be penalized, Meta said.

Fact checks will stay in place outside of the U.S. for now, though Meta says it eventually plans to roll out Community Notes worldwide.

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Trump Faces Backlash for Sharing Controversial AI Video of Gaza

News — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:14:50 +0000

President Donald Trump is facing criticism on his Truth Social platform after sharing an AI-generated video depicting a transformed Gaza.

The video, which Trump shared without comment, shows Gaza as a luxurious resort with skyscrapers and yachts — a stark contrast to its war-torn state.

Video Depicts Luxurious Gaza Transformation

The caption for the footage is “Gaza 2025 … what’s next?”

It also features Trump sipping cocktails with a shirtless Benjamin Netanyahu, bearded belly dancers, and a towering statue of Trump overlooking the city. Elon Musk also appears in the video eating flatbread and dancing as money rains down.

The video aligns with Trump’s controversial “Riviera of the Middle East” plan for Gaza, which critics have labeled as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing. Trump has stated he wants to “clean out” Gaza’s population of about 2 million people and have the U.S. “own” the territory.

Truth Social Users Express Disappointment

Many Truth Social users expressed disappointment with the video. One user wrote, “I could not be a bigger supporter of President Trump but this particular video is in very poor taste. Very poor taste, indeed!”

The video particularly upset some of Trump’s Christian supporters. “Only one deserves the glory and the honor, Mr President,” one user commented. “The statue is a symbol of the antichrist, please humble yourself to God. Jesus is king and only Him.”

The origin of the video remains unclear, though it had been shared online previously by accounts unrelated to the White House.

Wall Street Banks Prepare to Offload Billions in Musk’s X Debt

David Rodriguez — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 19:30:33 +0000

According to an exclusive Wall Street Journal report, Wall Street banks are gearing up to offload billions in debt tied to Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter. This move could finally free them from a deal that’s been giving them headaches since Musk’s $44 billion takeover.

The banks are hoping to sell senior debt at 90-95 cents on the dollar, while hanging onto riskier junior holdings. They’ve already managed to sell about $1 billion in a private deal to a handful of investors.

This debt has been a major burden for the banks since they backed Musk’s buyout with around $13 billion in financing. The price tag was steep even back then, and X’s rocky performance since hasn’t helped matters. One insider called it “one of the worst” deals banks have financed since the 2008 financial crisis.

Convincing Investors of X’s Financial Stability

To sell this debt, bankers need to convince investors that X is on solid financial footing. Interestingly, Musk’s recent power plays and cozying up to President Trump seem to be changing the narrative around X’s prospects.

“Our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we’re barely breaking even,” Musk reportedly wrote in a January email to staff, though he later denied sending such a message.

Despite these challenges, some investors are showing interest, believing X’s finances are on an upswing.

The banks have been patiently waiting for the right moment to sell without taking huge losses.

College Students Appear in Court in Case Stemming From ‘Catch a Predator’ Fad on TikTok

Associated Press — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 13:45:18 +0000

WORCESTER, Mass. — Five Massachusetts college students appeared in court Thursday, accused of plotting to lure a man to their campus through a dating app and then seizing him as part of a “Catch a Predator” trend on TikTok.

The Assumption University students, all teenagers, were arraigned on conspiracy and kidnapping charges. Not-guilty pleas were entered for all of them, and they are due back in Worcester District Court on March 28 for a pre-trial conference.

The defendants — Kelsy Brainard, 18; Easton Randall, 19; Kevin Carroll, 18; Isabella Trudeau, 18; and Joaquin Smith, 18 — stood stone-faced in court, showing little emotion and addressing a judge only through attorneys. A sixth defendant was being arraigned separately in juvenile court.

Luring the Target Through Dating App

Police said Brainard’s Tinder account was used to lure the man to the private, Roman Catholic school in Worcester. She faces an additional charge of witness intimidation. A male student in the group also faces a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

The target — a 22-year-old active-duty military service member — told police he was in town for his grandmother’s funeral in October and “just wanted to be around people that were happy,” according to a campus police report. So he turned to Tinder, where a woman whose profile said she was 18 invited him over.

She greeted him, led him into a basement lounge, and then within minutes, “a group of people came out of nowhere and started calling him a pedophile,” accusing him of wanting sex with 17-year-old girls, according to the report.

Confrontation and Assault

The man told police that he broke free and was chased by at least 25 people to his car, where he was punched in the head and his car door was slammed on him before he managed to flee.

Campus surveillance video shows a large group of students, including the woman, “all with their cellphones out in what seems to be a recording of the whole episode,” the police statement said. They are seen “laughing and high fiving with each other” in what appeared to be “a deliberately staged event,” and there was no evidence to indicate the man was seeking sexual relations with underage girls, the police report said.

Inspiration from TikTok Trend

Randall told officers they were inspired by the “catch a predator” trend, which he said “is big on TikTok” at the moment. He said their group shared ideas of what to tell the man through the Tinder app to lure him to campus, and then spread word through a dormitory chat group that a “predator” was in the building, the report said.

A review of the messages showed no indication that the man was looking for underage girls, police said.

After the assault, Brainard reported the man to police as a sexual predator and said she was frightened by him. She said he had come to campus uninvited and that she texted a male friend who chased him away. All of this was false, campus police concluded after reviewing surveillance recordings and finding that “first person perspective videos” were being circulated among students.

Before leaving court, where cameras were turned on them, the teens were ordered to have no contact with the targeted man.

A lawyer for Brainard, Christopher Todd, said, “We’re just looking forward to having the process play out.” The lawyer for Trudeau, Robert Iacovelli, said afterward that she’s innocent. He filed a motion seeking dismissal of the charges against her, saying authorities lack probable cause to believe she committed a crime.

Other attorneys were not immediately reached for comment about their pleas.

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A Possible TikTok Ban Is Just Days Away. A List of Other Apps Available

Associated Press — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 20:02:33 +0000

With a possible TikTok ban just days away, many U.S. users are looking for alternative social media platforms to help them keep up with pop culture or provide the type of entertaining videos that popularized the short-form video app.

TikTok, which has been a cultural phenomenon, could be banned on Jan. 19 under a law that forces the platform to cut ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or shut down its U.S. operation.

The fate of social media platform will be decided by the Supreme Court, which last week heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to the statute and seemed likely to uphold the law. The court could rule on the case as soon as this week. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has asked the justices to put the law on hold so he can negotiate a “political resolution” to the issue after he takes office.

TikTok has more than 170 million users in the U.S., and if it does get banned, it’s not clear which competitors will benefit the most. Some experts think established social media platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, could see the biggest influx of users. But some users are looking for something different and could turn to other apps.

Alternative Apps to Consider

Here are the different alternatives and what to know about them:

Xiaohongshu, or “RedNote”

Recently, some U.S. TikTok users have flocked to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu in protest of the looming ban. Like TikTok, Xiaohongshu, which in English means “Little Red Book,” combines e-commerce and short-form videos.

The app has gained traction in China and other regions with a Chinese diaspora — such as Malaysia and Taiwan — racking up 300 million monthly active users, a majority of whom are young women who use it as a de-facto search engine for product, travel and restaurant recommendations, as well as makeup and skincare tutorials.

On Tuesday, the Xiaohongshu, called “RedNote” by American users and on some app stores, was the top downloaded free app in Apple’s U.S. app store.

Lemon8

Lemon8, also owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, is a lesser-known lifestyle app that allows users to post pictures and short-form videos. Though the platform lets users post TikTok-like videos, it leans more into pictures and has been described as a mixture of Instagram and Pinterest.

In the past few weeks, many creators have hailed Lemon8 as the place to go if TikTok is banned under federal law. Some have also recommended it through paid sponsored posts tagged #lemon8partner, indicating a recent corporate push to generate more users.

But the law that targets TikTok also states the divest-or-ban requirement for ByteDance applies generally to apps that are owned or operated by the two companies or any of their subsidiaries. That means even though Lemon8 is not explicitly named in the statute, its future in the U.S. is also in jeopardy.

Meta’s Instagram

Instagram launched Reels in 2020, a TikTok-like feed of short videos users can create or scroll through. The feature has proven to be massively popular and some experts say creators are likely to set up shop there if a TikTok ban does happen. As of 2022, Instagram had 2 billion active monthly users. Meta no longer discloses user numbers for its individual platforms.

But could it replace TikTok? That depends. While many creators currently post on both platforms, some experts say the youngest users are unlikely to migrate to a service made popular by their millennial parents. And while Meta’s algorithm is addictive, it’s still not TikTok.

In the past, some TikTok users have also blamed the surge of scrutiny on the platform on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, pointing to a Washington Post report from 2022 that said the tech behemoth paid a Republican consulting firm to undermine TikTok through a nationwide media and lobbying campaign.

YouTube

Though TikTok dominates headlines as a driver of internet trends, Pew Research Center says YouTube is actually the most widely-used platform among teens and adults.

YouTube users can scroll through Shorts just as they can on TikTok or Reels on Instagram and Facebook, allowing them to watch hours of bite-sized videos. Many of the videos featured on YouTube are from TikTok or creators who post to several platforms. That said, YouTube is still known for its longer-format videos so it may not have the variety of content that TikTok users are looking for — at least not yet.

Snapchat

Snapchat, launched in 2011 with its infamous disappearing videos, remains popular among teens and younger adults. The platform gained so much traction that Meta designed a similar feature in Facebook and Instagram called “Stories” that lets users post photos or videos that disappear within 24 hours. In 2020, Snapchat launched another feature that lets users “shine a light on the most entertaining Snaps, no matter who created them.”

The platform is estimated to have roughly 692 million global monthly active users last year, according to eMarketer.

Twitch

For TikTok users who enjoy the “TikTok Live” feed that features livestreamed videos, Twitch could be a good alternative. The Amazon-owned platform is a leader in the streaming industry and allows users on the platform to watch some of the internet’s most popular streamers, such as Kai Cenat. Twitch is estimated by eMarketer to have over 36 million users.

Clapper

Clapper, a TikTok clone, has also been gaining some traction amid the looming ban. The app was launched in 2020 by Dallas-based entrepreneur Edison Chen, and focuses on Gen X and millennial users. In September of that year, the company described itself in a Facebook post as a “free speech” platform that did not “censor posts and comments.” But in blog post on its website from 2021, the company wrote it “stopped being a ‘Free Speech’ platform” in September 2020 and “changed its mission and goals” to focus on “community”.

Other Little-Known Apps

For TikTok users who want to get away from the overcrowded spots, there are lesser-known apps like Triller, which is popular for music videos, and Zigazoo, which was designed with kids in mind.

If none of these apps tickle your fancy, it’s also possible that other platforms could emerge in the next few months as companies attempt to attract users looking for a new place to go.

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Hate Your Instagram Feed? New Reset Feature Enhances User Control

News — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 23:00:06 +0000

Instagram’s algorithm-driven content curation is getting a reset button, according to a recent announcement from Meta. This new feature aims to address user frustrations with repetitive or unwanted content in their feeds.

“The modern internet is ruled by algorithms,” and Instagram’s AI strategically sorts content based on user activity to maximize engagement. However, this system can sometimes misinterpret user interests, leading to an overwhelming presence of unwanted content.

Previously, users had limited options to correct these algorithmic missteps. Now, Instagram is testing a feature that allows users to reset their “recommendations,” effectively giving them a clean slate.

Meta’s blog post on Tuesday revealed that this reset will affect content on the Explore page, Reels tab, and main feed. Users will encounter new content they might not have seen before, while potentially missing out on previously recommended posts.

It’s important to note that the algorithm itself remains active. As one Meta spokesperson explained, “If you’re careful about the posts you like and share, and the pages you follow, this algorithm might turn out better than the old one.”

To access this feature once it’s available, users can navigate to their Instagram settings, tap “Content preferences” under “What you see,” and select “Reset suggested content.” Instagram will warn that this action cannot be undone and may suggest unfollowing certain accounts as an alternative.

This update represents a significant shift in how social media platforms approach user experience, potentially giving users more control over their content consumption.

Bluesky Has Added 1 Million Users Since the US Election as People Seek Alternatives to X

Associated Press — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 20:24:21 +0000

LOS ANGELES — Social media site Bluesky has gained 1 million new users in the week since the U.S. election, as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and engage with others online.

Bluesky said Wednesday that its total users surged to 15 million, up from roughly 13 million at the end of October.

Bluesky’s Rapid Growth and Features

Championed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky was an invitation-only space until it opened to the public in February. That invite-only period gave the site time to build out moderation tools and other features. The platform resembles Elon Musk’s X, with a “discover” feed as well a chronological feed for accounts that users follow. Users can send direct messages and pin posts, as well as find “starter packs” that provide a curated list of people and custom feeds to follow.

The post-election uptick in users isn’t the first time that Bluesky has benefitted from people leaving X. Bluesky gained 2.6 million users in the week after X was banned in Brazil in August — 85% of them from Brazil, the company said. About 500,000 new users signed up in the span of one day last month, when X signaled that blocked accounts would be able to see a user’s public posts.

X’s Election Day Performance

Despite Bluesky’s growth, X posted last week that it had “dominated the global conversation on the U.S. election” and had set new records. The platform saw a 15.5% jump in new-user signups on Election Day, X said, with a record 942 million posts worldwide. Representatives for Bluesky and for X did not respond to requests for comment.

Bluesky has referenced its competitive relationship to X through tongue-in-cheeks comments, including an Election Day post on X referencing Musk watching voting results come in with President-elect Donald Trump.

“I can guarantee that no Bluesky team members will be sitting with a presidential candidate tonight and giving them direct access to control what you see online,” Bluesky said.

User Reactions and Platform Comparisons

Across the platform, new users — among of them journalists, left-leaning politicians and celebrities — have posted memes and shared that they were looking forward to using a space free from advertisements and hate speech. Some said it reminded them of the early days of X, when it was still Twitter.

On Wednesday, The Guardian said it would no longer post on X, citing “far right conspiracy theories and racism” on the site as a reason.

Last year, advertisers such as IBM, NBCUniversal and its parent company Comcast fled X over concerns about their ads showing up next to pro-Nazi content and hate speech on the site in general, with Musk inflaming tensions with his own posts endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

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