Facebook is making it harder to share "non-consensual images" on its platform, it announced today. Revenge porn -- the act of releasing intimate images or video of someone as a way of getting back at them -- is receiving tighter restrictions "as part of ongoing effort to help build a safe community on and off Facebook". Users can now report any post they believe fits that description from Facebook's standard report feature. Trained professionals then review the report, and if an image is deemed contrary to Facebook's community standards, it is removed. The company also assert that most accounts found guilty of posting intimate...
Facebook South Africa has outgrown its original Johannesburg office and has expanded to a new location, the company announced Wednesday. "Facebook has moved its Johannesburg offices into new premises, creating a new home for the company to work with its partners to boost innovation and provide an African home for the Facebook culture," the company reveals in a press release. The new pad located in Bryanston "will continue to provide support to Facebook advertisers, application developers and other key partners across the continent". The social giant originally occupied an office in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, which it held since its arrival in South...
People are often wary of donating money to personal crowdfunding causes when they don't know the person directly -- or if the campaign is even legit. Facebook is now making it easier to donate to people you are connected to personally. The company, which has allowed non-profit organisations to sport donate buttons since last year, has now made it possible for personal accounts in the US to do the same. Users over the age of 18 will be able to raise money for causes that fall into categories that Facebook deems worthy of a crowdfunding campaign. These categories are education, medical,...
Update, 30 March: CapeNature this week announced that the social media-famous leopard was "translocated to natural environment". "A leopard that was recently seen approaching a vehicle in Gordon’s Bay has been safely rehomed in a natural environment within the Western Cape," the organisation writes. "On Monday 27 March, 2017 the animal was coincidentally caught on a smallholding near Gordon’s Bay in a cage trap legally set for feral dogs and caracal. The Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) was able to identify it as the same leopard that was seen in the video, as well as in other previous encounters in the...
Facebook is continuing its fight to become the One App to Rule Them All, and we're all very, very tired. Yesterday, the company introduced its Snapchat stories clone to its final frontier: the Facebook app. The clone includes -- you guessed it -- interactive filters, effects and frames. It's even going to feature sponsored filters and content from upcoming films like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Despicable Me 3. Oh yes. Minions. Late last year, Facebook introduced stories to Instagram, where it has become relatively popular. It then wildly misunderstood why people are using WhatsApp and introduced the feature there (is there anyone even using...
Facebook is in the process of rolling out a feature that could save your life -- or just help abusers. Live Location in Messenger allows you to send your current, moving location to a person or group. For a period of 60 minutes -- or until you stop sharing -- your friends will be able to follow your movements on the Messenger app. They will also be told how long it would take you to get to them. "We've been testing this for a little while, and people tell us that Live Location is helpful when trying to coordinate with friends, telling...
In its never-ending quest to connect the world and make loads of cash doing it, Facebook has today announced a new shopping advertising format dubbed Collection that will helps brands showcase products on mobile. And yes, only mobile. "Mobile has reshaped how people discover, learn and ultimately buy from businesses," the company writes in an update. "People are also watching more videos on mobile, and shoppers want to see products as they exist in the real world—but they also expect fast-loading, seamless experiences when they discover and buy on mobile." The company's solution to this is to allow brands to tell their own...
As of yesterday, friends around the world can use their poor quality in-built webcams to Facebook livestream themselves sitting at home doing nothing. Just what the platform needed. Before, the feature was only available on mobile -- which made sense as the things you actually want to watch live are often on the move -- but Facebook has announced that this week all desktops and laptops are able to broadcast live. According to the platform, "computers provide a stable camera setup that can be beneficial to many types of Facebook Live broadcasts — from Q&As to vlogs to tutorials to any...
Facebook has been working very hard to establish itself as an inevitable competitor in the TV industry. Last month, the company hired former MTV executive Mina Lefevre as Head of Development. Before that, the company made it clear they were placing a greater emphasis on longer videos, and has even paid media outlets like Buzzfeed and The New York Times to use the live feature. But, unlike YouTube TV, Facebook have not managed to acquire access to what people actually care about: popular content. So far, the company has cracked streaming deals with US Major League Soccer and World Surf League -- hardly anything the...
Humans have been sending other humans emoji for thousands of years now, so it's only right that the system should be used by brands. Speaking of which, South African cheese brand Lancewood has announced a nifty little marketing campaign relating to its Ultimate Braai Master partnership. Dubbed Lancewood Emoji Meals, the company's using a Facebook Messenger bot and your choice of emoji to receive related recipes featuring one of the company's products. "By sending a food Emoji to LANCEWOOD®’s Facebook page via private message, the Bot instantly responds with a recipe or tip related to the Emoji. As an example, Clarissa...
Another day, another clone. Facebook has launched Messenger Day for it messaging app, a month after it gave WhatsApp the unnecessary and underused WhatsApp Status. The feature allows you to add pictures to your "Day", where your friends can view what you've been up to in the past 24 hours. Messenger users in Poland and Australia have been the guinea pigs for the product since late last year, but the feature has been rolling out globally as of yesterday. Messenger Day boasts more than 5 000 frames, stickers and effects, as well as the ability to monitor who can see what you post. "You’re always in control of who...
Facebook has released an app that makes finding 360 degree photos and videos that much easier on Gear VR, the company announced yesterday. Facebook 360, which can be downloaded from the Oculus app, is a "one-stop shop" for all the 360 content that Facebook provides. The app allows users to view saved content, content from those they follow, their own timeline, and an "explore" feed that will feature the most popular 360 degree content on Facebook. The app also provides the ability to share, save and react to the 360 degree content as users see fit. According to Facebook, more than 25-million 360 photos...
Last month, Syrian refugee Anas Modamani filed a lawsuit against Facebook after a barrage of fake news linked an image of him and German chancellor Angela Merkel to terrorism. The photo, taken in August 2015, was used by many right-wing fake news sites last year. Modamani's selfie was linked to attacks like the ones in Berlin and Brussels last year. Modamani requested that Facebook take the articles down, but it refused -- forcing the 19-year-old to take the issue to court. The Syrian's lawyer, Chan-jo Jun, argued that he was a victim of libel and that Facebook needed to do more...
The relatively-famous Mark Zuckerberg is finally getting his Harvard degree nearly 12 years after he dropped out to create that small global experience we know today as Facebook. Zuckerberg left the institution in 2005 to set up the social network's current home in Palo Alto. Back then, Facebook was but a fleck on the surface of the internet. Now, the social network commands monthly user numbers in excess of 1.8-billion. "Zuckerberg originally intended to return to Harvard, but the immediate success of the enterprise led him to devote his full energy to the company," Harvard writes on its website. Mark Zuckerberg dropped...
Facebook's suicide prevention tools are being extended to Facebook Live in an attempt to decrease the number of people taking their own lives on the platform. In January this year, aspiring actor Jay Bowdy used Facebook Live to threaten suicide. Despite friends and family contacting police, Bowdy took his own life an hour after the livestream. In the same month, a 12-year-old and 14-year-old livestreamed their deaths on two separate occasions. Facebook has featured suicide prevention tools for 10 years, but the new Live platform has presented a new set of issues to tackle. "Our suicide prevention tools for Facebook posts will now...
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