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South Africa’s politicians react to Secret Ballot ruling with subtweets
By Andy Walker: Editor on 22 June, 2017
The Secret Ballot (or #SecretBallot) ruling has come and gone but the reaction from politicians are only now filtering through social media. To clarify, Chief Justice Mogoeng has ruled that Baleka Mbete does in fact have power to declare a secret ballot during the motion of no confidence against President Zuma. Previously she cited the law as a limiting factor. For some, this is a clear win for South Africa's justice system, but it also now puts emphasis on Mbete -- she can now declare a secret ballot, or choose not to. As for South Africa's other politicians, the ruling was a...
Here’s how Facebook and Google plan to fight terrorism
By Julia Breakey on 19 June, 2017
Both Facebook and Google have revealed how they are countering terrorist activity on their respective blogs this past week. These posts come after UK Prime Minister Theresa May criticised the internet for providing a safe space for terrorists to communicate -- and after Facebook itself dodged a lawsuit that claimed it was the reason Palestinian terrorists were able to kill numerous Israelis. Facebook revealed it is looking specifically at how artificial and human intelligence can work together, as well as partnering with other companies, NGOs and governments to bring an end to terror. The company is working on software that identifies when a user...
Facebook activates Safety Check for Cape Town’s storm-affected
By Andy Walker: Editor on 7 June, 2017
Facebook has activated its Safety Check feature for those in Cape Town following a severe cold front that lashed the city Tuesday evening through Wednesday. It's an unprecedented event for the social network in Cape Town. Facebook has used the feature a number of times since launch, but more recently during the 22 May Manchester suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert which killed 22 people. But while some people are wondering why Facebook has activated the feature for the city, the justification is pretty clear. The City has announced that five people have died as a result of the storm, which...
Everyone in Cape Town is a closet meteorologist, Facebook thread reveals
By Staff Reporter on 7 June, 2017
Cape Town's citizens just love talking about the weather, and that's no more apparent than in this Facebook comment thread. Popular snow forecast and monitoring site Snow Report's Facebook page is laced with comments about Cape Town's current winter storm after it asked people to send in reports of the current conditions of their suburb. And Facebook users naturally obliged. Read more: Memeburn's ongoing coverage of Cape Town's winter storm The post received around 700 comments to date, with a further 200 shares and 570 reactions, with some users also posting images and videos of their surrounds during the storm. Cape Town's winter storm...

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Rewatch Ariana Grande’s #OneLoveManchester concert on YouTube
By Staff Reporter on 5 June, 2017
Update, 5 June, 12pm: if you missed last night's concert in Manchester, it's now available in its entirety on Ariana Grande's YouTube channel, embedded below. The full concert's around 210 minutes long, so you might want to take an extra-long lunch break for this one. Original article: Just over two weeks since a suicide bombing after her Manchester concert claimed the lives of 22 people, Floridian singer Ariana Grande will tonight perform a benefit concert at Old Trafford cricket ground. The concert will also be livestreamed to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and iHeartRadio. In a statement issued soon after the 22 May incident,...
Coconuts: Cape Town entrepreneurs feud on Facebook after ‘blatant’ foul play
By Andy Walker: Editor on 31 May, 2017
We've been giving avocados stick this month on Memeburn, but today, we're looking at two coconut-orientated Cape Town startups locked in a social and legal battle. A piece published on blog Fury Marketing this week details the story of Jenna Leigh Smuts -- the owner of small Cape Town business Coconut Connection. Smuts is accusing Heather Cheung -- her former business partner -- of stealing her business. Cheung refutes these claims, suggesting that Smuts registered the business as sole shareholder without her consent. Cheung currently owns the competing business dubbed Coconut Connect. The maelstrom While the original business is three years old, it...
Hikers, T-rex throw impromptu dance party on Lion’s Head
By Staff Reporter on 26 May, 2017
With the taps running ever drier in the city, it seems that a select number of Cape Town residents have finally lost their minds. A group of fun-loving people decided that a great way to spend a Thursday morning would be to hike Lion's Head and have a mild party at the summit. Featuring an orchestrating human in a colourful leotard, an endangered tyrannosaurus rex, and a number of people Beyonce might think twice about hiring for her latest video, the top of the 600m peak was for but a brief moment a dancefloor. Lion's Head is one of the more popular...

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5 inspirational quotes from Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard speech
By Andy Walker: Editor on 26 May, 2017
If you could attend a lecture from anyone on earth (besides Shia LeBeouf), who would you want most? For Harvard students this week, they didn't have a choice, but they did get Mark Zuckerberg. The little known Facebook CEO, whose company worth is beyond the US$450-billion mark, returned to his old university after dropping out in 2005. It was a moment that he'll probably never forget, joking in the speech that his speech was the first time he completed anything at Harvard. But it's probably a speech many a student won't forget either. Reading through his speech, we've picked...
Mark ‘Zucker-Duck’ Zuckerberg is trolled hard by Harvard hacker
By Julia Breakey on 26 May, 2017
Mark Zuckerberg famously dropped out of the prestigious Harvard University to work on his small indie project Facebook, and while Harvard may forgive the students never forget. 12 years after leaving the school, the CEO was called back to campus to receive an honorary degree and give a speech -- but not before hackers got in a good deal of mocking. Mere hours before Zuckerberg was meant to take the stage, the university's daily newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, was taken over by a mysterious hacker with a personal vendetta. "Mark Zoinkerberg at it again," read one of their headlines. "OP-ED: I DID NOT STEAL FAKEBOOK...
Facebook will pay up to $250k for original content from Buzzfeed and Vox
By Julia Breakey on 25 May, 2017
Facebook has signed a deal with entertainment creators Vox Media, BuzzFeed, ATTN, Group Nine Media and others to create original video content for the platform, and is paying willing to pay up. The deal will bring scripted and unscripted content to the platform, in a bid to compete with premium content creators like YouTube Red and Snap. The scripted shows are intended to last between 20 and 30 minutes (and will include ad breaks), while the unscripted shows will average between five and ten minutes. According to Reuters, Facebook will pay up to US$250 000 for the scripted shows, which will also grant it full ownership...
Facebook doesn’t want you to know its censorship policies
By Julia Breakey on 24 May, 2017
Facebook still won't tell the world what its censorship policies are, despite receiving a slew of criticism from experts and users alike for its ambiguity. While the controversy of what Facebook allows on its site has been around its entire existence, the criticism turned to uproar last year when the platform censored an iconic picture from the Vietnam war. It subsequently defended its decision, declaring it in line with its policy on nudity. Eventually, Facebook acknowledged that graphic images for the service of public interest are important enough to remain on the platform. This amended policy came into play last month, when videos of dying...
Cape Town’s drought makes international news on CNN and Facebook
By Staff Reporter on 22 May, 2017
If you live in Cape Town, chances are you forgot what rain actually is. With the city still battling one of the worst droughts this generation has seen, Cape Town's water reserves are now dangerously low. Just 11% of the water left in the city's six largest dams are usable, while no rain is seemingly forecast for the rest of the week. Someone who finds this all rather alarming (other than Cape Town's other four-million residents) is meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Previously of eNCA, Van Dam is now one of CNN's meteorologists. With his heart clearly still in Cape Town, he took...

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Facebook deletes journalist’s account after exposé of corruption
By Julia Breakey on 22 May, 2017
Pulitzer-winning Malta journalist, Matthew Caruana Galizia, has had his Facebook account suspended after posting allegations of corruption against Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his associates. Caruana Galizia took to Facebook on 7 May after accepting that print journalism was not reaching the youth of Malta. In a series of four posts, coupled with the hashtags #FattiKorrotti and #CorruptionFacts, he alleged that the Prime Minister and his wife were receiving payments from an offshore shell company. The posts were a hit, and were shared more than 1000 times (Malta's population sits around 431 333). But just three days later, Muscat threatened to sue for libel, and...

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Facebook to compete with Twitch as it signs deal with ESL
By Julia Breakey on 19 May, 2017
Facebook has landed a major deal with the Electronic Sports League (ESL) which will see 5 500 hours of events and original content added to the platform, The Wall Street Journal reports. A report by Digiday earlier this year suggested that Facebook was looking to secure deals with major pro sports leagues, but it seems the company is sticking to digital for now. The deal with ESL comes after the company secured deals with five esport teams (including G2 Esports, Echo Fox, and Team Dignitas) who will broadcast their practices and competitions exclusively to the site. Facebook has been making the move towards producing original content for a...

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Facebook didn’t cause Palestinian uprising, court rules
By Julia Breakey on 19 May, 2017
A US court has dismissed a lawsuit set to implicate Facebook in a Palestinian uprising in 2015. Dubbed the "Facebook Intifada," the spate of violence saw ostensibly apolitical Palestinian men attack and kill a number of Israelis in outrage over Israeli occupation. Much like the Arab Spring, the men were largely assembled and incited via social media -- in this case, Twitter and Facebook. The lawsuit's plaintiffs consist of 20 000 Israeli individuals who claim they are in direct threat of Palestinian terrorists who continue to use Facebook as a tool for communication. They also consist of victims and surviving family members...

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