Twitter Archives - Page 2 of 57

Trump may face legal action for blocking people on Twitter
By Julia Breakey on 7 June, 2017
US attorneys have sent US President Donald Trump a letter claiming that by blocking his citizens on Twitter he is violating their First Amendment right to free speech. The letter accuses Trump of blocking people because they either mocked or disagreed with him, which the Knight First Amendment Institute deems unconstitutional. "This Twitter account operates as a 'designated public forum' for First Amendment purposes, and accordingly the viewpoint-based blocking of our clients is unconstitutional. We ask that you unblock them and any others who have been blocked for similar reasons," the letter reads. One of The Knight First Amendment Institute's clients...
Knysna Fire: another Western Cape disaster trends on social media
By Staff Reporter on 7 June, 2017
Knysna, a town situated on the Garden Route approximately 420km east of Cape Town, is battling a huge blaze sweeping across dense indigenous forest. The fire escalated in the early hours of Wednesday, largely fueled by gale force winds ahead of Cape Town's current storm system. Read more: Memeburn's ongoing coverage of Cape Town's winter storm As a result of the blaze, national roads have been closed with three deaths also reported in the region. Knysna's Eden District Municipality declared that "various fires are out of control" in a statement on Wednesday. While Twitter for much of today featured #CapeStorm as the top trending...
Tornadoes and Katrina: the totally fake news from Cape Town’s storm
By Andy Walker: Editor on 7 June, 2017
If you're reading this piece, good for you. It means that you're actively searching for the truth among the steaming pile of manure that is "fact" on social media. There have been a number of fake images and videos circulating on social media during the intense cold front currently lashing Cape Town and surrounds. Thanks to swelling public interactions, they've also gone viral. And that's not a good thing. Considering the severity of the storm -- the fact that people are now homeless in the likes of Imizamo Yethu, Khayelitsha and Mfuleni -- should be more than enough reason for people...

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#StormHelen: Twitter names Cape Town’s storm after Helen Zille
By Andy Walker: Editor on 6 June, 2017
It's common practice for the United States' National Hurricane Centre to give storms common names, but not cold fronts. Cape Town seems to think that this should change. As Wednesday's #MotherOfAllStorms draws ever closer towards South Africa, Cape Town believes that the weather system should be named after the premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille. Alert: An extreme storm is coming tonght and tomorrow across WCape. I will post regular updates. Pls prepare for v strong wind and rain. — Helen Zille (@helenzille) June 6, 2017 After the above tweet was posted, #StormHelen began trending across South Africa around 4pm Tuesday, just...

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South Africa’s in recession again, and people are blaming Jacob Zuma
By Andy Walker: Editor on 6 June, 2017
Statistics South Africa has today confirmed that the country's economy is shrinking. "The country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has contracted to -0.7% in the first quarter of 2017," the national government's news portal wrote in a press release. The nominal GDP, which stood at R1.1-trillion in Q1 2017, was down by R17-billion over Q4 2016 with trade the biggest loser. The SA economy moved into #recession with Q1:2017#GDP down 0,7% following a 0,3% contraction in the Q4:2016 https://t.co/zDyVIRpqJM pic.twitter.com/0QUTUhkOdT — Stats SA (@StatsSA) June 6, 2017 Largest negative contributor to growth in #GDP in Q1:2017 was trade, catering & accommodation industry, down by 5,9%...

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Alerts ring across Twitter as Cape Town’s Wednesday storm bears closer
By Andy Walker: Editor on 6 June, 2017
Weather is usually a subject of awkward small talk, but in Cape Town in 2017 it's all everyone is talking about. While the city's dam levels have dropped to just over 19% this week, today also sees what could be one of the city's most vicious storms in 30 years. Cape Town’s winter storm coverage: #StormHelen: Twitter names Cape Town’s storm after Helen Zille Track Cape Town’s storm in realtime with these 3 free resources A number of warnings have been issued this week by a slew of official sources, from the South African Weather Service (SAWS) to the Western Cape local government. And...

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Reddit celebrates World Environment Day with r/TinyAnimalsOnFingers
By Andy Walker: Editor on 5 June, 2017
Today the globe celebrates all things great and beautiful on social media, as World Environment Day begins the week. Google has already published a green-fingered doodle to mark the occasion, and shed some light on its green efforts. Twitter has been awash with the hashtags #withnature and #WorldEnvironmentDay. Reddit however? Well, it's gone one step further. The social news aggregation service has a slew of subreddits dedicated to the beauty of the environment, but /r/TinyAnimalsOnFingers is trending today. And for good reason: it's exactly what you need to get through Monday. "This subreddit is dedicated to creating a menagerie of pictures of tiny...
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,...
Sorry Donald Trump: Pope Francis is Twitter’s most popular world leader
By Julia Breakey on 5 June, 2017
In April, Burson-Marsteller released a study on how world leaders use Instagram to communicate with their constituents (or subjects, depending on who you ask). But while Instagram is an up-and-coming way to market yourself as a politician, there has always been One Platform to Rule Them All, and that platform is Twitter. It all began 5 March 2007, when Illinois Senator Barack Obama became the first world leader to join the platform in the build-up to his presidential campaign. Since then, 856 leaders have joined the text-based platform to make it the most popular among politicians and popes alike. Thinking we're only one signature away...
Cape Town women ‘assaulted’ by Uber driver, ‘threatened’ by SAPS
By Andy Walker: Editor on 3 June, 2017
Update: Upon request for comment, Uber's representatives sent Memeburn the following statement. We are deeply committed to the safety of all who use the Uber app. Immediately upon hearing of any situation involving a rider or driver, Uber takes the necessary steps to investigate the allegation and is in contact with both the rider and driver to offer support. Uber has an incident response team who are trained to deal with any critical safety issues and works with the relevant stakeholders in order to resolve any incident with a matter of urgency. We are constantly developing new technologies to ensure safety before,...

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Weekly Round Up Podcast #108: Covfefe & water from fog
By Staff Reporter on 2 June, 2017
Welcome to Weekly Round Up, our podcast discussing the latest tech trends, innovation and news from the last few days. This week, Hadlee Simons hosts Andy Walker, Stephen Timm and Julia Breakey. Andy Walker opens the floor by elaborating on viral word "covfefe" -- the result of an unfinished tweet from US President Donald Trump. The tweet has since been deleted, but not before creating a stir on social media. Over on Ventureburn, Stephen tells of a former "beach bum," Grant Vanderwagen, who looks to end Cape Town's water crisis by turning fog into water. Investors have not yet latched on to...
Joke tweet gets called out as promoting rape culture
By Julia Breakey on 1 June, 2017
A tweet posted on Tuesday, intended as a cute story, has received backlash for promoting "rape culture." The tweet in question told of the Twitter user's 13-year-old brother, who had been crushing on a girl since pre-school. The user called the girl dumb, and included shots from a conversation the young friends had on Snapchat. In the chat, the brother had asked his crush if he could buy her something, and she said he couldn't because they're just friends, and "that's what more than friends do." He then pushed that they could be best friends, and she declined again saying she already had one. "Oh it's...
Ukraine, Russia fight on Twitter using Benedict Cumberbatch, Simpsons GIFs
By Andy Walker: Editor on 31 May, 2017
Before the internet, countries took to the battlefield to settle differences. While Russia and Ukraine are actively sparring over details of their territories, both countries have this week extended that conflict to Twitter. The two countries' verified accounts had a standoff regarding one particular detail of history: the origins of French monarch Anna Yaroslavna of Kiev who was born in the area considered to be modern day Kiev -- the capital of Ukraine. The argument was the result of a remark made by Russian president Vladimir Putin in a press conference with French president Emmanuel Macron earlier this week, calling Anna...
#Covfefe: Twitter deciphers Trump’s unfinished tweet
By Julia Breakey on 31 May, 2017
Update, 12.32pm: US President Donald Trump has deleted the tweet, and posted a response. Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017 Original article: Early this morning, US President Donald Trump set out to tweet something angry about the media to his 31-million followers -- only he didn't quite manage to finish it. Despite the constant negative press covfefe — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017 And as Twitter is wont to do, it erupted in jokes and theories about the mysterious "covfefe". What was Trump trying to say? Who was he contacting? And most...

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South Africa readies the golf puns as Tiger Woods’ mugshot hits Twitter
By Julia Breakey on 30 May, 2017
Tiger Woods was arrested for a DUI last night just outside his home in Florida, and he's disappointed his fan base yet again. The golfer, who has been recovering from a back injury, has said that it was a mix of prescription medication he wasn't used to. But the combination of an unseemly mugshot and his former trespasses has left people upset over on South African Twitter. Life is crazy, growing up Tiger Woods was one of our heroes. Years later its looking like he was never the number 1 golfer in the world — ` (@Fresh_Maan) May 30, 2017 Tiger Woods rich forever...