Fakebook takes another misstep

Posted on April 4, 2019 by Gianna Sanchez

By GIANNA SANCHEZ

Instead of commercials and print advertisements, Facebook has found a new way to advertise for their company.

Facebook has allegedly paid The Daily Telegraph, a U.K. broadsheet, to write articles that defend Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The articles have been put under a collection called “Being human in the information age.” 26 stories have already been published in the last month under this umbrella.

Facebook has made this move because of the negative press it has been receiving in the last few months. By using articles to publish this positive information, it can manipulate the public. This is not a true article, but rather an advertisement through journalism. But this is not the same kind of advertising most companies are using.

This is the exact opposite sort of advertising Facebook should be doing right now. They are constantly under fire for the spread of “fake news” articles being posted on the platform. This is a form of fake news. It’s different if these types of articles were deemed commentaries or op-eds. If they are regularly posted in the newspaper, then this is misleading for the public. Many would consider Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg to be untrustworthy, why would I trust them after they pay for positive articles to be written about them?

The company spokesperson said this would help with marketing, but I think once more people find out about this, it will look like bad news for the company once again. Facebook should be working more on their security and fact checking rather than their marketing for a better Facebook.

Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Abby Lloyd

By ABBY LLOYD

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, testified before Congress today for the first time at Capitol Hill to answer lawmakers questions about the data hack.

Zuckerberg said he takes full responsibility for what has recently happened with the data hack. As soon as he entered the room, he told Senate, “I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.”

The data hack was started by an American researcher, Aleksandr Kogan, who gathered information from basic profile information of Facebook users. People are very upset because Kogan lied and said that he was “gathering research” but then violated company’s policies by passing the data to Cambridge Analytica.

According to Fortune, this type of data is used to target voters with hyper-specific appeals on Facebook and then that try to change their opinions. Cambridge Analytica is a site that uses “data to change audience behavior.” Basically, data is being leaked about people’s political views on Facebook.

It uses such data to target voters with hyper-specific appeals, including on Facebook and other online services, that go well beyond traditional messaging based on party affiliation alone. This is known as “psychographic” targeting or modeling.

“Here are a few things that we are doing to address this and to prevent it from happening again. First, we’re getting to the bottom of exactly what Cambridge Analytica did and telling everyone affected. Second, to make sure no other app developers out there are misusing data, we’re investigating every app and to prevent this from going forward, we’re making sure they can’t access as much information now.” Zuckerberg, 33.

This has been covered by almost every large news broadcast network, CNN, Washington Post, New York Times, and more.

Google, Facebook store private data

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Justin Sobelman

By JUSTIN SOBELMAN

What does privacy mean in a social media-infused world?

Not much, as it turns out. Most people are aware that big tech companies, like Google and Facebook, harbor a good chunk of data on its users, but the extent to which they do so might surprise and frighten some.

Dylan Curran, a web developer from Ireland, decided to reach out to these companies and ask them for all the information they had on him. What he saw prompted him to launch a firestorm of tweets this past Sunday, and it gets creepier the further you venture into it.

Want to freak yourself out? I'm gonna show just how much of your information the likes of Facebook and Google store about you without you even realising it

— Dylan Curran (@iamdylancurran) March 24, 2018

As one might imagine, this discovery proved to be quite the bombshell. Curran appeared on CBS News today to discuss.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-facebook-google-keep-tabs-on-you/

Curran found that Facebook alone stores all information that comes from users of their service. Naturally, that makes sense, it’s their platform and they would want to collect data from their users.

The truly scary part comes when Curran says that Facebook stores your contacts, call records and text messages from your phone, not from the Facebook app. This means that even though they don’t have permission, this huge corporation has all your private information.

Google’s freakiest privacy breach is likely their location tracking. While it’s amazing to be able to drive somewhere you’ve never been before without using a map, you may not realize that when you use a service like Google Maps, your location stays on unless you manually turn it off.

According to Curran, every time you turn on your phone, Google receives your current location and the time you were there.

That’s just scratching the surface. Curran’s exposure of how these tech companies keep tabs on us is going viral. Facebook has already responded, saying that they will “update” their privacy settings “in the coming weeks”.

While that sounds nice, many critics have highlighted how Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made these types of promises before, only to back away from the situation after the controversy of the time dialed down.

Facebook says "It's Time to Make Our Privacy Tools Easier to Find." It's time?!? Here's Zuckerberg in 2010: "We have heard the feedback. There needs to be a simpler way to control your information. In the coming weeks, we will add privacy controls that are much simpler to use."🙄 pic.twitter.com/hfbGWRXtWb

— zeynep tufekci (@zeynep) March 28, 2018

Here’s to hoping that this newest storm will actually create something better.

Zuckerberg responds to privacy scandal

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Sophia Constantino

By SOPHIA CONSTANTINO

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has found himself under immense pressure to address the safety of Facebook users after The New York Times and The Guardian published an investigation into Cambridge Analytica’s supposed breach of privacy against millions of unknowing Facebook users in 2013.

According to The New York Times, voter-profiling company Cambridge Analytica, which engaged in work for the Donald Trump campaign, bought the data of millions of Facebook users under the pretext of “collecting it (data) for academic purposes,” while in reality the company used the information to tailor individual content, with the intent of influencing 2014 midterm elections.

Despite the clear breach of user privacy and unethical use of information, the controversy remains heated in that, technically, Cambridge Analytica was not, in fact, a breach of any Facebook privacy policies at all. It was intentionally deceiving, but its actions were within Facebook’s privacy rules.

Facebook gave permission to University of Cambridge psychology professor Aleksandr Kogan to access information of users who downloaded his app “thisisyourdigitallife.” Kogan then turned the information over to Cambridge Analytica, which used this information to allegedly tamper with midterm elections.

Former contractor for Cambridge Anayltica Christopher Wylie exposed the company to The New York Times and The Guardian.

The scandal has raised great concern over Facebook’s seeming lack of privacy regulation and account for user safety, as it is unclear whether Cambridge Analytica’s actions technically broke Facebook’s privacy policies or simply duped the company within its own allowances.

The news media, therefore, has turned to public figure and founder Mark Zuckerberg to respond. Though it is not uncommon for major CEOs to remain behind the scenes in such incidences, Mark Zuckerberg’s public presence and personal branding demands a response from him directly.

Five days following the exposure, Zuckerberg has finally issued a response via Facebook, claiming that user security is of the utmost importance, stating “…if we can’t (protect your data), then we don’t deserve to serve you.”

The statement has been met with mixed responses, most focusing on his line, “The good news is that the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago.”

The line contradicts itself; if the steps were taken years ago as he claims, the whole incident would not have occurred in the first place. Supposedly, Facebook began refining its policies in 2014, which would have been just after the incident occurred.

As the speculation into Zuckerberg’s claims continues, the media questions how much the company knew about the information leak, when they knew it and how safe the trailblazing social media platform really is.

Shalala running for Congress

Posted on March 9, 2018 by Patricia Santana

By PATRICIA SANTANA

On March 7, former UM president Donna Shalala announced her candidacy as representative of Florida’s 27^th Congressional district.

Shalala is one of many contenders vying for the vacancy created by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s retirement. Shalala is running as a Democrat. Her platform includes issues such as LGBTQ rights and environmental conservation.

The Miami Hurricane did an excellent job of covering this story.

On Feb. 14, they published a speculative piece discussing the rumors that Shalala would run for Congress. This article displayed a commitment to the story and indicates that they were on top of any developments long before Shalala filed for candidacy.

There are also a number of corrections on the bottom of the article dated Feb. 16. These corrections show their transparency, since they could’ve made the corrections and not announced it in order to not risk a negative perception of their mistakes. They also could have avoided any corrections and hoped nobody would notice, which would have been very lazy reporting.

The Miami Hurricane’s Facebook page was very prompt in posting Shalala’s announcement on March 7. The timestamp on their “Breaking News” post was 10:39 a.m. The next post on their page was of a complete article on Shalala’s announcement, posted at 11:08 a.m. This gap of about half an hour shows how quick they were to produce a complete article in order to provide readers the full story in a timely manner.

In comparison, The Miami Herald’s Facebook page did not post about Shalala’s announcement until 1 o’clock in the afternoon. Granted, The Herald has many other stories they need to be covering and Shalala is a campus icon at UM, making her story one worth prioritizing for The Miami Hurricane.

The story by the Miami Herald focused on Shalala’s anti-Trump platform, her Clinton connections and what the competition will be like for that congressional seat. The story by The Miami Hurricane focused much more on the impact the news had on campus and included quotes from UM administrators, such as Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Whitely, and faculty such as Associate Professor of Political Science Joseph Uscinski.

The Miami Hurricane story also focused on Shalala’s impact during her tenure at UM to a greater extent than The Miami Herald did. These differences are illustrative of how different newspapers report their stories based on the audience. Whereas The Herald must tailor their stories to a greater Miami audience, The Hurricane can focus more on capturing the attention of the UM community, a much more specific audience.

Facebook is the blue-collar LinkedIn

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Katherine Ceravolo

By KATHERINE CERAVOLO

LinkedIn was designed to offer high-skilled jobs, so Facebook decided to offer low-skilled jobs. Facebook is expanding to 40 more countries to help people get jobs as well as help businesses get the needed extra labor.

Partnering with ZipRecruiter, Facebook hoped to bring more job openings to its social media platform. The feature has expanded to Britain, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. There will be a Jobs tab on Facebook for all information on job offerings. There will also be a Jobs dashboard, Facebook Marketplace, and the News Feed that the business owners can promote with ads, additional information, ways to contact, and any other news they wish to share about their business.

Facebook will offer similar ways of searching for jobs by offering specific filters, such as industry, part-time or full-time, salary and proximity (just like LinkedIn).

The media is focusing on the most amazing part: how more people will have access to more job opportunities right at their fingertips. Facebook is just like LinkedIn, but with so much more. Job applicants who need the chance to grow their resume and educational level will be able to do so while also earning an income and improving the quality of their lives.

Facebook is just getting started, but what about LinkedIn? The news covering this information does not seem to mention the overlap it could potentially bring. Facebook has been to known expand on every endeavor the company chooses to conduct.

For example, Facebook became the new YouTube by posting videos on users’ newsfeeds, even when they weren’t searching for any. This new alternative has caused YouTube celebrities to post more on Facebook to increase viewers and feedback. So what if it suddenly wants to offer a range of white-collared jobs as well?

The news media need to mention how this could potentially lead to a bigger problem, regarding LinkedIn users and the site in general. However, for now, Facebook is enjoying the publicity and corporate social responsibility to help its users enhance their lives.

An allegation through social media

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Marissa Vonesh

By MARISSA VONESH

Appalachian State’s color guard is accusing the University of Miami’s football team of assaulting some of its members.

The claim is that the UM football players ran out after the half-time performance and aggressively knocked into and inappropriately groped some of Appalachian State’s color guard members without any apology.

The university’s athletic director, Blake James, said the investigation provided no evidence to the allegation and the university does not tolerate any suggestive or violent behavior.

The alleged incident was elevated by color guard member Sophie Randleman’s Facebook post.

Randleman’s social media post emphasizes disrespect she felt from the football players and describes, in detail, her experience of the event.

The investigation of the case has not confirmed Randleman’s claims; however, her post accurately demonstrates the use of new media in news.

News sites reference Randleman and use her as a source in their articles and broadcasts. Most of the sites only quote Randleman and did not gather information from UM’s football team or other color guard members.

Furthermore, some news sites did not investigate beyond her physical Facebook post and simply quoted from her posting.

The social media post is an effective method of receiving initial information and gathering sources, yet it is concerning to see that events could be blown out of proportion and that some news sites will not investigate past social media. Without more sources and accurate information, news will then falter to being mere gossip.

As social media become more dominate in the news gathering field, it will be important for reporters to react in a professional manner and balance being timely with being accurate.

Kanye West’s $53 million debt

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Sarah Brandt

By SARAH BRANDT

“I write this to you my brothers while still 53 million dollars in personal debt… Please Pray we overcome… This is my true heart…” Kanye West.

Kanye West Tweet

The above-mentioned post came from rapper Kanye West, which he posted on Feb. 13, 2016.

This was just a few days after his “Yeezy Season 3” presentation and his new album release “The Life of Pablo”.

His statement has been publicized all over the news, such as CNN, The Guardian and on Billboard. With this plea, he made himself the target for a lot of Kanye haters. Now hateful memes can be found online, including his comment of his $53 million debt.

West is very popular in the music industry and he had just recently released his brand new, and much anticipated album “The Life of Pablo.” Already, after he presented the world his new record, he received a lot of hate, from viewers and the news, about how his presentation of the album was nothing spectacular and he just simply pressed a button to play his songs. The fact that a few days later he posts this tweet does not make him much liked to a few people.

West had also posted the following, a few minutes later: “Mark Zuckerberg invest 1 billion dollars into Kanye West ideas,” also on Twitter.

This statement is very ironic and funny, as Zuckerberg is the CEO and founder of Facebook and not Twitter, and will most definitely not invest $1 billion for Kanye. The Guardian went on discussing West’s further tweets and pleads to other “tech billionaires.”

Kanye West is a very well known rapper, who just came out with a new “Yeezy” season and a new album, now happens to be in $53 million debt. Hopefully with his tweets, which are very clearly receiving a lot of attention from the media, which is not necessarily always positive, he will soon find someone to relieve and save him from his debt.

‘Elephantizing’ profile pictures

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Etty Grossman

By ETTY GROSSMAN

Have you ever heard about the ivory trade? If you aren’t an animal activist, you probably haven’t.

News media have failed in the attempt of covering this type of issue, maybe because it involves a lot of international legal details or perhaps it is because they know very little about it.

Even though it isn’t covered enough, the ivory trade is still a huge problem for which every single person interested in giving humanity a better name should be interested.

Ivory trade is the commercial, often an illegal exchange of the ivory tusks of animals such as elephants, hippopotamus, walrus and mammoths. Ivory isn’t a necessary material, it is simply used to make decorative items. However, it’s estimated that 33,000 elephants are killed every year just for their ivory; and with the current rate of slaughter, they will be extinct long before the midway point of this century. How ridiculous, how inhuman!

Fortunately for us, social media not only has addressed the situation but has also created a powerful campaign in order to reach as many people as possible around the world.

As a response to the injustice committed against wild and innocent animals, WildAid, an organization that works to reduce global consumption of wildlife products, launched a new campaign last week: #JoinTheHerd and make 2016 the Year of the Elephant, with the intention of making 2016 the year when more elephants are born than killed by poachers.

The idea went viral, few hours after launching it, actors, musicians, authors, athletes and millions of people joined the herd by changing their social media profile picture for one that shows half an elephant and half the person’s face … now you know why your Facebook was full of elephants …

#JoinTheHerd had quite an impact, through it, we are being called to be advocates for change only by circulating information resources about the topic among our networks.

It is all very do-able, so let’s save elephants from extinction.

Governors refuse Syrian refugees

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Meredith Sloan

By MEREDITH SLOAN

According to ABC News, at least half of the country’s governors are refusing to take in Syrian refugees in their states amid heightened security concerns following last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Paris terrorist attacks, in which 129 people were killed. Since Friday’s attacks, ISIS has threatened to attack Washington, D.C., and New York.

This chilling effect has influenced several United States governors to refuse Syrian refugees. Ultimately the federal government decides on matters of immigration, not the states.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas has taken to Twitter to express his opposition to allowing refugees.

This tweet caused a mostly negative reaction from his followers and media consumers alike.

An individual with the twitter handle @jonvox responded to Hutchinson’s tweet saying, “ You are a horrible man and make me embarrassed to be an Arkansan.”

Likewise, Facebook and YouTube have been flooded with political comics and videos that compare the current refugee crisis to World War II.

Those who support the relocation of refugees in the United States have compared the current government opposition specifically to the opposition towards Jewish refugees.

The dissenting opinion of the U.S. governors is less likely to be accepted by media consumers on social media because of the chilling effect of terrorism.

Instagram star quits social media

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Meredith Sloan

BY MEREDITH SLOAN

Australian model and Instagram star Essena O’Neill announced she was quitting social media this week via YouTube.

https://youtu.be/Xe1Qyks8QEM

According to ABC News, O’Neill, who had more than 700,00 followers on Instagram and 260,000 subscribers on YouTube, posted a shocking confession announcing that social media made her “miserable” and that online and mobile-sharing platforms can be unhealthy. She decided that she wanted to shut down all of her accounts.

According to CNN, O’Neill’s social media friends Nina and Randa Nelson published a YouTube video alleging she was doing this as a stunt to get more followers.

https://youtu.be/WB3HtCMfZic

All social media platforms have been exploding with both support and opposition for O’Neill’s stance. This debate has been a hot topic for news organizations alike.

I support O’Neill’s stance because her issue with social media is situational. She said that she didn’t like how the pressure to be perfect influenced her mental health. She also said that she wanted to set a good example for her younger sister and show her that she doesn’t have to be perfect and likeable online to be happy.

I do think that social media outlets are informative and necessary in this day and age for the spreading of information. Although, I don’t think that personal business accounts like O’Neill that promote unrealistic body images and clothing brands are necessary.

New report on antibiotics in meat

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Brittany Chandani

By BRITTANY CHANDANI

Fast food chains claim to be actively improving the quality of food through their suppliers. While some are actually progressing, many well known and loved restaurant chains scored low ratings in a new report on the use of antibiotics in meat and poultry supplies. Some of these chains are found on campus.

Friends of Earth’s new report on the largest 25 fast food chains’ use of antibiotics, called “Chain Reaction,” attributes grades based on a restaurant’s antibiotic use policies and its application to which types of meat, the implementation and transparency of these policies to the public, and the actual amount of meat produced without antibiotics.

The two chains that received A grades were Chipotle and Panera Bread. These restaurants serve a majority of their meat without regular antibiotic use and have been doing so for a while, hoping to establish a precedent for other restaurant chains.

Chick-fil-A received a grade of B, while Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s received Cs.

Subway, Wendy’s, Burger King, Denny’s, Domino’s and Starbucks all received Fs, earning one out of 36 possible points established in the report.

Olive Garden, Papa John’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, Applebee’s Sonic, Chili’s, Dairy Queen, and IHOP received F’s with no points at all, among other fast food restaurants.

The report brings the question to light: what have these low-scoring restaurants actually done to improve meat quality compared to their claims of progress?

Papa Johns’ slogan, “Better Ingredients, Better Pizza,” seems false since their low grade was released. However, the company claims to eliminate artificial ingredients and additives and offer antibiotic-free chicken on their pizza by the first half of 2016.

Dunkin’ Donuts has a policy to improve meat quality, but no timeline for implementation, while Panera and Chipotle publicly affirm their meat standards without antibiotics.

The public holds a strong voice, being the sole consumers of these products. Since all of those restaurants hold Twitter and Facebook accounts in order to connect more with its customers, consumers have power to end harmful additives in our foods and raise awareness for our collective health.

By posting messages which not only contact the company, but can be seen by other social media users, ending the use of antibiotics starts with a direct approach towards these restaurant chains. Journalists can also use social media to attain commentary from the restaurants for their articles.

Jailed over a Facebook post

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Diya Vasudevan

By DIYA VASUDEVAN

I recently wrote a post about how I dislike the idea of using Twitter because of the repercussions it could have on my image and how perspective employers might judge me from that. Overall, I didn’t believe the that the benefits of Twitter outweighed the negative repercussions.

For me being cautious about what I post is about prospective employment and nothing else. However, for some around the world being cautious is based of a whole other ball game. I read recently that a 19 year old in India was jailed over a Facebook post. As a Third Culture Kid from India, I never really experienced the dangers of being outspoken in a country such as India, simply because I really didn’t live there for a very long time.

How can a teenager be arrested over a Facebook post that didn’t threaten or allude to violence but merely expressed distaste? Well, this isn’t the first time this has a happened. In November 2012 two young Indian women were jailed overnight for a Facebook post they had made regarding a supposedly great (evidently corrupt) politician. They expressed their distaste regarding the fact that the city of Mumbai was treating him like a great leader that he really wasn’t.

I think that jailing someone based solely upon their opinions is ludicrous and, from what I have learned in the few months that I have lived in America, it would not be tolerated here. Having the freedom to say what I want to say as long as I’m not actually threatening anyone is something that I now see as gift. However, the freedom to say what I want when I want especially on forums such as Facebook should not be a privilege, the teenager in India deserves this right as much as I do.

Media get us closer to social causes

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Diya Vasudevan

By DIYA VASUDEVAN

I am a Feminist. It is not something that just happened, I think I was a Feminist for a long time and just didn’t have a word to express how I felt until very recently. In September 2014 Emma Watson gave her famous speech for the United Nations ‘He For She’ campaign.

HeforShe event sponsored by UN Women with Goodwill ambasador Emma Watson
New York, USA -20/09/2014/SIPA_SIPA837.01/Credit:UN Photo/SIPA/SIPA/1409230856 (Newscom TagID: sfphotos325055.jpg) [Photo via Newscom]

She defined Feminism as “The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.”

She gave light to a very misunderstood word, opening it up to males and not just females, to her Feminism was equality for both sexes not just women.

Since then I have actively kept up with the facts, stories, events regarding a cause I feel so strongly about and there has been no shortage of ways in which to access this information. There are not only numerous organizations supporting this cause but also multiple ways in which you can recieve information whether it is through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat etc.

I even had the opportunity to see Secretary Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea Clinton speak on the issue of women’s rights on our campus for the Clinton Global Intiative University less than one month ago.

Chelsea Clinton introduced a newly created website that held all the data possible on issues pertaining to women’s rights. It covered statistics on the number of rape cases in the United States and countries across the world like India as well as the pay gap across the world between men and women. Aptly named No Ceilings the website has all the information you can get your hands on, whether you wish to talk about the data or act on it.

In addition to having all these platforms, Facebook collaborated with ‘He For She’ campaign and planned a live chat with Watson, that was held on March 8th ‘Women’s Day’. Comments posted and questions sent had a chance of being asked during the course of the conversation.

Not only is it becoming easier to access the information we require, it is becoming easier to engage with the information we are receiving, and that is exactly how media is changing the world.

DIGITAL NEWS REPORTING

Journalism and Media Management Department, School of Communication, University of Miami

Tag Archives: Facebook

Fakebook takes another misstep

Shalala running for Congress