Media
Religious leaders call on Zuckerberg to scrap Instagram Kids plans
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Reverends, rabbis and other religious leaders urged Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to permanently stop the company’s plan for an Instagram version aimed at young users on Tuesday, in a letter sent by advocacy group Fairplay and their Children’s Screen Time Action Network.
Since last September, Instagram has paused its plans to introduce a version of the photo-sharing app for kids, as opposition to the project grew.
“After much meditation and prayer, we assert that social media platforms that target immature brains, practice unethical data mining, and are inspired by profit motives are not a tool for the greater good of children,” said the letter, which was signed by more than 70 religious leaders.
Instagram and its parent company, Meta Platforms formerly Facebook, have come under intense scrutiny over the potential impact of their services on the mental health, body image and safety of young users, including after whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents about the company’s approach to younger users.
In December, Instagram head Adam Mosseri was grilled about children’s online safety by a Senate panel. A coalition of state attorneys general has also opened a probe into Meta for promoting Instagram to children despite potential harms.
Meta has said the leaked documents have been used to paint a false picture of the company’s work. It has also said the idea of Instagram for kids was to give a safer, dedicated place for younger users to engage with the service.
Instagram, like other social media sites, has rules against children under 13 joining the platform but said it knows it has users under this age.
The letter from the faith groups, which quoted the Bible, Qur’an, Pope Francis and Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh, called on Zuckerberg, as someone who has in the past said religion is “very important,” to recognize spiritual as well as secular concerns about the project.
Instagram declined to comment on the letter.
Reuters reported last year https://www.reuters.com/technology/facebook-decided-faith-groups-are-good-business-now-it-wants-your-prayers-2021-07-22 on Meta’s concerted outreach to the religious community in its efforts to drive engagement on its platforms. The company, which has a dedicated faith partnerships team, launched a new feature to request and send prayers on the site, sent out mini equipment kits for streaming worship during the COVID-19 pandemic, and last year held its first virtual faith summit.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Media
Taylor Swift's new album apparently leaks, causing social media chaos – CBC News
The hype for Taylor Swift’s new album went into overdrive as it appeared to leak online two days ahead of its Friday release.
Swifties started sharing tracks on X that they claimed were from the singer’s upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, saying they came from a Google Drive link containing all 17 songs.
Some fans were upset by the leak and said they would wait until Friday to listen while others started frantically posting fake links on X to bury the “real” tracks.
“Raise your hand if ur an ACTUAL Taylor Swift fan and aren’t listening to leaks,” one user wrote.
Several media outlets reported that X briefly blocked the search term “Taylor Swift leak” on Wednesday.
CBC has reached out to Swift’s publicist for comment.
Swift announced the release, her 11th studio album and the first with all new songs since 2022’s Midnights, at the Grammy Awards ceremony in February.
Fans have been speculating about the lyrical themes that would appear on The Tortured Poets Department, based in part on a physical “library installation” that opened Tuesday in Los Angeles, curated with items that drop hints and references to the inspirations behind the album.
Swift’s 2022 album Midnights, which featured the hit Anti-Hero, also leaked online ahead of its scheduled release date, and went on to win the Grammy for album of the year. Swift’s previous albums 1989, Reputation and Lover also leaked ahead of their official releases.
The singer is in the midst of her billion-dollar-grossing Eras tour, which is moving through the U.S. and is scheduled to conclude in Vancouver in December.
Swift was added to Forbes magazine’s annual new billionaires list earlier this month, with Forbes saying she was the first musician to become a billionaire based solely on her songs and performances.
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DJT Stock Jumps. The Truth Social Owner Is Showing Stockholders How to Block Short Sellers. – Barron's
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DJT Stock Jumps. The Truth Social Owner Is Showing Stockholders How to Block Short Sellers. Barron’s
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Taylor Swift's new album allegedly 'leaked' on social media and it's causing a frenzy – CTV News
Social media can be a divisive place, but even more so when it comes to Taylor Swift.
A Google Drive link allegedly containing 17 tracks that are purportedly from Swift’s eagerly awaited “The Tortured Poets Department” album has been making the rounds on the internet in the past day and people are equal parts mad, sad and happy about it.
CNN has reached out to Swift’s representative for comment.
The actual album is slated to drop at midnight Friday, but the claimed leak is both being hailed and nailed by Swift’s supporters.
One person shared a drawing of a young woman asleep in a sparkly bed with sparkly blankets on X, writing, “How I slept last night knowing I’m going to hear TTPD for the very first time tonight cause I haven’t listened to any leaks.”
Yet another person posted a video of two models walking and wrote, “Me and my bestie on our way to listen to #TSTTPD leaks.”
On Thursday, “Taylor Swift leaks” was a prevented search phrase on X.
The general consensus among those who have decided to be “leak free” appears to be that they are the true Swifties – as her hard core fan base is known – because they don’t believe the singer would have sanctioned such a “leak.”
Swift herself has gone to great lengths to prevent unintended early releases in the past.
“I have a lot of maybe, maybe-not-irrational fears of security invasion, wiretaps, people eavesdropping,” Swift said of her music during an 2014 appearance on” Jimmy Kimmel Live.” She added that her “1989” album only existed on her phone, “covered in cat stickers and the volume buttons don’t work very well because there’s candy stuck in there,” for nearly two years.
“The Tortured Poets Department” is Swift’s 11th album and comes after she became the first woman and only solo artist to win the Grammy for album of the year three times.
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