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Now you can Facebook Live with Prisma's art filters

by James Vincent

Russian app Prisma, which popularized the use of deep learning-powered photo filters, is launching a new feature that works with Facebook Live. An update to the Prisma app will let users start broadcasting via Facebook, with the option to apply...

2 comments

Facebook's new filters are like Prisma for video

by James Vincent

Ever thought your selfies were as good as a Rembrandt? Or your party pics as apocalyptic as something by Hieronymus Bosch? Well, Facebook hears you, and it’s got something to help. This morning, the company announced that a number of AI-powered...

2 comments

Virgin Media probes net neutrality limits in UK with zero-rated Facebook apps

by James Vincent

UK mobile carrier Virgin Media has announced a new data plan that proves the thorny issue of zero-rating isn’t just a problem in the US. The company’s newly launched 4G mobile services let users access both WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger without...

7 comments

Facebook blocks insurer exploiting user data to find 'conscientious' drivers

by James Vincent

Facebook has blocked one of the UK’s biggest insurers from using the social media network's user data to set insurance rates. A recently-launched scheme from Admiral Insurance targeted first-time car owners, offering to analyze their Facebook...

6 comments

Facebook makes it easier for indie games to come to its casual platform

by Rich McCormick

Facebook has announced that Gameroom — its new PC gaming platform that looks like Steam for casual games — will soon accept uploads from Unity developers. The app, launched last month, will let game makers using the upcoming Unity 5.6 game engine...

3 comments

Talkshow, the social network for public texting, is shutting down

by Nick Statt

Six months after its launch, startup Talkshow is shutting down. The mobile app, from former Twitter executive Michael Sippey, let users group text in public, so any number of users could drop in and view the conversation. It was a little bit like...

4 comments

Could Facebook actually be good for you?

by Rachel Becker

People who are well liked on Facebook may also be healthier, according to a study that linked people’s activity on the social network to their lifespans. This could be another blow against the increasingly unstable position that digital media is...

How the White House will hand over social media accounts to Clinton or Trump

by Chris Welch

The White House just published an overview explaining its plans for a "digital transition" between the departing Obama administration and the incoming 45th president of the United States. It details how each White House social media account (and...

13 comments

Peter Thiel: what Trump represents is ‘not going away’

by Adi Robertson

Entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel, a self-described contrarian and Donald Trump’s most high-profile supporter in Silicon Valley, has vehemently defended his recent $1.25 million donation to Trump’s campaign and pro-Trump super PACs. In an...

Facebook’s adorable Halloween reaction emoji are adding ghosts where they don’t belong

by Kaitlyn Tiffany

Facebook’s latest seasonal experiment is Halloween-themed reaction emojis — a pumpkin replacing the usual “angry,” Frankenstein instead of “sad,” a witch for “haha,” and a ghost instead of “wow.” The new reactions appear on all posts, both public...

6 comments

Facebook clones Snapchat's face filters and ephemeral photo messages

by Nick Statt

Facebook’s war on Snapchat is entering a new stage of hostilities. Starting today, Facebook will expand testing of a new camera in its main app that relies on the very same video and photo filters users of Snapchat enjoy. This includes masks that...

8 comments

Trump campaign using targeted Facebook posts to discourage black Americans from voting

by Colin Lecher

While the Trump campaign continues to flounder weeks before Election Day, a new report is providing some inside information on the candidate's strategy, including an unorthodox use of Facebook.

Viral Facebook pages are passing off old space clips as live footage to millions of viewers

by James Vincent

Facebook has been pushing live video as its next big format for a while now, and that means there are plenty of media outlets trying to take advantage of the extra visibility. Some, though, aren’t being so honest about it, with Mashable pointing...

3 comments

The Trump campaign just launched a nightly talk show on Facebook Live

by Nick Statt

Donald Trump’s campaign just began broadcasting the first installment of what it’s calling a nightly campaign coverage show exclusively on Facebook Live. The show, which will be broadcast on Trump’s Facebook page at 6:30PM ET from today until...

44 comments

Instagram appears to be testing live video

by Casey Newton

Facebook's all-out embrace of live video appears to be heading to Instagram. A new report from a Russian news site shows live functionality embedded into Instagram stories, with a bold "LIVE" banner on what is apparently a live video appearing at...

7 comments

Facebook employees argued Trump's posts should be banned as hate speech

by Casey Newton

Some Facebook employees have argued that Donald Trump’s posts on the social network should be designated as hate speech and removed, according to a new report. The Wall Street Journal said today that Trump posts calling for a ban on Muslim...

63 comments

Facebook says it will allow more explicit posts if they are newsworthy

by Casey Newton

Facebook will begin allowing more explicit posts if they are "newsworthy, significant, or important to the public interest," the company said today, following a series of controversies over deleted content. "Our intent is to allow more images and...

Facebook censors cancer awareness video over cartoon breasts

by Amar Toor

Facebook has come under criticism for censoring a cancer awareness video because of animated breasts. The ad campaign, produced by Cancerfonden, a Swedish cancer charity, used animated figures to demonstrate how to conduct breast exams. Facebook...

Mark Zuckerberg defends Peter Thiel's Trump ties in internal memo

by Casey Newton

Peter Thiel's donation of $1.25 million to Donald Trump's presidential campaign continues to rattle Silicon Valley. A day after a nonprofit stopped working with startup incubator Y Combinator for keeping Thiel on as a part-time partner, Mark...

49 comments

Facebook now lets you poll your friends for local recommendations

by Nick Statt

Facebook is revamping portions of its mobile app and website to make it easier to get recommendations from friends and interact directly with businesses, without leaving the social network. The central changes can be found in the company's Pages...

2 comments

Facebook caught an office intruder using the controversial surveillance tool it just blocked

by Colin Lecher and Russell Brandom

When it was revealed last week that police used a social media monitoring program to track protestors, it inspired outrage, and major tech companies immediately cut off API access for the tool. But at least one of those companies had prior...

24 comments

Where’s the Facebook fact checker America so desperately needs?

by Thomas Ricker

I have a Facebook friend, let’s call him Mike, who’s a rabid supporter of Donald Trump and God, in that order. You probably have someone similar in your own timeline expressing an equally dogged allegiance to Hillary Clinton. Last night Mike...

30 comments

How to endorse a political candidate on Facebook and lose friends forever

by James Vincent

Facebook is a place for making friends, sharing photos, and stoking bitter political arguments that last a lifetime. And while the social network pays a lot of attention to the first two activities, it's rather neglected the third. Not any more:...

33 comments

Robert Downey Jr. is willing to be the voice of Mark Zuckerberg’s AI

by Vlad Savov

Mark Zuckerberg is pressing ahead with his pet project of creating an AI to control his home, and yesterday he asked for suggestions for who should provide the system’s voice. We all had our own ideas about who would slot into the role best, but...

15 comments

Facebook now lets you stream video to Apple TV and Chromecast

by Nick Statt

Facebook wants videos on its platform to live on as many screens as possible, so the social network has added Apple TV and Chromecast support starting today. Now, when you watch a video on Facebook using your smartphone, you’ll see a small button...

10 comments

Google and Facebook building super high-speed cable between LA and Hong Kong

by Jacob Kastrenakes

Google and Facebook are working together to lay a nearly 8,000-mile cable between Los Angeles and Hong Kong. The fiber-optic cable will have a bandwidth of 120 terabits per second, which Google says makes it the highest-capacity route between the...

3 comments

Can Facebook and Twitter stop social media surveillance?

by Russell Brandom

Yesterday, social media surveillance became a very real problem for Facebook and Twitter. An ACLU report revealed a CIA-funded tool called Geofeedia was being used by police to track data from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to aid in...

2 comments

Facebook still has a nipple problem

by Amar Toor

Facebook has come under criticism for censoring a news article on mammograms due to an image of a woman's exposed breast. The company apologized for removing the post and restored it late Tuesday, though the incident adds to an ongoing controversy...

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram surveillance tool was used to arrest Baltimore protestors

by Russell Brandom

For years, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook have provided data to a company marketing social media surveillance tools to police, according to a newly published investigation by the ACLU of Northern California. Geofeedia used the company’s APIs to...

20 comments

Republican Senator uses Facebook Live to ask Trump to step down

by Jordan Golson

In a stunning late night Facebook Live video, Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee pleaded with Donald Trump to step aside and give up his nomination for president. The video, which Lee filmed from his home in Utah, is like many on Facebook Live — a...

81 comments

Facebook’s Michael Booth answers our questions about VR social networks

by Adi Robertson

At Oculus Connect conference yesterday, we got a glimpse of what Facebook was after when it got into virtual reality: a VR environment where you can feel like you’re hanging out in the same physical space as your friends, complete with realistic...

0 comments

The 8 biggest stories from Oculus Connect 3

by Paul Miller

Today's Oculus Connect 3 keynote covered a lot of ground. Over two hours of speechmaking Facebook and Oculus executives covered everything from release dates, prices, content, social, and diversity, to mobile SDKs and foveated rendering. If you...

13 comments
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