Tag - social-media

 
 

SOCIAL MEDIA

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump filed a brief on Friday urging the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok the day before his Jan. 20 inauguration if it is not sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 28, 2024
Trump asks Supreme Court to pause law threatening TikTok ban
Trump said the court should give him time after his Jan. 20 inauguration to "seek a negotiated resolution” of the dispute over the social media platform.
International students and others participate in a disaster preparedness drill in Osaka City, where disaster information was conveyed in foreign languages.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2024
Noto quake inspires more focus on getting disaster info to non-Japanese
The earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1 highlighted the need to help foreign nationals who do not speak Japanese be more informed.
A disinformation graphic spread via Telegram before a Russian offensive in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. The Kremlin has deployed its sophisticated propaganda machinery to justify its offensive in Ukraine, and China is learning from Russian influence tactics.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2024
China is taking a page from Russia’s disinformation playbook
Russian and Chinese influence operations are increasingly similar and complementary, showing how the two regimes are collaborating to dominate the information space.
Christians take selfies after a Christmas Eve Mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, on Tuesday, ahead of the 20th anniversary of a magnitude 9.1 earthquake that struck the coast of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, triggering a huge tsunami across the Indian Ocean.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 25, 2024
Blogs to Bluesky: Social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
In two decades, the online social media landscape has experienced a vast change, allowing information — as well as rumor and misinformation — to flow in real time.
The rise of TikTok has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly over its links to China.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Dec 22, 2024
One billion users, but controversies mount up for TikTok
In Washington, the platform has been accused of espionage, while the EU suspects it was used to sway Romania's presidential election in favor of a far-right candidate.
Fire trucks gather around a building in Sapporo’s Susukino entertainment district on Nov. 26.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 20, 2024
Sapporo arson suspect dies in hospital
Police still intend to submit the arson case to prosecutors and are committed to piecing together the events that led to the blaze.
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Dec 17, 2024
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
Cat memes continued to thrive and evolve in 2024. In Japan, they're not just for jokes — they’re for storytelling, venting and a little therapy.
185 content moderators sued Meta last year, saying they had lost their jobs for trying to organize a union.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 16, 2024
Meta contractor dismissed threats to moderators by Ethiopia rebels: court documents
Court documents say that Meta allegedly ignored advice from experts it hired to tackle hate speech in Ethiopia.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a news conference following their meeting in Moscow in July. Both of their countries have pro-government "fact-checking" websites.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 12, 2024
Rise in pro-government 'fact checking' sparks concern in Europe
Fresh initiatives are presenting themselves as genuine fact-checking outfits while pushing their own agenda.
X owner Elon Musk and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attend a viewing of the launch of a SpaceX test flight on Nov. 19.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 10, 2024
Trump is on collision course with EU over big tech crackdown
In the coming months, several U.S. tech companies could face billions in fines or even mandatory divestment orders from EU investigations.
Students from Yamagata Prefectural Kamo Fisheries High School experience simulated pelagic tuna fishing using VR headsets in August.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2024
VR used to stir young people's interest in fishing industry
VR headsets allow users to see how workers catch tuna and do other work with a 360-degree view from aboard a ship.
A TikTok creator and advocate wears a button showing support outside of the U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 16 in Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 9, 2024
‘It’s for real this time’: TikTok creators react to potential ban
Many of TikTok’s users seemed to have only just begun to grasp that the app could be on its last legs in this country.
The decision significantly raises the prospects of an unprecedented ban in just six weeks on a social media app used by 170 million Americans.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 7, 2024
U.S. appeals court upholds TikTok law forcing its sale
The decision is a major win for the Justice Department and opponents of the Chinese-owned app and a devastating blow to TikTok parent ByteDance.
A Lower House plenary session in Tokyo on Monday. The Liberal Democratic Party will hold a meeting on Dec. 20 to discuss the use of social media in election campaigns.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 6, 2024
LDP to hold meeting on social media use in election campaigns
The meeting on Dec. 20 comes ahead of major polls next year in which the party aims to win new supporters online and take measures to counter disinformation.
Ten people are suspected of forcibly entering a club in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Dec. 17 last year and assaulting a male security guard.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 6, 2024
Alleged operator of anonymous X account arrested over club assault
Z-Ri, a pun on the name of the kung-fu actor Jet Li, is an influential account that posts about the inner workings of Japan's underworld.
Yoshiki Taniguchi (right), mayor of Aioi, Hyogo Prefecture, apologizes to Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito ahead of a meeting between prefectural government officials and leaders of municipalities in the prefecture held in Kobe on Nov. 26. Taniguchi publicly questioned whether Saito had the credentials to become governor before his election.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 5, 2024
'Old' media blames 'new' media for success of 'populist' candidates
Many young voters, especially those in their 20s, are believed to have supported Hyogo Gov. Saito due to his social media outreach.
Kiyotaka Sato, the suspect, enters the Koganei Police Station in Koganei City, Tokyo, on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 3, 2024
Two indicted men rearrested on fresh Kokubunji robbery charges
The suspects had already been arrested and indicted for committing a house burglary and hurting a resident in Saitama Prefecture.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito greets supporters upon his arrival at the Hyogo Prefectural Government office in Kobe on Nov. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2024
Lawsuit filed over Hyogo governor's alleged election law violation
A lawyer for Saito said that the president of a public relations company had engaged in activities as a volunteer, other than five items including making posters.
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 2, 2024
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
“Futehodo” — a nickname for a TV drama that depicts the generational gap between the Showa and Reiwa eras — has been crowned the most trending word of 2024.
Political funds reports have shown that Japanese political parties and other lawmakers were keen to utilize social media and the internet for their political activities last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 1, 2024
Social media use rising among politicians: funds reports
Political parties see smartphones and online messaging as a vital way of reaching voters and affecting their voting behavior.

Longform

Hiroki Shimana pauses before entering a Shinjuku Ward apartment where the owner, a woman in her 80s, passed away alone. The door had been sealed with tape to prevent any odors from disturbing the neighbors.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan