The indictment of 13 Russians for interfering with the Presidential election has intensified the pressure put on Facebook, which uncovered about three-thousand Russian-linked ads on its platforms before and after November 2016. Cheddar Senior Reporter, Alex Heath, breaks down the the latest developments.
Facebook's Vice President for ads, Rob Goldman, tweeted about Russia's disinformation effort. President Trump then cited him. Facebook did not intend for Goldman’s tweets to be quoted by Trump. They thought the tweets would only be seen by a contextually-aware audience of techies and media types who follow Goldman.
Heath believes that the tweeting from Goldman and other execs is part of a carefully orchestrated PR campaign by Facebook to make itself appear more transparent and relate-able through engaged spokespeople on Twitter.
Naveen Jain, Co-Founder of Yat Labs, joins 'Cheddar Innovates' to discuss how a 'Yat' is changing the way people think about their online identities, and why artists like Questlove and G-Eazy are backing this idea.
Mike Proulx, VP and research director at Forrester, joined Cheddar to talk all about Disney's lackluster Q3 earnings after the company reported a slowdown in Disney+ subscriber growth. Proulx discussed a Forrester study that found 45 percent of U.S. adults subscribed to streaming services because of the pandemic but 26 percent had plans to cancel a service over the next two years. "We're always going to look at growth, and we also have to look at engagement," he said. "But both of those metrics come down to having either original or exclusive content that will offer value to the subscriber base."
Anthony Sassine, a senior investment strategist at KraneShares, joined Cheddar to discuss Rivian's historic public debut after the company achieved an $86 billion valuation — more than either Ford or GM. He said the big IPO was a great opportunity for the U.S. to position itself as a leader in the EV space after lagging behind Europe and China. "When you have certainty for growth for the next 10 to 15 years, investors are willing to pay more," he said. "So, this is a massive opportunity for the whole space."
The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Uber, alleging the ride-hailing company discriminates against customers with disabilities. The DOJ is arguing that its two-minute wait period before a cancellation fee is applied violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.
