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.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
The popular courier service recently secured $300 million worth of funding at a $1.2 billion valuation. Kristin Schaefer, SVP of finance and strategy at Postmates, said that the company is eyeing next year for an IPO.
Apple appears to have dodged a bullet with the latest round of tariffs on Chinese imports. But if the trade war continues, the risks to the company get more serious, said Tom Forte, senior research analyst at D.A. Davidson. Apple currently gets 20 percent of its revenue from China
Elon Musk and SpaceX announced the company's first private passenger, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. Shannon Stirone, freelance science journalist, said that this is the first step to Musk's ultimate goal ー transporting people to Mars.
Shortly after Audi unveiled its first all-electric SUV, the company announced a collaboration with Amazon and that its home services division will install charging stations at owners' homes for around $1,000. Filip Brabec, VP of product management for Audi of America, said Amazon's vetting of electricians and its "hassle-free" approach is what prompted the partnership.
China retaliated to the latest round of tariffs announced by the Trump administration, announcing import taxes on $60 billion in U.S. goods. That came after the White House said it would impose tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, though many of Apple's products will be exempt.
TripAdvisor is redesigning its site in order to compete with Google and Facebook The site now allows for more collaboration between users, encouraging people to post articles and videos from their trips. CEO Steve Kaufer said that the redesign puts the focus on reaching travelers before they've made trip decisions.
Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne are buying Time Magazine from Meredith for $190 million. Amazon is investigating its employees for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for confidential information. And we sit down with the cast of 'American Dresser' to hear about the upcoming film that centers around two friends taking a cross-country motorcycle trip.
As the online gaming world continues to boom, professional sports organizations are working to marry the online and physical sports world. Hugh Weber, president of the New Jersey Devils, said that there is a way for live esports events to be compelling enough to translate to ticket sales.
Amazon is launching 'Storefronts' as a portal on its massive e-commerce platform to highlight what it calls small- and medium-sized American businesses.
Holly Rutt, the founder of Little Flower Soap Co., is featured in Amazon's first ad campaign to promote the venture. She said she expects to be introduced to an entirely new customer base via the Storefronts portal. Many of the small businesses that Amazon already killed off, though, will not get the same opportunity.
