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.
Dolo uses location to help users find people around them, encouraging them to meet new friends. Safety, of course, is a major concern and the app lets users go by fake names and mask their profile pictures, say the co-founders Raja Haddad and Ben Vigier.
Facebook is developing a virtual token that would allow users around the world to make electronic payments. The news comes after the company announced its biggest-ever executive reshuffle, which put former Messenger chief David Marcus at the head of a new blockchain unit.
Musk claimed on Instagram that his first underground tunnel in LA is "almost done," pending final regulatory approvals, and promised his Boring Company will initially offer free rides to the public. But investors have come to take the Tesla CEO's bold promises with a grain of salt.
The newly formed company connects homeowners to service providers, such as plumbers and painters. ANGI Homeservices, which is one of the biggest revenue sources for its parent company IAC, has seen "strong demand from homeowners" since the merger a year ago, says CEO Chris Terrill.
The Webby Awards have been running for over two decades and have evolved "as the internet has grown," says Claire Graves, executive director of the annual awards. Each year, the best of the best are rewarded for their contributions to the internet. This year, podcasts and games will be honored too. The awards will air on Tuesday.
The free trading app, which now lists stocks, options, and two cryptocurrencies, also surpassed rival E*TRADE in terms of users. Robinhood will use its fresh funding to build out even more products, says Dan Primack, business editor at Axios.
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates have openly expressed their doubts about Bitcoin. But institutions like Goldman Sachs and the New York Stock Exchange are considering embracing the cryptocurrency, suggesting that Bitcoin may just be a "blind spot" for the older generation, says Jen Wieczner, a senior writer at Fortune.
Millennials are rethinking how they use traditional banks, which opens up a massive opportunity for fintech companies, says Anu Duggal, a founding partner of the fund that just received an additional $27 million in seed money.
The state became the first in the U.S. to require almost all new homes to have solar panels, part of an effort to get half the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
The White House hosted a summit Thursday with Silicon Valley executives about the use of artificial intelligence and how it may affect American workers. Politico's technology reporter, Steven Overly, says some jobs will be lost to automation, but technology can create others.
