A look at Meta's “spirit of the policy” exception that lets the company break its moderation rules in conflict zones and crises; critics want more transparency
An Oversight Board case from Sri Lanka shows the power of Facebook's “spirit of the policy” exception Tweets: @hkanji , @restofworld , @decka227 , and @mvzelenks Tweets: Hussein Kanji / @hkanji : A li...
A look at the Chinese social e-commerce app and women-friendly “lifestyle bible” Xiaohongshu, which has 200M MAUs and critics describe as a consumerist trap
Known as China's “lifestyle bible,” the social media platform is an aspirational living guide or a consumerist trap. Tweets: @restofworld , @mikeelgan , @violazhouyi , @openbarllc , @violazhouyi , @re...
A look at Zenly, a Snap-owned social mapping app still operating in Russia amid bans and exits of other Western apps; Zenly had 51M+ downloads in Russia in 2021
Andrew Deck / Rest of World : Tweets: @martinsfp , @mvzelenks , @cengizyar , @restofworld , and @restofworld Tweets: Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp : I tried this yesterday and they *really* need to ...
A look at Douban, a Reddit-like social network that China has targeted in its crackdowns; Douban was fined $1.65M in 2021 and has shut down popular forums
Douban's tight-knit communities have finally made it a target of Beijing's tech crackdown. — • HONG KONG Tweets: @mvzelenks , @restofworld , @sauteesquid , and @violazhouyi Tweets: Michael Zelenko /...
How Brazilian singer Anitta's fans gamed Spotify's algorithm to make her song top the charts by switching accounts after 20 streams, creating playlists, more
Fans skirted terms and conditions, but a strategy from the singer's team came close to the streaming platform's limit. Tweets: @dada_drummer , @mvzelenks , @alexgonzor , and @anupkaphle Tweets: Damon ...
Cambodia's prime minister Zoombombs opposition meetings; the country plans to create a “national internet gateway” with a state-appointed operator in February
Hun Sen's government, which has shown little hesitation in quashing any sign of dissent, is taking control of user activities on the internet. Tweets: @restofworld , @anupkaphle , @mvzelenks , @jsrail...
A look at the decade long struggle to bring the script of Tulu, an Indian language, into Unicode, and the problem of keeping languages alive in the digital age
Varsha Bansal / Rest of World : Tweets: @xor , @restofworld , @mvzelenks , @restofworld , @restofworld , @cengizyar , @dlberes , @raju , @varshaabansal , and @restofworld Tweets: Parker Higgins / @xo...
Profile of Mehmet Aydın, a Turkish citizen who turned mobile game Farm Bank into an $80M Ponzi scheme; he surrendered on July 1 after three years on the run
play a fun mobile game, make some extra cash, and support the country's agricultural sector all at once.” Fascinating story by @Paul_Osterlund in @restofworld https://restofworld.org/... Damon Beres /...
The far-right is flocking to MeWe, a privacy-focused Facebook alternative that has Tim Berners-Lee on its board, with membership growing to 15M in recent months
though it raised questions about adverse selection of a user base. The most inflammatory groups on FB were promoting an exodus to alt-platforms. https://twitter.com/... Michael Zelenko / @mvzelenks : ...
An investigation of the cult leader behind Acellus, an online learning platform used by thousands of US students, who's been accused of violence and abuse
The creator of Acellus and the 'cult's leader has been accused of violence and abuse — was summer when Mark Mauikānehoalani Lovell … Tweets: @sarahnemerson , @bendwalsh , @aarongell , @mvzelenks , @...