Tag - social-media

 
 

SOCIAL MEDIA

LINE, the app at the center of a tug-of-war for control. Line was introduced in Japan in 2011 by Naver, the operator of South Korea’s leading search engine.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 24, 2024
Japan and South Korea are fighting over an app at a tense time
Leaders on both the Japanese and South Korean sides appear determined to prevent the quarrel over Line from escalating.
A fake online ad that solicits investments using the name and picture of economic analyst Takuro Morinaga without permission. Morinaga said he is not involved in the ad in any way and does not have social media accounts.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 19, 2024
Fake celebrity ad victims in Japan increase tenfold
Victims lost an average of ¥6.87 million, with the largest single loss hitting ¥170 million.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government meeting on crime prevention at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2024
Japan's government demands stricter screenings of social media ads
Specifically, social media operators are being asked to draw up and disclose ad-screening criteria.
A health worker puts on an adhesive bandage after inoculating a man with a booster shot of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Manila in January 2022.
WORLD
Jun 14, 2024
U.S. ran secret anti-vaccine campaign to undermine China during pandemic
The clandestine operation aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China.
The number of consultations made by consumers regarding troubles on social media marked a record high in 2023, with people in their 50s or older particularly vulnerable.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2024
Japan sees social media linked consultations hit record in 2023
In 2023, there were 910,000 consultations, and consumer damage from problematic transactions amounted to a record ¥8.8 trillion.
Hokkaido police are investigating the sequence of events leading to the victim's death.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 13, 2024
Suspects in high school girl’s murder used social media to extort her
The victim is believed to have used a picture of one of the suspects on social media without permission, which led to the extortion.
Lee Kyoung-hyun, a popular YouTuber shaman, at her shaman parlor in Seoul on May 13
WORLD / Society
Jun 10, 2024
South Korea's young shamans revive ancient tradition with social media
Google Trends shows that searches on YouTube for "shaman" and "fortune-telling" in Korean have nearly doubled over the past five years.
Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2024
Alphabet taps Eli Lilly executive as new CFO replacing Porat
Anat Ashkenazi will replace Ruth Porat who announced last year she planned to step down.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit seeking to break up the social networking giant Meta.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 5, 2024
Meta withheld information on Instagram and WhatsApp deals, FTC says
The company formerly known as Facebook bought photo-sharing app Instagram in 2012 and the messaging app WhatsApp in 2014.
A new report by international campaign group Global Witness alleges that TikTok approved adverts containing political disinformation ahead of European polls.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2024
TikTok fails 'disinformation test' before EU vote, study shows
The Chinese ByteDance-owned app said its systems correctly identified the breach, but the ads were approved due to "human error" by a moderator.
Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has seen threat actors rely on artificial intelligence to produce fake images, videos and text to try influencing users on its sites.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2024
Meta removes AI-generated influence campaigns from China and Israel
Social media companies such as Facebook, ByteDance’s TikTok and Elon Musk’s X have struggled with the influx of fake and misleading AI-generated content on their sites.
The Telegram app has become a key weapon for pro-Kremlin accounts to spread disinformation aimed at undermining support for Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 29, 2024
Too small to police, too big to ignore: Telegram is the app dividing Europe
The messaging app has become a key weapon for pro-Kremlin accounts to spread disinformation aimed at undermining support for Ukraine.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2024
Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image
Yusaku Maezawa is suing Meta for its negligence in regulating the use of his name and image in investment scams on its social media platforms.
Boys watch smoke billowing during Israeli strikes east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2024
Celebrities face digital backlash over Gaza silence
For months, activists have flooded the comments sections of social media sites, urging stars to join calls for a cease-fire in the war.
LY said in November that there had been unauthorized access of its systems by a third party via Naver's cloud system, causing the leak of the personal data records of more than 300,000 Line users and others.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024
Naver exploring options including stake sale in Line operator
Naver apologized for a recent security breach that led the Japanese government to issue administrative guidance.
A host promotes lipstick on TikTok Shop
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
May 10, 2024
Livestream shopping foils high-tech tools from stopping counterfeits
The sheer volume of violations means e-commerce infringement enforcement can feel like a game of "whack-a-mole" for those who monitor the internet.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Izumo helicopter carrier is docked in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN
May 10, 2024
Japan says viral video of MSDF ship likely real, not fabricated
The Defense Ministry said it has determined that the footage was not AI-generated because details matched that of the actual Izumo helicopter carrier.
Japanese people are exposed to less online disinformation compared to other countries, partly due to language barriers and inherent skepticism.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 9, 2024
Japan’s accidental resilience in the disinformation age
The Japanese are exposed to less online disinformation compared to other countries, partly due to language barriers and inherent skepticism.
A man films with a smartphone in front a placard for the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party during a campaign event for the upcoming European Parliament elections, and ahead of Saxony's municipal and state elections, in Dresden, eastern Germany, on May 1.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024
German far right's TikTok success sparks rush to platform
Germany's political heavyweights have been spooked by the successes in reaching youth voters ahead of June's European elections.
The smartphone screen of a man in his 70s from the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture shows exchanges with a person claiming to be a woman from Taiwan discussing investment in gold.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Regional Voices: Fukushima
May 6, 2024
Online predators seduce elderly victims into investment scams
Cases of people being swindled out of money show working-age people are also falling victim.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past