The News Caravan

Tag: Twitter

  • New York Times loses Twitter Blue badge, receives Koo’s invite

    New York Times loses Twitter Blue badge, receives Koo’s invite

    [ad_1]

    New Delhi: Elon Musk-run Twitter on Sunday removed the Blue badge of The New York Times, barely a week after he announced a new policy for keeping verification badges.

    On the other hand, Aprameya Radhakrishna, CEO and Co-founder of Koo, has invited leading US newspaper and all other news organisations around the world to join the platform.

    “Inviting @nytimes and all other news organisations around the world to join Koo where there is no price for your voice. Koo provides free lifetime verification for all notable personalities and organisations. Fake news is a menace around the world,” he tweeted.

    MS Education Academy

    Moreover, commenting on the removal of The New York Times‘ Blue Badge, Musk tweeted: “The real tragedy of @NYTimes is that their propaganda isn’t even interesting”.

    “Also, their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhoea. It’s unreadable. They would have far more real followers if they only posted their top articles. Same applies to all publications,” he added.

    Twitter’s ‘Verification for Organisations’ service is now available globally.

    The platform last month tweeted from its ‘Twitter Verified’ account: “Verified Organisations are available globally. We are now sending email invitations to approved organisations from the waitlist.”

    The company also announced to remove all legacy Blue verified checkmarks for both individual users and organisations from April 1.

    Twitter Blue is now available globally and users can get Blue Verified for $7 a month if they sign up via a web browser.



    [ad_2]
    #York #Times #loses #Twitter #Blue #badge #receives #Koos #invite

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • April fools? The Twitter blue check apocalypse that wasn’t

    April fools? The Twitter blue check apocalypse that wasn’t

    [ad_1]

    twitter 54627

    Without any weight behind the symbol of authentication that the blue check mark provided, any Twitter user could hypothetically pay to impersonate a public figure or company.

    In the days leading up to Saturday’s supposed blue check apocalypse, legacy verified accounts from LeBron James to Monica Lewinsky tweeted out against the new policy.

    Major news organizations, including the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN, announced this week that they would not pay for staff members to maintain a blue check status. The White House sent an email to staffers informing them that it would not pay for Twitter Blue.

    Former vice president of global commerce and media at Twitter, Nathan Hubbard, tweeted on Friday that phasing out verification was a “risky” policy change and that, “If most OG blue checks stop tweeting in protest of being asked to pay to create the content that Twitter lives by…Twitter dies.”

    After previously tweeting that “paid account social media will be the only social media that matters,” Musk was noticeably silent Saturday on the lack of discernible change in the app’s interface, only retweeting an advertisement first posted by Tesla’s company account and an old photograph of himself with the caption, “Me after 1 day of not eating sugar.”

    Twitter’s communications office was unreachable for comment.

    And as of noon on April Fools’ Day, the previously verified blue checks remained.



    [ad_2]
    #April #fools #Twitter #blue #check #apocalypse #wasnt
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Raja Singh hate speech: Twitter withholds tweets on Centre’s directions

    Raja Singh hate speech: Twitter withholds tweets on Centre’s directions

    [ad_1]

    Social media giant Twitter has withheld suspended Bharatiya Janata Party and Goshmahal MLA T Raja Singh’s recent hate speech videos made across Maharashtra on the directions of the Narendra Modi-led Central government.

    HindutvaWatch, a Twitter handle that posts videos and news of hate speech and crimes that take place across the country, received an email from Twitter that certain of its tweets had violated the Information Technology Act, 2000, and hence are withheld.

    “Indian government is trying to bury the evidence of hate speeches delivered by suspended BJP legislator T Raja Singh from our Twitter handle by withholding five videos in India,” HindutvaWatch tweeted.

    “Notably, the request comes 3 days after a contempt petition on hate speeches was filed in the Supreme Court. The petition extensively mentions Raja Singh’s hate speeches documented by Hindutva Watch as evidence,” HindutvaWatch added.

    A journalist and researcher at the fact-checking media company AltNews, Kalim Ahmed was given the same notification from Twitter.

    Expressing his displeasure, the journalist linked the stories in his Twitter head before pasting the social media giant’s email contents.

    “My Twitter thread documenting BJP legislator Raja Singh delivering objectionable speeches across Maharashtra has been withheld in India. Mother of democracy is very angry with me You can still read those reports on AltNews’s website, I’ll link them below,” he tweeted.

    Raja Singh’s Maharashtra hate speech

    Last year in August, Raja Singh posted a video where he used derogatory language against Prophet Muhammad which ultimately led to his arrest. Owing to massive pressure, BJP suspended Raja.

    Raja Singh was booked under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act by the Telangana police. In November, the Telangana High Court granted him conditional bail forbidding him to participate in rallies or speak to the media as well as refrain from making any posting derogatory speeches.

    On January 29, a massive Hindutva rally took off in the heart of the financial capital Mumbai. The rally – Jan Aakrosh Morcha – weaved several right-wing groups, including Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Sanatan Sangha, Vanvasi Kalyan, Rajput Youth Front, Karni Sena and All India Maheshwar Samaj to form the Sakal Hindu Samaj.

    They demanded strict laws against ‘love jihad’, religious conversion, and alleged grabbing of land by Muslim organisations.

    Raja Singh took part in these rallies where he made an open call for violence against the Muslim community.

    On February 20, Raja Singh delivered another hate speech in Maharashtra’s Latur district where he called for Akhand Bharat.

    “Hamare Maharashtra ke dharthi per koi bhi love jihadi zinda na bache. Aaj hamari bahu-beti ko behla-phuslakar Love Jihad ke naam per fasaya jaa raha hai. Bacha paida karne ki machine banaya jaa raha hai. Rape and unke tukde kiya jaa raha hai. (No love jihadi will survive on the soil of Maharashtra. They trap Hindu women and make them slaves by producing more and more children. They rape them and cut them into pieces),” Raja Singh said in the speech.

    He made another speech in the Solapur district of Maharashtra demeaning communal harmony and brotherhood by stating Hindus and Muslims can never be brothers.

    “Can (Chhatrapati) Shivaji and Afzal Khan (a general in the Adil Shahi dynasty) become one? Can Maharana Prathap (a Hindu Rajput king of Mewar) and Akbar (a Mughal emperor) be one? Can those who worship our mother cow and those who murder her be one?” he asked a cheering crowd.

    Many notices served, none followed

    In December last year, the Hyderabad police had served a showcase notice on Raja Singh for making derogatory comments on Facebook.

    On January 26, another notice was issued to the Goshamahal MLA and then a third notice was sent following his controversial speeches in Maharashtra.

    Reacting strongly, Raja Singh alleged that the ninth Nizam is ruling the state. He said that he was not afraid of being sent to jail again.



    [ad_2]
    #Raja #Singh #hate #speech #Twitter #withholds #tweets #Centres #directions

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Twitter launches new API with free, basic, enterprise tiers

    Twitter launches new API with free, basic, enterprise tiers

    [ad_1]

    New Delhi: Elon Musk-run Twitter has launched its new paid API (Application Programming Interface) platform with free, basic, and enterprise access tiers.

    The company shared the information on Twitter via its Twitter Dev account: “Today we are launching our new Twitter API access tiers! We’re excited to share more details about our self-serve access.”

    Initially, the company had planned to shut down free access to its API on February 9, but later extended the deadline to February 13 and then again postponed it.

    Moreover, these three levels include a basic free level primarily intended for content posting bots, a $100 per month basic level, and an expensive enterprise level.

    In addition, subscribing to any level gets access to Ads API at no additional cost, according to the company.

    “Introducing a new form of Free (v2) access for write-only use cases and those testing the Twitter API with 1,500 Tweets/month at the app level, media upload endpoints, and Login with Twitter,” the company said.

    The company launched the Basic (v2) access tier for “hobbyists with 10,000 GET/month and 50,000 POST/month, two app IDs, and Login with Twitter for $100/month”.

    Further, the microblogging platform encouraged businesses or scaled commercial projects to apply for its Enterprise tier to get managed services, complete streams, and access that meets their specific needs.

    It also stated that old access tiers such as Standard (for v1.1), Essential and Elevated (for v2), and Premium will be phased out over the next 30 days.

    [ad_2]
    #Twitter #launches #API #free #basic #enterprise #tiers

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Gujarat Congress starts #daromat trend on Twitter to take on BJP

    Gujarat Congress starts #daromat trend on Twitter to take on BJP

    [ad_1]

    Cong team meets EC, complains about violence against Oppn candidates in Tripura

    Ahmedabad: The social media department of the Gujarat unit of the Congress on Tuesday started a trend with #daromat on Twitter following the disqualification of party leader Rahul Gandhi as an MP.

    More than 5,000 people tweeted with the hashtag within a few hours.

    “Rahul Gandhi has given the slogan `Daro Mat’ (do not be afraid). Social media department of the Gujarat Congress has started a trend of tweeting our messages against this government’s fascist attitude on Tuesday morning with #daromat,” Congress spokesperson Hiren Banker said.

    “We have asked people to tweet about difficulties faced by them. Thousands of people are tweeting,” he said.

    State Congress chief Jagdish Thakor in a video message on his Twitter account said people should come out in large numbers and if required fill up the jails against this autocratic government.

    “Congress did not get expected results in the December assembly elections. We have analysed the results. But with the 156 seats, this autocratic (BJP) government is suppressing the voice of people,” he said.

    “Rahul Gandhi has given the slogan “Daro Mat” but fight. We should come out to fight and remove this government. This government will go. Don’t be afraid, if the need be we should not hesitate to go to jails and fill them up,” he said.

    Rahul Gandhi was convicted in a criminal defamation case over his `Modi surname’ remark and was sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court on Thursday.

    Subscribe us on The Siasat Daily - Google News

    [ad_2]
    #Gujarat #Congress #starts #daromat #trend #Twitter #BJP

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Musk will give Twitter workers stock awards based on $20 bn valuation

    Musk will give Twitter workers stock awards based on $20 bn valuation

    [ad_1]

    San Francisco: Elon Musk has finally broken his silence on giving stock awards to employees, saying that they will get stock awards based on a roughly $20 billion valuation.

    It is less than half of $44 billion for which Musk acquired the micro-blogging platform, reports The Wall Street Journal.

    “I see a clear, but difficult, path to a >$250B valuation,” he told employees in an email.

    He said that Twitter is being reshaped so that the company “can be thought of as an inverse startup.”

    In a separate email, Twitter told employees it is offering new equity grants to staff that will start to vest after six months.

    In about a year, the company will offer a liquidity event in which they can cash out some of that equity.

    The new grants will vest over four years, according to the Journal.

    Twitter spent nearly $630 million on stock-based compensation in 2021.

    It had more than 7,500 employees and now, the company is down to about 2,000 workers after Musk laid off thousands in several rounds of layoffs.

    Despite Elon Musk’s efforts to monetise Twitter, the micro-blogging platform reported a massive 40 per cent drop in revenue and adjusted earnings for December 2022.

    Several advertisers “ditched the social-media platform following Elon Musk’s takeover”, the Wall Street Journal had earlier reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

    In an update to investors, Twitter reported a 40 per cent decline (year-over-year) in both revenue and adjusted earnings for December 2022.

    The company recently made a first interest payment to banks that lent $13 billion to help Musk buy Twitter.

    Musk had predicted in November that Twitter may go bankrupt.

    [ad_2]
    #Musk #give #Twitter #workers #stock #awards #based #valuation

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Twitter can’t seek protection under Article 19: Centre to Karnataka HC

    Twitter can’t seek protection under Article 19: Centre to Karnataka HC

    [ad_1]

    Did Centre give directions to raid SDPI offices?: Karnataka HC to govt

    Bengaluru: The Centre has submitted to the Karnataka High Court that American microblogging platform Twitter cannot take protection under Article 19 of the Constitution which ensures freedom of speech and expression.

    The Article 19 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression to Indian citizens and not to foreigners and foreign entities, the Additional Solicitor General (South) R. Sankaranarayanan representing the central government submitted to the High Court on Thursday.

    Twitter had challenged the blocking orders by the central government between February 2, 2021 and February 28, 2022. The American microblogging platform alleged that the orders “are arbitrary”.

    “Twitter can’t seek protection under Article 19 as it is a foreign company. There is nothing arbitrary under Article 14, and Section 69 (A) is properly followed,” stated Additional Solicitor General, and urged the court not to give any relief to Twitter.

    The matter has been adjourned to April 10.

    Subscribe us on The Siasat Daily - Google News

    [ad_2]
    #Twitter #seek #protection #Article #Centre #Karnataka

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • BBC sports coverage disrupted for second day over Gary Lineker Twitter row

    BBC sports coverage disrupted for second day over Gary Lineker Twitter row

    [ad_1]

    London: The BBC’s sports coverage faced a second day of disruption on Sunday as several members of its staff refused to work in solidarity with star football host Gary Lineker, who was taken off air over a tweet criticising the British government’s migration policy.

    In a post on Tuesday on his Twitter account that has 8.7 million followers, 62-year-old Lineker a former England football captain and now one of the UK’s most influential media figures compared Rishi Sunak government’s language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany.

    He has not tweeted or commented since the row erupted but the broadcaster’s decision to block him from its flagship “Match of the Day” football show triggered mass walkouts by staff in solidarity.

    Regular sport programmes that were due to be on-air have been replaced with previously aired episodes and some fixtures are to be telecast without the regular supporting expert commentary.

    Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, apologised for the disruption and exuded hope that Lineker would be back on air soon.

    “We are working very hard to resolve this situation and make sure we get output on air,” Davie told the BBC.

    “I am in listening mode. I want to make sure that going forward we have a workable solution. To be clear, success for me is: Gary gets back on air,” he said.

    There is mounting pressure on the top team to resolve the crisis after the BBC, which operates through a taxpayer-funded licence fee, said it considered Lineker posting such views on social media as a breach of its impartiality guidelines.

    UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told Sky News that he “profoundly” disagrees with Lineker’s comments, but stopped short of demanding an apology.

    “If you believe in BBC independence, then it’s not for the Chancellor or any other government minister to say how these issues are resolved,” said Hunt.

    “The central thing that people want to know is that there isn’t any kind of political agenda in the way the BBC goes about its business, which I’m not saying there is, but that is the confidence people need to have,” he added.

    The Conservative government attacked Lineker’s Nazi comparison of a planned illegal migrant crackdown as unacceptable, with UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman among the ministers who branded it “offensive”.

    “I think it is, from a personal point of view, to hear that characterisation is offensive because my husband is Jewish, my children are therefore direct descendants from people who were murdered in gas chambers during the Holocaust,” Braverman told the BBC in the wake of the row earlier this week.

    “To kind of throw out those kind of flippant analogies diminishes the unspeakable tragedy that millions of people went through and I don’t think anything that is happening in the UK today can come close to what happened in the Holocaust. So, I find it a lazy and unhelpful comparison to make,” she said.

    This is the latest controversy over the role of the 100-year-old BBC after the broadcaster’s neutrality came under recent scrutiny over revelations that its chairman, Richard Sharp a donor for the governing Conservative Party was involved in the arrangement of a loan for the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2021, weeks before he was appointed to the BBC post on the government’s recommendation.

    [ad_2]
    #BBC #sports #coverage #disrupted #day #Gary #Lineker #Twitter #row

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • BBC under fire over Attenborough episode, sports presenter Lineker’s Twitter row

    BBC under fire over Attenborough episode, sports presenter Lineker’s Twitter row

    [ad_1]

    London: The BBC on Saturday is dealing with a deepening row as it emerged that it decided not to broadcast an episode narrated by world-famous conservationist Sir David Attenborough for a new wildlife series over fears of a right-wing backlash, amid an ongoing controversy over affecting its sports programming involving football legend Gary Lineker.

    Several of the broadcaster’s regular sports presenters have stepped back in solidarity with former England captain and TV pundit Lineker after he was suspended over a controversial tweet related to the government’s migration policy.

    It has now been forced to strongly deny a report in ‘The Guardian’ newspaper that said a sixth episode of the Attenborough-narrated Wild Isles’ series will not be broadcast over political concerns.

    While the newspaper claims that senior sources at the BBC have said that the decision not to show the sixth episode was made to fend off potential criticism from the political right, the BBC claims it was never intended for broadcast in the first place.

    “This is totally inaccurate, there is no sixth episode’. Wild Isles’ is and always was a five-part series and does not shy away from environmental content,” the BBC statement said.

    “We have acquired a separate film for iPlayer [online service] from the RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds] and WWF [World Wide Fund for Nature] and Silverback Films about people working to preserve and restore the biodiversity of the British Isles,” it said.

    The documentary series was part-funded by nature charities the WWF and RSPB and all the episodes are narrated by 96-year-old Attenborough.

    The newspaper claims some insiders at the BBC fear the corporation has bowed to pressure from lobbying groups with “dinosaurian ways”.

    The so-called sixth episode is understood to be a stark look at the losses of nature in the UK and what has caused the decline. It is also understood to include some examples of rewilding, a concept that has been controversial in some right-wing circles.

    Laura Howard, who produced the programme and used to work at the BBC’s Natural History Unit, told the ‘Guardian’: “I think the facts speak for themselves. You know, we’ve worked really closely with the RSPB in particular who are able to fact-check all of our scripts and provide us with detailed scientific data and information about the loss of wildlife in this country.

    “And it is undeniable, we are incredibly nature-depleted. And I don’t think that that is political, I think it’s just facts.”

    The controversy comes as the corporation apologised for its “limited sports programming” this weekend and said it is “working hard to resolve the situation” after several of its regular presenters went off air.

    In a post on Tuesday on his Twitter account which has 8.7 million followers, 62-year-old Lineker one of England’s greatest soccer players and now among the UK’s most influential media figures compared lawmakers’ language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany.

    The BBC, which operates through a taxpayer-funded licence fee, considers Lineker posting such views on social media as a breach of its impartiality guidelines.

    The network said it held discussions with Lineker over his involvement in Match of the Day’, which is broadcast on Saturday nights and shows highlights of English Premier League games that day.

    “The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting ‘Match of the Day’, until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media,” the broadcaster said.

    “We have never said that Gary should be an opinion-free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies,” it added.

    [ad_2]
    #BBC #fire #Attenborough #episode #sports #presenter #Linekers #Twitter #row

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )