Social Media

Facebook Is Launching a New Investigation into Potential Algorithmic Bias in its Systems

Facebook is launching a new investigation into potential bias within its algorithms, as it works to improve its systems in response to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and in light of its recent civil rights audit. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, both Facebook and Instagram will launch new examinations of their core algorithms.

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Twitter Bans 7,000 QAnon Accounts, Limits 150,000 Others as Part of Broad Crackdown

Twitter announced Tuesday that it has begun taking sweeping actions to limit the reach of QAnon content, banning many of the conspiracy theory’s followers because of problems with harassment and misinformation. Twitter will stop recommending accounts and content related to QAnon, including material in email and follow recommendations, and it will take steps to limit circulation of content in features like trends and search. The action will affect about 150,000 accounts, said a spokesperson, who asked to remain unnamed because of concerns about the targeted harassment of social media employees.

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Twitter Alerts Irish Privacy Regulator About Hacker Attack

Twitter Inc. has alerted a European Union data protection watchdog about the cyber-attack it fell victim to last week, days after the company said hackers had targeted just some 130 accounts and didn’t steal any passwords. The Irish Data Protection Commission is assessing Twitter’s notification about the incident, said Graham Doyle, a spokesman for the regulator. The agency is the lead authority in the EU for Twitter and other U.S. tech companies, which all have their EU headquarters in the country.

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Marketing

Slack Files EU Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft for Bundling Teams with Office

Slack has filed an anticompetition complaint against Microsoft in Europe, arguing that the software giant “illegally” bundles Teams into its omnipresent Microsoft Office product. Microsoft launched its Slack-style enterprise communication Teams platform back in 2016, and the two companies have enjoyed some healthy rivalry. Slack even went so far as to take out a full-page ad in the New York Times telling Microsoft what it needs to do to succeed in the team communication sphere.

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The Update: How Google is Handling the Shift to Virtual Events

In this episode of our video series The Update, Natalie Zmuda, global executive editor of Think with Google, talks to Marcelo Alba, lead events and experiences strategist at Google, about the pitfalls and opportunities brands face as they take their events online.

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How and Where to Fight for Your Marketing Budget

Though digital marketers felt pressure before to justify their marketing spend, this is a whole new ballgame. Marketing is often an easy target for cost-cutting because of how frictionless it is to adjust course quickly. There’s often no contract or penalty for reducing ad spending, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for doing so. Will cutting spend in top-of-funnel and brand marketing while maintaining only the areas of highest direct ROI help in the short term, but leave the business less competitive in the long term? If you’re finding yourself faced with the prospect of budget cuts, you aren’t alone. The majority of businesses are facing at least some impact from the coronavirus pandemic, and 65% of CMOs are expecting “moderate to significant” budget cuts still to come, according to a report published by Gartner. Clearly, marketers will face an influx of additional budgeting discussions in the coming months. Here’s how you can prepare to keep your business on track now, and be in position to power back during the recovery.

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