social media platforms

Meta has blocked Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's Facebook page and campaign advertising just two weeks before Brazil's election. The restriction, affecting a sitting head of state's official channels at a critical moment in the campaign, is drawing widespread attention and debate about platform power over political speech in Brazil.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani used his address at the United Nations to condemn Israel over the war in Gaza, telling Israel to stop crying anti-Semitism as a defence and accusing it of deflecting from the humanitarian crisis. The fiery speech criticised the conduct of military operations and its toll on Palestinian civilians, drawing wide attention across Middle East-focused media and social platforms.

The United States has filed to formally intervene in the European Union's regulatory decision concerning Elon Musk's social media platform X, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move escalates a transatlantic dispute over the EU's handling of the platform, which has faced scrutiny under the bloc's content moderation rules. The intervention signals rising tension between Washington and Brussels over digital regulation of American tech companies.

Major social media platforms, including YouTube, TikTok and Meta, have rejected paid advertising for Alex Gibney's documentary 'Musk', which Bleecker Street releases on October 9. The platforms cited policies against 'political' content in declining the trailer. X, the platform owned by Elon Musk and the film's subject, is not responding to the distributor at all. Bleecker Street is appealing the rejections, arguing the film is a legitimate documentary and not political advertising.

Meta has launched Muse, a new AI agent, according to reports circulating on social media. Details about what Muse does, which platforms it will run on, and how it compares to rival AI assistants have not been confirmed. Observers are watching for an official announcement from the company clarifying the product's capabilities and rollout plans.

Indonesia's government is pressing Meta to follow through on its child safety commitments while drafting regulations that would impose administrative fines on 'high-risk' platforms that fail to comply. The move signals tighter oversight of social media companies operating in Indonesia and comes amid growing global scrutiny of how platforms protect children online.

A Gizmodo report examines unusual pricing patterns on Google Books, suggesting something odd about how prices for books sold or listed through the platform are being set. The article, tagged under tech, culture and gadgets, has begun circulating on social media, with readers sharing the link and speculating about what might explain the pricing irregularities.

University of Georgia researchers warn that people who take investing advice from social media develop more confidence than competence. Their work indicates online tips make amateur investors feel sure of their decisions even when their actual financial knowledge and results do not improve. The findings add to concerns about how finfluencers and viral stock tips shape retail investing behaviour.