NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 16, 2023--

Around half of the Twitter users who actively posted about climate and environmental issues have left the social media platform since Elon Musk took over, new research has found, raising concerns over the “troubling implications” of this mass exodus. The research, published in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution on Tuesday, says that nearly half of Twitter users who identified as environmentally oriented had ceased being active on the platform. The authors of the study analysed the sample of 380,000 users who tweeted about climate and environment at least once in 15 days. The study found that within six months of take over by Mr Musk, around 47.5 per cent of these users became inactive. For comparison, the researchers also looked at a control group of 458,000 users who tweeted about US politics, and found that only 21 per cent of these users became inactive in the same period. The research took place between December 2022 and May 2023 and was led by Charlotte Chang, assistant professor of biology and environmental analysis at Pomona College. Researchers say this mass exodus shows the changes in Twitter’s ownership and how the platform is run has real-world impact. “Twitter has been the dominant social media platform for diverse environmental interests to communicate and organise around advocacy goals, exchange ideas and research and new opportunities for collaboration,” the authors wrote. “Currently there is nothing on the horizon to replace it, putting at risk robust idea-sharing on topics such as extreme weather disaster responses, preservation of biodiversity and climate change.” The social media giant, now called “X”, has gone through a series of shake-ups and changes since the Tesla founder bought the platform in October 2022. However, the platform has long stood as a vital source for real-time information and public mobilisation. Recent findings suggest that hate speech has increased substantially after the Twitter sale and that engagement increased much more markedly for contentious right-wing actors, the study notes. Researchers say changes since Twitter’s acquisition likely have ripple effects for other user segments as well, such as the climate policy sphere, or future disaster response after extreme weather events. Read More Google is profiting from climate misinformation on YouTube, report finds ‘Propaganda to infect children’s minds’: Climate misinformation textbook mailed to 8,000 US science teachers Fossil fuel lobby waged $4m disinformation campaign during climate summit, report finds

Snapchat users have been left feeling “freaked out”, with some claiming they have deleted the app, after its AI chatbot appeared to post a short video onto its own Story. Several Snapchat users took to social media on Tuesday night to share screen recordings and screengrabs of the short clip which was posted on the Story of the My AI account in what Snapchat has described as a “temporary outage” which has since been resolved. The video, which played for a few seconds, appeared to display a beige background with a different colour at the top of the frame, leading some users to suggest that it showed the corner between a ceiling and a wall. Taking to Twitter, one user said the uploaded Story “freaked me out so I deleted the app”, while others were left fearing the AI feature had evolved or become sentient. Many users then reported that the video was deleted and the AI chat feature temporarily ceased to respond to users’ questions, instead indicating it was experiencing a technical issue in its replies. Rolled out globally earlier this year, Snapchat’s My AI chatbot is designed to respond to users’ messages like a friend, providing answers to trivia, offering advice, and giving recommendations based on location if a user shares their geolocation with the app. A spokesperson for Snapchat said: “My AI experienced a temporary outage that’s now resolved.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that will bring generative artificial intelligence tools to the platform for the first time. The world’s most popular messaging app, which counts close to 3 billion monthly active users around the world, will allow a limited number of people to create custom stickers using a new AI-powered ‘Create’ button. The latest feature follows similar generative AI tools from other messaging platforms, with Snapchat introducing a ‘My AI’ chatbot in February powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology. Instagram, which is also owned by Meta, is reportedly planning its own AI chatbot that will come with up to 30 different personalities for users to choose from. Meta did not respond to a request from The Independent for more details about Instagram’s AI plans, though leaked images reveal options for asking questions, seeking advice and offering writing assistance. “Bring AI to your chats for a more fun and engaging experience,” stated text on the leaked images. “Chat with 30 AI personalities and find which one you like the best.” The new WhatsApp update, first spotted by WaBetaInfo, means WhatsApp users do not require external tools or specific design skills in order to create stickers. They will simply need to enter a text-based command in order for the stickers to be generated, similar to image generator tools like Midjourney and OpenAI’s Dall-E. “AI stickers are generated using a secure technology offered by Meta,” the WhatsApp news site noted. “It’s important to note that this feature is optional and those AI stickers are easily recognisable. This means that the recipient may understand when a sticker has been generated by the AI technology from Meta.” The Independent has reached out to Meta for more information about WhatsApp’s latest AI tool, though the company typically does not comment on features before they are released publicly. Currently only Android users signed up to WhatsApp’s Google Play Beta Program have access to the custom sticker creator tool. Read More WhatsApp update: App finally launches new way to transfer chat history, fixing major security issue

Germany’s Greens vetoed Free Democrat Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s plans to provide several billion euros of tax relief

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 16, 2023--

From Twitter being rebranded as X, to Meta who have rivalled this with their new Threads platform, there's been quite a few changes to social media this year. One of those recent changes also includes Instagram’s new-like animation which applies to those who updated the app. It means that when you like something on Instagram, the large heart will then appear in the area where you double-tapped on the photo and then the heart flies upwards off the screen. Of course, when it comes to social media updates, no one is a fan of change and Instagram users made this clear on X, formerly known as Twitter. Here is a compilation of reactions who all shared they weren't happy with the new like update, as one declared the feature "sucks," though this update did result in some amusing memes too: Unfortunately for those who updated the app, there is no way to change the like option back to the original but those who haven't updated Instagram can avoid the new feature if they opt out of auto-updates on Instagram. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 16, 2023--

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 16, 2023--

Cities across northwestern parts of the US are breaking temperature records for this time of year as a

When 16-year-old Shreya Nallamothu from Normal, Illinois, scrolled through social media platforms to pass time during the pandemic, she became increasingly frustrated with the number of children she saw featured in family vlogs.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 16, 2023--