News Analysis India

Tag: Instagram

  • Social media apps WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram face global outage

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Social media platforms WhatsApp and Instagram suffered a major outage on Friday night, but the services resumed after some time.

    Many WhatsApp users reported inability to send and receive messages, while Instagram too was down during the period.

    Independent tracking portal Downdetector showed a spike in the outage reported by users of both WhatsApp and Instagram.

    The Facebook-owned platforms later said the “technical issue” had been resolved.

    “A technical issue caused people to have trouble accessing some Facebook services. We resolved this issue for everyone, and we apologize for any inconvenience,” a Facebook spokesperson said.

    “Thanks for your patience, that was a long 45 minutes but we are back!” WhatsApp posted on Twitter.

    “Some people were having issues with their Instagram accounts earlier, but we’re back now. The issue’s been fixed and we’re sorry for the trouble,” Instagram tweeted, along with a GIF.

  • US Congresswoman AOC Gets COVID-19 Vaccine On Instagram Live, Documents Entire Process

    US Dem. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez received the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine and she shared the process live with her Instagram followers. The New York lawmaker shared the video of herself in the lead-up to the shot, including filling out a questionnaire and as well as how she felt afterwards. In the caption, she wrote that she would never, ever ask anyone to do something she wasn’t willing to do it on herself. 

    While taking to social media, AOC answered questions from followers and even shared a video showing the injection into her upper arm. On Friday, the 31-year-old took the first of the two rounds of the Pfizer vaccine, each administered 21 days apart. After receiving the jab, AOC shared information on potential side effects, safety and the efficacy of the vaccine. She even revealed that she was experiencing some minor symptoms after the inoculation. 

  • Prince William And Kate Middleton ‘delighted’ To Release Photo For Christmas Card

    The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on December 16 released the Christmas family photograph with their three adorable children aged seven, five, and two, commemorating the tradition of sending the holiday cards. The British royal’s Cambridge family shared their 2020 Christmas greeting photo on their official handle on Instagram. “The Duke and Duchess are delighted to share a new image of their family, which features on their Christmas card this year,” the Kensington Royal wrote in the caption of the image. 

    The photograph was captured by Matt Porteous at the Anmer Hall, Cambridges’ Norfolk country home. Both Prince William and Kate Middleton can be seen posing alongside the kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, all clad in sweaters and smiling at the camera. Prince Louis, however, is seen more jubilant and he is gleefully yelling, seemingly excited about the holiday season. The adorable image was captured around the time of autumn and like mostly all previous Christmas photographs, is taken at the family’s cosy home. In its last Christmas card, the family donned a sporty look as Prince William was seen on a motorcycle with Louis ad The Duchess of Cambridge holding children George and Charlotte. The photo was captured in an outdoor setting. 

  • Facebook plans to remove false claims about COVID-19 vaccines

    Amid growing misinformation on social media, Facebook plans to remove posts with what they consider to be false information or conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines.

    The company said in a statement on Thursday, in coming weeks they will start removing false claims about vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts.

    “Given the recent news that COVID-19 vaccines will soon be rolling out around the world, over the coming weeks we will start removing false claims about these vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts on Facebook and Instagram,” the release said.

    “For example, we will remove false claims that COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips, or anything else that isn’t on the official vaccine ingredient list,” the release added.

    The release cited another allegedly false claim – that groups are being infused without their consent to test the vaccine’s safety – as another example of the kind of posts targeted for removal.

    Since facts about COVID-19 vaccines will continue to evolve, the release emphasised the need to regularly update its policies as information from public health authorities becomes available, the release said.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo Scores 750th Career Goal, Says Next Stop 800

    Star striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 750th career goal during Juventus’ 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League game.

    Federico Chiesa opened the scoring in the first half, before goals from Ronaldo and Morata put the result beyond a doubt at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday evening.

    “750 goals, 750 happy moments, 750 smiles on the faces of our fans. Thanks to all the players and coaches who have helped me reach this incredible number, thanks to all my loyal opponents who have made me work harder and harder every day,” Ronaldo wrote in an Instagram post as he thanked coaches and fans.

  • Instagram launches new feature, ‘Branded Content Tag’ in Reels

    Branded Content Tag’ is the new feature launched by Instagram. The new feature has been updated on its platform ‘Reels’. After the launch of branded content tag on Reels, it may soon be launched to Live as well.

    “We want to ensure creators can clearly disclose when they’re creating branded content, no matter what format they choose to use. To help increase transparency, the Branded Content tag is launching in Reels today, and will begin testing in Live in the coming weeks,” Instagram said in an official blog post.

    Instagram is also launching a new workflow where advertisers will have freedom to create Branded Content ads, to post organically on Instagram first. Branded Content ads in Instagram Stories will now have tappable elements, such as @mentions, location and hashtags.

    “We want brands to have access to organic Stories’ creative that is native and authentic to the Stories experience,” said Instagram in its blog post. Instagram recently launched the ability for businesses and creators to set a minimum age for their branded content feed posts on Instagram.

    Now, creators will be able pick a default minimum age or a minimum age for specific countries, or a combination of both.