Social Media
How Elon Musk’s favorite news influencer is capitalizing on his clout
The Australian crypto entrepreneur now hosts chats with world leaders. "If [he] is sharing a story, there's a good chance that U.S. policymakers are reading it — and acting on it," said one analyst.
Mark Zuckerberg defends Meta in court against monopoly claims
In Zuckerberg's second day of testifying in the federal antitrust trial, he defended Meta's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The U.S. government wants Meta to bust up the two companies.
U.S. says it is now monitoring immigrants’ social media for antisemitism
Effective immediately, the government says it will begin screening immigrant social media for activity that officials think indicates support for antisemitism.
Trump extends TikTok’s sell-by deadline again
On his first day in office, President Trump used an executive order to hit pause on the TikTok ban for 75 days. Now he's pushing back that deadline.
Ben & Jerry’s alleges its CEO was fired over its political activism. Here’s the scoop
Ben & Jerry's alleges its parent company, Unilever, ousted its CEO in retaliation for social media posts supporting progressive causes. The last few years have been a rocky road for the companies.
A U.S. influencer outrages Australians by snatching a baby wombat from its mom
Outdoor enthusiast Sam Jones left Australia after posting a video of herself separating a baby wombat from its mom on a dark road. Australians are cheering her departure and worrying about the animal.
Duolingo’s owl mascot is alive after all. What did it gain from faking his death?
Duolingo's mascot faked his death to get users to do their daily lessons, and attention from pop star Dua Lipa. Here's how he masterminded it — and why one expert sees the campaign as a success.
Alabama lawmakers target social media
Social media is under fire nowadays, especially when it comes to use by children. Several bills in the Alabama Legislature would restrict how kids could use social media. We hear more about that and other happenings in Montgomery from Todd Stacy, host of Capitol Journal on Alabama Public Television.
TikTok is back on the Apple and Google app stores
Apple and Google removed the app after the Supreme Court upheld a law prohibiting firms from doing business with TikTok as long as it is controlled by China-based ByteDance.
Duolingo’s owl mascot is a social media sensation. So why did they kill him off?
Duo was fatally hit by a Tesla Cybertruck, the language-learning company announced this week. The snarky owl has been the face of Duolingo for over a decade. Why his sudden demise, and what's next?
Ban social media for kids? Fed-up parents in Senate say yes
Sen. Katie Britt says she hears about it constantly when she is at home in Alabama. “Parent after parent” come up to her wanting to discuss the way social media was harming their kids.
Widening Rifts and Unfriending in Politically Tense Times
Thirteen percent of people, according to one survey say they blocked, unfriended, or stopped following someone on social media because of what they posted about politics. Haden Holmes Brown takes a look at tensions over politics three months into President Donald Trump's time in office.
Sen. Cam Ward On Bill to Thwart Inappropriate Teacher-Student Contact
Recent reports have referred to Alabama as "ground zero" for incidents of teacher-student sex. Whether that's fair or not, most agree there's a serious problem. So state senator Cam Ward of Alabaster has sponsored a bill to mandate an hour of training for educators on appropriate teacher-student interaction in the age of social media.
Crime in Greater Birmingham: Impact of Social Media
Elizabeth Sanfelippo is an energy consultant who lives in Birmingham’s upscale Highland Park neighborhood. She grew up outside of Birmingham, and lived in Vermont and New York before coming back to her beloved hometown. When she wants to know what’s happening in the area, she picks up her smartphone and presses a green icon with a white house on it, opening the Nextdoor app.
