DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Trolls, propaganda & fear stoke Bukele's media machine in El Salvador
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

In examining Bukele’s media operation, Reuters interviewed more than 70 people, including former media operatives and social media researchers. It showed Bukele with an 86% approval rating in El Salvador, making him the most popular leader in the region. “The threat in El Salvador used to be from the gangs, now it's from the state,” said Angelica Carcamo, the organization's president. “I found a lot more manipulation in El Salvador than in Mexico,” Escorcia said. A native of Guatemala, Torres has been critical of the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras for creating conditions that spur migration.

☆ 29 foodtech power players of 2022 revolutionizing how restaurants operate and deliver amid a looming recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rising labor and commodity costs put a squeeze on restaurants in 2022. Insider's 2022 foodtech power players are helping restaurants elevate their digital business. But sunny skies turned stormy in 2022 as the restaurant industry faced headwinds tied to market volatility, a labor shortage, and record inflation. Ghost kitchens, virtual brands, and online-ordering startups are now morphing to survive and stay relevant post-lockdown. Insider's 2022 list spotlights foodtech leaders who are helping restaurants take their digital business to the next level as they face a looming recession.

[1/2] Taylor Swift's "Red (Taylor's Version)" receives the Favorite Pop Album award during 2022 American Music Awards, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 20, 2022. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday pressed the Federal Trade Commission to enforce a 2016 law against ticket scalpers using bots after Ticketmaster blamed the software for troubles selling tickets to pop superstar Taylor Swift's upcoming tour. Ticketmaster (LYV.N) canceled planned ticket sales to the general public for Swift's 2023 U.S. concert tour, her first in five years, earlier this month as 3.5 billion ticket requests from fans, bots and scalpers overwhelmed the website. A spokesman for the FTC confirmed that it had received the letter, but had no comment. Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Twitter stops policing Covid-19 misinformation under CEO Elon Musk and reportedly restores 62,000 suspended accounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk's Twitter account displayed on a mobile with Elon Musk in the background are seen in this illustration. Twitter CEO Elon Musk has been a vocal critic of how health officials reacted to the coronavirus pandemic. Musk has committed to free speech on Twitter, which might partially explain why the change was enacted. The change comes as technology newsletter Platformer says employees are scrambling to restore more than 62,000 suspended accounts. That figure could include some of the more than 11,000 accounts that were suspended for violating the company's Covid-19 misinformation rules.

☆ Twitter searches for China protests bombarded by spam and porn, raising alarms among researchers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The fire, and long simmering frustration over the country’s zero Covid policies, helped spur the rare protests in China. GreatFire.org, which helps Chinese citizens get around the country’s internet censorship, noted a torrent of “dating” spam tweets appearing on Friday tagged with “Urumqi,” the capital of Xinjiang. The flood of spam tweets is still ongoing, Smith told CNN on Monday. Twitter is officially blocked in China, but estimates of the number of Twitter users in China have ranged between 3 million and 10 million. Musk has pushed back on suggestions that his ownership of Tesla, which is heavily invested in China, may give the Chinese government “leverage” over Twitter.

☆ Chinese bots spammed Twitter with porn, which buried news about COVID-19 protests in China, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Chinese bot accounts posted spam, which buried news about COVID protests, per the Washington Post. Protests against strict COVID-19 restrictions have erupted in several areas of China. A US government contractor told the Post that by the evening, the feed was "fifty percent porn, 50 percent protests." Some of these acts have been dormant for years, only to become active yesterday after protests broke out in China." Twitter's trust and safety team is likely in disarray.

☆ Elon Musk says Twitter banning Donald Trump was a 'grave mistake.' The tech billionaire is 'fine' with Trump not tweeting, too.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk said Twitter's ban of Donald Trump was a mistake. The move "undermined public trust in Twitter for half of America," according to the billionaire. Trump was reinstated by Musk last week and has yet to use the platform. As for kicking Trump off the platform in 2020, Musk claims the move had a bad effect on Twitter. "Deplatforming a sitting President undermined public trust in Twitter for half of America," Musk wrote.

☆ Elon Musk wants paid subscribers to account for 50% of Twitter's revenue, but half of its users won't pay to use the site, data shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk wants subscriptions to account for 50% of Twitter's total revenue. Many users say they won't pay for the service, however, according to a survey. Musk has said he wants subscriptions to account for 50% of Twitter's total revenue, according to a message by a VP on an internal company slack. The firm polled 2,063 US adults, 1,212 of which were Twitter users, from October 20 to October 28, the week Musk took over the company. The now-suspended Twitter Blue subscription had around 140,000 paying subscribers as of November 15, according to data published by The New York Times.

☆ Musk plans to relaunch Twitter premium service, again
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON — Elon Musk said Friday that Twitter plans to relaunch its premium service that will offer different colored check marks to accounts next week, in a fresh move to revamp the service after a previous attempt backfired. Twitter previously suspended the premium service, which under Musk granted blue-check labels to anyone paying $8 a month, because of a wave of imposter accounts. Originally, the blue check was given to government entities, corporations, celebrities and journalists verified by the platform to prevent impersonation. In the latest version, companies will get a gold check, governments will get a gray check, and individuals who pay for the service, whether or not they’re celebrities, will get a blue check, Musk said Friday. It’s also likely to put the company on a crash course with European regulators seeking to clamp down on harmful online content with tough new rules.

☆ Elon Musk says Twitter is granting ‘amnesty’ to suspended accounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk's Twitter account displayed on a mobile with Elon Musk in the background are seen in this illustration. New Twitter owner Elon Musk said Thursday that he is granting "amnesty" for suspended accounts, which online safety experts predict will spur a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation. In the month since Musk took over Twitter, groups that monitor the platform for racist, anti-Semitic and other toxic speech say it's been on the rise on the world's de facto public square. On Oct. 28, the day after he took control, Musk tweeted that no suspended accounts would be reinstated until Twitter formed a "content moderation council" with diverse viewpoints that would consider the cases. A report from the European Union published Thursday said Twitter took longer to review hateful content and removed less of it this year compared with 2021.

☆ Regulate Crypto or It’ll Take Down the Economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Elizabeth Warren | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The dramatic collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange, FTX, may have come as a shock to the Miami Heat, Tom Brady , Twitter bots and financial-news talking heads. But crypto is following a well-worn path of financial innovations, such as subprime mortgages and credit-default swaps, that began with dazzling rewards and ended with crippling losses. Proponents say crypto holds great promise for making the financial system more efficient and inclusive. During the 2008 collapse and every financial crisis before that, these claims have proved dangerously delusional. Crypto is no exception.

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate antitrust panel will hold a hearing on the lack of competition in the ticketing industry after Ticketmaster's problems last week managing the sale of Taylor Swift tickets, Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the panel, said on Tuesday. "That’s why we will hold a hearing on how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industry harms customers and artists alike." Senators Klobuchar and Mike Lee, the top Republican on the committee, did not provide a date for the hearing or a list of witnesses. For her part, the pop superstar on Friday said it was "excruciating" for her to watch fans struggle to secure tickets and that she had been assured that Ticketmaster could handle large demand. Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Taylor Swift's tour promoter says it had no choice but to work with Ticketmaster
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Taylor Swift's tour promoter is shifting blame for the botched "Eras" ticket sale squarely onto Ticketmaster, potentially fueling even more concerns about the Live Nation-owned ticket seller's dominant role in the industry. AEG Presents, the company in charge of handling Swift's upcoming tour, has rejected claims made by Ticketmaster and Live Nation's largest shareholder, Liberty Media, that the promoter chose to work with the ticketing site. Lawmakers, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called for more oversight on Live Nation, which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, expressing antitrust concerns. They have called on the Department of Justice to investigate Ticketmaster and Live Nation for "hiking up ticket prices" and "charging rip-off junk fees." On Friday, The New York Times reported the Justice Department had already opened an antitrust investigation into Live Nation's practices prior to the Swift ticket sale fiasco.

☆ Twitter won't restore Alex Jones' account, Musk says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN Business —Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones won’t be returning to Twitter and will remain banned from the platform, according to its new owner, Elon Musk. Musk declared on Friday that Jones’ account will not be restored, in spite of some users’ requests, and spent the weekend defending the decision even as Twitter moved to restore other suspended accounts including that of former President Donald Trump. “No,” Musk tweeted flatly in response to one user’s call for Jones to be reinstated on Twitter. “Don’t blame Musk at the end of the day because he didn’t bring me back,” Jones urged his followers. On Nov. 9, Musk told advertisers during a Twitter Spaces event that it could be months before the council meets for the first time.

Slightly over 15 million Twitter users voted in the poll with 51.8% voting in favor of reinstatement. Trump will be reinstated," Musk tweeted. Some users initially reported being unable to follow the reinstated account on Saturday evening. He also said Twitter would not reinstate any banned users until there was a "clear process for doing so." He has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.

Slightly over 15 million Twitter users voted in the poll with 51.8% voting in favor of reinstatement. But Trump also said Twitter suffered from bots, fake accounts and that the problems it faced were "incredible". He also said Twitter would not reinstate any banned users until there was a "clear process for doing so." Truth Social has been Trump’s main source of direct communication with his followers since he began posting on the app regularly in May. He has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.

Elon Musk on Saturday reinstated former President Donald Trump's Twitter account. Musk polled Twitter users about whether to bring back the account, with 51% of respondents voting "yes." Trump's return to Twitter was widely anticipated after Tesla CEO Elon Musk closed a $44 billion deal to buy the company. "I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump," Musk said at a Financial Times conference in May. "I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH," Trump told Fox News in April, referring to the website Truth Social.

☆ Donald Trump appears to snub Twitter as Elon Musk reinstates the former president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump has said that he sees no reason to rejoin Twitter, Reuters reported. Elon Musk reinstated the former president's account on Saturday night following a Twitter poll. Trump's Twitter account had more than 88 million followers before he was banned on January 8, 2021. Addressing if he'd be rejoining Twitter, Trump said: "I don't see any reason for it. Musk previously told a Financial Times conference, "I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump," adding, "I think that was a mistake.

☆ 'SNKRS app really pulling a Ticketmaster right now': Nike botches the drop of the new Air Jordan 1 'Lost and Found' and infuriates sneakerheads
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sneaker collectors are frustrated with Nike after its SNKRS app glitched during the Air Jordan 1 "Lost and Found" drop. Many took to Twitter to complain of error messages and app crashes that prevented them from entering the drawing. Nike has faced mounting criticism for its struggle to prevent bots and resellers from taking over hyped shoe drops. Frustrated collectors took to Twitter en masse Saturday to commiserate over technical issues on Nike's SNKRS app that stopped them from entering a drawing to purchase the sneakers. Others joked that Twitter seemed to be more functional than the SNKRS app, despite widespread layoffs and a mass exodus under new leader, Elon Musk.

☆ Ticketmaster provides no real answers as it struggles to explain disastrous Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ticketmaster apologized for its chaotic and botched ticket-sale system for Taylor Swift's upcoming tour. "We want to apologize to Taylor and all of her fans — especially those who had a terrible experience trying to purchase tickets," Ticketmaster wrote in a tweet Friday night. "We're working to shore up our tech for the new bar that has been set by demand for the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour," Ticketmaster wrote. This disrupted the predictability and reliability that is the hallmark of our Verified Fan platform," Ticketmaster wrote. According to Ticketmaster, a record-breaking 3.5 million fans registered to the verified presale in hopes of snagging a ticket on Nov. 15.

☆ Where can you buy Taylor Swift tour tickets? Not Ticketmaster
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( James Skoufis | James Skoufis Is A Democratic New York State Senator Representing The Hudson Valley. In | He Undertook A Legislative Investigation Into Predatory Ticketing Practices | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Ticketmaster is, yet again, pointing blame at literally everyone but itself after the latest debacle involving tickets for Taylor Swift’s 2023 “Eras” concert tour. Federal anti-trust regulators never should’ve allowed the company’s 2010 merger with Live Nation — and should course-correct by breaking up Ticketmaster. It’s likely that at each of Taylor Swift’s 52 upcoming concerts, thousands of tickets will be “held back” and never released to the general public. Even if you do secure a ticket, fees are out of control. “I should not be left to my own devices,” sings Taylor Swift.

☆ Elon Musk changes his tune on letting Donald Trump back on Twitter, says 'decision has not yet been made'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk isn't sure whether he'll reinstate former President Donald Trump's Twitter account. As for Trump, the "decision has not been made," Musk said. In May, he told the Financial Times he would "reverse the permaban" on the former president's account, calling the original Twitter decision "morally wrong and flat-out stupid." Musk said the ban "ultimately did not result in Donald Trump not having a voice," since he moved communication to Truth Social, his Twitter-like social media company. Twitter booted Trump from its site following the January 6, 2021 riot on the US Capitol, citing the "risk of further incitement of violence."

☆ White House on Taylor Swift Ticketmaster debacle: Capitalism without competition is exploitation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, August 9, 2022. Declining to comment on "any potential investigation" by the Justice Department, Jean-Pierre said Biden has been clear on how he feels about companies that hold monopolies. Ticketmaster, part of Live Nation, is facing scrutiny for its roll out of Taylor Swift concert tickets. The New York Times reported Friday the Justice Department had opened an antitrust probe into Live Nation after the fiasco. Live Nation Entertainment is a merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation in 2010.

☆ Taylor Swift slams 'outside entity' over ticket fiasco: 'I'm not going to make excuses for anyone'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"I'm not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could. The CEO of Live Nation's largest shareholder defended Ticketmaster on Thursday, chalking up the issues to Swift's popularity and bots. "It's a function of Taylor Swift. The site was supposed to open up for 1.5 million verified Taylor Swift fans," Maffei told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Maffei said Ticketmaster sold more than 2 million tickets on Tuesday and demand for Swift "could have filled 900 stadiums."

The U.S. Justice Department, which approved Ticketmaster's much-criticized purchase of Live Nation in 2010, is different than it was 12 years ago. A probe is well short of a decision to file a lawsuit asking a judge to break up a company. Ticketmaster previously said in a statement the Swift ticket sale problems were caused by unprecedented demand, much of it by bots trying to buy tickets to resell. "Live Nation was a new entrant, but it had the wherewithal to really compete," he said. A previous Ticketmaster fight with the department culminated in a December 2019 settlement that extended for another five years a consent decree that was part of the deal's initial approval.

Search resuls for: "Bots"

25 mentions found