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Throughout his basketball career, Giannis Antetokounmpo has made the Nigerian diaspora proud. In a new partnership with WhatsApp, the NBA star is representing his homeland to the fullest. Antetokounmpo has joined forces with the global messaging app as its first-ever global partner, according to Adweek. The first-of-its-kind deal was publicly debuted during the All-Star Weekend when he sported a hoodie designed by Post Imperial — founded by Nigerian-American designer Niyi Okuboyejo — with “+234,” Nigeria’s international calling code. To further bring in the display of his heritage, the back of the hoodie replaced his Greek last name with his Yoruba one, “Adetokunbo.” The story of my +234 @WhatsApp hoodie!! #WhatsAppPartner https://t.co/B29AbrW5mb — Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) February 21, 2022 “Throughout my life, WhatsApp has kept me connected to my loved ones, my friends, my communities and everyone important to me,” Antetokounmpo said in a statement, according to...
Feb 22, 2022
Facebook just may be getting a facelift …literally. As the social media network looks to focus on building the metaverse, there’s speculation that the company will change its name as early as next week, The Verge reports. The name change is said to be announced during next Thursday’s annual Connect conference, but sources say that it could be unveiled sooner to signal the tech giant’s desire to go beyond just the social media ills that it is known for. “We will effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg during an interview with The Verge back in July. Per reports, the rebrand will position the blue Facebook app at the forefront of the products that work under the parent company overseeing various groups which include Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus and more. Facebook has also done the work to launch its greater focus on the next generation of technology. Over the summer, the company set...
Oct 20, 2021
On Monday, Oct. 4, the world experienced a blackout that lasted nearly six hours from social giants Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, causing Mark Zuckerberg to subtract from his billion-dollar fortune. According to Forbes, the Facebook head lost $5.9 billion in just a few hours, making him the world’s sixth richest person with a net worth of $121.6 billion. The sharp decline can be attributed to the turmoil created Monday, which caused the platform’s stock to decline 4.9 percent. As AfroTech previously reported, the blackout disrupted the internal systems of the platform with some employees reportedly being locked out of headquarters, unable to access company e-mails and Workplace, the company’s internal communication platform. The social giant’s difficulties have only heightened since mid-September when the Wall Street Journal revealed a series of stories that said Facebook was aware of discrepancies within their products that include misinformation and harmful media effects,...
Oct 5, 2021
Imagining a day without social media seemed like a crazy thought in the digital age — until today. The social-sphere has been in a frenzy ever since Facebook, along with its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms, went down for users on Monday. Even internal systems operated by employees were inoperable. Facebook noted that it was fully aware that “some people are having trouble accessing (the) Facebook app,” AP News reports. The social media platform also announced that it was hard at work to restore access. According to the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, the internal outages feel like a “snow day” per his Twitter account. Users have flocked to Twitter to share both their frustrations and speculations as to why the social media giant has gone dark. AfroTech is here to help you understand just exactly what’s happening in the world of social media.
Oct 4, 2021
WhatsApp is introducing a new feature that may look awfully familiar to Snapchat users. The Verge reports that the Facebook-owned messaging app has launched a brand new “View Once” feature on the platform that will allow users to view photos and videos once before they’re deleted. According to WhatsApp, the feature was designed to give users “more control over their privacy” with end-to-end encryption that protects their personal messages. The way the feature works is when sending a photo or video to someone on the app, you can view the media once by tapping the “1” symbol next to the send button. After the recipient opens the message, it will then disappear forever. Now for WhatsApp users this may be a new phenomenon that could potentially grow to be popular on the app. However, for social media users who already subscribe to other popular messaging platforms like Snapchat, this feature is nothing new. WhatsApp’s “View Once” feature is expected to rival that of Snapchat’s stories...
Aug 5, 2021
WhatsApp tends to pride itself on the security it offers users, but every app has its weaknesses. Recently, the Financial Times reported that a vulnerability in the messaging app allowed for it to be hacked. In early May, Whatsapp discovered that hackers were able to install surveillance technology by calling someone through the app. That would give them access to vital information, including location data and private messages. The spyware in question was developed by Israel’s NSO Group , according to the Financial Times. It could also be transmitted even if the target didn’t answer their calls. In addition, a spyware dealer told the Financial Times that the calls themselves often disappeared from call logs. “This attack has all the hallmarks of a private company known to work with governments to deliver spyware that reportedly takes over the functions of mobile phone operating systems,” WhatsApp said, according to the Financial Times. “We have briefed a number of human rights...
May 14, 2019
Last month, the House Judiciary Committee questioned Facebook and Google on hate crimes and the rise of white nationalism online. Now, it seems German WhatsApp may be becoming a cesspool for Nazi propaganda and antisemitic groups, according to reporting from BuzzFeed. On the app, nine groups — with names like “The German Storm” and “Ku Klux Klan International” — have shared message glorifying the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler, BuzzFeed reported. Some have also attempted to incite violence through the app. WhatsApp — who is owned by Facebook — has Community Guidelines prohibiting harassment. But even when combined with Germany’s own laws against Nazi imagery, the groups haven’t been taken down. Hate speech on social media platforms has been a growing problem for years. WhatsApp was listed as the sixth most common location for online hate speech in 2018, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were the platforms who secured the top three spots. Although...
Apr 19, 2019
Earlier this week, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton urged students to delete their Facebook accounts, as reported by Buzzfeed News . Acton made a rare public appearance alongside Ellora Israni, a former Facebook employee who founded She++ . The two were speaking at Stanford University to students taking Computer Science 181. The undergraduate course focuses on” tech companies’ social impact” and their “ethical responsibilities.” During his talk, Acton brought up the issue of moderation, which has become a big question in the tech world — especially for social media companies. Tech companies continue to face struggles around moderating content. Although that’s something WhatsApp didn’t have to deal with because its encryption made it so no one could monitor what’s said on the app. “I think it’s impossible,” Acton said in regards to moderation on other platforms. “To be brutally honest, the curated networks — the open networks — struggle to decide what’s hate speech and what’s not hate...
Mar 18, 2019
Facebook Inc. is creating a cryptocurrency that will work through WhatsApp, according to Bloomberg . The cryptocurrency will focus on WhatsApp’s India market, which boasts more than 200 million users, and would allow users to transfer money. India also leads in the world’s remittances — $69 billion was sent to people in the country in 2017. Facebook is developing a stablecoin based on the U.S. dollar to offset some of the volatility associated with cryptocurrencies and make daily purchases easier. Stablecoins are becoming more popular and there were more than 120 ventures related to the coins in the past year, according to Stable.Report, a stable coin tracker. The company has been increasingly dipping into the crypto industries by appointing its David Marcus to head its blockchain initiatives in Messenger in May. Marcus is the former president of PayPal and has been with Facebook since 2014. The company also has about 40 people in it’s blockchain department after a recent hiring...
Dec 26, 2018