Over 1.1 million social media accounts were suspended by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for posting “illegal” content and engaging in defamation campaigns against organisations.
According to specifics, PTA received over 1,200,000 complaints, including 134,000 against Facebook, and barred more than 1,135,000 IDs for uploading “illegal” content and taking part in a smear campaign against government institutions.
PTA reported that Facebook has blocked more than 112,000 bogus IDs. In addition, the agency received 65,122 complaints for immoral content posted on TikTok; following an investigation, 63,000 IDs were disabled.
According to ARY News, the PTA took down more than 36,000 YouTube videos and blacklisted 31,860 Twitter IDs in response to complaints.
After lowering the number of non-operational sites to 163, the PTA previously declared that it has restored telecom services in more flood-affected areas.
PTA said on Twitter via its handle that ongoing efforts by the organisation and telecom providers to restore connectivity in flood-affected areas have further reduced the number of non-operational sites to 163.
Additionally, PTA stated that work is underway to restore telecom services completely in flood-affected areas on a priority basis.
A traffic warden has been arrested in Lahore for filming TikTok videos of females on roads during his duty hours.
The traffic warden used to make videos of female passengers without their consent. The arrested police officer also used to show his face in the videos.
In view of the inquiry report, departmental action will be taken against the traffic warden.
سی ٹی او لاہور نے ٹریفک اسسٹنٹ کو سڑک سے گزرتی خواتین کی ویڈیوز بنانے اور سوشل میڈیا پر لگانے پر فوری معطل کر کے انکوائری کا آغاز کردیا ہے۔ انکوائری رپورٹ کی روشنی میں سخت محکمانہ کاروائی عمل میں لائی جائے گی۔ فورس کی بدنامی کا باعث بننے والے عناصر کے ساتھ سختی سے نمٹا جائے گا۔ https://t.co/FfsjrsAh1K
Marriage is an auspicious occasion, which is celebrated in fancy dresses across the world. Couples usually wear formal or sometimes specially dressed up clothes at their wedding and people are not used to seeing casually dressed up bride and groom.
A video went viral on TikTok in which a groom showed up in a T-shirt and jeans at his own wedding.
Social media users could not digest a groom dressed up casually on his wedding day. Netizens advocating individual’s choice roasted him on TikTok as the video went viral and got more than two million views.
In the video, the groom could be seen wearing grey skinny jeans with a black palm angel T-shirt while the bride is dressed up in a white wedding gown.
The video has stoked up a bit of controversy in the comments section.
“When you’re getting married at 4 but lads night down the pub is at 6,” someone commented under the video.
Another user wrote: “That is sad look how beautiful she looks he couldn’t even be bothered changing from the night before.”
Some called it a potential red flag and an indicator of how the marriage would turn out.
A person asked, “Did he know he was getting married?”
While an overwhelming majority was flooding the comments section with negative comments, a user named Voilet, who actually posted the video, made it to comment section and wrote, “For god’s sake stop she’s married & very happy. She’s not bothered wat way he dressed she’s married & that’s all that matters.”
Instagram has announced that it is suspending the rollout of new features to its app following an online backlash from users, influencers, and celebrities.
Updates to Instagram are believed to be due to the growing popularity of its competitor “TikTok” which comprises videos rather than still images.
Celebrity sisters Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner also posted on social media this week urging the company to “make Instagram Instagram again” and stop trying to be like TikTok.
The slogan came from a Change.org petition that had more than 229,000 signatures as of Thursday night. “Let’s go back to our roots with Instagram and remember that the intention behind Instagram was to share photos, for Pete’s sake,” the petition reads.
Toni Tone, writer and content creator, posted how frustrated she was with the modifications and how Instagram was so much more reasonable when she received content from the people she preferred to follow.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri responded to the controversy earlier this week by posting a video on Twitter saying the features are a work in progress, testing with a small number of users. But after some backlash, he later said in a series of tweets that he wanted to “continue supporting photos.”
New features included recommended video content, styled like rival app TikTok. Meta, Instagram’s parent company, said it wants to “take the time” to get the transition right.
Instagram is testing a feature that converts video posts into Reels. According to the company, the modification is a part of Instagram’s plan to streamline video on the app and is currently being tested with a small number of users worldwide.
With the most recent move made by the blogging platform, Instagram’s efforts to surpass TikTok are clearly growing.
A representative from Meta stated, “We’re testing this feature as part of our efforts to simplify and improve the video experience on Instagram.”
The social media consultant Matt Navarra shared a screenshot of an in-app message that reads, “Video posts are now shared as Reels,” on Twitter. Participants in the test will see this message.
The message warns that anyone can find your Reel and use your original audio to make their own Reel if your account is public and you post a video that ends up being turned into one. Only your followers will be able to see your Reel if your account privacy setting is set to private.
The message also mentions that if your account is public and you post a reel, anyone can remix it. In your account settings, you can, however, stop people from remixing your Reels.
As Meta has placed significant wagers on Reels, the test is now. Reels now account for more than 20% of people’s Instagram usage, according to the company’s Q1 2022 earnings report.
It is not surprising that Instagram wants to completely replace video posts in order to expand Reels. People may spend even more time watching Reels if the company ultimately decides to make this change permanent, which would be something to brag about.
Instagram’s video components would be even more consolidated if it decides to convert all video uploads into Reels.
When Mosseri outlined Instagram’s goals for 2022 last year, he said the company would increase its investment in video and concentrate on Reels.
This change may have been intended all along, as he even made a hint that Instagram would center all of its video products around Reels and continue to expand the short-form product.
Data from the Reuters Digital Media Report 2022 shows that among users of social media platforms, TikTok took over Snapchat and Telegram in 2021 and 2022 respectively, across the world. It is the fastest growing platform among all social media channels. In 2021, only five per cent of the global audience was using TikTok and this number has grown to 16 per cent in 2022. Snapchat audience decreased by one per cent to 12 per cent while Telegram has seen an increase of five per cent with new global audience of 12 per cent.
The table shows change in audiences using Snapchat and TikTok
2020
2022
Change
TikTok
5 per cent
16 per cent
11 per cent
Snapchat
13 per cent
12 per cent
-1 per cent
Social media usage has also increased throughout the world.
Trust in BBC falls by 20%
Datamentioned in the report also shows that the average level of trust in news networks globally has reduced by eight points from 50 per cent to 42 per cent in a year. Moreover, in the UK, the proportion of people not trusting BBC has increased from 11 per cent to 26 per cent while the proportion trusting BBC has fallen by 20 per cent.
The attached graph shows how the UK audience’s trust in the BBC has dwindled over time.
Another important thing to notice is that TikTok is not just being used for fun videos. It is also emerging as a new player in the news ecosystem. More and more people are turning to TikTok for their news. It has also taken over Snapchat for news as well.
2020
2022
Change
TikTok
1 per cent
7 per cent
6 per cent
Snapchat
3 per cent
2 per cent
-1 per cent
Audience is less interested in news
Globally, the interest of people in news is falling. The proportion that says they are extremely interested in the news has fallen sharply over time. On average, in 2015, 67 per cent of global audiences was interested in the news while this number declined to 47 per cent in 2022 with a change of -20 per cent.
Country
2017
2022
Change
Argentina
77 per cent
48 per cent
-29 per cent
Brazil
82 per cent
57 per cent
-25 per cent
Spain
82 per cent
55 per cent
-27 per cent
UK
65 per cent
43 per cent
-22 per cent
USA
68 percent
47 per cent
-21 per cent
Consumers are avoiding the news
The report also says that 38 per cent of the audience actively avoided news in 2022. The audience becoming least interested in the news has been increasing from 2017 to 2022 in every country except for Italy. The attached graph shows the percentage of people staying away from news in different countries.
The most common reason for avoiding news is politics and Covid-19. Data shows that 43 per cent of users avoid the news because of excessive news regarding Covid-19 and politics. Moreover, 36 per cent of the audience thinks that the news has a negative impact on their mood.
People under the age of 35 struggle to understand news
People under 35 are also finding it hard to understand the news and it is causing them to avoid the news.
Younger audiences want journalists to express personal opinions
Data from the report shows that 46 per cent of the population between the ages of 18-24 do not want news channels to just report news on social media but want them to express their personal opinions alongside reporting news, while the opposite is true for people of age 55+. 57 per cent of older people want news channels to stick to reporting the news. The older the consumer, the more the proportion of them want journalists to stick to just posting news on social media.
Majority uses smart phones to access morning news
In most countries, the majority use mobile phones to access news in the morning with the highest percentage being 43 per cent in Norway. In most countries, the least used medium for news is print media. The 2021 report shows that the lockdown during Covid-19 proved to be a nail in the coffin for print media.
Younger audiences prefer watching the news rather than reading it
Although the significant majority still prefers reading news irrespective of age, data reveals that people aged 18-24 prefer watching the news (17 per cent) which is more when compared to older people (11 per cent for age above 55). The younger you are, the more you prefer watching the news rather than reading about it.
Key findings in Digital Media Report 2021
Data from the digital media report last year (2021)showed that the trust level for news reports in Asia-Pacific is no more than 50 per cent with the most being in Thailand. It is important to notice that the USA is reported to have a trust level of 29 per cent in the news, which is the lowest of all 46 countries selected for the report. The report says it is the aftermath of deep division over the US ‘stolen election reports’ and the killing of George Floyd.
To measure the trust level, people were asked to indicate if they trusted the news posted on social media,
Other key findings of last year’s report showed that Facebook, which was known for Covid-19 misinformation, was still used by 32 per cent for news and the most successful social media platform was YouTube.
Celebrated singer Britney Spears made Desi followers blissful when she shared an Instagram reel of a button dosa preparation made by an influencer. The video had the favored music Pasoori within the background. Followers have been overjoyed to see the put up and flooded the video with feedback, saying that it was ‘satisfying to observe’. The music Pasoori has been sung by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill.
Zulfiqar Jabbar a.k.a Xulfi expressed his gratitude on the transnational popularity of his song as he is heading the coke studio 14 this year.
Indian Comedian Varun Grover took to Instagram and shared the video on his Tales with the caption, “Britney Spears making Button dosa to the music of Pasoori is the type of international citizen liberals need.”
Supermodel Ayyan Ali took to her official Twitter handle to respond to former PM Imran Khan’s allegations about her case. Khan recently claimed that the custom officer in the supermodel’s case was killed to facilitate her.
However, Ali in a detailed thread on Twitter denied the accusation with ‘proofs’. The controversial celebrity called Imran Khan a liar and added that he can’t stop making false accusations against her despite being the PM for four years.
In a series of controversial tweets, the Earthquake diva stated that Imran cannot stop taking her name to stay relevant and also can’t get rid of his habit of lying.
Hypocrite/delusional/incapable/lowlife @ImranKhanPTI u started this extremely sinful/evil trend of white lies/blame games/abuse/slander against others 4 personal/political advantages nationally/internationally in the history of Pakistan 🖤 but the difference is everythin u 1/ https://t.co/CQmvdUXvZz
Instagram is currently testing a new feature that allows users to pin photos to the top of their photo grid. According to tipsters, developers and insiders with access to the feature can already pin posts from the side menu.
Instagram appears to have been working on the pin option for at least a few months. The upcoming feature will be a welcome addition to the Meta-owned platform, especially for those who want to highlight a photo or video they fancy, which may be buried way down in the grid.
Instagram users currently have the option to pin stories to their accounts, but the addition of a pin feature would further enhance the user experience.
The pinned posts test comes around a week after Instagram said that, as part of a modest test, it would remove the ‘Recent’ button from hashtag pages for some users. When you click on a hashtag, you’ll be led to a page where you can sort through the content that’s been shared with that hashtag into three categories: top, recent, and reels.
Some users will only see the ‘Top’ and ‘Reels’ tabs on hashtag pages as a result of this change. The adjustment might be viewed as a method for Instagram to promote Reels, its TikTok competitor, while simultaneously focusing on uncovering the most popular postings on the platform.
Giant social media platform, Facebook has joined its rival social media platform, Tiktok. The company created its official account last week which reached more than 18k followers. It is verified now but has not uploaded any videos on the account.
A Facebook spokesperson also confirmed the Facebook account on Tiktok to a news agency Adweek.
He said, “Brands leverage a variety of channels, including some of our social media platforms, to reach and engage with the people using their products and services every day. Our intent with establishing a brand presence and cultivating a community on platforms like Tiktok or others is no different.”
Facebook has an official account on Twitter as well which is also a rival platform.
Metaverse recently introduced reels on Instagram which has an audience from 150 countries. The company has already announced monetisation features for advertisers on the platform.
Tiktok also has a verified account with 26 million followers on Instagram.
