Trending

http://youtu.be/sw9tCx2kogQ Unrest in Hong Kong has caused concern in mainland China, where news about pro-democracy protests have been carefully filtered out of social media. It’s common for social media companies in China to remove content that is perceived to be threatening to social stability or the ruling Communist Party. Beijing-based journalist and writer Karoline Kan delves into a world of forbidden words and state-sanctioned influencers and tells BBC Trending why she censors herself.

http://youtu.be/9fVY2JgAtIo A team of online defenders from across the globe are strategically combating trolls who spread hate speech on Facebook. Who are they, and how does it work? Nina spends three hours a day on Facebook – not sharing selfies or catching up on news, but trying to make the network a nicer place. She’s a German member of a large and growing international movement called #IAmHere. Started in Sweden in 2016, tens of thousands of volunteers in more than a dozen countries organise in closed Facebook groups. They target popular posts, often from mainstream news organisations, which get overrun by extremism, violent threats and hate speech. Their goal is to inject balance into the conversation with facts and more moderate views. There’s some evidence to indicate that the...

http://youtu.be/oHgBGqeB2QM A group of men sent graphic and threatening messages on Facebook. What happened when they were exposed? They were meant to be private, and the people posting them considered them “jokes”. But when female students at the University of Warwick found out about hundreds of violent and obscene messages – some of them directly naming themselves and their friends - they were horrified and scared. We heard from the women who were named in the group chat, and who alleged that a later university investigation fell short of their expectations. The messages came from closed social media groups – and it was a social media campaign which led to a public outcry which changed the direction of the case. Presenter: Jonathan Griffin Reporter: Larissa Kennelly Photo caption: ...

http://youtu.be/m8MYTi65K8Q A former YouTube insider reveals how the company decides which videos to recommend to users - and how those choices turned YouTube into a hotbed of false, sensationalist content. Why are there so many conspiracy videos on YouTube? The company has clamped down on extremist and dangerous content, but conspiracies, outright fakes, and hoaxes are still very easy to find. Sometimes they’re only watched by a few people, but often these videos go viral. The reason why they so often pop up on your screen, says former Google employee Guillaume Chaslot, is YouTube’s algorithm. Chaslot was one of the engineers who helped shape the YouTube recommendation engine, the mechanism that determines which videos the site suggests you watch next. He was sacked in 2013, and since...

http://youtu.be/LXhNPZv0AUU EU officials say Russian disinformation could help boost the vote for anti-EU parties and movements. But is the threat being exaggerated? Officials in Brussels are worried. With the elections for the European Parliament rapidly approaching, they say Russia is using disinformation and fake news to sow discord and to undermine people's trust in the European Union. Moscow flatly denies such accusations. But EU officials say Russian disinformation could help anti-EU parties and movements. And, if you were to believe the polls, populist and Eurosceptic parties are indeed likely to increase their number of seats. While the EU talks of a threat that can’t be ignored, others argue that European governments are missing the point: it's not foreign threats they should ...

http://youtu.be/PizUadqTZ3Y It’s all over social media, but it’s also a dangerous cosmetic surgical procedure. It’s a dangerous cosmetic surgical procedure that’s all over social media. About one in every 3,000 women who undergo a Brazilian Butt Lift - or BBL - will die, but the stark statistics haven’t stopped its popularity. In the United States, for instance, the number of BBLs has doubled in just a few years. Fuelling the trend are social media photos and influencers who show off their hourglass shapes – including big breasts, tiny waists, and a big bottom. It’s a particularly prized body type in some cultures and, in modern times, it’s been popularised by superstars like Kim Kardashian. We follow Shami, a 23-year-old who’s considering having a BBL. Before she makes a decision, she...