Snapchat is taking action to address fentanyl dealing on the platform
- Snapchat has announced a series of measures it’s taking to counter drug dealing on its platform and educate users about the dangers of fentanyl and other drugs.
- When users search for drug-related keywords like “fentanyl”, Snapchat will direct them to a new educational portal called Heads Up.
- Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that is stronger than heroin.
- Snapchat is also improving in-app reporting tools and proactive detection features.
- This follows a recent investigation by NBC News into deaths involving teens and young adults who were suspected of having bought fentanyl-laced drugs through Snapchat.
- The report alleged that drug dealers use Snapchat to find buyers.
- Full story, here.
Doctors alerted to dangerous dry scooping workout trend
- Doctors are being warned about a dangerous pre-workout trend called dry scooping.
- The trend involves eating powder supplements dry, rather than diluting them in water, as recommended by manufacturers.
- There are concerns that teenagers may attempt the trend, as research found that it reached millions of likes on TikTok.
- Pre-workout powders typically contain lots of amino acids, vitamins, and other ingredients, such as caffeine or other stimulants.
- Large doses of caffeine can have heart-related side effects, including palpitations.
- A scoop of powder may contain as much caffeine as five cups of coffee.
- Full story, here.
Google and YouTube will cut-off advertisement revenue for climate change deniers
- Google will no longer allow advertisers, publishers, and YouTube creators to monetize content that denies the existence of climate change.
- This includes content claiming climate change is a hoax or a scam, denying the long-term trends showing climate change and claims denying greenhouse gas emissions or that human activity is contributing to climate change.
- Google will use a mix of automated tools and human reviewers to enforce the policy.
- They will attempt to differentiate between content that states a false claim as fact, versus content that reports on or discusses that claim.
- This marks Google’s second misinformation-related policy change, after YouTube banned vaccine misinformation.
- Full story, here.
Telegram has amassed 70 million new users
- The encrypted instant messaging app Telegram registered 70 million new users during Monday’s Facebook blackout.
- Other alternatives to WhatsApp and Facebook, such as Signal also gained traction during the outage.
- This is Telegram’s second jump in usage this year.
- In January, more than 25 million users signed up following concerns over a new WhatsApp privacy policy.
- Telegram has become more popular among the far-right movement, with researchers reporting an increase in misogyny, racism, and anti-Semitism channels.
- Full story, here.