3 charts to know: Facebook, Amazon, Apple earnings preview

In Madagascar, some of the country's highest authorities are accused of bankrolling teams to create fake profiles on Facebook which then share biased or false information for political gain. These fake Facebook accounts stir up controversy, sing the praises of President Andry Rajoelina and criticise journalists and opposition politicians. The communications minister, accused of playing a key role, denies any wrongdoing. Our correspondents report.

In recent days, two former African presidents have been the targets of fake news. In DR Congo, a photo of Joseph Kabila has been circulating with the claim he stood alongside the former head of the rebel group ADF, which has links with the Islamic State group. Another video, meanwhile, purports to show a crowd of supporters of Alpha Condé gathering in Paris... although the man they are shouting in support of is not the ousted Guinean president and it wasn't filmed in Paris at all.

Users have been facing issues accessing the social media giant's apps and services for the second time in a week. The company said a configuration change was behind the outage, which is under control.

Facebook is facing a historic crisis. Revelations by former data scientist-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen have shed light inside the notoriously secretive tech giant. She says Facebook harms children, sparks division and undermines democracy in pursuit of astronomical profits. Her allegations are backed by the leak of tens of thousands of internal documents.

Birds chirp near a river in the Ecuadorian jungle, five hours from the capital Quito, as Gregorio Mirabal expresses fear for the 500 tribes that often act as guardians of the Amazon rainforest and who face attacks, and even death, as a result.

Facebook has announced that it will expand in the European Union to build a new computing platform. It comes as the tech giant contends with concerns over its practices.

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn unveils three electric vehicles, boosting its bid to be a major player in the rapidly expanding EV market as it seeks companies to partner with.

Tired of seeing the lush Amazon destroyed over many years, Brazilian street artist Mundano decided to let nature speak for itself: he has painted a giant mural in Sao Paolo using ashes he collected from the scorched rainforest.

An investigation suggests that Facebook has selectively chosen what hate speech it wants to shut down in India. Whistleblower Frances Haugen's disclosures come as she is set to appear before British lawmakers.

Facebook reported an annual 17 per cent jump in third-quarter net profit, driven by an increase in daily active users and strong advertising sales despite the platform facing multiple controversies that have led to calls for tighter regulation.

European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told DW in an interview that legal action against the tech giant could be endless, but regulation now could limit its damage.

Facebook began this week by announcing more than $9 billion in quarterly profits, an increase of about 17 percent. The social media giant also announced that it now has close to three billion users. But all is not well on the Facebook front as Mark Zuckerberg’s platform has been facing a deluge of scathing reports.