Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency stirs criticism, privacy concerns

The spekboom plant, excellent at sucking CO2 out of the air, has been badly degraded in South Africa. Now an initiative is using innovative planting methods to bring back the plant and restore soil and biodiversity.

Many Facebook groups based in Mali and Nigeria began sharing a video of a helicopter on December 9, claiming it showed an aircraft delivering weapons to terrorists. In Mali, the posts often accused the French government of operating the helicopter, while posts coming from Nigeria laid the blame on the Nigerian government. In reality, the video is from neither one of these countries – it was filmed in the Central African Republic during a routine supply drop.

For the first time since inception in 2004, Facebook lost about 5 lakh users on a daily basis during Oct-Dec 2021. That saw the shares of its parent company, Meta, plunge 20 percent on the exchanges, wiping off $200 bn in market capitalisation.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday⁣.⁣

Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta, has been designated as an "extremist" organization by a Russian court. But Meta's WhatsApp is excluded from the ban.

The European Union agreed on new regulations that require social media companies and online marketplaces to remove illegal content. Advertisement targeting minors will also be banned.

The Mekong is one of the largest rivers in the world, beginning in China and flowing through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Nearly 70 million people in Asia are dependent on its waters for fishing or to irrigate their rice fields. But this watery giant is threatened due to the dredging of its sand, which is wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. Our colleagues from France 2 report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec and James Mulholland.

Sandberg helped transform the company into an over $100-billion-a-year powerhouse. She will continue to serve on the board of directors.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, among others, is facing several economic constraints. Mark Zuckerberg said he will "get more done with fewer resources."

Amnesty International accuses Facebook of exacerbating human rights violations in Myanmar. It claims the social network proactively "amplified" anti-Rohingya content back in 2017, when the country's military launched a deadly crackdown on the ethnic minority.

Meta Platforms Inc META.O said on Wednesday it will let go of 13% of its workforce, or more than 11,000 employees, in one of the biggest layoffs this year as the Facebook parent battles soaring costs and a weak advertising market.

The EU's competition watchdog has accused tech giant Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, of breaching antitrust rules. An early analysis says the firm distorted competition in the online classified ads business.