Fake followers under fire on social media

The Indian government has slammed the posts as "completely false," with officials concerned that the term "Indian variant" could hurt the country's reputation.

Their stage? A working-class area of Havana. Their showcase? Instagram and Facebook. Thanks to social media, a troupe of young Cubans has caught the eye of several stars abroad with their choreography mixing hip hop, reggaeton and salsa.

Fmr President, Olusegun Obasanjo has advised the youth to make good use of the social media in other to develop the country and not create confusion

Police say the man was arrested Sunday near Dhaka, but his female dance partner is on the run. The 20-year-old could face up to five years in prison on religious charges.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, women's rights have been quashed. Women are being told what to wear, what to study and being segregated from men at universities. After a violent crackdown on female protesters, a demonstration has taken place in Kabul by women deemed supportive of the Taliban's ultra-hardline interpretation of Islam. Images of that rally have sparked considerable reaction on social media. FRANCE 24's Haxie Meyers-Belkin tells us more.

A live broadcast video from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been removed from Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. In the video, the president falsely stated that UK citizens are developing AIDS after receiving two Covid-19 vaccine doses. After the video was posted, fact-checking and governmental entities scrambled to clarify that there is no evidence to demonstrate a link between Covid-19 vaccines and the development of viruses such as HIV.

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.

A teenager in the United States was rescued after flashing a hand signal that was popularized on TikTok indicating domestic violence. Experts say sharing such resources on social media can help those most at risk.

In an interview with FRANCE 24 at the Paris Peace Forum, US billionaire Frank McCourt strongly criticised tech giants, saying social media is "undermining our democracies". The owner of French football club Olympique de Marseille told us more about his Project Liberty plan. He has invested $100 million in the initiative, which he hopes will "transform the way the internet works".

In India, 80 fake social media profiles were blocked across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These profiles were part of an influence operation trying to undermine the Sikh community by spreading divisive narratives online. And how do you identify a fake profile photo on social media? Web designer Victor Baissait explains more to our Observers team.

Nine months after the military coup in Myanmar, this team of investigators works together with Myanmar citizens, witnesses and journalists, who can anonymously submit photos and videos online.Myanmar Witness then verifies and archives these online claims, which can be used as potential evidence in future human rights proceedings.We tell you more on this segment of Truth or Fake.

"Islamic State" propaganda lured hundreds of Indonesians to fight for an extremist cause in Syria. One such Indonesian says the IS Islamic caliphate dream was flawed and that he wants to turn over a new leaf. He has joined a social media campaign to counter extremist narratives.