Latest news with #InstagramThreads
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Bella on Syed Saddiq's acquittal: 'Big day for the good guy'
KUALA LUMPUR: Actress and singer Bella Astillah has described the recent acquittal of Muar Member of Parliament, Syed Saddiq, as a fitting decision for a good man who never gives up fighting for the truth. Bella, 31, who has consistently supported Syed Saddiq, also hailed the young politician as a hero and an individual who perseveres despite being burdened by court cases. "Praise be to God, congratulations Syed Saddiq. Big day for the good guy. Not all heroes wear a cape; some wear suits and do not give up," she posted on Instagram Threads. "Justice is upheld," she wrote. Bella wasn't alone in her support for the politician; the comments section was flooded with positive messages. "Praise be to God, thank you. It's the 'next chapter' (the next phase), Bella," one netizen quipped. Another fan commented, "Behind a successful man, there is a woman who always supports him." Yesterday, the Court of Appeal acquitted Syed Saddiq of his conviction, overturning his seven-year jail sentence and two strokes of the cane for criminal breach of trust, misuse of property, and money laundering involving Armada funds. Bella, dressed in a blue baju kurung, was visibly emotional, seen crying and embracing Syed Saddiq's family members shortly after leaving the courtroom. Her presence in court and the emotional moment further fuelled rumours that she and Syed Saddiq are now in a special relationship, despite neither having confirmed it.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Threads expands open social web integrations with fediverse feed, user profile search
Instagram Threads, Meta's competitor to X, on Tuesday launched two new features as part of its plan to further integrate with the open social web, known as the fediverse. Now, Threads users will be able to see posts from other users on the fediverse within a dedicated feed if they've opted in to fediverse sharing on Threads. Plus, people will be able to search for fediverse users directly in Threads. Posts from federated users will be found on the Following tab of the Threads app. They don't appear in line with the other posts from Threads users, however. Instead, you'll tap on a link at the top of the feed to view these posts in a separate feed. Threads can pull in posts made on federated apps like Mastodon, Bookwyrm, WriteFreely, and others, with more services to be supported over time. According to Threads engineer Peter Cottle, users will see the top-level posts from the fediverse in this feed, but aren't yet able to reply. (They can see fediverse replies to their own posts, however, but that's in a different part of the app.) In addition, Threads users will be able to search and discover fediverse profiles in the Threads app, including those for WordPress bloggers who have activated fediverse sharing, Flipboard users, and those on Mastodon, among others. The features are designed to make Threads feel more like a federated app, meaning one that's connected to the wider network of interconnected social media servers that make up the decentralized open social web. Though Threads has not completed this integration, with over 350 million monthly active users, it's the largest app running on the ActivityPub protocol, which powers the X rival Mastodon and other federated apps. First launched in July 2023, Threads to date has taken inspiration from traditional social networks like X, as well as those operating on open source protocols, like Mastodon and Bluesky. Like Bluesky, Threads introduced the concept of custom feeds as well as its version of Starter Packs, to help users find people to follow. And like Mastodon, Threads is more directly tied into the fediverse, allowing people to connect with others who are not directly on Threads. Since its debut, Threads has introduced features that allow its users to opt in to share their posts on the fediverse, see replies on their posts from those on Mastodon, follow users' profiles on other fediverse servers, and see who follows them in return. In June, Threads expanded fediverse sharing functionality to the E.U. after prior launches in the U.S., Canada, and Japan. Meta says that Threads has interacted with over 75% of all fediverse servers since launching the fediverse sharing feature a year ago. However, the company has not yet provided an update on when it would be fully integrated with the fediverse, nor when it would introduce account portability. That would allow Threads users to move their account somewhere else if they ever decided Meta's policies weren't to their liking. It's a key aspect for open, decentralized apps, as it puts control in the hands of users instead of the platforms. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Fake footage of massive 'TACO' skywriting over Mar-a-Lago likely AI-generated
Claim: Authentic footage from May 2025 depicts the word "TACO" spelled out in the sky above Trump's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago. Rating: On May 29, 2025, footage allegedly showing the word "TACO" spelled out in contrail vapor above U.S. President Donald Trump's residence in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, circulated the internet. The video spread across multiple platforms, including X (archived), TikTok (archived), Facebook (archived), Instagram Threads (archived) and YouTube. The first post of the video (archived) appeared on X account @SkylineReport, where it garnered more than 1 million views, as of this writing. We were unable to reach the account's owner for comment. Investors began popularizing the term "TACO" ("Trump Always Chickens Out") to characterize claims that whenever Trump faces a market backlash, he will back down. Although several users in the comments appeared to believe that the video was authentic, the footage was fake — and likely AI-generated. First, Google search results of the terms "Trump," "Taco," and "above 'Mar-a-Lago'" yielded no results pertaining to the footage from any reputable news outlet. The results only related to Trump's response to reporters' questions about the term as well as unverified social media posts of the video or similar claims in question. ( Second, there were indications in the video itself of AI-generation. Jet engine vapor trails form letters out of condensation, but an aircraft does not appear in the video until the very end, when it spontaneously appears next to the letter "O" approximately four seconds into the video. If the video were authentic, the aircraft would be visible throughout the video. The video shows dozens of people on the ground beneath the letters. If the footage were authentic, individual social media users would have posted their own footage. Rather, the only footage on the internet is from one angle. The fake footage also depicts a distinctly long building beneath the letters supposedly on the Mar-a-Lago property, but Google Earth imagery of Mar-a-Lago does not appear to show any such building. (Google Earth) Lastly, we ran a screenshot of the video through AI-detection software Hive, and the results were 99.9% likely to be AI-generated. ( Fact Check: FAKE Video Shows 'TACO' in the Sky Over Mar-a-Lago | Lead Stories. 30 May 2025, Accessed 30 May 2025. Jolly, Jasper. '"Trump Always Chickens out": Taco Jibe Ruffles President's Feathers'. The Guardian, 29 May 2025. The Guardian,
TechCrunch
15-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Threads now lets creators add up to 5 links to profiles, track clicks
Instagram Threads is taking on Linktree and other 'link-in-bio' solutions by introducing a way for creators to use their Threads profile to share links to their other interests and online presences. At launch, the feature will support adding up to five links to a bio, which can connect visitors to the creator's blog, newsletter, website, or other social profiles, for example. In addition, creators will be able to access new tools to see how well those links perform. The Meta-owned social app, which now has over 350 million monthly active users, is positioning the feature as an alternative to its competitor X. However, Threads' ability to point users to a host of other social and web profiles from links easily accessed from within a creator's bio is something that could eat into the business of services like Linktree, Beacons, Koji, and others that offer tools that allow creators to build a landing page for multiple links. These services initially emerged because social media apps only offered one place to add a URL to a bio, and creators needed a way to direct their fans to everything else they published online, including their posts on other social networks as well as their own websites or storefronts. With the update, Threads will provide creators with insights that allow them to see how many people have visited the links in their profile as well as any links shared in their posts. The company explained that the idea is to make Threads a place where creators can grow their reach, even if that means helping creators promote a presence that's outside Meta's app. In addition, Meta says it will soon launch a weekly recap feature for Insights that offers a summarized snapshot of the past week, including a week-over-week comparison of the number of posts they've shared, total views, new follower counts, and replies on their posts. These recaps will also include other personalized tips to help creators learn how to better engage their community.
Indian Express
10-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Meta is bringing video ads to Instagram Threads: Here's what they look like
Instagram Threads, Meta's rival to X (formerly Twitter) will soon start testing video ads. The company made the announcement at IAB NewFronts, an industry event where social media companies and advertisers pitch themselves. In a blog post, the company said that a 'small number' of advertisers will be able to test 16:9 or 1:1 creative video ads in between pieces of organic content. 'We're testing video ads on Threads so businesses can expand their reach and engage with their audience in a familiar way across multiple platforms.' However, there is still no news about the pricing or frequency of these ads. Video ads on Threads isn't a new concept, as other Meta owned social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest have been showing them for quite some time now. The Mark Zuckerberg owned company also announced it will now notify Threads users when their accounts are penalised and that it is bringing its 'Account Status' feature to the platform. This means Threads users will now be able to view the 'actions' taken by Meta against their account and indicate if a post has been removed, made less visible or hide content not recommended by Meta. The feature can also help users if they have been blocked from using certain features on the platform and make an appeal. Meta also said that it would soon start testing Reels trending ads, a new content targeting product that delivers ads for the most popular and engaging creator-created Reels on Instagram. The company is also rolling out Video Expansion for Facebook Reels, an AI powered feature that automatically generates unseen pixels in each video frame to expand their aspect ratio. Last month, at its earnings call, Meta announced that Threads now has more than 350 million monthly active users and that the amount of time spent on the platform has increased by 35 per cent.
