Migrants risk extreme heat, long walks, and gang violence just to get to live in the U.S. However, many of them have been fed false information by smugglers on social media, particularly on Facebook and WhatsApp.
This week in social media, a judge in Brazil ordered WhatsApp to be blocked throughout the country (again) and that order was overturned within a day (again).
About 100 million Brazilians collectively cried out in anguish on Monday. But you wouldn't hear it from them, because that anguish was over yet another government shutdown of WhatsApp, which as Latin Post previously noted, is a free and vital form of daily communication for Brazilians.
This week in social media, Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp backed Apple in its encryption fight with the FBI, the same week that a WhatsApp executive was briefly jailed in Brazil in a similar case.
Instant messaging app WhatsApp is eliminating the small charges that it normally charged customers after their first year of using the app. Now, the app will remain free for life.
On the same day that investigators of the ISIS Paris attacks announced to CNN that the perpetrators used encrypted chat apps, including WhatsApp and Telegram, to communicate under the radar of law enforcement, Brazil imposed -- and then subsequently rescinded -- a nationwide ban of WhatsApp for related reasons, at least officially.
This week in social media, Facebook began rolling out new options beyond its "Like" button and Messenger released for Apple Watch. Meanwhile, Twitter's first change under new permanent CEO Jack Dorsey rolled out and Pinterest added localized results for its huge international user base.
This week in social media, two Facebook-owned messenger services hit major milestones. Meanwhile, Twitter is still on the hunt for a leader with a possible announcement soon, Snapchat (maybe?) hit a Facebook-style milestone in video, and Tumblr cleaned up its act -- on mobile.
This week in social media, Facebook faced increased scrutiny in Europe while subsidiary WhatsApp finally launched its calling feature on Android. Meanwhile, Twitter's Periscope dominated Meerkat right out of the gate and Pinterest reached its fifth anniversary stronger than ever.
This week in social media, Facebook announced Facebook Messenger as its own platform, as the company's future now looks to rival Google. Meanwhile, Twitter unveiled its Meerkat live-streaming competitor, Periscope, and Snapchat's definitely, definitely the leader in the youth demographic.
Snapchat, by all indications, is involved in another round of venture capital fundraising that could increase financing of the ephemeral social media messaging company by up to $500 million. The funding round could also value the still privately held "startup" at $19 billion -- a number full of irony for Snapchat's CEO Evan Spiegel.
