social media

People play at an internet cafe bar in Zhengzhou, China in 2013.

World News

Study: China's Government Fabricates About 488 Million Social Media Posts Every Year

5:22pm May 22, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

"The methods by which they guide public opinion are very sophisticated — they're way more sophisticated than anybody realized," Harvard professor Gary King says.

A Facebook official said the company has found no evidence to back up allegations that company contractors suppressed stories of interest to conservatives in its trending topics section.

Is Facebook Suppressing Politically Conservative Content?

6:09pm May 10, 2016

by Laura Wagner

The fallout continues after the tech website Gizmodo published an article on Monday alleging that Facebook wasn't just relying on algorithms to identify trending topics on the social media platform.

When a megastar like Prince dies, collective mourning ensues. But if you didn't grow up hooked on the music — whether out of taste, or even because you weren't allowed — these moments can be somewhat isolating.

I'm Not Sad About Prince, But Let Me Explain

12:41pm April 23, 2016

by Sarah McCammon

NPR's Sarah McCammon grew up in a conservative evangelical home in the Midwest. When Prince died and purple filled her newsfeeds, she felt like an outsider watching a ritual she couldn't fully join.

Siblings Sangeeta (from left), Sunil and Ravi Tripathi. Sunil went missing weeks before the Boston Marathon, and media outlets misidentified him as one of the bombing suspects.

How Social Media Smeared A Missing Student As A Terrorism Suspect

11:00pm April 18, 2016

by NPR Staff

The documentary Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi explores what happened after a tweet misidentified a Brown University student as one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

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Mother and daughter discuss cell phone usage in a diner

What Special Ed Teachers and Parents Need To Know About Social Media

10:00am April 07, 2016

by Byrd Pinkerton

The internet can be a dangerous place, especially for kids who may struggle with communication. A psychologist offers some guidelines to help kids with special needs stay safe online.

The tweeted poems took a tack a tad more modern than the one depicted here.

Arts

'I Think That I Shall Never See, A Poem As Lovely As ... One On ATC'

6:57pm April 02, 2016

by Colin Dwyer

For National Poetry Month, All Things Considered asked listeners to tweet poems of their own — including the rhyme that tops this story. The plot thickened when a high school English class jumped in.

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Illustration of people communicating via computers.

Arts

When You Become The Person You Hate On The Internet

11:23am March 30, 2016

by Sarah Hepola

Author Sarah Hepola has complained for years about the random hatred of the Internet. Then, with one careless post, she became part of the problem.

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The Benicia Compliments page sprang up on Instagram as a platform for girls attending Benicia High School to tag each other in positive social media posts.

Teen Girls Flip The Negative Script On Social Media

5:38am March 24, 2016

by Stella Lau

Teen girls experience a lot of hate online. While parents and teachers try to address these problems from outside girl culture, teens have been coming up with their own social media solutions.

A man looks at flowers and messages of support outside the stock exchange in Brussels on Tuesday following the deadly attacks.

World News

Worldwide Outpouring Of Grief After Brussels Attacks

3:14pm March 22, 2016

Here's a look at how people are expressing solidarity for Brussels, where attacks killed at least 30 people today and wounded hundreds of others.

Pope Francis poses for a selfie with a young woman at the end of his weekly general audience at St Peter's square on Wednesday. The pope has now joined Instagram — although his account will be filled with press photos, not with selfies.

Religion

Pope Francis Joins Instagram

10:53am March 19, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The pontiff has signed up for the photo-based social media site under the username "Franciscus."