Tag: Twitter

Twitter

  • Kiddwaya laments suspension of his Twitter account

    Kiddwaya laments suspension of his Twitter account

    Terseer Kiddwaya, one of the housemates of the just concluded 5th season of the Big Brother Nigeria (BBNaija) reality TV show has lamented the suspension of his official Twitter account.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the microblogging and social networking service suspended the official account of the reality TV star for yet to be confirmed reasons.

    This means Kiddwaya cannot be followed on the microblogging platform, and he cannot follow other users either. It also means the rich kid would not have access to his official Twitter account, and therefore, would not be able to make posts. Also, his posts have been marked “This Tweet is from a suspended account” already.

    It also seems the Instagram handle of the season 5 BBNaija housemate is having issues as well.

    ”My IG account is on shadow ban. My Twitter is suspended. The WDG movement is beyond social media. It’s a force you cannot stop. So do your best because we are not going anywhere,” Kiddwaya wrote.

    The reason why the official account, @RealKiddWaya, of the BBNaija star was suspended was yet to be ascertained, but there are speculations that the account was hacked. There are also speculations that Kiddwaya might be having fracas with his management after leaving the Big Brother’s house; hence, there is a battle over the account.

    However, TNG finding reveals that in order to maintain a safe environment for users, Twitter suspends accounts that violate its rules. Common reasons for suspension may include posting of spam, account security at risk and abusive Tweets or behaviour.

    “Most of the accounts we suspend are suspended because they are spammy, or just plain fake, and they introduce security risks for Twitter and all of our users. These types of accounts are against our Twitter Rules.

    “If we suspect an account has been hacked or compromised, we may suspend it until it can be secured and restored to the account owner in order to reduce potentially malicious activity caused by the compromise.

    “We may suspend an account if it has been reported to us as violating our Rules surrounding abuse. When an account engages in abusive behaviour, like sending threats to others or impersonating other accounts, we may suspend it temporarily or, in some cases, permanently,” a blog post by Twitter reads.

    At the interim, TNG observes the BBNaija reality TV star has, however, probably opted for a new account, @ReaIKiddWaya, with which he tweets. The L in real in the new account is actually capital letter i. Checks show that the new Twitter account with i for L was created in September 2019, while the old account was created in January 2019. The account might be fake.

    It has not been confirmed if Kiddwaya owns and operates the new account, and several other accounts spread around Twitter claiming to be backup accounts of the BBNaija Season 5 star.

    Why Kiddwaya’s Twitter account was suspended

    While there is no official statement on why the official account of Kiddwaya was suspended, Twitter does provide contexts on the actions its systems or teams may take when an account is suspicious in addition to the reasons why they would suspend a suspicious account.

    “We may sometimes add a notice to an account or Tweet to give you more context on the actions our systems or teams may take. In some instances, this is because the behaviour violates the Twitter Rules.

    “Other times, it may be in response to a valid and properly scoped request from an authorized entity in a given country,” Twitter stated.

    Elaborating, Twitter gave a range of the notices that users may come across when viewing an account or Tweet that is suspended. One of which is labelling a Tweet that may contain disputed or misleading information.

    “If we determine a Tweet contains misleading or disputed information that could lead to harm, we may add a label to the content to provide context. For Tweets containing media determined to have been significantly and deceptively altered or fabricated, we may add a “Manipulated media” label.

    “If an account was found to be in violation of our rules, any Tweets from that account will be hidden behind a notice. If you’ve reported a Tweet, we will hide it behind a notice and give you the choice on whether or not you want to view the content again.

    “If you have muted or blocked an account(s) and their Tweets are shared by someone else, we’ll hide the content behind an interstitial and give you the option to click through and view it. Additionally, if you’ve muted keywords, we’ll place Tweets that include those behind a notice. Read more about muting and blocking accounts.

    “In some cases, we may add notices to accounts because of their account settings, while we wait for the account owner to update their account so it’s in compliance with our rules, or if we detect unusual activity from it.

    “Also, we take action at the account level if we determine that a person has violated the rules in a particularly egregious way, or has repeatedly violated them even after receiving notifications from us,” Twitter explained.

    Meanwhile, TNG reports there are strong indications that Twitter must have suspended the official account of the 27-year-old self-employed Benue State born son of a billionaire by error.

    Even, Twitter does accept that sometimes its algorithm may play a quick one and unfortunately suspend a real person’s account by mistake. In such cases, the person affected files an appeal and Twitter works with the person to make sure the account is unsuspended.

    “Unfortunately, sometimes a real person’s account gets suspended by mistake, and in those cases we’ll work with the person to make sure the account is unsuspended,” Twitter says.

    The official Twitter account of Kiddwaya has garnered over 150 thousand followers before it was suspended, while the new account currently operating supposedly in his name has about 39 thousand followers. Other accounts spread around the platform claiming to be backup accounts of the BBNaija Season 5 star also have a good number of followers.

  • Facebook, Twitter, Google CEOs avoid subpoena, agree to testify before U.S. Senate committee

    Facebook, Twitter, Google CEOs avoid subpoena, agree to testify before U.S. Senate committee

    The chief executives of Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet-owned Google have agreed to voluntarily testify at a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on October 28 about a key law protecting internet companies.

    Facebook and Twitter confirmed on Friday that their CEOs, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, respectively, will appear, while a source said that Google’s Sundar Pichai will appear.

    That came a day after the committee unanimously voted to approve a plan to subpoena the three CEOs to appear before the panel.

    Twitter’s Dorsey tweeted on Friday that the hearing “must be constructive & focused on what matters most to the American people: how we work together to protect elections.”

    The CEOs are to appear virtually.

    In addition to discussions on reforming the law called Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from liability over content posted by users, the hearing will bring up issues about consumer privacy and media consolidation.

    Republican President Donald Trump has made holding tech companies accountable for allegedly stifling conservative voices a theme of his administration.

    As a result, calls for a reform of Section 230 have been intensifying ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, but there is little chance of approval by Congress this year.

    Last week Trump met with nine Republican state attorneys general to discuss the fate of Section 230 after the Justice Department unveiled a legislative proposal aimed at reforming the law.

    The chief executives of Google, Facebook, Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc recently testified before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.

    The panel, which is investigating how the companies’ practices hurt rivals, is expected to release its report as early as next Monday.

  • Twitter suspends Kiddwaya’s account

    Twitter suspends Kiddwaya’s account

    Microblogging and social networking service, Twitter has suspended the account of Terseer Kiddwaya, one of the housemates of the just concluded 5th season of the Big Brother Nigeria (BBNaija) reality TV show.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) confirmed the development on Sunday after lockdown housemate, Olamilekan Agbeleshe, popularly known as Laycon pipped Dorathy to win the 2020 edition of the TV show.

    This means Kiddwaya cannot be followed on the microblogging platform, and he cannot follow other users either. It also means the rich kid would not have access to his official Twitter account, and therefore, would not be able to make posts. Also, his posts have been marked “This Tweet is from a suspended account” already.

    The reason why the official account, @RealKiddWaya, of the BBNaija star was suspended was yet to be ascertained at the time of filing this report, but there are speculations that the account was hacked. There are also speculations that Kiddwaya might be having fracas with his management after leaving the Big Brother’s house; hence, there is a battle over the account.

    However, TNG finding reveals that in order to maintain a safe environment for users, Twitter suspends accounts that violate its rules. Common reasons for suspension may include posting of spam, account security at risk and abusive Tweets or behaviour.

    Kiddwaya was yet to respond to the speculations. But, Twitter does provide insights as to why an account may be suspended.

    “Most of the accounts we suspend are suspended because they are spammy, or just plain fake, and they introduce security risks for Twitter and all of our users. These types of accounts are against our Twitter Rules.

    “If we suspect an account has been hacked or compromised, we may suspend it until it can be secured and restored to the account owner in order to reduce potentially malicious activity caused by the compromise.

    “We may suspend an account if it has been reported to us as violating our Rules surrounding abuse. When an account engages in abusive behaviour, like sending threats to others or impersonating other accounts, we may suspend it temporarily or, in some cases, permanently,” a blog post by Twitter reads.

    At the interim, TNG observes the BBNaija reality TV star has, however, probably opted for a new account, @ReaIKiddWaya, with which he tweets. The L in real in the new account is actually capital letter i. Checks show that the new Twitter account with i for L was created in September 2019, while the old account was created in January 2019. The account might be fake; however, the handler has used it to congratulate Laycon shortly after he was announced winner of the BBNaija show.

    https://twitter.com/ReaIKiddWaya/status/1310306556496547843?s=19

    It has not been confirmed if Kiddwaya owns and operates the new account, and several other accounts spread around Twitter claiming to be backup accounts of the BBNaija Season 5 star.

    Why Kiddwaya’s Twitter account was suspended

    While there is no official statement on why the official account of Kiddwaya was suspended, Twitter does provide contexts on the actions its systems or teams may take when an account is suspicious in addition to the reasons why they would suspend a suspicious account.

    “We may sometimes add a notice to an account or Tweet to give you more context on the actions our systems or teams may take. In some instances, this is because the behaviour violates the Twitter Rules.

    “Other times, it may be in response to a valid and properly scoped request from an authorized entity in a given country,” Twitter stated.

    Elaborating, Twitter gave a range of the notices that users may come across when viewing an account or Tweet that is suspended. One of which is labelling a Tweet that may contain disputed or misleading information.

    “If we determine a Tweet contains misleading or disputed information that could lead to harm, we may add a label to the content to provide context. For Tweets containing media determined to have been significantly and deceptively altered or fabricated, we may add a “Manipulated media” label.

    “If an account was found to be in violation of our rules, any Tweets from that account will be hidden behind a notice. If you’ve reported a Tweet, we will hide it behind a notice and give you the choice on whether or not you want to view the content again.

    “If you have muted or blocked an account(s) and their Tweets are shared by someone else, we’ll hide the content behind an interstitial and give you the option to click through and view it. Additionally, if you’ve muted keywords, we’ll place Tweets that include those behind a notice. Read more about muting and blocking accounts.

    “In some cases, we may add notices to accounts because of their account settings, while we wait for the account owner to update their account so it’s in compliance with our rules, or if we detect unusual activity from it.

    “Also, we take action at the account level if we determine that a person has violated the rules in a particularly egregious way, or has repeatedly violated them even after receiving notifications from us,” Twitter explained.

    Meanwhile, TNG reports there are strong indications that Twitter must have suspended the official account of the 27-year-old self-employed Benue State born son of a billionaire by error.

    Even, Twitter does accept that sometimes its algorithm may play a quick one and unfortunately suspend a real person’s account by mistake. In such cases, the person affected files an appeal and Twitter works with the person to make sure the account is unsuspended.

    “Unfortunately, sometimes a real person’s account gets suspended by mistake, and in those cases we’ll work with the person to make sure the account is unsuspended,” Twitter says.

    The official Twitter account of Kiddwaya has garnered over 150 thousand followers before it was suspended, while the new account currently operating supposedly in his name has about 39 thousand followers. Other accounts spread around the platform claiming to be backup accounts of the BBNaija Season 5 star also have a good number of followers.

  • Twitter restores accounts locked, suspended by mistake

    Twitter restores accounts locked, suspended by mistake

    Microblogging and social networking service, Twitter said it has restored accounts that were mistakenly locked, suspended or limited on the platform.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports this is coming hours after some users reported delay in tweets showing up on timelines as well as accounts being locked by mistake.

    Twitter acknowledged that some accounts were locked, suspended or limited not because they tweeted about any particular topic that is against rules.

    “We’re seeing a number of accounts that have been locked or limited by mistake and not because they Tweeted about any particular topic. We’re working to undo this and get those accounts back to normal.

    “We’re also seeing a number of accounts incorrectly locked or limited. We’re working to undo this and get your accounts back to normal as soon as possible. This is not related to Tweets about any particular topic,” Twitter Support handle tweeted prior to restoring the accounts.

    Restoring the accounts, Twitter apologized for the incident.

    “The accounts that were mistakenly locked or limited have been restored. We’re sorry this happened in the first place.

    “We also noticed that some accounts were suspended by mistake and we’ve restored them too.

    “This could have affected follower and following counts for some of you and those should be fixed soon as well.

    “You may be noticing a delay in your Tweets showing up on timelines. We’re working to fix this right now.

    “This is now fixed. Your Tweets should be making it onto your timeline…on time,” the support handle tweeted.

  • Twitter account of India’s Modi hacked

    Twitter account of India’s Modi hacked

    The official Twitter account of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal website was hacked early on Thursday, the social media company has confirmed.

    A series of tweets were sent from the account asking its followers to donate cryptocurrency to the prime minister’s relief fund.

    Twitter said it was aware of the activity and had taken steps to secure the compromised account.

    Narendramodi_in is the official Twitter handle for Modi’s personal website.

    It has more than 2.5 million followers and was created in May 2011.

    Modi’s personal Twitter account, with more than 61 million followers, was unaffected by the incident.

    “We are actively investigating the situation.

    “At this time, we are not aware of additional accounts being impacted,” a Twitter spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

    The tweets were subsequently taken down and the account restored.

    In July, hackers accessed Twitter’s internal systems to hijack some of the platform’s top profiles including those of U.S. presidential contender Joe Biden, former U.S. president Barack Obama, Tesla founder Elon Musk, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

    The corporate accounts for Uber and Apple were also compromised in the major breach, according to reports.

  • BREAKING: Twitter bans Donald Trump Jr.

    BREAKING: Twitter bans Donald Trump Jr.

    Twitter has wielded the big axe against Donald Trump Jr. after he retweeted a video making bogus claims on coronavirus cure.

    The social media has restricted him from posting any tweets, claiming he shared ‘potentially harmful information’.

    Trump Jr posted a link Monday evening to a viral video of Nigeria-trained doctor, Stella Immanuel, claiming hydroxychloroquine is a ‘cure’ for coronavirus.

    ‘We’ve temporarily limited some of your account features,’ the Twitter notice to the president’s eldest son reads.

    ‘We have determined that this account violated the Twitter Rules. Specifically, for: 1. Violating the policy on spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19,’ it continued.

  • Buhari, most followed African leader on Twitter

    Buhari, most followed African leader on Twitter

    Burson Cohn and Wolfe (BCW), a global communications agency, in its Twiplomacy findings, ranked President Muhammadu Buhari as the most followed Sub-saharan African leader on Twitter with 3,121,169 followers.

    The company made this known in its newly released 2020 Twiplomacy Study.

    According to the study, Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria is by far the most followed Sub-Saharan African leader with 3,121,169 followers ahead of Paul Kagame the President of Rwanda with 1,910,159 followers.

    It also says that Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa has seen the biggest growth over the past year with his followers reaching 1,386,849.

    The Twiplomacy study noted that for the fourth year running, U.S. President Donald Trump was the most followed world leader on Twitter, with 81.1 million followers on his @realDonaldTrump account which has grown by 33 percent year-over-year.

    It also says that the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has moved up into second position with 57.9 million followers, ahead of Pope Francis who has 51 million followers on his nine different language accounts.

    According to the report, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, was the most followed EU leader with 5,293,346 followers ahead of his institutional account for the Elysée Palace with 2,492,468 followers.

    It says Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, was in third position with 1,405,481.

    According to the report, as of June 1, all 1,089 personal and institutional Twitter accounts of world leaders had a combined total of more than 620 million followers.

    The BCW’s Twiplomacy report also noted that Coronavirus was the most tweeted topic by world leaders.

    Commenting, Chad Latz, Chief Innovation Officer at BCW, said that Coronavirus had been the main topic on Twitter for the past three months.

    Latz said that due to the worldwide lockdown, Twitter had seen increased interest, noting that it was vital for world leaders to reach out to followers using the channel to spread critical health warnings and keep them abreast of the latest COVID-19-related information.

    “As the pandemic abates in some countries, world leaders will find themselves with an expanded audiences for future engagement, “Latz said.

  • Twitter rolls out new messaging interface

    Twitter rolls out new messaging interface

    Twitter is rolling out a new feature that will enable users to easily slide into Direct Messages (DMs).

    The new messaging interface essentially allows users to read or reply to messages without having to leave the home page.

    Earlier, to access the direct messages on Twitter, users had to switch to the DMs section by clicking on the mail icon.

    The new interface shows DMs in a pop-up window directly on the home screen.

    Twitter is currently rolling out the new messaging interface on its Web client, and it is being pushed out in a phased manner.

    How to access the new Twitter messaging interface

    The message prompt will appear at the bottom right corner of the screen. The new Twitter DM interface is similar to the message prompt on LinkedIn.

    With the introduction of this feature, users will be able to access direct messages right on the home page. However, the previous DM section on Twitter Web is still available to use despite the introduction of the new interface.

    The new DM feature is also highlighted in a teaser posted on Twitter. More details about its availability on the Twitter app for Android and iOS are expected from the company in the coming days.

    To improve user experience, the microblogging platform has been continuously adding new features amidst the global pandemic.

    Earlier in June, Twitter had introduced a Snapchat-Story like feature dubbed Fleets. With this feature, Twitter allowed users to post any content that lasts for only 24 hours.

    The company in the same month had introduced voice tweets that allowed users to send 140-second audio clip attached to a tweet.

    Twitter has improved its List section on the platform as well.

    However, the company is currently embroiled in a controversy after Twitter accounts of several prominent personalities were hacked.

    These Twitter accounts sent out tweets trying to dupe people into donating money in Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

  • Again, Twitter goes tough on Trump over copyright complaint

    Again, Twitter goes tough on Trump over copyright complaint

    Twitter has on Saturday disabled a campaign-style video shared by US President Donald Trump, citing a copyright complaint.

    The video disappeared from the president’s Twitter feed with the notification: “This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.”

    The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the video was said to have included music from the group Linkin Park.

    Twitter began challenging Trump’s tweets in May and has repeatedly clashed with him since then.

    The social media company has several times disabled or commented on tweets by the president because of what it said were copyright complaints or violations of a policy against threatening violence.

    Twitter removed an image the president tweeted on June 30, which included a picture of Trump, because of a complaint from the New York Times, whose photographer had shot the image.

    The company also put a tweet from the president behind a warning label in late May, saying that he had violated its rules against “glorifying violence” when he advocated that Minneapolis authorities be tough in responding to protests over the death of George Floyd.

  • Why Kanye West wants to run for president

    Why Kanye West wants to run for president

    Standing on the need to build the future, American rapper, Kanye West, who is a vocal supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he would run for president in 2020.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Kanye West announced his intention to run for the post of president on Saturday in an apparent challenge to Trump and his presumptive Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

    “We must now realise the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States,” West wrote in a Twitter post, adding an American flag emoji and the hashtag. #2020VISION.

    https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1279575273365594112

    It was not immediately clear if he was serious about vying for the presidency four months before the November 3 election or if he had filed any official paperwork to appear on state election ballots.

    The deadline to add independent candidates to the ballot has not yet passed in many states.

    Kanye West and his equally famous wife Kim Kardashian West have visited Trump in the White House.

    At one meeting in October 2018, the American rapper delivered a rambling, profanity-laden speech in which he discussed alternative universes and his diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which he said was actually sleep deprivation.

    Elon Musk, the chief executive of electric-car maker Tesla and another celebrity known for eccentric outbursts, endorsed the rapper’s Twitter post: “You have my full support!” he wrote.