Tag: social media

  • Two teachers in Punjab suspended for misusing social media for political posts

    Two teachers in Punjab suspended for misusing social media for political posts

    The Punjab School Education Department (SED) has banned two teachers for violating an order prohibiting them from accessing social media networking platforms.

    Under section 6 of the PEEDA Act 2006, the department has suspended schoolteachers Umar Daraz of Government Girls Primary School 311/WB Tehsil Dunya Pur and Muhammad Waseem (PST) of Government Primary School Akhtarabad, Bahawalpur city, for “misusing social media for political posts.”

    The Punjab government had previously prohibited government personnel from accessing social media networking platforms and advised them to avoid participating in the ongoing smear campaign against state institutions and aligning with any political party.

    The Punjab School Education Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) recently issued directives prohibiting government employees from using social media. These directives were sent to all divisional directors (elementary education) and chief executive officers of District Education Authorities (DEAs).

    The schoolteachers were warned that if they broke the rules, they would face severe consequences.

  • ‘Affects their behaviour’: Women University Swabi bans smartphones on campus

    ‘Affects their behaviour’: Women University Swabi bans smartphones on campus

    Students at the Women University Swabi (WUS) have been prohibited from using smartphones and tablets on campus, with a severe warning about disciplinary action and a fine in case of violation of the ban.

    As per a circular of the university, the copy of which is available with Dawn reads.: “It is notified for information of all the students that smartphones/touch screen mobiles or tablets will not be allowed on the premises of Women University Swabi with immediate effect.”

    “It has been observed that students extensively use social media applications during the university timings, which affects their education, behaviour and performance,” the circular noted.

    As per the circular, the authorities would initiate a stern disciplinary action against those students violating the ban including cellphones and tablets confiscation and a fine of Rs5,000.

    Deans and heads of all departments have been directed to relay the instructions to the students after the vice-chancellor of the university signed the notification.

  • Imran Khan or Shehbaz Sharif: Social media divided over who to thank for unchanged fuel prices

    Imran Khan or Shehbaz Sharif: Social media divided over who to thank for unchanged fuel prices

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected the proposal of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to increase the prices of petroleum products.

    The announcement was made on Twitter by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Economy account.

    OGRA had proposed an increase in the price of diesel by Rs51.32 per liter (35.7%), petrol Rs21.30 per liter (14.2%), kerosene oil Rs36.03 per liter (28.7%) and light diesel oil (LDO) Rs38.89 per liter (39.9%).

    PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz shared the news report of PM rejecting the summary and wrote: “Well Done Shehbaz Shairf.

    PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, while talking to media said that petroleum prices will remain unchanged. He added that the previous PTI-led government made a mistake by subsidising petroleum goods, which he claimed will harm the country’s economy.

    On the other hand. social media users — including journalists and PTI leaders — are saying this is due to the policies of the pervious government, and are thanking Imran Khan.

    In addition, some are concerned about the decision of not increasing the fuel prices.

  • Elon Musk offers $43 billion to acquire Twitter

    Elon Musk offers $43 billion to acquire Twitter

    Elon Musk has submitted a takeover bid for Twitter, offering $54.20 per share, days after becoming the group’s largest shareholder. This is an offer worth more than $43 billion.

    According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Mr. Musk described this as a “best and last offer,” reflecting a 54 per cent premium over the day before he commenced investing in the business in late January 2022.

    Musk stated in the filing that “I don’t have faith in the management” and that he could not make the adjustments he desired in the public market.

    As per a letter written to CEO Salesforce and chairman of Twitter, Bret Taylor, Musk stated that if the proposal is not accepted, he will reassess his status as a shareholder as Twitter has a lot of potential which needs to be unlocked.

    The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the world’s richest man, purchased a 9.2 per cent share in Twitter on April 4, according to a regulatory filing. The tech mogul was invited to join Twitter’s board of directors the next day, but he denied the offer by the end of the week.

    Musk wrote to Mr. Taylor on April 13: “I invested in Twitter because I believe it has the potential to be the global platform for free speech, and I believe free speech is a societal requirement for a healthy democracy”.

    Read more: Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter board as the microblogging network is “dying”

    “However, after making my investment, I’ve come to recognize that the company, in its current form, can neither thrive nor serve this societal need,” he wrote. “Twitter should be turned into a private firm”.

    Considering the tweeted document, Musk’s financial adviser for the proposal is Morgan Stanley.

  • MUST WATCH: A shrimp cleans scuba diver’s teeth using its legs

    MUST WATCH: A shrimp cleans scuba diver’s teeth using its legs

    A video of a shrimp cleaning a scuba diver’s teeth with its antennae and legs underwater is making rounds on social media.

    Amazing Nature shared the viral video on Twitter with a caption, “Need teeth clean contact me.”

    The scuba diver filmed the shrimp entering his open mouth at a coral reef. It removed the food particles and used its legs to clean the gums. He remained still and calm as it was completing its work.

    The video took netizens by surprise and they came up with all sorts of comments.

    A dentist replied, “My competitor”.

  • ‘You are not my Prime Minister, Dil toot’: Armeena Rana Khan slams Shahbaz Sharif

    ‘You are not my Prime Minister, Dil toot’: Armeena Rana Khan slams Shahbaz Sharif

    Actor Armeena Rana Khan has announced on her Instagram handle that she refuses to accept Shahbaz Sharif as the new Prime Minister after Imran Khan’s ouster.

    The Janaan star is currently based in Canada.

    She also tweeted a prayer after Imran Khan’s vote-out, “May God protect Pakistan and it’s loyal citizens from darkness and the forces of evil that are about to consume it once more. Ameen.”

    https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1512892850744217602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1512892850744217602%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftribune.com.pk%2Fstory%2F2351843%2Fhe-will-rise-again-celebs-lament-fall-of-imran-khan-return-to-purana-pakistan

    Unable to fall asleep, she took to her Insta Stories to add, “Dil thora toot sa raha hai. Aesa lagta hai jese kuch qeemti si cheez kho di (My heart is breaking a little, it feels like we’ve lost something very precious).”

    Earlier she replied to netizens who criticized her tweets in which she highlighted the social hypocrisy towards the choice of dressing of local female celebrities at the Hum Style Awards.

    The Sherdil diva wrote, “Truth is a bitter medicine. My recent statement hit the bullseye, I know this because it brought all the cockroaches out, waving their fake flags of religion and nationalism. Fake faith by day, a farrago of filth by night.”

    Several female celebrities have been criticized by netizens over their choice of dressing at the 5th Hum Style Awards. Actress Armeena Rana took to Twitter to express her opinion on the on-going backlash for the female celebrities.

    After receiving backlash on her tweet the Daldal actress deleted it.

  • Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter board as the microblogging network is “dying”

    Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter board as the microblogging network is “dying”

    The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk will not be joining the Twitter board of directors, according to Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal. Musk’s appointment on the board was supposed to start on April 9, however, he announced that he would no longer be joining.

    Agrawal posted a statement on April 10, saying Musk’s appointment to the board would be subject to a background investigation and that once nominated, he would have to operate in the company’s best interests. “Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input,” he added.

    What Happened Earlier?

    Earlier, the tech mogul tweeted the list of the top ten most followed personalities, which included celebrities and politicians such as former US President Barack Obama, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga.

    The world’s wealthiest man had a complaint: many of the top Twitter accounts do not upload anything.

    Former US President Barack Obama (131.4 million followers), singer Justin Bieber (114.3 million), Katy Perry (108.8 million), and other top accounts belonging to popular artists Rihanna and Taylor Swift were among the names on the list from the Twitter account of World of Statistics, which Musk posted.

    Interestingly, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ranked ninth on the list, with a popularity of 77.1 million followers, one notch below Musk, who has 81 million followers on the social network.

    Whereas Modi is an avid Twitter user who publishes everything from his daily schedule to welcoming foreign leaders, Musk laments that celebrities like Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber rarely post. Taylor hasn’t posted anything in three months, and the ‘yummy’ singer Justin Bieber only tweeted once in 2022.

    Musk, who just purchased a 9.2 per cent interest in Twitter for roughly $3 billion in his controversial style, asked his followers another question: Is Twitter dying? 

    In an ‘April fool’ message, Twitter said that it is testing some new features, one of which is a long-awaited ‘edit’ button. The platform later explained that the change to the edit button was not an April Fool’s prank and that it was truly being tested by the company.

    It is worth noting that Musk also proposed a number of improvements to Twitter’s Blue premium subscription service, including lowering the price, limiting adverts, and allowing users to pay in the crypto. Many internet users were surprised by the recent announcement, as they had been expecting Tesla’s CEO to join the board of microblogging site and witness what changes he would make.

  • Twitter officially declares adding an edit button

    Twitter officially declares adding an edit button

    The legendary “edit button,” which Twitter users have been demanding for so long that it’s become a cliché, is finally becoming a real thing. Twitter has now officially declared that it is working on allowing users to modify tweets after they have been posted on the platform.

    The aim is to enable users to correct any mistakes or errors in a tweet without losing any existing replies, retweets, or favourites. Twitter said Tuesday that it will begin testing the capability with Twitter Blue subscribers in the coming months.

    https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1511456430024364037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511457595181068294%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fbusiness-61003270

    In a post on Tuesday, Jay Sullivan, the company’s VP of consumer development, remarked that editing has been “the most requested Twitter feature for many years.” Since last year, the corporation has been studying how to implement the function “safely.”

    In the past, Twitter’s former CEO, Jack Dorsey, was hesitant to implement such a function.

    Back in 2018, Dorsey even expressed concerns during a discussion, that an edit button may allow users to modify the meaning of a tweet after it has been widely shared, and he claimed in 2020 that Twitter would probably never incorporate the option.

  • Instagram may introduce voice message replies for stories soon

    Instagram may introduce voice message replies for stories soon

    Instagram is reportedly working on a feature that would allow users to reply to stories with a picture or a voice message. This was signaled by the application developer, Alessandro Paluzzi, who further mentioned in his tweet that Instagram is also testing a feature that will allow users to share posts using a QR code.

    Paluzzi’s screenshots show the traditional message box where you may reply to users’ stories, with a twist, as one snapshot includes a GIF sign, while another has a mic icon in addition to the GIF button that was already available.

    Users will probably use these icons to respond to Instagram stories with an image or a voice message.

    The social media platform introduced a feature in February that allowed users to like other users’ stories without having to respond with a direct message.

    Until then, the only option to respond to a story was to send a direct message to the user through the text box at the bottom of the story (or using pre-set emojis, GIFS, or stickers, which were almost similar.

    Read more: Intel to launch world’s fastest 5.5 GHz CPU on April 5

    The rumored new picture reply function will complement existing capabilities and provide users with more options for creatively responding to stories. These features are also well-suited to Instagram’s long-term strategy.

    All of this may be included in the coming days as the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, had already stated that the Meta-owned platform will be focusing on the videos, messaging as well as creators.

  • Russia blocks Facebook, restricts Twitter access

    Russia blocks Facebook, restricts Twitter access

    The Russian government has officially blocked Facebook and has restricted Twitter in the country.

    The regulator, Roskomnadzor, said there had been 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media by Facebook since October 2020, including restrictions in recent days on state-backed channels like RT and the RIA news agency, Reuters has reported.

    Meta’s head of global affairs Nick Clegg said the company would continue to do everything it could to restore its services.

    “Soon millions of ordinary Russian will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends and silenced from speaking out,” he said, in a statement posted on Twitter.

    Meta in a blog said it was working to keep its services available “to the greatest extent possible” but it had stopped showing ads to users in Russia and barred Russian advertisers from running ads anywhere in the world “due to the difficulties of operating in Russia at this time.”