Video: Chinese boy carries classmate to safety during earthquake
- A video posted by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin shows a young boy lifting his classmate to evacuate during an earthquake in China.
- In the undated clip, the boy is seen carrying the classmate on his back as the other students rush out the door as the earthquake happens.
- “Proud of the boy who helped his physically challenged classmate to evacuate in the earthquake!” Wang wrote on Sept. 7.
- “This brave & selfless boy deserves a letter of recommendation (or other equivalent recognition) from his school,” a commenter wrote.
- While no other details were included in the video, the Chinese province of Sichuan was hit with a 6.6 or 6.8 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 5 that resulted in the deaths of at least 93 people and injury of at least 423 others.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin recently took to Facebook to commend a boy who carried his classmate to evacuate during an earthquake in China.
Wang shared the video showing the boy’s heroic moment as he rushed to the aid of his classmate in need as their surroundings start to shake.
Facebook, Twitter and Google escape Indonesia ban by complying with imposed registration at last minute
- The Indonesian government imposed mandatory registration for both local and foreign tech companies for new licensing regulations that would allow authorities to remove content from their online platforms.
- A company’s failure to secure a license by Wednesday would result in their operations in the country being deemed illegal.
- Spotify, Netflix and TikTok were among the list of 5,900 domestic companies and 108 foreign companies that signed up as of Monday.
- Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp completed their registration with the country's Ministry of Communications and Informatics on Tuesday.
- Meanwhile, Twitter and Alphabet Inc.’s Googlewere among the latest companies to be included in the communications ministry’s list of compliant foreign providers.
- The Indonesian government reportedly imposed the new rules ahead of the upcoming general election in 2024 in a bid to reduce the spread of misinformation and fake news.
Facebook, Twitter and Google have registered for Indonesia’s new licensing rules that empower local authorities to remove undesirable content shared on these platforms, as companies that failed to comply risked being blocked.
Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp completed their registration with the country’s Ministry of Communications and Informatics on Tuesday, beating the deadline imposed by the Indonesian government by a day.
Former Facebook employee says CEO Mark Zuckerberg waved around a katana sword at the office
A former Facebook employee has claimed that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once wielded a katana sword at the office after getting frustrated with his employees’ code.
AppSumo CEO Noah Kagan uploaded a 13-second video on TikTok on June 19 listing “weird things” that happened while he worked at Facebook.
Korean War vet, 91, has been on a 70-year search for Japanese woman he says was his first love
- Korean War Navy veteran Duane Mann, 91, is hoping to find his long-lost love who he left in Japan in 1954.
- Mann first met Peggy Yamaguchi in 1953 when he frequented an Air Force NCO Club where Yamaguchi worked as the hat check attendant.
- The two began a relationship and were planning to get married; however, Mann was ordered back to the U.S. after being discharged two months early.
- Mann had planned to use his savings to bring Yamaguchi to the U.S. but discovered that his father had spent it all.
- The two exchanged letters each week until Mann suddenly stopped receiving any and later found out that his mother had been burning the letters because she did not want him to marry a Japanese woman.
- Mann, who took to Facebook to share his story, expressed that losing Yamaguchi was his “one regret” and now hopes to find her again.
A 91-year-old Korean War Navy veteran is hoping to find his first love, who he met during his time as a second class petty officer in Japan in 1953.
Duane Mann, 91, wrote a Facebook post on May 1 hoping to find someone who recognizes the woman in a photo he took in 1953, whose name he says is Peggy Yamaguchi. In the post, Mann explains that while he was stationed in Japan from 1953 to 1954 at age 23, he met Yamaguchi at an Air Force NCO Club, where he worked as a slot machine repairman in his spare time and Yamaguchi worked as the “hat check girl.”
Meta employee launches company program in honor of grandparents incarcerated during WW2
Meta, Facebook’s parent organization, has launched a new program to support Asian Pacific Islander small businesses called Meta Prosper this APAHM.
Throughout the years in the pandemic, small businesses have suffered huge losses in sales and jobs, and have experienced higher shuttering rates and cash flow problems. Businesses owned by APIs are having an especially hard time, according to Meta’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.
Filipino American group exposes pro-Marcos trolls after he urged critics to ‘find me one’
- In an interview with CNN Philippines released on April 26, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. denied using online trolls to boost his campaign and urged critics to “find me one.”
- In response, Filipino American group US Filipinos for Good Governance (USFGG) launched a website dedicated to exposing pro-Marcos Philippine presidential election trolls on Facebook.
- The group found 102 trolls who coordinated with each other to push content favorable to Marcos’ campaign and spread disinformation about current Vice President Leni Robredo, his main presidential rival.
- The group determined the trolls’ three main activities to be distribution, commenting and filling up profiles or pages with pro-Marcos content.
- USFGG also called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to remove fake posts and disable the trolls’ accounts on Facebook before the May 9 elections.
Filipino American group US Filipinos for Good Governance (USFGG) launched a website dedicated to exposing pro-Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. trolls on Facebook after the presidential candidate urged critics to “find me one” last week.
Aiming to fight disinformation in the Philippines, USFGG identified 102 troll accounts using artificial intelligence and public data.
Thai activist sent back to prison for writing about his prison sexual experiences on Facebook
- A pro-democracy activist in Thailand is facing another year behind bars after writing about his sexual experiences in prison on Facebook.
- Ekachai Hongkangwan, 47, was previously imprisoned for two years and eight months on charges of lèse-majesté, or a crime committed against a state or sovereign power.
- In 2017, Ekachai shared a series of written posts called “My First Prison Life” in which he detailed his sexual experiences inside an all-male prison.
- The Supreme Court charged Ekachai with violating the Computer Crime Act for posting “obscene material online,” although he did not use photos or videos.
- Ekachai explained that he intended to share his experiences and expose prison conditions to push for improvement.
A Thai pro-democracy activist will spend another year in prison after sharing Facebook posts detailing his sexual experiences inside an all-male prison in Bangkok.
Ekachai Hongkangwan, 47, previously spent two years and eight months in prison for threatening Thailand’s Queen Suthida and blocking her royal motorcade during a mass protest in 2021. In Oct, 14, 2020, he was charged with lèse-majesté, or the defaming or threatening of a sovereign power.
Korean doctor says those who haven’t contracted COVID-19 have no friends
- A physician in Korea wrote a now-deleted Facebook post suggesting that those who have not contracted COVID-19 have “interpersonal problems.”
- Ma Sang-hyuk, the vice president of the Korean Vaccine Society, uploaded the post to his Facebook page on March 16.
- Ma’s post quickly garnered criticism from Korean internet users, prompting him to delete the post.
- The physician explained to local media outlets that the “interpersonal problems” comment was intended to stress to others that contracting COVID-19 would be inevitable.
A Korean physician suggested in a now-deleted Facebook post that those who have yet to contract COVID-19 do not have friends.
Vice President of the Korean Vaccine Society Ma Sang-hyuk wrote in a social media post on March 16 that, “The adults who have not yet been infected with COVID-19 are those who have interpersonal problems.”
Controversial Wilmington police sergeant being investigated for ‘China virus’ Facebook post
- A Wilmington police sergeant is under investigation after posting an anti-Asian comment on Facebook.
- The police sergeant, Stephanie Castellani, posted to a Middletown neighborhood Facebook page labeling COVID-19 as “the China virus.”
- Castellani has a history of posting inflammatory claims on Facebook where she once suggested that 9/11 was organized by the U.S. government and spread false information about COVID-19.
- The Wilmington Police Department has been facing scrutiny for allegedly being a hostile work environment towards minority officers.
- Residents of Wilmington expressed their disdain over Castellani’s behavior and condemned the 20-year police veteran for having a poor understanding of the community.
A Wilmington police sergeant is facing an internal investigation after she posted an anti-Asian Facebook post to a local neighborhood page that referred to COVID-19 as the “China virus.”
Stephanie Castellani, a 20-year police veteran, uploaded a post to a Middletown neighborhood Facebook page that labeled COVID-19 as the “China virus,” reported Delaware Online. In the post, she allegedly wrote, “And just like that… the CHINNNA VIRUS miraculously disappeared.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene banned from Twitter, suspended from Facebook
- Twitter permanently suspended Greene’s personal account on Sunday for repeatedly violating its COVID-19 misinformation policy.
- Greene said Facebook suspended her account today for 24 hours.
- The congresswoman described the companies’ actions as “beyond censorship of speech.”
Just weeks after landing in hot water for using an anti-Asian slur, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) found her personal Twitter account banned for COVID-19 misinformation.
In a statement, Twitter said they “permanently suspended” the congresswoman’s page, @mtgreenee, for “repeated violations” of their COVID-19 misinformation policy. The social media platform’s strike system went into effect in March 2021.
Rohingya refugees sue Meta for $150 billion over Facebook’s alleged role in stoking Myanmar genocide
Rohingya refugees are taking legal action against Meta for allegedly allowing the spread of false news and hate speech against the ethnic group on Facebook.
About the lawsuit: On Monday, an Illinois-based Rohingya woman filed a case against Facebook’s parent company in a California court, seeking a compensation of over $150 billion on behalf of the more than 10,000 Rohingya refugees now living in the U.S., reported The Washington Post.
Facebook takes down hundreds of fake Chinese accounts spreading COVID-19 disinformation
Facebook and Instagram recently took down a Chinese network of accounts, pages and groups reportedly engaging in a coordinated disinformation campaign about COVID-19.
The takedown: Meta, the social media platforms’ parent company, released its Adversarial Threat Report on Wednesday, detailing how hundreds of accounts weaved a narrative that the United States was actively putting China in a negative light.
