Facebook toughens up on COVID-19 false claims, the digital currency Dogecoin is skyrocketing, and we take a look at an AI that shows which ads motivated people to buy products.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Wednesday, February 10, and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
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Facebook will now take down posts claiming vaccines cause autism. from technology
While some describe this move as sending the firefighters to the scene once the house has burned down, Facebook says it’s expanding what kinds of misinformation it takes down as COVID-19 vaccinations continue. Some of the recent false claims that will be targeted include the suggestion that COVID is man-made; Vaccines in general are not effective; That it’s safer to get a disease than to get its vaccine – and the list goes on. The social media giant says it will enforce the policy immediately and focus on groups, pages, and accounts that share these types of false claims.
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Dogecoin, a satirical cryptocurrency with the iconic Shiba Inu dog, is skyrocketing. It’s the meme coin created as a joke in 2013 and now has a market value of $10 billion. Following the GameStop saga, individual investors are seeking stock advice online. Elon Musk recently endorsed the Doge as “the people’s crypto”. It didn’t long for others like Gene Simmons, Snoop Dogg, and of course, the Reddit traders to jump on the bandwagon. Now the meme currency is as Bloomberg reported, “leaving Bitcoin to the dust.” If the burst with Dogecoin lasts, Bitcoiners will be suffering from FOMO like never before. Others have also asked a very important question: How could a meme take on Bitcoin? Could cryptocurrency be taken more seriously if Dogecoin reigns supreme? These are just some questions stirring as the canine coin continues onward. [LinkedIn]
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People tune into the Superbowl for many reasons: one of them is the ads. Recent artificial intelligence data has revealed which ads motivated people to buy the products. Influential, an AI-powered platform supported by IBM’s Watson, analyzed 278 million social media posts to determine which people thought were the funniest, best, and worst. Ashton Kutcher’s Cheetos ad with Mila Kunis and Shaggy had the highest number of social posts with an intent to buy Cheetos according to the AI. Celebrity appearances in the ads were also a big deal this year. Again, Cheetos took the win with its celebrity appearances. Toronto’s Drake, appearing alongside Jake in State Farm’s Super Bowl spot, was the second most talked about A-lister.
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That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Baneet Braich, thanks for listening!