Ronald Roland, a Brazilian drug lord, was apprehended by police after successfully evading capture for two years. Shockingly, the breakthrough in the case came from the social media activities of his wife, Andrezza De Lima, whose Instagram posts inadvertently revealed their location, Metro reported. 

Notably, authorities had been monitoring De Lima’s social media accounts for some time, waiting for a slip that would lead them to her husband. De Lima’s posts, which included geo-tagged locations and identifiable landmarks, allowed law enforcement to track their whereabouts. Her posts showcased their lavish trips to various exotic destinations like Paris, Dubai, Maldives and Colombia and provided valuable information for the authorities.

Last week, De Lima posted a photo that included a distinct landmark, enabling police to pinpoint their exact location. 

He was finally captured last Tuesday at his condominium in the coastal town of Guaruja on suspicion of running a sprawling money laundering scheme and supplying drug cartels in Mexico. According to local police, the drug lord made a fortune of 860.2 million pounds in five years which he shuffled through more than 100 shell companies and businesses.

His wife, who was also involved in his criminal activities, used her bikini shop in Guaruja to launder money, sometimes receiving deposits that surpassed 30,000 dollars in a single day.

Following his capture, Roland faces multiple charges related to drug trafficking, organized crime, and evading arrest.

Interestingly, he was also arrested in 2019 after his ex-wife similarly revealed their location on social media. His ex-wife had tagged the location where the couple was in a post on social media, leading to his arrest.

Reports said that police began tailing Roland in 2012 when he worked as an airline pilot. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sent a letter to Brazil’s Federal Police, warning them about an investigation into a group of Brazilian pilots involved in “cocaine smuggling.” Since receiving the DEA’s letter, Roland became a person of interest in several Brazilian police operations targeting drug trafficking networks.

San Francisco:

Meta said Friday it was lifting restrictions on US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, ending measures put in place after his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol in 2021.

It said that “former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties.”

Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended indefinitely a day after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and it was determined he had praised people engaged in violence on social media.

His accounts were reinstated in February 2023 but with a threat of penalties for future breaches — an additional restriction that Meta lifted on Friday.

“In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis,” Meta wrote in a blog post.

It added that US presidential candidates “remain subject to the same Community Standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including those policies designed to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence.”

Trump, the first former president to be convicted of a crime, was also banned from Twitter and YouTube.

While those restrictions were later lifted last year, Trump now mainly communicates on his own social media platform, Truth Social.

His Facebook profile, which has 34 million users, includes messages originally published on Truth Social as well as invitations to rallies and videos from his campaign.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Meta-owned Instagram on Saturday suffered a major outage globally, including in India, as thousands of users were unable to load Reels and access other options.

As per website outage tracking website Downdetector, over 6,500 users reported issues with accessing the platform in India at the peak of an outage at around 12.02 p.m.

About 58 per cent reported problems with the feed, 32 per cent with the app, and 10 per cent with server connection.

Users from Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and others faced issues with the app.

Users took to X to vent their frustration as they were unable to log in to the app, load Reels, and others.

“Everyone going towards Twitter to check if Instagram is down,” a user wrote.

“I thought my Instagram got hacked cuz there’s no way my fyp looks like this. It’s all brain rot usually #instagramdown,” another user said.

One more user stated, “Me going to Twitter to check if it’s only my Instagram that’s down, or we all are suffering #instagramdown”.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Meta said that it took down over 11.6 million pieces of bad content across 13 policies for Facebook and more than 5.4 million pieces of objectionable content across 12 policies for Instagram in India in April.

In April, Facebook received 17,124 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism and said that it provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 9,977 cases.

These include pre-established channels to report content for specific violations, self-remediation flows where they can download their data, avenues to address account hacked issues, etc, Meta said in its monthly report in compliance with the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

“Of the other 7,147 reports where specialised review was needed, we analysed content as per our policies and took action on 4,303 complaints in total. The remaining 2,844 grievances were reviewed but may not have been actioned,” Meta added.

On Instagram, the company received 12,924 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism.

“Of these, we provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 5,941 cases,” it said.

Of the other 6,983 reports where specialised review was needed, Meta analysed content and took action on 3,206 complaints in total.

The remaining 3,777 reports were reviewed but may not have been actioned.

Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.

“We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) we take action for going against our standards. Taking action could include removing a piece of content from Facebook or Instagram or covering photos or videos that may be disturbing to some audiences with a warning,” said Meta.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Ecuadorian influencer, Landy Parraga Goyburo, was shot dead after her Instagram post gave away her location to the attackers, reports say. Just before her death, Goyburo had posted a picture of her having ‘octopus ceviche’ for lunch at a restaurant, which is where she was targetted by two armed men.

The incident was captured by surveillance cameras, revealing how two unidentified gunmen stormed into the eatery where Landy Parraga Goyburo was seated. As she conversed with a companion, the gunmen barged in. In a matter of seconds, the tranquility of the restaurant shattered as gunshots rang out, sending patrons diving for cover and leaving Goyburo and another person defenseless.

Despite the chaos, the 23-year-old’s attempt to seek refuge proved futile as one of the gunmen mercilessly fired at her. The attackers then made their escape, leaving behind a scene of horror and disbelief. Images captured in the aftermath depict Goyburo, a former beauty queen, lying in a pool of blood.

Just before the attack, the influencer had shared a picture of her lunch with her 173,000 followers on Instagram. Investigators believe that the gunmen learned of her location from the post.

The motive behind the heinous crime is still not known. Speculations abound, with theories ranging from Goyburo’s alleged involvement with a notorious gang boss to her entanglement in a corruption inquiry linking judicial officials to organized crime. Rumors swirl that the killing may have been orchestrated by the widow of a drug lord, whom Goyburo allegedly had an affair with.

There were more than 17,000 incidents of users reporting issues with WhatsApp, according to Downdetector.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Meta Platforms-owned WhatsApp was down for thousands of users on April 3, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.

There were about 12,000 incidents of U.S. users reporting issues with the messaging platform, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources including user-submitted errors on its platform.

More than 20,000 users in India, about 46,000 in the United Kingdom and over 42,000 in Brazil have also reported problems with the platform, Downdetector data showed.

Around 4,800 people also faced issues with Instagram in the United States, according to Downdetector.

“Know some people are experiencing issues right now. We’re working on getting things back to 100% for everyone as quickly as possible,” WhatsApp said.

Last month, hundreds of thousands of users of the social media company’s Facebook and Instagram globally were impacted for more than two hours following an outage that was caused by a technical issue.

There were more than 17,000 incidents of users reporting issues with WhatsApp, according to Downdetector.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

WhatsApp and Instagram, both owned by Meta, have been restored after experiencing a worldwide outage. Both the platforms were down for thousands of users on April 3 around 11.45 p.m., according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.

“We know some people are experiencing issues right now, we’re working on getting things back to 100% for everyone as quickly as possible,” said WhatsApp in a post on X.

There were about 12,000 incidents of U.S. users reporting issues with the messaging platform, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources including user-submitted errors on its platform.

More than 20,000 users in India, about 46,000 in the United Kingdom and over 42,000 in Brazil have also reported problems with the platform, Downdetector data showed.

Around 4,800 people also faced issues with Instagram in the United States, according to Downdetector.

This is for the second time in 2024 that the Meta-owned platforms have faced an outage.

In March, hundreds of thousands of users of the social media company’s Facebook and Instagram globally were impacted for more than two hours following an outage that was caused by a technical issue. Some users mentioned being automatically logged out without the ability to log back in, and those utilising two-factor authentication faced difficulties receiving codes to finalise their log-ins. This problem had affected both the application and the website.

(With inputs from Reuters and ANI)

The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris on June 14, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

A group of 33 States including California and New York are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people’s mental health and contributing the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in California also claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law.

“Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem.”

The broad-ranging suit is the result of an investigation led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont. It follows damning newspaper reports, first by The Wall Street Journal in 2021, based on the Meta’s own research that found that the company knew about the harms Instagram can cause teenagers — especially teen girls — when it comes to mental health and body image issues. One internal study cited 13.5% of teen girls saying Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse and 17% of teen girls saying it makes eating disorders worse.

Following the first reports, a consortium of news organisations, including The Associated Press, published their own findings based on leaked documents from whistleblower Frances Haugen, who has testified before Congress and a British parliamentary committee about what she found.

The use of social media among teens is nearly universal in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 in the U.S. report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly”, according to the Pew Research Center.

To comply with federal regulation, social media companies ban kids under 13 from signing up to their platforms — but children have been shown to easily get around the bans, both with and without their parents’ consent, and many younger kids have social media accounts.

Other measures social platforms have taken to address concerns about children’s mental health are also easily circumvented. For instance, TikTok recently introduced a default 60-minute time limit for users under 18. But once the limit is reached, minors can simply enter a passcode to keep watching.

In May, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on tech companies, parents and caregivers to take “immediate action to protect kids now” from the harms of social media.

Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday rolled out a temporary feature to limit “harmful and potentially harmful” content on the Israel-Hamas war. The change is part of the company’s efforts to protect people “in the region” from such “unwanted” comments, Meta said in an updated statement on Wednesday (October 18). For now, friends and verified followers of people who create posts in the specified region will be able to comment on the new and public Facebook posts. The war started after the Hamas attack on October 7.

Also Read | “Thank You Meta”: Israel After Mark Zuckerberg Calls Hamas Attacks “Pure Evil”

Meta also said that any content “containing praise” for Hamas will not be allowed on Facebook or Instagram, as the group falls under its Dangerous Organization designation.

“Our policies are designed to keep people safe on our apps while giving everyone a voice,” Meta said in the update.

“We apply these policies equally around the world and there is no truth to the suggestion that we are deliberately suppressing voice,” it added.

Other temporary changes implemented by Meta for content related to Israel-Hamas war:

• Default setting for who can comment on newly created public Facebook posts of people in the region changed to Friends and/or established followers only. Meta said users globally can choose to use this setting and opt in or out at any time.
• Bulk deletion of comments made easier and display of first one or two comments under posts in Feed disabled
• Facebook has also rolled out the ‘Lock Your Profile’ tool in the region. These users can lock their profile in one step, enhancing profile privacy by restricting access to non-friends.

Meta has also been monitoring content from across the globe on the situation in the region. It has formed a group of experts, including fluent Hebrew and Arabic speakers, to oversee this effort.

The company said since October 7, when the conflict broke out, more than 795,000 pieces of content have been removed or flagged for violating Meta policies. Meta has also made changes to content pertaining to potential hostages.

Israel has launched a massive offensive in retaliation to a devastating Hamas incursion into Israel on October 7 during which 1,400 people were killed and hostages were taken.

Israel and Egypt have upheld a blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, tightly controlling the movement goods and people.

Popular influencers can establish a brand around the material they provide and become well-known in their industry, which may open up new employment prospects. However, your popularity on Instagram is based on your number of followers. It may take years for an influencer to become popular and build up enough followers to earn a salary, as attracting followers requires a lot of work and effort. Nevertheless, this is no longer something to be afraid of, thanks to the opportunity of buying Instagram followers.

Keynote: With much research and tests done, we can recommend Views4You.com as the best site to buy Instagram followers.

You’ll need a website with Instagram followers to promote your account and enhance your brand. Real people who create accounts for premium followers. Using these profiles, you can successfully advertise your content to others because they won’t trigger Instagram’s bot detection mechanism. This article aims to guide you with safe sites that sell the best quality followers and explain how to buy Instagram followers through the best sites.

What are the Best Sites to Buy Instagram Followers?

According to Entrepreneur, the best sites to buy Instagram followers are Views4You and 1394TA, and the platforms mentioned below serve you to buy real Instagram followers to boost your Instagram growth. Please read through the article to learn more about websites.

1 Views4You

Views4You is a well-known site for its incredible customer service support and one of the most preferred websites by Instagram influencers because the site offers high-quality Instagram services that sell genuine followers with instant delivery.

Views4You helps its customers with fast answers to your inquiries and hints on Instagram marketing to improve your social media success. Buying followers on the site is user-friendly and does not require a password or pages of information. It is easy and simple with just a few clicks.

It also provides affordable packages such as $11; you get 1,000 active followers on Instagram. They make special offers from time to time for their customers. Views4You have an option that sells followers to the target audience. For example, if your page is about travel, you can buy followers in that category, or fashion, again you can buy followers in that field to interact with other related Instagram users.

They do not sell fake followers even though they sell cheap Instagram followers. They promise quality and affordable services. It is a great satisfaction to know you buy active Instagram followers with just your Instagram username. You get new followers and buy Instagram followers cheap that are not bot followers. Isn’t this a big relief? You get all at once safely.

Because Instagram is highly designed to detect any unknown activities, such as fake Instagram followers, it is crucial to buy Instagram followers that are quality followers from trustworthy sites like ‘Views4You’.

2 1394TA

If you decide to buy followers, research and only buy from a reputable vendor. If you want to purchase real, premium Instagram followers, 1394TA is perfect.

1394TA offers cheap Instagram followers with high-quality followers. You can expect a high-quality delivery to your Instagram profile.

Instagram users place a high value on their follower count, called ‘social proof’, so 1394TA is available to support them. You can be assured that 1394TA’s followers are authentic Instagram followers. It is a 100 per cent trustworthy website.

Visit Entrepreneur to find the most trusted sites to buy Instagram likes and followers. 1394TA assures a strong presence on your Instagram profile. They have excellent reviews from buyers, and their potential reach has increased after purchasing Instagram followers on 1394TA.

1394TA provides high-quality services like active customer support, active Instagram followers, buy cheap Instagram followers, real Instagram followers, a 24/7 customer team, and a secure payment method.

With the help of 1394TA’s ‘Buy Instagram Followers’ packages, take advantage of the chance to strengthen your online profile.

3 SMM Laboratory

This site has experience in this field and provides quality and affordable prices, reliability with the most secure speed, 24-hour customer support, and real Instagram followers. They have a variety of packages ranging from 10 to 1,000,000 followers, so you can select how many followers you want to purchase.

You can also choose categories such as real, organic, female, or so. They have information on each category so you know what you are buying. This site gives you comfort that you don’t buy fake Instagram followers.

4 BOOSTMEUP

Boostmeup is a good social media boosting tool that helps users in growing their social media profile presence. It is a safe and private site where you will not need to enter any identical information so no information will be shared with third parties. You only need to share your Instagram page URL.

Your payments will be processed securely, and you will have 24/7 customer support where you can have the opportunity to chat on the website. Again, it is one of the best sites to buy Instagram followers to increase your followers count and Instagram presence like other influencers do on their Instagram stories for their Instagram growth.

5 BuyTopLikes

They provide genuine IG followers in practical, pre-selected packages and on demand. They make sure that the customers are happy with the service they provide. The site has suitable and reasonable packages on their website for you to choose from; however, if any of them are not suitable for your needs, you can create your own custom plan to buy IG followers.

6 Likes and More

With Likes and More, you can choose to buy real new Instagram followers. The site has an option to select followers from the same region as you are or International. Also, in the shopping cart, you can make a special request under ‘Add Note’ section.

This site only adds Instagram followers if your profile is public, and you get your purchased followers gradually at a natural speed. However, they have a daily Instagram followers option as well. The Instagram account cannot be split between multiple accounts as only one IG account can make an order at a time.

7 The Buzz Company

All social media influencers are encouraged by The Buzz Agency to develop their brands and increase their online visibility. They can get you what you need, whether you manage many accounts or want to develop your own personal account.

FAQ

There you have some answers to the questions you may have.

How to buy Instagram followers?

The main idea of buying Instagram followers is to grow your visibility by boosting with followers. The more followers you have, the more success and popularity of your Instagram presence.

You must be careful, though, as many scam websites provide followers that are not real Instagram followers. Along with being a waste of money, buying from these businesses may reflect poorly on your account to other users and could result in the suspension of your profile for breaking Instagram’s terms of service. You don’t want to participate accidentally because the site is strict about banning fake accounts and spam.

The best way to buy Instagram followers is through the above-mentioned websites selling followers such as Views4You or 1394TA. The prices are highly reasonable, and you can purchase it with only a few clicks.

Is it a good idea to buy Instagram followers?

The advantages of buying Instagram followers are:

It may increase your reach and your visibility on Instagram

Due to many platform users, starting your page is the best way to reach out to more followers before growing your followers organically.

It is fast and driven

Instead of putting a lot of effort and waiting to gain organic followers, which may take years, buying Instagram followers can quickly make your profile reachable by tens of thousands of real followers.

From beginners to pros

It is the perfect way to start your business if you are a newly arrived influencer on Instagram. You can take advantage of your brand’s new account to be recognized quickly until you have real Instagram followers and start making money.

Buying followers can help boost your brand fast and grow your Instagram visibility. You may think that it is not an organic way to grow, but most people are eager to follow popular influencers with the number of their followers on Instagram and other social media platforms.

Can I make money on Instagram by buying followers?

Boosting organic followers can make you earn a salary, including Instagram likes or follows. The more you reach a high follower count, the more sponsorship and advertising offers you will get, and then you will start making money. That is why it is crucial to have followers.

Influencer marketing has become a significant part of social media platforms, including Instagram. Sponsors pay you to promote their goods or products. However, influencers must prove to be real accounts with real followers to target audiences.

However, purchasing followers is more comparable to running an Instagram advertisement. Only the highest-ranking profiles and Instagram posts get promoted because of the platform’s top-heavy algorithm. The Instagram algorithm depends on engagement, which refers to any activity a user performs on the site, such as following an account, liking a post, or viewing a story. The algorithm favors the most popular accounts since they produce a high level of engagement.

The services described above also provide those other sorts of engagement, so you shouldn’t have any trouble combining their engagement packages to wow advertisers and begin earning money as an influencer. This is good news if you want to purchase Instagram likes, comments, and views. Considering how inexpensive these services are, there is no justification for not investing a small amount of money to make a large sum.

Why trust the above-listed platforms?

Because they all know pretty well about Instagram algorithms and can guarantee with real Instagram followers to grow your presence.

Is it illegal to purchase Instagram followers?

Buying Instagram followers and other social media platforms is legal as no community regulations are published.

Is it safe to buy Instagram followers?

Buying genuine followers are safe. However, according to Instagram’s rules, buying fake followers will terminate or deactivate your account, and you may lose a genuine relationship with your real followers, damage a reputation, causing investment loss and engagement problems.

Would my followers on Instagram decline over time?

You don’t lose followers overtime incase you do refill it on the websites that provide you regular refill options such as Views4You. If any problems occur for instance a decline in the number of your followers, Views4You automatically refills your followers on Instagram with a real account for free. However, if you want to buy more Instagram followers you can choose to do so on the site.

How long does it take to boost your followers?

It does not take long. However, your follower count will increase according to the package you choose.

Is there a recommended number of followers?

It is totally up to you. You can buy as many Instagram followers as you want.

Do I get likes and comments as well?

You will have no interactions of liking or commenting directly. However, as soon as you receive a number of followers, you are likely to receive likes and comments accordingly.

How does buying Instagram followers work?

To purchase Instagram follower, it is advised to choose a reputable website like Views4You or 1394TA that sells genuine followers with active accounts. Check the website’s ratings and reviews from customers before making a purchase. It’s crucial to make sure the service you’re buying complies with the greatest auto-refill service that keeps an eye on your Instagram account.