A drug kingpin, who was enjoying a vacation with his wife in the United Kingdom, was arrested after her partner’s social media posts revealed their whereabouts. Luis Manuel Picado Grijalba, 43, wanted by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), was arrested in London in December after his wife shared luxury holiday snaps online, unknowingly revealing the location to the authorities, reported La Prensani.

Grijalba, also known by the alias “Shock,” was wanted in the US for exporting cocaine from Costa Rica. He and his wife, Estefania McDonald Rodriguez, were on a vacation to celebrate the New Year. The couple’s lavish itinerary, including stops in Paris, Rome, Venice, and Japan, was shared on Rodriguez’s social media platforms, ultimately giving away Grijalba’s location. 

Rodriguez shared photos of herself posing in front of landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Trevi Fountain, and various luxury hotels. These posts caught the attention of DEA agents monitoring the couple’s movements online.

Grijalba was arrested near London Bridge with assistance from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA). He was taken into custody on December 29, following an arrest warrant issued by Costa Rican authorities at the DEA’s request.

Randall Zuniga, director of Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), confirmed Grijalba’s arrest on X, revealing he had been cuffed at an airport.

“Nicaraguan naturalized Costa Rican Luis Manuel Picado Grijalba, alias “Shock,” was arrested at London airport in a joint effort with the DEA,” he wrote. “His extradition to the US is sought to face charges of international drug trafficking originating from Limon.”

Detenido en aeropuerto de Londres, el nicaragüense nacionalizado costarricense Luis Manuel Picado Grijalba, alias “Shock”, en un trabajo conjunto de la DEA. Se pretende su extradición a EEUU, para enfrentar cargos por tráfico internacional de drogas, procedentes desde Limón.

— DirectorOIJ (@DirectorOIJ) December 29, 2024

Grijalba has already survived two assassination attempts in Costa Rica due to his involvement in international drug trafficking. He is currently contesting his extradition to the United States, where he faces charges related to his involvement in smuggling cocaine from the coastal region of Limon.

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced big changes in how the company addresses misinformation across Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Instead of relying on independent third-party factcheckers, Meta will now emulate Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) in using “community notes”. These crowdsourced contributions allow users to flag content they believe is questionable.

Zuckerberg claimed these changes promote “free expression”. But some experts worry he’s bowing to right-wing political pressure, and will effectively allow a deluge of hate speech and lies to spread on Meta platforms.

Research on the group dynamics of social media suggests those experts have a point.

At first glance, community notes might seem democratic, reflecting values of free speech and collective decisions. Crowdsourced systems such as Wikipedia, Metaculus and PredictIt, though imperfect, often succeed at harnessing the wisdom of crowds — where the collective judgement of many can sometimes outperform even experts.

Research shows that diverse groups that pool independent judgements and estimates can be surprisingly effective at discerning the truth. However, wise crowds seldom have to contend with social media algorithms.

Many people rely on platforms such as Facebook for their news, risking exposure to misinformation and biased sources. Relying on social media users to police information accuracy could further polarise platforms and amplify extreme voices.

Two group-based tendencies — our psychological need to sort ourselves and others into groups — are of particular concern: in-group/out-group bias and acrophily (love of extremes).

INGROUP / OUTGROUP BIAS

Humans are biased in how they evaluate information. People are more likely to trust and remember information from their in-group — those who share their identities — while distrusting information from perceived out-groups. This bias leads to echo chambers, where like-minded people reinforce shared beliefs, regardless of accuracy.

It may feel rational to trust family, friends or colleagues over strangers. But in-group sources often hold similar perspectives and experiences, offering little new information. Out-group members, on the other hand, are more likely to provide diverse viewpoints. This diversity is critical to the wisdom of crowds.

But too much disagreement between groups can prevent community fact-checking from even occurring. Many community notes on X (formerly Twitter), such as those related to COVID vaccines, were likely never shown publicly because users disagreed with one another. The benefit of third-party factchecking was to provide an objective outside source, rather than needing widespread agreement from users across a network.

Worse, such systems are vulnerable to manipulation by well organised groups with political agendas. For instance, Chinese nationalists reportedly mounted a campaign to edit Wikipedia entries related to China-Taiwan relations to be more favourable to China.

POLITICAL POLARISATION AND ACROPHILY

Indeed, politics intensifies these dynamics. In the US, political identity increasingly dominates how people define their social groups.

Political groups are motivated to define “the truth” in ways that advantage them and disadvantage their political opponents. It’s easy to see how organised efforts to spread politically motivated lies and discredit inconvenient truths could corrupt the wisdom of crowds in Meta’s community notes.

Social media accelerates this problem through a phenomenon called acrophily, or a preference for the extreme. Research shows that people tend to engage with posts slightly more extreme than their own views.

These increasingly extreme posts are more likely to be negative than positive. Psychologists have known for decades that bad is more engaging than good. We are hardwired to pay more attention to negative experiences and information than positive ones.

On social media, this means negative posts – about violence, disasters and crises – get more attention, often at the expense of more neutral or positive content.

Those who express these extreme, negative views gain status within their groups, attracting more followers and amplifying their influence. Over time, people come to think of these slightly more extreme negative views as normal, slowly moving their own views toward the poles.

A recent study of 2.7 million posts on Facebook and Twitter found that messages containing words such as “hate”, “attack” and “destroy” were shared and liked at higher rates than almost any other content. This suggests that social media isn’t just amplifying extreme views — it’s fostering a culture of out-group hate that undermines the collaboration and trust needed for a system like community notes to work.

THE PATH FORWARD

The combination of negativity bias, in-group/out-group bias and acrophily supercharges one of the greatest challenges of our time: polarisation. Through polarisation, extreme views become normalised, eroding the potential for shared understanding across group divides.

The best solutions, which I examine in my forthcoming book, The Collective Edge, start with diversifying our information sources. First, people need to engage with — and collaborate across — different groups to break down barriers of mistrust. Second, they must seek information from multiple, reliable news and information outlets, not just social media.

However, social media algorithms often work against these solutions, creating echo chambers and trapping people’s attention. For community notes to work, these algorithms would need to prioritise diverse, reliable sources of information.

While community notes could theoretically harness the wisdom of crowds, their success depends on overcoming these psychological vulnerabilities. Perhaps increased awareness of these biases can help us design better systems — or empower users to use community notes to promote dialogue across divides. Only then can platforms move closer to solving the misinformation problem.

(Author: Colin M. Fisher, Associate Professor of Organisations and Innovation and Author of “The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups”, UCL)

(Disclosure Statement: Colin M. Fisher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
 

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

New year, new laws.

Starting today, 1st January, employers will have to provide 20 hours of prenatal sick leave, for appointments such as physical examinations, medical procedures, etc., in addition to existing sick time per Governor Kathy Hochul’s office.

“Hardworking New Yorkers shouldn’t have to worry about how they’ll buy food or pay rent when they need time off to care for a new child or family member with a serious health condition, or get injured on the job. Likewise, business owners who have their own bills to pay and families to support also need affordable solutions,” Governor Hochul said. “I’m proud that New York State is finding ways to put money back into the pockets of workers and those who employ them so both the economy and the people can thrive.”

New York will be the first state in the US to get paid time for medical care related to pregnancies. Employers can also provide more than 20 hours of leave.

Next, California has finally decided to put a check on the unbridled power of Artificial Intelligence by protecting actors and performers from misuse of their digital likeness. They will be protected in audio and video productions.

California has also mandated that parents set aside 15 per cent of money earned by child social media influencers. These accounts can only be accessed by the kids when they are adults.

This law ensures that kids are protected from “financial abuse”, per Governor Gavin Newsom’s office.

The third new law in California delineates that teachers and school staff will not “out” a student’s gender identity or orientation forcefully. Nevertheless, parents can still request for school records. Teachers and staff are however protected from any retaliation that might stem from refusing to disclose children’s preferences.

Following the footsteps of Australia, Florida will not allow children under 14 to have social media accounts according to a new bill. Although the law will take effect today, that is, January 1st, it will be legally enforceable only in February.

According to Axios, the minimum workers’ compensation will increase in 21 states, 48 cities and counties on January 1st. By 2027, about half of the workers in the United States will live in states with a $15 minimum wage.
 

Facebook has been accused of severely restricting Palestinian news outlets’ ability to reach their audience during the Israel-Gaza war. A BBC analysis of Facebook data revealed a steep drop in audience engagement for newsrooms in the Palestinian territories, including Gaza and the West Bank, since October 2023.

This decline in engagement is surprising, given that social media has become a vital source of updates for those wanting to hear more voices from inside Gaza. Facebook pages for news outlets like Palestine TV, Wafa news agency, and Palestinian Al-Watan News have been crucial in providing updates to millions of followers worldwide.

Since the war began, outside reporters have been allowed to enter Gaza if escorted by the Israeli army.

Although during wars, audience engagement is expected to rise, the data analysis showed a 77% decline in engagement for Palestinian-based news organisations, while Israeli news organisations saw a 37% increase in engagement during the same period.

Meta, Facebook’s owner, denies deliberately suppressing particular voices, stating that any such implication is “unequivocally false”.

Palestine TV has 5.8 million followers on Facebook and journalists working there showed a 60% drop in the number of people seeing their posts.

“Interaction was completely restricted, and our posts stopped reaching people,” says Tariq Ziad, a journalist at the channel.

Shadow-ban is when a social media platform bans a user’s content without notifying the user, and Palestinian journalists fear the same has happened with their online content.

BBC ran a data analysis on 20 Israeli news channels such as Yediot Ahronot, Israel Hayom and Channel 13, which also posted war-related content but their audience engagement increased by 37%.

However, leaked documents and internal messages suggest that Instagram, another Meta-owned platform, increased its moderation of Palestinian user comments after October 2023. This change was made to respond to a “spike in hateful content” coming out of the Palestinian territories, according to Meta.

The impact of these policies on individual Palestinian users is a concern. Five former and current Meta employees spoke to the BBC about the effects of these policies, with one person sharing leaked internal documents about the change to Instagram’s algorithm.

According to the documents, the moderation of Palestinians commenting on Instagram posts toughened. “Within a week of the Hamas attack, the code was changed essentially making it more aggressive towards Palestinian people,” he said.

In response to these findings, Meta pointed out that it had made no secret of its “temporary product and policy measures” taken in October 2023. The company stated that it had faced a challenge balancing the right to freedom of speech with the fact that Hamas is both US-sanctioned and designated as a dangerous organisation under Meta’s own policies.
 

An astonishing new study has claimed that TikTok’s annual carbon footprint is greater than most social media platforms and probably greater than that of Greece. An average user of the short-video app was generating greenhouse gases equivalent to driving an extra 198 kilometres in a gasoline-powered car each year, according to estimates from Greenly, as published by the Guardian. The ByteDance-owned company has emerged as one of the world’s most popular social media platforms in recent years, primarily due to its short video content and highly engaging algorithm.

The platform’s heavy reliance on video streaming has made it one of the more energy-intensive platforms, contributing to a substantial environmental footprint. The carbon accounting consultancy, based in Paris, placed TikTok’s 2023 emissions in the US, UK and France at about 7.6 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) which is higher than X (formerly Twitter) and Snapchat in the same region.

However, given that the US, UK and France make up just 15 per cent of TikTok’s global user base, the overall carbon footprint of the platform is likely around 50 million metric tonnes of CO2e. Comparatively, Greece’s annual carbon emissions for 2023 were 51.67m metric tonnes of CO2e.

“Behind every social media post or video is a vast digital infrastructure, powered by data centres and servers that consume significant amounts of electricity. Much of this electricity is still derived from carbon-intensive sources such as coal, oil, and gas, meaning that each digital action contributes to global carbon emissions,” the report noted.

Also Read | TikTok User Helps US Cops Arrest Suspect Who Fatally Shot Ex-Girlfriend 3 Years Ago

TikTok’s addictiveness

The reason for TikTok’s increased carbon footprint has been linked to its addictiveness with daily users spending an average of 45.8 minutes per day on the platform. The report added that one minute on TikTok burns 2.921 grams of CO2e while one minute on YouTube burns 2.923 grams. One minute on Instagram burns 2.912 grams.

“The whole algorithm is built around the massification of videos. Addictiveness also has consequences in terms of incentivizing people to generate more and more [of a carbon] footprint on an individual basis,” said Alexis Normand, the chief executive of Greenly.

TikTok refuted the study’s findings with a spokesperson telling Fortune that ByteDance’s 2023 total carbon emissions, covering all operations beyond TikTok, were less than 20 per cent of the estimated emissions by Greenly.

In the era of artificial intelligence-generated photos, a picture of India Gate’s Kartavya Path that shows visitors’ gutkha spits “painted” on it is becoming viral on social media. A post on the microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) showcases several images where paan and gutkha stains are visibly marked on the red granite of Kartavya Path, previously known as Rajpath.

The caption of the post reads, “Kartavya Path, New Delhi,” and it has garnered over 350,000 views and more than 7,000 likes. The post has sparked significant discussion among social media users, with many emphasising the need to improve the understanding and practice of good civic sense among Indians.

Kartavya Path, New Delhi https://t.co/EWSAyo5Uec pic.twitter.com/kaHVURJhqE

— Kirat (@811GK) November 19, 2024

“We as citizens always blame the government for everything, but we don’t follow basic civic behaviour and expect the government to do everything. First we should learn some basic public behaviour, and then we can complain about the government,” commented a user.

“Isn’t this a high time to bring a bill to punish the people littering in public places and also hold accountable the departments responsible for public place cleanliness?” wrote another user.

“Heavy fine/manual labour, whichever is possible, is the only way forward to make these people understand civic sense,” commented a third user.

The post has gone viral and continues to gain increasing traction among users. However, authorities have yet to respond to it.

The Australian government’s decision to ban social media for children below 16 through ‘world-leading legislation’ has renewed the conversation in India about a similar ban. Studies, experiments and research have proved that social media platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and X (formerly Twitter), are addictive and impact children’s social and mental development, and time management and also expose them to risk of cyberbullying.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has asked social media platforms to enforce the new regulations or face possible fines. “Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese told the media. “The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access. The onus won’t be on parents or young people. There’ll be no penalties for users,” he explained.

The pros and cons of social media have long been a matter of heated discussion and the Australian government’s move has once again brought it to the fore.

Teenage addiction

Studies have found that unlimited screen time can disrupt sleep patterns, hamper academic performance, and reduce physical activity, contributing to an overall decline in well-being. The excessive use of social media apps tends to make children more sedentary.

Moreover, the addictive nature of social media can negatively impact children’s mental health, leading to issues like anxiety, depression, and poor self-esteem, especially as they compare themselves to the idealised portrayals of others. 

Since youngsters communicate more through texting and social media, it reduces their ability to communicate in real-time.

“Teens often find themselves drawn into late-night scrolling and are distracted from responsibilities. It’s essential to recognise that social media, while connecting us, also creates a pressure that young minds may find overwhelming,” says Prerna Kohli, clinical psychologist and founder, MindTribe.in.

Facebook’s internal research, which was kept secret for two years before being reported in 2021, had revealed the harmful effect of its Instagram app, especially on teenage girls. It had highlighted Instagram’s negative impressions on teenage girls in terms of body image, and the flimsy benchmark of validation based on appearance. As many as 32% of girls surveyed had said they felt bad about their body, and “Instagram made them feel worse”. Teens also blamed Insta for the rise in their rate of anxiety and depression.

“Adolescents frequently compare themselves to curated images they encounter online, which can foster feelings of inadequacy. The pursuit of validation through likes and comments can create a reliance on external approval, undermining their confidence and emotional strength,” says Rupali Makhijani, a high school counsellor based in the Nilgiris.

The APA (American Psychological Association) also issued a health advisory on social media use among adolescents, which specified that excess or ‘problematic social media use’ can harm the ability to engage in daily roles and routines among adolescents. The APA advisory also said it presents the risk of more serious psychological harm over time.

“Data indicates that technology use, particularly within one hour of bedtime, and social media use in particular, is associated with sleep disruptions. Insufficient sleep is associated with disruptions to neurological development in adolescent brains, teens’ emotional functioning and risk of suicide,” said the APA advisory.

Curbing the menace

Australia hasn’t blocked the internet or access to information. It has restricted access to platforms like Instagram and Facebook, given their damaging influence on adolescents, including negative body image, social anxiety and digital addiction.

Once developed countries with more internet presence and literacy go through such a social media ban, India can learn and emulate.

“A student I was working with had a clinical diagnosis of depressive disorder and was observed by the parent using a website that allows users to connect anonymously,” says Ms Makhijani. “A ban could shift the emphasis towards healthier offline interactions and real-world activities, creating a more balanced environment for young people to thrive.”

Restricted use of social media can significantly reduce the probability of cyberbullying, online harassment and body shaming. Children and adolescents can be nudged towards outdoor physical activities.  

As for youngsters who have already been exposed to social media, they may resist such restrictions, or rebel or take extreme steps. It could also lead to fissures between parents and children, causing stress and interpersonal mistrust.

“The more sustainable approach is to guide teens on healthy online habits and responsible usage. Encouraging open discussions about risks and setting screen-time boundaries with parental support can be effective,” says Dr Kohli.

“Families and schools can work together to help teens build self-esteem and resilience. Instead of banning social media, let’s teach kids to scroll wisely-guiding them to balance the benefits without getting lost in the likes,” she adds.

Australian PM Albanese himself was sceptical about the ban being fully effective or whether it would fix the problem immediately, pointing to alcohol restrictions that have failed to prevent underage drinking in his country.

The same holds for India. Alcohol bans have often backfired and spurred the sale of illicit liquor, which in turn has led to hundreds of deaths in states where liquor is prohibited. Similarly, tech savvy youngsters could always find a workaround for a social media ban.

Sydney:

Australia will move to pass new laws banning children under 16 from social media, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, vowing to crack down on tech companies failing to protect young users.

“This one is for the mums and dads. Social media is doing real harm to kids and I’m calling time on it,” he told reporters.

Albanese first mooted a social media age limit earlier this year, but it is the first time he has put a firm number on it.

Tech giants and social media platforms will bear the responsibility for ensuring users are old enough, Albanese said, rather than parents who were “worried sick about the safety of their kids online”.

“The onus will not be on parents or young people. There will be no penalties for users.”

Earlier proposals to introduce a social media age limit have enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Australia.

Albanese said the new laws would be presented to state and territory leaders this week, before being introduced to parliament in late November.

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

In an unexpected turn of events, a woman in northern China recently had a DNA test and found she was not genetically related to her parents, according to South China Morning Post. In an interview, the woman from Xinxiang, Henan province, with the last name Dong, disclosed that the test was triggered by her coworkers’ light-hearted remarks about her unusual looks, stating that it “did not look local.” Inspired by their comments, she began to wonder where she came from and sought clarification from her parents.

Dong asked her family members about her origins, and they gave vague, contradictory answers, including different dates of birth, as per the news portal. Her interest was piqued by her parents’ uncertainty, which is why she sought confirmation via a DNA test. Her suspicions were validated by the test results, which showed that she was not her parents’ biological daughter.

“I’ve always lived in Xinxiang, but after I started working, my colleagues would say, ‘You do not look like us at all. Your nose is wide, you have thick lips, and your eyes are bigger and deeper than ours. You do not look like someone from Henan at all,'” Dong told SCMP.

“Every night, I kept wondering, where do I really come from?” Dong reflected.

China’s internet community has exploded with support since this announcement, with many urging Dong to look for her biological parents. Since its initial coverage by Henan Broadcasting System on October 24, the story has generated a lot of interest and conversations on social media.

However, the test indicated that she likely originated from Guangxi province, located in the far southern part of China, showing no genetic connections to Henan province.

Beirut, Lebanon:

The video of an Israeli missile striking a residential building in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday is going viral across various social media platforms amid ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

According to The New York Post, the multi-story building was reportedly located in the Tayouneh neighbourhood, next to Horsh Beirut, a city park. The viral video of the incident showed that the impact of the missile attack was so catastrophic that it caused the entire structure to collapse instantly within a few seconds.

Watch the video here: 

Beirut, Lebanon

US missile blows up entire apartment building with innocent civilians inside

Make sure you follow us for more uncensored news because our account is being censored pic.twitter.com/zHqLdsT1Pl

— Fx Dose (@Zayn_Fxdose) October 22, 2024

About 40 minutes prior to this missile attack, an Israeli military spokesperson had issued a social media post in Arabic alerting residents in and around two buildings on the southern suburbs of Beirut to leave the area.

Also Read | Hezbollah Rules Out Negotiations During Fighting With Israel

The incident has sparked widespread outrage around the world. Local authorities and emergency services were immediately dispatched to the scene to assess the damage and provide assistance to any affected individuals.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement said on Tuesday there would be no negotiations while fighting continued with Israel, and it claimed sole responsibility for a drone attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s holiday home.

The group “takes full and sole responsibility” for targeting Netanyahu’s house, Mohammad Afif, head of the Iranian-backed operator group’s media office, told a press conference in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

“If our hands didn’t reach you the previous time, then days, nights, and the battlefield are still between us,” he said.

(With inputs from Reuters)