Social Media Daily News Roundup 29.08.2019

Today’s social media news, rounded up in one place so you don’t have to go anywhere else. 

😃 Pinterest's new vaccine search will offer something rare on social media: facts

😃 Facebook seeks to strengthen its political ad requirements ahead of 2020 US Election 

😃 Facebook's testing a new screen-sharing option for messenger 

😃 LinkedIn reportedly used by some nations to recruit spies

Pinterest's new vaccine search will offer something rare on social media: facts - The Guardian 

Users looking for medical advice will get results from major public health groups in an effort to combat misinformation

When Pinterest realised in 2018 that the search results for many health-related terms – such as “vaccines” or “cancer cure” – were polluted with non-scientific misinformation, the visual social media site took a radical step: it broke the search function for those terms. “If you’re looking for medical advice, please contact a healthcare provider,” a message on the otherwise blank page read.

On Wednesday, Pinterest announced a new step in its efforts to combat health misinformation on its platform: users will be able to search for 200 terms related to vaccines, but the results displayed will come from major public health organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), Centres for Disease Control, American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) and Vaccine Safety Net.

Facebook seeks to strengthen its political ad requirements ahead of 2020 US Election - Social Media Today

Facebook has announced a new set of updates designed to strengthen its political advertising tools, and stop misuse by politically-motivated groups in the lead up to the 2020 US Election.

First off, Facebook is adding in new information requirements for ads which are listed as coming from a US-originated political group. Under Facebook's improved political transparency process, any ad paid for by a political group or candidate needs to be labeled as such, and approved by Facebook under the same.

But tests have shown that this process is not foolproof - late last year, Vice News documented how it was able to run ads 'Paid for by Mike Pence' and other political candidates, and have them approved by Facebook. 

Facebook's testing a new screen-sharing option for messenger - Social Media Today

Facebook is testing a new Messenger video option which would enable you to share your phone screen in a Messenger chat, as opposed to using the camera.  

Spotted by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong, the new option, as you can see above, would switch to a screen share of your mobile device, enabling you to share in-app experiences, videos, etc.

The text in the first prompt reads:

"You can share your favourite content with your video chat. This turns off your camera and lets everyone in the chat see your screen."

There's then a second warning before you go ahead - which is probably a good thing, as there may be private or personal info on your phone screen that you may not want to share with a group chat. Worth prompting a second thought before going ahead. And as you can see in the last frame, the screenshare is then reflected to the group.

LinkedIn reportedly used by some nations to recruit spies - Digital Trends 

LinkedIn isn’t only an excellent way to find new business opportunities and network with others who work in the same field. It’s also a great way for foreign powers to recruit spies, according to a New York Times report published on Tuesday, August 28.

The practice has been going on for a number of years, the report claims, with Western counterintelligence officials from several nations warning some individuals to be wary of foreign agents using the social networking site for recruitment purposes. Officials speaking to the Times described Chinese spies as “the most active” on LinkedIn.