U.S. general manager Vanessa Pappas and director of creator community Kudzi Chikumbu explained in a blog post that the glitch widely affected hashtags at large, and that videos with those hashtags continued to be uploaded, viewed and engaged with.

They wrote, “In fact, videos with these hashtags have currently generated well over 2 billion views, which is a testament to their importance to and resonance among our community. Nevertheless, we understand that many assumed this bug to be an intentional act to suppress the experiences and invalidate the emotions felt by the Black community. And we know we have work to do to regain and repair that trust.”

TikTok will stand in solidarity with the Black community and the music industry by participating in Black Out Tuesday (June 2), turning off all playlists and campaigns on its Sounds page “to observe a moment of reflection and action.”

The platform will mark Black Music Month in June with special programming to highlights artists’ contributions to music on TikTok.

The company will also donate $3 million from its Community Relief Fund to nonprofits that aid the Black community, which, it pointed out, has been “disproportionately affected” by the Covid-19 crisis. And another $1 million will go toward “fighting the racial injustice and inequality that we are witnessing in this country.”

On-platform, TikTok said it will invest in its technology and moderation strategies in order to better handle potentially violative content and improve the appeals process.

The company also intends to establish a creator diversity council, along with program aimed at recognizing and uplifting voices driving culture, creativity and important conversations.

TikTok said it will further the efforts of its internal diversity task force and engage organizations and experts to analyze how its products and policies can better serve people of all backgrounds.

It will also develop a creator portal to expand communications channels with its creator community and provide them with opportunities.

Passas and Chikumbu wrote, “We also fully acknowledge our responsibility to not simply wish for and talk about the importance of diversity on our platform, but to actively promote and protect it. We share in the pain our country is in, and it is palpable across our TikTok communities. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Black community and, as we write this, our teams are working on ways to elevate and support Black voices and causes.”

They concluded, “We continue to work each and every day to create a supportive environment for the Black community and everyone across the world. Ultimately, our goal is for TikTok to feel like home for people everywhere. We appreciate being held accountable. We know that getting to a place of trust will take work, but we are dedicated to doing our part as we continue to foster a space where everyone is seen and heard.”

The “If Dogs Could Talk” campaign, aimed at dog owners, includes a special playlist designed to calm dogs, as well as sponsorship of Spotify Original podcast My Dog’s Favourite Podcast, which is designed to keep dogs company with a mix of soothing music, speech directed at dogs and original sounds to provide comfort and alleviate stress.

Spotify said vets are warning of a potential increase in emotional problems when pets who have become used to their owners being home all the time are left alone, and two out of five owners expressed concerns for their dogs when the lockdown is lifted, while 42% said being home a lot less will confuse their dogs.

The streaming platform added that 52% of people in the U.K. believe music is important to the well-being of their dogs, with 46% saying that the animals “sing along” and 42% saying they wag their tails.

One out of five people in the U.K. said their pets have become more clingy when they leave the room since the coronavirus pandemic began, and the same percentage said they have noticed more restlessness.

On the bright side for dogs, one out of five people in the U.K. are giving them more pampering sessions.

Spotify said the five-hour playlist is designed to be played while owners are out of the house, adding that in between tracks, dogs will hear, “You’re a good boy. Did you enjoy that song? Shall we listen some more?”

Frontline vet expert Geoffrey Guyot said in a statement, “As lockdown eases, we will start going back to our usual activities, such as going back to work. Unfortunately, this means that many dogs will be left alone at home, which they might find stressful after spending so much time with their owners. Many of us listen to music to unwind and relax, and we wanted to extend those benefits to dogs, too, with our very own Spotify playlist.”

The full playlist includes:

• Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Could You Be Loved”
• The Shangri-Las, “Leader of the Pack”
• Elvis Presley, “Hound Dog”
• Fleetwood Mac, “Everywhere”
• Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
• Player, “Baby Come Back”
• Eagles, “One of These Nights”
• Crowded House, “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
• John Mayer, “New Light”
• Daryl Hall and John Oates, “Rich Girl”
• The Doobie Brothers, “What a Fool Believes”
• America and George Martin, “Ventura Highway”
• The Rolling Stones, “Wild Horses”
• Billy Idol, “Eyes Without a Face”
• Lenny Kravitz, “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over”
• Elton John, “Rocket Man”
• 10cc, “Dreadlock Holiday”
• Ozzy Osbourne and Elton John, “Ordinary Man”
• Tom Petty, “Wildflowers”
• Suede, “Saturday Night”
• Bruce Springsteen, “I’m on Fire”
• Chris Isaak, “Wicked Game”
• Stealers Wheel, “Stuck in the Middle With You”
• INXS, “Never Tear Us Apart”
• Bread, “Make It With You”
• Electric Light Orchestra, “Livin’ Thing”
• The Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun”
• Don Henley, “New York Minute”
• Radiohead, “Karma Police”
• Sheryl Crow, “Strong Enough”
• David Bowie and Paul Metheny Group, “This Is Not America”
• Simple Minds, “Alive and Kicking”
• The Cranberries, “Linger”
• New Radicals, “You Get What You Give”
• Christopher Cross, “Ride Like the Wind”
• Prince, “Purple Rain”
• Sting and Eric Clapton, “It’s Probably Me”
• The Smashing Pumpkins, “Disarm”
• Keane, “Somewhere Only We Know”
• Pink Floyd, “Wish You Were Here”
• Billy Joel, “My Life”
• Foo Fighters, “Everlong”
• Chicago, “If You Leave Me Now”
• Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton, “Big Yellow Taxi”
• Bruce Hornsby and the Range, “The Way It Is”
• Cat Stevens, “Wild World”
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Under the Bridge”
• Nirvana, “About a Girl”
• Billie Myers, “Kiss the Rain”
• Queen, “Heaven for Everyone”
• Blind Melon, “No Rain”
• Gerry Rafferty, “Baker Street”
• Whitesnake, “Is This Love”
• Stone Temple Pilots, “Creep”
• Eric Clapton, “Change the World”
• Inner Circle, “Sweat”
• Big Mountain and Tom Lord, “Alge—Baby, I Love Your Way”
• Ziggy Marley, “Love Is My Religion”
• UB40, “Red Red Wine”
• Johnny Nash, “I Can See Clearly Now”
• The Maytals, “Pressure Drop
• Yellowman, “Zungguzungguguzungguzeng”

The first social network is Twitter, which labeled two tweets by Trump Tuesday regarding mail-in ballots with links to additional information from trusted sources, causing the angered president to sign an executive order Thursday in a legally flawed attempt to limit protections for social networks that are part of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.

Undaunted, Twitter affixed a label to Trump’s tweet early Friday morning regarding protests, rioting in looting in Minneapolis in response to the death of George Floyd during an arrest, saying that the tweet violated the platform’s rules against glorifying violence—“when the looting starts, the shooting starts”—but would remain accessible because it was in the public interest.

The second social network is Facebook, which has been under pressure for some time already for its reluctance to take action against Trump and others.

The pressure began to build from inside the company, as well, as internal posts leaked to Casey Newton of The Verge Friday showed.

Newton reported that vice president of content policy Monika Bickert wrote on Workplace, the company’s internal version of Facebook, that the Facebook version of Trump’s post on mail-in ballots did not violate the social network’s rules against voter interference because it did not mislead people about registering to vote or voting.

Bickert toed what has become the company line, writing, as reported by Newton, “We do not believe that a private technology company like Facebook should be in the business of vetting what politicians say in the context of a political debate. As is the case with the president’s tweets, speech from candidates and elected officials is highly scrutinized and debated. We think people should be allowed to hear what politicians say, make up their own minds and hold politicians to account.”

Employee comments following Trump’s Friday morning posts about Minneapolis, from the content leaked to Newton, include:

“I have to say I am finding the contortions we have to go through incredibly hard to stomach. All this points to a very high risk of a violent escalation and civil unrest in November and if we fail the test case here, history will not judge us kindly.”

“It’s egregious that nobody from policy has chimed in or provided any sort of context here. They’ve already made an official decision by keeping the post up after it’s been reported. They should communicate their justification for the decision.”

“Makes me sad and frankly ashamed. Hopefully this wasn’t the final assessment? Hopefully there is still someone somewhere discussing how and why this is clearly advocating for violence?”

“It’s been said previously that inciting violence would cause a post to be removed. I too would like to know why the goals shifted, and where they are now.”

Newton also said one employee shared a GIF of a comedy sketch by Mitchell and Webb, in which an SS officer asks his counterpart during World War II, “Are we the baddies?”

That employee wrote, “Waking up every morning at FB now and having this run through my head, immediately followed by ‘Yes, apparently.’” And a comment from a co-worker read, “It’s honestly really hard for me to take seriously the words of support from our leadership this morning if we allow content like this on our platform. Whatever we are getting from not acting on this, is it worth allowing clear, violent threats against Black protesters?”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg finally responded late Friday, in the time slot the company normally reserves for breaking news that is not likely to be well-received.

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Mere days after rolling out CatchUp—an Android and iOS application aimed at facilitating phone calls and group calls—two more apps were hatched.

Invite-only iOS app Collab brings fans and creators together to create, watch and mix and match original videos, starting with music.

Product lead Brittany Mennuti described Collabs as three independent videos playing in sync, saying that users can create their own arrangements by adding their own recordings, or by swiping between the three options, with no musical experience required.

Once a Collab is created, it can be published for other users to access or shared via other platforms, including Facebook Stories and Instagram.

People can join the waitlist for invites here.

Mennuti wrote in a blog post, “Music is one of the most powerful creative outlets. With Collab, we’re leveraging technology to help people unlock creative superpowers by collaborating on original music videos from anywhere. In light of so many folks sheltered in place around the world, we’ve expedited this release.”

And Venue, available for Android and iOS, enables commentators and fans to experience live events together in a new, interactive way.

Facebook’s first sports partner for Venue is Nascar, starting with the Supermarket Heroes 500 race from Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., Sunday (May 31).

Product lead Manish Gaudi said in a blog post that during each race, a Venue will be hosted by someone such as a journalist, current or former athlete or aspiring “fan analyst.”

The host will provide commentary, post interactive questions and polls and open up short chats based on specific moments during the race.

Gaudi said hosts for upcoming races will include Nascar.com social media personality nascarcasm, Fox Sports Nascar reporter Alan Cavanna and driver Landon Cassill.

The app was designed to enable fans to split their attention between the event and their phones, and Gaudi said this is done with Moments, or short-lived digital opportunities for them to connect when something memorable or interesting occurs during the event.

Users are notified whenever a new Moment is created so they can opt to participate via Venue, eliminating the need to scroll or search for the exact Moment other fans are reacting to.

Gaudi wrote, “Live broadcasts still offer the rare opportunity for millions of people to consume content simultaneously. Despite drawing large concurrent viewership, live broadcasts are still a mostly solo viewing experience. Passionate fans are constantly seeking better ways to engage with other fans and experts around their favorite events. Venue aims to give fans an interactive second-screen experience, curated by experts and centered on the pivotal moments of their favorite events. To start, Venue will focus on improving the second-screen experiences of sports fans, some of the most passionate fan communities.”

And Nascar senior vice president and chief digital officer Tim Clark wrote in the blog post, “As Nascar makes its return to action over the coming weeks, Venue will provide users with a unique and exciting way to connect with fellow race fans from around the globe–all from the safety and comfort of their own homes. Nascar was built on innovation, and we couldn’t be more excited to help a great partner like Facebook’s New Product Experimentation team innovate around new platforms.”

Prior to CatchUp earlier this week, the Facebook NPE Team released Apple Watch app Kit, which simplifies Messenger From Facebook on the device, and iOS app Tuned, which creates a private place for couples to share content with each other, in April.

Pinterest-influenced Hobbi debuted in February, following three apps that were released last November: Bump, a one-on-one anonymous chat app based on conversation topics and geared toward college students; Aux, also aimed at college students, described as a “DJ for Your School”; and meme-creation app Whale.

The social network revealed the new features in a Twitter Support tweet, cautioning in the comments that drafts will not work cross-platform: Drafts created on desktop will only be accessible via desktop, and those created on mobile will only be accessible via mobile.

Google News Initiative head of innovation Ludovic Blecher said in a blog post that applications covering a number of publications under one organization were capped at $85,000, adding that Google expects final funding to wind up in the tens of millions of dollars.

Blecher said Google News Initiative received over 12,000 applications from 140 eligible countries, and 90% of those applications came from newsrooms with fewer than 26 journalists. He added that roughly one-half of those applications failed to meet the necessary criteria.

Google head of U.S. news and publishing Chris Jansen highlighted the following recipients in the blog post: Chestnut Hill Local, Philadelphia; The Discourse Cowichan, Canada; Madison365, Madison, Wis.; The Daily Memphian, Memphis, Tenn.; and WTIP North Shore Community Radio, Grand Marais, Minn.

He wrote, “As we read their stories, we were struck by the number of news organizations in the U.S. and Canada keeping their communities informed with fewer than 10 full-time employees. As small businesses, many applicants are trying to figure out how to keep the lights on, literally and figuratively. They’re passionate about providing high-quality journalism, and it’s an honor to support them during such a critical point.”

Director of partnerships for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Mark Peters called out: Baraka FM, Kenya; Bihoreanul, Romania; Eco di Bergamo, Italy; Mediacités, France; and Rochdale Online, U.K.

He wrote, “We received applications from 88 countries and, so far, we’ve offered funding to more than 1,550 publishers, each demonstrating the diversity and strength of local communities and the journalists that continue to serve them through the crisis.”

Head of media, news and entertainment partnerships for the Asia-Pacific region Rohan Tiwary put the spotlight on: East Mojo, India; Minnambalam, India; The Murray Pioneer, Australia; Saltama Shimbun, Japan; and Suara Surabaya, Indonesia.

He wrote, “Asia-Pacific has dealt with Covid-19 for longer than any other region—since January, in some places—so we know how urgently this support is needed. When we looked at the more than 2,000 applications, we considered Asia Pacific’s enormous diversity—not just across ethnicities, religions and languages, but also in terms of the news landscape. We’re supporting more than 800 news organizations in 30 countries and territories.”

Finally, online partnerships group lead for Latin America Camilo Gomez mentioned: Agencia Amazonia, Brazil; El Colombiano, Colombia; La Discusion, Chile; and El Imparcial, Mexico.

He wrote, “The process behind reviewing each of the 2,000-plus applications in the region was an opportunity to connect with the amazing journalism and stories that support local communities.”

TikTok U.S. head of content partnerships Bryan Thoensen said in a blog post, “The reception from our community shows that people are eager to #LearnOnTikTok—and we’re energized by the opportunity to do more. To support the growth in creative learning, we’re exploring additional ways to showcase the rich offering of instructional content that’s thriving on the platform, and we’re building a creator learning portal that will provide insights, tools and best practices on how to create quality content on TikTok. We look forward to sharing more on our efforts to give back to the community and, in the meantime, we’re ready to soak up all the creative insights and instruction that the TikTok community has to offer.”

He also shared examples, including:

• Aquarium of the Pacific shared an explainer about endangered giant sea bass.
• Tyler Brown, a fourth-year dental student from Boston, shared tips on dental hygiene.
• Christen Fosque of Hedonia Flowers in Chicago, who had to shut down her shop, shared do-it-yourself lessons in floral arrangement.
• Headspace shared meditation tips.
• It Gets Better created content on how to be mindful of assumptions of gender identity.
• Cindy Lai, an independent fitness trainer in New York, whose business was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, shared tips on how to exercise and stay fit while sheltering at home.
• Farm owner Page Pardo in St. Louis shared videos highlighting lessons from owning a farm, such as what it means to sweat like a pig.
• Self shared tips on how to sleep better.
• Upworthy shared tips on at-home DIY yoga.
• Women’s Wear Daily shared the history of wedding dresses.
• Najwa Zebian, a Lebanese author and poet, shared inspirational poetry and prose.

Thoensen also shared comments from experts in his blog post.

José Andrés, internationally-recognized culinary innovator, New York Times bestselling author, educator, chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup and founder of food relief organization World Central Kitchen, will share cooking tips and tricks learned from every corner of the globe and right in his own home kitchen. He said, “From the science of food to fundamentals for the whole family, from Michelin-starred restaurants to cooking with my three daughters, I’m looking forward to creating educational food content for the TikTok community.”

Television personality, producer, businesswoman, actress, author and model Tyra Banks, who will create content to teach and inspire the TikTok community, said, “I am beyond pumped to partner with TikTok to bring exciting, thought-provoking content all about learning and taking your life to the next level. I’ll tackle how to overcome life’s obstacles and give unique tips and tricks to make your wildest dreams come true. Motivating people to reach for their ‘BFOGS,’ their ‘Big Fierce Outrageous Goals,’ has always been my passion, and I can’t wait to share all of these lessons I’ve been honing for years with the TikTok community.”

Bill Nye, science educator, TV personality, mechanical engineer and CEO of nonprofit space interest group The Planetary Society, said, “I’m excited to partner with TikTok. Looking forward to doing some science on the small screen—the real small screen—the one on your phone.”

Lilly Singh, host of NBC’s A Little Late, will create content that inspires people to stay positive. She said, “I love to tell stories that have the potential to inspire audiences and make people feel seen and connected, especially in this climate, where we are often apart from one another. TikTok is such an original place on the internet, and I’m excited to create content that makes a positive impact, encourages people to learn something new and, just as important, I know we could all use some comic relief right now, too.”

And astrophysicist, cosmologist, planetary scientist, author and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson, who will create content that teaches and inspires, said, “I’m happy to work with my StarTalk team to bring a stream of fun, educational content to the platform. Science has always been a passion of mine, and it’s my goal to make it a passion of yours.”

The webcast and video breakout sessions will be available on the Snapchat website, with “doors opening” at 9:45 a.m. PT/12:45 p.m. ET that day and the keynote beginning 15 minutes later.

The keynote will be delivered by co-founders CEO Evan Spiegel and chief technology officer Bobby Murphy, joined by other team members.

New product features and partnerships will be detailed for augmented reality offerings, the Discover content platform, developer and creator ecosystems and other areas.

Snap Inc. said video breakout sessions will be made public following the conclusion of the keynote, and a replay of the keynote will be available on the company’s investor relations site for at least 90 days, and via the Snapchat YouTube channel.

Spiegel said in a statement, “We deeply value our partners and the role they play in empowering our community to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world and have fun together. We’re looking forward to celebrating our partners and sharing more about the future of the products and platforms that we’ve been building together.”

Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil will be released Friday (May 29).

Diplo will play the new album on Chipotle’s Twitch channel at 10 p.m. PT Thursday (May 28)/1 a.m. ET Friday, along with some country classics mixed in, while Chipotle will provide 5,000 free burrito codes for viewers during the livestream (1,000 every 10 minutes).

The DJ’s The Thomas Wesley Show album listening party and variety show livestreams from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. PT/11 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET on the Mad Decent Twitch channel.

Google Maps senior vice president of geo Jen Fitzpatrick said in a blog post, “We’ve seen firsthand in Google Search and Maps the impact that Covid-19 has had on small businesses and how they connect with their customers. People across the world are looking for ways to continue supporting corner bookstores, local watering holes, beloved dance studios and other businesses that give their neighborhoods character—even if it’s from a distance.”

Support links are being extended to 18 additional countries, including Italy, Japan and Spain. The feature enables merchants to add a donation link, gift card link or both to their Business Profiles, along with a message explaining how the funds that are raised will be used.

Google teamed up with GoFundMe and PayPal on the donations component, while eligible partners for gift card offerings include Clover, Square, Toast and Vagaro.

Fitzpatrick said global search interest in “how to help small businesses” reached an all-time high in March, up more than 700% from February, so Google made it possible for people to search their favorite local businesses by name to see if those businesses added donation or gift card links to their profiles.

She added that in the coming weeks, people will be able to use Search and Maps to find all nearby businesses asking for support.

With most in-person services on hiatus due to the pandemic, Google added features to help merchants promote their virtual services.

Merchants who are verified on Google My Business will soon be able to add attributes including online appointments, online classes and online estimates to their Business Profiles.

Fitzpatrick said those attributes can be added now via Google My Business, and they will be visible on Business Profiles in Search and Maps in the coming weeks.

Reserve With Google is also being expanded to enable businesses to include bookings for online services via partners including Booksy, Regis, WellnessLiving and Zooty.

Google added the ability for businesses to mark themselves as temporarily closed across all of its business verticals, as well as to indicate when they are ready to reopen, and to add secondary hours and posts related to Covid-19.

Fitzpatrick said over 1 million businesses have shared Covid-19 posts sine March, driving millions of clicks to those businesses’ websites every week.

More third-party ordering providers were added to enable an additional 25,000 restaurants to provide delivery and takeout directly via Google, and food merchants can now indicate their preferred online ordering partners on their Business Profiles.

Fitzpatrick said that since giving restaurants the ability to add attributes such as curbside pickup, dine-in and no-contact delivery to their Business Profiles, more than 3 million have added or edited those attributes.

She concluded, “We know that every day during this pandemic can be drastically different—and for small business owners, there can be a lot of uncertainty. While we can’t control what each day looks like, our goal is to continue helping businesses communicate the latest with consumers across the world.”