The social network said Monday’s move marked the next step, following its update in March requiring the removal of tweets that increase the chance of someone contracting or transmitting the virus, including: denial of guidance provided by experts; encouraging people to use fake or ineffective treatments, preventions and diagnostic techniques; and misleading content purporting to be from experts or authorities

Head of site integrity Yoel Roth and director of public policy strategy Nick Pickles said in a blog post that the labels and warning messages will be used to provide additional explanations or clarifications in cases where the risks of harm associated with tweets are less severe, but the content is still misleading or confusing.

The labels and warning messages are similar to those Twitter rolled out in February to address synthetic and manipulated media.

Twitter said the labels—which will also be applied to tweets that were sent before Monday—will link to a Twitter-curated page or an external trusted source to provide users with additional information on the claims being made within the tweet.

And in cases where the potential for harm is higher, warning labels will be affixed to tweets, alerting people that the information in the tweet contradicts guidance from public health experts.

Roth and Pickles said the social network will take action based on the following three broad categories:

• Misleading information—statements or assertions that have been confirmed to be false or misleading by subject-matter experts, such as public health authorities.
• Disputed claims—statements or assertions in which the accuracy, truthfulness or credibility of the claim is contested or unknown.
• Unverified claims—information (which could be true or false) that is unconfirmed at the time it is shared.

Twitter said it is identifying these tweets via its internal systems to proactively monitor Covid-19-related content, detect high-visibility content and prevent amplification of tweets with labels or warnings, adding that it will continue to rely on its trusted partners to identify content that has the potential to cause offline harm, and it will prioritize the review and labeling of such content.

Roth and Pickles wrote, “We’ll learn a lot as we use these new labels, and are open to adjusting as we explore labeling different types of misleading information. This process is ongoing, and we’ll work to make sure these and other labels and warnings show up across Twitter. Embedded tweets and tweets viewed by people not logged into Twitter may still appear without a label.”

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the inventory in that virtual closet pivoted to athleisure items for the many people working from home.

Snapchat’s AR Portal technology enables users to virtually browse a selection of Kohl’s athleisure products, and the app’s shoppable AR technology enables them to make purchases without leaving Snapchat.

The lens is live in the U.S., and can be accessed via Lens Carousel or the Snapcode below.

Kohl’s chief marketing officer Greg Revelle said, “As a reaction to our new environment, we’ve had to change many of the things that we do on a regular basis, including the way we engage with our audiences on social media. This virtual closet experience has given our audience a chance to experience the products they’re shopping for right now in a new way.”

The retailer and Snapchat also teamed up on a virtual window-shopping experience during last year’s holiday shopping season.

Facebook said nearly 500,000 babies have been born during quarantine in the U.S., and the spot is aimed at helping them “lift each other up, appreciate the little moments and find new ways to care for their families and take time for themselves” while dealing with the unexpected challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

On that note, the social network unveiled its Parent Support Hub, which provides information and resources on topics including: the latest information about Covid-19 from credible sources via Facebook’s Coronavirus (Covid-19) Information Center, WhatsApp and Messenger; directly messaging businesses on Messenger to inquire about delivery options or online orders; shopping for baby supplies and household items that may be sold out via Facebook Marketplace or Instagram shopping wish lists; asking for recommendations on where to get supplies, when doctor’s offices are open and easy food delivery options; stay connected with other parents, friends and loved ones; groups to share advice, get tips and connect with area parents; using Messenger video calling; learning more about the company’s Portal video-calling devices; sharing kids’ milestones on Instagram via popular hashtags; taking breaks for themselves via exercise classes, live concerts or other entertainment; and exploring shows on longform video destination Facebook Watch.

“Born in Quarantine” is narrated by 100-year-old Anita Sampson, who lives in Sarasota, Fla., with 107-year-old fiancée Joe Newman.

Sampson’s mother was just 20 during the influenza pandemic of 1918, and Sampson said, “People would be dropping in the street from feeling sick, and (her mother) would go out there and help them—make them comfortable or hold their hands or something.”

Two new moms are also featured in the spot: Mona Omar, a 29-year-old fashion and design art director who lives in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, whose father worked for Save the Children and whose mother is a teacher and the founder of an organization that combats female genital mutilation; and Emma Sophie Næsby Petersen, who is cocooned in her “little love bubble” in Copenhagen with her partner, newborn and two-year old son.

Omar said, “I’ve become really happy about the fact that I get to enjoy this experience with only my partner. There’s something really strong and intimate about that. And the opportunity to spend a lot of time together has been the most wonderful thing in the world.”

And Petersen added, “A few times, I really missed contact with friends and family and was feeling sad and desperate. My girlfriend surprised me when I was 10 days past my due date and crying, with a basket with a loving note and lots of candy and flowers. That melted my heart.”

The network debuted its dedicated #DearSports site, encouraging fans via a tweet to share their sports stories.

And its first #DearSports spot debuted during SportsCenter earlier this week.

Current and former athletes who were part of the spot included: Jared Allen (National Football League), Cliff Avril (NFL), Chelsea Gray (Women’s National Basketball Association), Holly Holm (Ultimate Fighting Championship), DeSean Jackson (NFL), Jimmie Johnson (Nascar), Lisa Leslie (WNBA), Nancy Lieberman (WNBA) and Amanda Zahui B (WNBA).

They were joined by ESPN talent including Nicole Briscoe, Julie Foudy, Mike Golic, Mike Golic Jr., Cassidy Hubbarth, Jessica Mendoza, Kevin Neghandi, Omar Raja, Tom Rinaldi, Holly Rowe, Marty Smith, Scott Van Pelt, Dick Vitale and Trey Wingo.

The grants come from the $25 million in local news relief funding that was included in plans revealed by Facebook in late March to invest $100 million in the news industry globally.

Over 200 local news publishers across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam will receive grants. The complete list is available here.

Facebook Journalism Project said $10.3 million of the total is going to 143 local newsrooms in the U.S., adding on those recipients that nearly four out of five are family-owned or independently owned; one-half are published by or four communities of color; almost 40% are digitally native; and more than one-third are nonprofits.

A total of 59 North American newsrooms that have participated in Facebook Local News Accelerator programs focused on subscriptions and memberships will get $5.4 million in grants.

And the remaining funds will be used throughout the year to support projects focused on longer-term sustainability, such as $2.5 million going to Report for America to help it place 225 journalists in 160 local news organizations.

Facebook vice president of global news partnerships Campbell Brown said in a blog post, “We’re proud to support this diverse group of publishers—many of which are family- or independently owned. Not only are these journalists working tirelessly to serve people right now: They’re focused on transformation, building innovative local news businesses that can continue to serve communities beyond the current pandemic.”

Institute for Nonprofit News chief network officer Jonathan Kealing added, “The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role local news plays in our communities, while simultaneously threatening their very existence. Reviewing hundreds of applications on a tight timeline both illustrated the depth of need, but also highlighted the innovation that these small, independent publishers can provide for their communities when given the resources. I’m excited to see new news products and more critical original reporting in these communities, thanks to Facebook’s support.”

Facebook’s local news partnership team also partnered with the company’s CrowdTangle unit to analyze the Facebook pages of some 2,700 local news publishers in the U.S. during March and the first half of April.

They wrote, “The CrowdTangle team looked at all posts during this time to spot patterns in what types of posts overperformed (compared to each page’s benchmark post performance) and received a high number of interactions. Not only did Covid-19 dominate coverage, but it led to significant spikes in engagement and Page growth.”

They also shared four key findings.

Local news pages doubled growth in the second half of March: The spike in traffic and engagement began simultaneously with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting a rise in Covid-19 cases in the U.S., around mid-March.

In the second half of that month, the Facebook pages of local news organizations saw growth of 150% in page likes and 33% in interactions per post (shares, Reactions), comments) compared with the first half of March.

The upward trends continued in the first two weeks of April, albeit at a slower pace, with page growth up 30% and interactions per post up 15% compared with the first two weeks of March.

Facebook Live is overperforming: Interactions per post in the second half of March versus the first half of the month rose 60% on Facebook Live videos, 60% on photos, 50% on text-only status updates and 30% on links.

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Note: These screenshots were captured in the TikTok app on iOS.

Step 1: After you’ve taken or imported a video in TikTok, tap “Stickers” at the bottom of the screen.

Step 2: Scroll down until you see the two Cribs stickers. Tap one to add it to your post.

From there, you can rotate, resize and move the sticker around the screen to best fit your post before sharing it. You can also tap the “Stickers” button again to add the other Cribs sticker to your post, if you want.

The app provides merchants with easy setup and access to distribution across Pinterest, with or without ads, and adding a shop tab to a merchant’s profile on the platform provides an additional product discovery conduit.

Merchants do not need to edit code or add development resources.

Users of the app gain access to Pinterest shopping features including tag installation, catalog ingestion, automatic daily updating of products and an ads buying interface, as well as reporting and results to help them maximize their reach.

Shopify merchants in the U.S. and Canada can install the tag starting today, and the integration will be available to merchants globally in the coming weeks.

Pinterest senior vice president of technology Jeremy King said, “As we make Pinterest more shoppable, Shopify is the perfect partner for bringing access to catalogs, product Pins and shopping ads to merchants so they can get in front of the millions of Pinners looking for unique products that match their taste. With the new Pinterest app on Shopify, in just a few clicks, retailers can take the products on their virtual store shelves to the recommendations Pinners see as they shop. Merchants are adapting to new realities and looking ahead to the future of retail, which is why we’re focused on making both our ads and organic features available and impactful to businesses of all sizes.”

Shopify vp of product Satish Kanwar added, “Partnering with Pinterest to create the Pinterest channel is adding another powerful marketing tool for merchants to share their products with a new audience. The channel allows merchants to easily turn their Shopify products into shoppable Pins for Pinterest’s over 350 million users to discover, allowing Pinterest users to purchase the item directly from the merchant’s store. The channel also makes it even easier for merchants to advertise to and acquire new customers, which is a huge win for businesses.”

Twitter users on iOS and the web will start seeing a new layout for replies to tweets, which includes lines and indentations, making it more obvious who replies were directed to, as well as fitting more of the conversation into the view.

The social network also said it is experimenting with adding icons for like, reply and retweet behind a tap for replies, saying this is being trialed with a small group on iOS and the web.

Wireless carriers Bitel, Claro, Entel and Movistar are partners in the test, and product manager Yoav Zeevi said in a blog post that Facebook incorporated feedback and recommendations from civil society groups and other stakeholders, including organizations like the World Wide Web Foundation.

Participating mobile operators provide a daily balance of free data, and Discover users will be notified when that data is available.

Discover can be used to browse any website, but web traffic is routed through the Discover proxy and temporarily decrypted so that video, audio and other high-bandwidth content can be removed. Users can always choose to view content of those types outside of Discover, using data that they purchase from their carriers.

Zeevi wrote, “The product does not store people’s browsing history in connection with them, and personal browsing activity is not used for other purposes, such as helping Facebook target ads or suggest new friends. You do not need to have a Facebook account to use Discover, which has a stand-alone set of terms and privacy policy. An explanation of the product’s design and privacy protections is displayed prominently before consumers can begin using Discover.”

Health resources related to the coronavirus pandemic will be highlighted on the app’s homepage.

Zeevi said Facebook Connectivity plans to roll out additional Discover trials with partner operators in other countries where it has been beta-testing product features, including Iraq, the Philippines and Thailand.

Google.org vice president Jacquelline Fuller outlined where the funds have gone and will go in a blog post, adding that Google.org fellows will give a total of 50,000 hours to projects related to Covid-19.

Up to $10.5 million has been committed to entities including the World Health Organization via public matching campaigns, in which Google.org matches donations from Google employees.

Fellowships and grants from Google.org to Boston Children’s Hospital’s HealthMap consortium and France’s Médecins Sans Frontières are supporting the application of artificial intelligence to develop new tools and models that track the spread of Covid-19 and inform policymakers and healthcare systems.

Over $15 million in cash grants have gone to nonprofits benefiting underrepresented business owners, and Fuller said $5 million grants are going to Common Future, which will provide capital and technical assistance to 2,000 women and minority small business entrepreneurs in the U.S., and to Youth Business International, which will establish a rapid response and recovery program to provide critical support services, including crisis helplines, to over 200,000 underserved small and midsized businesses in 32 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

More than $10 million will go toward immediate crisis relief grants to nonprofits in communities across the globe where Google has offices. Fuller wrote, “Local organizations know how to best address food security, care for vulnerable homeless populations, support victims of domestic violence or increase access to mental health care within their communities.”

Google.org began supporting GiveDirectly’s cash assistance campaign in the San Francisco Bay area last month, and it is expanding those efforts to support GiveDirectly in 12 other locations across the U.S., totaling $8 million in donations via Google.org seed funding and donations from Google employees and the public.

The Family Independence Initiative received $1 million, and GiveIndia received grants to support nonprofits that are providing cash assistance to support vulnerable families.

Fuller said Google.org’s $10 million distance learning fund helped schools, teachers and parents cope with school closures around the world, and $1 million of that went to Khan Academy, which reaches more than 18 million affected learners every month.

Inco received a $2.7 million grant for nonprofits in Europe and Asia to digitize learning materials, and $2 million went to DonorsChoose for its Keep Kids Learning effort, which helps teachers from U.S. public schools in high poverty areas purchase materials for remote teaching and student care packages containing food, books and school supplies.

Fuller wrote, “There are thousands of Googlers eager to give money or their own skills to organizations they’re passionate about. At the start of Covid-19, we launched an internal site to help Googlers find Covid-specific giving and volunteering opportunities in their communities. We’re matching skilled volunteers to select nonprofits and civic organizations, including 31 Google.org fellows who are providing three to six months of full-time pro bono support to four Covid-19 specific fellowship projects. We also increased Google’s annual gift match from $7,500 to $10,000.”