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Tag: Instagram

  • Instagram adds a watch history for Reels

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    Instagram’s latest feature should make it easier to resurface videos you’ve viewed. On Friday, Adam Mosseri revealed a new watch history for Reels. “Hopefully, now you can find that thing that you were trying to find that you couldn’t find before,” the Instagram CEO said.

    We could see the feature coming in handy. For example, when you see something interesting but lose it due to an accidental tap or app refresh.

    You can find it on Instagram under Settings > Your activity > Watch history. The feature lets you sort by newest to oldest or vice versa. You can also jump to a specific date or date range, and filter by the account that posted it.

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    Will Shanklin

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  • Dog owner suspicious after window blinds fall—Then checks security camera

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    A woman returning home from jury duty who left her dog home alone nearly blamed her pooch for fallen window blinds, but then she remembered, “innocent until proven guilty.”

    Dog owner Jax works from home, which means rarely leaving her dog, Grim, the black Australian shepherd mix, alone. But because of jury duty, Grim stayed home alone for several hours. She told Newsweek she left at 8 a.m. and returned home around 3 p.m. to find her home a bit messier than usual. The window blinds fell off and landed on Grim’s doggy bed.

    Some dogs, when left home alone, become disruptive or destructive. They might bark or howl uncontrollably, chew items, dig, urinate or escape, all of which could be signs of distress and separation anxiety.

    Jax knew her dog couldn’t have been the culprit. He usually sleeps when at home by himself. This type of behavior would have been “out of character.” Plus, she said, her blinds had never fallen in six years.

    But Grim started acting suspiciously toward Jax after she returned home, running over to the window and sniffing at the blinds on the ground. That’s when she decided to check the security camera for the truth, which she posted to the dog’s Instagram account @grimtheozzy on October 7. The video revealed Grim nowhere near the window blinds. Instead, he was sleeping on Jax’s bed, as she expected.

    “He got terrified and started barking for the next ten minutes,” she said.

    In the clip, Grim cautiously walked closer to the blinds to investigate. He sniffed for a few moments before backtracking to the bed for more warning barks not to mess with him.

    Jax feels relieved not only that Jax remained a perfect good boy, but also because the blinds did not fall on him and hurt him. His bed is right under the window, but he wisely chose to sleep on hers instead.

    Viewer Reactions

    The Instagram video reached over 260,000 views, 36,900 likes and 57 comments as of Thursday. People felt horribly for how scared he must’ve been, but glad the camera proved his innocence.

    “Plssss, him investigating, much concern what a good boy,” wrote a viewer.

    Another added: “I’m glad you had video footage and confirmed first. I would feel so bad blaming him for something he didn’t do.”

    A third user said: “He showed those blinds who’s boss.”

    Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

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  • Orange County shoppers say goodbye to Westminster Mall

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    After serving for decades as a community hub and popular shopping center, the Westminster Mall in Orange County is getting ready to close its doors.

    Most of the shops in the mall will shut down on Oct. 29 when leases expire, according to Westminster City Manager Christine Cordon. The City Council approved a redevelopment plan in 2022 to turn the mall into a mixed-use site for housing, leisure and retail.

    The 100-acre property, situated on the south side of the 405 Freeway, could soon offer 3,000 housing units and at least 600,000 square feet of upscale retail space.

    The city’s Westminster Mall Specific Plan also sets aside more than 9 acres for parks and recreation.

    “The community has expressed a strong desire to revitalize this important commercial center,” the redevelopment plan says. “The project site provides a unique opportunity to reposition the mall into the thriving activity center that it once was and to accommodate the future growth of the city.”

    Community members gathered last week to say their goodbyes to the mall, which already has shuttered stores and empty parking lots. According to the mall’s online directory, popular shops such as Victoria’s Secret, Vans and Kay Jewelers are still open.

    JCPenney, the mall’s oldest anchor store, is slated to close by Nov. 21. Best Buy and Target are expected to remain open for a few more years as the property undergoes redevelopment.

    Alexis Malatesta, who frequented the mall as a teenager and now runs a Westminster Mall fan account on Instagram, hosted a farewell karaoke party at the mall on Friday.

    She posted videos of the gathering, where several community members came to reminisce and sing songs in the mall’s honor.

    Malatesta’s Instagram says it’s “a page dedicated solely to the Westminster Mall’s battle with terminal illness,” referencing the mall’s long, rocky fall from its prime.

    In 1986, the mall was Orange County’s second-highest-grossing retail center. The next year, the mall announced a big renovation plan.

    In its heyday, the mall was a gathering spot when there were few other places to hang out. It was where kids found the latest fashions and where “mall rats” roamed in packs after school.

    Malatesta, who grew up in Huntington Beach, said she spent countless afternoons at the mall in the early 2000s, riding the carousel and snapping digital photos. As the mall fell into disrepair, she posted stunts on social media to try to generate business, including a fake wedding ceremony to declare her marriage to the mall.

    “I wanted to get people to go enjoy the space while it was still there,” she said in an interview. “The Westminster Mall was a huge part of my childhood and I’ve met a ton of people through our shared obsession with the mall.”

    The Westminster Mall opened in 1974 on the former site of the world’s largest goldfish farm, according to city documents.

    It underwent major renovations in the 1980s and in 2008, and is now controlled by four companies that share ownership of the property: Kaiser Permanente, Shopoff Realty, True Life Cos. and Washington Prime Group.

    True Life, a Denver-based real estate firm, has received permission from the city to build a five-story, multifamily housing structure on the 3.6 acres that was previously occupied by Babies R Us.

    Because of a pending agreement between the four companies, a demolition date for the mall has not been set.

    Though the city has ambitious redevelopment plans, the Westminster Mall will lose its nostalgic value for Malatesta, now 33 years old.

    “You can go into an indoor mall and you can forget about the outside world,” Malatesta said. “Westminster Mall was my spot.”

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    Caroline Petrow-Cohen

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  • Instagram accounts pushing graphic, violent content to millions, CBS News investigation finds

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    Warning: Some subject matter is disturbing. Instagram users around the world opened the app one day back in February and saw their feeds suddenly filled with graphic, violent videos. Its parent company, Meta, called it an “error” that’s now been fixed. But a CBS News investigation finds that violent content remains pervasive on Instagram reels. CBS News’ Ash-har Quraishi and Chris Hacker report.

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  • Meta expands teen accounts to Facebook and Messenger, critics say more needs to be done – WTOP News

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    Meta is expanding teen accounts to Facebook and Messenger. The company said the move is part of its ongoing effort to keep kids safer online.

    One year after launching teen accounts for Instagram, Meta is expanding the program to Facebook and Messenger. The company said the move is part of its ongoing effort to keep kids safer online.

    With teen accounts, users under 18 are automatically enrolled with built-in protections.

    Meta says 97% of teens under 16 are staying within those restrictions.

    The company also highlights features such as sleep mode and supervision tools, which let parents set daily time limits and monitor activity.

    “Teen accounts are really meant to respond to some of the top concerns that we’ve heard from parents,” Jennifer Hanley, Meta’s North American head of safety policy, told WTOP in September.

    The accounts ensure teens under 16 need their parents’ permission to change the restrictions, according to Hanley. Among the offerings are tools that keep kids from engaging on the platforms for long periods.

    “After 60 minutes, a teen in the teen account gets a notification encouraging them to leave the platform,” Hanley said.

    But not everyone is convinced to tools are helping. A report from Cybersecurity for Democracy labeled 64% of the safety tools “red” because they fell short.

    The report’s authors, which included a former Facebook employee, said the tools were rated that way because they were either “no longer available or ineffective.”

    The report also warned that teens still encounter harmful “rabbit holes,” including imagery of self-harm.

    Hanley said Meta disagrees with the report and pushed back on the findings.

    “We’ve been overwhelmingly hearing great things from parents,” she said. “We know that teens are spending less time on our platforms, they’re seeing less sensitive content and they’re having less unwanted contact as a result of being in teen accounts.”

    Meta said it remains open to feedback and continues to improve its safety tools.

    “We’re always open to constructive feedback,” Hanley said.

    PG-13 content guidelines introduced

    After the September interview with WTOP, Meta announced an update to teen accounts.

    The tech company said Instagram will now guide teen content using PG-13 movie ratings by default. That means content seen by teens will be similar to PG-13 movies and teens won’t be able to opt out without a parent’s permission, according to Meta.

    Parents who want more control can choose a stricter setting, Meta said, and they’ll also have new ways to report content they think teens shouldn’t see.

    In a blog post, Meta called this “the most significant update” since teen accounts launched, saying it was shaped by feedback from thousands of parents worldwide.

    The company also said it will use age prediction technology to place teens into protections even if they lie about their age when signing up.

    Meta acknowledged in the post that “no system is perfect,” but said it’s committed to improving and keeping age-inappropriate content away from teens.

    Support for schools added

    Hanley also said Meta is expanding its efforts to help schools.

    Through its School Partnership Program, middle and high schools in the U.S. can sign up to get educational resources and tools to report harmful content more easily. Schools that enroll receive a verified badge and access to expedited content review.

    Meta said educators are often in the best position to spot issues such as bullying, and the program is designed to help them flag and address those concerns more effectively.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Mike Murillo

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  • Teens face new PG-13 limits on Instagram

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    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    Instagram is turning up the parental controls. The app will now treat teen accounts more like a PG-13 movie, automatically filtering out mature or risky content for anyone under 18. That means teens will no longer see posts, videos, or search results that fall outside the “movie-style” PG-13 zone, unless their parents approve a looser setting.

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    Instagram’s new teen settings allow for limited content for those under 18. (Meta)

    How Instagram’s new age filter protects teens

    This update places all users under 18 into a 13+ content setting that blocks sexually suggestive material, graphic images, and adult topics like alcohol or tobacco. Instagram says it wants the platform to feel as safe as what teens might see in a PG-13 film. While some mild language or edgy humor might still appear, the company promises to keep those cases rare. The goal is to make scrolling less risky and much more age-appropriate.

    A new stricter mode for parents

    For families who want even tighter boundaries, Instagram is launching a Limited Content setting. This stricter mode removes comments entirely, filters more mature material, and limits what teens can see or post. Starting next year, this mode will even restrict what AI chatbots can say to teens, keeping conversations within PG-13 limits.

    Instagram displayed on a smart phone

    Instagram can now block accounts and posts at the discretion of parents in Instagram’s Family Center.  (Meta)

    What Instagram’s PG-13 filters now block

    Instagram’s new protections will automatically:

    • Prevent teens from following or messaging accounts that post adult or inappropriate content.
    • Block search results for topics like alcohol, gore, or dangerous stunts, even when misspelled.
    • Hide mature content from Explore, Reels, and Stories recommendations.
    • Block links to adult material sent through DMs.

    Even Instagram’s AI features will now follow these same PG-13 guidelines, ensuring age-appropriate responses.

    Content settings on Instagram

    Due to the decision of the parents, teens can have higher restrictions on the Instagram app, especially under 16.  (Meta)

    How parents helped shape Instagram’s changes

    Meta says it invited thousands of parents around the world to review real Instagram posts and rate them for age appropriateness. More than 3 million parent ratings helped define the new guidelines. According to Meta, 95% of U.S. parents said the new settings are helpful, and 90% said they make Instagram easier to understand.

    How to update Instagram for Parental Controls on iPhone and Android

    To ensure you have the latest Instagram features and parental controls, follow these steps to update the app on iPhone and Android:

    Steps to update Instagram on iPhone

    • Open the App Store on your iPhone and tap your profile icon in the top right corner.
    • Scroll down to see a list of available updates, then find Instagram and tap “Update”.
    • If you don’t see Instagram in the list, it means the app is already up to date.

    Steps to update Instagram on Android

    Settings might differ depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.

    • Open the Google Play Store and tap your profile icon in the top right corner.
    • Select “Manage apps & device,” then tap “Updates available.”
    • Find Instagram in the list and tap “Update” next to it.
    • If Instagram does not appear, your app is already running the latest version.

    Keeping Instagram updated on both devices ensures all settings and parental controls function correctly and new supervision features are available. Note: updates to the Instagram app often include changes to settings and parental controls, so it’s essential to keep both accounts up to date for the best supervision experience.

    Safety tips for parents on Instagram

    Keeping your teen safe online starts with knowing where to look in the app. Here are simple steps every parent can take right now to set boundaries and strengthen their teen’s safety on Instagram.

    1) Make every social account private

    Go to your teen’s Instagram profile, tap the three lines in the upper-right corner, and select Settings and privacy → Account privacy. Turn on Private account so only approved followers can see their posts and stories. This blocks strangers and reduces exposure to unwanted contact.

    2) Review your teen’s Instagram safety settings

    • Open your teen’s Instagram app and tap their profile icon in the bottom-right corner.
    • Next, tap the three lines in the top-right and choose Settings and privacy.
    • Select Supervision / Family Center, then tap Content settings.

    Instagram now places all users under 18 in a PG-13 content filter by default, automatically limiting sexually suggestive, violent, or other mature material.

    If you prefer stricter controls, switch to Limited Content. Both options appear under “Content settings,” and your teen will need your approval to make major changes once supervision is linked.

    3) Activate Instagram’s parental supervision tools

    In the same Settings and privacy → Supervision / Family Center section, you can invite your teen to link accounts.
    Once both sides agree, you’ll be able to:

    • Set daily time limits or schedule quiet hours.
    • See who they follow and who follows them.
    • Review privacy and safety settings like who can message or tag them.
    • Approve or deny changes your teen requests to loosen restrictions.

    Instagram doesn’t allow parents to read direct messages, and starting November 2025, supervision will no longer extend to a teen’s Threads profile. Still, you can view activity summaries, confirm account-level safety options, and get notifications about changes your teen makes.

    4) Use Apple Screen Time or Google Family Link

    These tools let you manage device-wide limits, not just Instagram. You can block apps at bedtime, monitor usage, and restrict downloads of new apps.

    • On iPhone: Go to Settings → Screen Time
    • On Android: Download Google Family Link from the Play Store

    5) Clean up their digital footprint

    Teens often don’t realize how much personal information is public. Help them search their name on Google and remove any exposed info from people search sites and data brokers. You can do it manually or use a data removal service to handle it automatically. 

    While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice.  They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy.  These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.  It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet.  By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

    Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting CyberGuy.com

    Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com

    6) Understand Instagram’s age-based protections

    Teens under 16 automatically receive the strictest protections. Their content settings can’t be loosened without parental consent. Ages 16-17 default to PG-13 filtering but can request changes that parents approve through the Family Center. These new rules are designed to make Instagram feel more like a PG-13-rated environment for minors.

    7) Keep phones out of bedrooms at night

    Late-night scrolling can lead to sleep loss and unsupervised interactions. Set a family rule to charge phones in a common area before bedtime. It improves rest and reduces exposure to potentially harmful content.

    8) Talk openly to your teens

    Start a conversation with your teen about what they see online. Ask what kind of content shows up in their feed and how it makes them feel. Explain that they can come to you if they ever see something uncomfortable or confusing. Open communication helps them make smarter choices and builds trust. 

    9) Flag content and report to Instagram

    If you come across a post that feels inappropriate for teens, tap the three dots in the upper right corner of the post and select Report. Choose Something else, then follow the prompts to explain why it should be hidden from teen accounts. Instagram reviews these reports and will let you know what action they take.

    If you spot something inappropriate or unsafe, tap the three dots on any post and select

    Users are able to report any posts or accounts by selecting the three dots and “Report.” 

    When Instagram’s new PG-13 limits will roll out

    Instagram says these updates are already starting to roll out to teen accounts in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada. The company plans to complete the rollout by the end of the year, with global expansion coming soon after. Meta also plans to bring similar protections to Facebook teen accounts next year.

    What this means for you

    This update represents one of Instagram’s biggest safety moves yet. With Hollywood-style content ratings, new parental controls, and stronger AI filters, teens are getting a safer online experience by default. Still, no filter can catch everything, which is why parent involvement remains the most powerful safety tool.

    Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?

    Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: CyberGuy.com

    Kurt’s key takeaways

    Instagram’s new PG-13 rules could change how all social media platforms handle teen safety. By using a movie-style rating system, Instagram is making it easier for parents to understand what their kids might see online. It’s a bold move and one that tries to strike a balance between giving teens freedom to explore and protecting them from the darker side of the internet.

    Do you think social media should adopt movie-style ratings, or is Instagram going too far with its PG-13 limits? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com

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    Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.  All rights reserved.  

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  • Moment Tourists ‘Risk Their Lives’ For Beach Photo Where Girl Recently Died

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    A group of tourists in Iceland came perilously close to losing their lives while posing for a photo on a dangerous area of beach land.

    Photographer Gabriel Antal shared heartstopping footage to Instagram, under the handle hybaj_na_island, of the moment the group stopped to take pictures on the rocks at Reynisfjara, a famous black sand beach located in southern Iceland, near the town of Vík í Mýrdal.

    “We were filming from a safe distance and saw these tourists taking turns and climbing on basalt rocks even though the waves were smashing them,” Antal told Newsweek. “So it was very predictable that one of them would be washed down sooner or later.” 

    A popular tourist spot, due to its distinctive basalt columns, the Reynisdrangar sea stacks, and volcanic black sand, visitors to Reynisfjara must exercise caution due to the powerful and often unpredictable “sneaker” waves that can appear with little warning and are capable of dragging people out to sea.

    On August 2, a 9-year-old German girl who was visiting the beach with her father and sister died after being swept away by one of these dangerous waves.

    As a precaution, visitors are advised to never turn their back on the ocean and keep a safe distance from the water’s edge. Unfortunately the tourists who feature in Antal’s video failed to heed those warnings, much to his obvious frustration.

    In the video, an individual in an orange jacket can be seen sitting on the rocks, close to the water, at the side of the beach, posing for a photo while another tourist in a red jacket and another in a white one stand close by taking pictures.

    Everything changes a moment later, however, when a series of waves begin the crash against the rocks. The photographers in the red and white jackets run for cover, but the individual in the orange jacket is not so fortunate. 

    Instead, they are engulfed in the waves and, as the video ends, are nowhere to be seen. “Crazy that some people risk their lives for a photo,” Antal wrote alongside the video.

    Filmed on October 7, Antal confirmed that, despite the dramatic nature of what he captured in the video, everyone was fine, if a little wet. 

    He was nevertheless shocked by what he witnessed that day, particularly as someone had died so recently there. “I have not seen such crazy behavior at this beach before,” he said. People should be definitely more cautious. Not long ago a little girl died at this beach.”

    If nothing else, Antal hopes that by posting the video on social media he can alert any future visitors to the potential dangers posed. “Hopefully they will realize how dangerous nature can be,” he said.

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  • Meta previews new parental controls for its AI experiences | TechCrunch

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    Meta on Friday previewed its upcoming parental control features for teens’ conversations with AI characters on its platforms. The features, which will be rolled out next year, include the ability to block certain characters and monitor conversation topics.

    Starting in the coming months, parents will be able to turn off chats with AI characters entirely for teens. This action won’t block access to the Meta AI chatbot — the company’s general-purpose AI chatbot — which will only discuss age-appropriate content.

    Parents will also be able to turn off chats with individual characters if they prefer more selective control. Plus, they will receive information about the topics teens are discussing with AI characters and Meta AI.

    The company said it plans to roll out these controls on Instagram early next year. They will be available in English in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia.

    “We recognize parents already have a lot on their plates when it comes to navigating the internet safely with their teens, and we’re committed to providing them with helpful tools and resources that make things simpler for them, especially as they think about new technology like AI,” the company said in a post written by Instagram head Adam Mosseri and newly appointed Meta AI head Alexandr Wang.

    Earlier this week, Meta said that its content and AI experiences for teens will follow a PG-13 movie rating standard and will avoid sensitive topics such as extreme violence, nudity, and graphic drug use.

    The company added that currently, teens are only allowed to interact with a limited number of characters that follow age-appropriate content guidelines. Parents can also set time limits on teens’ interactions with AI characters. Earlier this year, Instagram announced that it is using AI to identify attempting to skirt age limits by faking their age on the app.

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    In the past few weeks, multiple platforms, including OpenAI, Meta, and YouTube, have released tools and controls focused on teen safety. These changes come amid growing concerns about the impact of social media on teen mental health and lawsuits against AI companies that allege they played a part in teen suicides.

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    Ivan Mehta

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  • Parents warned over Instagram’s new teen rules: “false sense of security”

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    Instagram is introducing its biggest update yet to online safety for young users by applying PG-13 content guidelines to all teen accounts, Meta announced this week. 

    Under the new regime, under-18s will continue being blocked from seeing sexually suggestive or explicitly violent content as before, but Meta said that the app will now step further by avoiding recommending posts containing strong language, risky stunts or anything that could “encourage potentially harmful behaviors.” 

    Newsweek reached out to Meta’s press team via email.  

    Instagram will also block searches on mature topics, such as “alcohol” or “gore”; penalize accounts that repeatedly post age-inappropriate content; and extend the curbs to Instagram’s AI features. Importantly, teens under 18 will be automatically placed in the 13+ mode and cannot opt out without parental permission.  

    For parents seeking greater controls, Meta is introducing a stricter “Limited Content” mode that further restricts teen access and disables comment interactions.  

    These changes will begin rolling out this week in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, with global rollout scheduled by end of 2025, but campaigners, parents and tech experts remain deeply skeptical about how effective this shift will be in practice. 

    Campaigner Concerns 

    Advocacy groups argue that these revisions are far from sufficient. A recent report by the HEAT Initiative, ParentsTogether and others found that 60 percent of 13- to 15-year-olds had encountered unsafe content or unwanted messages on Instagram in the past six months, despite existing safety tools.  

    Yaron Litwin, an online safety and AI expert, told Newsweek that enforcement will determine whether these new measures succeed. 

    Litwin said: “Hopefully, its age prediction model will actually prevent … some children from accessing explicit and dangerous content on their feeds.

    “However, that is [a] big if, and in any case, there is much harmful content on social-media platforms, including Instagram, that are not obvious enough for filters to catch.” 

    Meta’s age classification system detects when a user is under 18, even if they claim otherwise. It analyzes signals from their profile and behavior, such as which accounts they follow, what content they engage with, and when their account was created to estimate whether they are likely underage. 

    “Whether it’s hate speech, glorification of eating disorders, content that is technically compliant although very suggestive, a young Instagram user can still be exposed to much that his or her parents would find objectionable,” Litwin added. 

    Parental Perspective 

    Many parents have long struggled to monitor their teens’ online experience. U.K.-based mom Faye McCann is concerned about how the new guidelines will work in practice.  

    McCann, also a business strategist and social media expert, told Newsweek there is a big gap between what Meta says its offering and what teens will actually see. 

    “I can’t help but feel this is partly a reaction to years of public pressure,” McCann said. “Meta has been criticized relentlessly about teen safety, and this feels like a step in the right direction, but it’s not the full solution parents and campaigners have been asking for.

    “I fully understand their intentions, but, right now, it feels more like a box-ticking exercise than a deep commitment to genuinely protecting young people.” 

    Algorithms vs Real Life 

    Other experts agreed that moderation—not messaging—is the real challenge. 

    Miruna Dragomir, the chief marketing officer at Planable, a social-media management platform, said Instagram’s new rating system may make sense to parents, but it doesn’t solve the underlying problem. She added that young users are adept at outsmarting moderation systems. 

    “People who use social media, especially youth, are very good at getting around limits by using code phrases, trendy lingo, and visual indicators that AI systems have trouble understanding,” Dragomir told Newsweek. “Every time a policy changes, kids come up with new ways to get around it, and they often know more about how to use the platform than adults do.”  

    Dragomir said that these changes could give parents “a false sense of security.” 

    “The most-honest answer is that these rules are a big step toward making areas safer, but they aren’t the only thing that will work,” she added. “Parents need to be involved in their teens’ online lives on a regular basis instead of just trusting what the site says. The best way to keep teens safe is to use better platform tools and have open family talks on how to think critically and use technology.” 

    For parents like McCann, transparency is a priority. “I want clear, simple ways to see what my children are being exposed to and control over that exposure,” she said. “That means tools that actually work, not just guidelines on paper. Instagram can set the rules all it wants, but unless they can make them enforceable in the real world, teens will still find a way around them—and that’s where the real risk lies.” 

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  • Fans cannot get enough of Victoria’s Secret Suni Lee! | The Mary Sue

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    The Victoria Secret Fashion Show is trending, and people are wondering what year it is after seeing some of these social media posts. Today, the Victoria’s Secret Angels are back on the catwalk with their wings in-tow. If you’re looking to stream Suni Lee, Angel Reese, and the rest of The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show stars, you can tune-in at 7pm ET on Wednesday, October 15. The event will be on the brand’s Instagram, YouTube and TikTok channels. (Prime Video subscribers and Amazon Live will also have a simulcast of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.)

    It’s almost hysterical to see this cultural moment produce the resurgence of these Angels as we speedrun the 2000s faster than any of us are ready for. But, there is a measure of nostalgia for seeing these women show off the looks with the pulsing soundtrack and massive presence. You can say a lot about The Victoria Secret Fashion Show heyday, but you can’t doubt the “spectacle” these announcements and the event itself used to carry a few decades ago. The brand is looking to get back to those days!

    Victoria’s Secret executive creative director, Adam Selman, recently sat down with The Run-Through With Vogue to tease what fans could expect from tonight’s show. A word that kept coming up was “spectacle.” Honestly, if you’re trying to drive eyeballs and traffic in 2025, that’s a good starting point for a brand looking to recapture some magic. The Internet at large bends towards the will of algorithms, and this whole fashion show is going to be loaded with imagery to make people stop and take notice.

    Where to watch The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show?

    Credit: Victoria’s Secret

    So, as we said up there, you’ve got a couple options on where to stream the latest Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show:

    Selman is selling a “Fantasy” this time around

     So many folks out there are looking for an escape with 2025 operating at brutal efficiency and full force. It only makes sense that nostalgia would become even more alluring with each passing day. After all, don’t we all love stories about the past? Especially, when the present feels so dire on an almost daily basis?

    “Everything’s a fantasy, and it’s more about how you contextualize the fantasy,” Selman argues. “I’m really contextualizing it in showing the idea of day to night. It starts with morning and it ends at black tie.”

    And, with that, it’s a new day for Victoria’s Secret. We’re ready to see some looks!

    (Photo Credit: Victoria’s Secret)

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

    Image of Aaron Perine

    Aaron Perine

    Aaron Perine is a writer that covers Free Streaming TV, normal TV, small TV (the kind that plays on your phone mostly!), and even movies sometimes!

    Phase Hero co-host. Host of Free Space: The Free Streaming TV Podcast.

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    Aaron Perine

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  • Border Patrol Posts Instagram Propaganda Video Featuring Antisemitic Slurs

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    A U.S. Border Patrol video featuring antisemitic lyrics went viral on X on Tuesday after far-right users discovered it had been posted to Facebook and Instagram. The video, which included the lyrics “Jew me” and “kike me,” was deleted from the platforms on Wednesday morning, though it’s not clear whether the offensive content was taken down by Border Patrol or Meta.

    The 13-second video appears to have been posted to Instagram in August, but was pinned in the Reels section of the official Border Patrol page, making it more visible to a wider audience. The video only gained widespread attention late Tuesday on X, where far-right extremists celebrated a signal that was clearly intended for them. The Instagram video had 4.3 million views when Gizmodo viewed it Tuesday night.

    The audio used in the clip comes from Michael Jackson’s controversial 1996 song “They Don’t Care About Us.” The song includes the lyrics “Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don’t you black or white me.”

    The lyrics were criticized at the time for being antisemitic, though Jackson defended his words, insisting he didn’t intend for them to be offensive. The singer, who died in 2009, issued an apology and later released an edited version of the song.

    The antisemitic Border Patrol video

    The video starts with footage of someone adjusting a bodycam before viewers see Border Patrol agents walking around with guns. Another shot shows a truck hauling Border Patrol dune buggies, and then a shot in the desert where a dune buggy kicks up dust behind it.

    Gizmodo saved a copy of the Border Patrol video before it was taken down from Instagram and Facebook.

    The video is very short, making it clear that the choice of lyrics was the intentional focus. Viewers are obviously meant to hear the antisemitic aspects, since it’s more or less the only audio in the 13 seconds being presented. DHS didn’t respond to questions from Gizmodo on Wednesday morning.

    Comments on Instagram included people who clearly understood the message of the video as antisemitic. One commenter replied, “based song choice,” which was liked by the Border Patrol account. Another commenter wrote, “if you know, you know.”

    Border Patrol Instagram video comments, captured Oct. 14, 2025. Screenshot: Instagram

    Comments from the far-right on X were even more explicit, including “This deserves 6 million likes and shares,” a reference to the number of Jews who died in the Holocaust.

    Other commenters on X marveled at how mainstream their far-right and antisemitic ideas were becoming, with one person writing, “This movie is taking a strange turn. It’s strange to me because I never thought I’d see this in the mainstream—it was always underground.”

    And while it’s accurate to describe the shift as “strange,” it was entirely predictable after President Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second time in January. Billionaire Elon Musk really kicked off the tone of the era with two Nazi-style salutes. Musk later denied he was making Nazi gestures, but many of his supporters clearly took it as a sign that they could drop the mask. Steve Bannon, a former top advisor to Trump, made the same salute not long after.

    Trump himself has also said some extremely antisemitic things, including when he used the term “shylock” at a rally in July.

    In fact, there’s an entire Wikipedia page devoted to collecting examples of Trump’s antisemitism.

    None of this is new

    U.S. Border Patrol is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has been posting far-right extremist content since Trump took office for a second time. In a tweet on Tuesday, DHS posted just one word, “Remigrate,” a term more popular in Europe among the far-right that refers to ethnic cleansing through deporting non-white people.

    DHS also posted a video that included the words “Save America” in a typeface that’s clearly meant to evoke Nazi-era imagery.

    DHS has frequently posted fascist propaganda using copyrighted material without permission, something that sometimes gets the content removed from the major social media platforms.

    The people of DHS often know they’re the bad guys, like when they responded to questions from John Oliver’s HBO show by talking about the “heroism” of Darth Vader. The late-night host was asking about a video posted by Gregory Bovinot—the new face of anti-immigrant operations in the U.S., with his frequent appearances on TV—where Vader is destroying rebel forces labeled with things like “gang member,” and “fake news.”

    Is a lot of this trolling? Sure, that’s one defense of it. But at some point, you own the words and images that you push into the world. And if you spend all day, every day saying racist and antisemitic things, people have to start taking you at your word.

    Not to mention the fact that DHS has real power in the world to upend lives and has no business joking or “trolling” the American people. Agencies under DHS, like ICE, are currently harassing and arresting people for looking Latino. And that often includes American citizens.

    The consequences

    Ironically, DHS said back in April that social media would be screened for “antisemitism” by any foreign nationals in the country. In reality, DHS was looking for anyone who opposed the war in Gaza, falsely equating such a position with antisemitism. The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday it had canceled the visas of six people who had written negative things about Charlie Kirk.

    Antisemitism runs deep in the modern Republican Party. Politico published leaked texts from the Young Republicans on Tuesday, which included messages like “I love Hitler.” Vice President JD Vance defended the texts and dismissed criticism as “pearl-clutching.” And guys like Vance know their audience. They can be dismissed as shitposters, but they’re some of the most vile racists on the planet, and they’re becoming normalized in ways that would’ve been unthinkable even a decade ago.

    No Kings

    Americans who are opposed to Trump plan to stage nationwide protests on Saturday, Oct. 18, for what’s being dubbed another No Kings rally. Republicans have tried to characterize the upcoming protests as hate marches, falsely insisting they would be full of “Hamas supporters.”

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Wednesday that the reason the government hasn’t opened yet is because of the upcoming demonstrations, a claim that makes no sense whatsoever.

    “This crazy No Kings rally this weekend, which is gonna be the farthest left, the hardest core, the most unhinged in the Democratic Party, which is a big title. No Kings equals no paychecks,” said Bessent.

    Bessent: “This crazy No Kings rally this weekend, which is gonna be the farthest left, the hardest core, the most unhinged in the Democratic Party, which is a big title. No Kings equals no paychecks.”

    [image or embed]

    — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 15, 2025 at 6:20 AM

    The No Kings rally, which is likely to include a wide variety of Americans who are opposed to Trump’s fascist takeover of the country, has a website that allows people to find their nearest demonstration. It won’t just be the “hardest core,” as Bessent puts it, if past protests are any guide.

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    Matt Novak

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  • Meta adds new protections for teens on Instagram

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    Social media giant Meta announced it is adding additional protections for teens on Instagram. Meta says it’ll work to identify users under the age of 18 and restrict the content they see to match the guidelines of PG-13 movies. Reece Rogers, staff writer at Wired Magazine, joins to explain.

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  • Instagram Says It’s Safeguarding Teens By Limiting Them To PG-13 Content – KXL

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    (Associated Press) – Meta says teenagers on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won’t be able to change their settings without a parent’s permission.

    This means that teens will see photos and videos on Instagram that is similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie.

    The company is also adding an even stricter setting that parents can set up for their children.

    As it seeks to add safeguards for teens, Meta has already promised it wouldn’t show inappropriate content to teens, such as posts about self-harm, eating disorders or suicide, though this does not always work.

    More about:

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    Grant McHill

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  • Two sister cats at TX shelter need to be adopted together. Cute video shows why

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    Both sisters in their kennels right next to each other.

    Both sisters in their kennels right next to each other.

    Video grab from Kerrville Pets Alive’s Facebook

    Two kittens in Texas are on the lookout for a comfortable home together after being separated at a Texas shelter — well, sort of separated.

    Introducing Lily and Luna, two beautiful, sleek black cats who want nothing more in life than to have a warm lap to snuggle up in, and to be together, Kerrville Pets Alive in Kerr County said in an Instagram post. Unfortunately, both cats have to be kept apart for their own health purposes.

    But the shelter managed to capture a very sweet, and tearful, moment between the 6-month-old sisters on camera.

    “Lily and Luna were both surrendered by their owner to animal control in Kerrville. They broke our hearts today when we were helping the staff clean,” the shelter said in an Oct. 11 Instagram post. “The sisters could hear each other but, they could not see each other. Luna kept reaching out to make contact with Lily. We pray that these two young beauties will be adopted together and reunited.”

    The video shows a staff member reaching in to play with both of the cats, whose kennels are placed right next to each other. While the kittens do play back, they then start reaching for each other.

    “The kennels at this facility are very small. It is also safer to keep them separate so that volunteers and staff may monitor their eating and litter. This is a county facility governed by Texas state law. They have certain requirements as well, unlike a private nonprofit shelter,” the shelter said.

    For more information on adopting these two little ones, visit the shelter’s website.

    Kerr County is about a 125-mile drive west from Austin.

    TJ Macias

    Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    TJ Macías is a Real-Time national sports reporter for McClatchy based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Formerly, TJ covered the Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers beat for numerous media outlets including 24/7 Sports and Mavs Maven (Sports Illustrated). Twitter: @TayloredSiren

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    TJ Macias

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  • Two sister cats at TX shelter need to be adopted together. Cute video shows why

    [ad_1]

    Both sisters in their kennels right next to each other.

    Both sisters in their kennels right next to each other.

    Video grab from Kerrville Pets Alive’s Facebook

    Two kittens in Texas are on the lookout for a comfortable home together after being separated at a Texas shelter — well, sort of separated.

    Introducing Lily and Luna, two beautiful, sleek black cats who want nothing more in life than to have a warm lap to snuggle up in, and to be together, Kerrville Pets Alive in Kerr County said in an Instagram post. Unfortunately, both cats have to be kept apart for their own health purposes.

    But the shelter managed to capture a very sweet, and tearful, moment between the 6-month-old sisters on camera.

    “Lily and Luna were both surrendered by their owner to animal control in Kerrville. They broke our hearts today when we were helping the staff clean,” the shelter said in an Oct. 11 Instagram post. “The sisters could hear each other but, they could not see each other. Luna kept reaching out to make contact with Lily. We pray that these two young beauties will be adopted together and reunited.”

    The video shows a staff member reaching in to play with both of the cats, whose kennels are placed right next to each other. While the kittens do play back, they then start reaching for each other.

    “The kennels at this facility are very small. It is also safer to keep them separate so that volunteers and staff may monitor their eating and litter. This is a county facility governed by Texas state law. They have certain requirements as well, unlike a private nonprofit shelter,” the shelter said.

    For more information on adopting these two little ones, visit the shelter’s website.

    Kerr County is about a 125-mile drive west from Austin.

    TJ Macias

    Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    TJ Macías is a Real-Time national sports reporter for McClatchy based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Formerly, TJ covered the Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers beat for numerous media outlets including 24/7 Sports and Mavs Maven (Sports Illustrated). Twitter: @TayloredSiren

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    TJ Macias

    Source link

  • Two sister cats at TX shelter need to be adopted together. Cute video shows why

    [ad_1]

    Both sisters in their kennels right next to each other.

    Both sisters in their kennels right next to each other.

    Video grab from Kerrville Pets Alive’s Facebook

    Two kittens in Texas are on the lookout for a comfortable home together after being separated at a Texas shelter — well, sort of separated.

    Introducing Lily and Luna, two beautiful, sleek black cats who want nothing more in life than to have a warm lap to snuggle up in, and to be together, Kerrville Pets Alive in Kerr County said in an Instagram post. Unfortunately, both cats have to be kept apart for their own health purposes.

    But the shelter managed to capture a very sweet, and tearful, moment between the 6-month-old sisters on camera.

    “Lily and Luna were both surrendered by their owner to animal control in Kerrville. They broke our hearts today when we were helping the staff clean,” the shelter said in an Oct. 11 Instagram post. “The sisters could hear each other but, they could not see each other. Luna kept reaching out to make contact with Lily. We pray that these two young beauties will be adopted together and reunited.”

    The video shows a staff member reaching in to play with both of the cats, whose kennels are placed right next to each other. While the kittens do play back, they then start reaching for each other.

    “The kennels at this facility are very small. It is also safer to keep them separate so that volunteers and staff may monitor their eating and litter. This is a county facility governed by Texas state law. They have certain requirements as well, unlike a private nonprofit shelter,” the shelter said.

    For more information on adopting these two little ones, visit the shelter’s website.

    Kerr County is about a 125-mile drive west from Austin.

    TJ Macias

    Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    TJ Macías is a Real-Time national sports reporter for McClatchy based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Formerly, TJ covered the Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers beat for numerous media outlets including 24/7 Sports and Mavs Maven (Sports Illustrated). Twitter: @TayloredSiren

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    TJ Macias

    Source link

  • What to know about Instagram’s new teen safety rules

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    Meta, Instagram’s parent company, is introducing PG-13-style content limits for all teen accounts. Under the new policy, users under 18 will have mature or sensitive material hidden or restricted, with parents able to add further controls. Tara Hopkins, Instagram’s global director of public policy, joins “CBS Mornings Plus” to discuss the changes.

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  • Instagram introduces new restrictions for teen accounts, guided by PG-13 movie ratings

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    Instagram-parent Meta announced Tuesday that teen users will now see content on Instagram that’s similar to what they might see while watching a film with a PG-13 rating.

    That’s because new content settings for Instagram users under 18 will adhere to the same regulations. The new automatic protections are being rolled by the company starting Tuesday and will be fully implemented by the end of the year, according to Meta.

    We hope this update reassures parents that we’re working to show teens safe, age-appropriate content on Instagram by default, while also giving them more ways to shape their teen’s experience,” the company said in the announcement.

    PG-13, a rating used in the media industry, indicates that parental guidance is suggested when watching content, particularly for children under 13. 

    What are the new restrictions?

    The accounts of Instagram users under 18 will now be automatically be placed under a 13+ setting. Opting out of the setting will require parental permission. 

    Teens with the setting will be blocked from seeing search results for terms like “alcohol” or “gore.” This adds to list of search topics from which Meta said it already shields teens, such as suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. 

    Teens will also be prevented from following accounts that regularly posts content deemed age-inappropriate. Instagram users under 18 who already follow such accounts, will no longer be able to see or interact with their content, send them DMs, or see their comments under anyone’s posts.

    Meta is also applying the new regulations to its artificial intelligence technology which is integrated into Instagram to help answer users’ questions. “A.I.s should not give age-inappropriate responses that would feel out of place in a PG-13 movie,” Meta said Tuesday.

    The social media company is also unveiling a separate setting for parents who prefer a “more restrictive experience for their teen.” That setting, called “Limited Content,” filters more content out from teens’ feeds while also restricting their ability to see, leave or receive comments on posts.

    Meta introduced “Teen Accounts” last year, billing the move as a way to protect the safety of its younger user base. The company’s new teen restrictions follow similar announcements by YouTube and OpenAI.

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  • If You Can Read This, You’re About to Get Scammed

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    Did you find this article by typing in the name of a website associated with Elon Musk? Did it sound like you could invest in SpaceX, Neuralink, or one of Musk’s AI ventures like Grok and xAI? It’s fake. It’s 100%, without a doubt, completely fake.

    I know you may not believe it, but please read on. Because this article could save you from losing a lot of money. Elon Musk is a very wealthy man. He’s worth $500 billion, according to Forbes, making him the wealthiest person on the planet. But Musk does not have a website dedicated to making other people rich.

    You may have seen an ad on Facebook or maybe a video on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. It may have even looked like Elon Musk was talking about some amazing investment opportunity. Maybe it looked like Elon was raising money for a sick child. You may have even been asked to send money through gift cards or a bitcoin ATM. But it was fake. You need to believe us. Because it’s true.

    Musk does not have a website selling cryptocurrencies. He doesn’t have a website for trading stocks. He doesn’t have a public website selling shares of his private companies like SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI, and X. The promotional video you saw is fake and probably used artificial intelligence tools to make it look like Elon Musk was saying something he never said.

    People are losing millions

    Did someone reach out to you on a social media site like Facebook or Instagram claiming to be Elon? Did they tell you to talk with them over Signal or Telegram or WhatsApp? That person is a scammer. Elon Musk does not reach out to people on websites and ask them for money. And if they haven’t already asked you to send money, that part is coming.

    Again, you might be skeptical. A lot of people want to believe that Elon Musk is offering ways for the average person to become rich. But he’s not. Among other reasons, he doesn’t have time.

    Here at Gizmodo, we’ve written about scammers impersonating Elon Musk for years.

    • There was the woman in Washington who lost $63,000 because she thought she was talking to Elon.
    • There was the man in North Carolina who drained his 401k of over half a million dollars.
    • There was the person who lost over $18,000 watching a video livestream they thought was for Tesla.
    • There was also the Florida principal who sent an Elon Musk scammer a check for $100,000.

    People have literally been losing millions of dollars to scammers over the years because they thought they were investing in something approved by Elon Musk. But it was all fake.

    Scam AI Videos

    It’s incredible what can be accomplished with AI these days. You can make people appear to say things they never said. For example, here’s an ad we spotted below. Elon never said any of that.

    Fake Elon Websites

    All of the websites below are scams. And while Gizmodo is often reluctant to advertise the web domains of scammers, because it risks inadvertently driving more people to scammy websites, using the names of the scams is the only way to help get the word out that these specific websites will steal your money.

    And this list only scratches the surface. These are some of the domains that have been reported to the FTC, but there are so many more out there.

    • ceomusk.org [SCAM]
    • elonbitcoin.fun [SCAM]
    • elonchristmas.com [SCAM]
    • fastmars.net [SCAM]
    • investmuskspace.icu [SCAM]
    • marshome.us [SCAM]
    • marsway.net [SCAM]
    • marsyox.com [SCAM]
    • marsvalue.net [SCAM]
    • myteslatoken.com [SCAM]
    • official2xMusk.com [SCAM]
    • shippingteslamail.com [SCAM]
    • tesla-clubs.com [SCAM]
    • tesla-prize-x.com [SCAM]
    • teslaminingprogram.com [SCAM]
    • teslaminingplatform.aphatrad.com [SCAM]
    • teslaoption.com [SCAM]
    • teslapresale.net [SCAM]
    • tesla.token-presale.org [SCAM]
    • teslatoken-presale.online [SCAM]
    • telsaxmarketing.com [SCAM]
    • tsla-marketspro.com [SCAM]
    • teslgets.com [SCAM]
    • tsl-xspace.pw [SCAM]
    • x-coin-platform.io [SCAM]

    Scam Names

    There are also scams that you may know by various names that aren’t dedicated websites, but are being spread through social media platforms. Some of the common ones we’ve seen are below.

    • Elon Musk Fan Page Membership Card
    • Elon Musk x Donald Trump Crypto Giveaway
    • Space Stock Mining
    • Tesla Bitcoin
    • Tesla Token
    • Tesla Mining
    • Neuralink Crypto Token
    • SpaceX Token

    Please believe us. It’s not real.

    Maybe someone sent you this article. Maybe you found it through Google. Please know that visiting these websites and “investing” in them will only lead you to heartache and pain.

    The people who’ve been scammed at these sites often feel foolish afterward. And we don’t want you to feel foolish. We want you to avoid just handing your money away for nothing.

    If you’re interested in investing, there are plenty of reputable places to do that. You can even invest in Musk’s company, Tesla, if you want to buy stock in that company through a reputable stockbroker. All investing involves risks, but the websites we’ve featured here aren’t just risks where you might make some money or you might lose some money.

    If you give any of these websites your money, you will only lose. We promise you.

    Have you been scammed and want to tell your story? You can email the author of this article at [email protected].

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    Matt Novak

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  • Instagram tests new layout that puts the spotlight on Reels and DMs

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    Instagram head Adam Mosseri has announced that as part of a test, some Instagram users will be able to try a new menu bar in the app with a different arrangement of tabs. Notably, the new menu bar has dedicated tabs for both Reels and DMs, two of the app’s most popular features.

    If you opt-in to the test, Instagram’s current tabs for your feed, search, creating a new post, Reels and your profile page will be replaced by a new layout that swaps search and Reels, and switches the dedicated tab for creating a post with a new one for DMs. Meta’s test also makes it possible to swipe between tabs.

    Mosseri’s post announcing the test acknowledges that these kinds of changes “can take time to get used to,” which is why the new layout is optional for now. Based on recent announcements though, it’s clear Meta has wanted to move in this direction for a bit. Setting aside the long-awaited iPad version of Instagram defaulting to Reels, the company has also said publicly it plans to prioritize messaging and short-form videos moving forward. It even tested a similar Instagram tab redesign with Indian users in early October, where the default tab was Reels and the second tab was DMs.

    “Reels and DMs have driven most all our growth at Instagram over the last few years, so we are exploring making them the first two tabs,” Mosseri said at the time. Users who joined Instagram when it was an app for sharing photos might be uncomfortable with its slow drift away from photography, but the shift is reflective of Meta’s decision to chase larger social media trends.

    As posting has become more professionalized, chatting and sharing privately has become more popular. If you take Meta at its word, Instagram is increasingly an app for consuming content made by people you don’t know, and then talking about it in private group chats with friends. This test just reflects that reality more accurately.

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    Ian Carlos Campbell

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