Skip to main content

The like button has changed on X, but only on these Election-related topics

By
Elon Musk stands on stage in front of a giant American flag.

Be wary of candidates claiming victory too soon. Voters may be eager to hear presidential election results as soon as possible but, according to election experts, a count is rarely official the day votes are cast, since the process for validating, processing, and counting every single ballot takes time.

Media outlets — and candidates — may call an election early, based on projected figures and the size of the margin between the candidates in various battleground states. But that doesn't mean every vote has been tabulated yet, especially in states that don't allow mail-in, absentee, or early-cast ballots to be processed before election day. Be careful to validate the sources of any official calls that may circulate online. Learn how election winners are called by reputable organizations, like the  Associated Press.

Individuals are encouraged to follow the election bodies in key battleground states for the most accurate information and official counts: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

X users can enjoy a patriotic addition to their daily scroll, as Election Day revs up and our feeds fill with more and more content — and potential misinformation.

The like button now spins into a star-burst-filled ballot box animation when tapped, but — unlike the claims of some online — only on posts that use the site's official #ElectionDay and #Election2024 tags, which also sport the same patriotic ballot box emoji. And it's not the doing of CEO Elon Musk's Trump campaign sympathies.

SEE ALSO: These presidential election results maps update in real time

The animation is merely an eye-catching part of the platform's live Election Day hub, and a common marketing option used by brands, campaigns, and holidays in the past. That context was left out of several viral tweets, in which some users erroneously credited the new animation to Musk's recent support of presidential candidate Donald Trump and in celebration of the former president's "current lead," they claimed. Posts alleging the animation was a pro-Trump move, however, weren't citing official election day numbers, but select polling figures posted by Atlas Intel, a data and forecasting company, last week.

X's bot farms at large picked up on the engagement, as well, with multiple accounts posting the same copied text in order to gather likes and reposts from fellow users: "I thought this is fake 🙀, but it’s damn true Elon Musk has changed the like button for the United State Elections 🇺🇸."

Others rode the claim that Musk made the animation for Trump's campaign purely to farm likes, combining the official tags with pro-Trump messaging and "Repost for Kamala, Like for Trump" engagement bait.

Others, meanwhile, used the election hashtags as they normally would: for memes.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/un2hg6v
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Instagram accidentally reinstated Pornhub’s banned account

By
After years of on-and-off temporary suspensions, Instagram permanently banned Pornhub’s account in September. Then, for a short period of time this weekend, the account was reinstated. By Tuesday, it was permanently banned again. “This was done in error,” an Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch. “As we’ve said previously, we permanently disabled this Instagram account for repeatedly violating our policies.” Instagram’s content guidelines prohibit  nudity and sexual solicitation . A Pornhub spokesperson told TechCrunch, though, that they believe the adult streaming platform’s account did not violate any guidelines. Instagram has not commented on the exact reasoning for the ban, or which policies the account violated. It’s worrying from a moderation perspective if a permanently banned Instagram account can accidentally get switched back on. Pornhub told TechCrunch that its account even received a notice from Instagram, stating that its ban had been a mistake (that message itself w
Post a Comment
Read more

Colorado police identified the serial killer who murdered 4 women 40 years ago after exhuming his body to analyze a DNA sample

By
A scientist examines computer images of DNA models. Getty Images Police in Colorado have cracked the cold cases of four women killed 40 years ago. Denver PD said genetic genealogy and DNA analysis helped them identify the serial killer. He had died by suicide in jail in 1981. DNA from his exhumed body matched evidence from the murders. Police in Colorado have cracked the code on four murder cases that went unsolved for 40 years, using DNA from the killer's exhumed body. The cases pertain to four women killed in the Denver metro area between 1978 and 1981. They were 33-year-old Madeleine Furey-Livaudais, 53-year-old Dolores Barajas, 27-year-old Gwendolyn Harris, and 17-year-old Antoinette Parks. The four women were stabbed to death. Denver Police Commander Matt Clark said in a press conference Friday that there was an "underlying sexual component" to the murders but didn't elaborate further. In 2009, a detective reviewed Parks' case and picked several p
Post a Comment
Read more

Axeleo Capital raises $51 million fund

By
Axeleo Capital has raised a $51 million fund (€45 million). Axeleo first started with an accelerator focused on enterprise startups. The firm is now all grown up with an acceleration program and a full-fledged VC fund. The accelerator is now called Axeleo Scale , while the fund is called Axeleo Capital . And it’s important to mention both parts of the business as they work hand in hand. Axeleo picks up around 10 startups per year and help them reach the Series A stage. If they’re doing well over the 12 to 18 months of the program, Axeleo funds those startups using its VC fund. Limited partners behind the company’s first fund include Bpifrance through the French Tech Accélération program, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Vinci Energies, Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Caisse d’Épargne Rhône-Alpes as well as various business angels and family offices. The firm is also partnering with Hi Inov, the holding company of the Dentressangle family. Axeleo will take care of the early stage in
Post a Comment
Read more