What a hack

We're giving a shout out to the TikTokers helping to keep women safe by sharing these fake safety calls. 

HACKING IT

Twitter takes security hit  

Turns out that not having a Twitter verification checkmark might have some benefits. Accounts belonging to dozens of high-profile celebrities, tech leaders and politicians — including Joe Biden, Elon Musk and Kanye West — were hacked recently in a cryptocurrency scam. Messages asking for donations of Bitcoin were posted to the accounts. And by the time service was restored (about 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday), more than $100,000 worth of Bitcoins had been donated in hundreds of transactions.



"Tough day for us at Twitter. We all feel terrible this happened," tweeted CEO Jack Dorsey. It was the biggest security incident in Twitter's history, and with so many prominent people using the platform, it has raised concerns about the safety of these prominent accounts. Last year, Dorsey's account was hacked by a group calling itself the Chuckle Squad. (Nothing fun about any of this, imo).

What's next

It's unclear who was behind the attack. But the FBI isn't messing around; it's leading a federal inquiry into the hack. And in case you haven't turned on two-factor authentication yet, now might be the time.

 NEWS-LIKE  

Taking a Byte

TikTok's recent troubles — including being banned by India and facing a potential ban by the U.S. over security concerns — may have caused a bump in downloads of Byte, a 6-second looping video app (think Vine). The app experienced a boost in downloads recently (622,000 in one day), according to Sensor Tower. And that might make some sense, given that some TikTok Creators are getting nervous about the future of the app (owned by China-based ByteDance). Byte was released in January, and was created by Vine founder Dom Hofmann. While the videos are very simple, the company is promising some updates that will enhance the experience. 

Putting this policy on ICE

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were among a group of big tech companies that backed a Harvard & MIT lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The lawsuit followed a July 6 U.S. policy update that would have forced international students enrolled at U.S. colleges or universities offering only online classes to leave America. Nineteen tech firms, including Google, provided a legal letter supporting the lawsuit and providing additional arguments against the policy update. Thankfully, ICE later backed off the demand that international students needed to attend at least one in-person class. (We guess Vanilla Ice was right — collaborate and listen.)

  I should make up a TikTok dance to this song.

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Reese Witherspoon talking to her son, Deacon, who just launched his first single, Long Run. His face says it all.
 

 ICYMI  

🔴 Instagram has launched Instagram Shop in the U.S., and NBC News is reporting it plans to launch its TikTok competitor, Reels, in the U.S. in August

🔴 Facebook is launching a new hosting system for music videos while also adding new ways for customers to connect with businesses in WhatsApp (enter: QR codes)

🔴 Twitter is recuperating 😳 but is still moving forward with its new API

🔴 TikTok launched an e-newsletter for Creators — which could be really helpful, unless you are a Wells Fargo employee

🔴 Snapchat confirmed to TechCrunch that it is testing TikTok-style navigation with a vertical swipe up to move through public content

🔴 YouTube is looking for filmmakers who want to be part of "Life in a Day 2020." This global YouTube documentary project will tell the story of life in one day — July 25th to be exact.
 

Let them eat cake

If you're wondering why you've been seeing so many cake memes, you can blame BuzzFeed Tasty for starting the trend with this post of super realistic cakes on July 8. Taylor Lorenz of the New York Times breaks it down for you.

Need a little boost? These pictures of seniors recreating class album covers is just what 2020 needs.