The study builds on earlier work investigating his impact on online speech by spotlighting how policy changes Musk enacted are actively rewarding hate speech posters with increased reach, engagement and even direct payouts through X’s subscriber feature.
Some of the accounts pivoted to war hate posts after previously posting COVID-19-related conspiracy theory content, per the report.
The CCDH found these accounts were able to boost their reach on X after posting hateful content targeting the war.
But not all: The CCDH found ads being served alongside hateful posts made by all the tracked accounts.
“We found ads for Oreos, the NBA, the FBI and even X itself placed near hateful posts,” it wrote.
TikTok is expanding its Effect Creator Rewards monetization program to more regions and lowering its payout threshold, the company announced today.
The program, which launched in May 2023, rewards creators for the effects they make through TikTok’s AR development platform, Effect House.
TikTok is also updating the program’s payout model, as creators will now only receive rewards for effects used in public videos.
Effect Creator Rewards is now available in a total of 53 regions.
Previously, creators needed an effect to have been used in 200,000 qualified videos within 90 days for the effect to start collecting rewards.
Bitcoin jumped and Coinbase’s app crashed, while Aptos eyes Hong Kong and Telegram rolls out rewards with TONWelcome to TechCrunch Crypto, formerly known as Chain Reaction.
This week in web3Crunching numbersThis week the crypto market was very hyped up as the two biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, bitcoin and ether, both jumped about 23.6% and 18%, respectively, on the week, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The total crypto market cap increased 19.4% over a seven-day period to $2.34 trillion.
Our favorite ‘Crypto Twitter’ postICYMI, last week a lot of crypto people were tweeting about emails from Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.
In June 2022, Magic Eden raised $130 million in a Series B round that granted it unicorn status.
In this edition, I’m going to look at Brex’s latest round of layoffs, the state of fintech investing in 2023 and more!
I may be taking some time off in coming weeks but never fear, TechCrunch Fintech isn’t going away.
While interest rates were low, the company saw a bump in business and VC money was easier to come by.
The move came after reports the company burned $17 million in cash each month during the fourth quarter and that it is trying to preserve runway.
Fintech investors injected $34.6 billion in startups across 2,055 deals in 2023, a –43.8% and –32.4% YoY drop, respectively, according to PitchBook data.
Bilt Rewards, whose platform aims to allow consumers to earn rewards on rent and daily neighborhood spend, has raised $200 million at a $3.1 valuation, the company announced today.
General Catalyst led the financing, which more than doubles the New York-based company’s valuation compared to its $150 million October 2022 raise.
Ken Chenault, chairman and managing director of General Catalyst, is joining Bilt’s board of directors as part of the new funding.
It launched its rewards program in April of 2022.
Bilt also offers a co-branded Mastercard, issued by Wells Fargo, that can be used to pay rent and earn Bilt Points with no transaction fees.
According to PitchBook data, VC investments in crypto companies are down by 68% in 2023 compared to 2022.
But that’s a small number compared to 2022, the year during which crypto companies raised $30 billion.
French crypto startup Kiln just closed a $17 million funding round in December 2023.
As a reminder, staking consists in locking crypto assets in a blockchain to secure a blockchain and its transactions.
Several proof-of-stake blockchains let its users stake crypto assets, such as Polygon, Solana and Avalanche.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that businesses of all sizes and across all sectors can benefit from generative AI.
McKinsey estimates generative AI will add $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually across numerous industries.
That’s just one reason why over 80% of enterprises will be working with generative AI models, APIs, or applications by 2026.
However, simply adopting generative AI doesn’t guarantee success.
However, only 17% of businesses are addressing generative AI risks, which leaves them vulnerable.
Claim, a platform that is both a rewards app and a social network, has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital.
With Claim, users and their friends can earn cash back, exchange rewards and even redeem them together.
The platform is a social network that aims to focus on real-world value and communal experiences rather than manufactured content and reposts.
“We started Claim because we were really interested in what it meant to own something online,” Stephenson told TechCrunch in an interview.
They then decided that users should be able to use the rewards with their friends or exchange them.
Lolli, a bitcoin and cashback rewards application, has raised an $8 million Series B round, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.
Its rewards program awards its users with bitcoin or cashback when they shop online or in person at restaurants and stores.
The app gives up to 30% back on purchases, with an average of 7% back in bitcoin or cashback rewards.
Since its inception, Lolli has given over $10 million in bitcoin rewards, in addition to cashback rewards, Adelman said.
The company plans to use the momentum in the markets to “drive more revenue to partners and bring more major companies into offering bitcoin rewards,” Adelman said.
Tech companies are constantly innovating in order to stay ahead of their competitors, but sometimes the innovations go beyond what is necessary. Recently, Apple announced their new Face ID technology…
