Angola Drives Innovation in Communicating Tobacco Control

July 12, 2023

The smoking epidemic is one of the greatest public health threats the world has ever faced. Tobacco kills an estimated 8 million people yearly, with 1.2 million of those deaths being non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke.
The World Health Organization (WHO) works with Member States to assist them in fulfilling their obligations under the terms of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Among several initiatives, the Framework Convention recommends developing and implementing programs to promote tobacco prevention in schools, universities, healthcare facilities, workplaces, and sports environments.

It also recommends including services to diagnose tobacco dependence and help people quit smoking as part of national health and education programs, plans, and strategies.
In this context, WHO in Angola supported the National Institute for Drug Control (INALUD) in the production of a comic book education magazine, “Sonhos Límpidos,” a vital information vehicle to strengthen awareness, education, and sensitization on the benefits of healthy and tobacco-free lifestyles, as well as smoking prevention among children and young people.

The initiative falls within the scope of the Writing and Drawing in Schools project, carried out annually by INALUD in partnership with the Ministry of Education to mark World No Tobacco Day. During this project, children from various schools demonstrate their skills and creativity by drawing and painting about the harmful effects of smoking, which they have observed in their communities, thus contributing to education and prevention against tobacco.
According to the Director of INALUD, Dr. Ana Graça, despite the prevention campaigns that have been carried out in the country, there is still a deficit in the education of young people to prevent smoking and other substances harmful to the population’s health. For this reason, Ana Graça added that “the cartoon magazine represents a significant initiative to reinforce information about the dangers of smoking and the crucial measures that must be taken to prevent, treat and combat it.”

“We at INALUD believe that education on the dangers of smoking should start in the cradle, in families, during the primary socialization process. Since extending the education intervention in the desired format is impossible, we bet on early childhood through schools, which have been a great partner in transmitting knowledge and skills in schools.”
The magazine “Sonhos Límpidos” is the first of many that INALUD intends to make available to young people, adults, and the general population, to portray current themes and present them in families and communities in a simple, lively, and pedagogical way.

Among the topics covered in this first edition are: a) tobacco components, b) criteria and diagnoses for tobacco dependence, c) the current situation of smoking in Angola, d) local experience in combating smoking, e) National and International Protocols to combat smoking; f) the role of the family and the media in the fight against smoking and g) Perspectives for the future.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

South Africa’s Dalliance With Russia May Cost Access to US Markets

The budding relationship South Africa is having with Russia may cost it a very important trade relationship with the United States. To forestall this, a South African government delegation will embark on a charm offensive in the United States this week in a bid to defuse tensions with South Africa’s second largest trading partner over foreign policy and retain its preferential access to American markets.

The team will be led by the Finance minister Enoch Godongwana to meet with US politicians and lobby for South Africa to retain its eligibility to export goods duty free to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). The officials also intend to try and dispel what the government has termed misinformation about its stance toward Russia’s war in Ukraine.

South Africa has maintained what it terms a non-aligned position towards the invasion, a stand that has irked Washington. Tensions spiked earlier this year when the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, accused South Africa of supplying arms to Russia — an allegation Pretoria denied. Some 112 000 jobs in the automotive sector and R435-billion in automotive trade could be wiped out

Several US lawmakers have called on President Joe Biden’s administration to reconsider whether South Africa should continue to benefit from Agoa. Besides being angered over South Africa’s foreign policy stance, some legislators argue that the country is too developed to participate in the programme.

“There’s no officially expressed view that seeks to exclude South Africa from Agoa,” said Vincent Magwenya, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesman. “This is despite some politicians in the US lobbying for our exclusion. Agoa is coming up for renewal towards the end of this year, and naturally it will be reviewed as it happens with all trade agreements. That review will not only apply to South Africa but to all participating countries.”

Agoa expires in 2025 and US officials have previously said the qualifying criteria may be revised or the programme may be replaced. South Africa ships cars and agricultural produce to the US under the accord. Last year, it exported US$2.7-billion worth of goods using Agoa and the so-called Generalised System of Preferences.

The Democratic Alliance has waged its own campaign for South Africa to continue participating in Agoa and warned that its exclusion would have a devastating impact on the economy, with the vehicle manufacturing industry among those that would be badly affected.

“Should South Africa’s access to Agoa be revoked as a consequence of its allegiance to Russia, 112 000 jobs in the automotive sector and R435-billion in automotive trade could be wiped out,” the party said in a statement on Tuesday. “South Africans need to realise that our country’s jobs and the security of our economy are intrinsically linked to trade founded on global alliances.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

How to Break South Africa’s Cycle of Pessimism

By Altron Karabina

No one is under any illusions about the state of the country’s economy. The rand has been flirting way too cosily with the R20/US$ mark, inflation is squeezing consumers, interest rates are higher than at any point since the global recession, unemployment is unsustainably high and Eskom is failing in its mandate to keep the economy’s lights on.

The country is going through difficult times and everyone can see it. None of us needs to be reminded, on repeat, about the failures. It doesn’t take much creativity or leadership to point out what’s wrong. On the other hand, it takes leadership to accept ownership and start making an impact in your sphere of influence. For instance, as a leader I sit here and ask: what is the way through this?

The way through is to try to solve some of the problems in the country by making a meaningful impact on the businesses of our customers.

In the midst of adversity and in the midst of scarcity, invest in finding abundance and finding opportunity

Some might interject: “Where is the president? His ministers? Directors-general? Where is the leadership at Eskom? It is not my job to fix Eskom. Nor do I have the ability to make an impact on the sad state of affairs.”

Frankly, if that’s the view, then why bother remaining invested in the country? Of course, there needs to be excellence across all spheres of government and state-owned enterprises. No one disputes this. It’s also true that there are many talented and highly capable people in these places already.

A recent conversation with an official of one of this country’s major cities made the point clearly.

I explained that with advanced telematics, we could easily build a real-time understanding of where all the potholes in a city are. The official agreed but pointed out something obvious, but profound in the context of this conversation.

A new lens

He explained that more than 800 people were calling the municipality every day, reporting potholes. The city knows where all the potholes are already, he said, and so the answer doesn’t lie in investing in new technology for technology’s sake. Instead, he explained, the city lacked the ability to know the status of repairs in real time and where the disparate teams were in relation to each other.

So, he argued, the answer lay in improving efficiency to solve the problem. The solution may well be technology, but not data-gathering technology – technology to streamline processes and improve efficiency.

If we re-enter the discussion about the country and its problems with this understanding, it allows us to see the problem with a new lens. Yes, direction and tone are set by leaders, those at the top of the government, state-owned enterprises, big companies and smaller businesses. However, we don’t need permission, nor do we need to be told to do something impactful in our own roles, in our own spheres of influence.

Being creative and innovative, taking accountability and seeking opportunities to solve problems efficiently are leadership traits, and are not reserved only for those right at the top.

How does this look in my world? I lead IT businesses in an economy that has just barely avoided a recession. My job, the job of every person in these businesses, is to find creative, innovative solutions to drive efficiencies in our customers’ businesses.

Doing this allows us to grow, and by growing we have a direct impact on how many people we hire and how many families we directly and indirectly impact. When we are able to unlock massive savings in our customers’ businesses, we improve their efficiency so that they can also do well and hire and support more people.

By way of analogy, one of our clients is a large cross-border bank. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, we were able to remove 10 000 hours of monthly administrative operational costs. Those people were then deployed more usefully to grow the bank’s business. That’s value, even in good times.

Another customer is a large telecommunications company that, like similar businesses around the world, faces customer churn on a monthly basis. To put the magnitude of the problem into context, they were losing R1.8-billion annually to churn. We worked with them on a host of different data inputs and built a propensity-to-churn model that can accurately predict potential churn within three months. The result? They have been able to hold onto a billion rand annually by being empowered to proactively make offers to customers to keep them in the business. That’s value, especially in difficult trading conditions.

This is the challenge for leaders out there – leaders at all levels. Remember, you can have strong leadership skills while working for a boss who works for another boss. The challenge to leaders out there is: in the midst of adversity and in the midst of scarcity, invest in finding abundance and finding opportunity.

Be creative within your own spheres of influence to drive efficiency. The knock-on effect at scale could be profound, and this is how we will end the cycle of pessimism.

Collin Govender, is Managing Director of Altron Systems Integration and Altron Karabina

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Tech Companies Positions Ethiopia for Outsourcing Boom

July 11, 2023

Technology firms have rallied together with the aim to push for policy changes and to market Ethiopia as a top outsourcing destination, looking to replicate South Asia’s success in using digital skills to transform the economy.

More than 10 tech companies have joined together to form the Ethiopian Outsourcing Association, driven by the firm belief that their industry can create more and better jobs than any other part of the economy.

‘Every member is very passionate about this,’ said Wondwesen Zewdie, president of the new association. The company he co-founded, R & D Ethiopia, has more than 120 employees supporting companies located around the world. He believes that’s just the beginning, with outsourcing poised to bring major changes to the national economy.

‘We can see that it’s going to create an immense amount of jobs, and not just jobs but dignified jobs,’ he said. ‘Our employees get to know technology, they get to know how development works, and they get more globalized.’

There are growing pains. Until the association was formed, Ethiopia didn’t have a single license for all outsourcing companies. Instead, they were registered by the specific type of work performed — cybersecurity versus software development, for example.

One early result of the association’s outreach to the government is the creation of a new license, the kind of administrative change that makes business development easier, said Tadios Tefera, chief technology officer of MMCY Tech.

‘The association gives us more power when it comes to influencing policy from government and other institutions. Our challenge was previously I would go to a certain ministry to say, for example, we’re having challenges with telecom. We always went to the government to explain how we lose business, and when we lose business we have to lay off people,’ he said.

‘Each one of the association members had a similar experience. When we create an association, we have a more powerful voice and we are taken more seriously than if we speak individually.’

Growing the impact of tech hubs

The International Trade Centre (ITC), through the Netherlands Trust Fund V Ethiopia Tech project, supported the association’s creation by bringing an international expert to help design their strategy.

That’s part of the programme’s mission to work with digital businesses and business support organizations, including tech hubs, to increase their impact. For Ethiopia, harmonizing regulations and the tech ecosystem can help attract more business to a growing sector — key points that emerged during the strategy sessions.

‘This was a three-day course that was very beneficial to us,’ Tefera said.

Within Ethiopia, they want to create a conducive environment for outsourcing, by engaging with the government to make sure they have the right policies for the industry.

The second part is marketing outside of Ethiopia to attract business to the country.

Outsourcing businesses here see a model in India, where tech companies turned the country into a back office for global businesses.

Zewdie sees outsourcing as a way to create jobs in his country, where 70 percent of the population are youth and eager for decent work.

‘The domino effect is quite big,’ he said, ‘The $4 billion that Ethiopia exports every year, which is an amount that we can generate in the coming years just in this industry.’

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

FAST Accelerator Launches Second Cohort of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Program to Boost African Startups

Microsoft backed Flapmax , a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company on a mission to enrich the lives of everyone on the planet through innovation, has announced the launch of the second FAST Accelerator program. It is designed to support and fund the next generation of innovative companies and entrepreneurs throughout the African continent. Building on the success of the inaugural program, FAST Accelerator 2023 offers a transformative experience for startup founders seeking to scale rapidly and sustainably. More than 800 startups from 25+ countries applied to join the inaugural program.

“FAST Accelerator represents our commitment to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs who are driving sustainable innovation across the continent of Africa and emerging markets,” said Dr. Dave Ojika, CEO of Flapmax. “Through this comprehensive program, we are dedicated to connecting startup founders with a global community, industry-leading technology, and the essential startup funding necessary to forge the path towards local, sustainable, and AI-powered technological solutions of the future. Together, we unite in building a brighter future for Africa and the world, fueled by the transformative power of technology and innovation.

In partnership with Microsoft, the FAST Accelerator initiative combines business development, technology integration, funding opportunities, and community building to empower startup companies based in Africa and emerging markets to deliver sustainable solutions. It also provides dedicated venture funding and invaluable mentorship opportunities. The top ten FAST Accelerator 2023 startup participants will be selected for a five-week program in Silicon Valley, California, to forge relationships with industry experts, potential investors, and global partners through Flapmax’s vibrant ecosystem of over 600 corporate partners.

Startup leaders are encouraged to apply to FAST Accelerator this July. To be eligible, startups must be based in Africa, prepared to scale or expand throughout the continent, and have demonstrated established product-market fit and revenue generation. The program is prioritizing business-to-business startups for this cohort, with the areas of healthcare, fintech, Edutech, and industrials/agtech of particular interest. Sustainability and deeptech startups are also encouraged to apply.

Program participants must be available and committed for the entire duration of the program, which includes a two-week virtual bootcamp in August 2023, followed by a five-week accelerator program in October in California. The journey begins with an intensive virtual bootcamp designed to validate startup ideas, refine business models, and prepare founders for the next stage of growth. Next, the top startups are selected to join a five-week accelerator program on the ground in Silicon Valley to experience unparalleled acceleration, networking, and fundraising opportunities, while immersing themselves in the dynamic startup ecosystem of Silicon Valley.

“As a HR technology company dedicated to building world-class software solutions for businesses, we are delighted to have participated in the transformative FAST Accelerator program in 2022,” stated Lekan Omotosho, co-founder and CTO of Pade. “The technology and business masterclasses offered through Flapmax Learn were truly exceptional, and the invaluable network of mentors and advisors has played a significant role in our growth. With the successful raise of $500,000, we are poised to scale our cutting-edge HCM solutions across the continent, catering to both SMEs and large corporations.”

“At Snark Health, we are pioneering a novel approach to healthcare payment solutions, and our collaboration with FAST Accelerator has been instrumental in driving our growth,” said Edwin Lubanga, co-founder and CTO of Snark Health. “Through FAST’s support, we have gained access to critical infrastructure, enabling us to deploy our services at scale. Working in conjunction with Microsoft and Azure services and partnering with hospitals in Kenya, we are determined to deliver equitable and affordable healthcare to tens of thousands of SMEs and health centers across Africa, creating a lasting impact on the healthcare landscape.”

“Our collaboration with FAST Accelerator has opened doors to an extraordinary opportunity, one that I fully endorse,” said Innocent Orikiiriza, founder and CEO of KaCyber Technologies. Guided by FAST Accelerator, we have developed a comprehensive sustainability framework that now underpins our business operations, emphasizing the vital importance of sustainability in the public transport sector. Additionally, we have achieved a major milestone of processing 11 million travel tickets to date, amounting to a transaction value of 200 billion Ugandan shillings, immensely bolstering our revenue pipeline. With major corporate partnerships underway, we eagerly anticipate unlocking even greater possibilities with FAST as we work towards realizing a seamless and sustainable mobility experience throughout Africa.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Vodacom Says Rising Cost Will Affect the Industry

Vodacom South Africa MD Sitho Mdlalose has warned that input costs in the telecommunications sector are rising at a faster rate than inflation. Mdlalose, speaking to TechCentral in an exclusive interview, said that although Vodacom has “absorbed a lot of the costs” by implementing below-inflation increases, the cost to serve customers is increasing – and the implication is that Vodacom may have no choice but to pass on these higher costs to consumers. It already increased some prices earlier this year.

“The cost of producing 1GB of data has been increasing” due to investments to reduce the impact of load shedding, among other factors, Mdlalose said.

Diesel costs are also high, with Vodacom spending R350-million on diesel in its last financial year

“The sheer cost of operations given this climate will continue to be a pressure point. That won’t go away anytime soon… We have absorbed a lot of the costs and tried to do only inflationary price increases, even though our costs are above that,” he said.

Speaking in the same interview, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said capital investments by the telecoms sector remain “very high”. Vodacom is investing about R11-billion/year in its network, with a significant chunk of that being used to offset the impact of Eskom’s failure to supply electricity reliably. Diesel costs are also high, with Vodacom spending R350-million on diesel in its last financial year.

The energy crisis had a negative impact on Vodacom Group’s earnings in the financial year to end-March. A continuous effort to bolster network resilience by adding backup generators to base stations, using internet-of-things solutions (from its IoT.nxt subsidiary) to control power usage, and even partnerships with rivals have yielded results.

The weaker rand is also pushing up costs for operators, Joosub said. Everything from imported technology used in base stations to licence fees go up when the currency depreciates against the likes of the US dollar and the euro.

Although a focus on cost savings is vital, Mdlalose said the benefit to customers of having a mobile connection when the power is off goes beyond convenience to personal security. “Knowing that Vodacom is there … makes our customers feel safer.”

In May, trade, industry & competition Minister Ebrahim Patel published block exemptions under the Competition Act, which had a direct bearing on the sector. The exemptions have allowed telecom operators – and other companies – to collaborate to address the country’s electricity constraints, even activities normally prohibited by the act.

“These exemptions will enable energy suppliers and energy users to increase supply capacity, reduce the cost of energy or improve the efficiency of energy supply, and secure backup or alternative energy supply to minimise the effects of the current electricity supply constraints,” Patel said.

This has helped lower the cost of adding backup generators to base stations, which are usually shared by network operators, allowing them to consolidate their spending.

“Instead of adding three generators here and another three there [to power only Vodacom’s towers], I might say to MTN that I will add six here if you will add three more to another location,” Mdlalose said.

Vodacom has also collaborated with IoT.nxt to extract telemetry data on the power usage and heat generation of base station components. The data is used to power down components that are not in high demand, helping regulate air conditioning, for example, so that it is only used when needed. This both saves costs for Vodacom and reduces demand on Eskom.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

E&, Orange Bids for 45% Stake in EthioTelecoms

July 10, 2023

The ongoing efforts by the Ethiopian government to deregulate the telecoms sector has attracted the attention of E& and Orange who are exploring bids for a 45% stake in Ethiopia’s state-controlled telecoms operator, sources said. Emirates Telecommunications Group, known as E&, and France’s Orange are exploring bids for a 45% stake in Ethiopia’s state-controlled telecoms operator, people with knowledge of the matter said.

E& and Orange have been separately speaking with advisers to weigh offers for the holding in Ethio, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Deliberations are at an early stage and the Ethiopian government hasn’t announced a timetable for the sale, they said.

The African country has been exploring selling a stake in Ethio, on and off, for the past few years, though an initial process was disrupted by a civil war between the government and leaders of the dissident Tigray People’s Liberation Front. After a peace accord late last year, the government revived the process.

Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country with more than 110 million people.

Ethiopia is also exploring offering a licence for a third mobile operator in the country, competing with Ethio and Safaricom, according to the people. E& is also interested in potentially bidding for that, they said. Companies are required to express their interest by 15 September, the people said.

“We are looking closely at Ethio Telecom in particular to see under what conditions the Ethiopian authorities might allow a partner to take a stake in the operator,” a spokesman for Orange said.

A spokesman for e& declined to comment, while representatives for the Ethiopian Communications Authority and Ethiopian Investment Holdings didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country with more than 110 million people and is one of the largest remaining telecoms markets that could offer a new licence for mobile operators. Africa, with a fast-growing, young population and relatively low levels of wireless penetration, represents an attractive growth market for service providers.

E& has also explored a potential investment in Vodacom Group, while Orange said it plans to boost growth of its Africa business in its 2030 strategic plan.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Alibaba, Huawei Launches Their Own AI Products

Two leading Chinese tech giants, Alibaba and Huawei have announced the launching of their Artificial intelligence (AI) products including an AI image generator and an AI model upgrade.

This was disclosed by the weekend while showcasing the new products, including an artificial intelligence image generator and an AI model upgrade as Chinese companies jostle for position in the global AI race.

Alibaba Cloud, an Alibaba subsidiary, presented at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai an image generator named Tongyi Wanxiang that will initially be available to enterprise customers in beta form.

Also on Friday, Huawei demonstrated the third iteration of its Panggu AI model at the start of its three-day annual developer conference in Dongguan.

Chinese tech companies are aggressively developing AI products after ChatGPT ignited a generative AI boom

Chinese tech companies are aggressively developing AI products after the ChatGPT chatbot by OpenAI ignited a generative AI boom. McKinsey estimates that generative AI could eventually add US$7.3-trillion in value to the world economy each year.

Alibaba’s image generator will compete with Midjourney and OpenAI’s Dall-E, US-based rivals that have gained a large following worldwide.

Alibaba Cloud emerged from a massive overhaul announced in March that split the Chinese tech major into six units. In April, it launched a ChatGPT-like text generator, Tongyi Qianwen.

In addition to the Tongyi Wanxiang image generator, which roughly translates as “truth from tens of thousands of pictures”, presented on Friday, Alibaba Cloud has also rolled out ModelScopeGPT, an AI tool for developers.

Different approach

Huawei said its AI takes a different approach from many AI applications. Rather than focusing on generating content, its Pangu 3.0 model would mostly serve industrial uses, it said.

The Shenzhen-based company said its model aims to ensure more efficient safety inspections for freight train carriages, AI assistance for local government services and more accurate weather predictions.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Standard Chartered Projects Bitcoin to Hit $120 000 in 2024

Leading global financial powerhouse Standard Chartered Bank has projected that Bitcoin could reach $50 000 this year and $120 000 by the end of 2024. This was contained in a statement made today (Monday 10^th July by Standard Chartered. The Bank notes that this jump in its price could encourage bitcoin miners to hoard more of the supply.

Standard Chartered published a $100 000 end-2024 forecast for bitcoin back in April on the view the so-called “crypto winter” was over, but one the bank’s top FX analysts, Geoff Kendrick, said there was now 20% “upside” to that call.

“Increased miner profitability per BTC (bitcoin) mined means they can sell less while maintaining cash inflows, reducing net BTC supply and pushing BTC prices higher,” Kendrick said in a report.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Users Will Decide What Threads Becomes, Not Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg has pitched Meta’s Twitter copycat app, Threads, as a “friendly” refuge for public discourse online, framing it in sharp distinction to the more adversarial Twitter which is owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

“We are definitely focusing on kindness and making this a friendly place,” Meta CEO Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, shortly after the service’s launch.

Maintaining that idealistic vision for Threads — which attracted more than 70 million users in its first two days — is another story.

To be sure, Meta Platforms is no newbie at managing the rage-baiting, smut-posting internet hordes

To be sure, Meta Platforms is no newbie at managing the rage-baiting, smut-posting internet hordes. The company said it would hold users of the new Threads app to the same rules it maintains on its photo and video sharing social media service, Instagram.

The Facebook and Instagram owner also has been actively embracing an algorithmic approach to serving up content, which gives it greater control over the type of fare that it does well as it tries to steer more towards entertainment and away from news.

However, by hooking up Threads with other social media services like Mastodon, and given the appeal of microblogging to news junkies, politicians and other fans of rhetorical combat, Meta is also courting fresh challenges with Threads and seeking to chart a new path through them.

For starters, the company will not extend its existing fact-checking programme to Threads, spokeswoman Christine Pai said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday. This eliminates a distinguishing feature of how Meta has managed misinformation on its other apps.

Labels

Pai added that posts on Facebook or Instagram rated as false by fact-checking partners will carry their labels over if posted on Threads, too.

Asked to explain why it was taking a different approach to misinformation on Threads, Meta declined to answer.

In a New York Times podcast on Thursday, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, acknowledged that Threads was more “supportive of public discourse” than Meta’s other services and therefore more inclined to draw a news-focused crowd, but said the company aimed to focus on lighter subjects like sports, music, fashion and design.

Nevertheless, Meta’s ability to distance itself from controversy was challenged immediately.

Within hours of launch, Threads accounts were posting about the Illuminati and “billionaire satanists”, while other users compared each other to Nazis and battled over everything from gender identity to violence in the West Bank.

Conservative personalities, including the son of former US President Donald Trump, complained of censorship after labels appeared warning would-be followers that they had posted false information. Another Meta spokesman said those labels were an error.

Further challenges in moderating content are in store once Meta links Threads to the so-called fediverse, where users from servers operated by other non-Meta entities will be able to communicate with Threads users. Meta’s Pai said Instagram’s rules would likewise apply to those users.

“If an account or server, or if we find many accounts from a particular server, is found violating our rules then they would be blocked from accessing Threads, meaning that server’s content would no longer appear on Threads and vice versa,” she said.

Still, researchers specialising in online media said the devil would be in the details of how Meta approaches those interactions.

Alex Stamos, the director of the Stanford Internet Observatory and former head of security at Meta, posted on Threads that the company would face greater challenges in performing key types of content moderation enforcement without access to backend data about users who post banned content.

With federation, the metadata that big platforms use to tie accounts to a single actor or detect abusive behaviour at scale aren’t available.

“With federation, the metadata that big platforms use to tie accounts to a single actor or detect abusive behaviour at scale aren’t available,” said Stamos. “This is going to make stopping spammers, troll farms and economically driven abusers much harder.”

In his posts, he said he expected Threads to limit the visibility of fediverse servers with large numbers of abusive accounts and apply harsher penalties for those posting illegal materials like child pornography.

Even so, the interactions themselves raise challenges.

“There are some really weird complications that arise once you start to think about illegal stuff,” said Solomon Messing of the Center for Social Media and Politics at New York University. He cited examples like child exploitation, nonconsensual sexual imagery and arms sales.

“If you run into that kind of material while you’re indexing content [from other servers], do you have a responsibility beyond just blocking it from Threads?”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Afrikan Heroes

Category: News

Angola Drives Innovation in Communicating Tobacco Control

Kelechi Deca

South Africa’s Dalliance With Russia May Cost Access to US Markets

The Democratic Alliance has waged its own campaign for South Africa to continue participating in Agoa and warned that its exclusion would have a devastating impact on the economy, with the vehicle manufacturing industry among those that would be badly affected.

Kelechi Deca

How to Break South Africa’s Cycle of Pessimism

Kelechi Deca

Tech Companies Positions Ethiopia for Outsourcing Boom

Kelechi Deca

FAST Accelerator Launches Second Cohort of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Program to Boost African Startups

Kelechi Deca

Vodacom Says Rising Cost Will Affect the Industry

Kelechi Deca

E&, Orange Bids for 45% Stake in EthioTelecoms

Kelechi Deca

Alibaba, Huawei Launches Their Own AI Products

Kelechi Deca

Standard Chartered Projects Bitcoin to Hit $120 000 in 2024

Kelechi Deca

Users Will Decide What Threads Becomes, Not Zuckerberg

Kelechi Deca