March 6, 2024
Meta Goes Dark, Continues News Divestment
Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, experienced a significant temporary outage on Super Tuesday. While no specific election-related or malicious cyber activity has been identified, more than a half-million Facebook accounts and nearly 100,000 Instagram users were affected.
New data show Meta’s platforms saw a 6% increase in monthly active users last year, boosting the company’s stock prices by more than 40% in 2024. While its user base expands, Meta continues to divest from news content. The company announced that in early April, it will wind down its Facebook News feature in the U.S. and Australia. Meta’s move follows previous decisions to halt news in Europe amid increased regulation and declining user engagement.
OpenAI Sued By Elon Musk
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman. Musk alleges the AI company has strayed from its original nonprofit mission by partnering with Microsoft and keeping ChatGPT’s code closed source. OpenAI’s top executives have refuted Musk’s claims. Musk himself is facing a lawsuit from four former Twitter executives, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal, alleging they are owed more than $128 million in severance payments.
Trust in AI companies is sinking. Globally, trust has declined to 53% from 61% five years ago. In the U.S., confidence has dropped significantly, from 50% to 35%. India has joined European countries in pursuing substantive AI regulation, requiring tech firms to obtain government approval before launching new AI models. Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced the company will “break new ground” in generative AI this year.
New Report Outlines Efforts to Expand Media Literacy
As AI expands and misinformation magnifies, more U.S. states are adopting media literacy instruction. A new report from Media Literacy Now outlines efforts across 19 state legislatures, including California’s comprehensive law requiring media literacy instruction at every grade level. According to a 2023 Education Week survey, nearly 80% of educators said they were not prepared to teach skills in an AI-powered world.
While many U.S. states look to implement media literacy, Finland provides a sustainable model. The Open Society Institute ranked Finland as the top country in its Media Literacy Index. Effective media literacy instruction should help students navigate misinformation, evaluate credibility, and understand primary data sources.
Sequence Summaries: Meta Meltdown, OpenAI Action, and Media Literacy
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