Here are the top trending news from the world of technology. News that every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Elon Musk claims he has now got the financial backing to buy Twitter
Elon Musk has said that he has secured the required funds for buying microblogging platform Twitter. Tesla and Space’s CEO has revealed in the regulatory filings that he has secured a commitment of $46.5Bn to buy Twitter. Out of $46Bn, Musk will himself commit nearly $33 Bn. Banks including Morgan Stanley will arrange the remaining amount. As per the regulatory filings, Musk will soon make a tender offer for buying the remaining shares of Twitter. The microblogging company has currently deployed the ‘poison pill’ strategy to defend against Musk’s hostile takeover bid. If the tech billionaire does manage to buy Twitter then it will be the biggest acquisition deal in the social media industry till date.
2)
Binance forced to abandon Swastika like Emoji after Twitter Uproar
World’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been forced to scrap a new emoji resembling the infamous swastika symbol. The crypto platform was forced to take this step following an uproar on Twitter. Binance said in its statement that it has no idea how this emoji bypassed several layers of review. In the west, swastika is still seen as a symbol of Adolf Hitler’s fascism. Therefore, using the Swastika symbol publicly is seen as an endorsement of Hitler’s fascist ideology. In 20th century, the German dictator had used the fascism ideology to perpetuate state sponsored violence against Jews. Resulting in the killing of millions of Jews.
3)
Amazon acquires social commerce startup Glowroad for $75 Mn
Amazon has now acquired yet another Indian startup. The e-commerce giant has acquired the women focused social commerce startup Glowroad. Sources claim that Amazon bought the Bengaluru based startup for $75Mn. Sources further claim that the deal was mostly an all-cash deal. This is e-commerce giant’s first ever acquisition in India’s social commerce space. Social commerce players sell products through social media channels like WhatsApp and Facebook. This niche space has many well-funded startups like Meesho, CityMall, Bulbul and Dealshare.
4)
Barack Obama claims that social media platforms are destroying democracies
U.S. ex-president Barack Obama has slammed social media platforms for undermining democracies across the world. Speaking at an event, the former U.S. president said that misinformation and fake news peddled through social media platforms are weakening democracies. Obama cited examples of vaccine misinformation and the recent capitol hill violence on how social media platforms adversely impact democracies. The former president said that there is an urgent need to fix this menace. Well, Obama is not the only one to believe that platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp pose a grave danger to democratic values. Many global leaders and several leading political experts are of the same view.