Techmeme
December 15, 2016, 8:25 PM

Top News

Mike Isaac / New York Times:
To fight fake news, Facebook tests easier hoax reporting, uses third-party fact checkers to flag stories, punishes posts that are read but not shared, more  —  For weeks, Facebook has faced questions about its role in spreading fake news.  The intense scrutiny has caused internal divisions …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Fake stories flagged by two or more unpaid third-parties like Snopes and AP will get warning labels, lower ranking on News Feed, but will remain shareable  —  Snopes, FactCheck.org, Politifact, ABC News, and AP will help Facebook make good on four of the six promises Mark Zuckerberg …
Oliver Darcy / Business Insider:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook Messenger adds Snapchat-like photo filters, including “3D masks”, special effects, stickers, more  —  What's better than a few geofilters?  A billion algorithmically generated filters.  That's Facebook Messenger's strategy to steal the visual communication crown from Snapchat …
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple will charge $69 to replace individual AirPods in or out of warranty  —  On its iPhone Service Pricing page, Apple recently updated its repair and replacement costs for AirPods, which went on sale earlier this week.  —  Apple doesn't appear to be offering AppleCare+ for AirPods …
Rhea Mahbubani / NBC Bay Area:
Uber says one if its self-driving cars ran a red light in San Francisco “due to human error”  —  It's day one of Uber's self-driving car test in San Francisco, and already trouble is brewing amidst reports of vehicles running red lights and California regulators threatening legal action.
Bloomberg:
Source: Verizon is looking to get a price cut or exit the $4.8B Yahoo deal after company discloses 1B accounts hacked in 2013; Yahoo stock down 5%+  —  Verizon Communications Inc. is exploring a price cut or possible exit from its $4.83 billion pending acquisition of Yahoo! Inc. …
Peter Henderson / Reuters:
Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz to join executive committee of Donald Trump's transition team while remaining at the firm  —  Oracle Corp Chief Executive Safra Catz will join the executive committee of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, and she will remain at the company in the process …
Kirsten Korosec / Fortune:
General Motors CEO Mary Barra says the automaker will immediately begin testing self-driving vehicles on public roads in Michigan  —  General Motors CEO Mary Barra on Thursday said the automaker will immediately begin testing self-driving vehicles on public roads in Michigan just days …
Politico:
Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says he will resign on January 20, which will allow a new Republican majority to begin dismantling Obama-era regulations  —  Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said today he would resign, ending months of will-he or won't-he speculation about his plans.
Natt Garun / The Verge:
Instagram doubles its monthly active user base in two years to 600M, adding 100M in six months  —  That's 600 million Instagrammers, and a whole lotta brunch pics  —  It appears that the rise of Snapchat and all its Spectacles fun have yet to slow Instagram's growth: the Facebook-owned …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Soxton:
AI-powered law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
Zoho:
Zoho CRM Plus in 2025: A year of thoughtful CX improvements  —  2025 marked 11 years of building a customer experience platform designed to support organizations as customer expectations, channels …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
Alex And Ranjan's 2026 Outlook: ChatGPT 1 Billion, AI Shopping, Apple's Big Year, AI Love Boom
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'A Naughty Citizen', With Quinn Nelson
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt's Second Act: Less Budget, More Control
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
BG2 Pod:
AI Enterprise - Databricks & Glean
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:25 PM ET, December 15, 2016.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Lizzie Plaugic / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Jon Barlow / Pebble Developers: