Peter Cao

'Twitters swift rebrand to X is generating yet another issue. As reported by Bleeping Computer, the social media platform is causing Microsoft's Edge browser to throw up a warning, indicating some sort of security problem.

It seems to be related to how Edge and other Chromium-based web browsers deal with favicons (or 'Progressive Web App Icon Change', if you want to get super technical about it). With the Twitter rebrand being so sudden, Edge likely thinks X is a scam. The security alert prompts users to review the icon update and reads, "If this web app is trying to trick you into thinking it's a different app, uninstall it."

But as Bleeping Computer points out, PWA is working as intended. It is supposed to alert you when a website suddenly changes its favicon as that could indicate a potential redirect to a scam website. Presumably, this is temporary and will be fixed quickly. We've reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this story once we've heard back. 

An alert from Microsoft Edge suggesting that the Twitter rebrand to X may be a scam.
Florian / X

This is similar to an incident earlier this week, where X was blocked in Indonesia as it has laws forbidding gambling or porn. The X.com domain's previous owners broke the country's content laws.

Still, this is yet another indicator of how sudden the Twitter-to-X transition was. Other companies such as Meta and Microsoft already own trademarks on variations of X, which could land Musk's company some lawsuits. X even ran into trouble when attempting to change its signage at its San Francisco headquarters, as it didn't have the required permits. The company had to abandon its would-be facelift and leave the old bird logo and the letters "er" intact for a day or so.

The sudden name change is part of a larger plan to turn Twitter into a "super app" that's similar to China's popular WeChat. The platform could theoretically be used for payments, messaging and calls in the future.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitters-rebrand-to-x-is-causing-scam-alerts-on-microsoft-edge-203531493.html?src=rss

Twitter’s rebrand to X is causing scam alerts on Microsoft ...

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X (formerly Twitter) continues to struggle to keep advertisers on board, and the brands that have stuck around are seeing ads show up in unexpected places. As reported by Media Matters, brands such as Honeywell, Discovery, Showtime and USA Today are having their ads placed alongside tweets from The National Socialist Network account, a neo-Nazi group that actively advocates for violence and terrorism. A job recruitment ad for the U.S. Border Patrol also appeared on the page.

It’s clear that not only is X still allowing hate groups to exist on the platform, it's allowing them to monetize their tweets. The National Socialist Group’s leader Thomas Sewell was found guilty of "recklessly causing injury and array" following a 2021 attack. Other members of the group have pleaded guilty to "possessing documents and records of information for terrorist acts." Yet, the group’s Twitter account is still active.

Media Matters also reports that the account joined shortly after owner Elon Musk purchased Twitter. It has been "verified since July 2023," and according to Musk, all verified accounts are eligible to receive a share of ad revenue on the platform.

Earlier this week, Twitter started slashing new ad booking prices by 50 percent through the end of the month. The company says that the discount is necessary to allow advertisers to "gain reach during crucial moments" such as sporting events. Twitter was also asking brands to spend at least $1,000 per month on ads or verification in order to retain their verified badge on the platform.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-placed-ads-from-discovery-showtime-and-usa-today-on-a-neo-nazi-account-202133800.html?src=rss

X placed ads from Discovery, Showtime and USA Today on ...

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Reddit has started testing its version of verification badges on its platform with a new "Official" label. According to a post by a Reddit admin, the new label is in early testing and is only available to a small group of organizations ("in the double digits") that already have existing relationships with Reddit. The company says that the label will appear next to their usernames, similar to how flairs are currently implemented.

Reddit clarifies that this should not be taken as an endorsement or promotion on its part and that it’s simply there to identify authentic brand accounts. "The label is a visual indicator of an authenticated profile, and it does not unlock any special privileges or protections. This new 'Official' label should not be mistaken for our existing 'Promoted' label, which continues to be our (only) indicator of a paid ad," Reddit says.

It's worth noting that this is a test on Reddit’s part and it's unclear if or when the company plans on expanding the program to cover more than just businesses. Reddit seems to be taking the classic Twitter approach, manually verifying brands at this time. This is in contrast to other platforms such as Instagram, which allow users to pay for their respective verification badges. Though, it's possible that Reddit shifts to the latter method down the line when it needs to start verifying both users and brands.

Reddit has had a rough last several months as the company has changed its API rules. Third-party developers used Reddit's APIs to build thousands of apps that hook into the social media platform. With the shutdown, many subreddits closed or restricted access in order to protest the change. And of the subreddits that were forced to open back up, some started marking all new posts as NSFW, which prevented Reddit from monetizing them.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/reddit-is-testing-verification-labels-for-brands-174640320.html?src=rss

Reddit is testing verification labels for brands

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The Borderlands movie is finally getting a release date. According to a tweet from the game’s official Twitter account it will premiere in theaters on August 9th, 2024.

The film, directed by Eli Roth (best known for Hostel) is based on the popular video game of the same name. Borderlands follows Lilith (Cate Blanchett), a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet of Pandora (unrelated to the Avatar movie). She teams up with Roland (Kevin Hart), Tiny Tina (Arian Greenblatt), Krieg (Florian Munteanu), Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Claptrap (Jack Black) to find the missing daughter of Atlas.

A first look was released last year, though there’s no official trailer yet. It’s peculiar that they’ve decided to announce the release date for the movie more than a year out. What makes it even more odd is that the movie had reportedly wrapped up filming over two years ago in June 2021.

Delays for video game-based movies seem to be increasingly common. The Uncharted movie was delayed several months from its original release date. And when it did release, the film saw mixed reviews, including from Engadget's Devindra Hardawar, who said the Uncharted movie "boldly goes nowhere."The Super Mario Bros. Movie also saw delays in the film’s release. However, that movie set box office records for a video game movie. Barring any further delays, fans should expect to see Borderlands in theaters next year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/borderlands-movie-is-set-to-be-released-next-august-210515223.html?src=rss

‘Borderlands’ movie is set to be released next August

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