Social media

• Chaos in Minneapolis Exposes an Internet at War With Truth - Technological advances and an erosion of trust have transformed the way news unfolds online, distorting shared reality.
• ‘They Couldn’t Break Me’: A Protester, the White House and a Doctored Photo - President Trump and the White House regularly circulate imagery that has been manipulated by A.I. But the photo of Nekima Levy Armstrong was different.
• Elon Musk Merges SpaceX With His A.I. Start-Up xAI - The deal further intermingles Mr. Musk’s companies and creates the most valuable private company on earth.
• How Chinese short-video streaming firms are reshaping Latin America's media landscape - Short-drama apps, many with Chinese origins, are making significant inroads in Latin America as the region becomes more affluent, research shows.
• Meta rises 8%, Microsoft sinks 11% as megacap tech stocks diverge after earnings - Meta jumped, while Microsoft plunged post-earnings as investors hunt for signs that big AI investments are paying off.
• Meta's Mark Zuckerberg gets green light from Wall Street to keep pouring money into AI - Meta's stock pop following the company's latest earnings beat is a sign that investors are OK with hefty AI spending as long as the core business stays strong.
• Meta’s Reality Labs posts $6.02 billion loss in fourth quarter - Meta’s Reality Labs posts $6.02 billion loss in fourth quarter.
• Meta shares rise on stronger-than-expected revenue forecast - Meta reported fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday and provided stronger-than-expected sales guidance.
• TikTok Settles Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Ahead of a Landmark Trial - The settlement means TikTok will avoid a trial where plaintiffs had planned to argue that social media platforms are inherently defective and subject to personal injury liability.
• Home Sourdough Bakers Are Turning Their Hobbies Into Full-Time Jobs - Home bakers are finding devoted customer bases that allow them to stay home with family and still make a decent living — but they do have get up in the middle of the night.