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Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, slowed down access to rivals and news organisations, according to a new report. The company seemingly added a delay of as long as five seconds when people clicked on links to go elsewhere on the web, according to a Washington Post report. The delay was applied to a host of rival websites, including Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. It was also used on the websites of news organisations that have been critical of Mr Musk, such as Reuters and the New York Times. Clicking a link on X to one of the affected websites resulted in a delay of about five seconds before the webpage loaded, the Washington Post reported, citing tests it conducted on Tuesday. Reuters also saw a similar delay in tests it ran. By late Tuesday afternoon, X appeared to have eliminated the delay. When contacted for comment, X confirmed the delay was removed but did not elaborate. Billionaire ElonMusk, who bought Twitter in October, has previously lashed out at news organizations and journalists who have reported critically on his companies, which include Tesla and SpaceX. Twitter has previously prevented users from posting links to competing social media platforms. Reuters could not establish the precise time when X began delaying links to some websites. A user on Hacker News, a tech forum, posted about the delay earlier on Tuesday and wrote that X began delaying links to the New York Times on Aug. 4. On that day, Musk criticized the publication’s coverage of South Africa and accused it of supporting calls for genocide. Reuters has no evidence that the two events are related. A spokesperson for the New York Times said it has not received an explanation from X about the link delay. “While we don’t know the rationale behind the application of this time delay, we would be concerned by targeted pressure applied to any news organization for unclear reasons,” the spokesperson said on Tuesday. A Reuters spokesperson said: “We are aware of the report in the Washington Post of a delay in opening links to Reuters stories on X. We are looking into the matter.” Bluesky, an X rival that has Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on its board, did not reply to a request for comment. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Additional reporting by Reuters Read More Twitter turning Tweetdeck into paid service after slowing down access to rivals The last parts of Twitter are being removed Musk pledges to fund legal bills of X users ‘unfairly treated’ by employers for posts Musk’s Twitter takeover sparks mass exodus of climate experts Snapchat experiences ‘temporary outage’ as My AI chatbot posts own Story WhatsApp rolls out AI tool for creating custom art

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For months, Elon Musk has pinned much of the blame for Tesla Inc.’s price cuts on central banks.

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Snapchat users have been left feeling “freaked out”, with some claiming they have deleted the app, after its AI chatbot appeared to post a short video onto its own Story. Several Snapchat users took to social media on Tuesday night to share screen recordings and screengrabs of the short clip which was posted on the Story of the My AI account in what Snapchat has described as a “temporary outage” which has since been resolved. The video, which played for a few seconds, appeared to display a beige background with a different colour at the top of the frame, leading some users to suggest that it showed the corner between a ceiling and a wall. Taking to Twitter, one user said the uploaded Story “freaked me out so I deleted the app”, while others were left fearing the AI feature had evolved or become sentient. Many users then reported that the video was deleted and the AI chat feature temporarily ceased to respond to users’ questions, instead indicating it was experiencing a technical issue in its replies. Rolled out globally earlier this year, Snapchat’s My AI chatbot is designed to respond to users’ messages like a friend, providing answers to trivia, offering advice, and giving recommendations based on location if a user shares their geolocation with the app. A spokesperson for Snapchat said: “My AI experienced a temporary outage that’s now resolved.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that will bring generative artificial intelligence tools to the platform for the first time. The world’s most popular messaging app, which counts close to 3 billion monthly active users around the world, will allow a limited number of people to create custom stickers using a new AI-powered ‘Create’ button. The latest feature follows similar generative AI tools from other messaging platforms, with Snapchat introducing a ‘My AI’ chatbot in February powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology. Instagram, which is also owned by Meta, is reportedly planning its own AI chatbot that will come with up to 30 different personalities for users to choose from. Meta did not respond to a request from The Independent for more details about Instagram’s AI plans, though leaked images reveal options for asking questions, seeking advice and offering writing assistance. “Bring AI to your chats for a more fun and engaging experience,” stated text on the leaked images. “Chat with 30 AI personalities and find which one you like the best.” The new WhatsApp update, first spotted by WaBetaInfo, means WhatsApp users do not require external tools or specific design skills in order to create stickers. They will simply need to enter a text-based command in order for the stickers to be generated, similar to image generator tools like Midjourney and OpenAI’s Dall-E. “AI stickers are generated using a secure technology offered by Meta,” the WhatsApp news site noted. “It’s important to note that this feature is optional and those AI stickers are easily recognisable. This means that the recipient may understand when a sticker has been generated by the AI technology from Meta.” The Independent has reached out to Meta for more information about WhatsApp’s latest AI tool, though the company typically does not comment on features before they are released publicly. Currently only Android users signed up to WhatsApp’s Google Play Beta Program have access to the custom sticker creator tool. Read More WhatsApp update: App finally launches new way to transfer chat history, fixing major security issue

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From Twitter being rebranded as X, to Meta who have rivalled this with their new Threads platform, there's been quite a few changes to social media this year. One of those recent changes also includes Instagram’s new-like animation which applies to those who updated the app. It means that when you like something on Instagram, the large heart will then appear in the area where you double-tapped on the photo and then the heart flies upwards off the screen. Of course, when it comes to social media updates, no one is a fan of change and Instagram users made this clear on X, formerly known as Twitter. Here is a compilation of reactions who all shared they weren't happy with the new like update, as one declared the feature "sucks," though this update did result in some amusing memes too: Unfortunately for those who updated the app, there is no way to change the like option back to the original but those who haven't updated Instagram can avoid the new feature if they opt out of auto-updates on Instagram. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.