Facebook was sued for $150 billion over the violence against Rohingya refugees

Extremist groups have used Facebook to propagate misinformation and recruit members

For years, Facebook has been accused of taking a too-light approach to content moderation. While it's made strides in recent years, problematic content continues to thrive on the company's platforms.

Around 87 million users were impacted by Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal

Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm with Russian and conservative ties, harvested data from Facebook users through a research tool that tracked interests across social connections on Facebook. Those profiles were used for targeted ad campaigns supporting Donald Trump in 2016 and pro-Brexit ads. A whistleblower originally said the private data of more than 50 million Facebook users was compromised, but a Facebook officer later estimated the number was around 87 million. Facebook settled the class-action lawsuit over the privacy breach for $725M in 2022.

The 'Facebook papers' revealed the company prioritized profit over public safety

A whistleblower came forward with internal documents showing employees warned leadership about the company's role in fueling political unrest and misinformation. Systems like XCheck shielded high-profile users like President Donald Trump from normal content rules, often to avoid PR backlash.

Facebook settled a lawsuit over Zuckerberg allegedly stealing the original idea for the company for $65M

While at Harvard, three students (Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra) approached Mark Zuckerberg with the idea for a platform exclusively for Harvard students called ConnectU. Those students sued Facebook, alleging that Zuckerberg stole the idea from the trio.

Meta's acquisition strategy for Instagram and WhatsApp led to a 5-year-long antitrust lawsuit

In 2020, the Federal Trade Commission sued Meta as part of the agency's efforts to rein in big tech companies. The FTC alleged that Meta overpaid for Instagram and WhatsApp in a "buy or bury" strategy to gain access to those companies' talent and diminish competition. In 2025, a federal judge sided with Meta, citing intense change in the social media landscape.

Facebook's algorithm chooses content to display on the News Feed based on user data

It employs machine learning to prioritize posts and ads based on user interactions, content type, and post timeliness, creating a personalized, engaging experience for each user.

Facebook dominated US social ad spend in the first half of 2024

This data visualization shows the social media platforms where advertisers spent the most money in the first six months of 2024, with Facebook leading the pack taking home 36.3% of US social ad spend.

As of April 2022, a million people access Facebook on the dark web monthly

While those using an anonymized web browser, such as Tor, have been able to access the social network's .onion site since 2014, the announcement marks a major milestone by the tech giant, which has worked to ensure its users can bypass restrictions by various governments and continue visiting the site.

The Rohingya refugee emergency at a glance

This interactive website provides an in-depth dive into the Rohingya refugee emergency. According to the UNHCR, the influx of Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh is one of the largest and fastest-growing refugee crises in decades. Since 2017, an...

Tencent surpassed Facebook in value in 2017

Tencent joined the $500B club (in terms of market capitalization) in 2017, overtaking Facebook at that point in terms of social media networks by value. This report from the time captures the rise of the company despite being relatively unknown outside of China.

Opioid epidemic 101: lawsuits and settlements

State and local governments trying to address the opioid epidemic have sued organizations they believe started and supported the crisis. Companies that made, distributed, or contributed to sales of the highly addictive painkillers are expected to pay more than $50B in settlements. These settlements specifically state that at least 85% of settlement funds must be spent on addressing the epidemic, though where exactly the money is going is unclear.

Temu was ordered to pay a $2M fine for alleged FTC violations

Specifically, Temu allegedly violated the INFORM Consumers Act of 2023 by failing to provide its customers with information and tools to help them avoid and report stolen, counterfeit, or unsafe goods.

US lawmakers banned TikTok in 2024 for security purposes

After years of concerns about ByteDance Ltd.'s affiliation with the Chinese government, Congress passed a bill banning TikTok in the US. The main argument favoring the ban is that Beijing could use the wildly popular app to run foreign influence campaigns. Americans opposed to the ban say the law will negatively impact the livelihoods for TikTok shops and influencers.

Is there a First Amendment right to assemble in the metaverse?

Metaverse users have taken to digital streets to protest topics ranging from the commercialization of the supposed decentralized virtual world to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Do these protesters have the legal right to do so? Do First Amendment rights for American users carry over into the metaverse's digital sphere, and what dangers await users in countries prone to protest suppression? This article explores human rights and the right to protest in the metaverse.

Section 230 is the law that shaped the modern internet—and free speech online

Passed as part of the Communications Decency Act, Section 230 shields online platforms from legal liability for user-generated content while allowing them to moderate it and host speech freely, making it one of the most debated laws governing free expression today.

How the Myanmar coup fueled a rise in illegal drugs

According to the UN, Myanmar remains the world’s second-largest producer of heroin. Inside Myanmar, almost all the drugs come from one place: Shan state in the Golden Triangle region, south of China, where Myanmar meets Thailand and Laos. The...

A deep dive on everything you need to know about virtual reality

In the wake of Facebook’s purchase of Oculus VR, can the revolutionary technology triumph anew? These interactive articles chart the rise and fall — and rise again — of VR.

Warren Buffett has worried that AI might end up being as consequential as the development of the nuclear bomb

Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett is one of the many people who’ve come face-to-face with the downside effects of AI, and in particular, deepfakes. He was recently shown a deepfake of himself in a video, which caused him to worry about how bad actors will take advantage of the technology.

YouTube brought endless content—and endless culture wars

How did YouTube grow from a startup in 2005, to a media powerhouse with more than 2.5 billion monthly logged-in users who watch more than 1 billion hours of video every day? That’s what this podcast interview with Bloomberg tech reporter Mark Bergen on NPR’s Fresh Air explores.

Photos of Sam Bankman-Fried's $35M Bahamas home

Sam Bankman-Fried, the 31-year-old founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, traded his luxury Bahamian penthouse for a courtroom and jailhouse. As part of his trial, the prosecution looked into his multimillion-dollar home in the Bahamas he...

There were roughly 17 Black Friday-related deaths and 125 injuries between 2006 and 2021

A website called Black Friday Death Count or “BFDC” scrapes news headlines for Black Friday-related deaths and injuries reported around the world. It includes the overall count of Black-Friday related deaths, as well as the context for each of them.

The Beatles once sued Nike

Nike used The Beatles' "Revolution" in an ad, sparking a $15M lawsuit over the song's use. While The Beatles and Nike ultimately reached an agreement, Nike ushered in the modern practice of using hit songs in advertisements, as opposed to jingles or covers.

Lucasfilm discouraged fan fiction that sexualized its characters

The self-published fan fiction zines of the '60s, '70s, and '80s were obscure enough that they rarely attracted the attention of the copyright holders of their source material. But Lucasfilm, the production company behind the "Star Wars" films, threatened legal action against fans who published X-rated stories and "homosexual expressions of love" featuring its characters.

From 1970 to 2017, invasive species have caused $1.28T in damage globally

The costliest species were the Asian tiger and yellow fever mosquitoes ($149B), which arrived in the US from Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, respectively. The bulk of their damage came from their transmission of diseases such as Zika, chikungunya, and dengue. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

In 2015, FIFA's decades-old bribery network was exposed

In 2015, the US Department of Justice exposed a 24-year bribery network influencing broadcast rights and votes on World Cup host cities. Over 40 officials were indicted for accepting bribes. FIFA implemented several reforms, including term limits for presidents and council members and salary disclosures in 2016.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Ebola species have historically been named after where they were discovered, stigmatizing residents who live there, including Bundibugyo, in Uganda.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.