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As he lived in a tent and battled to provide for his family, Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters journalist killed by Israeli fire on Monday while running a live video feed at Gaza's Nasser Hospital, covered the suffering of civilians during the conflict. According to journalist colleagues, Masri, 49, was a seasoned cameraman who was well-liked by Gaza's close-knit community of reporters because of his upbeat demeanor in the most perilous circumstances. In the months before his death, he would say, "Tomorrow will be better," despite the fact that the Palestinian enclave was becoming increasingly desolate and hungry. That was the conclusion of his final discussion with Mohamed Salem, a senior Reuters visuals journalist who had collaborated with Masri in Rafah, in southern Gaza, last year and had known him since 2003. Salem, who left Gaza later in 2024 but stayed in daily contact with Masri until Monday morning, said he was a pleasure to work with because of his smiles and o...

In order to license the startup's "aesthetic technology" for the social media company's upcoming models and products, Meta has inked a contract with generative AI lab Midjourney. Alexandr Wang, the chief AI officer for Facebook's parent company, stated on Friday that the technical partnership will connect the research teams of the two companies. As it seeks to revive its artificial intelligence endeavors in the face of fierce competition from competitors such as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Google, the move signals Meta's push to differentiate its products on visual quality. Using a subscription model, Midjourney licenses its tools to users and creates images based on text prompts. "We are incredibly impressed by Midjourney," Wang wrote in a post on X, adding that Meta is bringing together top talent, a solid compute roadmap, and partnerships with top industry players to deliver the best products. Requests for comment from Reuters were not immediate...

As Russia supports domestic social media platforms and aims to exert more control over the nation's internet space, WhatsApp accused Moscow of attempting to prevent millions of Russians from using the messaging app for secure communication after calls were blocked. Russia accused the foreign-owned platforms of not sharing information with law enforcement in cases of fraud and terrorism and on Wednesday announced that it had begun to restrict certain WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms (META.O), new tabs, and Telegram calls. Voice notes and text messaging services are currently unaffected. Following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a long-simmering conflict with foreign tech companies grew more intense. Russia blocked Meta's Facebook and Instagram, slowed down Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) speed, opened a new tab for YouTube, and fined hundreds of platforms for violating Russian regulations on online content and data storage. Late on Wednesday, WhatsApp stated tha...

A fter the image-sharing site warned of lower ad spending in the United States, its largest market, as a result of the elimination of the "de minimis" trade loophole, Pinterest's stock fell roughly 15% on Friday. Some Asian e-commerce companies have been forced to reduce their U.S. marketing budgets due t o uncertainty caused by tariffs and the suspension of the exemption that allowed packages va lued at or under $800 to be shipped to the U.S. without incurring import duties. T he company, known for curating links to lifestyle products such as home decor, fashion accessories, and beauty items, saw a 25% decline in advertising prices in the second quarter. With U.S. tariffs in place, the trend is expected to continue. "Management's comments on tariff concerns extending into the third quarter likely spooked the Street," Roth Capital Partners analysts said. According to Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, the stalled user growth is a "sig...