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An Indigenous community in Indonesia has requested an internet blackout in their area to minimise the "negative impact" of the...

LONDON "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard has been given permission to intervene in Microsoft's legal battle with

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Friday, a day after the benchmark S&P 500 marked a 20% rally

By Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang SEOUL (Reuters) -ChatGPT-maker OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, who met with South Korean President Yoon

New ick unlocked: People are paying for blue ticks on Instagram. Avid Instagrammers will have noticed the surge of blue ticks taking over the platform, leaving people confused as to how their friend become an overnight internet sensation. As exciting as that would be, it's sadly not the case. Instead, people are using their hard-earned money for a blue badge. For the blissfully unaware, Instagram followed in the footsteps of Twitter recently by offering a monthly subscription service from £9.99 a month. Let's break this down: Public figures Instagram offer free blue tick verification to public figures including professionals, journalists, influencers, celebrities and brands who meet the platform's account and eligibility requirements. Their accounts must be authentic, unique, complete and notable, meaning they "must represent a well-known, highly searched for person, brand or entity". "We review accounts that are featured in multiple news sources, and we don't consider paid or sponsored media content as sources for review," Instagram said. Once verified, public figures, celebrities and brands that meet certain account and eligibility requirements may not change their username on their account – nor can it be transferred to a different account. On the flip side, there's 'Meta Verified', the new subscription model that allows any Instagram user to pay monthly for a tick. As it stands, Instagram has used the same colour and design for both paying users and notable figures, making it difficult for users to set the two apart. Whether or not they will make the two more identifiable in the future is unclear. Meta Verified / paying subscribers Now, anyone can apply to be verified using their ID and a spare £10 a month. Meta suggests it's to help people have more protection from impersonation and give them access to a "real person" if they encounter any issues. Indy100 reached out to Instagram for comment. 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.

BERLIN German media giant Axel Springer will establish a dedicated mergers-and-acquisitions team to look at firms specialising in

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed former Wall Street executive Hafize Gaye Erkan as central bank governor on Friday, signalling a possible shift from his...

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK U.S. stocks have defied fears of a recession, a banking crisis and

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Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday told employees that while Apple's mixed reality gear may be nice, it is not his vision of the future...

Leafing through the leather-bound menu at a classic Rio de Janeiro restaurant, the tile-floored, wood-paneled Armazem Sao Thiago, 28-year-old Paula Cardoso says something that amounts to heresy in this establishment...