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New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

Two speakers sit on a stage, in front of an audience with a projector screen displaying “Sports and the Metaverse” against a white background.

‘Metaverse Boot Camp’ draws intrigue and ire

Metaverse experts and NYU students convened to chat about virtual reality, NFTs and the blockchain at a two-day event sponsored by the School of Professional Studies.
Katherine Williams, Contributing Writer October 19, 2022

More than 100 students and faculty made their way to the Metaverse Boot Camp last Friday, on the second day of a two-day event organized by NYU’s School of Professional Studies...

An illustration of a hand holding up an iPhone with a camera app open. The back camera frames a sink and the front camera frames a woman in a blue hood. Above the camera app are the words “2 minutes to share what you’re up to.”

Can social media app BeReal deliver on its eponymous promise?

NYU students have mixed feelings on whether the BeReal app provides its users with a truly genuine social media experience.
Derek Kamakanaaloha Soong, Staff Writer February 24, 2022

Like many NYU students, I prefer the casual photo dump to the edited selfie, a preference that’s taken to the extreme by the social media app BeReal: every day, you’re given...

(Staff Illustration by Manasa Gudavalli)

Ranked: NYU meme pages

Don’t let your memes be dreams <3
Joey Hung and Sabrina Choudhary December 6, 2021

We have to admit, the NYU meme page offerings are lackluster. Maybe NYU students are too self-conscious about their image to say the out-of-pocket things that make less cringeworthy...

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen lifted the veil on the company’s harmful practices. The social media powerhouse must adopt new practices to regulate harmful content immediately. (Photo by Jorene He)

Opinion: Social media companies should hire more moderators

In light of Frances Haugen’s congressional testimony, Facebook and similar companies should hire more content moderators to filter out harmful content.
Caroline Thoms, Staff Writer October 18, 2021

Earlier this month, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen spoke to Congress about the harms of Facebook, including the spread of misinformation and the damage to young adults'...

The Tandon School of Engineering is located in Brooklyn. Facebook disabled several accounts and pages associated with a Tandon political advertising research project. (Staff Photo by Ryan Kawahara)

Facebook disables accounts used by NYU political advertising researchers

Accounts and pages associated with the Ad Observatory project at Tandon were disabled in a move researchers called ‘disgraceful.’
Arnav Binaykia, News Editor August 4, 2021

Facebook has disabled the accounts of researchers at the NYU Ad Observatory, a project developed by the Tandon School of Engineering that documents and analyzes Facebook political...

Facebook’s Need for Reform

Facebook’s Need for Reform

Facebook’s refusal to take a firm stance against misleading and fake news on their platform has long been controversial. Their recent decision to allow advertisements for the bail bond industry is definitive evidence that they need to fundamentally restructure their policy.
Mitch Bedows, Staff Writer February 28, 2020

Facebook’s history of manipulation with public-interest censorship on their platform, the world’s largest social network, is no longer a secret. Unfolding dramatically over...

(via Pixabay)

Will Twitter’s Ad Ban Change Political Discourse? NYU Professor Says It’s Hard to Tell

The social media company announced it will ban political ads starting at the end of November, in sharp contrast to Facebook’s statement that it would continue to allow such ads on their site.
Julia Santiago, Staff Writer November 8, 2019

A professor in NYU’s Social Media and Political Participation Laboratory said Twitter’s recent announcement that it would ban political advertisements may reduce misinformation,...

Speakers at the Fake News talk at NYU Journalism (Photo by Meghna Maharishi)

‘It’s Going To Be a Culture War’: Journalists Discuss Fake News Ahead of the 2020 Election

Journalists and academics reflected on the recent rise of fake news a year away from the 2020 presidential election.
Meghna Maharishi, News Editor April 18, 2019

During the 2016 presidential election, fake news spread far and wide through social media, and has continued to do so since then. Journalists and academics discussed the rise of...

A student swipes through the IGTV home. (Photo Illustration by Alana Beyer)

Work for Instagram — In Class

Real World classes give students the opportunity to show their projects to companies like Instagram and Facebook.
Marie-Louise Onga Nana, Contributing Writer February 25, 2019

A course called Instagram Real World might be one of the most NYU things ever written into the course guide. But there may be more than meets the eye about the class that uses...

A reply from the NYU BobChat system. (Via facebook.com)

Students Meme BobChat — and BobChat Memes Back

BobChat, a chatbot intended to answer questions about NYU, initially led to concerns and memes, but NYU has since ironed some of those kinks out.
Akiva Thalheim, Social Media Editor February 14, 2019

NYU's launch of new chatting service, "BobChat," has resulted in a wave of memes made by students interacting with the surprisingly witty bot. Available through Facebook...

(Photo by Katie Peurrung)

Arystan Tatishev | How ‘Memebers’ Create Community

Alejandro Villa Vásquez, Deputy Managing Editor December 6, 2018

The coffee shop on Mercer Street where I met Arystan Tatishev was bustling, despite it being a Friday night. No one would expect the international student studying Mechanical...