copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2023-09-14): Did Facebook or its parent company Meta announce a plan to charge all of the platform's users $4.99 a month for access? Will copying and pasting a post about the change allow people to "opt out" or "bypass the system"? No, none of that is true: Neither Facebook nor Meta made such an announcement as of this writing. Different variations of these claims have been debunked multiple times since 2009. [...] Just in case..... here we goI'm Opting Out too!So now they are doing it, recently announced on Facebook is charging all users starting Monday. You can do an opt-out by doing this. Hold your finger over this message and copy it. It can't be shared. I do not give permission for Facebook to charge $4.99 a month to my account, also; all my pictures are my property of mine and NOT Facebook's!!! [...] Facebook's help center explicitly refutes the speculations that the platform is going to charge all users for access:
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2023-10-30): Meta (META) announced today (Oct. 30) that it will charge Facebook and Instagram users in Europe a subscription fee for an ad-free experience starting in November. The subscriptions will cost €9.99 ($ 10.60) per month for web and €12.99 ($13.79) for mobile apps. Initially, one subscription will cover all accounts linked to its owner. But starting March 2024, users will have to pay an extra fee for each additional account, which will be €6 ($6.37) per month for web and €8 ($8.49) for mobile. The rollout came just days after Meta CFO Susan Li shared an update on the company’s European ad strategy.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2020-05-22): Several readers sent us screenshots of the following text, which claimed that Facebook was becoming "chargeable" (red flag #1: bad grammar). If users wanted their accounts to "remain free" and avoid being billed 0.01 per message, they must, according to the text, forward the message to 10 contacts (red flag #2: good advice doesn't usually require being shared to a specific number of people): [...] Those who attempted to exempt themselves from the charge thereby spread the lie even further, thus doing the leg work of the hoaxsters. (The logical disconnect of the practical joke seemed to evade many: If Facebook were bent upon extracting fees from its users, why would it choose to exempt any of them?) [...] Although Facebook has recently announced plans to expand opportunities for publishers and creators to monetize certain content or raise donations on Facebook, that doesn’t appear to change the fact that users can still generally use Facebook’s basic platform tools for free (unless users really want to offer money).
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2023-09-03): Is social media worth paying for? [...] For starters, I’ve often wondered if there is enough value in social media to warrant paying for the privilege. In Europe, the social media app is not nearly as popular as it is in other countries. One example—I’ve been to Europe several times, and very few people bother to sell their stuff on Facebook Marketplace (since they still use Craigslist). It’s just not as common to post baby pictures and what you had for supper in that region of the world. This could be the first real litmus test of social media’s business value. If Meta does move to a subscription model it would be the first time we will find out if people are willing to keep using Meta’s apps if they have to pay for them.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2023-10-03): Meta plans to give European Facebook and Instagram users the option of paying for ad-free versions as a way to comply with new EU data privacy rules. Meta plans to give Facebook and Instagram users in Europe the option of paying for ad-free versions of the social media platforms as a way to comply with the continent's strict data privacy rules. The company wants to charge users about €10 a month to use Instagram or Facebook without ads on desktop browsers, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the proposal.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2023-09-12): According to Facebook: "No, we don’t charge you to use Facebook." There has never been a charge to use Facebook and the company has indicated it never plans to. Since the parent company Meta makes its money from advertising to Facebook's 3 billion monthly users, scaring them off seems counterproductive. [...] They say Facebook is going to start charging its users.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2023-02-20): Meta has announced that it is to trial a monthly subscription cost to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, charging users a fee for additional services. [...] The announcement of the new subscriptions costs for Instagram and Facebook users were made shortly after Twitter announced that it was to remove two factor authentication for free users, with the service becoming an exclusive benefit for Twitter Blue users. [...] The introduction of paid for features for social media accounts could be seen as the platforms attempting to nickel and dime their services in response to declining advertising, an issue that both Twitter and Facebook have experienced recently.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Meta to charge users in EU for ad-free Instagram and Facebook was Dkr4188 now Dkr1999 for your first year. Make up your own mind. Build robust opinions with the FT’s trusted journalism. Offer available here until 24th October.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2023-04-24): When it comes to abuse on social media platforms, many teens think criminal charges or permanent bans would help a lot. Half of teens think criminal charges or permanent bans for users who bully or harass others on social media would help a lot to reduce harassment and bullying on these platforms.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2019-04-18): Facebook has acknowledged that it considered charging for access to user data. But Facebook has challenged the significance of those discussions, telling the Wall Street Journal last year and NBC News this month that the company was merely mulling various business models. [...] Facebook executives, including Zuckerberg and Sandberg, spent months brainstorming ways to turn the company around. An idea that they kept returning to: make money from the app partners, by charging them for access to Facebook’s users and their data. [...] Even though Facebook eventually decided not to charge developers directly for access to user data, the extensive discussions around its monetary value, shown in the leaked documents, could create lasting problems for the company, privacy and policy experts say.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2018-12-15): The question of whether social media companies "sell" their users’ data was thrust back into the spotlight last week when a trove of internal emails from Facebook’s senior executives was released by the British Parliament. Among them was a chain featuring none other than Mark Zuckerberg himself proposing the idea of actually charging a monetary fee for developers to access user data, which they could repay either by purchasing advertising, selling items or simply writing Facebook a check. While the company took great pains to emphasize last week that it never ended up following through with the proposal, the mere fact that the company’s founder had openly discussed quite literally charging a per-user fee to access user data really drove home how the company views its users as monetizable entities being exploited by a for-profit company, rather than a benevolent company trying to connect the world and generating revenue only where it would not conflict with its public good vision.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2023-04-18): Unlike most other businesses on Earth that live and die by their customers’ demands, social media services are caught trying to satisfy both their users and the people actually paying for it all: investors and advertisers. [...] At some earlier stage, or at some smaller scale, I do believe people would be willing to pay for social products that serve them. But these products rarely get built because investors simply aren’t interested in putting money toward "small scale social" that better reflects our IRL social networks. It’s simply a far less lucrative business model than the one Mark Zuckerberg came up with all those years ago. [...] However, the promise of ads may simply be too good to turn down. Advertisers are simply willing to pay more for the product than its actual users. In Facebook’s case, the company makes something like $200 per year of ad revenue on each American user, but how many of those users would pay $15 / month to use Facebook? According to one study, not many.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2024-08-19): Facebook, Inc. will pay a record-breaking $5 billion penalty, and submit to new restrictions and a modified corporate structure that will hold the company accountable for the decisions it makes about its users’ privacy, to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company violated a 2012 FTC order by deceiving users about their ability to control the privacy of their personal information.
Claim: Facebook Decided To Charge For Social Media Usage From All Users! (Social Media Users, 2024-03-20)
Evidence (2022-06-28): In 2006, Facebook marked the beginning of a new era in social media by making itself universally available. Since then, membership on social media platforms has exploded. Ninety percent of young adults in the U.S. are now on social media, and the majority visit these sites at least once per day.1 Nearly half of all social media users in the U.S. visit sites a minimum of 31 times per week. Social media has benefits, including the ability to share important information, communicate with friends, and expand one’s social circle by being connected to a diverse group of people. Excessive social media use also has costs, including addiction, loneliness, depression, reduced self-esteem, and reduced ability to develop meaningful relationships.1
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2023-01-22): According to our investigation, we found out that the viral letter on social media claiming to be China's stance on the debt restructuring of Sri Lanka is fake and forged. Along with the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, the Sri Lankan government also rejects receiving such a letter.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2023-11-07): "Total outstanding debt, including principal but excluding interest, from borrowers in the developing world to China is at least US$1.1 trillion," AidData said.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Letter: China’s debt woes may be worse than you describe
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2022-01-06): But the billion dollar project using loans and contractors from China became mired in controversy, and struggled to prove viable, leaving Sri Lanka saddled with growing debts. [...] It points out that a large proportion of Sri Lanka's overall debt was owed to non-Chinese lenders, and that there's no evidence China has taken advantage of its position to gain strategic military advantage from the port.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2021-06-07): According to a report by Institute of International Finance report published in January 2021, China's outstanding debt claims on the rest of the world rose from some US$1.6 trillion in 2006 to over US$5.6 trillion by mid-2020, making China one of the biggest creditors to low income countries.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2023-01-25): The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka says a letter using the embassy’s official letterhead addressed to Sri Lanka’s President and Finance Minister on debt restructuring is false. The said letter which has been circulated on social media says China will not be able to amortise the outstanding debt and is instead ready to relax the repayment schedule by offering a 5-year moratorium on bilateral and commercial loan repayments. Refuting the letter, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka stated that the letter circulating on social media, under its official letterhead and written to Sri Lankan President and Financial Minister, is completely forged.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2023-03-08): Exclusive-China offers Sri Lanka debt moratorium, promises deal on debt treatment -letter COLOMBO : The Export-Import Bank of China has told Sri Lanka it will not seek immediate repayment of debt for 2022 and 2023 and expedite negotiations on "medium- and long-term debt treatment" to finalise specifics in the coming months, according to a letter seen by Reuters. [...] China has extended its "firm support to Sri Lanka through a debt treatment", EXIM Bank wrote in the letter to the Sri Lankan government on March 6.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2023-10-13): Sri Lanka has confirmed that it has reached a deal with China, to restructure $4.2bn (£3.4bn) of debt. [...] "We thank China Exim bank (Export and Import bank) for the support in resolving our country's debt situation," Sri Lanka's Finance Ministry said in a statement. [...] Sri Lanka has a total foreign debt of $46.9bn, 52% of which is owed to China, its largest lender.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Sri Lanka reaches preliminary debt restructuring deal with China’s Exim Bank was Dkr4188 now Dkr1999 for your first year. Make up your own mind. Build robust opinions with the FT’s trusted journalism. Offer available here until 24th October.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2022-08-03): China holds roughly 6.2 percent of Sri Lanka’s total central government debt – some as central government debt (around $670 million) but mostly as debt through state-owned banks like China EXIM Bank and China Development Bank (CDB), totaling around $7 billion. These loans have financed myriad projects: utilities, roads and highways (parts of the Southern Expressway and Central Expressway), ill-conceived ports and airports, vanity convention centers, and telecom towers. Consequently, questions around the value Sri Lanka received for these Chinese loans have lingered over the last decade. [...] Views taken by Chinese officials have changed over the weeks and months following Sri Lanka’s debt default decision. Immediately after the April 12th announcement, China’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong said that "China has done its best to help Sri Lanka not to default but sadly they went to the IMF and decided to default […] the debt restructuring definitely will have an impact on future bilateral loans." Qi added – quite controversially – that "[c]ountries that colonized Sri Lanka have more obligations to help at this juncture." This came on the back of China rejecting a request (made by the Sri Lankan government in March 2022) to reschedule its loans. China instead offered refinancing – a new $1 billion loan to help repay part of the existing loans.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2022-01-10): Crisis-hit Sri Lanka asks China to restructure its debt The president of crisis-hit Sri Lanka has asked China to restructure its debt repayments as part of efforts to help the South Asian country navigate its worsening financial situation. [...] China is Sri Lanka's fourth biggest lender, behind international financial markets, the Asian Development Bank and Japan.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2023-10-13): The Finance Ministry said the "Sri Lankan Government commends the engagement and continuous support of China Exim bank in reaching this agreement in principle, which demonstrates a mutual commitment in line with the goal/objective of restoring public debt sustainability consistent with the IMF-supported program." [...] "We thank China Exim bank for the support in resolving our country’s debt situation. This agreement constitutes a key milestone in Sri Lanka’s ongoing efforts to foster its economic recovery," Siriwardena added. [...] "We will continue to support Chinese financial institutions in actively consulting with Sri Lanka. We are ready to work with relevant countries and international financial institutions to jointly play a positive role in helping Sri Lanka navigate the situation, ease its debt burden and achieve sustainable development. We call on multilateral institutions and commercial creditors to take part in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring based on fair burden-sharing," China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told journalists in Beijing during his regular briefing on Tuesday.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2024-08-06): Many believe that Sri Lanka’s debt burden was a result of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects like Hambantota Port. Some Western countries, led by the US, and India, have been attacking China’s lending practices as "debt-trap diplomacy". However, there is no evidence China aims to deliberately push poor countries into debt. According to data from the Sri Lanka Department of External Resources, loans from China accounted for only about 20% of Sri Lanka’s total foreign debt in 2022, and much less than market borrowings and multilateral development banks. Furthermost Chinese loans are concessional and taken for infrastructure and eco-social development. [...] In October 2023, China was the first country to support Sri Lanka over debt restructuring and reached an agreement on debt treatment terms with the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) covering about $ 4.2 billion of outstanding debt, which caught the IMF and creditor nations like India by surprise. On 26 June 2024 Sri Lanka signed a debt treatment deal in Beijing with China Exim Bank to restructure $ 4.2 billion of debt. This restructuring provides a key step towards restoring Sri Lanka’s long-term debt sustainability, allowing Sri Lanka to allocate more funds to essential public services & resume concessional financing for critical infrastructure development.
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2023-02-04): Forged Letter Goes Viral Claiming That China is Not Ready To Amortize SL's Outstanding Debt! [...] With such background, a letter has been circulating for weeks on social media. The letter says China cannot amortize Sri Lanka's loans as China is also suffering from economic problems due to the consequences of Covid 19 pandemic. [...] Title:The letter claiming that China is not ready to amortize the Outstanding Debt of Sri Lanka is Forged – Chinese Embassy in Colombo
Claim: China Is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!(letter) (Social Media Users, 2023-01-22)
Evidence (2024-09-16): [260]. Manoj Kewalramani, "Xi’s Letter t SL Parties – Food Security – ‘Xi at Helm Made Historical Leap Possible’ – 10 Clears: Reform & Governance – Preparing or CPTP – Common Prosperity Action Plan- Liu Kun on Fiscal Policy," Tracking People’s Daily, February 2022, https://trackingpeoplesdaily.substack.com/p/xis-letter-to-sl-parties-food-security.
Claim: Okapathana College- A School Located In Rathnapura District,Sri Lanka (Social Media Users, 2024-03-21)
Evidence (2024-03-21): There is no verifiable evidence to support the existence of Okapathana Vidyala or a village named Okapathana in Rathnapura, Sri Lanka. Claims circulating on social media about students' achievements from this purported school, including the creation of satellites, robots, etc., appear unfounded and should be treated with skepticism. It is essential to rely on credible sources and conduct thorough fact-checking before accepting or sharing information, especially regarding extraordinary and sensationalised claims.
Claim: Okapathana College- A School Located In Rathnapura District,Sri Lanka (Social Media Users, 2024-03-21)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Adding to the city’s charm, the perfectly established ancient monasteries, museums and historical sites will have your pulse-racing. Ratnapura is a paradise of some of the country’s most stunning and spectacular waterfalls. The city has the highest number of waterfalls in Sri Lanka. One of the major traits that can be witnessed here are the collection of wildlife sanctuaries, nature reserves and mountains. It is beyond a remarkable experience for the nature enthusiast and adventurous traveler.
Claim: Okapathana College- A School Located In Rathnapura District,Sri Lanka (Social Media Users, 2024-03-21)
Evidence (2013-12-16): - Al Mackiya Muslim Maha Vidyalaya 0452230993 - Assalam Mu Maha Vidyalaya Rakwana 0452246296 - Balangoda KumaraVidyalayaBalangoda 0452286929 - Balangoda Central Collage Balangoda 0452287191 - Balangoda Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya Balangoda 0452286206 - Batuhena Navodya S Hidellena 0452262259 - Convent of the Child Jesus Ratnapura 0452223124 - Dharamapala Maha Vidyalaya Ratnapura 0452223038 - Dharmaloka Navodya School Palmadulla 0452274694 - Elapatha Maha Vidyalaya Elapatha 0452224290 - Ferguson High School Ratnapura 0452222371 - Gankanda Central Collage Pelmadulla 0452274343 - Higgaswaththa KV Kuruwita 0452263196 - Jeillani CC Balangoda 0452287185 - Kahawatta Central Collage Kahawatta 0452270591 - Kahawatta Primary School 0452270015 - Kahawatta TMV Kahawatta 0452270287 - Kalawana Central Collage Kalawana 0452255136 - Karawita Central Collage Udakarawita 0452279216 - Kiriella Madya Maha Vidyalaya 0452265887 - Kolonna Central Collage Embilipitiya 0452260255 - Koswetiya Vidyalaya Pallebedda 0452241316 - Kularathana Central Collage Godakawela 0452240313 - Kumara Vidyalaya Ratnapura 0452228608 - Kuruvita Central Collage Kuruvita 0452262018 - Madampe Vijaya Maha Vidyalaya Atakalampanna 0452273345 - Rahula Central Collage Godakawela 0452240241 - Rahula Vidyalaya Godakawela 0452240445 - Rathnaloka Maha Vidyalaya Rakwana 0452246288 - Rathnapura Mihindu Vidyalaya Rathnapura 0452223037 - Rathnapura Tamil Maha Vidyalaya Rathnapura 0452231649 - Sivali Central Collage Ratnapura 0452228936 - Sri Buddha Jayanthi Maha Vidyalaya Balangoda 0452287208 - St [...] Contact Numbers of schools in Rathnapura Thanks for reading Contact Numbers of schools in Rathnapura
Claim: Okapathana College- A School Located In Rathnapura District,Sri Lanka (Social Media Users, 2024-03-21)
Evidence (2024-03-27): Dharmapala Maha Vidyalaya, one of the leading school in the Rathnapura District was founded on the 5 [...] Rathnapura, 70000 mihindu college is a mix college.it is in near the rathnapura Town. [...] Rathnapura, 70550 අභිමානවත් සියවස සමරන විමලසාර විදු මා?