The Daily Populous

Tuesday March 25th, 2025 day edition

image for Papua New Guinea shuts down Facebook in test to stop 'pornography, misinformation, hate speech'

Papua New Guinea's government has shut down social media platform Facebook, in what it describes as a "test" to mitigate hate speech, misinformation, pornography and "other detrimental content".

The test, conducted under the country's anti-terrorism laws, began on Monday morning and has extended into Tuesday.

Facebook users in the country have been unable to log-in to the platform and it is unclear how long the ban will go on for.

PNG Police Minister Peter Tsiamalili says the objective of the test is to 'regulate harmful content'.

"However, the unchecked proliferation of fake news, hate speech, pornography, child exploitation, and incitement to violence on platforms such as Facebook is unacceptable.

"Yesterday, the police minister used the anti terrorism act to shut down Facebook, [that] was just a test, that was step one," he said.

Papua New Guinea is not the first Pacific country to move down the path of a Facebook ban. »

Winnipeg woman run over after dispute about empty spot in parking lot: Police

Authored by cbc.ca

A woman in her 30s was run over by a vehicle following an argument with a driver about saving an open parking spot in Winnipeg, police say.

The victim was standing in an unoccupied parking stall to save it for a family member who was driving through a lot at a recreational facility, police said.

The driver began arguing with the woman and proceeded to drive into the stall, knocking her to the ground, police said. »

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

Authored by theatlantic.com

The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, had texted me the war plan at 11:44 a.m.

Throughout 2024, the Biden administration was ineffective in countering these Houthi attacks; the incoming Trump administration promised a tougher response.

Two days later—Thursday—at 4:28 p.m., I received a notice that I was to be included in a Signal chat group. »

On Bloodborne’s 10th Birthday, and With Neither a Sequel nor a Next-Gen Update in Sight, Fans Once Again Organize a Return to Yharnam

Authored by ign.com

Bloodborne turns 10 years old today, and fans are celebrating by organizing yet another return to Yharnam community event.

That’s all we have to go on, really, which leaves Bloodborne fans to take it upon themselves to organize Return to Yharnam community events.

Perhaps this will be all that’s left for fans to do in the world of Bloodborne forever more. »

How celebrities like Mark Wahlberg and Gwen Stefani are monetising spirituality through the Hallow app

Authored by screenshot-media.com

How celebrities like Mark Wahlberg and Gwen Stefani are monetising spirituality through the Hallow app.

Hallow, the app backed up by celebrities like Gwen Stephani and Mark Wahlberg, promises to deepen your faith—but with a subscription model that raises some questions.

if I see one more ad for that goddamn hallow prayer app I’m gonna lose it — syd ◟̽◞̽🍉 (@sydjae28) March 19, 2025. »