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Influencer Kai Cenat Sparks Massive NYC Riot with PlayStation Giveaway

Published

4 months ago

August 5, 2023

A giveaway by influencer Kai Cenat in New York City Friday turned violent as crowds surged and objects including construction materials were thrown around.

A Level 4 mobilization was called in response to the situation, meaning that all NYPD resources in the five boroughs were called to the area.

Cenat was later arrested along with others connected with the afternoon’s events.

Video shared online and broadcast from CBS News’ chopper showed a huge crowd in Manhattan’s Union Square Park mid-afternoon.

When a large crowd gathered, officials asked people to stay away from the area. The police department told The Messenger it was there for crowd control.

Union Square crowdCBS News

Fans of YouTubers Fanum and Kai were reportedly waiting for a PlayStation giveaway event when events took a turn for the worst.

In a broadcast on Twitch from inside a truck parked near the park on Friday afternoon, Cenat waved gift cards he’d announced for the giveaway, along with PS5s and gaming chairs.

“This **** looking like a movie,” he said. “They throwing tear gas out there.”

He told followers he would not be doing anything until it was safe to do so, before being seen heading out into the crowd with his team.

Fans could be seen running after him as he crossed from a side street into Union Square.

People could be seen running around, standing on vehicles and throwing objects including construction materials and hoardings.

There were unconfirmed reports of multiple injuries as fights broke out.

‘People were suffering out here’

Police reportedly used tear gas to try and disperse the crowd, while drivers were left trapped in their cars unable to leave the area.

At a press conference at 6pm, the NYPD said officers used drones to monitor the situation as it developed and to try and ensure further violence didn’t occur.

“After numerous warnings, and being hit with rocks, bottles and other debris, we started to make arrests to clear out the park,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey B. Maddrey told reporters.

“Individuals were also lighting fireworks and throwing them toward police and each other”

The influencer was removed from the scene for his safety, the NYPD said, and they were in communication with him about the incident.

Discussions are ongoing about whether Cenat would be charged and the total number of arrests is being tallied.

“I personally observed young people bleeding from their heads and faces,” Maddrey added. “I observed young people having panic attacks, anxiety attacks, asthma attacks. People were suffering out here.”

He said the NYPD had experienced events like this before, but never on this scale, and that this showed the power of social media.

Shoppers and subway riders see disruption

Subway service at the nearby 14th St-Union Square station was suspended as events unfolded, but was later restored.

The Union Square Whole Foods supermarket on the south side of the park was being evacuated via the rear service entrance, while NYPD closed surrounding streets and tried to extract a bus stuck in the crowd.

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TikTok announces $1.5 bn deal to restart Indonesia online shopping business

Published

1 hour ago

December 11, 2023

Entireweb News Bot

TikTok has around a billion montly users and its growth among young people far outstrips its competitors – Copyright AFP/File SEBASTIEN BOZON

Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on Monday announced a $1.5 billion investment in GoTo group in a deal that would allow it to restart its online shop in Indonesia, the companies said in a statement.

Under the deal, TikTok Shop will be merged into GoTo’s Tokopedia, and TikTok will have a controlling stake in that entity.

“TikTok has committed to invest over US$1.5 billion in the enlarged entity over time, to provide future funding required by the business, without additional dilution to GoTo,” the Indonesian firm said.

“TikTok, Tokopedia and GoTo will transform Indonesia’s e-commerce sector, creating millions of new job opportunities over the next five years.”

“The strategic partnership will commence with a pilot period carried out in close consultation with and supervision by the relevant regulators,” GoTo said, adding that it expected the deal to close in 2024.

TikTok in October shut down its online shop in Indonesia, one of its biggest markets.

That came days after Southeast Asia’s largest economy banned sales on social media to protect millions of small businesses.

The regulation means social media firms cannot conduct direct transactions but only promote products on their platforms in Indonesia, the first country in the region to act against TikTok’s growing popularity as an e-commerce site.

Indonesia’s e-commerce market is dominated by platforms such as Tokopedia, Shopee and Lazada but TikTok Shop gained a significant market share since launching in 2021.

Indonesia, with 125 million users, is TikTok’s second-largest global market after the United States, according to company figures.

The Indonesian ban came after calls grew for regulation governing social media and e-commerce, with offline sellers seeing their livelihoods threatened by the sale of cheaper products on TikTok Shop and other platforms.

The regulation was yet another setback for TikTok, which has faced intense scrutiny in the United States and other nations in recent months over users’ data security and the company’s alleged ties to the Chinese government.

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SOCIAL

TikTok spends $1.5B on Tokopedia JV to get around Jakarta social e-commerce ban

Published

8 hours ago

December 11, 2023

Entireweb News Bot

TikTok spends $1.5B on Tokopedia JV to get around Jakarta social e-commerce ban

Just two months ago, ByteDance-owned TikTok abruptly closed its shopping platform in Indonesia to comply with surprise regulations from the Southeast Asian country’s government. Jakarta ordered social media companies like TikTok and Facebook to stop selling goods on their platforms, demanding a separation of social media and e-commerce services.

TikTok now seems to have found a way to revive its e-commerce dreams in Indonesia by spending billions to start a joint venture with Indonesian tech giant GoTo. On Monday, the two companies announced that TikTok Shop will now be available on GoTo’s Tokopedia platform.

“Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia’s businesses will be combined under the existing PT Tokopedia entity in which TikTok will take a controlling stake. The shopping features within the TikTok app in Indonesia will be operated and maintained by the enlarged entity,” TikTok said in a statement Monday.

TikTok will invest over $1.5 billion into Tokopedia, taking a 75% stake in the platform. GoTo will remain an ecosystem partner to Tokopedia and receive an “ongoing revenue stream from Tokopedia commensurate with its scale and growth,” but will not be required to continue funding the platform. Further funding from TikTok also won’t reduce GoTo’s remaining 25% stake.

Getting back into the Indonesian ecommerce market will be a win for TikTok. Indonesia, which is the platform’s largest market outside of the U.S., is key to Tiktok’s online shopping aspirations. In June, CEO Shou Zi Chew pledged to “invest billions in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years.”

ByteDance wants to replicate its Chinese e-commerce successaround the globe. Last year, consumers spent in China 1.41 trillion yuan ($196 billion) on products sold on Douyin, the version of TikTok for the Chinese market, The Information reported in January. ByteDance, through TikTok, is expanding its online shopping services in both Southeast Asia and the U.S. Yet the company is struggling to win over American consumers: The Information reported in August that U.S. shoppers are spending just $4 million a day, equivalent to $1.4 billion over a whole year, on goods sold on the social media platform. (TikTok officially launched TikTok Shop in the U.S. in September, though sellers have complained about a flood of low-quality products on the platform).

Before Indonesia imposed its ban in September, the country’s president, Joko Widodo, complained that social media platforms were threatening local micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. Government officials also accused TikTok of engaging in predatory pricing.

GoTo’s deal with TikTok means the Indonesian tech giant is giving up its majority ownership of Tokopedia . Tokopedia started in 2008 and grew to be one of Indonesia’s largest e-commerce platforms. The company merged with ride-hailing startup GoJek in 2021, becoming GoTo Group. The company debuted on Jakarta’s stock exchange in April last year.

Yet the company has struggled to wow investors since then. GoTo has yet to make a profit since becoming a public company. The tech firm reported 2.4 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($147 million) in net losses last quarter, significantly less than the 6.7 trillion rupiah ($428 million) it lost this time last year.

Investors do not appear to be thrilled by the news of GoTo’s TikTok partnership. Shares fell by over 19% by 2:30pm Indonesia time on Monday, erasing gains made late last week as rumors began to build of the new partnership.

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How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]

Published

14 hours ago

December 11, 2023

Entireweb News Bot

Are you looking for ways to improve your ChatGPT output? Want to train it to write in a more unique tone of voice, in order to better suit your branding?

The Creative Marketer shares his ChatGPT prompt tips in this infographic. To enact these, add “Write like [INSERT CHARACTER]” at the start of your ChatGPT instructions.

TCM breaks things down into the following categories: