After Korryn Gaines entered her Baltimore apartment earlier this month, she pulled out a shotgun and then her phone. She opened the Instagram and Facebook apps so she could post details of her standoff with the police. Facebook cut her off. Gaines wasn’t the first black person to post about a run-in with the police. …

Got a Star Trek story? Maybe, like me, you dressed in starship captain uniforms for Halloween and snuck into the family room past your bedtime to watch reruns, no matter how tired you’d be the next day at school. Or maybe you never watched “Star Trek,” but you still know the difference between Klingons and Romulans. At the very least, …

Can you trust Facebook’s Trending Topics? The world’s largest social network hit a new snag over the weekend, promoting an erroneous news story about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. The story was put on the site’s Trending Topics, a list on the top right of Facebook’s main page, which is visited by more than 1.7 billion people each month. The …

In Silicon Valley, maybe a computer really can do it better. Facebook is changing up the way it shows you trending topics, the company said in a blog post Friday. Instead of describing the topic with a headline, the new automated format simply highlights the trend — a word, phrase, hashtag, etc. — without any frills or fuss. Anyone who …

Have you ever had that really important thing you needed to say, but just couldn’t find the right emoji with which to say it? Emjoi 4.0 may finally offer an answer. It’s the latest update for these popular little drawings, which is being planned for release after a review later this year, and it promises to include new professions, flags …

The worst parts of the internet have turned their sights on Leslie Jones. Over the past month, the comedian and “Ghostbusters” star has been the target of people sending racist and misogynist messages over social media. The campaign against her appeared to intensify after she called attention to it in July. Now, hackers appear to have broken into her personal …

In your face, Snapchat! Kids still say that sort of thing, right? How about: The ’00s called and they want their app back! Well, it’s late on a Friday, and Facebook has quietly released a new app, called Lifestage. And while its name might suggest the target market is caterpillars, this is actually for teens — aka not me. Like …

OK, Google, where do I vote? Yup, the search giant is adding information about how to vote in the upcoming presidential election in November. When people search for information about voting, they’ll get information, such as what’s on the ballot in each state, the ID requirements and deadlines for voting by mail. “We hope this customized state-by-state guide will help …

The next time your kid opens up her Happy Meal, there may be a different type of toy staring back. McDonald’s has begun offering kids in its Canadian restaurants a wrist-worn activity tracker called “Step It!” as part of its venerable Happy Meal. It’s no Apple Watch — the device just counts steps — but it’s being marketed as McDonald’s …

Facebook’s going to show you an ad, whether you want it or not. The social-networking giant unveiled on Tuesday a plan likely to boost its sales and make its advertising partners happy. The plan is to skirt the ad-blocking technology that strips pesky commercial messages out of websites as we surf the internet. Supporters of ad blockers say the technology …