Technologies

Teachers union demands social media companies curb misinformation, violent trends

The union says the companies should «prioritize the safety of people over profits.»

Viral trends on social media, from the «devious licks» that had students stealing school equipment to the misinformation regarding critical race theory, are some of the newest issues schools across the country are facing. Now the largest teachers union in the US is calling on social media platforms to stop the problems from spreading.

Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, sent a letter to TikTok, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram about the issues schools are facing due to social media, according to a report Friday from the The Wall Street Journal. The letter explains the challenges schools have faced so far this year and calls for the companies to «prioritize the safety of people over profits.»

«Your companies have both the power and responsibility to stamp out disinformation and violent trends – for the sake of Public Education and the future of democracy,» Pringle said. «To that end, we’re demanding that your companies make a public pledge to students, educators, and their families to regulate lies and fix your algorithms to put public safety over profits.»

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Two issues laid out in the letter are the viral trends of «devious licks» and misinformation. The first, which started last month, had students stealing random school equipment such as clocks, microscopes and soap dispensers. Students would then gloat on TikTok about their «licks» — a «successful type of theft which results in an acceptable, impressive and rewarding payday for the protagonist,» according to Urban Dictionary. In response, the platform began removing content and tags related to the trend.

Critical race theory — an academic concept that says racism is embedded in legal systems and policies — has become a heated discussion point at school board meetings. Parents in some districts yell and berate teachers and school board members over the subject, although it’s up to state legislatures to decide whether it’s taught or not. There have also been an increasing number of assaults and threats by parents over school policies regarding masks and other COVID-19 policies.

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed that the company received the letter and intends to respond. A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment. TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

The FCC Just Approved Charter’s $34.5B Cox Purchase. Here’s What It Means for 37M Customers

Technologies

Spotify Expands Into Audiobook Rankings With Weekly Charts

The feature is available to both free users and Premium subscribers. Wuthering Heights is reaching the heights on both the US and UK charts.

If you’re a Spotify user, you may be familiar with features like the year-end summary Wrapped, as well as your daily usage stats. Now, the service has a new popularity chart tracking audiobooks.

Spotify’s audiobook charts are now available to free and Premium users within the service’s Audiobooks hub. While only Premium users receive 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, the company offers a larger selection of titles you can buy.

US charts and UK charts are both available now.

Read more: Best Music Streaming Services for 2026

Spotify says that the audiobook charts will help customers discover new and popular titles in real time.

«As we’ve proven with Music and Podcasts Charts, when content is easier to access, discover, and enjoy, the demand grows,» said Duncan Bruce, Spotify’s director of audiobook partnerships and licensing, in a statement on Friday.

Spotify launched audiobooks in 2022, and has since added features such as the AI catchup tool Recaps and PageMatch, which lets you swap more easily between a printed book and the audio version.

Spotify Premium currently costs $13 a month and includes more than 100 million songs, as well as audiobooks. Spotify Premium is currently CNET’s Editors’ Choice for best music streaming service.

The current US audiobooks chart lists Emily Brontë’s romantic classic Wuthering Heights as the top listen, followed by James Clear’s self-help book Atomic Habits and Freida McFadden’s psychological thriller The Housemaid. Audiobook popularity is also broken down by genre, with charts for romance, mystery and thriller books, self-help, science fiction and fantasy, biography and memoir, business and careers, teen and young adult, religion and spirituality, history, and parenting and relationships.

Powered by its blockbuster movie adaptation starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, Wuthering Heights also leads the overall chart for the UK.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 28, #523

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 523, for Saturday, Feb. 28.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. Chicagoans and southerners, you might have an advantage, at least with the blue and purple categories. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fore!

Green group hint: Take me out to the ballgame.

Blue group hint: Alma mater.

Purple group hint: Bear down.