VIPs

(Newser) - An oversight board has found that Facebook and Instagram's VIP program creates an unequal environment where celebrities, politicians, and business partners receive preferential treatment. As NPR reports, "in some cases, their posts are exempted from Meta's rules entirely." Meta ordered a review of its "cross-check"...

(Newser) - Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad have been cleared of wrongdoing in taking preferred loans from Countrywide Financial, the Hill reports. But the Senate ethics panel gave both Democrats slaps on the wrist. No “credible evidence” of ethics violations emerged, the committee said in a statement, but two “should...

(Newser) - The South by Southwest musical festival finds itself in an odd spot—the once-tiny gathering is now the big bad authority figure as it tries to keep others from horning in on its success, the Wall Street Journal reports. Festival organizers routinely call the police, revoke privileges, and file lawsuits...