BREAKING Slovakia's prime minister injured in shooting
Media reports say Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital.
Social media users in Israel are mocking Facebook's company name change to Meta, as it sounds similar to the Hebrew word for "dead."
Many Twitter users scoffed at the social media company's rebrand -- revealed by founder Mark Zuckerberg earlier this week -- using the hashtag #FacebookDead. "Somebody did not do their #branding research," one post read.
Dr Nirit Weiss-Blatt, author of The Techlash and Tech Crisis Communication, tweeted: "In Hebrew, *Meta* means *Dead* The Jewish community will ridicule this name for years to come."
"Grave error?? Facebook's new name Meta means dead in Hebrew. Hilarious. #FacebookDead" another user tweeted.
Zuckerberg's efforts to revamp Facebook come as the company faces what could be its most potent scandal since it launched in 2004.
The social media giant is under the spotlight following the publication this week of "The Facebook Papers," a series of internal documents obtained by 17 news organizations, including CNN, that underpin whistleblower Frances Haugen's claims the company is riddled with institutional shortcomings.
The documents reveal how Facebook has propelled misinformation, struggled to eliminate human trafficking-related content on the site, and tried to increase its teenage audience, despite internal research suggesting that its platforms, especially Instagram, can have an adverse effect on their mental health.
Facebook isn't the first company to be ridiculed after its branding didn't translate abroad.
In 2019, Kim Kardashian West was accused of cultural appropriation after debuting her shapewear brand, which she initially named Kimono. Kardashian even appeared to have trademarked the word "kimono," a decision that the mayor of Kyoto, Daisaku Kadokawa, criticized in an open letter on Facebook.
"We think that the names for 'Kimono' are the asset shared with all humanity who love Kimono and its culture therefore they should not be monopolized," Kadokawa wrote.
Kardashian changed the name of her brand to Skims later that year.
In 2017, McDonald's name change in China raised eyebrows. Customers were left confused when the company swapped Maidanglao, a Chinese iteration of the English name, to Jingongmen, which loosely translates to "Golden Arches." One customer said it "sounds like a furniture store."
And when the Nissan Moco was launched in the early 2000s, Spanish-speaking customers may have looked twice, as the word "moco" translates to "bogey." Needless to say, the name was only used in Japan.
Media reports say Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital.
As wildfires rage in British Columbia, the family of a nine-year-old who died last summer is trying to protect people from poor air quality due to smoke this year.
A new COVID-19 subvariant is dominant in Canada, representing just over 30 per cent of cases in the country, but infectious disease experts say there’s no sign it’ll evolve into a summer 'scarient.'
A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for an armed gang that killed two prison officers and seriously injured three others to spring an inmate they were escorting.
The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of home sales in April rose 10.1 per cent compared with a year ago, but attributed the gain primarily to the early Easter long weekend.
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummelled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.
Wildfires continue to impact air quality across Western Canada, with conditions expected to worsen on Wednesday before improving.
A Malahide Township resident is out more than $2 million following a romance scam.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.