Facebook and Google, multi-billion dollar corporations that mine your private data for money, are apparently very concerned about the Ebola virus, because they are "socially active" companies. So they are asking—nay, guilting—their users for money to "help" "stop" and "fight" Ebola.

A mother of six is under investigation by Australian police after she apparently fooled dozens of generous strangers on Facebook, and even her boyfriend, into believing she had cancer and needed expensive medical treatments. The Daily Telegraph broke the story of her unraveling hoax, which reportedly netted her thousands of dollars, this week.

Today's New York Times treats its readers to two whole articles about Facebook's News Feed (capital letters because it's a brand name). One, by Ravi Somaiya, focuses in part on the 26-year-old engineer who runs the News Feed team; the other, by David Carr, examines Facebook's pitch to publishers: Let us host your content, and also, uh, serve ads against it.

Chances are, you've never accidentally scrolled past child porn on your Facebook or Twitter feed, or cued up an innocuous-looking YouTube video only to find a clip of a beheading. For that, you have tens of thousands of poorly-paid contract workers to thank.

Role-playing, on some level, is about escapism. Ordinary life is boring; Dungeons and Dragons lets you get away. Have some fun! Be a wizard, a knight, an intergalatic mercenary. Or, in the case of the 2,000-plus members of the "Generic Office Roleplay" Facebook group, an IT guy.

Search "Sondra Price" on Facebook and you'll find a profile for the woman shown above. From the information that's publicly displayed, you'll learn a few things about her: She went to Watertown High School, she drives a BMW, her nickname is "Sosa," and judging by one picture, she might have young children.

Hong Kong is currently in the throes of enormous demonstrations calling for democratic reforms and the ouster of Leung Chun-ying, its chief executive. Today, his 22-year-old daughter posted a very stupid thing on Facebook.

I'm not sure, but it seems like the spiritual benefits of rejecting narcissistic impulses by deleting your Facebook account are somewhat canceled out if you publish a New York Times op-ed about everything you've been doing since you stopped posting Facebook updates.

Police say a 20-year-old driver struck and killed an 89-year-old woman because she was too busy looking through Facebook pictures on her phone to pay attention to the road.

A Christian preschool in Florida expelled a 4-year-old student after his mom complained about school administration in a Facebook post. Although her son had done nothing wrong, she apparently violated a policy against "sowing discord."

A Kansas City, Mo. police officer is facing an internal review after spouting off about Michael Brown, the Ferguson, Mo. teen killed by police, on his personal Facebook page. One of his posts was a racist meme, and the other used a photo that's been circulating as an image of Brown, but actually shows a man accused of a killing in Oregon.

Gene Simmons has issued an apology on Facebook after taking part in an interview during which he told those suffering from depression, "fuck you, then kill yourself." All better?

Police say the mother of a 16-year-old boy stood by with a video camera while her son covered his bare chest in nail polish remover and lit himself on fire to make a "Fire Challenge" Facebook video.

After a night of drinking with friends last weekend, a 21-year-old Mexico City man accidentally shot himself in the head while posing with his gun for a selfie.

Roger Ray Ireland was on the run from Anne Arundel County, Md. police when he saw the wanted poster-style image of him they'd posted on Facebook, seeking information that might lead to his arrest. Naturally, he left a comment.

Free advice for criminals: after committing a crime, you should consider not posting about your crime on the social networking website that nearly every single person visits multiple times per day. Just a thought!

Getting angry about real dead animals is one thing, but now Facebook commenters are in a rage about fake ones.

An Ohio mom lost her waitressing job after she used Facebook to blow off some steam about a busy night full of bad tippers, not realizing she was fake Internet friends with one of the cheapskates in question.

Rule number one of home invasion in 2014: Don't check your Facebook while you're on a job. Rule number two: If the urge to look becomes insatiable, allow yourself a peek at your iPhone, but do not attempt to use the target's computer. Number three: if all else fails, just make sure you log out before you leave.

Nineteen-year-old Marissa Williams was spending too much time on Facebook, so her aunt decided to play a trick on her.