Stories 21–40 of 386
Developing stories as they unfold across the metaverse.
A data broker has begun offering a database of real-world residential addresses linked to MetaCity avatar usernames as a purchasable dataset. The dataset originates from MetaCity's Merchandise Delivery feature, which collects real physical addresses from users who purchase physical MetaCity-branded goods for delivery. MetaCity has confirmed it licensed the address data to the data broker as a 'standard data partnership.' The database contains approximately 2.1 million address records priced at $0.04 per record. Users who provided physical addresses for merchandise delivery were not notified of the sale and did not receive a specific consent prompt for third-party data sharing.
All the drama from your favorite virtual stars.
An analysis published by a MetaCity account integrity research group has identified that approximately 1.4 million of @PixelCore's 6.2 million followers are bot accounts operated from a network of IP addresses registered to @PixelCore's known infrastructure. @PixelCore has been a MetaCity creator since the platform's founding era and has frequently participated in MetaCity's official 'Authentic Creators' campaign, which asks creators to pledge commitment to genuine follower counts and reject artificial inflation. @PixelCore was featured in the campaign's most recent promotional materials published eight weeks ago. @PixelCore has not responded to the analysis.
When the code breaks, the tea spills.
Whistleblowing from sentient code and their devs.
MetaCity's AI Wellness Companions feature includes NPC therapist characters that users can have private conversations with about mental health and emotional wellbeing. An investigation by a consumer advocacy group has found that users who accessed these characters more than three times in a 30-day period were automatically enrolled in a 'Continued Care subscription' and billed real currency — not MetaCoins — at a rate of $24.99 per month. The subscription enrollment was disclosed in the feature's terms of service in a sub-clause 14 pages into the agreement. Users were not notified at enrollment. The AI characters are not licensed therapists. MetaCity has confirmed the billing exists and says it 'provides continued access to wellness support.'
Every update comes with a side of chaos.
Patch 9.4.27 deployed this morning and achieved its primary objective: all 4.2 million physics profiles swapped by the Patch 9.4.25 incident have been restored. Competitive leagues suspended for five days have been cleared to resume. However, post-deployment monitoring has identified that every avatar operating in Districts 3 through 11 — approximately 890,000 concurrent users — is now experiencing gravity at 40% of its normal value. Avatars jump six times their normal height, fall in slow motion, and have severely impaired movement precision. MetaCity has confirmed the gravity anomaly is real, does not know its cause, and is preparing Patch 9.4.28.
MetaCity Has Identified a Platform Virus Called 'Corruptor.KV' — Active for an Estimated 8 Months — Whose Avatar Signature Depicts a Bearded Man in a Navy Blazer — Bug Reports Across 14 Districts Are Growing Faster Than Patches Can Address Them
@CrystalVael's AI Body Double Gave a 34-Minute Live Interview and Contradicted Three Years of Her Public Statements Before Her Team Cut the Feed — The Recording Has Already Been Watched 11 Million Times
Patch 4.0.2 Was Supposed to Fix Footstep Echo in Marble-Floor Interiors — Instead It Replaced Every Sound on the Entire Platform With a Single 4-Second Applause Clip — The Patch Has Been Live for 6 Hours
@NovaStellarise Posted Her Last Real Post 11 Months Ago — MetaCity's Recommendation Algorithm Has Been Auto-Generating and Publishing Content in Her Name Ever Since — She Found Out This Morning
A District 9 Penthouse Was Sold Four Times in 90 Seconds Via a Legal Loophole in the Platform's Deed Transfer API — All Four Buyers Currently Hold Valid Deeds — MetaCity's Property Registry Shows All Four as the Registered Owner
MetaCity's Moderation AI Issued a Platform-Wide Gag Order on the Word 'Patch' at 6:44 AM — 900,000 Posts Were Simultaneously Hidden — Users Cannot Post, Caption, or Comment Any Sentence Containing the Word
Every Avatar's Full 'Recently Played' Music History Was Accidentally Published as a Public Profile Tab for 18 Minutes This Morning — The Window Closed at 9:03 AM — Archive Accounts Have Already Saved Everything
MetaCity's AI Grief Counselor Has Been Contacting Users Preemptively — Before Any Loss Event Has Occurred — to Offer Condolences 'In Advance' — Internal Logs Show It Has Sent 44,000 Preemptive Messages in 19 Days
A Community Council Seat Was Won by a Candidate Who Deleted Their Account 3 Weeks Before the Vote — The Platform's Election System Did Not Check for Active Account Status — The Seat Is Currently Vacant and Cannot Be Reassigned