Top News:
Agence France-Presse:
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif tweeted a nuke threat to Israel, in response to a fake news story about Israel threatening to destroy Pakistan — Pakistan's defence minister has threatened to retaliate in kind to any Israeli nuclear strike after apparently being tricked by a fake news site …
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, @thinkprogress, @nestmatt, Real Stories, @mattyglesias, Engadget, @derek_del, @scalzi, @wellerstein, Hot Air, @shahrzadrafati, @dcastelvecchi, @nycjim, @sgw94, @brianbeutler, @rwhittall, @hirokotabuchi, @sahilkapur, @femaleoutrage, @ericgeller, @melissakchan, @delascacas, @bentaub91, BGR, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, AOL, Haaretz, The Guardian and Mediaite
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Trump supporters and conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh are using the term “fake news” to discredit reports from the mainstream press — WASHINGTON — The C.I.A., the F.B.I. and the White House may all agree that Russia was behind the hacking that interfered with the election.
Discussion:
Media Nation, @keithboykin, WGBH News, @evapaterson, @mattdpearce, @benparr, @charlesornstein, @jwpetersnyt, @rob_flaherty, @greenhousenyt, @briannormoyle, @stevesilberman, @mattortega, @gaywonk, @kvox, @poniewozik, @jenstar, @mama3cubs, @peterdaou, @mattbuchanan, @greenhousenyt, Mediaite, @coreymintz, @rubenbolling, @jsundmanus, @maggienyt, @davidfolkenflik and Washington Post
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Sources: Jason Miller backed out of White House communications director job following claims that he had an affair with another transition official — Donald Trump's newly tapped White House communications director, Jason Miller, backed out of the job following claims that he had an affair …
Discussion:
FishbowlDC, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, Politico, @howardfineman, @clarajeffery, @mariatcardona, Miami New Times, @timothypmurphy, @brendannyhan, AOL, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, @oliverdarcy, New York Daily News, The Hill, @jrubinblogger, @jrubinblogger, @xeni, @cbudoffbrown, @marcacaputo, Real Stories, @itsa_talia, Daily Mail, @tusk81, CNBC, Business Insider, @politicoalex, @politicoalex, @politicoalex and @rob_flaherty
Sapna Maheshwari / New York Times:
By focusing on online reach, advertisers face a moral dilemma: potentially funding websites that spread fake news or amplify conspiracy theories — Advertising on the internet has never been easier. Data and automation increasingly allow companies large and small to reach millions of people every month …
Discussion:
@profcarroll, @ennisnyt, @gabrielsnyder, @treycausey, @fmanjoo, @profcarroll, @sapna, @sapna and @ennisnyt
Hannah Gold / Jezebel:
A&E cancels KKK documentary series after discovering producers paid participants in order to facilitate access; the move followed outrage online over the show — Thanks to sustained, legitimate outrage from people on the Internet and a major ethical violation, there will be one fewer outlet …
Discussion:
aetv, @miss_ethompson, The Guardian, EW.com, Fortune, Deadline, Mediaite, Mashable, Refinery29, PerezHilton and Just Jared
Mohammed Tawfeeq / CNN:
Outspoken Iraqi journalist Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi kidnapped by gunmen from her home in Baghdad; Iraq's Prime Minister has ordered an investigation into the case — Irbil, Iraq (CNN)Gunmen have kidnapped an outspoken Iraqi journalist, Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi, after storming her home …
David Streitfeld / New York Times:
Inside Snopes' increasingly prominent fact-checking operation, which added 12 staffers a couple years ago and saw a record ~2.5M uniques the day after election — SAN DIEGO — The last line of defense against the torrent of half-truths, untruths and outright fakery that make up so much of the modern internet …
Discussion:
FishbowlDC and Mediaite, Thanks:@ravichandrans25
Yardena Schwartz / Columbia Journalism Review:
Experts say the German press has contributed to the rise of Alternative for Deutschland, a populist right-wing party, by covering the party in a sneering way — A man holding a German flag marches through the streets of Berlin during a demonstration by the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) political party.
Discussion:
@goodwinmj, @jason_kint, @daviduberti, @cjr, @jeyylowe, @cjr and The Week
Claire Wardle / Nieman Lab:
How news organizations can improve verification systems to fight misinformation — Skills in social media verification will become a priority for newsroom hires in 2017. — Two years ago, for a research project I was working on, I talked to journalists about the ways user-generated content was handled in their newsrooms.
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Contrary to speculation, Obama won't be directly involved in the media industry post-presidency, says WH communications director Jen Psaki — CNN's Brian Stelter spoke with White House communications director Jen Psaki about President Obama's new media strategy in office and whether he plans …
Discussion:
@mediaite and @feldmaniac
Jonah Peretti / Recode:
Jonah Peretti's year-end memo to BuzzFeed employees: a look back at lessons of the internet as we invent the future of content on social and mobile platforms — “As we continue to learn from the internet, I want to pause to look back at what the internet has taught us so far."
Discussion:
@mrianleslie, @allen, @mathewi, @paulwallbank and @arusbridger
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Google algorithm change appears to be moving Holocaust-denial and other controversial sites down in search results — Several days after Google put a search ranking change into place, the first page of results for “did the holocaust happen” now appears to be entirely free of denial sites.
Discussion:
The Verge, @kadybat and @tbreisacher
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