Mediagazer: Polygon launches three sites devoted to specific games: The Rift Herald for League of Legends, The Flying Courier for Data 2, and Heroes Never Die for Overwatch (Christopher Grant/Polygon)

12:25 PM ET, June 7, 2017

Top News:

Edward Snowden / Freedom of the Press Foundation:

Prosecution of a source without weighing the public harm or benefit of a journalistic leak shows the basic flaw in the Espionage Act — The Justice Department released an indictment of twenty five year-old NSA contractor Reality Winner yesterday, just a few hours after the Intercept posted …

Discussion: USA Today, CNNMoney, HuffPost, @onekade, @trevortimm, Common Dreams, The Guardian, @snowden, @chrisgeidner, Motherboard, @mikaelthalen, @petersterne, Business Insider, Mashable and Editor & Publisher

Jake Swearingen / New York Magazine:

It was OK for Intercept to seek to confirm validity of leaked documents but shouldn't have helped government build a case by revealing location, providing copy — How, exactly, did the FBI zero in on alleged NSA leaker Reality Leigh Winner? Winner, a contractor for the NSA …

Discussion: Errata Security, Fast Company, @johnjcook, CNNMoney, Mashable, NBC News and Washington Post

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Reality Winner didn't follow the Intercept's guidelines for leakers, but reporters may have been clumsy in handling the documents

Discussion: Adweek, Editor & Publisher, Washington Post, @jayrosen_nyu, @suzi3d, @ericboehlert and @nycsouthpaw

The Intercept:
Intercept statement on FBI affidavit and search warrant for Reality Winner: documents contain unproven assertions, warranting skepticism

Discussion: New York Times, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, @trbrtc, Engadget, Techdirt, CBS News, Politico, Snopes.com, HuffPost, The Guardian, Washington Post, Fortune, Joe.My.God., @clarajeffery, Mashable, @gaberivera, @ggreenwald and Business Insider

Joe Uchill / The Hill:
WikiLeaks offers a $10K bounty to get Intercept reporter fired for trying to verify leaked report without removing evidence incriminating leaker

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism:

UK project Who Targets Me, with 10K users, reveals the unregulated Facebook “dark ads” that are on the rise in the final days before election — Political Facebook ads tailored specifically to users' locations, gender and views on Brexit have been found in key marginal seats across the UK …

Discussion: @marklittlenews, @raoldroyd, @maevemcc and @tbij

Mark Scott / New York Times:

Ahead of UK and German elections, Facebook's role in political advertising and misinformation falls under scrutiny — Lawrence Dodd lives in one of Britain's most fiercely fought voting districts, and has been peppered almost daily with ads from the country's major political parties on Facebook.

Discussion: @mcgregormt, @profcarroll and @nytmedia

Maureen Ryan / Variety:

Planet of the Apps review: Apple's foray into original content is “bland, tepid” and a “barely competent knock-off of Shark Tank” — These days, there's an almost endless array of reasons for TV executives to feel anxiety, and for some time, one of the most ulcer-inducing prospects …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, MacRumors, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, The Drum, Fortune, The Next Web, @cheddar and Refinery29, more at Techmeme »

Lisa Richwine / Reuters:
The first episode of Apple's “Planet of the Apps” reality series is available for free on Apple Music; subsequent episodes coming Tuesdays for subscribers

Discussion: Business Insider, The Verge, @planetoftheapps, Engadget, Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, The Wrap and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »

Knight First Amendment Institute:

In letter, Knight First Amendment Institute demands President unblock Twitter accounts of critics, calling @realDonaldTrump a “designated public forum” — NEW YORK — In a letter sent today to President Trump, the Knight First Amendment Institute asked the President to unblock …

Matt Grubs / Santa Fe Reporter:

Journalist Aaron Cantú indicted by federal grand jury on eight felony counts including rioting while covering Inauguration Day protests in Washington DC — Cantú one of two journalists charged while covering rally-turned-riot — Aaron Cantú, a staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter …

Discussion: HuffPost, @pblest, @samadlerbell, Monitor, @adrianchen, @mollycrabapple, @ayeshaasiddiqi, @hexpositive and BuzzFeed

Sam Shead / Business Insider:

Sources: Unilad founder Alex Partridge wins legal battle against current management that could force sale of site — - “Facebook genius” Alex Partridge founded Unilad in 2010. — He gave Liam Harrington and Sam Bentley 66% of the company in 2013, before being ousted out.

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Facebook announces support for closed captions on Live broadcasts, says pubs can create their own via Live API or use a third-party captioning firm — Over 38 million people in the US are deaf or hard-of-hearing, and Facebook wants them to be able to watch the 1 in 5 of its videos that are broadcast live.

Discussion: Facebook, Facebook Media, Adweek, Engadget, Mashable and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

Alt-right's Jack Posobiec and Chuck Johnson claim Breitbart is caving to the left and losing influence, cite resignation of Milo Yiannopoulos as turning point — On Monday morning, Breitbart News fired staffer Katie McHugh, following a series of incendiary weekend tweets broadcast in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack.

Discussion: Washington Post, Memex 1.1, The Week, @anthony, Vanity Fair and Wonkette

Lucia Moses / Digiday:
MediaRadar shows Breitbart ads down nearly 90% in three months with 26 brands advertising in May down from 242 in March

Discussion: The Wrap, Mediaite, @southern_philly, Joe.My.God. and @noahmccormack

Christopher Grant / Polygon:

Polygon launches three sites devoted to specific games: The Rift Herald for League of Legends, The Flying Courier for Data 2, and Heroes Never Die for Overwatch — Heroes Never Die, The Rift Herald and The Flying Courier — I've long been frustrated by the traditional gaming press's inability …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, The Rift Herald, @ohjefframos, @loudmouthjulia, @lock, @fletchunleashed, @mikemcwhertor and @james_dator

Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:

New York Times promotes Meredith Kopit Levien to executive vice president and chief operating officer, announces Kinsey Wilson is leaving, will consult for CEO — Kinsey Wilson, the executive vice president for product and technology at The New York Times, is leaving the company …

Discussion: New York Times and @jeffjarvis