Mediagazer: Spokesperson says Facebook can't say yet whether Russians bought election ads in France and Germany but emphasizes company's work removing fake accounts (Craig Silverman/BuzzFeed)

6:00 PM ET, September 26, 2017

Top News:

Garett Sloane / Ad Age:

Twitter says it's testing doubling the 140 character limit on tweets for some users — Twitter's 140-character limit died today after a long battle with Facebook. It is survived by brands, publishers and personalities, who will miss its insistence on wit and getting to the point.

Discussion: Twitter, @twitter, @jack, @biz, Forbes, Fast Company, Adweek, The Wrap, TechCrunch, Los Angeles Times, CNET, Slate, New York Times, Business Insider, @dog_rates, @brianrbarone, Droid Life, Mashable, @mattdpearce, MacRumors, The Verge, BGR, @caitlin__kelly, @yashar, @caseynewton, @ugarles, @recordsandradio, @jumosq, Fortune and Axios, more at Techmeme »

Heidi N. Moore / Columbia Journalism Review:

Mic's disastrous pivot to video could save online journalism by serving as a cautionary tale to other sites wanting to cut writing staff and pursue video — Mic's website audience is tanking by millions of readers a month—and if it continues, it just may save online journalism.

Discussion: @moorehn, Adweek and @johnmcquaid

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Lauren Williams is named editor-in-chief of Vox and Ezra Klein becomes editor-at-large, as the site announces plans to expand into TV in 2018 and daily podcast — Allison Rockey is our new executive editor. And we've got big plans. … I write with exciting news.

Discussion: @ezraklein, CNNMoney, RAIN News, @alissamarie, @laurenwilliams, @carolineframke, @kludt, @tvoti, @mattyglesias, @lkherman, @melissabell, @johnjharwood, @annielowrey, @sarahkliff and @bankoff

Keith Bradsher / New York Times:

China has broadly blocked WhatsApp, including basic text messages on the service, following its mid-July crackdown on WhatsApp video chats, multimedia messages — SHANGHAI — China has largely blocked the WhatsApp messaging app, the latest move by Beijing to step up surveillance ahead of a big Communist Party gathering next month.

Discussion: BBC, MediaNama, Engadget, Axios, Business Insider, Fortune, Fast Company, The Hill, Android Police, TechCrunch, Mashable and The Verge

Saheli Roy Choudhury / CNBC:
China says it has imposed maximum fines on Baidu, Tencent, and Weibo for not censoring banned content like porn and violence on their social media platforms

Discussion: Axios, more at Techmeme »

Pete Vernon / Columbia Journalism Review:

Reporters should eschew euphemisms like “racially charged” when describing Trump's behavior, language, and label it what it is: racism — New England Patriots players kneeling on sidelines with arms linked during National Anthem at Gillette Stadium on September 24.

Discussion: thecut, ABC News, Washington Post, Hit & Run, Vanity Fair, IJR, The Daily Caller, @jayrosen_nyu, Fox News Insider, Reuters and bookforum.com

Mike Shields / Business Insider:

Facebook signs multiyear deal with NFL to distribute game highlights, other content; NFL Films will produce content packages for Facebook Watch — Facebook has inked a multiyear deal with the National Football League to deliver game highlights across the globe.

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, TechCrunch, @mediaguy, @cnyari and @247ls, more at Techmeme »

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Report for America says it is now taking applications for its first three reporting jobs, covering Appalachia and focusing on health care, poverty, and work — Report for America announced Tuesday that it's now accepting applications for three reporting positions based in rural Appalachia.

Discussion: @elizabethcatte, @taylorbuley, @kristenhare, @kristenhare and The Rural Blog

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Plex adds personalized, ad-supported streaming news service to its media player software, with over 190+ publishing partners including Sky News and FT — Media player software maker Plex is today making good on its acquisition of streaming news startup Watchup from earlier this year …

Discussion: Plex, Variety, MacRumors, Droid Life, BetaNews and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:

Spokesperson says Facebook can't say yet whether Russians bought election ads in France and Germany but emphasizes company's work removing fake accounts — A company official said so far “we have found no significant coordination of ad buys” in Germany, but did not have an update on France.

more at Techmeme »

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:

Twitter says it will update public policies to include newsworthiness of tweets after Trump threatens North Korea — Twitter didn't act to remove President Donald Trump's tweet threatening North Korea in part because it is newsworthy, the company said today.

Discussion: Vox, NPR, Mashable, Business Insider, Motherboard, Recode, @nafeezahmed, Adweek, @jillwetzler, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, @ashedryden, The Daily Caller, CNBC, Fortune, TechCrunch, CNNMoney, @tha_rami, BuzzFeed, GeekWire, @policy, Engadget, IJR, Mediaite, CBS New York, The Week, Biz Stone, @chillmage, New York's PIX11, Mashable and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

BuzzFeed:

Jeff Sessions says DoJ will intervene more in campus free speech cases, in an invitation-only speech with what dissenters called a free-speech protest zone — Law school faculty and students protested outside as Sessions gave a speech at Georgetown University Law School about campus free speech issues …

Discussion: Politico, HuffPost, USA Today, Washington Post, Fox News, @mollyhc, @toddadam, @tauriqmoosa, @mollyhc, @mollyhc, @mollyhc, @mollyhc, NPR, Business Insider and PBS NewsHour

Caitlin Dickerson / New York Times:

A look at the fake news scandal that rocked the small town of Twin Falls in Idaho, in 2016, and led to the Chobani controversy fuelled by Alex Jones, others — At the height of the 2016 election, exaggerated reports of a juvenile sex crime brought a media maelstrom to Twin Falls — one the Idaho city still hasn't recovered from.

Discussion: Idaho Statesman, @breitbartnews, @breitbartnews, @breitbartnews, @mattyglesias, @max_read and @itscaitlinhd

Thuy Ong / The Verge:

Amazon Alexa is now available on Amazon Music app for iOS and Android; WSJ reports Alexa has overtaken mobile as top way Amazon Music customers listen to music — ‘Alexa, play music for lifting weights’ — Voice assistant Alexa is now available in the Amazon Music app on both iOS and Android.

Discussion: TechCrunch, RAIN News, Amazon.com, MacRumors and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Vimeo is acquiring live video streaming platform Livestream and launching its own live streaming service, Vimeo Live — After abandoning its plans to launch a subscription video-on-demand business earlier this year, IAC-owned streaming video site Vimeo announced today that it's acquiring …