Top News:
Cara Buckley / New York Times:
Network of 300 prominent Hollywood women launch an initiative to tackle sexual harassment in Hollywood and blue collar workplaces — Driven by outrage and a resolve to correct a power imbalance that seemed intractable just months ago, 300 prominent actresses and female agents, writers …
Discussion:
The Guardian, PR Newswire, @jenbrockie, @ananavarro, Jezebel, Business Insider, @mariateresa1, @jodikantor, @amandamarcotte, @marcgunther, @vellalovell, BBC, @annetdonahue, @brianstelter, Consequence of Sound, ABC News, The FADER, @emilyjashinsky, Fast Company, @markharrisnyc, @shanellelittle, @jensimmons, @carmenejogo, IndieWire, @kristapley, @rtraister, @laurelrosenhall, Variety, Rolling Stone, Refinery29, The Wrap, Mashable, Beth Bell and Axios
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
NYT's Baquet responds to criticism over 2016 story that said the FBI saw no clear link between Trump and Russia, saying they would cast story differently now — It was a week before the 2016 presidential election that the New York Times wrote this headline: “Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia.”
Discussion:
New York Times, Business Insider, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, @talkingnewmedia, The Guardian, Axios, The A.V. Club, Mother Jones, New York Magazine and Mediaite
BBC:
Germany starts enforcing law under which social networks will face fines of up to €50M if they fail to remove hate speech, fake news, and illegal material — Germany is set to start enforcing a law that demands social media sites move quickly to remove hate speech, fake news and illegal material.
Discussion:
Newsweek, BBC, Engadget, Yahoo! Finance, @jeffjarvis and @neilclark66
RELATED:
ProPublica:
Study shows Facebook's hate speech rules are unevenly enforced, with the company agreeing its censors made mistakes on 22 of 49 posts submitted for explanation — We asked Facebook about its handling of 49 posts that might be deemed offensive. The company acknowledged that its content reviewers had made the wrong call on 22 of them.
Discussion:
ProPublica, more at Techmeme »
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:
BuzzFeed News' Media Editor Craig Silverman helped popularize the term “fake news” and watched as it became politicized by Trump and the alt right — After a yearlong battle for its meaning and ownership, “fake news” is now both an empty slogan and a deeply troubling warning sign.
Discussion:
@buzzfeednews, @craigsilverman, @moorehn, @jayrosen_nyu, @lwvmiamidade, @craigsilverman, @jason_kint and @craigsilverman
Ben Kentish / The Independent:
Iran blocks access to Instagram and Telegram apps amid anti-government protests — Authorities respond after demonstrations leave at least two dead — Live: New Year's Eve celebrations kick off around the world — Coutinho move from Liverpool to Barca accidentally confirmed by Nike
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, @durov, english.alarabiya.net, The Hill, The Daily Caller, AOL, NPR, Fortune, Mediaite, The Guardian, CNN, Reuters, Business Insider and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Theodore Schleifer / Recode:
Telegram, citing ToS, suspends public channel that incited violent anti-government protests in Iran; Telegram is a major platform with ~40M users in Iran
Telegram, citing ToS, suspends public channel that incited violent anti-government protests in Iran; Telegram is a major platform with ~40M users in Iran
Discussion:
New York Times, @azarijahromi, @durov, Axios, @durov, Twitter, @twittermoments, @snowden, @snowden and @mosharrafzaidi, more at Techmeme »
Alex Hern / The Guardian:
Damian Collins, the chair of the UK's fake news inquiry, has given Facebook and Twitter until Jan. 18 to hand over info about Russian disinformation campaigns — Chair of parliamentary committee gives firms a deadline to hand over information about Russian misinformation campaigns
Discussion:
@thattimwalker, @ericgarland and Press Association, more at Techmeme »
Hiroko Tabuchi / New York Times:
Groups skeptical of climate change are gaming Google's largely automated ad systems to promote misleading claims that reject established climate science — Groups that reject established climate science can use the search engine's advertising business to their advantage …
Discussion:
bookforum.com, more at Techmeme »
Zachary M. Seward / Quartz:
Snap blocked public snaps from area around its New Years Eve party in LA, reported to have cost $4M, but some posted to Instagram, including performer Drake — Snap marked the end of its first year as a public company with a huge New Year's Eve party for its employees and other guests.
Discussion:
Business Insider and TMZ.com
David Streitfeld / New York Times:
As the fourth-largest US bookstore chain, Book World, closes and Barnes & Noble remains the top chain, Amazon is set to take the No. 4 spot by number of outlets — APPLETON, Wis. — This fall, at a moment when retailers traditionally look forward to reaping holiday profits …
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Vevo says its 2017 revenue reached $650M, up 30% YoY; it broke even in 2017 and expects to be profitable in early 2018 — Vevo, the music video company owned by a group of leading record labels, increased its revenues by 30 per cent in 2017 thanks to swelling global audiences for high-budget pop star videos.
Mary Ann Georgantopoulos / BuzzFeed:
Book editor says Jann Wenner sexually assaulted him, then gave him Rolling Stone job in '83 and fired him in '85 after editor didn't sustain sexual relationship — Jonathan Wells says it took years for him to fully process what happened between him and the publisher.
Discussion:
@mattmittenthal, AOL, The FADER, The A.V. Club, thecut and Consequence of Sound
Megan Specia / New York Times:
Facebook says it removed Chechnya's Ramzan Kadyrov's accounts due to US sanctions, prompting questions on why others, like Venezuela's Maduro, are still active — The strongman leader of the Chechen Republic has long been a prolific social media user, filling his accounts with photos …
Discussion:
The Intercept, @matthewstoller, @nytimesworld, @nytimesworld and Forbes