Top News:
Paul Lewis / The Guardian:
How YouTube's recommendation algorithm can promote divisive clips and conspiracy videos and may have spread disinformation during the 2016 election — An ex-YouTube insider reveals how its recommendation algorithm promotes divisive clips and conspiracy videos. Did they harm Hillary Clinton's bid for the presidency?
Discussion:
@lizpelly, The Guardian, @zeynep, @profcarroll, The Guardian, @randfish, @shannonzkiller and MarketWatch, more at Techmeme »
Graham Roberts / New York Times:
The New York Times launching augmented reality function in its iOS app starting next week with an article about the Winter Olympics; Android support coming soon — Something profound has happened to your camera. — Its very purpose — capturing images — has expanded to include a new role …
Discussion:
DMN
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Mammoth Media, the company behind chat fiction app Yarn and polling app Wishbone, raises $13M Series A led by Greylock — Mammoth Media has raised a $13 million Series A funding to create what it calls “entertainment experiences for the mobile-first generation.”
Discussion:
Variety, more at Techmeme »
Shannon Liao / The Verge:
WeChat to start issuing electronic government IDs, further cementing its dominance in China, made possible by foreign app censorship and government subsidies — The multipurpose messaging app is becoming the nation's ID system — China's most popular messaging app, WeChat …
Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central:
Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar, an Indian streaming service, are outcompeting Netflix in India through aggressive pricing and strong content libraries — Netflix hasn't altered its pricing structure for the Indian market, and it's losing ground as a result.
Discussion:
FactorDaily, more at Techmeme »
Jeremy Kahn / Bloomberg:
Factmata, a news-focused fact-checking startup that uses natural language processing, says Biz Stone and Craigslist cofounder Craig Newmark have invested — Twitter Inc. co-founder Biz Stone and Craigslist Inc. co-founder Craig Newmark are investing in London-based fact-checking startup Factmata, the company said Thursday.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab
Reuters:
BBC journalist covering malnutrition crisis in Indonesia's Papua ordered to leave after the country's military said her tweets “hurt soldiers' feelings” — Ed Davies, Agustinus Beo Da Costa — JAKARTA (Reuters) - A BBC journalist on a reporting trip to cover a health …
Discussion:
ABC, The Independent, @rebeccahenschke and The Jakarta Post
Jina Moore / New York Times:
Kenyan government suspends 4 TV stations following their coverage of opposition figure's “inauguration” and fails to comply with court's order to reinstate them — The Kenyan government is defying a court order to put four private television stations back on the air …
Chicago Sun Times:
Following Chicago Sun-Times inquiry into Richard Roeper's purchase of Twitter followers, Roeper to resume reviews and has started a new Twitter account — Sign-Up for our Newsletter — On Saturday, Jan. 27, the Chicago Sun-Times became aware of a report in the New York Times …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @politico_steve, @oliverburkeman, @nickconfessore, @lukeoneil47, iMediaEthics, CBS Chicago, @jbenton and TV Tattle
Sunlight Foundation:
The Sunlight Foundation launches its Web Integrity Project, which monitors changes to government websites and works with journalists to make findings public — We're excited to announce the launch of the Web Integrity Project, a new effort that we'll be leading within Sunlight.
Discussion:
@simonowens and @digiphile
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
YouTube CEO Wojcicki promises more transparency, better appeals process for demonetization, including more human reviews, and consequences for “egregious” cases — YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki took to the service's Creator Blog last night to issue some broad goals for the year forward.
Discussion:
YouTube Creator Blog, Polygon, VideoInk, Android Central, Engadget, AndroidHeadlines.com, Tubefilter, The Verge, Polygon and Hollywood Reporter
Alexandria Neason / Columbia Journalism Review:
Texas Monthly hires Pulitzer Prize winner Rich Oppel as ombudsman in response to CJR story about apparent deal with Bumble to promote editorial coverage — The skyline of Austin, Texas, where Texas Monthly is headquartered. Photo by KBaucherel via Pixabay — Texas Monthly is hiring an ombudsman.
Discussion:
@sulliview