Top News:


Facebook announces the international rollout of Facebook Watch, which first launched in the US a year ago this month, starting on Thursday — Facebook has announced the international rollout of Facebook Watch, its video destination for episodic content, which first launched in the U.S. a year ago this month.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, VentureBeat and AdExchanger, more at Techmeme »


Leaked Skype chats and documents show Russia secretly funded group of seemingly independent news websites in Eastern Europe to publish Kremlin propaganda — TALLINN, Estonia — The Russian government discreetly funded a group of seemingly independent news websites in Eastern Europe to pump …
Discussion:
The Hill


During the final days of the Swedish election, a pop-up newsroom with 100+ journalists will operate to track misinformation and design solutions — Over the last five days of Sweden's election more than a hundred journalists will come together to design and implement a newsroom that will track misinformation.
Discussion:
@popup_eu, @mattcooke_uk and @charliebeckett


Barnes & Noble's board says former CEO Demos Parneros was fired last month for sexual harassment and bullying, adding to earlier allegations of policy violation — When Barnes & Noble fired its chief executive, Demos Parneros last month, the bookseller was mysteriously quiet about why.


Progress News Network to launch a daily, 2.5 minute Facebook exclusive newscast aimed at 35+ year-olds on September 4; revenue focus to begin after the midterms — A group of media professionals is launching Progress News Network (PNN), a daily 2.5 minute newscast slated to reach 35-40+ year-olds …
Discussion:
Tubefilter


Twitter says it removed a further 486 accounts for engaging in “coordinated manipulation”, following the removal of 284 last week — Following last week's suspension of 284 accounts for “engaging in coordinated manipulation,” Twitter announced today that it's kicked …
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Daily Caller, Fortune and Engadget


Sources: Amazon is planning to launch a free, ad-supported video service for its ~48M Fire TV streaming video device users that is being developed by IMDb — Amazon.com is planning to launch a free, advertising-supported video service for the estimated 48 million people who use …
Discussion:
Axios, The Next Web, @skuranda, @mattnavarra, Fast Company, Fortune, The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »


HBO quietly removed erotic movies and TV shows earlier this summer, says the decision to move away from adult content preceded its AT&T deal in June — HBO's popular drama series “The Deuce” is set in Times Square in the 1970s before the New York neighborhood was purged of its X-rated movie houses and adult book stores.
Discussion:
The A.V. Club and TV Tattle


Bing announces Bing Spotlight, an AI-powered news aggregator of developing news stories in search results, includes headlines, timelines, and social media posts — There's an avalanche of news these days, and Microsoft wants to help make sense of it all. It today announced Bing Spotlight …
Discussion:
On MSFT, PCWorld, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Land, LJ infoDOCKET and Neowin


Trump accuses Google of rigging its search results to suppress positive news about him and says the situation “will be addressed” — The president said that Google had “rigged” its search results to suppress positive coverage — The perceived leftwing bias of big tech companies …
Discussion:
Wired, New York Post, Washington Post, Slate, The Hill, @ap, @evan_mcmullin, @realdonaldtrump, BuzzFeed News, Fortune, The Daily Beast and @sethclewis
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Following Trump's tweets about alleged prejudice, Google releases statement saying it doesn't “bias our results toward any political ideology”
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Politico, Mediaite, MediaPost, @danprimack, GeekWire, Mediaite and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Trump's economic adviser Kudlow says White House is “taking a look” at whether Google results should be regulated, amid concerns about alleged conservative bias
Discussion:
Daily Wire, Slate, USA Today, The Week, New York Times, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Reuters, Mediaite, Observer, Sputnik International, @rawstory, @cillizzacnn, VICE News, The Verge, Chicago Tribune, Hit & Run, CNN, 9to5Google and USA Today


Former LA Weekly staff to launch The LAnd, a new print and digital publication covering race, gender, immigration, politics, culture, and more, by year's end — In the wake of the buyout of the La Weekly and mass firing of the its staff, former staffers, editors, and contributors to LA Weekly …
Discussion:
@passionweiss and @dannyshap


Quartz launches a twice-weekly cryptocurrency newsletter Quartz Private Key at $15 per month or $150 annually — Newsletter will cost $15 per month, or $150 annually — Quartz is the latest media company attempting to cash in on the growing enthusiasm for cryptocurrency.
Discussion:
Poynter, SludgeFeed, @joelight and @rafat

Sources: Amazon hires former ESPN executive Marie Donoghue to oversee sports for Prime Video — Amazon.com has hired Marie Donoghue, a former ESPN executive, to oversee sports for Prime Video, according to people familiar with the situation. The hire of Ms. Donoghue …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing and @richarddeitsch