Top News:


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


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 — The Trump administration is “taking a look” at whether Google and its search engine should be regulated by the government …
Discussion:
Daily Wire, The Week, Slate, New York Times, Bloomberg, USA Today, HuffPost, Business Insider, Reuters, Mediaite, @rawstory, @cillizzacnn, Observer, Sputnik International, VICE News, The Verge, Chicago Tribune, CNN, Hit & Run, 9to5Google and USA Today
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Trump accuses Google of rigging its search results to suppress positive news about him and says the situation “will be addressed”
Discussion:
Wired, New York Post, Washington Post, Slate, The Hill, @ap, @evan_mcmullin, @realdonaldtrump, BuzzFeed News, @danbarrynyt, Fortune, The Daily Beast and @sethclewis


Facebook announces the international rollout of Facebook Watch, which first launched in the US a year ago this month, to be available globally from 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:
VentureBeat and AdExchanger, more at Techmeme »


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


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, @skuranda, @mattnavarra, The Next Web, Fast Company, Fortune, The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »


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


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


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


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


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:
The Daily Caller, Fortune and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

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


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