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Facebook:
Facebook says it removed 262 Pages, 356 accounts, three groups, and 162 Instagram accounts tied to Iran for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior — Today we removed multiple Pages, groups and accounts that engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook and Instagram.
Discussion:
CNN, @donie, SiliconANGLE, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, Fortune, The Hill, @martyswant, CyberScoop, The Verge, The Guardian, The Wrap, VentureBeat, @martyswant, Adweek, Ad Age, @jank0, Mashable and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
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Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Twitter says it removed thousands of malicious accounts that originated in Iran, Russia, and Venezuela for spreading disinformation about the 2018 midterms — Twitter revealed Thursday that it had removed thousands of malicious accounts thought to have originated in Iran …
Discussion:
Twitter, New York Times, Twitter, NBC News, @wiczipedia, @justinhendrix, PCMag India, @dcherring, The Week, Recode, @josh_emerson, @yoyoel, @policy, @wiczipedia, Ad Age and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
A look at the legal grounds for Locast's existence and its role in the relationship between broadcasters and cable, satellite companies — Want to watch the Super Bowl and other network TV for free? A start-up called Locast will let you, and (so far) the big broadcasters aren't trying to stop it.
Discussion:
@edmundlee, Fast Company, @ronlieber, @mathewi, The Verge and Broadcasting & Cable
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Penske Media has bought the 49% of Rolling Stone that it didn't already own, from minority owner BandLab Technologies — Last week, Penske Media Corporation signed a deal to purchase the rest of the magazine, following a majority takeover in 2017. — Over the past few years …
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Hulu to launch banner ads, which will appear after viewers pause video, in Q2 2019; hopes all non-disruptive ads will comprise 50% of ad revenue within 3 years — Just to get this out of the way: Yes, Hulu is introducing an ad unit that will show up when you pause a video. But no, the ad won't be a video.
Discussion:
Digiday, Hulu, AdExchanger, The Verge, Mashable, /Film, 9to5Mac, Gizmodo, Fast Company and Adweek
Anna Gutierrez / The Reporters Committee …:
A coalition of 28 media organizations has filed a court brief supporting a lawsuit that challenges fees for court records accessed via PACER — The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 27 media organizations support the rights of the public and the press to have affordable access to court records.
Discussion:
New Republic, @brendannyhan, @edfischman, @cristianafarias, @brynstole, @rcfp, @missryley, @davidgura, @rcfp, @ponyphaeton, @dmhj, @eoinhiggins_, @deepakguptalaw, @egavactip, @bradfordpearson, @miekeeoyang, @waldojaquith, @mjs_dc, @dataeditor, @digiphile, @srl, @marshamcleod_ny and @archivieren
Owen Bowcott / The Guardian:
US district court rules that Syria is liable for the killing of Sunday Times correspondent Marie Colvin, awards $300M+ in damages — Syria ordered to pay $300m over death of Sunday Times journalist in ‘targeted’ shelling in 2012 — The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has been held liable …
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Evgeny Lebedev has sold ~20% of Lebedev Holdings, which has a ~90% stake in the Evening Standard, to a company in the Caymans; a Saudi investor may be the buyer — London newspaper refuses to reveal identity of new financial backer — An anonymous offshore investor has taken a 20% stake …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Press Gazette, Jon Slattery, @michaelpmdavis, @adambienkov and @professorshaw
Jeremy Littau / Wired:
Monopolistic thinking and lack of attention to the internet's role in distribution has decimated media, but foundation journalism, subs, and community can help — LAST WEEK, LAYOFFS at BuzzFeed, HuffPost, and Gannett landed like consecutive punches. The news signaled a difficult year ahead …
Discussion:
@nxthompson, @marklittlenews, @lauraelizdavis, @jeremylittau, @benwhitelaw, @mayerjoy, @tomrosenstiel, @ash_detroit, @wired, @jeremylittau and @lenfestinst
James Walker / Press Gazette:
NewsGuard, whose trustworthiness ratings are available on Chrome and Edge, improves its rating of the Daily Mail from red to green to indicate its accuracy — US news website rating tool Newsguard has changed its verdict on Mail Online after originally declaring the UK's most-read news website failed …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @markdistef and @niemanlab
Colin Lecher / The Verge:
What to expect as oral arguments begin Friday in Mozilla's lawsuit to stop FCC's repeal of net neutrality rules — The FCC will make its case against the rules — Oral arguments will begin tomorrow for one of the most important cases in internet law history.
Discussion:
Ars Technica and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »
Saeima Press Service:
Bellingcat has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in a joint letter from the foreign affairs committees of the parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia — In a joint nomination, the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the respective Parliaments of Lithuania …