Top News:
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:
New York Times, Twitter, Twitter, NBC News, @dcherring, @wiczipedia, @josh_emerson, @yoyoel, @policy, @justinhendrix, @wiczipedia, PCMag India, Recode, Ad Age, Reuters and The Week, more at Techmeme »
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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, @martyswant, @donara_barojan, @martyswant, SiliconANGLE, @donie, @jank0, Gizmodo, Fortune, Adweek, Ad Age, DFRLab, The Guardian, VentureBeat, Mashable, Engadget, The Verge, The Wrap, CyberScoop, The Hill, TechCrunch and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Facebook says it was able to uncover the Iranian network thanks to information from Twitter and that the two have been sharing notes sooner than previously — Facebook and Twitter have removed thousands of fake accounts originating from Iran, some dating back as far as 2010, after collaborating to combat disinformation.
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
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
The Pentagon hasn't done an on-camera press briefing since May; formerly daily State Department briefings averaged six per month in last three months of 2018 — With President Trump sending more troops to the southern border, pulling some out of Syria and causing uncertainty among allies in NATO …
Daniel Sanchez / Digital Music News:
A ranking of music streaming services by royalty payouts: Napster leads the way with $.019/stream, and YouTube trails with $.00069/stream — Late last month, Digital Music News updated its list of what streaming music services pay. — Thanks to information from third-party websites and actual artists …
Discussion:
@euforcreators
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 …
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, @srl, @marshamcleod_ny, @archivieren and @digiphile
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, The Verge, AdExchanger, Mashable, /Film, 9to5Mac, Gizmodo, Fast Company and Adweek
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 …
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, NPR, 9to5Mac and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »
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:
Press Gazette, Financial Times, @adambienkov, @professorshaw, @michaelpmdavis and Jon Slattery