Top News:
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
UK parliament's report on fake news and disinformation says “digital gangster” Facebook deliberately broke laws, calls for antitrust, data abuse investigations — A final report by a British parliamentary committee which spent months last year investigating online political disinformation makes …
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, The Guardian, Press Gazette, The Guardian, The Guardian, VentureBeat, Fast Company, UK Parliament, Washington Post, @profgalloway, @paul__johnson, @carolecadwalla, @andydiggle, Fortune, @charlieangusndp, CNET, @vindugoel, Marketing Week, @tonyromm, @jennycohn1, The Verge, @chrisculnane, @loudobbs, @dancingthemind, @jason_kint, @hshaban, The Hill, @shoshanazuboff, @tom_watson, Financial Times and @davidlammy, more at Techmeme »
Taylor Lorenz / The Atlantic:
Kara Swisher and Jack Dorsey's #KaraJack chat showed Twitter needs major product fixes to make it easier to follow complex public conversations — Without major fixes to the product, the platform will never be a place for complex discussions. — Earlier this week, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey …
Discussion:
Recode, @jack, @karaswisher, Recode, @karaswisher, @caro_milanesi, @karaswisher, @recode, @waltmossberg, @kurtwagner8, @klasfeldreports, @voxdotcom, @dangillmor, @blackamazon, @digiphile, @karaswisher, CNET, BBC, Twitter, The Next Web, Fortune, 9to5Mac and The Verge
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Though media awareness of gender bias in covering political candidates has grown since 2016, coverage continues to focus on flaws it forgives in male candidates — If you think the media treatment of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was not seriously marred by sexism …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @sulliview, @gabbiekdrice, @omanreagan, @ericboehlert, @jentaub, @amlwhere and @jayrosen_nyu
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
The BBC has apologized after a commentator was heard on mic uttering profanities during a live broadcast — Commentator overheard lamenting MPs' resignations during press conference — Play Video — BBC viewers watching the defection of seven MPs from the Labour party on Monday morning overheard …
Discussion:
@colettebrowne, @20thcenturymarc, Politico and Guido Fawkes
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Study: in 2017, ~17M US content creators, up 16.6% YoY, earned ~$6.8B, up 17% YoY, on nine leading platforms including Instagram, Twitch, Tumblr, and YouTube — A year ago, we wrote about a wonderful study that showed how the internet and its various platforms were (contrary to the stories …
South China Morning Post:
Xuexi Qiangguo, a propaganda app with Snapchat-like messaging features developed by China's Communist Party, becomes top free app on Apple's App Store in China — The Xuexi Qiangguo app is now most downloaded item on Apple's App Store in China, surpassing popular social media apps such as WeChat and TikTok.
Discussion:
China Media Project, @robert_spalding, CNN, The Edge Markets, shanghaiist, Cult of Mac, BBC, Tech in Asia, The Guardian, China Media Project, Fortune and New York Times
Rita Liao / TechCrunch:
Alibaba acquires 8% stake in Nasdaq-listed Chinese anime streaming site Bilibili; Tencent paid $320M for its 12.3% stake in Bilibili in October — Ecommerce giant Alibaba is continuing its push into the world of youth culture after it scooped up an 8 percent stake in anime streaming and game publishing company Bilibili.
Discussion:
Variety, more at Techmeme »
Amal Ahmed / Columbia Journalism Review:
How ISPU, a think tank focusing on religious minorities, uses poll data and reports to help journalists challenge stereotypical portrayals of Muslim Americans — Muslim Americans are more likely to marry outside their faith tradition than Protestants. A third of the members …
Discussion:
@amalykinz
Wall Street Journal:
An account of the rise and untimely death of Vine and HQ Trivia cofounder Colin Kroll, based on interviews with and documents from friends, police, and others — Self-taught coder Colin Kroll shot to startup fame, allowing him to live life in a fast lane — Colin Kroll, a college dropout …
Discussion:
Business Insider, @mikeisaac, @antoniogm, @kerrymflynn, @daiwaka, @mattrosoff, @_danielsinclair, @reaganbrad, @poochmcgoo, @apblake, @murraymatt, @shalini, @shalini, @shalini and @shalini
James Wagner / New York Times:
Profile of Sports Reference, a family of sports websites with 11 full-time staff, that its founder says had 1B page views last year — PHILADELPHIA — While writing a sermon in September, Cheryl Pyrch, the pastor of Summit Presbyterian Church, needed an assist.
Discussion:
@byjameswagner, @minorleagueball, @tinasturdevant and @oh_that_crab
Michael S. Rosenwald / Washington Post:
A history of how many 19th century newspapers blackmailed prominent figures, made newly relevant following the Jeff Bezos-National Enquirer scandal — After buying The Washington Post in 2013, Jeffrey P. Bezos visited the newsroom and answered questions from employees in a town-hall-style meeting.
Thanks:@mikerosenwald
Jason Koebler / Motherboard:
Blippi, a YouTube star popular with kids, says he used DMCA takedown notices for years to remove Harlem Shake Poop, an embarrassing 2013 video he starred in — Someone claiming to represent Blippi filed DMCA copyright takedown requests to Google in order to get an embarrassing viral video hidden.
Discussion:
@charlielyne, @tiffanycli, @scout_finch, @arthur_affect, @jason_koebler and @cshirky