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US prosecutors charge Julian Assange with violating the Espionage Act in an indictment that says he “repeatedly encouraged” sources to steal government secrets — Federal prosecutors on Thursday accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of violating the Espionage Act …
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GateHouse Media cuts jobs for the second time in 2019; CEO of its parent company says the changes could affect about 200 people and are a small restructuring — - The local-newspaper giant GateHouse Media is laying off journalists across the US, multiple sources told Business Insider.


Filing: Refinery29 is looking to raise up to $20M in convertible debt; source: $8M raised so far is from existing backers including Stripes Group, WarnerMedia — Refinery29, the venture-backed digital media company focused on millennial women, is looking to raise up to $20 million in new funding, according to an SEC filing.
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WWD


Twitter permanently bans Brian and Ed Krassenstein, who frequently shared anti-Trump sentiments, alleging they ran fake accounts and purchased fake interactions — Ed and Brian Krassenstein are banned for life after ‘operating multiple fake accounts and purchasing account interactions,’ a Twitter spokesman said.
Discussion:
Mediaite, @willsommer, @lachlan, @lachlan, @mollyjongfast, @mollyjongfast, @cwarzel, @willsommer, Fox News, @sarahkendzior, @frankluntz, @oneunderscore__, @maxberger and @chrisgeidner, more at Techmeme »


A distorted video of Speaker Pelosi, in which her speech is made to appear slurred, has 2M+ views on Facebook; YouTube says it has removed uploads of the video — Distorted videos of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), altered to make her sound as if she's drunkenly slurring her words …
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CNN, Mediaite, @drewharwell, The Guardian, @drewharwell, @bostonjoan, @donie, @jason_kint, Politico, New York Post, @asharock, @maggiejordanacn, @qjurecic, Talking Points Memo, @mattriva, CNET, @joshtpm, @bykowicz, @mollymckew, @drewharwell, @olivia_gazis, @drewharwell, @drewharwell, @robbystarbuck, Mashable, @brendannyhan, @drewharwell, @johnjharwood and @mattyglesias, more at Techmeme »


Jay Fielden is out as Esquire editor in chief after three years as part of a reshuffling under Hearst Magazine President Troy Young — Jay Fielden is leaving his position as Esquire's editor in chief, a job he held three years, he and Hearst Magazines announced Thursday.
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The Cut, WWD, @tomgara, @elainaplott, @coreypein, @kateaurthur, @mccanner, @tomgara, Adweek, @coreypein, @jimrutenberg, New York Magazine, Fashionista, Mediaite, The Wrap, New York Post and bookforum.com


As Twitter tests an increased ad load, users report a higher number of spammy or malicious promoted tweets — Twitter is running a test that has increased the number of promoted tweets showing up in people's timelines — and it has resulted in a range of user complaints about their new prevalence …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @craigsilverman and AdExchanger, more at Techmeme »


A newly released report on DOJ's subpoena of AP phone records in 2013 shows that DOJ also considered subpoenaing phone records of WaPo, NYT, and ABC — With its latest leak indictment last week, the Department of Justice under Donald Trump is now on pace to break the previous record …
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@trevortimm, @nickochsnerwbtv, @jameeljaffer, @cjr and @aaschapiro


Rotten Tomatoes says it will now calculate the Audience Score using only ratings or reviews from users whose ticket purchase has been verified through Fandango — Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes is taking additional steps to confirm that audience members actually see a movie before leaving a rating or review.
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Variety, The Wrap, Vox, Fast Company, @ptibz, @edzitron, Engadget, /Film, @iamcoreyg, @danamrich, Business Insider, The A.V. Club and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »


Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the lead EU supervisory authority for Google, announces investigation into Google's online advertising data collection — KEY POINTS — Ireland's Data Protection Commission says its probe will examine whether Google's processing of data in advertising transactions breaches EU privacy rules.
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Marketing Land, Reuters, MediaNama and Beyond Search
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Sources: Harvey Weinstein and his former studio's board members reach a tentative $44M deal to resolve lawsuits by women who accused him of sexual misconduct — Harvey Weinstein and his former studio's board members have reached a tentative $44 million deal to resolve lawsuits by women …
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The Wrap, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, Variety, Daily Express, New York Daily News and Los Angeles Times


Instagram says IGTV will now support landscape video, following feedback from creators and users, as the service struggles to gain traction — The vertical video experiment is over — Instagram is no longer all-in on vertical video. The company announced today that its longform video offshoot …
Discussion:
Digiday, Instagram, Engadget, @ashleyrcarman, SlashGear, TechCrunch and Variety, more at Techmeme »


Q&A with Neal Mohan, YouTube's chief product officer, about how the service deals with objectionable content, YouTube remaining an open platform, and more — A Q&A with Neal Mohan, YouTube's chief product officer. — YouTube, the world's largest video site, has 2 billion users.


Fortune's 27 digital staffers unionize with NewsGuild after a vote forced by management showed a majority in favor; the group makes up 60% of editorial staff — After management refused voluntary recognition, staffers showed their resolve. — The print side of Fortune magazine has been unionized for decades.


Facebook says it won't pay commissions to employees who sell political ads; source: Zuckerberg decided to keep selling political ads after an internal debate — Company leaders considered dropping such ads, which are now viewed as a headache — Facebook Inc. said it stopped paying commissions …
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New York Post, Adweek, Politico, Business Insider and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »