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UK proposes plans to put media regulator Ofcom in charge of regulating social media, with a focus on removing illegal content and minimizing “harmful” content — Ministers unveil plans to block harmful content, while guaranteeing free speech — Ofcom will be put in charge …
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Press Gazette, TechCrunch, The Guardian, @nikos_17, The Verge and @uk_domain_names, more at Techmeme »
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Ofcom appoints senior civil servant Melanie Dawes as chief executive, who will take up her new position in early March — The Ofcom Board has today announced the appointment of Dame Melanie Dawes as Chief Executive. — Dame Melanie has been Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government since 2015.


Faced with questions about the lasting impact of online mugshot galleries, media outlets including the Houston Chronicle are increasingly doing away with them — Some are red-eyed from crying, others visibly drunk. Some sport black eyes or jarring face tattoos. Occasionally, one offers an addled grin.
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@bykenarmstrong, @keribla, @kristenhare, @jmart181, @keribla, @brianmanzullo, @jesspish, @kelciegrega, @allisonlcarter, @keribla, @izzihughes_, @chatfieldkate, @_toddstone, @katiepark, @keribla, @dabeard, @keribla, @keribla, @annehelen, @mpanewspapers, @doristruong, @jason_a_w and @spj_tweets


Source: Spotify is paying close to $200M upfront for the Ringer, to be followed by more than $50M later — - Streamer has spent more than $600 million on podcast deals — Sports columnist Bill Simmons founded the Ringer in 2016 — Spotify Technology SA is paying close …
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MediaPost, @jbenton, @nbashaw, @bbgmedia, @sarthakgh, @jaycodon, @stocktwits, @lindaholmes, @ajs, Music Business Worldwide and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »


Flipboard launches Flipboard TV, an in-app feature that offers professional short-form video, for $2.99/mo; will be a Galaxy S20 exclusive for first 3 months — Flipboard , the popular news aggregator app, is introducing a new subscription video service. Called Flipboard TV …
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Wired, Digital Trends, @harrymccracken, @markham, The Verge, Engadget and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »


Reuters has created a virtual sports journalist prototype that reads out game summaries and reports using AI and footage of a human presenter — Reuters has created a virtual sports journalist using artificial intelligence technology and video footage of a human presenter.
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@themurdochtimes, @rossdawson and @gregianjohnson


Google News Initiative and Oxford University agree to extend the grant for the Reuters Institute Digital News Report, for three years from 2021 to 2023 — The current grant will be extended for three years. The financial value of the agreement is £4.77m
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Reuters launches a new Reuters Fact Check business unit and blog and partners with Facebook to review news headlines, deepfakes, and user generated content — Eye-witness photos and videos distributed by news wire Reuters already go through an exhaustive media verification process.


Twitter launches new tool to combat misinformation on the US Census; a prompt will point users searching for Census-related keywords to the official Census site — Twitter on Tuesday unveiled its plan aimed at minimizing the spread of misinformation about the 2020 census.
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Adweek and Twitter, more at Techmeme »


As part of Apple News' 2020 election coverage, Apple says Siri can now answer election-related questions, including sharing live election results from AP — Apple's built-in voice assistant won't help you figure out who to vote for, but it will be able to update you on different races around …
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SpokeDaily, @redletterdave, @danielpmcdermot and iMore, more at Techmeme »


Sirius XM invests $75M in SoundCloud in exchange for a minority stake and two seats on the board — The audio entertainment giant puts money into the open audio platform. — Audio entertainment giant SiriusXM Holdings said Tuesday it has invested $75 million in open audio platform SoundCloud …
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Music Business Worldwide, TechCrunch, @dalenorth, @nandu_anilal, @pkafka, @ldignan, @pkafka, SoundCloud press releases, CNET and Wall Street Journal


Drake signs multiyear partnership with live streaming platform Caffeine to produce a series of rap battles and other live content — Live streaming service Caffeine.TV has announced an exclusive multiyear partnership with Drake. Infamous for his own rap feuds, the Canadian artist …
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Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and Fast Company