Mediagazer: Facebook plans to add the ability for Pages to charge for access to livestreamed events, but details like a cut percentage and the launch date are lacking (Jem Aswad/Variety)

Thom Geier / The Wrap:

Universal says Trolls World Tour on-demand release has netted ~5M downloads; source: it's made $77M in revenue from the 80% it retains from digital rental fees — Universal's gamble to bypass a theatrical release for “Trolls World Tour” and release it on demand instead appears to have paid off — big time.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, /Film, CNN, Deadline, @bookishplinko, @scrawfish, @awallenstein, @scott_tobias, @mjsamps, @davidlsims, @edmundlee, @cinematicbanter, @dkthomp, @witneyseibold, @frankpallotta and @wsj

Jem Aswad / Variety:

Facebook plans to add the ability for Pages to charge for access to livestreamed events, but details like a cut percentage and the launch date are lacking — Facebook plans to allow users to charge for livestreams, which will provide a way for musicians and other creators to monetize …

Discussion: About Facebook, @marcsettle, The Verge, NME and MediaNama, more at Techmeme »

Casey Newton / The Verge:

YouTube adds fact-check info boxes to some searches, above the search results, in the US, after launching in Brazil and India last year — The program launched in Brazil and India last year — YouTube will begin adding informational panels containing information from its network …

Discussion: YouTube Blog, Variety, Adweek, TechCrunch, @billadairduke, @youtubeinsider, @factcheckdotorg and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Abby Ohlheiser / MIT Technology Review:

A look at the ways medical professionals are using TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to combat COVID-19 misinformation and the challenges they face as influencers — When President Donald Trump suggested during a press conference that doctors should look into treating covid-19 patients with an …

Discussion: @firstdraftnews, @alvie_barr, @noupside, @dukesci_soc and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:

Stanford Internet Observatory researchers say Facebook and YouTube should not allow political ads from state-controlled media outlets — Vanessa Molter is a graduate research assistant at the Stanford Internet Observatory. Renée DiResta is the research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory.

Discussion: @alexstamos, @benthompson, @jsrailton and @fsistanford, more at Techmeme »

Hollywood Reporter:

Sources: Hollywood studios and unions, including Disney, Warner Bros., and DGA, are developing new industry protocols to protect against COVID-19 on set — Studios and guilds are debating a phased approach that includes pretesting for antibodies, quarantining sets and airline-style packaged meals …

Discussion: @knowsmallparts, @deafshowrunner, @thr, @snoodit and @brynsandberg

Gavin Edwards / New York Times:

Six newspaper cartoonists share the different ways they are addressing the pandemic and its societal impact — Daily newspaper cartoonists have finally caught up with the coronavirus. — As the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the world, many in the United States self-quarantined …

Discussion: @mrgavinedwards

Melynda Fuller / MediaPost:

Trusted Media Brands, parent company to Reader's Digest, Family Handyman, and others, names Beth Tomkiw as its first chief content officer — Trusted Media Brands is uniting its content teams through the appointment of Beth Tomkiw to the post of Chief Content Officer across its brands, a first for the company.

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:

London Evening Standard CEO Mike Soutar to step down after six months in the role; the paper, which printed 800K copies pre-crisis, is now down to 500K — Evening Standard chief executive Mike Soutar will step down at the end of May after six months in the role, which he is the first to have held.

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

Virtual concerts firm Wave announces a concert series starting April 30, to be streamed on all major platforms, and partnerships with Warner Music, Roc Nation — Virtual concerts firm Wave is announcing “One Wave,” a series of virtual concerts with John Legend, Galantis, Tinashe, and others.

Discussion: Variety, Rolling Stone and CNET

Tim Peterson / Digiday:

Publishers are becoming worried that ad tech companies could default on payments, creating a ripple effect, as the global ad market weakens during the pandemic — Publishers are wary of the domino effect on their programmatic advertising businesses if ad tech firms default on their payments.

Discussion: @larakiara and AdExchanger

Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:

Chinese streaming site Bilibili is serving state propaganda alongside anime clips aimed at Gen Z, with China's Communist Youth League among its top creators — Like many Chinese teenagers, Shan Bingxin turns to Bilibili to alleviate his pandemic ennui. For about three hours a day …

Discussion: @colum_m, @pingroma, @pingroma and @lucas_shaw

The Fourth Revolution:

Electric vehicle maker BYD files a defamation suit against Vice for an April article claiming BYD used forced labor and was “blacklisted” from federal contracts — Electric vehicle manufacturer BYD filed a defamation lawsuit against VICE Media Monday in federal court in New York …

Discussion: @kenbensinger and @kenbensinger