Top News:
New York Times:
How the Harper's letter grew from a core of about 20 people, led by Thomas Chatterton Williams, and how blowback built especially to J.K. Rowling's inclusion — An open letter published by Harper's, signed by luminaries including Margaret Atwood and Wynton Marsalis, argued for openness to “opposing views.”
Discussion:
@surlybassey, @dankennedy_nu, @ryanlizza, @biblioracle, @emmacarew, @bopanc, @wajahatali, @apoorva_nyc, @grouchybagels, @rottenindenmark, @enbrown, @davidastinwalsh, @choire, @elnathan_john, @davidastinwalsh, @southasianbuoy, @rupertmyers, @greenj, @dstfelix, @alketrolyat, @glennf, @davidbix, @scott_tobias, @thomaschattwill, @aaronhuertas, @kittypurrzog, @emilyctamkin, @diannaeanderson, @erikloomis, @damiencave, @thomaschattwill, @politicoryan, @ilvestoomas, @louisathelast, @amyjko, @surlybassey, @erinbiba, @lorakolodny, @blakersdozen and Fox News
Discussion:
Kaitlyn Greenidge / @surlybassey: That @Harpers letter came to me last week and I was so mad about it when I read it and have been angry about it for days. My sister does not condone it either and does not agree with its contents. This is a mess. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Kennedy / @dankennedy_nu: This is hilarious. Free speech for me, but not if I have to hang out with thee. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Lizza / @ryanlizza: This is a really bizarre piece that turns a completely anondyne letter about open debate—signed by a racially and ideologically diverse group of intellectuals—into some kind of wild controversy. WTF is happening at the @nytimes? https://www.nytimes.com/...
John Warner / @biblioracle: I'm as big a believer in free speech as anyone on that letter, but referencing Bennet as one of the wronged when he was either the editorial patron or pal of so many of the signees makes the whole enterprise look disingenuous. Handwaving the particulars is dishonest.
Emma Carew Grovum / @emmacarew: Why doesn't this article also clearly state that Bari Weiss, a Times employee, also signed The Letter??? https://twitter.com/...
Bojan Pancevski / @bopanc: The @nytimes writes up the letter warning against erosion of free speech that cited the firing of their own editorial page editor as a prime example of it. And they sought but did not get a comment from their own spokesperson https://www.nytimes.com/...
@wajahatali: It's just a healthy debate, no? All good. These people aren't being imprisoned, tortured, choked or killed, right? Artists and Writers Warn of an ‘Intolerant Climate.’ Reaction Is Swift. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Apoorva Mandavilli / @apoorva_nyc: All I want to know about this letter is: How do Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood and JK Rowling and Noam Chomsky get to phrasing they all like? https://twitter.com/...
Hannah Groch-Begley / @grouchybagels: @DavidAstinWalsh I have a, um, theory https://twitter.com/...
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: like clockwork https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Nolan Brown / @enbrown: I love how much of a joke this letter is 😏 https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Walsh / @davidastinwalsh: It's pretty clear that we need an accounting of who wrote that letter and for what purpose.
@choire: For Letter Writers, Too Much Speech, Spoken by Too Many Letter: Capitalism Has Made a Few More Hasty Decisions Due to Customer Input Prominent Artists and Writers Warn of an ‘Intolerant Climate.’ Actual Climate Chuckles, Warms. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Elnathan John / @elnathan_john: This is the funniest thing. Sign. Backlash. Retract. Apologize. In 2020 you are endorsing a letter you did not understand? Or are you all now hiding because of the backlash? Sad. Artists and Writers Warn of an ‘Intolerant Climate.’ Reaction Is Swift. https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Walsh / @davidastinwalsh: For those who are wondering what the big deal is, it's, uh, not common for people who sign open letters to publicly retract their signatures like this five hours after publication. https://twitter.com/...
Manasvin Rajagopalan / @southasianbuoy: It must be nice to be so completely out of touch with reality and privilege. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Rupert Myers / @rupertmyers: Artists and Writers Warn of an ‘Intolerant Climate.’ Reaction Is Swift. “It's a defense of people being able to speak and think freely without fear of punishment or retribution, of the right to disagree and not fear for your employment.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jonathan Green / @greenj: maybe read this https://newrepublic.com/... before you read that. https://twitter.com/...
Doreen St. Flix / @dstfelix: new name is “one person” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@alketrolyat: @diannaeanderson JFB was the first book I read on queer stuff, so I'm glad she figured this out. But jeeeeez. Why are people just signing stuff, and how do they not know how “free speech” has been weaponized?
Glenn Fleishman / @glennf: James Bennet? The guy who didn't do his job and was fired by his boss, not by Twitter complaints, because he didn't read an inaccurate op-ed that he allowed to be published and then misled people about his role? He's their example? https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
David Bixenspan / @davidbix: I'm reading the NY Times story about the Harper's letter, and beyond everything else, I don't get why anyone, especially the less shitty signatories, thought it was a good idea to be so vague and not give any specific examples of what they felt was overreach.
Scott Tobias / @scott_tobias: There needs to be some reporting on what prompted that Harper's open letter and how the signatories were courted for it. Because now we can only make educated guesses on the former and it's becoming clear that some were deceived on the latter.
@thomaschattwill: Some people criticizing the letter have said a version of “This is just people who are scarred showing they fear change.” No, this is people who are concerned about an intolerant climate and believe justice and freedom are inextricably linked. The scared people declined to sign.
Aaron Huertas / @aaronhuertas: Some reporting from @Liz_A_Harris @jennyschuessler A few key details on process + verification, including how the letter was pitched. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Katie Herzog / @kittypurrzog: Deeply troubled that the Times didn't get a quote from the only podcast host on the list https://www.nytimes.com/...
Emily Tamkin / @emilyctamkin: “She also said that the letter, which was about internet shaming, among other things, was now being used to shame people on the internet.” You are not being shamed. If you feel shame, that is your journey. You are being criticized. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Erik Loomis / @erikloomis: Color me 0% surprised that David Greenberg is behind the notorious letter. Of all historians I have ever dealt with, he is by far the most unpleasant and the most ready to curse you out with shocking language for the slightest reason. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Damien Cave / @damiencave: Agree or disagree, but the letter and the reaction to it are a fascinating mark of the moment we're in. I hesitate to say more, which is another sign of the times. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@thomaschattwill: *And of course that is not to say that EVERYONE who declined to sign did so out of fear. There were very instructive conversations and disagreements. People really see things differently. But some not insignificant number of people agreed but said they feared the repercussions.
Ryan Heath / @politicoryan: I don't get two things about this letter: 1) Why would a signatory care who else signed it? You either agree with its content or don't 2) Why does anyone care 153 “intellectuals” think these things? We don't live in a dark age of intellectual dependence https://www.nytimes.com/...
Toomas Hendrik Ilves / @ilvestoomas: Geniuses abound: “I could see in 90 seconds that it was fatuous, self-important drivel...” from the “Enterprise Director” of HuffPost of all places, on a statement fro 153 leading thinkers and cultural figures is almost as funny as a Trump tweet. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@louisathelast: For those writers who signed the Harpers letter without knowing who else would be signing it, and now are dismayed to find themselves apparently endorsing some ideas they don't believe in: you need to be more aware of the weaponization of free speech ideals
Amy J. Ko / @amyjko: “We need to preserve the possibility of good-faith disagreement without dire professional consequences” What counts as good faith? Even tenure has limits; at my university they include discrimination, sexual harassment, scholarly misconduct, and more. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Kaitlyn Greenidge / @surlybassey: @mimbale @Harpers Never put me on. A colleague in a professional org my sis belongs to added my sister's name without her consent. So mad at this person rn.
Erin Biba / @erinbiba: Ok here's an insider take on what happened, though I am skeptical about the fact checking Harper's claims to have done as at least one letter signer says they were not consulted. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lora Kolodny / @lorakolodny: @surlybassey incredible restraint but clarity in your reply. well done.
Blake Montgomery / @blakersdozen: To sign a letter protesting cancellation by the social media mob and then to speak anonymously about it to avoid cancellation...is that irony? Or is that exactly what's expected? Who knows, but do please eject me from this absurd earth, I hate it here. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News: At least 2 signers of liberal ‘cancel culture’ letter back away from it
RELATED:
Harper's:
Over 150 journalists, academics, and writers sign a letter criticizing what they see as narrowing boundaries of debate and increasing self-censorship — We welcome responses at letters@harpers.org — Our cultural institutions are facing a moment of trial.
Discussion:
@harpers, @lindaholmes, @jennyboylan, The Guardian, @mattwelch, @emilyvdw, @jessesingal, @jordanfreiman, @jonathanchait, @parkermolloy, SPLICETODAY.com, @ositanwanevu, @juddlegum, Fox News, Bookninja, @popehat, @sapinker, @yascha_mounk, @jk_rowling, @jk_rowling, New Republic, @erinbiba, @benyt, @darrengrimes_, The World Is Yours*, @ericrweinstein, @lostblackboy, @ritapanahi, @popehat, @neontaster, @mccormick_ted, @greenidgekerri, @tage_rai, @llw902, @nilegardiner, @sarahjamielewis, @davereaboi, @nberlat, @baddiel, @tage_rai, @labuzamovies, @tage_rai, @kyebarker, @wwwritingclub, @divinadecampo, @asteadwesley, @bethlynch2020, @bealelab, @lostblackboy, @aidanctweets, @popehat, @paulbloomatyale, @dennismhogan, @benyt, @mizzousundevil, @jmrivera02, @elivalley, @sanasaeed, @tomcoates, Conquest of the Useless, @originalspin, @catespice, @nberlat, @jbenton, @talkingbiznews, @nicolacoughlan, @dancow, @revrrlewis, @jonhaidt, @samthielman, @nishachittal, @emilyvdw, @paulbloomatyale, The Week, @mathewi, @internethippo, @sharonwaxman, @sharonwaxman, @sharonwaxman, @mathewi, @musiccitymark, @mathewi, @gothamgirlblue, @scottmgreer, @sbarolo, @mazmhussain, @horowitz39, @owillis, The Ludic Log, @megbasham, @brinyfeminist, @blueboxdave, @aetherlev, @mountain_goats, @maxwellstrachan, @juliacarriew, @juliacarriew, @lindaholmes, @lindaholmes, @lindaholmes, @erinbiba, @erinbiba, @popehat, @jackshafer, @nototally, Breitbart, @mathewi, Variety, @rafiletzter, @dianelyssa, @anitathetweeter, @velocciraptor, @coriewhalen, @inezfeltscher, @monachareneppc, @edmerea, @boringstein, @umm_catie, @mobute, @rottenindenmark, @paulconstant, @shane_burley1, @thomaschattwill, @parkermolloy, @thomaschattwill, @thomaschattwill, @thomaschattwill, @mattbc, @parkermolloy, @paulcrider, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @courtneyscoffs, @sineadactually, @ctuckerprof, @prettycritical, @bariweiss, @rrrrnessa, Deadline, @jackposobiec, @jbenton, @paulg, @rubinreport, @nototally, @ggreenwald, @tressiemcphd and Jill Filipovic
Discussion:
@harpers: A statement signed by 150 people incl. Bill T. Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Noam Chomsky, J.K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, and Salman Rushdie expresses concern over the illiberal trend intensified by our national reckoning. https://harpers.org/...
@lindaholmes: That Harper's letter, to me, is in large part from people who are unhappy that they're not leading the current conversation, addressed to the many other people they believe are also unhappy that they're not leading it.
@jennyboylan: I did not know who else had signed that letter. I thought I was endorsing a well meaning, if vague, message against internet shaming. I did know Chomsky, Steinem, and Atwood were in, and I thought, good company. The consequences are mine to bear. I am so sorry.
Matt Welch / @mattwelch: Here is a joint letter signed by Noam Chomsky, J.K. Rowling, David Brooks, @bariweiss, Wynton Marsalis, Salman Rushdie, @kmele, and 140-odd other people, in case anyone's in a mood to argue. https://harpers.org/...
Emily VanDerWerff / @emilyvdw: I sent a version of this to the editors of Vox. (I have redacted some bits that are internal to Vox and shouldn't be aired publicly.) https://twitter.com/...
Jesse Singal / @jessesingal: Matt Yglesias has been reported to his employer by a colleague for signing an open letter which argues that a climate of conformity, fear, and mutual surveillance has descended upon public intellectual life. https://twitter.com/...
Jordan Freiman / @jordanfreiman: The fact that I am constantly made aware of the opinions of jk rowling, matt yglesias, jesse singal, and bari weiss despite having zero desire to do so and never once seeking them out leads me to view this thesis with some amount of skepticism https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Chait / @jonathanchait: Criticism of the letter seems to be split evenly between “they're rich/privileged/enjoy large platforms” and “they're has-beens embittered about being ignored.” https://twitter.com/...
Parker Molloy / @parkermolloy: the funny thing about that letter is that the press release was like “We're soliciting response to the letter, A SELECTION OF WHICH will appear...” So some opinions MUST be heard while others are only heard if the magazine CHOOSES them. Gosh, seems not very “open debate” of you. https://twitter.com/...
Osita Nwanevu / @ositanwanevu: Again, it's hard to take claims like this seriously, especially when it's plain that people are complaining about an unprecedentedly free and open speech environment. We're all talking and acting before the world now. That world includes people who'll call you stupid & offensive. https://twitter.com/...
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: 1. This letter perfectly illustrates my issue with the “cancel culture” trope The signatories of this letter have bigger platforms and more resources than most other humans. They are not being silenced in any way https://harpers.org/...
DystopianHat / @popehat: I like and respect many of these people. But i continue to struggle with the concept. The distinction between “silencing” and more/responsive/critical speech eludes me. I see instead the problem of the preferred first speaker. https://harpers.org/...
Yascha Mounk / @yascha_mounk: A lot of wonderful writers signed the letter. None of them could have come up with a more deliciously dark illustration of the way in which the fear of cancellation turns people into cowards, and how terrible this is for intellectual honesty, than this. https://twitter.com/...
J.K. Rowling / @jk_rowling: You're still following me, Jennifer. Be sure to publicly repent of your association with Goody Rowling before unfollowing and volunteer to operate the ducking stool next time, as penance. https://twitter.com/...
J.K. Rowling / @jk_rowling: I was very proud to sign this letter in defence of a foundational principle of a liberal society: open debate and freedom of thought and speech. https://harpers.org/...
Alex Shephard / New Republic: The Problem With Yascha Mounk's Persuasion
Erin Biba / @erinbiba: ANYWAY remember that time Bari Weiss tried to get me fired from my freelance gigs because I swear on twitter and then she signed an open letter in Harper's saying she was deeply concerned about the trend of people getting fired for saying things people don't like on the internet?
Ben Smith / @benyt: @jbenton Does anyone disagree with this part? “More troubling still, institutional leaders, in a spirit of panicked damage control, are delivering hasty ....”
Darren Grimes / @darrengrimes_: The backlash to this. Wow. Only in 2020 could these big names signing a document that says we should stop seeking to advance cancel culture, because of the chilling effect that this has on debate and speech, be told they must be cancelled for suggesting cancel culture exists. https://twitter.com/...
Eric Weinstein / @ericrweinstein: Great to see you guys. Very brave. Now if you'll excuse me, we've been trying to hold this hill since...[checks watch]...oh...2011 and the “Dear Collegaue letter” so there are lots & lots & lots of dead to bury and very little left standing. So do feel free to pick up a shovel. https://twitter.com/...
Lil Uzi Hurt / @lostblackboy: Maybe I'm the dumb one. They did prove one thing: You can't argue with a piece of writing that doesn't actually say anything.
Rita Panahi / @ritapanahi: She signs a pro-free speech letter & then retracts cause her ideological opponents are also pro-free speech. 🤦🏽♀ ️ Unprincipled & cowardly capitulation to the mob. https://twitter.com/...
BobWoodwardHat / @popehat: No seriously, now I wonder if the letter was crafted to make its point not in its text but through the anticipated reactions. Good Lord above people.
Noam Blum / @neontaster: Trans activist Jennifer Finney Boylan is now distancing herself from the letter. https://twitter.com/...
Ted McCormick / @mccormick_ted: What an impoverished sense of modern intellectual history this suggests https://twitter.com/...
Kerri Greenidge / @greenidgekerri: I do not endorse this @Harpers letter. I am in contact with Harper's about a retraction
Tage Rai / @tage_rai: @paulbloomatyale Ugh god this letter is so terrible Paul. How can the intellectual divide on this issue be so great? My only disappointment is that you and intellectual hero Noam Chomsky could agree w/it.
Lauren L Walker / @llw902: a lot of people are confused about the intent of the harper's letter so i made some helpful edits to clarify many of the signee's positions https://twitter.com/...
Nile Gardiner / @nilegardiner: J.K. Rowling has gone way up in my estimation. Disagree with her on many issues, including Brexit. But she has taken a brave stand in support of free speech against the ugly intolerance of the far Left mob. This is courage. https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Jamie Lewis / @sarahjamielewis: You know what “censorship” is? When I was chased down the street for holding my parters hand in public - that was censorship. People tweeting mean things at you because you support conversion therapy for vulnerable children - is the opposite of censorship.
David Reaboi / @davereaboi: Some thoughts: (1) I'm glad you're suddenly horrified by your comrades on the Left. (2) I will greatly enjoy watching them devour you. https://twitter.com/...
Noah Berlatsky / @nberlat: the main person weakening norms around press freedom is Donald Trump. I think obscuring that, as you consistently do, and as this letter does, harms free speech. https://twitter.com/...
David Baddiel / @baddiel: It's interesting that Boylan wishes to disassociate from JK Rowling, whose opinions she feels exceed acceptable free speech, whilst keen to stand with Chomsky, who was the main intellectual supporter of the right to publish of Robert Faurisson, the father of Holocaust denial. https://twitter.com/...
Tage Rai / @tage_rai: @paulbloomatyale It's simply not censorship to call for someone to lose their job if they've done a bad job. That's just performance evaluation
Peter Labuza / @labuzamovies: Genuinely crazy @OsitaNwanevu published his amazing take on free speech before the Harper's thing broke, just an amazing pulse for how “the online” unfolds. Read now: https://newrepublic.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tage Rai / @tage_rai: Let it be said that this is an edge case that doesn't capture the cases referenced in the letter. For ex., the NYT Editor admitted to not READING THE OP-ED. Still, I have said before that I have zero problem with the *concept* of my employer punishing me over offensive tweets 1/ https://twitter.com/...
Kye Barker / @kyebarker: 1. Impossible to list all the material crises more pressing than this ideological self-defense by the secure. 2. I've been blocked here by people on this list for challenging them on Twitter. 3. A generation of scholars are about to be shed from academia by the real crisis. https://twitter.com/...
@wwwritingclub: More writers standing up 🙏🏻🔥 “As writers we need a culture that leaves us room for experimentation, risk taking, &even mistakes. We need to preserve the possibility of good-faith disagreement without dire professional consequences.” https://twitter.com/...
Divina De Campo / @divinadecampo: This letter makes some good points, it is on the surface perfectly reasonable. Then you look at who has signed. Some of the most powerful names in literary circles who are at this moment conducting bad faith arguments. https://twitter.com/...
Steadman&trade / @asteadwesley: A letter on justice and open debate https://twitter.com/...
@bethlynch2020: “Socialists have always been best positioned, ideologically, to challenge those arguments and test the commitments of liberals to their own first principles” https://newrepublic.com/...
Rupert Beale / @bealelab: Both Margaret Atwood and J.K.Rowling signed this letter. Principled disagreement is ok, isn't it? https://twitter.com/...
Lil Uzi Hurt / @lostblackboy: Over 200 people, many of them writers, signed the Harper's letter, yet no one seemed to call out excessive use of passive voice or lack of specific examples.
Aidan Comerford / @aidanctweets: J.K. Rowling, with her 14.3 million followers, and her multi-millions, threatened to sue a trans woman with 4000 followers on Twitter over a tweet. When J.K. tweeted her “TERF WARS” blog, she did so with the Twitter replies turned off. “Free speech for me, but not for thee.” https://twitter.com/...
BobWoodwardHat / @popehat: I mean if that was their intent — to illustrate their proposition through anticipated reactions — I have to compliment them on their craft, even if I don't agree with them entirely. https://twitter.com/...
Paul Bloom / @paulbloomatyale: @tage_rai of course, I agree with that. But suppose I started a petition for you to be fired as editor for Science because I was offended by your tweets. Totally fine performance evaluation?
Dennis Hogan / @dennismhogan: In reality “modern intellectual life” is overwhelmingly being pursued by adjuncts and other precarious academics; by students at public unis and community colleges; by young people teaching themselves alone and in community, and not by sinecured bigots with persecution complexes https://twitter.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: @dancow @jbenton Huh I hope they are. And it's usually reporters who are the targets of brigades, rarely just the tweets.
Matt Dempsey / @mizzousundevil: @JeffYoung8 @jbenton Feels more like many of the signers are concerned about threats to THEIR expression. Not expression in general.
Joshua Rivera / @jmrivera02: what is often completely ignored in conversations like this is any notion of responsibilty. the “free exchange of ideas” is only worth anything if anyone takes responsibilty for those ideas. ideas are not neutral. they advance causes, and harm others. https://twitter.com/...
Sana Saeed / @sanasaeed: anyway still waiting on that letter from the free speech warriors condemning the state-led violent attacks on anti-racist protestors' right to free speech and peacefully assemble
Tom Coates / @tomcoates: Somehow, it's always the free speech to say you want to take someone else's rights away and not the free speech to be angry about people trying to take your rights away. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Yang / @originalspin: This letter is an elegantly written affirmation of white and white-adjacent privilege. It's sad that people I respect have signed it—alongside people who are serial bad actors, bigots, hypocrites and thin-skinned smearmongers. https://twitter.com/...
@catespice: I find it deeply ironic that J.K. Rowling has signed and tweeted this letter, since she refuses to speak to any trans people who are not ‘Gender Critical’ in their views. You can't call for open debate and then refuse to engage with the other side. That's incredibly dishonest. https://twitter.com/...
Noah Berlatsky / @nberlat: reporters were shot because they tried to take pictures during the protests. senators called for the military to suppress people expressing dissent in the street. but people are signing letters about the evils of James Bennet getting fired for being an incompetent butthead.
Joshua Benton / @jbenton: @benyt Sure, there are and have always been examples of companies making bad decisions and firing people for bad reasons? But I'd bet you $20 the number of people fired unfairly for speech is waaay lower than the number fired for trying to unionize, for complaining about racism, etc.
Nicola Coughlan / @nicolacoughlan: Living in a world where you are held accountable for your actions is not a new thing I never condone abuse but expecting to be allowed to spout bigotry and not be called out on it? Nah We've all made mistakes, the best we can do is hold our hands up, admit it, and learn https://twitter.com/...
Dan Nguyen / @dancow: @benyt @jbenton That seems tangential though? Or maybe I'm overly presumptuous in thinking that the signatories to this letter aren't particularly focused on situations like the WaPo disciplining its reporters for tweets - which they might classify as an enforcement of company policy?
Jonathan Haidt / @jonhaidt: I am very pleased to have joined @thomaschattwill and 148 other writers, with a wide range of views, on this “letter on justice and open debate.” @Harpers https://twitter.com/...
Sam Thielman / @samthielman: @benyt @jbenton yes, that in particular is nonsense and the cases cited are thinly veiled references to some of the signatories, notably Buruma, who manifestly deserved to be fired, and chattering class legends like the firing of David Shor over an innocuous tweet
Nisha Chittal / @nishachittal: “It would be a strange thing for the left if its major thinkers got used to deriding workers demanding changes to how their firms are run.” @OsitaNwanevu on reactionary liberalism feels especially relevant today https://newrepublic.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@emilyvdw: OK, I filed my piece. By far the most common (good faith) question I've gotten is why I read the letter as containing anti-trans dogwhistles. This tweet neatly expresses the way I read that letter as a trans woman. (continued) https://twitter.com/...
Paul Bloom / @paulbloomatyale: This is a terrific letter, and it's truly heartening to look at the impressive list of signatories. https://twitter.com/...
Damon Linker / The Week: Who are the real liberals today?
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: If you are still under the impression that “cancel culture” is a real thing, you should read this piece from @OsitaNwanevu in The New Republic from last year, it's an excellent deconstruction of the concept and why it's a straw man: https://newrepublic.com/...
Chief Posting Officer / @internethippo: i've read this thing several times and i still don't understand what the ask is. what exact policies is this advocating for https://harpers.org/...
Sharon Waxman / @sharonwaxman: @mathewi @musiccitymark There are dozens of examples littered through our society in the past weeks not to mention previous decade as “cancel culture” has arisen. As a journalist/publisher I worry about squelching voices we don't like - narrowing “acceptable discourse.” History is a lens not to ignore
Sharon Waxman / @sharonwaxman: @mathewi @musiccitymark You are assigning “fault” but cancel culture suggests this would be a win. I blv letter-signers are concerned abt the overall atmosphere this creates of intimidating speech, driving out debate, “intolerance of opposing views.” They give examples, though not specifics.
Sharon Waxman / @sharonwaxman: @mathewi @musiccitymark Yes, there are so many I'd like to be thoughtful about it. And when you say “well-deserved” “consequences” for their speech - who decides what is deserved? You? Me? Twitter? Entire issue is bound up in accepting that certain views must be “disappeared.” Which is a problem.
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: @musiccitymark @sharonwaxman In order to respond with disagreement, the letter would need to include specifics. As it stands, it's just a vague statement of outrage about something amorphous. Is it because James Bennet published a poorly fact-checked op-ed he didn't read that justified violence? Then good
Mark Mosley / @musiccitymark: @sharonwaxman @mathewi I have yet to see anyone actually respond to the letter with any genuine disagreement. Mostly name calling or dismissing because they are “rich”. It's really weird but I seemingly driving their point home even more.
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: @sharonwaxman @musiccitymark If an editor refuses to publish a book or a publisher fires an editor because of some critical comments on Twitter, is that the fault of the editor or publisher, or is it somehow the fault of people who made comments on Twitter?
@gothamgirlblue: Surprise: People in power uncertain about changing power structures 👀 https://twitter.com/...
Scott Greer / @scottmgreer: This will lead to absolutely nothing and carries zero weight https://twitter.com/...
Scott Barolo / @sbarolo: Well, if you needed a list of 150 prominent people who don't understand the basic concepts of “freedom,” “consequences,” or “culture,” here it is https://twitter.com/...
Murtaza M. Hussain / @mazmhussain: This level of self-seriousness in a markedly ironic age is not helpful. https://twitter.com/...
David Horowitz / @horowitz39: The left has turned our university system into a one-party state and you can't protest the totalitarian trends in the left, its Jew hatred and cancel culture without covering your asses by blaming Trump. Pathetic. https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Willis / @owillis: “cancel culture” circa 1990. i remember actually reading this overblown piece as a pre-teen. h/t @RockShrimp for making this connection https://twitter.com/...
Leonard Pierce / The Ludic Log: My Freedom 10, Your Freedom 0 — It's always necessary …
Megan Basham / @megbasham: “Editors are fired for running controversial pieces; books are withdrawn for alleged inauthenticity; journalists are barred from writing on certain topics; professors are investigated for quoting works of literature...” That this is coming from left-wing POV is significant. https://twitter.com/...
@brinyfeminist: Hey Jo? You forgot we have freedom of speech too. You know what you don't have freedom of? Consequences. Put your lawyers on that one. https://twitter.com/...
David Marcus / @blueboxdave: Is it so hard to understand that they are speaking on behalf of those with smaller platforms who do suffer harm? Progressives are baffled that anyone does anything out of any motive other than self interest. https://twitter.com/...
Claire Ryan / @aetherlev: “Woe is me, people are giving me shit for my horrible opinions and I don't want to listen to them!” FFS put everyone on mute and go enjoy your millions, you TERFy spanner. https://twitter.com/...
@mountain_goats: Almighty God, You Who made the oceans and the mountains, You who set the stars in the firmament, please distract people who would write letters to the editor decrying the “silencing” of “robust debate.” Teach them to cultivate a window garden, O Lord
Maxwell / @maxwellstrachan: the harper's signees include people who survived plagiarism scandals, made transphobic statements, pushed objectionable racial theories, or are david brooks without professional consequence. i think the free exchange of ideas is doing ok.
Julia Carrie Wong / @juliacarriew: If you're railing from your sinecure against non-masthead staff having a say in who runs their institution and what values inform it, you're not a brave fighter for intellectual freedom. You're just a scab.
Julia Carrie Wong / @juliacarriew: James Bennet got fired because a small group of Black NYT staffers collectively violated a company policy that stifled their ability to engage in debate. They risked their jobs to assert their right to be heard. After they took that step, other staff followed in solidarity
@lindaholmes: It's also completely fair to say this, on my part, isn't a response to the body of the letter, which is mostly because I don't think it offers anything new to respond to. I'm more curious about why this was done in this way right now than I am in repeating this discussion.
@lindaholmes: A couple clarifications based on things people have asked: Of course, there's not merely one conversation. Of course. What I mean by that is I think some people with institutional roles that traditionally offer authority don't feel like that authority is holding.
@lindaholmes: So yes, I entirely agree that I'm answering it as a curiosity and its publication as an event, more than I'm going another round at a discussion that's literally been going on all my adult life. It made me wonder about this group of folks thinking this was what they wanted to do.
Erin Biba / @erinbiba: I have so many opinions about that terrible Harper's letter I don't even know where to start LOL it's legitimately HILARIOUS. Imagine signing your name to that!! Imagine wanting to be in the company of the people who singed their name to that!!!
Erin Biba / @erinbiba: Imagine having access to an outlet like this and the audience they all have - the enormity of that collective platform - and they use it to.......whine that the internet holds them accountable for their own words. PHEW
DystopianHat / @popehat: “The problem of the preferred first speaker” is the tendency to impose norms of civility, openness, productiveness, and dialogue-encouraging on a RESPONSE to expression that we do not impose on the expression itself.
Jack Shafer / @jackshafer: I won't be satisfied until the Harper's letter controversy drags @davidfolkenflik in—on either side.
@nototally: This idea of “democracy” and the intertwined idea of free markets conferring success only upon those who deserve it results in successful folks retroactively believing that their success was preordained because of their goodness, their rightness
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Not surprised to see aging wankers like Martin Amis on something like this, or thin-skinned right-wing attention hogs like Bari Weiss and David Frum, but it's kind of sad to see people like Jeet Heer and Noam Chomsky putting their names on such a vague, fear-mongering statement https://twitter.com/...
Naman Ramachandran / Variety: J.K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood Among 150 Figures to Sign Letter Condemning Public Shaming
Rafi / @rafiletzter: Everyone who signed the goofy harpers letter should be forced to respond in detail to @OsitaNwanevu's complete preemptive dismantling of its core ideas. https://newrepublic.com/...
@dianelyssa: one of the best things about this letter signed by 150 crybabies is bari weiss — who tried to get a freelance writer fired for saying a bad word and went to her boss after her black colleague wouldn't have lunch with her — signing it. good job, y'all saved the first amendment! 👏🏾 https://twitter.com/...
Anita Singh / @anitathetweeter: I'd love to know how a bunch of authors compose a joint letter. I imagine a couple of them draft it and then Martin Amis emails back “I'm sorry but this sentence structure is AWFUL” https://twitter.com/...
Carli Velocci / @velocciraptor: I don't even have to read this to know that it's a bunch of rich and privileged people mad they can't tweet anything they want. https://twitter.com/...
Corie Whalen / @coriewhalen: “This stifling atmosphere will ultimately harm the most vital causes of our time. The restriction of debate, whether by a repressive government or an intolerant society, invariably hurts those who lack power and makes everyone less capable of democratic participation.” 👏🏼 https://twitter.com/...
Inez Stepman / @inezfeltscher: Imagine going back in time and telling yourself in 2003 that the left would go too far for Noam Chomsky. https://twitter.com/...
Mona Charen / @monachareneppc: Good statement. Postscript: Those who've been unjustly driven from their jobs should be reinstated with apologies. That would show we're calming down and getting sensible. https://harpers.org/...
Sadmerea / @edmerea: Beliefs don't exist in a void, they cannot be defeated with rationality—they arent material things. What's important is that beliefs inform our every action, which do not have equal & equivalent consequences across mutually exclusive beliefs. Thats the lie at the heart of this. https://twitter.com/...
Catie / @umm_catie: can someone tell these ppl that “getting fired from a job” isn't a violation of free speech and holding people accountable for their harmful opinions isn't either? cool have a good one. https://twitter.com/...
@mobute: Interesting how @Harpers refused to publish a list of who didn't sign. I guess their commitment to a free exchange of ideas only goes so far. https://twitter.com/...
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: It is still not clear to me what these people actually want? This entire letter just sounds like prominent figures whining about people criticizing them online. https://twitter.com/...
Paul Constant / @paulconstant: It's heartbreaking that Margaret Atwood and Noam Chomsky signed on to a letter railing against “cancel culture” just four days after President Trump gave a racist speech at Mount Rushmore railing against “cancel culture.” https://twitter.com/...
Shane Burley / @shane_burley1: I'm really glad to see that Noam Chomsky, David Brooks, and J.K. Rowling are all speaking up against the great silencing they have faced. It's unfortunate no one can hear what they have to say since they have deplatformed and have clearly gone broke. The tragedy of 2020.
@thomaschattwill: One more thing: this letter is not a statement about everyone agreeing with every position every signatory has. The diversity of its signatories is its strength—not a weakness.
Parker Molloy / @parkermolloy: Last year, in researching for this piece I wrote about Bret Stephens and Bari Weiss' obsession with college campuses ( https://www.mediamatters.org/ ...) I noticed something: every single piece the two of them have written for NYT fit into just 5 or 6 categories.
@thomaschattwill: We have an extraordinarily diverse range of signatories spanning the ideological spectrum here, from Nell Irvin Painter to @SalmanRushdie to @jk_rowling, to Margaret Atwood, @dwaynebetts, Wynton Marsalis, Noam Chomsky, @heerjeet, @michelleinbklyn, @Yascha_Mounk nearly 150 more.
@thomaschattwill: 🚨At a time when the range of acceptable discourse is narrowing on multiple fronts, I'm proud to have signed this Letter in Defense of Justice and Open Debate. Our resistance to the authoritarian threat mustn't be allowed to harden into dogma or coercion🚨 https://harpers.org/...
@thomaschattwill: What this diverse group of signatories shares is the ardent belief that: “The restriction of debate, whether by a repressive government or an intolerant society, invariably hurts those who lack power and makes everyone less capable of democratic participation.”
@mattbc: Personally, I wouldn't sign my name to a letter alongside an immensely powerful billionaire author with one of the largest platforms in the world who is using her immense power to harm my trans family members, but you do you, I guess.
Parker Molloy / @parkermolloy: And that's it right there. The biggest form of “censorship,” so much as that applies to this situation, is the gatekeeping system in place. Editors choose which pitches to accept, what views get heard.
@paulcrider: Anyway in these cases it's always good to recognize the preemptive cancellation of marginalized voices should also be considered a free speech issue, as described by @nberlat. https://www.liberalcurrents.com/ ...
@kerrymflynn: ^ 6 years between statements. Sometimes it feels like so much has changed and other times we're having the same debates over and over again. I wish this letter helped drive the conversation forward rather than rehashing, as Judd said in this thread: https://twitter.com/...
@kerrymflynn: Finally read the Harper's letter pushing back against “silencing” of ideas: https://harpers.org/... Similar vibes to Michael Bloomberg's 2014 speech at my college graduation. This was when students at several schools were protesting planned speakers: https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Courtney Kirchoff / @courtneyscoffs: It's a decent first step, sure. But until free-speech advocates on the left acknowledge that it's the left trying to silence them for wrong think, we're not going to make much progress. https://twitter.com/...
Sinad Naoimh / @sineadactually: didn't you throw a massive temper tantrum just last week when stephen king tweeted trans women are women? https://twitter.com/...
Cynthia Tucker / @ctuckerprof: I was proud to sign, too. https://twitter.com/...
@prettycritical: The whole reason these people were tapped to sign this letter addressed to absolutely no one is because they are “big” names. And they are big names because they have platforms. And they have platforms because they not been censored lol. https://twitter.com/...
Bari Weiss / @bariweiss: Proud to stand alongside @jk_rowling, @thomaschattwill and so many others. https://twitter.com/...
@rrrrnessa: Put it in my stack of letters I won't read penned by people who think they're a lot more important than they actually are and can't handle the fact that they now get to be criticized too! Also, Chomsky is genocide denier and minimizer. https://twitter.com/...
Joshua Benton / @jbenton: Oof, hard to see some people I really admire sign on to this moral panic https://harpers.org/...
Paul Graham / @paulg: Cancel culture is finally provoking a serious immune response. Look at the list of people who've signed this letter. https://harpers.org/...
Dave Rubin / @rubinreport: Silly self-important letter by liberals who will sit and watch the world burn rather than turn to their conservative counterparts for help on how to fix it. They think rationale and logic can fix this mess. Nope, won't work. Plus several signers here have tried to cancel me! https://twitter.com/...
@nototally: Half of these people are pretty obviously just tired of getting rightfully owned on twitter for their awful takes https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: Fascinating set of signatories on this Open Letter in @Harpers warning of the dangers of “a new set of moral attitudes and political commitments that tend to weaken our norms of open debate and toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity” — including Noam Chomsky https://twitter.com/...
Tressie McMillan Cottom / @tressiemcphd: I read pretty well and I don't even know what this letter is about or what it means. It *feels* like one of those faculty solidarity statements. And maybe that's the right want to think of it. Our secular faculty rebuking their students but not realizing its summer session. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
An independent audit commissioned by Facebook harshly criticizes the company, arguing that some of its decisions were “significant setbacks for civil rights” — An independent audit faulted the social network for “vexing and heartbreaking decisions” that affect its users — and potentially the November elections.
Discussion:
Anna Wiener / New Yorker: An overview of the recent debates surrounding content moderation, online censorship, and Section 230, as well as some proposals for reform
Greg Bensinger / New York Times: Facebook Flunks New Audit on Civil Rights and Hate Speech
Todd Spangler / Variety: Facebook Independent Audit Faults Company Decisions for ‘Significant Setbacks’ to Civil Rights
Craig Aaron / @notaaroncraig: “Facebook has ... an appeasement strategy: Tell us what we need to hear, and Facebook can keep doing whatever they like. What they really need is a comprehensive sweep of the site of white supremacists, homophobes, anti-Semites ...” — @JGo4Justice https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brendan Morrow / The Week: Independent audit concludes Facebook's decisions represent ‘significant setbacks for civil rights’
Rat King / @mikeisaac: NEW: Auditors sharply critique Facebook's history of decisions around decisions of speech on the platform, which they found were ‘Setbacks for Civil Rights’ from a two-year study detailed in a 100-page report, a copy of which was obtained by the NYT https://www.nytimes.com/...
@gregbensinger: Tough couple days for Facebook. The civil rights audit is not flattering: https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp: “In some decisions, Facebook did not seek civil rights expertise, the auditors said, potentially setting a ‘terrible’ precedent that could affect the November general election and other speech issues.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sinan Aral / @sinanaral: The regulation of social media will take center stage over the next 18 to 24 months.... Trump, Twitter, Facebook, and the Future of Online Speech. https://www.newyorker.com/...
James Clayton / @jamesclayton5: BREAKING: The New York Times reporting that Facebook's civil rights audit - two years in the making - is highly critical. Facebook may be “driving people towards self-reinforcing echo chambers of extremism” https://www.nytimes.com/...
RELATED:
Free Press:
After meeting between leaders of Facebook, ADL, Free Press, NAACP, and Color Of Change, boycott organizers are unconvinced meaningful change will occur — Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838 — WASHINGTON — On Tuesday afternoon, leaders of four of the organizations coordinating …
Discussion:
@donie, New York Times, About Facebook, MediaPost, VentureBeat, @sarafischer, @mikeisaac, Engadget, ZDNet, The Drum, CNET, Business Insider, @savan_kotecha, @cliffordlevy, @schmidtlepp, @morganbenjamin, @mcbyrne, @profcarroll, @joshsternberg, @atima_omara, @adamslily, @joshsternberg, @slpng_giants, @shiraovide, @princessbravato, @charlesarthur, @joshsternberg, @freepress, @accountabletech, @dylanbyers, @donie, @candacejeanne, @donie and @jason_kint, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Donie O'Sullivan / @donie: Sheryl Sandberg claims in Facebook post this morning, “We are making changes - not for financial reasons or advertiser pressure, but because it is the right thing to do.” https://www.facebook.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Sheryl Sandberg / About Facebook: Making Progress on Civil Rights - But Still a Long Way to Go
Chris O'Brien / VentureBeat: Facebook civil rights audit urges ‘mandatory’ algorithmic bias detection
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson: - “Facebook called this meeting” - “No media outlet would allow what FB is allowing on their platform” - “We should expect more from a company like Facebook.” -" We've watched conversations blossom into nothingness" for 2 years
Rat King / @mikeisaac: In a meeting today with civil rights groups who organized the widespread ad boycott, Facebook failed to appease organizers, saying it doesn't respond to demands under financial pressure. w/ @tiffkhsu https://www.nytimes.com/...
Charlie Osborne / ZDNet: Civil rights auditors slam Facebook stance on Trump, voter suppression
Samuel Scott / The Drum: Why this Facebook advertising boycott is different
Carrie Mihalcik / CNET: Facebook's ‘heartbreaking decisions’ significantly set back civil rights, audit says
Isobel Asher Hamilton / Business Insider: Out of ten demands from civil rights groups leading a Facebook ad boycott, the social media …
Cliff Levy / @cliffordlevy: Zuckerberg & Sandberg met with civil rights leaders. Harsh response: • FB reverted to “spin.” • “Same old talking points.” • “They showed up to the meeting expecting an A for attendance. Attending alone is not enough.” https://www.nytimes.com/... By @MikeIsaac @tiffkhsu
Christopher Lauer / @schmidtlepp: It does to demands of dictatorships, though. https://twitter.com/...
Benjamin Morgan / @morganbenjamin: I'm sorry but isn't “responding to demands under financial pressure” ... sort of the definition of capitalism? https://twitter.com/...
David Carroll / @profcarroll: Also it appears that coalition members @slpng_giants and @CommonSense were excluded from the meeting. Is that correct? https://twitter.com/...
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: But look at all the coverage. “Organizers disappointed...” Of course! We knew this would be the result from the jump. It's also hard to reconcile how an organizer is telling advertisers to not spend while at the same time spending. Anyway. Good P.R. job everyone.
Atima Omara / @atima_omara: FB DOES NOT stand firmly against hate. People been since before 2016 asking them to get their whole collective sh*t together. Zuckerberg was on his defiant BS just earlier this year. The ad buy boycott worked and started hitting their inflated FB paychecks. The end https://twitter.com/...
Lily Adams / @adamslily: They aren't making changes because of an audit. Any changes theyre making are because a smart boycott was organized by groups like @ColorOfChange. Full stop. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: Funny how both Facebook and the civil rights groups levy the “P.R. exercise” at each other. My guess is that the latter group has more to gain with this stunt than the former has to lose. I also wonder how much money these orgs have raised off the back of the boycott/P.R. stunt.
@slpng_giants: Sandberg is trying to conflate their civil rights audit with the meeting today with members of our #StopHateForProfit campaign, trying to sow confusion. Two different subjects. We have been here before and they haven't made “changes.” They're just kicking the can down the road. https://twitter.com/...
Shira Ovide / @shiraovide: So the meeting, it did not go great? https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Charles Arthur / @charlesarthur: People have been telling Facebook that it's causing real-world problems for years, in all sorts of places - Myanmar, Indonesia, the UK, US. It listens and then does very little, if anything. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: Also curious why, after 15 yrs of bad behavior, we would expect it (i.e. Zuckerberg) to change. If you want to hurt Facebook, deactivate your account and not make the Faustian bargain of using to spread your msg while vilifying its role in spreading hate. https://twitter.com/...
Free Press / @freepress: @NAACP @ColorOfChange @ADL @Facebook @JGo4Justice .@JGo4Justice: “This isn't over. We will continue to expand the boycott until @Facebook takes our demands seriously.” #StopHateForProfit is only growing. We have to keep up the pressure. https://www.freepress.net/... 3/3
@accountabletech: NEW — @JGo4Justice: “Facebook approached our meeting today like it was nothing more than a PR exercise. But boycott coalition leaders and advertisers understand that the #StopHateForProfit effort is about the lives, safety and freedom of our communities.” https://www.freepress.net/... https://twitter.com/...
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: @donie + More names here, plys Ime Archibong, Carolyn Everson, etc. https://twitter.com/...
Donie O'Sullivan / @donie: “Facebook approached our meeting today like it was nothing more than a PR exercise,” @JGo4Justice says after talking to Zuckerberg and Sandberg
@candacejeanne: Leaders of the #StopHateForProfit coalition met with Mark Zuckerberg of @Facebook this afternoon. The concerns that have motivated the nearly 1000 advertisers to drop advertising this month have NOT been addressed...not even remotely. https://www.freepress.net/...
Donie O'Sullivan / @donie: “I'm deeply disappointed that Facebook still refuses to hold itself accountable to its users, its advertisers and society at large” https://www.freepress.net/... https://twitter.com/...
Sheila Dang / Reuters:
TikTok launches a self-service ad platform globally, with a music library and video editing tools to help brands make ads that match the style of TikTok videos — (Reuters) - TikTok's launch on Wednesday of a new platform to court small business advertisers is fraught with challenges …
Discussion:
Josh Sternberg / The Media Nut: Report: 'Facebook's ad system can lead to biased or discriminatory results — may be well placed.'
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: TikTok taking a key page out of the social platform playbook: self-serve ad platform for small businesses. https://www.reuters.com/...
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis: TikTok is launching “a new self-service ad platform, which lets companies purchase ads without needing to speak with a sales team”. In 2020. At this moment. After all we have seen and learned in recent years. What could possibly go wrong? https://www.reuters.com/...
RELATED:
CNN:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the US is “looking at” banning TikTok and other Chinese social media apps amid rising tensions between US and China
Discussion:
Fast Company, BBC, Street Fight, Fortune, The Grapevine, @walter_cruz99, @sgvnsports, @penamerica, @marshablackburn, @karaswisher, @lanceulanoff and @cchukudebelu, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Michael Grothaus / Fast Company: Why is TikTok getting banned? Here's the latest update as the U.S. mulls app shutdown
James Clayton / BBC: TikTok: Chinese app may be banned in US, says Pompeo
@walter_cruz99: This is why Trump wants to ban Tik Tok not because its spyware. If it was because of spyware then it would have been banned a year ago. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Fred J. Robledo / @sgvnsports: Why? Because they were mean in Tulsa. https://twitter.com/...
PEN America / @penamerica: Google, Facebook, and Twitter said they were reviewing China's punitive new national security law for the city, a rare public questioning of Chinese policy by major U.S. tech companies. They have yet to decide to cooperate with parts of the law. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sen. Marsha Blackburn / @marshablackburn: The curtains have opened and the strings are showing — @tiktok_us is China's puppet. This isn't a social media platform; it's a tool for the Chinese Communist Party. https://www.google.com/...
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: As usual the Trump hacks dealing with a complex tech issue (230, hate speech etc) that needs careful discussion and debate with all the delicacy of someone throwing a hammer at a piano to make music. https://twitter.com/...
Lance Ulanoff / @lanceulanoff: Those of us that have been following TikTok have known this for a while. IMHO: There's no upside in TikTok allowing its Chinese parent co to get involved in any way with U.S. operations. https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon Fire TV adds live content from Sling TV, YouTube TV, and Hulu + Live TV — Amazon is upgrading its Fire TV's live TV experience through new integrations with several live TV streaming services, including Sling TV, YouTube TV, and Hulu + Live TV. Live content from these services …
Nat Ives / Wall Street Journal:
Omnicom announces a deal to spend $20M on ads in podcasts distributed by Spotify in the second half of this year — Podcasters try to lure more marketers with high-profile talent and better ad technology — Omnicom Media Group plans to spend $20 million on advertising in podcasts distributed …
Discussion:
Sara Fischer / Axios: Spotify and Omnicom strike $20 million podcast advertising deal
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Men's lifestyle and sports website Joe.co.uk bought out of administration by VC firm Greencastle Capital, to be run by Iconic Labs, founded by Unilad founders — Men's news, sport and lifestyle website Joe.co.uk, which is a huge Facebook video publisher, has been bought out of administration.
Discussion:
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: Little scooplet: Staff at @JOE_co_uk have been told the site has been bought out of administration and will be run by @IconicLabsUK, a company founded by former UniLad executives. Now it's been saved, the question is what the new management do especially with the newsier content.
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
WarnerMedia hires Johannes Larcher, a former Hulu exec and current boss of Arabic language streamer Shahid, to lead the global rollout of HBO Max — EXCLUSIVE: WarnerMedia has hired Johannes Larcher, the former Hulu executive and current boss of Shahid, the word's largest Arabic language streamer …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Spotify can now make custom workout playlists based on answers to a questionnaire; the playlists can be as long as two hours and include both podcasts and music — Soundtrack Your Workout launches today — Spotify knows people are changing up their workout routines during the pandemic …
Discussion:
Bloomberg:
Amazon's Twitch, Facebook, Nvidia, and others contend with allegations of sexual misconduct in the game streaming world, as dozens of women accuse 150+ people — - About 150 online players are accused of a range of misconduct — Corporate sponsors rethink vetting of streamers they work with
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Comcast plans to invest $2B in Peacock by 2021, expects it to generate $2.5B in revenue by 2024 with 30M-35M users, says users gravitate to its curated channels — In September 2019, Steve Burke, then NBCUniversal chief executive, called Matt Strauss, with a question: Would he take the wheel of the Peacock project?
Discussion:
@gdanielholloway, @richlightshed, @xpangler, @xpangler and @xpangler, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Daniel Holloway / @gdanielholloway: Incredibly smart cover story from @xpangler about Peacock, a streaming service that is very Comcast. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Rich Greenfield / @richlightshed: Early @peacockTV learnings @Variety $CMCSA People were looking for an escape from the news, with viewing of classic movies like “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and Hitchcock films performing well, along with nostalgic comedies like “30 Rock,” “Frazier... https://variety.com/...
Todd Spangler / @xpangler: .@peacockTV's consumer awareness stands just a *hair* higher (26.8%) than @Quibi (24.8%), per a recent YouGov survey provided exclusively to Variety Intelligence Platform https://variety.com/...
Todd Spangler / @xpangler: my cover story in @Variety this week —> Inside @peacockTV's Ambitious Plan to Crash a Crowded Streaming Field https://variety.com/...
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