Top News:
@twittersafety:
[Thread] Twitter clarifies why it blocked the sharing of NY Post's Biden story, saying it contained private info and violated its Hacked Materials Policy — We want to provide much needed clarity around the actions we've taken with respect to two NY Post articles that were first Tweeted this morning.
Discussion:
@jack, Politico, @tedcruz, VICE, @trumpwarroom, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, New York Times, @sentomcotton, Fox News, @jamestodaromd, Newser, MediaNama, @burgessev, @hawleymo, @mcfaul, Breitbart, @garycoby, @brooklynmarie, The Wrap, @yoda, @parkermolloy, @anthonymkreis, The Hill, @presssec, @jenniferjjacobs, Mediaite, MediaPost, New York Post, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Vox, Business Insider and Protocol, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
@jack: Our communication around our actions on the @nypost article was not great. And blocking URL sharing via tweet or DM with zero context as to why we're blocking: unacceptable. https://twitter.com/...
Ted Cruz / @tedcruz: My letter to @jack regarding @Twitter's censorship of the @nypost. https://twitter.com/...
Joseph Cox / VICE: Twitter Says It Blocked NY Post Hunter Biden Article Because It Contains Hacked Data
Trump War Room / @trumpwarroom: BREAKING: Twitter has locked the personal account of White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany for sharing news Democrats don't like. https://twitter.com/...
Kari Paul / The Guardian: Facebook and Twitter restrict controversial New York Post story on Joe Biden
Tom Cotton / @sentomcotton: There will be ... NO QUARTER for censorship by Big Tech Oligarchs. https://twitter.com/...
Fox News: Hunter Biden email story: Computer repair store owner describes handing over laptop to FBI
James Todaro / @jamestodaromd: I'm waiting for the day when twitter issues a similar statement about actions taken against a Washington Post or New York Times article. I feel like I'll be waiting a while... https://twitter.com/...
Evann Gastaldo / Newser: Biden Campaign Feuds With New York Post
Aditya Chunduru / MediaNama: Twitter, Facebook limit distribution of New York Post stories on Joe Biden's son
Burgess Everett / @burgessev: Cruz and Hawley sent letters to Twitter within minutes of each other https://twitter.com/...
Josh Hawley / @hawleymo: .@Twitter @jack this is not nearly good enough. In fact, it's a joke. It's downright insulting. I will ask you - and @Facebook - to give an explanation UNDER OATH to the Senate subcommittee I chair. These are potential violations of election law, and that's a crime https://twitter.com/...
Michael McFaul / @mcfaul: Has the NY Post responded? These are some very definitive statements from former Biden officials. They either need to be challenged with factual reporting or apologies and retractions need to be issued. https://twitter.com/...
Allum Bokhari / Breitbart: Jack Dorsey Breaks Silence on Twitter Censorship, Accepts Blame for Company's ‘Not Great’ Response
@garycoby: .@jack and @finkd are illegally interfering in the election. @HawleyMO we need leaders who will step up and take real action... deliver actual consequences to these corporations. Thank you for stepping up. USA needs it! 🇺🇸🇺🇸 🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://twitter.com/...
Brooke Binkowski / @brooklynmarie: Remember when Ted Cruz used Cambridge Analytica's services to get elected? And now that we know that their whole model was basically disinformation and dirt, it sort of puts this little tantrum into perspective https://twitter.com/...
J. Clara Chan / The Wrap: Jack Dorsey: Twitter Did ‘Unacceptable’ Job of Explaining Why NY Post Story Blocked
Drew Olanoff / @yoda: by not having a stance and being sloppy af both companies have asked for this. https://twitter.com/...
Parker Molloy / @parkermolloy: It's because she tweeted out a screenshot containing an email address. This is a standard Twitter policy that gets regularly enforced across the political spectrum. It's a basic rule that applies to everyone. But ok. https://twitter.com/...
Zack Budryk / The Hill: Twitter CEO calls blocking New York Post article without explanation ‘unacceptable’
Kayleigh McEnany / @presssec: Censorship should be condemned! cc: @Twitter & Facebook NOT the American way‼️ 🇺🇸
Jennifer Jacobs / @jenniferjjacobs: Twitter locks more White House posts. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Feldman / Mediaite: Jack Dorsey Says ‘Communication’ Around Twitter's Crackdown on New York Post Report Was ‘Not Great’
Noah Manskar / New York Post: Twitter, Facebook censor Post over Hunter Biden exposé
Los Angeles Times: Facebook, Twitter try to contain Hunter Biden report amid disinformation crackdown
Shirin Ghaffary / Vox: Facebook and Twitter took drastic measures to limit the reach of a disputed story about Hunter Biden
Sonam Sheth / Business Insider: An explosive New York Post story that sent Trumpworld into a frenzy is riddled with holes and red flags
RELATED:
BuzzFeed News:
Facebook limits the distribution of a New York Post story that makes disputed claims about Hunter Biden, pending fact-check, while Twitter blocks sharing — Facebook and Twitter said they will be limiting the distribution of or blocking a New York Post story making unverified claims about former vice president Joe Biden.
Discussion:
@noupside, @andymstone, @twittersafety, The Daily Beast, New York Post, @kyledcheney, Poynter, @danielsgoldman, @natashabertrand, @chrismegerian, Washington Post, @sohrabahmari, @noahmanskar, @evelyndouek, @twittersafety, @tomdreisbach, @twittersafety, @conor64, @twittersafety, @maggienyt, @twittersafety, @twittersafety, @ggreenwald, @noupside, @wexler, @internetryan, @noupside, @jonathanvswan, @wexler, @stacyherbert, @davidcorndc, @judiciarygop, @kyleraccio, @noupside, @swin24, @kyledcheney, @timobrien, @popehat, @fmanjoo, @tedcruz, @clairecmc, @senatorloeffler, @wolmanj, @andrewfeinberg, @aunkurarya, @jason_kint, @slpng_giants, @willoremus, @vivian, @cwarzel, @jeffjohnroberts, @peterjhasson, @delwilber, @maggienyt, @jeremynewberger, @captcarpediem, @martinsfp, @rmac18, @fmanjoo, @chrisismills, Breitbart, Mediaite, Slate, Fox News, OutKick, The Week, The Hill, CNET, The Hill, New York Post and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Renee DiResta / @noupside: This is related to today's Biden story: A few months ago the fact-respecting portion of the internet was outraged at social media companies allowing Plandemic to go wildly viral, despite stated policies against health misinfo. The video was taken down after millions of views...
Andy Stone / @andymstone: While I will intentionally not link to the New York Post, I want be clear that this story is eligible to be fact checked by Facebook's third-party fact checking partners. In the meantime, we are reducing its distribution on our platform.
@twittersafety: The policy, established in 2018, prohibits the use of our service to distribute content obtained without authorization. We don't want to incentivize hacking by allowing Twitter to be used as distribution for possibly illegally obtained materials. https://blog.twitter.com/...
Lachlan Cartwright / The Daily Beast: Rupert Murdoch Predicts a Landslide Win for Biden
New York Post: Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad
Kyle Cheney / @kyledcheney: Again, stipulating that the suspect email is real, there's literally nothing in it that says Joe Biden met with a Burisma adviser. “The opportunity to meet,” may just as easily have meant Hunter promised a meeting in the future that may never have occurred.
Cristina Tardáguila / Poynter: Without methodology or transparency, Facebook and Twitter become the ‘arbiters of the truth’
Daniel Goldman / @danielsgoldman: Let's try this one more time: the Ukrainian prosecutor was fired because he was NOT prosecuting corruption cases and there was NO Ukrainian investigation into Burisma. In addition to there being no evidence to support the bogus allegations, the basic premise is simply false. https://twitter.com/...
Natasha Bertrand / @natashabertrand: New: Biden campaign responds to NY Post story. “The New York Post never asked the Biden campaign about the critical elements of this story...moreover, we have reviewed Joe Biden's official schedules from the time and no meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place.” https://twitter.com/...
Chris Megerian / @chrismegerian: I asked Rudy Giuliani how long he's had the copy of this hard drive. He responded, “Your interested in the wrong thing. This time the truth will not be defeated by process. I've got a lot more to go. We just started. Print a headline saying Lyin' Joe and we can talk.”
Max Boot / Washington Post: As one of Trump's conspiracy theories bites the dust, he moves on to new pseudo-scandals
Sohrab Ahmari / @sohrabahmari: This is a Big Tech information coup. This is digital civil war. I, an editor at The New York Post, one of the nation's largest papers by circulation, can't post one of our own stories that details corruption by a major-party presidential candidate, Biden. https://twitter.com/...
Noah Manskar / @noahmanskar: The Post's primary Twitter account (@nypost) has also been locked because the Hunter Biden stories violate its rules against “distribution of hacked material,” per email we received from Twitter https://twitter.com/...
Evelyn Douek / @evelyndouek: Facebook is reducing distribution of a story before it has been fact-checked. I don't know what the rule is that enables that. Not saying it's not the right call, but I can think of many other instances this could be useful too, so would like to know on what basis. https://twitter.com/...
@twittersafety: As noted this morning, we also currently view materials included in the articles as violations of our Hacked Materials Policy. https://help.twitter.com/...
Tom Dreisbach / @tomdreisbach: It's fairly clear that Twitter is making this up as they go along. “Illegally obtained materials” could include records that are widely considered in the public interest - the WikiLeaks release of Iraq War and State Department cables, Snowden's leaks, the Pentagon Papers... https://twitter.com/...
@twittersafety: Commentary on or discussion about hacked materials, such as articles that cover them but do not include or link to the materials themselves, aren't a violation of this policy. Our policy only covers links to or images of hacked material themselves.
Conor Friedersdorf / @conor64: This would have resulted in censoring the Pentagon Papers https://twitter.com/...
@twittersafety: The images contained in the articles include personal and private information — like email addresses and phone numbers — which violate our rules. https://help.twitter.com/...
Maggie Haberman / @maggienyt: Random store owner has it, copies it (a crime) and gives it to the president's lawyer while also responding to a federal subpoena? A bit odd. https://twitter.com/...
@twittersafety: We know we have more work to do to provide clarity in our product when we enforce our rules in this manner. We should provide additional clarity and context when preventing the Tweeting or DMing of URLs that violate our policies.
@twittersafety: We recognize that Twitter is just one of many places where people can find information online, and the Twitter Rules are intended to protect the conversation on our service, and to add context to people's experience where we can.
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: If I were Facebook, and I wanted to announce the systemic suppression of a questionable news story that reflected poorly on the Democratic presidential nominee, I probably wouldn't have a life-long Democratic Party operative make the announcement on my behalf: https://twitter.com/...
Renee DiResta / @noupside: Coming up with policies & new mechanisms to address virality, and curation, are two of the most significant things platforms and the public, and likely regulators, need to do to address the most destructive facets of the current information environment.
Nu Wexler / @wexler: This conflict was inevitable. As platforms cracked down on foreign information operations, disinformation migrated to US gov't officials and domestic outlets. If you're serious about reducing election disinformation, you can't grant blanket immunity to all gov't and media orgs.
@internetryan: the stories about the action taken to limit the story spread the story and tweets about the stories about the action taken to limit the spread of the story spread the story https://twitter.com/...
Renee DiResta / @noupside: I think this is actually a very good use of the policy levers at its disposal. It is also doing this transparently, despite the fact that the censorship-howlers, who also think factchecking is censorship, immediately began howling about censorship. No big shock there.
Jonathan Swan / @jonathanvswan: “Content obtained without authorization” is a hilarious standard that seemingly nobody at Twitter has spent any time thinking through. https://twitter.com/...
Nu Wexler / @wexler: Twitter and Facebook have higher standards for election disinformation than the fourth-largest newspaper in the United States.
Stacy Herbert / @stacyherbert: I guess every corporation will be forced to join Red or Blue. It does provide opportunity for increased competition perhaps if all social media, for example, choose Democrat. Or do you think we will see FB Blue & FB Red? https://twitter.com/...
David Corn / @davidcorndc: JUST POSTED: I explain how the NY Post embraced and promoted Russian disinformation with its supposed Biden bombshell. Will the rest of the media do better? Please read, RT, like, and share. https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
House Judiciary Gop / @judiciarygop: Big Tech claims they aren't biased. Then they do this. Insanity. https://twitter.com/...
Kyle Raccio / @kyleraccio: Would the Judiciary Committee like to do something about it other than complain on Twitter? https://twitter.com/...
Renee DiResta / @noupside: As far as the Biden article: FB is using “reduce” to enable “inform”. It is buying some time for verification of a very significant story that itself falls under a different policy area - concern about the veracity of leaked material pursuant to an election.
Asawin Suebsaeng / @swin24: “The latest round of Hunter Biden attacks come approximately one year after President Trump found himself embroiled in impeachment investigations for using the levers of government to try and help Giuliani dig up dirt in Ukraine on the Bidens.” https://twitter.com/...
Kyle Cheney / @kyledcheney: Important addendum: Nothing about the premise of the story adds up. Every credible source has testified that the prosecutor involved was fired because he was *not* investigating corruption and removing him made it likelier Burisma would face a real probe. https://twitter.com/...
Tim O'Brien / @timobrien: Here's the most detailed and best takedown yet of how the Post mishandled the Biden kompromat that Giuliani and Bannon managed to dump into its pages. Via @DavidCornDC https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Iwillkissyouallhat / @popehat: The Post story is obvious Russian propaganda from a vile rag and genuinely bad people, but trying to suppress it seems dumb.
Farhad Manjoo / @fmanjoo: News flash everything on social media is an editorial decision by the company. Every single thing, the UI, the posts you see, the posts you don't, the metrics, the speed with which everything updates, the colors, it's all human decisions all the way down. It's all subjective
Ted Cruz / @tedcruz: Facebook official spox (who describes himself as an alum of the DCCC & former Dem Sen. Barbara Boxer) explains Facebook's active censorship of @nypost story alleging corruption by Biden. Who could doubt their impartiality? https://twitter.com/...
Claire McCaskill / @clairecmc: It's getting old isn't it? SAD! FAKE NEWS! https://twitter.com/...
Senator Kelly Loeffler / @senatorloeffler: This is absurd. Here's yet another real-time example of the glaring need to reform Section 230 and hold Big Tech accountable for censoring conservative political speech. Big Tech must act as a platform, not a censor. #WheresHunter https://twitter.com/...
Jay Marshall Wolman / @wolmanj: Exercising the first amendment right to not speak isn't “election interference ” any more than your tweets amplifying the story. Why do you hate the first amendment? https://twitter.com/...
Andrew Feinberg / @andrewfeinberg: Glenn makes a fair point here, even if only because people continue to stupidly and maliciously attribute decisions to those whose job it is to announce them rather than those who make said decisions. https://twitter.com/...
Aunkur Arya / @aunkurarya: For a company that publicly stated in May that they don't want to be the arbiter of truth, we are seeing a lot of moves just in the last week of Facebook weeding out grossly inaccurate information on their platform. I'm for it. https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: Yes yes yes, all of this. Clearly note why it's important to focus on *reduce* to slow velocity and reaching allowing counter-speech by fact-checking to happen. *remove* although appealing and sometimes necessary lead to legitimate censorship discussions. https://twitter.com/...
Will Oremus / @willoremus: Good thread on Facebook's response to the NY Post story, from one of the leading experts on viral misinformation. https://twitter.com/...
Vivian Schiller / @vivian: incredibly sensible thread about FB and the Burisma story. https://twitter.com/...
Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel: anyhow if you're as frustrated right now as i am you should just read this smart thread and then log off probably https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Roberts / @jeffjohnroberts: This is big. In the past, Facebook would have done nothing and this BS story would have gone bananas in right-wing echo groups. https://fortune.com/...
Peter J. Hasson / @peterjhasson: Facebook comms guy, a former Dem staffer, announces that Facebook is going to suppress a piece of journalism that Dems don't like https://twitter.com/...
Del Quentin Wilber / @delwilber: Would be curious if the NY Post had any computer forensic folks conduct forensic examination of emails' metadata, etc., before publishing to check authenticity. https://twitter.com/...
Maggie Haberman / @maggienyt: Things that are sketchy in NYP story on Hunter Biden - why wasn't this in Ron Johnson report if it's been in possession for awhile? When did Giuliani acquire it? Giuliani has been everywhere on the but this has been kicking around since late last year and unreleased till now?
@jeremynewberger: “Excuse me kind NY POST reporters, I found this wet hard drive with Hunter Biden e-mails on it. I didn't know who to give it to. I gotta go, I am getting my feet scraped and my hair done at 11.” - random woman. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Carpe Diem / @captcarpediem: Aren't you spreading the propaganda that the FBI was warning us about? You really think we are going to tolerate a repeat of 2016's wikileaks? Looking forward to an investigation into your behavior when Biden is president. It's not a “smoking-gun.” it is discredited propaganda. https://twitter.com/...
Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp: Feels with this NY Post story that the 2020 election disinformation swamp has become even more swampy, and platforms are starting to be tested on their plans to deal with this stuff. https://www.theverge.com/...
@rmac18: I'm confused by this. Facebook spox attempts to be transparent by claiming that the social network has limited the distribution of the NYPost Biden story, but doesn't say exactly what policy the company is applying to take that action. https://twitter.com/...
Farhad Manjoo / @fmanjoo: How about ... on the grounds that they have a first amendment right to do whatever they want? that enough? a little something I like to call the us constitution https://twitter.com/...
Chris Mills Rodrigo / @chrisismills: interesting challenge for this step by facebook: all of the aggregations of the new york post's story getting lots of interactions. i've reached out to see if these will be limited as well https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Sean Moran / Breitbart: Josh Hawley Calls for FEC Investigation into Twitter, Facebook Censorship of Hunter Biden NY Post Story
Leia Idliby / Mediaite: Twitter and Facebook Under Fire For Censoring New York Post Report on Hunter Biden
Whitney Tesi / Slate: Facebook and Twitter Take Steps to Limit Spread of Controversial New York Post Article
Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News: Media members pressure social media users not to share New York Post's Hunter Biden report
Brendan Morrow / The Week: Facebook, Twitter take action against New York Post story about Hunter Biden
Chris Mills Rodrigo / The Hill: Twitter, Facebook clamp down on New York Post article about Hunter Biden
Casey Newton / Platformer:
The Post hack-and-leak may remain in the right-wing conspiracy sphere if mainstream outlets treat it with the same severe skepticism Twitter and Facebook have — In a New York Post report, Facebook and Twitter smell a rat — I. — In the run-up to the 2020 election, platforms have been preparing for all manner of threats.
Discussion:
Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review: Yes, we're doing it all over again
Robby Soave / Reason: The Media Do Not Want You To Read, Share, or Discuss The New York Post's Hunter Biden Scoop
@barrydeutsch: Robby, does this mean your own policy at Reason is to carry every single story that's submitted or that you come across? And if you decide that some stories aren't worth carrying, does that mean you're suppressing information you don't want the public to read? https://twitter.com/...
Robby Soave / @robbysoave: It's a huge problem that many in the mainstream media and pundit class (i.e. the people attacking Maggie Haberman for daring to share NY Post's Hunter Biden scoop) now think its their job to suppress information they don't want the public to read. https://reason.com/...
Thuy Ong / @thuyong: i'm kinda biased but @CaseyNewton's newsletter is the best explainer on that nypost Hunter Biden article and its ramifications: https://www.platformer.news/ ...
Janira Planes / @janiraplanes: “These dumps, combined with the news media's obsession with campaign trivia and gossip, have resulted in whistle-drowning, rather than whistle-blowing: In a sea of so many whistles (...), we cannot hear a single one.” @zeynep cited in @platformer https://www.platformer.news/ ...
Eric Newcomer / @ericnewcomer: Really thoughtful post today from @CaseyNewton https://twitter.com/...
Kristina Wong / Breitbart: Politico: Biden Campaign ‘Would Not Rule Out Possibility’ Biden Met with Burisma Adviser Pozharskyi
Todd Spangler / Variety: Facebook, Twitter Put Restrictions on New York Post's Hunter Biden ‘Smoking Gun’ Story
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
NBC sources say scheduling a Trump town hall head to head with ABC's Biden event was intended to match a similar forum Biden had Oct. 5, including the time slot — The candidates were set to debate on Thursday night until President Trump bowed out. Now they will take part …
Discussion:
Arizona Republic, @brianstelter, NBC News, @grynbaum, @suehalpernvt, The Daily Beast, @mlcalderone, CNN, @brianstelter, @maythaalhassen, @dangillmor, Fox News, @grynbaum, @dangillmor, @bruno_j_navarro, @biancorobert, @rob_sheridan, @marvk, @brianstelter, NBC10 Philadelphia, The Wrap, capitalize the B, @greta, @grynbaum, Table For One, @matthewjsinger, @emilylgoodin, The Big Lead, Page Six, New Republic, Quartz, Mother Jones, Vanity Fair, Poynter, The Media Nut, Newser, TVNewser, The Week, Cheryl Gould and NPR
Discussion:
Bill Goodykoontz / Arizona Republic: Why NBC News scheduling a Trump town hall against Biden's is bad TV and worse journalism
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Alright, who's in the mood for a #thread about the DUELING TOWN HALLS problem? https://twitter.com/...
Michael M. Grynbaum / @grynbaum: The Trump NBC town hall for Thursday is ON - and it will air at exactly the same time as Biden is speaking on ABC https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sue Halpern / @suehalpernvt: The cynicism of NBC execs, who gave us The Apprentice and thus this President, is stunning and shameful. ABC should call their bluff and move Biden so he talks after Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Michael Calderone / @mlcalderone: Trump refuses a virtual debate with Biden on Thursday night, so Biden agrees to an ABC town hall. Now NBC is giving Trump a town hall at the same time. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Stelter / CNN: NBC schedules Trump town hall at the same time as Biden's on ABC, sparking outrage
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Why? The best answer I've heard from sources today is “parity:” Biden was on NBC at 8, so Trump will be on NBC at 8. But some NBC staffers are perturbed: “We're giving Trump exactly what he wants,” a made-by-TV rivalry between the prez and the former VP https://www.cnn.com/...
@maythaalhassen: 2016: media produces millions of dollars of free ad space for Trump 2020: after 4 years of telling on itself, the media still produces millions of dollars of free ad space for Trump https://twitter.com/...
Dan Gillmor / @dangillmor: As @goodyk points out, NBC News deserves pure contempt for its collaboration with Trump on this “town hall” gambit — “bad TV and worse journalism” — https://www.azcentral.com/...
Fox News: NBC employees lash out at network after announcing Trump town hall: 'I'm disgusted by my home network'
Michael M. Grynbaum / @grynbaum: So why did NBC schedule Trump against Biden? Our latest reporting from inside the network: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dan Gillmor / @dangillmor: A reward for refusing to participate in the second debate, in a format where there was a possibility of actual conversation. https://twitter.com/...
Bruno J. Navarro / @bruno_j_navarro: NBC News is 'playing the role of the indulgent parent, catering to Trump's tantrum. It may quiet him in the short term but it's not making the situation any better.' — @goodyk https://www.azcentral.com/...
Robert Bianco / @biancorobert: “The blame here doesn't fall on Trump. He's doing his Trump thing — stomping around and demanding attention like a toddler in a toy store. This is NBC News' fault.” https://www.azcentral.com/...
@rob_sheridan: Oh good, give him a ratings competition and his own personal rally, instead of a debate. The actual worst possible outcome of this farce for democracy. But great for ratings! Disgusting, @nbc. https://twitter.com/...
@marvk: NBC sources also say tomorrow's Today show will feature a fun recipe for honey chicken. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Will ABC News shift Biden's time slot? A rep declined to comment. But let's be clear — ABC announced its plans several days before NBC did. Moving one of the town halls to a different day is not seen as a viable option, given the crowded schedules of the candidates, BTW.
Daniel Goldblatt / The Wrap: Cheryl Gould, Former NBC News Exec, ‘Disgusted’ by Network's Trump Town Hall
Murjani Rawls / capitalize the B: NBC's Decision To Have A Dual Town Hall Feels Nothing More Than A Ratings Grab
Greta Van Susteren / @greta: More than a ratings ‘face off’ but rather a time to examine the fairness of two networks as compare side by side these events and a chance to examine how we do our work and hold town halls https://twitter.com/...
Michael M. Grynbaum / @grynbaum: Look for Trump to claim a big ratings victory over Biden after their concurrent town halls on Thursday. The way ratings work, it's basically guaranteed. Trump's on NBC, MSNBC & CNBC; Biden only on ABC. Nielsen ratings don't include streaming. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Alex Reimer / Table For One: NBC's ridiculous town hall with Donald Trump proves it: The media loves DJT!
Matt Singer / @matthewjsinger: To get the town hall with Trump, NBC evidently became aware of the major news that (contrary to Trump's doctor's claims) he is still testing positive for Coronavirus but agreed not to say so. https://twitter.com/...
Emily Goodin / @emilylgoodin: Trump's NBC townhall on Thursday will be simulcast on MSNBC and CNBC, virtually guaranteeing the president a higher Nielsen rating than Joe Biden's town hall that night, which is set to air on ABC - a single traditional TV network. https://twitter.com/...
Adam Epstein / Quartz: Once again, NBC decided to serve Trump's interests
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair: NBC Schedules Last-Minute Trump Town Hall—the Same Time Joe Biden Is Hosting His Own
Tom Jones / Poynter: NBC is taking heat for holding a Trump town hall at the same time ABC will hold one with Biden
Josh Sternberg / The Media Nut: It's October, which means for the media it's 2016 again.
Jenn Gidman / Newser: Biden, Trump to Hold Dueling Town Halls
Brendan Morrow / The Week: NBC confirms Trump town hall at same time as ABC's Biden event after debate fell apart
Cheryl Gould: I am dismayed—more like disgusted— by NBC's decision to air Trump's “I wont play by the rules …
David Folkenflik / NPR: Trump's Town Hall On NBC To Overlap With Biden's On ABC
RELATED:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
NBC News to host a Trump town hall, moderated by Savannah Guthrie, on Thursday evening, at the same time ABC News is broadcasting a similar event with Biden — The dueling town halls were set in motion last week after Trump's presidential campaign refused to take part in the second …
Discussion:
@merrillbro, @shakeenz, @grynbaum, @vivian, Mediaite, Poynter, @greenfield64, @yashar, @cmclymer, @deanluk, Hollywood Reporter, @shakeenz, @youngestwoman, @robertmaguire_, @marmel, @herzogfan, @pbump, @shakeenz, @helenschwab, @b52malmet, @willmcavoyacn, @colorofchange, TheDenverChannel.com, @benjaminjs, @ronaldklain, @adamnagourney, @jeffjarvis, @guypbenson, @mattklewis, @deggans, @kylepope, @thefienprint, @jamesrbuk, @jayrosen_nyu, @mattyglesias, @kikkiplanet, @tombevanrcp, @kimmasters, @kimmasters, @zeitchikwapo, @freedlander, @lilymasonphd, @ericboehlert, @greta, @deray, @nycsouthpaw, @nycsouthpaw, @bristei, @chris_keppler, @poniewozik, @raju, @davecatanese, @keithboykin, @chrisdjackson, @poniewozik, @bristei, @davidfolkenflik, @jayrosen_nyu and Hollywood Reporter
Discussion:
Merrill Brown / @merrillbro: Management at @NBCNews needs to explain ASAP how agreeing at last minute to add a town hall with President Trump opposite an @abcnews Joe Biden Town Hall is in the public interest. Even doing it at 10 ET just after Biden would have been a better decision. https://twitter.com/...
Shakina / @shakeenz: Shame on @NBC. Y'all sign my checks as of late but I'm disgusted by my home network giving Trump a platform for fear mongering, bigotry & disinformation. Don't praise yourselves for putting a trans woman on primetime then give a platform to someone who wants to abolish my rights.
Michael M. Grynbaum / @grynbaum: NBC wanted outside (non-Conley) proof of Trump's medical condition. Per the network, the NIH “collected & analyzed” a PCR test on Tuesday and concluded he is “not shedding infectious virus.” NBC did not explicitly say the PCR test was negative. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Vivian Schiller / @vivian: The point of a news organization is to serve the public. This is the opposite. @NBCNews could literally run this any other day, or any other time. Shameful. (Disclosure: I am a former NBC News exec) https://twitter.com/...
Ken Meyer / Mediaite: Don Lemon Goes OFF on NBC for Letting Trump Dictate Their Programming: ‘Outright Embarrassing Ratings Ploy!’
Jeff Greenfield / @greenfield64: The decision by NBC News to run a Trump town hall directly opposite ABC's Biden town hall is indefensible.
@yashar: I've heard from over a dozen NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC sources (talent and staff) and the frustration with and anger toward their employer for scheduling a town hall against Biden is palpable.
Mark Lukasiewicz / @deanluk: This is a bad result for American voters, who should not be forced to choose which to watch. So much is still going wrong with how TV journalism copes, or still fails to cope, with @realDonaldTrump. https://twitter.com/...
Shakina / @shakeenz: Honestly shame on @ABC and @NBC, this echo chamber of rhetoric is a root problem in America. These days leading up to the election should be about the exchange and comparison of ideas and policy, not ratings and stoking division. @realDonaldTrump & @JoeBiden should #debate.
Nicole / @youngestwoman: you're talking about the president of the united states. he has the biggest platform in the world. he has the nuclear launch codes. he isn't pewdiepie. grow the fuck up! https://twitter.com/...
Robert Maguire / @robertmaguire_: “The Hollywood Reporter talked to former NBC insiders who provide new detail on his brazen demands (including large donations to his ill-fated foundation) and the way the network enabled him: ‘We had to build all kinds of systems to make sure the show stayed on the rails.’” https://twitter.com/...
Steve Marmel / @marmel: This took courage that Savannah Guthrie does not have. https://twitter.com/...
LK Lawson / @herzogfan: @MSNBC Goodbye NBC. You reward Trump's bad behavior by giving him his own special opposite Biden ? Haven't you guys done enough in promoting this conman and pathological liar ? Savannah Guthrie ? What, Toadstool Todd wasn't free ? The NBC-Trump legacy: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Philip Bump / @pbump: “He said he was announcing a bid in June and [he'd] be out of the race by September and start shooting [Celebrity Apprentice] in January.” https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
H Schwab / @helenschwab: Terrible, indefensible decision on timing here, @nbcnews. But not too late to change this, and reclaim some credibility as a news organization. Don't leave people to rely only on their usual network's commentators to hear about the other candidate. Let them hear both. https://twitter.com/...
Barbara Malmet / @b52malmet: Look. The historical predicate of Trump shaking down NBC for what he wants. https://twitter.com/...
Will McAvoy / @willmcavoyacn: Again: if Trump had not gotten COVID through his own ineptitude and incompetence it wouldn't be an issue. https://twitter.com/...
@colorofchange: .@NBC, your decision to host this town hall is utterly disappointing for three reasons: (i) the high COVID-19 rate in Miami, (ii) the risk this event poses to community members, and (iii) the misinformation we expect to come out of it. #CancelThisTownHall https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Benjamin Siemon / @benjaminjs: NBC in 2016: We made a mistake in featuring such an evil man on SNL. We will never do this again. NBC in 2020: We will give Trump a town hall special competing against Biden after he refused to debate virtually. https://twitter.com/...
Ronald Klain / @ronaldklain: With four networks showing Trump (@NBC @MSNBC @Telemundo @CNBC) to one showing Biden (@ABC), Trump may well get higher ratings. But will he get more — or fewer — votes as a result? https://twitter.com/...
Adam Nagourney / @adamnagourney: Fair point; not sure why Trump/NBC couldn't have gone before or after, or on another day. This should be about voters, give them a chance to see candidates. Instead, feels like this is going to deteriorate into chest-thumping over who gets biggest ratings. https://twitter.com/...
Guy Benson / @guypbenson: No it's not. In fact, if both candidates are going to be conducting dueling, simultaneous nationally-televised town hall meetings on the same night at the same time, perhaps they should be...debating each other in person, as originally scheduled. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Lewis / @mattklewis: Doesn't this severely undermine the notion that the 2nd presidential debate *had* to be done virtually (or not at all)? https://twitter.com/...
Eric Deggans At Npr / @deggans: As always, Kim's got the goods: This time, on Donald Trump's financial shenanigans with NBC executives while starring in The Apprentice. https://twitter.com/...
Kyle Pope / @kylepope: I'm reminded of Chris Wallace bemoaning the fact that Trump's shouting meant the American people didn't get the benefit of hearing from both candidates. @NBCNews apparently has no such view. This is a craven ratings stunt, caving to the Trumpian impulses the network helped hone.
Daniel Fienberg / @thefienprint: We used to as NBC execs at press tour about Trump running for president and it was always a question couched in concern that such a run would make NBC's brand look bad. Nothing else. Anyway, NBC is airing a Trump town hall/commercial on Thursday night. https://twitter.com/...
James Ball / @jamesrbuk: Given Trump was the one to drop out of the debate, is it not off-the-charts shitty for NBC to let him counter-program against Biden like this? https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: With this decision, NBC has rewarded Trump for torpedoing the second debate, created dueling spectacles for voters, and simply looked past the fact that its reporters never got an answer to: when was the president's last negative test before he got COVID? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: I'd somehow forgotten that Trump chickened out of debating after months of suggesting Biden would do this. https://twitter.com/...
Kathleen Smith / @kikkiplanet: I've said it before and I'll say it again; Donald J Trump is a media creation. His empire and everything about him is a lie and always has been, & media force-fed those lies to Americans for profit. They are complicit in creating this monster. https://twitter.com/...
Tom Bevan / @tombevanrcp: Can't wait to see the ‘undecided voters’ NBC digs up for this one. https://twitter.com/...
Kim Masters / @kimmasters: I spoke to an exec there yesterday and said, “You're going to get a lot of blowback if you do this,” and he said, “Why? We aired a Biden town hall before.” https://twitter.com/...
Kim Masters / @kimmasters: Since the NYT revealed that The Apprentice was Trump's lifeline, @snoodit and I talked to NBC execs about their memories of the show. He agreed not to run in 2011 after the company coughed up $500K to his “charity.” https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Steven Zeitchik / @zeitchikwapo: There are nine mentions in this seven-paragraph story about how safe it will be but zero explanations about why they are doing it https://twitter.com/...
David Freedlander / @freedlander: After dropping out of an official Commission on Presidential Debates sanctioned town hall—the first President ever to do so—Trump gets 90 minutes of free air time without his opponent https://twitter.com/...
Lilliana Mason / @lilymasonphd: If ABC and NBC team up, they could actually ask Trump and Biden to respond to each other in real time - almost like a “virtual debate”. https://twitter.com/...
Eric Boehlert / @ericboehlert: Trump: the press is the enemy of the people! NBC: we'll clear our primetime schedule for you! sums up the Trump era perfectly
Greta Van Susteren / @greta: People will DVR ...at least i will DVR so can watch both...the key issue is whether the two events will be mirror images in fairness and depth of information solicited and audience selection https://twitter.com/...
@deray: The NBC Trump Town Hall makes complete sense when we remember how much the media benefits from Trump's antics and his ability to control the narrative over and over. The media remains complicit.
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: NIH issuing statements to NBC in support of a Trump re-election campaign town hall on NBC. https://twitter.com/...
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: Could the NBC booking unit get us the date and time of the president's last negative test before his COVID-19 diagnosis? Or the cause of his unannounced trip to Walter Reed last year? They seem to have the inside track on his health.
Brian Steinberg / @bristei: NBC News' and ABC News' maneuvers will help to accomplish what the organizers of the original presidential debates hoped to thwart: the attention of American voters will be split and viewers won't see the candidates answering questions in the same forum https://variety.com/...
Chris Keppler / @chris_keppler: NBC & ABC doing voters a disservice by concurrently airing Trump & Biden town halls in lieu of debate. Better to air the town halls consecutively so remaining undecided voters can compare and contrast the candidates. #Election2020 https://twitter.com/...
James Poniewozik / @poniewozik: In 2016, there were a lot of media decisions that in retrospect seemed to be made on the basis of, “Well, Trump's going to lose anyway, so why not?” We hadn't seen as much of that in this election so far. But maybe we're getting to that point now. https://twitter.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: Mainstream TV's lose-lose proposition for America. Quite likely only way to get Trump to agree, since both networks would have benefitted from not splitting audiences and attention, if aired in separate time slot? https://twitter.com/...
Dave Catanese / @davecatanese: Producing Trump's favorite poll: A ratings face-off. https://twitter.com/...
Keith Boykin / @keithboykin: NBC is rewarding Trump for his irresponsible behavior. He just got out of the hospital with coronavirus, still hasn't been wearing a mask, and has been spreading lies and misinformation about Covid-19 at daily campaign rallies with no social distancing. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris D. Jackson / @chrisdjackson: NBC is absolute garbage. Trump backed out of the debate, so what doss NBC do? Gives him a town hall to compete with Biden's. Oh yeah, only days after he criticized Biden's NBC town hall. https://twitter.com/...
James Poniewozik / @poniewozik: “The network did not explicitly say that Mr. Trump had received a negative result from the P.C.R. test.” https://twitter.com/...
Brian Steinberg / @bristei: @NBCNews will move forward with a town hall with President Trump opposite a similar event @ABC is holding with VP Biden, setting off a primetime scramble between both networks and candidates for viewers https://variety.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Ex https://msnbc.com/ exec @merrillbro is right — this scheduling is competition not public service https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: If NBC does this, it will be... 1.) after its journalists failed to get an answer to “when was his last negative test before contracting Covid?” 2.) after he pulled out of the second debate. 3.) in competititon with Biden town hall same night. Something potent is driving this. https://twitter.com/...
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
NYU releases a ranked list of 10 lasting works of journalism from the past decade, serving as a reminder of enduring, essential reporting — With so much news slamming us at every moment, it's hard to see any of it as having enduring value. Who can even remember what happened last week?
Discussion:
Julie Tate / @julieatate: Proud to be on this list! @jenjenkinswp and @JulieATate are still out here updating this database. Just waiting for the Justice Department to take over the reins! https://twitter.com/...
Richard Winton / @lacrimes: Agree with Fatal Force project selection but did anyone look West from their East Coast centric perch? https://twitter.com/...
Carlos Lozada / @carloslozadawp: I don't know, @Sulliview, there's an stunning lack of literary criticism on this list. Sad! https://twitter.com/...
Wesley / @wesleylowery: The Washington Post's Fatal Force project — which I proposed and served as a lead reporter on — named by NYU as one of the 10 greatest works of journalism of the last decade https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
David Fahrenthold / @fahrenthold: Wow! What an incredible honor, to be listed in the company of journalists like these. https://twitter.com/...
Ida Bae Wells / @nhannahjones: Five of @nyu_journalism's top 10 journalistic works of the decade were lead by Black writers chronicling the legacy of American slavery, including my dear friends Ta-Nehisi Coates & @WesleyLowery. Hire Black writers. Let them tell the American story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Sean Newhouse / @seanthenewsboy: So, so, honored to have been included on this esteemed list https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jake Silverstein / @jakesilverstein: Every ten years, NYU chooses the ten best works of journalism of the decade. We're honored and so proud that the #1619project is on the list. More proof that @nhannahjones's landmark work is truly historic https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Bronwen Dickey / @bronwendickey: When I taught “The Case for Reparations” in my @Duke_DeWitt magazine journalism class last week, I was so pleased to learn many of my students had already read it. https://twitter.com/...
Kim Bellware / @bellwak: Big congrats to my WaPo colleagues past and present who are listed And congrats to Chicago folks - Bing Liu (Minding the Gap), @JimDeRogatis (everything on R. Kelly) Alex Kotlowitz, @lindalutton et al (Harper High) 💜 https://twitter.com/...
Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart: New York Times' ‘1619 Project’ Named to ‘Top Ten Works of Journalism of the Decade’
Nancy Coleman / @nancylcoleman: to be included among these incredible honorees ... truly, I'm humbled https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Margaret Sullivan / @sulliview: Here you go: The 10 greatest works of journalism of the past 10 years. Care to argue about it? https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Amazon expands NFL coverage with the addition of one new wildcard playoff game on Amazon Prime Video, sharing the Jan. 10 game with ViacomCBS platforms — Amazon Prime Video to carry one new wildcard playoff game, which also will be available on ViacomCBS platforms
Discussion:
Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost: Amazon Expands NFL Streaming With 2021 Wild Card Game Rights
I-Hsien Sherwood / Ad Age: The Richards Group keeps bleeding clients, and dueling town halls tonight: Thursday Wake-Up Call
Joe Flint / @jbflint: Amazon deepens relationship with NFL by landing its first ever post-season game. https://www.wsj.com/...
Brandon Ross / @brandolightshed: Amazon dipping toe further into sports rights w second deal in two days. €80mm / yr for Italy Champions League rights yesterday. https://twitter.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: So to be clear, the January 10 wild card game will be broadcast on CBS and Nickelodeon and streamed by All Access (or will it be Paramount + by then) and Amazon. https://www.wsj.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: While it is expected that the primary TV partners will remain ESPN, Fox Corp's Fox, CBS and NBC, the league has in recent years sliced and diced its schedule to increase the number of outlets with games and create additional revenue streams. https://www.wsj.com/...
Joe Lucia / Awful Announcing: Amazon will stream an NFL Wild Card game
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap: Amazon to Stream NFL Playoff Game in January
Jabari Young / CNBC:
DraftKings signs deal to be the exclusive sportsbook and fantasy sports provider for WarnerMedia's Turner Sports and Bleacher Report, but excludes NBA content — - DraftKings will integrate its content across Turner Sports platforms, but the agreement excludes NBA content.
Discussion:
@draftkingsnews: Today, @DraftKings & @Turner Sports announced a collaboration agreement to create original programming and @BleacherReport content integrations. DraftKings is now the Exclusive Sportsbook, Daily Fantasy Sports and iGaming Provider of Turner Sports. https://www.draftkings.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Darren Rovell / @darrenrovell: How competitive is the gambling information media space? Turner Sports just sold exclusive betting ad rights, which includes broadcast integration, to FanDuel for NBA programming and a different exclusive deal with DraftKings for other properties, including Bleacher Report.
Eric Fisher / @ericfishersbg: Slicing and dicing. Turner Sports signs a content-focused partnership with DraftKings, while also signing a separate NBA-specific deal with FanDuel.
Eben Novy-Williams / Sportico.com: DraftKings' Deal With Turner Sports May Lead to March Madness Rights
New York Times:
Q&A with Ben Brantley, NYT's co-chief theater critic, as he retires after 27 years, on the power of the reviewer, making space for more diverse critics, more — After 27 years and more than 2,500 reviews, The Times's co-chief theater critic reviews his own tenure and talks about why he's (quietly) making an exit.
Discussion:
@nytimes: Ben Brantley, after 27 years as a theater critic, is leaving The New York Times. “But once a critic, always a critic,” he told his co-chief critic, @JesseKGreen. “There'll always be a phantom notebook in my lap.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Anand Giridharadas / @anandwrites: The case for making space from Ben Brantley, the @nytimes theater critic departing after 27 years. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@niemanlab: “In a Zoom meeting with critics, The Times's executive editor, Dean Baquet, lingered over the question of whether arts reviewers should stay in their jobs indefinitely. And I thought, ‘That sounds like an exit cue to me.’” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@alexisohanian: Love seeing it - tho I wonder why more billion dollar company board members haven't followed suit.... 🤔🤔🤔 https://twitter.com/...
Michael Paulson / @michaelpaulson: “We are all inexorably trapped in the shells of our race, class, gender and generation. So if my departure opens the door to new perspectives from more diverse sets of eyes, so much the better.” — @BenjBrantley, in an exit interview with @JesseKGreen https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jordan Robertson / Bloomberg:
Report: Macedonian town notorious for churning out misinformation in 2016 is again hosting popular websites purporting to be US conservative news outlets — - Town in North Macedonia now home to deceptive right-wing sites — Fake addresses used to make sites appear American, report says
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Study: number of fact-checking organizations grew 200% globally since Trump was elected in 2016, with nearly 20% of those organizations in the US — There's been a 200% increase in the number of fact-checking organizations that have launched worldwide since President Trump was elected in 2016 …
Discussion:
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: On the one hand, great. On the other hand, bringing fact-checking to a culture war https://twitter.com/...
Ismael Nafra / @ismaelnafria: Fact-checking goes mainstream in Trump era - There's been a 200% increase in the number of fact-checking organizations that have launched worldwide since President Trump was elected in 2016, according to data from the Duke Reporter's Lab. @axios https://www.axios.com/...
Emily Kuhn / @emkuhn: “The highest-trafficked website for fact check related-keywords during the first debate was CNN, followed by NPR and The New York Times. CNN said that over 5M unique visitors consumed CNN Digital's ‘Facts First’ on the first presidential debate day and the VP debate day.” https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Profile of Kareem Daniel, head of Disney's new Media and Entertainment Distribution group, who became one of its top Black leaders after starting as an intern — - Movie fan to make pricing and marketing decisions for Disney+ — The 46-year-old becomes one of the company's top Black leaders
Discussion:
Carl Quintanilla / @carlquintanilla: Meet Kareem Daniel, who “owes his rise in large part to his connection with Disney's new chief executive officer, Bob Chapek, who said he first hired him as an intern years ago when Daniel was in graduate school.” $DIS @business https://www.bloomberg.com/...