Top News:
New York Times:
A look at a pay-for-play network of ~1,300 sites and some papers that fills a local news void in the US with propaganda ordered by GOP and corporate PR groups — A nationwide operation of 1,300 local sites publishes coverage that is ordered up by Republican groups and corporate P.R. firms.
Discussion:
@daveyalba, Wall Street Journal, Media Nation, @daveyalba, @jacknicas, @janetadamy, @nils_gilman, @jason_kint, @johnbattelle, @arjunbasu, @fawfulfan, @markmaxwelltv, @photospice, @sandofsky, @annehelen, @terryteachout1, @mollyjongfast, @nicoleperlroth, @aaronworthing, @vindugoel, @mattyglesias, @alison__berg, @ehernandez, @menakadoshi, @raju, @mckaycoppins, @bryanboy, @banikarim, @ddale8, @davidsirota, @slpng_giants, @therobwalton, @ericboehlert, @jonathanalter, @damemagazine, @daveyalba, @bypatrickgeorge, @kemc, @jjohnsonlaw, @nickconfessore, @dcherring, @tvietor08, @glenbmulcahy and @eotaxprof
Discussion:
Davey Alba / @daveyalba: NEW: A network of 1,300 websites aim to fill a news void left by vanishing local papers across the U.S. It is built on propaganda ordered up by conservative advocacy groups & Republican operators, according to a year-long investigation by me and @jacknicas https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation: The king of ‘pink slime’ journalism is back, this time boosting Republicans
Davey Alba / @daveyalba: The network also takes advantage of many under-employed and out-of-work journalists. The journalists we spoke to who write for the network said they overlooked their doubts because the pay was steady and journalism jobs were scarce. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jack Nicas / @jacknicas: NEW: A network of 1,300 websites targeting small towns and cities across the U.S. is built not on traditional journalism, but rather propaganda ordered up by Republican groups and P.R. firms. A nearly yearlong investigation by @daveyalba and me: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Janet Adamy / @janetadamy: The Copper Courier in Arizona and the Decatur Times in Alabama describe themselves as startup news sites filling the local news void. In fact, they are both partisan efforts to shape the news ahead of the 2020 election. By @emilyglazer @keachhagey. https://www.wsj.com/...
Nils Gilman / @nils_gilman: Amazing reporting by @daveyalba & @jacknicas about how the collapse of local news reporting (thanks Google!) has created an opening for that space to be filled by a network of rightwing propaganda web sites that masquerade as news sites. https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: It's worth noting Newsguard also recently dropped Breitbart by 20 points and reissued its red warning label. The site had earned a green label in 2019/2019 after fixing many of its problematic practices. That's all now lost. How did Facebook change its own view? https://twitter.com/...
John Battelle / @johnbattelle: Attention all brands dumping billions into Facebook and Google: Your media spending choices matter. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Chapman / @fawfulfan: This story is nuts. There's nothing new about partisan news sites, of course. Both sides do it. But a network of hundreds of sites dressed up as local news outlets that directly commission conservative PR on behalf of paying clients is something new and disturbing. https://twitter.com/...
Mark Maxwell / @markmaxwelltv: “While Mr. Timpone's sites generally do not post information that is outright false, the operation is rooted in deception, eschewing hallmarks of news reporting like fairness and transparency.” https://twitter.com/...
Barbaradavidson / @photospice: support local journalism ... this is what happens when we don't https://twitter.com/...
Ben Sandofsky / @sandofsky: Tired: State Run Media Wired: Billionaire Run Media https://twitter.com/...
Anne Helen Petersen / @annehelen: This is an incredibly important story. The Montana Daily Gazette doesn't seem to be part of this network but it certainly functions in the same way, spreading sensationalized far right propaganda with a name/aesthetic that convinces readers it's a legitimate local news site https://twitter.com/...
Terry Teachout / @terryteachout1: Fascinating—and troubling. https://twitter.com/...
Molly Jong-Fast / @mollyjongfast: This piece is amazing https://twitter.com/...
Nicole Perlroth / @nicoleperlroth: “The instructions were clear: Write an article calling out Sara Gideon, a Democrat running for a hotly contested U.S. Senate seat in Maine, as a hypocrite. Angela Underwood, a freelance reporter in upstate New York, took the $22 assignment.” It published in Maine Business Daily. https://twitter.com/...
@aaronworthing: In other words, with the “unbiased media” model dying because it was complete bullshit, we are returning to the prior model of journalism which involved the press being nakedly partisan and admitting it https://twitter.com/...
Vindu Goel / @vindugoel: Republicans are operating a vast network of more than 1,000 fake-news sites pretending to be legitimate local news outlets. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Great piece. Also while this is pernicious it's a good idea strategically. Dems have raised a ton of money this years, but progressives don't invest much in media. https://twitter.com/...
Alison Berg / @alison__berg: I really, really like my job. I want to keep doing this job but I genuinely worry it won't exist in 20 years. https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Hernandez / @ehernandez: Supporting your local news is truly an act of democracy. https://twitter.com/...
Menaka Doshi / @menakadoshi: They look like bonafide news platforms. But they are not. Important story. https://twitter.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: #newsdeserts across America are being filled by pink slime https://twitter.com/...
McKay Coppins / @mckaycoppins: As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place: “The network...is built not on traditional journalism but on propaganda ordered up by dozens of conservative think tanks, political operatives, corporate executives and [PR] professionals” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@bryanboy: This is extremely frightening but not surprising. That country is brainwashed. https://twitter.com/...
Susie / @banikarim: we are absolutely fucked. the only way to get rid of sites like this is for them to be deplatformed & so far relying on platforms to decide which news outlets are legitimate is going ... very badly. https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Dale / @ddale8: Important story about sites that seem like ordinary local news publications but run articles “directed by political groups and corporate P.R. firms to promote a Republican candidate or a company, or to smear their rivals.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Sirota / @davidsirota: Basically, the media space is being rotted by increasingly grotesque & brazen corruption, and the only way to fix it is to have grassroots-funded, reader-supported news organizations. Unfortunately, building that is extremely difficult. But it is worth the effort. https://twitter.com/...
@slpng_giants: Lax oversight by Internet giants combined with social networks like @facebook prioritizing engagement over quality reporting have brought us here, where real news is being completely replaced by partisan sites doing the bidding of billionaires. Breitbart was just the start. https://twitter.com/...
Rob Walton / @therobwalton: It's almost like a large news organization, possibly based in New York, gave up on its regional chain of newspapers and let them get gobbled up by private equity ghouls who stripped them of assets and left them for dead. It's almost like that. https://twitter.com/...
Eric Boehlert / @ericboehlert: so much is depressing abt this piece. near the top? freelancers getting paid $22 for articles. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jonathan Alter / @jonathanalter: This is a terrifying story. We need a massive non-profit investment in legit local journalism or kur democracy os done no matter what happens in the election. https://twitter.com/...
Dame / @damemagazine: An essential read. Media literacy is so critical right now. https://twitter.com/...
Davey Alba / @daveyalba: The man behind the network is Brian Timpone, a Republican and a former journalist who has been obsessed with replacing the old print guard as a digital-news mogul. We traced at least $1.7M in public records to his web of companies, but there could be more https://www.nytimes.com/...
Patrick George / @bypatrickgeorge: Do you think it gets exhausting to never do anything in good faith? Like, ever? What's it like when everything you do is some experiment in electioneering and ratfucking? https://twitter.com/...
Kathleen McLaughlin / @kemc: Scary stuff. Political operatives know local newspapers are still among the most-trusted sources of information, even as they vanish. https://twitter.com/...
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: Truly jaw-dropping work here, on the next iteration of black-box Astroturfing on the right—not just manufacturing the content but manufacturing the news outlets. https://twitter.com/...
Dennis Herring / @dcherring: ok, my jaw is dropped. https://twitter.com/...
Tommy Vietor / @tvietor08: The incessantly whining about liberal media bias is pretty ridiculous when you combine the reach of Fox News, right-wing publishers on Facebook, and these local conservative sites. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Glen Mulcahy / @glenbmulcahy: A must read👇🏻 What happens when local news is allowed to die. There are other business models. If EVER there was a time to create a mobile first/ by & for mobile with sound editorial its now. There must be some philanthropy fund to make it happen! @craignewmark @GoogleNewsInit https://twitter.com/...
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Sources: NY Post's article about Hunter Biden was written mostly by Bruce Golding, who did not allow his byline to be used amid doubts in the tabloid's newsroom — Some reporters withheld their bylines and questioned the credibility of an article that made the tabloid's front page on Wednesday.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, @benyt, The Wrap, Mediaite, @harrysiegel, CNN, Poynter, @kyledcheney, @alexmleo, @oliverdarcy, Boing Boing, The Jackal, @frankrichny, @stephgracela, @ericpaine, @benyt, The Week, @yashar, @juliancastro, @nprinskeep, @brhodes, @oneunderscore__, @petersterne, @steveschmidtses, @greenfield64, @peterwsinger, @petersterne, @eshap, @kylegriffin1, @bgrueskin, @glennkesslerwp, @fawfulfan, Four Freedoms, @fordm, @petersterne, @maxboot, @bgrueskin, @caseynewton, @timobrien, @jonfavs, @nycsouthpaw, @katie_robertson, @hemantmehta, @donmoyn, @cmclymer, @dnvolz, @timodc, @samesmail, Fox News and New York Post
Discussion:
Ben Smith / @benyt: Incredible stuff from @katie_robertson inside the New York Post's newsroom as the bosses rammed a story through on Rudy's sayso, and over reporters' objections https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: NY Post Reporter Behind Dubious Hunter Biden Story Refused to Put His Name on It (Report)
Harry Siegel / @harrysiegel: Giuliani said he chose The Post because “either nobody else would take it, or if they took it, they would spend all the time they could to try to contradict it before they put it out.” https://twitter.com/...
Alexis Benveniste / CNN: The anatomy of the New York Post's dubious Hunter Biden story
Tom Jones / Poynter: Who is Donald Trump complaining about now? NBC News' Kristen Welker, the next debate moderator
Kyle Cheney / @kyledcheney: In an effort to legitimize their reporting on Hunter Biden's email, the NY Post asked two veteran reporters to put their names on the story, per NYT. They refused. A 3rd, whose name appears on the stories, didn't learn she'd be on until it published. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Alex Leo / @alexmleo: lmao “it had to be the New York Post, anyone else would vet it” https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: New York Post source tells me that inside the outlet, “All this Hunter Biden shit is being done in its own bubble. It's happening on an island within an island.” Person calls situation “gross” but is happy others are applying scrutiny and “see the grift.” https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/ ...
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing: New York Post's own reporters denounce its Hunter Biden story
David Podhaskie / The Jackal: Hunter Biden Did 9/11 — Despite the two dueling NBC and ABC Town Halls on Thursday …
Frank Rich / @frankrichny: To their credit, some at @nypost refused to put their bylines on the Hunter Biden hoax, created by the felon Bannon and the Russian pawn Giuliani. But others sold their souls to promote it. https://nypost.com/...
Stephanie Grace / @stephgracela: This is not the way credible news organizations operate. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: One reporter “had little to do with the reporting or writing of the article, said three people with knowledge of how it was prepared. She learned that her byline was on the story only after it was published.” Yikes. https://twitter.com/...
Peter Weber / The Week: Giuliani gave Hunter Biden story to New York Post because ‘nobody else would take it’ at face value
Yashar Ali / @yashar: Not sure whats in the Post's employment agreement but this litigation worthy conduct here https://twitter.com/...
Julin Castro / @juliancastro: The NY Post is practicing propaganda, not journalism. https://twitter.com/...
Steve Inskeep / @nprinskeep: Pondering which paragraph is more incredible. The lead, where we learn why the reporter who wrote the NY Post story took his byline off; or the one where Giuliani says he chose the Post because another paper might have wasted time fact checking. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Rhodes / @brhodes: Once again...political media is under no obligation to publish, report on, or ask candidates questions about flagrant disinformation campaigns just bc Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, or some Russian spies want them to https://twitter.com/...
@petersterne: Props also to @katie_robertson and @nytimes, who were first to publish. It's not a great feeling to get beaten by 30 minutes after spending 30+ hours reporting something out over the weekend, but the most important thing is that the truth comes out. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Steve Schmidt / @steveschmidtses: .@ProjectLincoln @katie_robertson @reedgalen @TheRickWilson @stuartpstevens The corruption at the New York Post is astounding. The dishonesty is just breathtaking. This is an extraordinary piece of reporting by Katie Robertson. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Greenfield / @greenfield64: This timeline suggests that Rupert Murdoch is no longer the looming presence he once was.. had to imagine he wasn't consulted on this if he were on his game.. just too embarrassing even for him to tolerate. https://twitter.com/...
Peter W. Singer / @peterwsinger: Then he should not have written it. Why is this so hard? https://twitter.com/...
@petersterne: @BGrueskin @nycsouthpaw The source's point is that it sucks to work for a publication that, in addition to generally publishing (real) local reporting, occasionally publishes outlandish right-wing propaganda. It's not that everything the Post publishes is propaganda.
@eshap: “Bruce Golding & another reporter refused to add bylines to the piece because of concerns over the article's credibility. @NYPost staff questioned the authenticity of the drive's contents, said 5 people aware of the tabloid's inner workings.” Golding's twitter has been deleted. https://twitter.com/...
Kyle Griffin / @kylegriffin1: One of the NY Post reporters did not have a bylined article before Wednesday, a search of its website showed. She arrived at the tabloid in April after working as an associate producer on Sean Hannity's Fox show. Her Instagram included photos with Steve Bannon and Roger Stone. https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: @nycsouthpaw Yes. Who knew this about the Post? And how could any journalist be expected to find this out?
Glenn Kessler / @glennkesslerwp: Naturally, Rudy wouldn't want a news organization to conduct actual journalism on this sketchy material, would he? https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Chapman / @fawfulfan: I'm not surprised. The New York Post is tabloidy and conservative but it's not like they have *zero* standards. They aren't Breitbart. https://twitter.com/...
Roger Senserrich / Four Freedoms: El presidente de internet
Matt Ford / @fordm: This is going to be a tricky Pulitzer nomination. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@petersterne: @BGrueskin @nycsouthpaw Sure. I don't think anyone was incredulous. Everyone I talked to said they weren't surprised the Post published it. That doesn't mean they're happy about it.
Max Boot / @maxboot: The hesitation by Facebook and Twitter to promote this disinformation (which likely originated in Russia) looks better all the time. You know what looks worse? Republican caterwauling about “censorship.” Like I said in @PostOpinions: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: @petersterne @nycsouthpaw But anyone knows that going in. It's a bargain that a reporter has to make, for whatever reason, and this incredulity is a bit much.
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: If the reporters who wrote it won't attach their name to it, why should Twitter attach a retweet button to it? https://twitter.com/...
Tim O'Brien / @timobrien: In which the latest Post story reveals...wait for it...wait for it...Biden to be a loving and dedicated father. Undoubtedly not what Giuliani imagined for this round. https://nypost.com/...
Jon Favreau / @jonfavs: I fully expected the Hunter Biden smear to fall apart. I didn't expect it to fall apart so quickly or thoroughly, including a mea culpa from the NEW YORK POST REPORTERS THEMSELVES. https://twitter.com/...
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: “It's upsetting. It's disappointing. It sucks to, like, work for, like, a propaganda outlet.” https://nymag.com/...
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: NEW: A reporter on the New York Post's Hunter Biden story refused to attach his byline to it, sources say, as the tabloid's staff question the article's credibility https://www.nytimes.com/...
Don Moynihan / @donmoyn: This is pretty damning. Bannon & Giuliani met with NY Post editors to drop their Hunter Biden story. Veteran reporters refused to allow their name to be attached to it because they did not think the story held up. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@dnvolz: “The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal have reported that they could not independently verify the data in the Post article, which included hedging language, referring at one point to an email “allegedly sent” to Hunter Biden.” https://twitter.com/...
Tim Miller / @timodc: Wow the reporter who actually wrote the story wouldn't put their byline on it so another reporter who did nothing was added to the byline and didn't know it until it published. https://twitter.com/...
Sam Esmail / @samesmail: Oh, so... journalism? https://twitter.com/...
RELATED:
Vijaya Gadde / @vijaya:
[Thread] Twitter updates Hacked Materials Policy, says it won't remove content unless shared by hackers themselves and will label tweets instead of block links
Discussion:
USA Today, @jack, The Starting Block, @anibundel, @lorenraedej, @vijaya, @b_fung, @lukeobrien, @freedomofpress, @reciaimthenet, @hawleymo, @mpdillon, @rasmus_kleis, @mikeisaac, @justinhendrix, @mikeisaac, @fmanjoo, Wired, @jess, @poynter, @profcarroll, @asharangappa_, WAVY-TV, @ericrweinstein, MIT Technology Review, New Republic, New York Post, Adweek, Mashable and Politico
Discussion:
USA Today: A tabloid got a trove of data on Hunter Biden from Rudy Giuliani. Now, the FBI is probing a possible disinformation campaign
@jack: Straight blocking of URLs was wrong, and we updated our policy and enforcement to fix. Our goal is to attempt to add context, and now we have capabilities to do that. https://twitter.com/...
Tina Carmillia / The Starting Block: The 24th Block — Create, curate and arbitrate influence — Cristina Tardáguila …
Undead Ani Bundel / @anibundel: This would be a whole lot more straightforward if Twitter would ban it for honest reasons: That it's obviously a planted story designed to interfere with the election & its Twitter's civil duty to deplatform it. https://twitter.com/...
Loren DeJonge Schulman / @lorenraedej: Honestly twitter should must make a universal “this is weird shit” label while they vacillate. https://twitter.com/...
Vijaya Gadde / @vijaya: We believe that labeling Tweets and empowering people to assess content for themselves better serves the public interest and public conversation. The Hacked Material Policy is being updated to reflect these new enforcement capabilities.
Luke O'Brien / @lukeobrien: This woman has an obscene amount of power over the 2020 election & thinks boosting a Russian influence op is “serving the public conversation.” She appeared on Joe Rogan with neo-fascist collaborator Tim Pool, was caught on hot mic asking Pool for info on an “antifa” account. https://twitter.com/...
@freedomofpress: Twitter's acknowledgement that its “Hacked Materials Policy” has serious implications—and potentially major chilling effects—for public interest journalism and whistleblowers is an admirable step forward for the company. These are welcome changes. https://twitter.com/...
@reciaimthenet: They change their “hacked materials” policy but still don't define what “hacked materials” are and how it related to the @nypost story... https://twitter.com/...
Josh Hawley / @hawleymo: I'm looking forward to asking you about this. Under oath. https://twitter.com/...
Patrick Dillon / @mpdillon: These sites have have known for 4 years this kind of stuff was coming, we're less than 3 weeks out, and the answer is still “we're winging it, we'll make it up as we go along” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis: 100% this - “Without methodology or transparency, Facebook and Twitter become the ‘arbiters of the truth’” @ctardaguila says. “Naive are those who believe this isn't dangerous ... Transparency is essential [to] the cause of reducing mis and disinformation” https://www.poynter.org/...
Rat King / @mikeisaac: Twitter and Facebook spent 24 hours defending decisions to throttle or block links to the NYPost story. Amazingly, tonight Twitter changed its stance because of the chilling effect its “hacked materials” policy could have on whistleblowers w @kateconger https://www.nytimes.com/...
Justin Hendrix / @justinhendrix: One of the reasons people are freaking out about the removal/limiting of the NY Post story is they are simply not habituated to the platforms caring. @ChristopherJM: Facebook Gave A Platform To The Shady Ukrainians Pushing The New York Post Biden Story https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
Rat King / @mikeisaac: But! Twitter will still continue to block links to the NYPost story under a *separate* policy, because the story contains links to email addresses and personal information, which are not allowed on the site. tune in tomorrow for our next installment https://www.nytimes.com/...
Farhad Manjoo / @fmanjoo: we're changing the policy that led to this but it also violates another policy https://twitter.com/...
Andy Greenberg / Wired: Twitter's ‘Hacked Materials’ Rule Tries to Thread an Impossible Needle
Jessica Verrilli / @jess: This is such a hard job but I have total faith @vijaya and the Twitter team are acting in a principled manner, listening to the feedback, and transparently evolving. https://twitter.com/...
@poynter: It seems like Facebook and Twitter have decided to assume the position they've been avoiding for so long. https://www.poynter.org/...
David Carroll / @profcarroll: Everyone is making it up as they go along. The only question is do you want folks who are democratically elected/appointed doing it or do you want folks accountable only to shareholders doing it (and only barely because of special stock classes and packing the board and stuff)? https://twitter.com/...
Asha Rangappa / @asharangappa_: Subject of NY Post story is now being investigated by the FBI a foreign intel operation and Twitter decides to facilitate our adversaries by allowing it to spread like wildfire. Remember, lies spread 6x faster than truth on social media...Russia counts on it 🇷🇺 https://twitter.com/...
Eric Weinstein / @ericrweinstein: You have: a consistency problem a hypocrisy problem a political bias problem an arrogance problem an authoritarian problem an insularity problem and a censorship problem And all are *repeatedly* misportrayed as a single “clarity in communications” problem. #SlipTheDISC https://twitter.com/...
Abby Ohlheiser / MIT Technology Review: Twitter's ban almost doubled attention for Biden misinformation
Alex Shephard / New Republic: Facebook and Twitter Have Made a Mess of the New York Post's Hunter Biden Story
Bruce Golding / New York Post: Twitter still holding The Post's account hostage over Hunter Biden links
New York Times:
Twitter says it is now letting the NY Post link be shared because the info had spread so widely that it can no longer be considered private
Discussion:
Stratechery, TikTok Trends, @mikeisaac, @campbellsl, @sarcasmstardust, @kantrowitz, @nytimesbusiness, GOP.com, @nytmedia, @randypicker, @randypicker, @randypicker, @randypicker, @randypicker, @randypicker, Reporting by Matt Taibbi, @bostonjoan, @aricohn, @sethabramson, @genepark, @timmarchman, @dellcam, @ggreenwald, @byronyork, @baekdal, @jamespmcleod, Variety, The Week, @mmasnick, @justinamash, @esaagar, The Hill, CNET, Gizmodo and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Ben Thompson / Stratechery: Twitter blocking NY Post's story, driven by unfair blaming of tech for the media's 2016 mistakes, undermined its role as a facilitator of information sharing
Kerem Inal / TikTok Trends: TikTokTrends week: 13
Rat King / @mikeisaac: i was kidding yesterday when i said tune in tomorrow but..... NEW: twitter has changed its policy *again* and will now allow people to share the NYPost story links because the article and information has been widely disseminated and is no longer private https://www.nytimes.com/...
@campbellsl: So @Twitter is NOT OK with hacked misinformation. No. Wait. Wait! It IS OK. That's not fluidity. That chicken shittery. @jack. Grow a spine. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz: And so ends yet another magical ride aboard the Twitter rollercoaster https://twitter.com/...
@nytimesbusiness: Just a few weeks before the Nov. 3 vote, Facebook and Twitter are still changing their minds, @MikeIsaac and @kateconger write https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytmedia: “Policies are a guide for action, but the platforms are not standing behind their policies,” a research director at Harvard's Kennedy School said https://www.nytimes.com/...
Randy Picker / @randypicker: Subpoenaing Twitter seems like an effort to put pressure on Twitter regarding those editorial decisions and people who take the 1st Amendment seriously, as I hope that WSJ would, should defend Twitter and not attack it. (3/)
Randy Picker / @randypicker: The WSJ describes Twitter's actions as being inconsistent with the spirit of the First Amendment. I don't understand that. (4/)
Randy Picker / @randypicker: Editorial decisions that Twitter makes in deciding what content to allow and to block are core private speech, something that I would hope that the WSJ would understand the need to protect. (6/6)
Randy Picker / @randypicker: The WSJ seems thrilled that Twitter is being hauled in front of the Senate to explain its editorial decisions in running the site rather than seeing those decisions as fully-protected by the 1st Amendment and in need of broad defense. (2/)
Randy Picker / @randypicker: The WSJ editorial board clearly believes that there are two versions of the First Amendment, one for the actual media—them—and a second substandard version for new media upstarts like Twitter. (1/) https://twitter.com/...
Randy Picker / @randypicker: The most basic line of demarcation in the 1st Amendment is that it limits efforts by the gov't to squelch speech and that it protects private speech. (5/)
Matt Taibbi / Reporting: Facebook and Twitter's Intervention Highlights Dangerous New Double Standard
Joan Donovan / @bostonjoan: Reactive retraction of their own policy decisions shows just how vulnerable platform companies are to political pressure. https://twitter.com/...
Ari Cohn / @aricohn: The irony here is so delicious. If #Section230 goes away, Twitter could be liable on the grounds that it gave @AjitPaiFCC the ability to block me. @AjitPai https://twitter.com/...
Seth Abramson / @sethabramson: 1⃣ Twitter blocks Giuliani-pushed Kremlin disinformation. 2⃣ GOP is enraged. 3⃣ Twitter suffers a systemwide attack. 4⃣ Twitter says there's been no hack. 5⃣ But Twitter can't locate the attack's origin. 6⃣ Twitter reverses course—allowing publication of Kremlin disinformation. https://twitter.com/...
@genepark: the extent to which we have huge national debates about chat moderator rules is going to turn me into the joker https://twitter.com/...
Tim Marchman / @timmarchman: Twitter takes bold stance against poorly reported story citing shady crooks as key sources, unless that makes anyone mad, in which case they're fine with it! https://twitter.com/...
Dell Cameron / @dellcam: Twitter violating its own rules because <reasons> is exactly how I thought the day would end https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: There are lots of valid criticisms of Twitter — I obviously believe what they did this week was dangerously wrong — but they continue to be one of the best large companies, certainly tech companies, for engaging their critics and being responsive and candid in admitting error: https://twitter.com/...
Byron York / @byronyork: Just hours ago the New York Post Hunter Biden story was unsafe. Now, apparently, it's not. From NYT: ‘In Reversal, Twitter Is No Longer Blocking New York Post Article.’ https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Thomas Baekdal / @baekdal: This is exactly the same nonsense that has caused Twitter to allow Trump to keep posting things that clearly violate their community rules. Look Twitter, if you have a rule... stick with it. https://twitter.com/...
James Mcleod / @jamespmcleod: Working the refs ... works. https://twitter.com/...
Todd Spangler / Variety: Twitter Still Blocking a NY Post Story Based on Alleged Hunter Biden Emails, Newspaper's Account Remains Frozen
Brendan Morrow / The Week: Twitter stops blocking New York Post story about Hunter Biden
Mike Masnick / @mmasnick: And, here's another person in Congress introducing a bill to undermine free speech online and ignore the 1st Amendment. Just imagine if someone in Congress argued that Fox News had to “play fair.” Rep. like Budd would lose their shit. https://twitter.com/...
Justin Amash / @justinamash: Ironically, @AjitPaiFCC is adding to the confusion by misstating the law. Section 230 does NOT convey “a special immunity denied to other media outlets, such as newspapers and broadcasters.” It applies all the same to social media companies, newspapers, broadcasters, you, and me. https://twitter.com/...
Saagar Enjeti / @esaagar: Cannot overstate the importance of this announcement FCC Chairman @AjitPaiFCC says he has the legal authority to interpret section 230 and intends to do so with an eye towards transparency from social media companies on now clearly revealed biased content moderation standards https://twitter.com/...
Chris Mills Rodrigo / The Hill: Twitter reverses, allowing users to share controversial New York Post story
Queenie Wong / CNET: Twitter is no longer blocking links to a New York Post article about Biden's son
The Markup:
The Markup announces The Citizen Browser Project, an initiative with The NYT to analyze how the algorithms of Facebook and YouTube serve content to users — The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates how the world's most powerful institutions use technology to reshape society …
Discussion:
@themarkup, Nieman Lab, Hello World, @mikarv, @rdpharr, @pepetapia44, @tonyromm, @antoniogm, @carolecadwalla, @mantzarlis, @rozmurph, @lisatozzi, @axbom, @nabihasyed, @civic_signals, @marklittlenews, @craigsilverman, @blackamazon, @blakehounshell, @mathewi and @jayrosen_nyu, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
@themarkup: Citizen Browser is a new project that seeks to audit the black box algorithms that determine what users see on their social media feeds. Read more on this exciting project in today's newsletter: https://www.getrevue.co/... (video via @knightcolumbia) https://twitter.com/...
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab: Is Facebook too big to know? The Markup has a plan (and a browser) to wrap its arms around it
Julia Angwin / Hello World: Auditing the Algorithms of Disinformation
Michael Veale / @mikarv: I think it's quite disingenuous for @themarkup to call their Citizen Browser Project a ‘unique way to collect data’ when @WhoTargetsMe uses the same principle and is much older. I know content ≠ ads, but credit where credit is due. You don't need to pretend to be #1. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Roger Pharr / @rdpharr: That is super clever. I can't wait to see what @themarkup finds! https://themarkup.org/...
Jose Tapia / @pepetapia44: Finally announced, The Citizen Browser Project—an initiative designed to audit the algorithms that social media platforms use to distribute news and narratives to different communities. The Algorithms of Disinformation | Revue https://www.getrevue.co/...
Tony Romm / @tonyromm: oh my god i am so jealous of @themarkup and i hope many people sign up and install this browser because everyone will benefit from this journalism https://themarkup.org/...
Antonio Garca Martnez / @antoniogm: “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.” It's ironic that when a watchdog tries to monitor FB, they replicate its worst excesses. This is the data-leaky intermediation of every sketchy app on the former FB Platform. https://themarkup.org/...
Carole Cadwalladr / @carolecadwalla: A nationally representative panel of 1,200 people is to be paid to give researchers access to their Facebook & YouTube feeds. Ridiculous that researchers have to go to such lengths but great that @JuliaAngwin's @themarkup is doing it https://themarkup.org/...
Alexios / @mantzarlis: “A nationally representative panel of 1,200 people will be paid to install the custom web browser on their desktops, which allows them to share real-time data directly from their Facebook and YouTube accounts with The Markup.” https://themarkup.org/...
Rosalie Murphy / @rozmurph: “...a custom web browser designed by The Markup to audit the algorithms that social media platforms use to determine what information they serve their users, what news and narratives are amplified or suppressed” — can't wait to see this in action https://themarkup.org/...
Lisa Tozzi / @lisatozzi: A custom web browser designed to audit the algorithms social media platforms use to determine what information they serve their users, what news and narratives are amplified or suppressed, and which online communities those users are encouraged to join. https://themarkup.org/...
Per Axbom / @axbom: The Citizen Browser Project—an initiative designed to measure how disinformation travels across social media platforms over time. https://themarkup.org/...
Nabiha Syed / @nabihasyed: Many thanks to the Trusted Elections Fund for helping this get off the ground! https://twitter.com/...
@civic_signals: What political stories are being pushed to Black voters in swing states? What groups are recommended to young voters in Texas? Exciting new tool from @themarkup that audits the algorithms that decide what we see on our social media feeds. https://themarkup.org/...
Mark Little / @marklittlenews: So much lazy commentary about big tech these days. This is the kind of data-driven reporting we really need https://twitter.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: some cool shit right here https://themarkup.org/...
@blackamazon: It's user side testing based on directly collected data I LOVE IT . Instead of waiting on access and hoops from plat forms I love it https://twitter.com/...
@blakehounshell: Very interesting project. Would not be surprised, though, if we see leaked code from inside the social media companies someday https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Interesting project from @themarkup: The Citizen Browser, “a custom web browser designed to audit the algorithms that social media platforms use to determine what information they serve their users” https://themarkup.org/...
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Mark Burnett, the TV producer behind Survivor, Trump's The Apprentice, and The Voice, is facing his own string of flops and a cultural disconnect, for now — Mark Burnett helped turn Donald Trump into a national figure with “The Apprentice.” But since 2016, his impact “has kind of gone bust.”
Discussion:
@rstephens, @markberman, @yashar, @elongreen, @thrasherxy, @fmanjoo, @alexmleo, @rowaenthe, @felixsalmon, @chrismegerian, @nycsouthpaw and Wall Street Journal
Discussion:
Robert Stephens / @rstephens: “He objected in particular, two people present at the time said, when an MGM board member, Jason Hirschhorn, began sharply criticizing Mr. Trump in his newsletter, REDEF” Go @JasonHirschhorn !!! https://www.nytimes.com/...
Mark Berman / @markberman: did not realize that Mark Burnett's last hit television show was The Voice, which premiered almost a decade ago https://twitter.com/...
Yashar Ali / @yashar: Donald Trump Is Losing His Touch. So Is the TV Producer Who Shaped His Image. Mark Burnett helped turn Donald Trump into a national figure with “The Apprentice.” But since 2016, his impact “has kind of gone bust.” @benyt reports https://www.nytimes.com/...
Elon Green / @elongreen: getting publicly slagged by peter bart is its own humiliation https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Steven W. Thrasher / @thrasherxy: Come for the Leni Riefenstahl reference, stay for the absurd tale of how the producer who made Trump tried to produce Christian TV https://twitter.com/...
Farhad Manjoo / @fmanjoo: Here's @benyt on Mark Burnett's recent flops. I will say though that Survivor has become my family's quarantine binge show — we've watched at least 5 seasons in the last few months. There's an escapist simplicity to it. No real-world problems https://www.nytimes.com/...
Alex Leo / @alexmleo: Put this on my tombstone: “We believe this synergistic transaction will be very accretive” https://twitter.com/...
Angela Rynan Durrell / @rowaenthe: @mattdpearce @benyt Mark Burnett has been hoping he's going to skate underneath the radar, unfettered and unimpeded in his privilege and his very secure fortune. So far, he kinda has. And he shouldn't.
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: One way that you can tell @benyt is a digitally-native columnist: He doesn't feel the need to write to the same length each week. This week's column is literally half the length of the June 7 column, for instance. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Megerian / @chrismegerian: “It seems they're not striving as much for ‘four more years’ as they are ‘Season 2.’” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Apple launches Apple Music TV, a free 24-hour curated livestream of popular music videos, available in the US on Apple's Music and TV apps — Apple has launched Apple Music TV, a free 24-hour curated livestream of popular music videos that will also include “exclusive new music videos and premiers …
Discussion:
The Streamable, TechCrunch, The Verge, @dsilverman, @sam_l_shead, @patrickmcgee_, Engadget, @tzm_tmt and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Stephanie Sengwe / The Streamable: Apple Launches “Apple Music TV” Offering Free 24-Hour Live Stream of Music Videos
Bijan Stephen / The Verge: Apple Music launches a TV channel for music videos
Dwight Silverman / @dsilverman: Apple Launches ‘Apple Music TV,’ a 24-Hour Music Video Livestream https://variety.com/... via @variety In which Apple invents @MTV
Patrick McGee / @patrickmcgee_: Apple just launched MuchMusic... https://twitter.com/...
Online Journalism Awards:
2020 Online Journalism Awards announced: winners include South China Morning Post, The 1619 Project, Reuters, Star Tribune for coverage of George Floyd's death — Finalists for the 2020 OJAs have been announced and are listed below! Winners will be announced at virtual awards events throughout ONA20 Everywhere, Oct. 1-16.
Discussion:
@ona: OJA20 WINNER: Feature, Large Newsroom: @latimes for Rise of the Dancefluencer. https://awards.journalists.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@ona: OJA20 WINNER: Feature, Small Newsroom: @infoamazonia, @miamiherald, @decorrespondent, @correodelcaroni, @runrunesweb for Venezuela: The Smugglers' Paradise. https://awards.journalists.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@ona: OJA20 WINNER: Feature, Medium Newsroom: @seattletimes for Disappearing Daughters. https://awards.journalists.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@ona: OJA20 WINNER: Knight Award for Public Service: @NYTmag for The 1619 Project. https://awards.journalists.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@washpostpr: The Washington Post has won the @ONA award for Explanatory Reporting, Large Newsroom for our coverage of covid-19 https://awards.journalists.org/ ...
Matthew Ball / MatthewBall.vc:
Audio, which struggled for decades as a media category, is breaking out now, as tech enables new content formats as well as new monetization and delivery models — As most of the major media categories — music, video and video games — have existed for decades, we tend to forget that media is technology.
Discussion:
@ballmatthew, @oaktree_dave, @rameeztase, Drinking from the Firehose, @adamsinger, @patrick_oshag and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Matthew Ball / @ballmatthew: Audio's Opportunity & Who Will Capture It — The content, business models, and health of every media category is driven by technology. And audio tech has never been so diverse + dynamic. After decades of struggles, audio is ready to grow, not just replace https://www.matthewball.vc/... https://twitter.com/...
Dave Kemp / @oaktree_dave: This essay was stellar. Matthew Ball might be the most fun writer on the internet right now. Some takeaways: “We tend to forget that media is technology. Instead, we think of technology as being used to express media, rather than media itself.” https://twitter.com/...
Rameez / @rameeztase: A 10,000 word must-read reminder that *media* is just plural of *medium* — as in, you cannot separate the technology (devices, distribution) from content. The debate between “technology” and “media” is silly and lacks any historical context. They're inseparable. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Taussig / Drinking from the Firehose: Firehose #179: 👩🏫 Getting schooled. 👩🏫
Adam Singer / @adamsinger: Cool story & data. Ignore the mouth breathers who yell into the ether that “there are too many podcasts.” 1. There's no such thing as “too much” of a media type online, totally misunderstands the internet. 2. This is your chance to be a pioneer, it's just getting started. https://twitter.com/...
Patrick OShaughnessy / @patrick_oshag: Highlighting this again 1) because its so good and 2) because its emblematic of how lucky we are to live in this age of content This essay is free...full of hard to get, hard to understand, and hard to present data...and better than almost any non-fiction book on shelves! https://twitter.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: Caught up to this excellent essay. now. Not nearly as excited as Matthew is about virtual concerts (not just because I don't like them personally, but because I think the biz opttys are limited to one-offs, so not nearly so scalable). But! Great long-term framing and thinking. https://twitter.com/...
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
UK-based ITV says it will restructure, creating a new media and entertainment division with broadcast and on-demand business units, amid the rise of streaming — “The restructure will drive improvements in efficiency and reduce cost,” with the TV giant also looking at its London real estate.
CNN:
AMC starts offering private theater rentals for between $99 and $349 in most US states, excluding New York, Alaska, and Hawaii — (CNN)A crisp Benjamin Franklin can get you your own private AMC movie theater. — AMC Theatres joins a handful of cinemas letting customers rent out auditoriums …
Discussion:
Brian Heater / TechCrunch: AMC offers private theater rentals starting at $99, as cinemas continue to struggle
Ryan Lattanzio / IndieWire: You Can Now Rent Out an AMC Theater for Just $99
Dave McNary / Variety:
Study: women made up 38% of directors and 35% of writers of indie narrative features and docs from 2019-2020, with female directors doubling in the last decade — The percentages of women working as directors and writers on independent films reached recent highs in 2019-2020, according to a report released Thursday.
Discussion:
Sahil Patel / Wall Street Journal:
Group Nine's animal-centric video brand The Dodo takes a minority stake in pet insurer Petplan, which will be renamed Fetch by The Dodo in May 2021 — Group Nine has taken a minority stake in Petplan, the animal insurer. The venture will be rebranded next year as ‘Fetch by The Dodo’
Discussion:
Sahil Patel / @sizpatel: The Dodo, which makes a lot of the animal videos you see on Facebook and other platforms, is now also going to sell you pet insurance. Group Nine has taken a minority stake in and will rebrand Petplan, which is nearing $150 million in revenue this year. https://www.wsj.com/...
Daniel Cooper / Engadget:
Virtual studios, where the filmmaking takes place in front of a halo of flat screen displays connected to PCs, are offering a real alternative to green screens — For as long as filmmaking has existed, there has been a need to build fantastic worlds in front of cameras.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: as Facebook curbed political news in 2017, Zuckerberg OK'ed tweaks affecting sites like Mother Jones after some execs worried about impact on the right — Facebook's chief, once uninterested, has transformed himself into an active political operator in the Trump era
Discussion:
@clarajeffery, Ad Age, @zephyrteachout, @maxkennerly, @richarddeitsch, The Verge, @deggans, @ukskies, @carolecadwalla, Gizmodo, @leakthompson, @juddlegum, @erikwemple, @suehalpernvt, @jason_kint, @felienne, @su4ita, @patrickclaybon, @brooklynmarie, @pomeranian99, @grady_booch, @davidcorndc, @monikabauerlein, @_cingraham, @_cingraham, @scobleizer, @brianbeutler, @jason_kint, @dlind, @migueldeicaza, @bendreyfuss, @davidfolkenflik, @mondoweiss, @alex_abads, @nickmartin, @emilybell, @govhowarddean, @jameswest2010, @khanoisseur, @nabihasyed, @juddlegum, @slhamlet, @davidcorndc, @dethveggie, @becketadams, @professorisin, @maxberger, @bgrueskin, @andreabellemare, @alxthomp, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @juddlegum, @slpng_giants, @lindsayschrupp, @lindsayschrupp, @lindsayschrupp, @mccarthyryanj, @lindsayschrupp, @steven_strauss, @jason_kint, @taraemcg, @leavittalone, @taraemcg, @anthony, @mathewi, The Week and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
@clarajeffery: 1/ I am enraged. Excellent reporting from WSJ's @dseetharaman and @EmilyGlazer finds that Facebook engineers—with sign-off from Zuckerberg himself—retooled their algorithm to throttle traffic to high-value progressive news orgs, @MotherJones IN PARTICULAR https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Simon Dumenco / Ad Age: Bruce Willis hypes DieHard batteries (!) and Facebook blocks millions (!!) of ads: Monday Wake-Up Call
Zephyr Teachout / @zephyrteachout: You don't want Zuckerberg as your Information Czar. Facebbok and Google should be treated as essential communications facilitites/utilities. Ban targeted adds. Transparent systems. Non discrimination regimes. https://twitter.com/...
Max Kennerly / @maxkennerly: It can't be overstated how much conservative propaganda is out there. Fake “news” sites, phony “think tanks,” dubious 501(c)(3)s, the list goes on. And the primary distribution method is @Facebook, which promotes them while throttling progressive sites: https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Richard Deitsch / @richarddeitsch: Via @WSJ: This is how Facebook plays the political game. https://www.wsj.com/...
Eric Deggans At Npr / @deggans: This thread is, frankly, kind of terrifying... https://twitter.com/...
Chris Gallagher / @ukskies: Facebook fine tuned algorithms which skewed news in favour of right wing press. In 2017. If that doesn't bother you then it should. A lot. https://twitter.com/...
Carole Cadwalladr / @carolecadwalla: Every journalist & news org needs to read this story & condemn Facebook's actions. Stand with @MotherJones. This is a total outrage https://twitter.com/...
Alyse Stanley / Gizmodo: With Zuck's Blessing, Facebook Quietly Stymied Traffic to Left-Leaning News Outlets: Report
Lea Thompson / @leakthompson: Facebook is a nightmare watch the social dilema on Netflix. They are responsible for so much of the mess the world is in. All for money. How much more do they need https://twitter.com/...
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: Reminder that when I exposed the Daily Wire was blatantly violating Facebook's rules to game the algorithm, Facebook punished the Facebook pages the Daily Wire was conspiring with, but not the Daily Wire. https://popular.info/... https://twitter.com/...
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: WSJ today reported that Facebook algorithm changes consciously shafted Mother Jones and liberal pubs. This is a big deal. Great piece here from @bendreyfuss https://www.motherjones.com/ ... (Disclosure: My wife @smencimer works at MoJo)
Sue Halpern / @suehalpernvt: Prediction: if the Dems win, @facebook will reverse course and start pandering to the left. Craven leadership leads to craven behavior and a defensive line of 65 lobbyists to hold regulation at bay. https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: On the flip side, Breitbart had its independent newsguard rating dropped 20 points into a clear “Red” rating. I do wonder if this was enough to persuade Facebook news and product people they could ignore Facebook lobbyist Joel Kaplan. What a mess. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@felienne: I think at this point, any developer working for @Facebook is complicit in this, not just the ones that implemented this specific feature. https://twitter.com/...
Sucharita Tyagi / @su4ita: Facebook is evil (incase yall were still not convinced despite about 59 documentaries on Netflix) https://twitter.com/...
Patrick Claybon / @patrickclaybon: There's a lot in this story, but one bit is so agitating...The super-genius assembled a team to determine his own political ideology. https://twitter.com/...
Brooke Binkowski / @brooklynmarie: Of course they did! Better to have newsrooms impoverished and desperate for a handout, from Facebook of course. https://twitter.com/...
Clive Thompson / @pomeranian99: Critically important thread here. Read it — and then subscribe to Mother Jones, folks. It's an amazing magazine, and as the WSJ here reports ... ... Facebook buried Mother Jones in the Newsfeed to please right-wing critics https://twitter.com/...
Grady Booch / @grady_booch: Attention to any developers who wrote this code at @Facebook: I condemn your actions, and suggest that you review your life choices. https://twitter.com/...
David Corn / @davidcorndc: Look at how @Facebook and Zuckerberg tried to screw progressive news outlets and @MotherJones. I am sure all the conservative anti-cancel and free-speech advocates will denounce this, right? https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Monika Bauerlein / @monikabauerlein: I'm in a @MotherJones board meeting today so it's going to take a while to fully process this infuriating news, but just briefly (because YOU, as a news consumer, should be furious): https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Ingraham / @_cingraham: Apparently it's no accident that the top-performing Facebook posts on any given day are mostly by conservative dudes peddling brain pills and prepper food https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Ingraham / @_cingraham: This is the direct result of deliberate choices made by Zuckerberg and Facebook leadership. These are the voices they chose to elevate. https://twitter.com/...
Robert Scoble / @scobleizer: Facebook's algorithm manipulated. All social networks' algorithms are manipulated. This is the worst I have seen, though. Can we ever close Pandora's box? https://twitter.com/...
Brian Beutler / @brianbeutler: One thing these extremely educated and in-demand employees can do about the fact that they accidentally found themselves working for a fascist agitprop platform is resign and blow the whistle publicly. https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: Thread. Understandably @ClaraJeffery is enraged in a report her site's traffic was throttled in a decision process in which WSJ previously reported Facebook's government relations czar Joel Kaplan inappropriately weighed in to keep DC political powers happy. https://twitter.com/...
Dara Lind / @dlind: Oh my gosh. Remember that there were a lot of media layoffs in the first half of 2018 in large part because of the loss of Facebook audience. People almost certainly lost their jobs because of this tweak. https://twitter.com/...
Mighoul de Icaza / @migueldeicaza: The Editor in Chief at Motherjones reflects on the reporting today that Facebook tuned their algorithm to penalize them. She shares a ton of complementary information to what the WSJ published today. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Dreyfuss / @bendreyfuss: If we were not all working from home and I had written this post in our office, everyone in the bureau would have heard me Typing Very Loudly https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Contrast this with claims FB and Twitter are inherently hostile to conservative outfits - dispute this week's news, usually FB bends over backward not to alienate the right https://twitter.com/...
@mondoweiss: Smaller publishers on the left have long suspected there was more going on behind the scenes at Facebook causing wild changes in traffic patterns. Facebook is a garbage company. https://twitter.com/...
Alex / @alex_abads: an important thread that shows how Facebook throttled traffic to MoJo and the consequences; but also the difficult task for journalism to find a sustainable business model not dependent on FB or Google https://twitter.com/...
Nick Martin / @nickmartin: As I was saying, this is not an accident or a result of the right being more engaged on Facebook. The company has built into its algorithms a bias in favor of conservative and far-right websites. It's rigged against the left. https://twitter.com/...
Emily Bell / @emilybell: This is a very consequential thread for journalists. If your newsroom or research organisation benefits from platform support, never forget the practices on the other side of that bargain : https://twitter.com/...
Howard Dean / @govhowarddean: What Zuck doesn't seem to get is that his company has become a vehicle for racists, neo nazis and conspiracy theorists. His staff seems to be a lot smarter than he is. https://twitter.com/...
James West / @jameswest2010: I'm still trying to get my head around this sabotage of our investigative journalism. The body blow is real. https://twitter.com/...
@khanoisseur: Apparently Mark Zuckerberg had Ben Shapiro and other conservative commentators over for dinner 🥘 ... what is he up to? https://twitter.com/...
Nabiha Syed / @nabihasyed: This is BONKERS. And underscores how important it is for news orgs to find platform-proof distribution strategies . . . (she says, while tweeting) https://twitter.com/...
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: Zuckerberg discusses “Facebook policies over WhatsApp” with Jared Kushner and “has forged ties with right-leaning publishers that drive engagement on the platform, including Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the Daily Wire.”
Wagner James Au / @slhamlet: San Francisco-based staff at Facebook found to be actively blocking web traffic to San Francisco-based liberal publication @MotherJones — a move personally approved by Facebook's CEO, who ironically lives just a few blocks from Mother Jones' EIC @ClaraJeffery in San Francisco. https://twitter.com/...
David Corn / @davidcorndc: Please read this whole thread. @Facebook purposefully screwed over @MotherJones and other progressive media. You can fight back. See the appeal at the end of the thread. https://twitter.com/...
Deth Veggie / @dethveggie: WTF. Mother Jones is definitely left-leaning, but it's a legit news source, not some leftwing equivalent of a disinformation outlet like Breitbart or OAN or something. https://twitter.com/...
Tsar Becket Adams / @becketadams: Tara McGowan raised $25M+ from wealthy liberal donors to create “Courier News,” a network of websites designed to look like authentic news sites targeting swing states with pro-Democratic press releases. https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Karen Kelsky / @professorisin: This awful thread re @Facebook and it's suppression of legit and progressive news. Subscribe to @MotherJones. I do. https://twitter.com/...
@maxberger: Zuckerberg has helped the rise of fascism, part 3214829. If you work at @Facebook, organize your co-workers to form a union. https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: In case you woke up today wondering whether Facebook is still a threat to journalism and democracy, well, you should read this thread from the EIC of @MotherJones https://twitter.com/...
Andrea Bellemare / @andreabellemare: Clara Jeffery estimates that FB's algorithm changes cost Mother Jones between $400,000 to $600,000 a year. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Thompson / @alxthomp: Lots of great news in this WSJ Zuckerberg piece but calling Acronym just a “left-leaning non-profit” is misleading. The group has very partisan ambitions and Courier has been running targeted FB ads for frontline congressional members. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Monika Bauerlein / @monikabauerlein: But you can bet that we'll keep covering Facebook as the massively powerful company that it is, even if it tries to pull the rug out from under us. https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Monika Bauerlein / @monikabauerlein: At the time that this happened, Facebook claimed it was reducing the prevalence of “low-quality” news in users' feeds. Seems a reasonable goal. But guess what? When they did that, it turned out to hurt low-quality news from right-wing propaganda outlets. So what did they do?
Monika Bauerlein / @monikabauerlein: They made changes so that actual journalism that reporters and factcheckers and editors and data crunchers and art directors worked their assess off on got downgraded, just to balance things out. So stuff like this versus stuff like this: https://twitter.com/...
Monika Bauerlein / @monikabauerlein: And this had real effects. A roughly $400,000 decrease in annual revenue, for starters. There are positions we couldn't fill, projects we couldn't do because of this. But the bigger effect is on YOU, readers. YOU were kept from seeing news you wanted (even if you followed MoJo.)
Monika Bauerlein / @monikabauerlein: .@MotherJones had a big presence on Facebook because our team worked really hard to bring quality news to users on social platforms, and people were hungry for that. But suddenly our reach dropped like a stone. https://www.motherjones.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Monika Bauerlein / @monikabauerlein: Last thing before I go back into meetings, one reason this is so enraging is that I've so long insisted on giving Facebook some benefit of the doubt. I was convinced we were a random casualty of their broader trajectory, a fly on their windshield. But it's always, always worse.
Monika Bauerlein / @monikabauerlein: Just for the record, no one at Mother Jones has ever been invited to dine at Mark Zuckerberg's home. Nor should someone who wants to dine with propagandists ever call on us. https://twitter.com/...
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: Mark Zuckerberg “talks regularly with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner” and “has lectured Facebook's broadly left-leaning staff about the need to understand that their user base is more conservative” https://www.wsj.com/...
@slpng_giants: Social media platforms should not take the politics if their user base into account AT ALL. @facebook is supposed to be a “neutral platform”. It shouldn't be taking requests nor asking for counsel from either party. https://twitter.com/...
Lindsay Schrupp / @lindsayschrupp: At @CourierNewsroom we have 60+ journalists across the country to cover issues that impact their communities and to build a more informed and engaged electorate. Every day, they report on local issues like voter suppression, access to rural health care, and environmental justice.
Lindsay Schrupp / @lindsayschrupp: It is beyond insulting to put their work in the same category as the far-right partisan blogs that spew bigotry masked as “news” and spread misinfo to harm our democracy — let alone to kick our reporters' work out of the News Tab altogether because we self-label as progressive
Lindsay Schrupp / @lindsayschrupp: There may be actual people at Facebook who believe in and understand the importance of journalism, but it is clear that Mark Zuckerberg has no idea what journalism is.
Ryan McCarthy / @mccarthyryanj: Mark Zuckerberg and Jared Kushner reportedly communicate over encrypted messaging. (A reminder that Kushner is a government employee, even though he has forgone his WH salary) https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Lindsay Schrupp / @lindsayschrupp: Earlier this year, Zuckerberg created a policy to block progressive news orgs like @Couriernewsroom from the News Tab, while giving free access to far-right aggregators and purveyors of disinfo like Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Breitbart, Federalist, Washington Examiner, & TheBlaze https://twitter.com/...
Steven Strauss / @steven_strauss: Strange how that happened https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: So Jared Kushner appears to have a lot of Mark Zuckerberg's ear according to this WSJ report. Neither know or care much about the public at-large based on their records. https://www.wsj.com/...
Tara McGowan / @taraemcg: To be very clear, this “policy” does not impact right-wing media outlets including The Daily Caller, The Daily Wire, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon + dozens of others known for spreading disinformation. According to Facebook, these are all still “verified” news publishers 🤬
John Leavitt / @leavittalone: “Listen nerds this only makes money cause I can sell the data of the top 100 million enraged uncles most likely to fall for a phishing scam so shut your lib mouths and get back to pushing Daily Stormer links.” https://twitter.com/...
Tara McGowan / @taraemcg: 🚨 WSJ confirms what we've suspected: Mark Zuckerberg directly intervened to prevent progressive news orgs like @CourierNewsroom from being included in Facebook's News Tab, while sharing meals with Ben Shapiro + exchanging texts with Jared Kushner 🚨 https://www.wsj.com/...
Anthony DeRosa / @anthony: “Mr. Zuckerberg is now an active political operator. He has dined with President Trump, talks regularly with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, and has pressed lawmakers and officials to scrutinize rivals including TikTok and Apple Inc.” https://www.wsj.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: “After the launch last year of Courier Newsroom, a network of eight progressive local-news sites that is part-owned by a left-leaning nonprofit with close ties to Democratic donors, Mr. Zuckerberg argued that Courier wasn't a real news outlet” https://www.wsj.com/...
Kathryn Krawczyk / The Week: Mark Zuckerberg reportedly keeps an ‘open line’ with Jared Kushner
RELATED:
Ben Dreyfuss / Mother Jones:
Mother Jones' growth director recalls a sharp drop in Facebook reach in 2017 and '18, after WSJ reveals that algorithmic changes were made with politics in mind
Discussion:
@axbom, @patcaldwell, @clairenjax, @davidcorndc, @rossbarkan, @russchoma, @mattyglesias, @chetfaliszek, @jeffhorwitz, @ericboehlert, @mmasnick, @danielpunkass, @gabrielsnyder, @clarajeffery, @motherjones, @scout_finch, @bendreyfuss, @monteiro, @bendreyfuss, @clarajeffery, The Verge and @clarajeffery
Discussion:
Per Axbom / @axbom: Simple description of why dependency on a third-party platform is extremely dangerous for a business, and why we can't accept monopolistic powers. https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Patrick Caldwell / @patcaldwell: Still seething that Zuck deliberately screwed @MotherJones. @bendreyfuss captures sentiment well “to learn that the walls were placed there intentionally, so my colleagues and I would be stopped as we tried to promote our magazine's work, makes me livid.” https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Claire Goforth / @clairenjax: I was editor of @folioweekly when these changes went into effect. Overnight we lost more than 50% of our reach on the platform. It put a very bad taste in my mouth. First they gave us traffic, then they took our ad revenue, and then they took our traffic too. https://twitter.com/...
David Corn / @davidcorndc: I'm booked to be on @amjoyshow with host @TiffanyDCross later this morning to discuss this story. Read up. In case there's a pop quiz. https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Ross Barkan / @rossbarkan: Journalists begging large tech companies to more aggressively regulate speech on their platforms need to understand one probable outcome is the suppression of actual news organizations. None of this ends well. https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
@russchoma: It's been a very hard four years to be a reporter. The constant firehouse of news is exhausting, but we've been delivering great journalism and important investigative stories that aren't political - it's gutting to know someone was intentionally stifling their reach. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Can't believe Zuck would do @bendreyfuss like this after all the Facebook defending he's done https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Chet Faliszek / @chetfaliszek: Donate to @MotherJones Delete Facebook Sleep better https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Horwitz / @jeffhorwitz: Headline stat here: When a user flagged more than 150 examples of content that should have come down according to Facebook's rules, the company failed to catch more than 75% of them. https://www.wsj.com/...
Eric Boehlert / @ericboehlert: FB picked Ben Shapiro as winner, Mother Jones aa loser; https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Mike Masnick / @mmasnick: “But Facebook is biased against conservatives...” they said... https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Jalkut / @danielpunkass: I have delicately rejected recruiter inquiries from Facebook for years. I feel for people whose livelihood is there, because I understand they pay very well. May be time to quit nonetheless. https://twitter.com/...
Gabriel Snyder / @gabrielsnyder: “So to learn that the walls were placed there intentionally, so my colleagues and I would be stopped as we tried to promote our magazine's work, makes me livid.”-@bendreyfuss https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
@clarajeffery: 13/ Just heard from some folks inside/formerly of Facebook. It's even worse than what I just laid out. If you want to talk, hmu at cjeffery on Signal or DM me here.
@motherjones: “To say this is frustrating is an understatement,” @bendreyfuss writes, “both for us as an organization and for me personally.” https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Jennifer Hayden / @scout_finch: @bendreyfuss @ClaraJeffery Same with us
Ben Dreyfuss / @bendreyfuss: @ClaraJeffery The thing that really gets me is remembering the meetings with them in 2017 where they just swore up and down that wasn't what was happening.
Mike Monteiro / @monteiro: Happy Friday, Facebook workers! Made it to the weekend! Woo. But Monday you have to go back to the company that does this: https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Ben Dreyfuss / @bendreyfuss: I owe my entire career to my talent for Facebook and I have always been very “give them the benefit of the doubt” because the people I personally know there are wonderful, but this today has ended that. https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
@clarajeffery: 14/ @bendreyfuss, head of MoJo's social media team, wrote about what it means to be lied to (perhaps b/c they're unwittingly passing along lies of their bosses) by FB counterparts. But per what I'm learning, FB just lied to him, again, here: https://www.motherjones.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
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