Top News:
David Folkenflik / NPR:
NYT retracts the core of Caliphate after a review finds that the podcast gave too much credence to its central character and reassigns Rukmini Callimachi — Toggle more options — The New York Times has retracted the core of its hit 2018 podcast series Caliphate after an internal review found …
Discussion:
@rcallimachi, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, @opcofamerica, CNN, New York Post, @mitrakalita, @johnjcook, @madhulikasikka, Washington Post, @nycjim, The US Sun, @hshaban, @perlberg, @samsanders, @elaheizadi, @brianstelter, @cd_hooks, @cd_hooks, @peterbale, @sultanreina, @katie_robertson, @erikwemple, @nprinskeep, @amalahmed214, @lailaalarian, @lailaalarian, @lailaalarian, @lailaalarian, @doranimated, The Daily Beast, @madhulikasikka, @madhulikasikka, @radiokitty, @madhulikasikka, @chuckatwbhm, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @absurdistwords, @absurdistwords, Axios, @joshokane, @davidfolkenflik, @jbflint, @glcarlstrom, @davidfolkenflik, @steveguest, @janelytv, The Line, @lourdesgnavarro, @qjurecic, @bgrueskin, @miriamelder, @miriamelder, @mitrakalita, @sairakh, @mitrakalita, @erikwemple, @laurawags, @lailaalarian, @lailaalarian, @titonka, @neilphauer, @sulliview, @mattgallowaycbc, @dparvaz, @supriyan, @johnmoe, @hannahallam, @lourdesgnavarro, @jonahdispatch, @brianstelter, @salmanmasood, @marcatracy, @katie_robertson, @marcatracy, The Independent, @brianstelter, @katie_robertson, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Media Nut, Forbes, Business Insider, The Hill, Newser, Mediaite, The Guardian, The Wrap, kottke.org, allsides.com and Reason
Discussion:
Rukmini Callimachi / @rcallimachi: I am fiercely proud of the stories I have broken on the ISIS beat. But as journalists, we demand transparency from our sources, so we should expect it from ourselves. Please see my full statement below regarding our Caliphate podcast: https://twitter.com/...
New York Times: Prologue: The Mission … Editors' Note [Dec. 18, 2020]: In 2018, The Times released …
Overseas Press Club / @opcofamerica: The OPC Board of Governors, noting the conclusions of The New York Times's internal review of its “Caliphate” podcast, has rescinded its 2018 Lowell Thomas Award for “Caliphate” to Rukmini Callimachi, Andy Mills, Larissa Anderson and Wendy Dorr. https://opcofamerica.org/...
Michael Goodwin / New York Post: What the New York Times hasn't admitted
S. Mitra Kalita / @mitrakalita: The folks who knew. Along the way, colleagues sounded alarms (some departed organization) and others from Arab and Middle Eastern communities also said something seemed off. What of them now? How to regain trust and representation?
John Cook / @johnjcook: you no longer trust your reporter to cover the beat that she devoted her career to, so — you'll pick something else? https://twitter.com/...
Madhulika Sikka / @madhulikasikka: NYT clearly did the right thing in retracting Caliphate BUT, don't let this comment from Dean Baquet pass, it is demeaning to every audio producer who does the work like the rest of the newsroom.../1 https://www.npr.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Elahe Izadi / Washington Post: The New York Times could not verify ISIS claims in its ‘Caliphate’ podcast. Now it's returning a prestigious award.
Jim Roberts / @nycjim: This is a brutal self-assessment by the Executive Editor of the New York Times, Dean Baquet, of how the news department handled @rcallimachi's “Caliphate” project. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Niamh Cavanagh / The US Sun: New York Times admits ‘ISIS Caliphate’ podcast was ‘based off interviews with a con artist’
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: A powerful critique of the NYT's conduct surrounding Caliphate and an important discussion of Islamophobia and racism against Arabs in English-language news media. It pierces through the nonsense about audio and terrorism “expertise” and gets at the deeper, unexamined failures: https://twitter.com/...
Steven Perlberg / @perlberg: the Times really has its journalism scandal PR rollout thing down - get 4 reporters to re-report the story - post editor's note - embargo a story with your own media reporters - podcast mea culpa with Baquet and Barbaro - reassign Callimachi to a new beat https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sam Sanders / @samsanders: If the podcast you're listening to sounds *too* good to be true, it just might be!
Elahe Izadi / @elaheizadi: The New York Times could not verify ISIS claims in its ‘Caliphate’ podcast. Now it's returning a prestigious award. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... with the ESTEEMED @farhip (you like what I did there, Paul?)
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: The un-awarding of “Caliphate:” “By the end of Friday, the Overseas Press Club had rescinded its award, and The Times said it had offered to return the Peabody, an offer that was accepted by the Peabody Awards' executive director...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Christopher Hooks / @cd_hooks: 2020 has seen major retractions/fact investigations from the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Atlantic, three institutions at the top of American journalism. and yet I don't get the sense people are especially concerned
Christopher Hooks / @cd_hooks: the most disheartening scandal is Callimachi's and I don't know how to square my respect for the paper with the decision to merely bump her to another topic
@peterbale: Unfortunate @rcallimachi didn't comment on this but it's good @deanbaquet recognises institutional failings. I worried at the time the entire narrative drama approach was too fundamentally risky in #journalism. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Reina Sultan / @sultanreina: No apology to the muslim journalists you've blocked for calling you out? You aren't sorry about the racism and islamophobia displayed by your podcast? https://twitter.com/...
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: The Overseas Press Club has rescinded a 2018 award for the @nytimes's Caliphate podcast after the Times said today that it had fallen short of journalistic standars https://twitter.com/...
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: The Board of Jurors of the Peabody Awards is reviewing the New York Times' editor's note regarding the “Caliphate” podcast and a response is expected soon. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Steve Inskeep / @nprinskeep: I don't think it's easy to do media coverage that media people think is good. As this story by @davidfolkenflik was broadcast on @MorningEdition today, @rachelnpr were talking about how good it is. https://twitter.com/...
Amal Ahmed / @amalahmed214: I'm so angry. The fact that they are not retracting this podcast entirely or firing the reporter is deeply, deeply rooted in Islamophobia. You could not get away with even 2% of this kind of behavior covering white nationalists. https://twitter.com/...
Laila Al-Arian / @lailaalarian: The @nytimes appears to be standing behind the eps of Caliphate that don't feature “Abu Huzayfah.” I believe there should be ethics conversations about those too. Would a reporter in the U.S. ask a rape survivor to speak w her rapist by phone as Callimachi did with a Yazidi woman
Laila Al-Arian / @lailaalarian: Not to mention the ethics of stuffing thousands of documents into garbage bags, removing them from Iraq without permission from authorities and not redacting the names of Iraqi civilians and minors. https://theintercept.com/...
Laila Al-Arian / @lailaalarian: In the podcast about the Caliphate mess, Dean Baquet says that Shehroze Chaudhry being on “no-fly list” was one of factors that convinced them of his credibility because “it's not easy to get on.” https://podcasts.apple.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Laila Al-Arian / @lailaalarian: Despite the fact that it was largely based on fabrications @nytimes is not retracting Caliphate. This is bizarre considering the podcast aims to answer the question “Who are we really fighting” based largely on “Abu Huzayfah” false account. Why won't they retract those episodes? https://twitter.com/...
Mike / @doranimated: “Mr. Chaudhry copied photographs from the internet and used them to cultivate his image of an ISIS fighter. They included this news photograph, which...was taken by a Russian photographer in Aleppo in 2016.” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Madhulika Sikka / @madhulikasikka: then it doesn't matter the platform on which to appeared. I hope that all the hardworking journalists who work in audio, including at the Times, know that their work matters and that they are journalists too .../END
Madhulika Sikka / @madhulikasikka: That is a problem in the newsroom, not with the platform. To somehow palm this off as a problem with ‘audio’ is at best disingenuous. Editorial standards are editorial standards and if reporting under the name of your newsroom is not meeting those standards...
Kitty Eisele / @radiokitty: @madhulikasikka speaking as an audio editor ... ppl who are passionate about their stories can sometimes bully you. And if you are new to institution, as I suspect most of audio team was, it puts you in very hard place to push back on established, star “talent.” No winners here.
Madhulika Sikka / @madhulikasikka: Audio is not some ‘other’ beast from another planet. It is a platform through which newsrooms can reach an audience, perhaps one that isn't consuming their news any other way. If this audio product operated under different rules than the rest of the newsroom.../2
Chuck Holmes / @chuckatwbhm: @madhulikasikka Absolutely agree. I think the world of Dean, but calling bs on this. Journalism is journalism.
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: @davidfolkenflik @madhulikasikka But there's more: The truth is that *print* reporters at the New York Times had been raising concerns about Rukmini Callimachi's reporting *for years.* And today, the New York Times slapped editor's notes on two additional Callimachi stories from years past.
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: @davidfolkenflik @madhulikasikka See those here: https://www.nytimes.com/... and here: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: @davidfolkenflik Please see this thread by @madhulikasikka about how barren is that particular thought: https://twitter.com/...
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: @davidfolkenflik @madhulikasikka Those brand-new editor's notes further dilute the idea that this whole thing can be laid in any way at the feet of audio staff at the New York Times.
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: One further point about this “Caliphate” editor's note: As @davidfolkenflik reports, NYT EE Dean Baquet made some comments about audio oversight v. text oversight: https://www.npr.org/... https://twitter.com/...
@absurdistwords: This is like when your unemployed roommate comes home with thousands of dollars of fancy entertainment equipment he says someone just handed him on the street and you decide to ask no questions and just play Fortnite.
@absurdistwords: So the NYT knew their podcast was based on a bullshit artist pretending to give the insider scoop on ISIS, but really liked the sensational stories he told so did acrobatics to maintain willful ignorance and keep the podcast running. https://twitter.com/...
Josh O'Kane / @joshokane: So, weird sidebar on the Caliphate story: this Times piece that points out “outrage that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government had allowed a terrorist to live freely in suburban Toronto” is.. co-written by the spouse of the Deputy Prime Minister? https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: The Times did not remove ‘Caliphate’ from its site or feeds. Asked whether its actions constitute a retraction, Baquet paused and told me, “I guess for the parts that were about Chaudhry and his history and his background. Yeah, I think it is. Sure does.” https://www.npr.org/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: So to be clear, what gets you fired at NYT: Insult Chrissy Teigen and commission an op-ed that upsets people https://twitter.com/...
Gregg Carlstrom / @glcarlstrom: Good that the NYT looked into this and admitted it screwed up, but it's a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion when no one is held to account for a deeply problematic body of reporting on IS (which goes beyond Caliphate). https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: My interview with NYT Executive Editor Dean Baquet on what went wrong with the hit podcast series “Caliphate”: “We wanted to believe.” Listen to him on my piece for NPR's @MorningEdition, then read the full story. https://www.npr.org/...
Steve Guest / @steveguest: How on earth can the @nytimes publish an entire piece about how their ISIS podcast the “Caliphate” was BS and NOT mention their reporter Rukmini Callimachi's name? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jane Lytvynenko / @janelytv: This whole thing could have been avoided with a quick reverse image search, eh? https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Lulu / @lourdesgnavarro: One last thought: Many Middle Eastern journalists who know the region had problems with her reporting. What rankles for them is how they were never championed by editors or viewed as 'subject matter experts". The larger (unanswered) problem here is who gets to cover these beats. https://twitter.com/...
Quinta Jurecic / @qjurecic: Continually fascinated by the different editorial standards used for podcasts and written journalism https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: An essential point (and thread) by @mitrakalita. There were warning signs, and people in the newsroom sensed this piece might have gone awry. Remember in 2002, when an NYT editor warned, “We have to stop Jayson from writing for the Times. Right now.” https://twitter.com/...
Miriam Elder / @miriamelder: It's not a coincidence that the Caliphate undoing had at its heart an apparent such fanboy. It was a bigger problem, particularly on Twitter, which matters as much as what made it into print, especially when those tweets are celebrated as a new form of storytelling
Miriam Elder / @miriamelder: Meeting and vetting ISIS sources is incredibly hard, and there was an enormous sense of frustration that the chatter of ISIS fanboys on Telegram was portrayed as evidence of what the group did or wanted, particularly when it came to speculating about attacks abroad
S. Mitra Kalita / @mitrakalita: The star system of newsrooms. That's it. That's the question. Ok fine I will frame as question - who do we invest in and whose stories get green lit? Should we spread the possibilities here a little more?
Saira Khan / @sairakh: The @nytimes has finally retracted “Caliphate.” The real question is why would they move forward with a story with which they knew their subject was lying and unreliable? https://www.npr.org/...
S. Mitra Kalita / @mitrakalita: The beauty of narrative is capture of nuance. But what about the complicated twists and turns within and our journey of the reporting? Is there another arc that allows audience into this even if result is less tied up with a bow?
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: Baquet told NPR that NYT had reassigned Callimachi. “I do not see how Rukmini could go back to covering terrorism after one of the highest profile stories of terrorism is getting knocked down in this way.” That is not a vote of confidence. For what beat is she suited, then?
Laila Al-Arian / @lailaalarian: In a 459-word editor's note, the @nytimes *appears* to retract the Caliphate podcast, or at least the bulk of which which they now acknowledge was largely based on the testimony of a fabulist... without actually using the word “retract.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Laila Al-Arian / @lailaalarian: This is one of the biggest media failures in recent memory but it appears that no one is going to lose their job. Rukmini Callimachi, the main reporter behind the podcast, described as a “fine” reporter, will no longer cover terrorism. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Danielle Kurtzleben / @titonka: Every journalist's nightmare. Appreciate the considerable work (see thread) being put into figuring out/explaining what happened. https://twitter.com/...
Neil Hauer / @neilphauer: Wow. The @nytimes has retracted its hit podcast Caliphate after internal (but mostly external) investigations revealed it was basically all made up. Somehow the journalist behind it all, @rcallimachi, has barely faced any repercussions - just ‘reassigned.’ https://www.npr.org/...
Margaret Merry Sullivan / @sulliview: Bottom line, I guess: https://twitter.com/...
Matt Galloway / @mattgallowaycbc: “Good journalism comes from some sort of internal debate over whether or not the stuff that supports the story is more powerful than the stuff that refutes the story... We just didn't listen hard enough to the stuff that challenged the story.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@dparvaz: Mind-boggling admission: “I think we were so in love with it that when when we saw evidence that maybe he was a fabulist, when we saw evidence that he was making some of it up, we didn't listen hard enough.” https://www.npr.org/...
Rosie Roti / @supriyan: I know there are some obvious offenders here. But journalism at the highest level has always actively colluded in disinformation when it comes from intelligence agencies, long before “fake news” was a thing. https://www.nytimes.com/...
John Moe / @johnmoe: I've been waiting for this story about NYT's investigation of its own Caliphate podcast to drop. It's way more damning than I expected but the consequences are lighter than I expected. https://twitter.com/...
Hannah Allam / @hannahallam: In an interview, Baquet tells @davidfolkenflik that the story behind Caliphate was “riddled with holes and contradictions. Even when confronting some of them, the reporting and producing team sought ways to show his story could still turn out to be true.” https://www.npr.org/...
Lulu / @lourdesgnavarro: This whole piece by @davidfolkenflik is WOW level on news he imparts about the problems with Caliphate @nytimes https://twitter.com/...
Jonah Goldberg / @jonahdispatch: Good for the Times. Now they should revisit their selective retroactive editing of the 1619 Project and their refusal to disclose it. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Baquet to @mikiebarb: “For the most part we've gotten everything right. But I think this fell through the cracks, because it was a different way of telling stories than the NYT is used to. We didn't have a system in place to manage that...” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Salman Masood / @salmanmasood: This has to be one of the weirdest stories I have worked on. “A Riveting ISIS Story, Told in a Times Podcast, Falls Apart” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Marc Tracy / @marcatracy: Here is the Times's story on Shehroze Chaudhry, the man who was on the podcast describing his exploits with Islamic State. And here is a professionally taken photograph of Aleppo he passed off as his own https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: Four Times reporters, re-examining the claims of the central character, found no evidence he was an ISIS executioner https://www.nytimes.com/...
Marc Tracy / @marcatracy: NPR has a story, too. It reports that a broader review of Rukmini Callimachi's work will reveal some corrections, but nothing major on the scale of the one for “Caliphate.” https://www.npr.org/...
Justin Vallejo / The Independent: NYT to reassign reporter hoaxed by Isis ‘con-artist’ in flagship Caliphate podcast
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: The NYT's newly-attached editors note says “Caliphate” “should have been substantially revised to exclude the material related to Mr. Chaudhry.” And “the podcast as a whole should not have been produced with Mr. Chaudhry as a central narrative character.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: After a review, the @nytimes says its 2018 ‘Caliphate’ podcast fell short of its standards for journalism, with executive editor Dean Baquet saying the blame fell on newsroom leaders https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Rutz / Fox News: New York Times committed ‘major league failure’ with hoax ‘Caliphate’ podcast: Kurtz
Christi Carras / Los Angeles Times: New York Times retracts ‘Caliphate’ podcast episodes about ISIS, citing inaccuracies
Erik Wemple / Washington Post: New York Times retracts central episodes of ‘Caliphate’ podcast series
Josh Sternberg / The Media Nut: Let's talk about fraud
Joe Walsh / Forbes: New York Times Retracts Parts Of ‘Caliphate’ Podcast After Discovering Source Faked ISIS Stories
Jacob Shamsian / Business Insider: The New York Times says there were ‘significant falsehoods’ at the center of its blockbuster ISIS podcast ‘Caliphate’
Celine Castronuovo / The Hill: New York Times retracts key parts of 2018 ‘Caliphate’ podcast, reassigns terrorism reporter
Leia Idliby / Mediaite: ‘An Institutional Failing’: New York Times Issues Stunning Retraction of High-Profile Podcast That Bought the Claims of an ISIS Fabulist
Peter Beaumont / The Guardian: New York Times admits serious editorial failings over Caliphate podcast
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: NY Times Admits ‘Caliphate’ Podcast Fell for Subject's Hoax
Jason Kottke / kottke.org: NY Times Retracts “Caliphate” Podcast
RELATED:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
The rush for podcast-generated IP that can be sold to Hollywood is driving demand for podcasts like Caliphate, which may ignore facts for “cinematic experience” — The need for IP pushes facts aside — The New York Times' Caliphate podcast was a hit — until it wasn't.
Discussion:
Casey Kelly / @caseyriankelly: Reminds me of when This American Life had to retract an entire episode bc they couldn't stand behind the reporting of actor/author Mike Daisey. Maybe there's something about longform audio where people fall in love with “a compelling narrative yarn” over reporting & hard facts? https://twitter.com/...
Nilay Patel / @reckless: It is so so easy to slide over the hard standards of rigorous journalism in order to sell a compelling story - and it's happened a lot in podcasting recently, as @ashleyrcarman details here https://www.theverge.com/...
Ely / @shomarq: Here's an article by Ashley Carman about how the rush for IP means ignoring the need for fact-checking. Important reference here to the 2012 TAL incident. https://www.theverge.com/...
Michael Schneider / Variety:
The New York Times has agreed to return the Peabody Award it won for Caliphate, following its retraction of core elements of the podcast series
Discussion:
Patrick Poole / @pspoole: Problems with NYT's ISIS reporting appeared much earlier than discussed. I noted in 2017 that they pushed hard the claims of a German ISIS “defector” Harry Sarfo that came apart weeks later. Callimachi accused critical reporters of complicity with ISIS. https://pjmedia.com/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
ProPublica:
Leaked docs show how China stage-managed what appeared on its domestic internet to make coronavirus look less severe in the early days of the outbreak — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.
Discussion:
New York Times, Trade War, @justinhendrix, @williamyang120, Just Grady Things, @propublica, @suilee, @khanoisseur, @gadyepstein, @noupside, @ilariamariasala, @gordongchang, @digiphile, @raju, @tingdc, @paulmozur, @ajitpaifcc, @camillefrancois, @informor, @propublica, @dabeard, @triketora, @sheenagreitens, @tim_canova, @dicktofel and @alfonslopeztena, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Dexter Roberts / Trade War: Trade War — Welcome to the 50th edition of Trade War. This will be the last one of 2020 as I take some time off.
Justin Hendrix / @justinhendrix: No ‘Negative’ News: How China Censored the Coronavirus: incredible @propublica + @nytimes investigation of thousands of secret directives and documents that lay bare the systems that helped the Chinese authorities shape online opinion during the pandemic: https://www.nytimes.com/...
William Yang / @williamyang120: Important story by @paulmozur, @zhonggg, @jeffykao and @Aaron_Krolik that looks at how #China tried to manage online information about #COVID19 pandemic during the early stage of the outbreak. Thousands of documents and directives offered some clue. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Grady Yuthok Short / Just Grady Things: Google Forms Mailbag; Penguins in Danger; The Case Against Bike Helmet Laws
@propublica: Headlines should steer clear of the words “incurable” & “fatal,” one directive said, “to avoid causing societal panic.” The word “lockdown” should not be used, said another. Multiple directives emphasized “negative” news about COVID was not to be promoted. https://www.propublica.org/...
@suilee: So much to be scared about ... in the wake of whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang's death, censors were told to “pay particular attention to posts with pictures of candles, people wearing masks, an entirely black image or other efforts to escalate or hype the incident.” https://twitter.com/...
@khanoisseur: Both Trump/his officials and Chinese authorities downplayed the coronavirus risk. China moved aggressively to contain the virus, however, and ended up with fewer than 10,000 reported COVID-19 deaths. US crossed 300,000 deaths. https://twitter.com/...
Gady Epstein / @gadyepstein: Important story on China's methods of control and propaganda via the internet, down to paid commenters & snitches in local areas. Worth noting this system was built and refined over many years. Lessons from each crisis are absorbed. You don't flip a switch overnight to get this https://twitter.com/...
Renee DiResta / @noupside: Fascinating glimpse into the official directives shaping the phenomenon that @vanessa_molter and the SIO team were tracking as it happened https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ilaria Maria Sala / @ilariamariasala: Read the piece - but also the thread below: https://twitter.com/...
Gordon G. Chang / @gordongchang: In the last several years, #China's propaganda has taken on an air of unreality. So as time progresses, we know less and less about the country. #CCP #CCPChina #coronavirus #COVID19 https://twitter.com/...
Alex Howard / @digiphile: “...Chinese officials tried to steer the narrative not only to prevent panic & debunk damaging falsehoods domestically. They also wanted to make the virus look less severe — & the authorities more capable — as the rest of the world was watching.” Blinded: https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: This is quite the story Leaked Documents Show How China's Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor Its Coronavirus Impact https://www.propublica.org/... via @propublica
@tingdc: Fascinating, essential reading. The disturbing CCP playbook for pushing one approved narrative and quashing everything else revealed in this detailed investigation affects us all. The CCP has the power, $, tech, and ppl/trolls to prevail in the info space at home & elsewhere. https://twitter.com/...
@paulmozur: The world's best system of disinformation sits not in Moscow, but Beijing. A new leak shows how Beijing pulled on specialized software, censors, trolls, snitches, and police to exert precise control over the early narrative of the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ajit Pai / @ajitpaifcc: You don't say. If you read only one entry in this 220+ tweet-series, read this one. The reporting from @paulmozur and colleagues detailed in this thread (and linked article) is stunning. Lessons extend well beyond #COVID19. https://twitter.com/...
Camille Franois / @camillefrancois: Fantastic @propublica and @nytimes piece on how the Chinese gov controlled the information environment around the coronavirus using both censorship techniques and scores of fake profiles commenting and posting across platforms. https://twitter.com/...
Mor Naaman / @informor: These attitudes, as we found in qualitative research led by @luzc08, were well-internalized by people in China that often considered the ‘positive energy’ of pandemic content they shared, prioritizing information valence over veracity. Paper under review, hopefully out soon! https://twitter.com/...
@propublica: New: As the coronavirus spread in China, the government stage-managed what appeared on the domestic internet to make the virus look less severe and the authorities more capable, according to thousands of leaked directives and other files. https://www.propublica.org/...
David Beard / @dabeard: How authoritarian China manipulated its domestic internet to hide the severity of #COVID19 from its own citizens https://www.propublica.org/...
Tracy Chou / @triketora: the tools that they have for coordinating trolling seem pretty handy... https://www.propublica.org/...
Sheena Greitens / @sheenagreitens: Terrific story from @paulmozur @zhonggg on China's efforts to control info on the early days of coronavirus. This is why I teach a class on info flows withinin the PRC bureaucracy @TheLBJSchool. They have global consequences. https://twitter.com/...
Tim Canova / @tim_canova: While China's Silicon Valley allies used Chinese censorship techniques to censor dissenting medical scientists and discussions about the causes, nature, and treatment of the covid virus. The agenda behind censorship is never altruistic. https://twitter.com/...
Richard Tofel / @dicktofel: Breaking: @propublica and @nytimes have obtained documents tracking the secret Chinese effort to suppress early news of the virus https://www.propublica.org/...
Alfons Lpez Tena / @alfonslopeztena: When COVID outbroke, Chinese authorities clamped down on information to make COVID look less severe, and the government more capable, thousands of secret government directives and other documents show. China's army of paid internet trolls helped censor https://www.propublica.org/...
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Lou Dobbs aired a fact-check of his own election conspiracies, after Smartmatic threatened legal action; sources: Pirro, Bartiromo will air the same fact check — Fox Business host Lou Dobbs has recently taken to raising questions about voting machine companies, which have been cast …
Discussion:
@atrupar, Slate, CNN, @amy_siskind, @dandrezner, @swin24, @jeremymbarr, @aghamilton29, @nycsouthpaw, @marceelias, Washington Post, @jeremymbarr, @oneunderscore__, @gcaw, @mmasnick, @bryanlowry3, UPROXX, @anoushasakoui, @jayrosen_nyu, @oliverdarcy, @klasfeldreports, @deetwocents, @bgrueskin, @eddiepereztx, @mgcanmore, @joshuajfriedman, @ryanjreilly and @oliverdarcy
Discussion:
Aaron Rupar / @atrupar: This is very bizarre. Lou Dobbs ran a segment tonight basically debunking his own lies about Smartmatic voting machines https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Politi / Slate: Fox Airs Segment Debunking Voter Fraud Claims After Legal Threat From Smartmatic
Oliver Darcy / CNN: After legal threat, Fox airs news package debunking election fraud claims made by its own hosts
Daniel W. Drezner / @dandrezner: Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo are gonna air the same segment? Wow, Smartmatic has some great lawyers. https://twitter.com/...
Asawin Suebsaeng / @swin24: Either he's a coward who truly believes this is the scandal of the century but doesn't have the commitment with all his advantages of fame and money to keep fighting after just an ounce of legal threat, or he's a bullshit artist who is in on his own grift & hit pause conveniently https://twitter.com/...
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: UPDATE: OSET's co-founder says his group had no idea what the segment would be used for. “In fact, it was a bit sketchy in terms of Fox disclosures about purpose,” he said. “We were all surprised when it ran, how it was framed, and what it ended up being.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@aghamilton29: Wow. So apparently the Fox News programs (Dobbs, Pirro, & Bartiromo) that have run with conspiracies (from Powell) about Smartmatic are being forced to run a fact-check segment after Smartmatic threatened legal actions against FNC. https://twitter.com/...
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: Everything about the way this is produced conveys the show's fear and panic. https://twitter.com/...
Marc E. Elias / @marceelias: Does this mean his suggestion that Republicans pay me $500 million wasn't true either?👀 https://twitter.com/...
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post: Lou Dobbs debunks his own claims of election fraud — after a legal demand from Smartmatic
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Fox News seems to be hoping that the fact-check clip that ran on Lou Dobbs last night and will run on Judge Jeanine tonight and Maria Bartiromo tomorrow will satisfy @smartmatic's demand for a retraction of misinfo. No response from Smartmatic yet, though: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Ben Collins / @oneunderscore__: A little less bizarre when you remember Smartmatic sent Fox News a cease and desist earlier this week. https://twitter.com/...
Graeme Wood / @gcaw: This is what cable news looks like when you are threatened with a lawsuit and your legal department gets full editorial control for the evening https://twitter.com/...
Mike Masnick / @mmasnick: Does it become actual malice when you admit that if you'd actually spoken to an expert, they would have told you absolutely everything you'd been reporting for weeks is bogus? https://twitter.com/...
Matthewprigge / UPROXX: Lou Dobbs Was Apparently Forced To Air A Segment Utterly Debunking His Baseless Conspiracy Theories About Voter Fraud
Anousha / @anoushasakoui: I've been wondering how long it would take for legal action. Pretty fascinating stuff https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: This text will challenge anyone's powers of description. What is it, really? Okay: ass covering under threat of lawsuit, but that leaves untouched many additional levels of strangeness. For example, who's asking the questions? https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: New: When asked about the fact-checking package Fox is running this weekend, Smartmatic attorney Erik Connolly tells me, “We cannot comment due to potential litigation.” https://www.cnn.com/...
Adam Klasfeld / @klasfeldreports: This incredible segment demands to be watched in full. “Lou Dobbs Airs Stunning Fact-Check of His Own Election Conspiracies After Smartmatic Threatens Legal Action” https://mediaite.com/a/yrihv via @mediaite
Danielle Moodie / @deetwocents: If Fox News hosts see no threat of loss of money or fear of legal action they will never change. More companies need to threaten suit or drop their sponsorship of Fox News for their dangerous and deadly lies. #WokeAF https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: To have any real hope of staving off a suit, Bartiromo, Pirro and Dobbs would have to deliver full-throated apolgies. This weird, disembodied interview isn't that. https://twitter.com/...
Eddie Perez / @eddiepereztx: @OSET and I were pleased for the opportunity to state the facts. We may have criticisms of vendors, but wild allegations unsupported by facts are corrosive to democracy, unity, and national security. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Gilchrist / @mgcanmore: It appears Smartmatic's legal threat put the fear of God in FOX, and they made @LouDobbs do a point-by-point retraction of his crazy claims . . . https://mediaite.com/a/yrihv via @mediaite
Joshua J. Friedman / @joshuajfriedman: @ryanjreilly Here's the letter: https://beta.documentcloud.org/ ...
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: digital publishers including BuzzFeed, Group Nine, and Axios are prepping for a wave of consolidation, via acquisitions or going public through SPACs — Big players explore acquiring rivals and going public through blank-check companies — Momentum is building toward consolidation …
Discussion:
Raju Narisetti / @raju: What is fascinating is how most of these digital brands actually ended up with smaller audiences this year than in 2019, for what was a busy 2020 news year. https://www.wsj.com/...? via @WSJ https://twitter.com/...
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal: Group Nine Media Explores Blank-Check Company for Digital-Media Acquisitions
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: News: -BuzzFeed is now exploring going public through a SPAC -Patch has hired a bank to weigh deal interest -Axios has held talks to consolidate a group of B2B and consumer publishers -Complex, theSkimm are viewed as acquisition targets And more 👇🏻 https://www.wsj.com/...
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / @ashkan: Surge in funding led to clutter of similar digital media companies with a ton of redundancy. Industry's been talking about consolidation & roll-ups for a decade+ now. SPACs are merely latest means to that end. As even a broken clock is eventually right... https://www.mediagazer.com/...
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: AT&T, Comcast and Disney...."were once thought of as the logical buyers of such outlets. But as those media giants focus on their streaming-video businesses, their interest in digital publishers has waned." https://www.wsj.com/...
Tyler Kingkade / @tylerkingkade: Patch (!!) gets more monthly visitors than Axios https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Brandon Wall / @walldo: brb googling “what is a SPAC” https://www.wsj.com/...
Steve Kopack / @stevekopack: BuzzFeed is exploring going public through a SPAC, WSJ reports https://www.wsj.com/...
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: Lots of interesting stuff in here, and some of this will pan out while most won't. But I'm curious as to why @arctictony is the only person quoted on the record here. https://www.wsj.com/...
Holiday Alex / @alex: v happy that buzzfeed is now profitable on revs of $300M https://www.wsj.com/...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: HBO has Industry, but Apple...this is your chance to make the definitive SPAC show. Just make a version of Billions that's written by Adam McKay. Throw that AirPods Max money into developing it! https://www.wsj.com/...
Keith Hernandez / @keithrhernandez: @BenMullin @ryanvailbrown Solid media dump before the holidays!
Scott Nover / @scottnover: @BenMullin That's too much news
Rvb / @ryanvailbrown: @KeithRHernandez @BenMullin “some things may happen, or not! have a great holiday!”
Elizabeth Lopatto / @mslopatto: you ever read some news and just... your headache goes away and your hair gets more voluminous and your garden starts thriving? well https://www.wsj.com/...
Terence Kawaja / @tkawaja: Will @BenjLerer be the next new entrant on the rapidly-expanding SPAC LUMAscape? @BenMullin seems to have a scoop. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Simon Owens / @simonowens: At the same time we're seeing a boom in indie creator publishing, we're simultaneously witnessing a huge consolidation of digital media companies. If you want to succeed in media, you either need to be small and nimble or really huge. https://www.wsj.com/...
Lukas I. Alpert / @lalpert1: Remember when Jonah Peretti floated that idea of rolling all digital media companies into a startup supergroup? https://twitter.com/...
Meg Graham / @megancgraham: Group Nine Media, owner of The Dodo and NowThis, is considering using a blank-check company to acquire competitors, via @WSJ https://www.wsj.com/...
Jacob Cohen Donnelly / A Media Operator: Looking at the Axios Charlotte Acquisition
Will Page / Billboard:
Music streaming may have plateaued with an average of 17.5B streams a week for the past four months, while consumption of games, TikTok, and podcasts increase — Has streaming volume really peaked in the U.S., or is the current stalled growth a blip? — Music streaming services have continued …
Discussion:
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / Context is King: Record Labels: When Greed and Fear Collide
Gavin Baker / @gavinsbaker: Interesting from the former chief economist @Spotify Music streaming volume has flattened out over the last 4 months; potentially due to growth in podcasts along with a light release calendar and losing share of time spent to videogames, TikTok. https://www.billboard.com/...
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / @ashkan: Record labels are choking their long-term growth through near-sighted policies: https://www.mediagazer.com/... Here's how @warnermusic & soon @UMG could be valued like gaming publishers & unlock shareholder value, doubling their market cap. https://contextisking.com/...
Alexandra Alter / New York Times:
Spiegel & Grau, the literary imprint shut down by Penguin Random House last year, returns as an indie publishing house with plans for podcasts, audiobooks, more — In a literary landscape dominated by the biggest players, Cindy Spiegel and Julie Grau are among the executives rejecting …
Discussion:
@sarahw, @spiegelandgrau, @brendacopeland, @ronhogan, @glecharles, @booksijustread, @hofrench, @xtebordo and @paulgrondahl
Discussion:
Sarah Weinman / @sarahw: I wish Spiegel & Grau so much luck in starting their imprint over as an independent publishing house. Also curious how the new companies — Zando, Astra House, etc — will fare in a megapublisher landscape. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Spiegel & Grau / @spiegelandgrau: “This week, Ms. Spiegel and Ms. Grau announced that they are back in business — this time, as an independent publishing house with a much broader definition of what publishing entails.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brenda Copeland / @brendacopeland: Editors Spiegel & Grau are opening their own publishing house. Best news ever! Smart, hardworking women never give up or give in. Three cheers! @SPIEGELandGRAU #publishing #publishingjobs #publishing https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ron Hogan / @ronhogan: “Launching a company in 2020 is daring, even for two veterans. But in some ways, it's an opportune time to introduce a new publishing model.” Great to see @SPIEGELandGRAU have reclaimed their publishing brand from Penguin Random House to go indie! https://www.nytimes.com/...
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez / @glecharles: There are very few Big 5 imprints that represent anything notable to me, and Spiegel & Grau was one of them. Glad to see them returning as an independent press w/o any sketchy strings attached to “new” vanity-adjacent business models. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Monika Woods / @booksijustread: More please! (Tho I am a bit concerned about these new publishers seeming to stake a claim on film/tv rights...) https://twitter.com/...
Howard French / @hofrench: Anything that swims against the ongoing consolidation in book publishing is good. “Their Publishing Imprint Closed. Now They're Bringing It Back.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Juwan J. Holmes / The Objective:
How several Black people and people of color spoke up about racism in media last summer, sometimes losing their jobs, and how a true reckoning hasn't arrived — Imani Bashir was unceremoniously fired from Lifehacker, with no notice. Then she spoke up about it. — ⠀
Discussion:
Ashley Wong / @wongalum: “'There are some safe spaces,' she said. 'Some safe people. But you have to remember the people they work for often aren't safe.'” Excellent, brutal truths about the media industry, with care and damning insight from @juwanthewriter for @ObjectiveJrn https://www.objectivejournalism.org/ ...
Heidi N. Moore / @moorehn: An essential read about racism in journalism and publishing. https://www.objectivejournalism.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Gabe Schneider / @gabemschneider: “At that point, I didn't give a shit how they felt, they deserved to be aired out. They treated me like I had stolen confidential info.” @juwanthewriter talked to @SheIsImaniB about what journalism's “reckoning” actually meant. https://www.objectivejournalism.org/ ...
Elaine Low / Variety:
Charli D'Amelio and her family will star in The D'Amelio Show, an eight-episode docuseries on Hulu that will follow “the first family of TikTok” — Charli D'Amelio, who at 16 rocketed to fame with over 150 million followers on TikTok, is getting her own show on Hulu alongside her sister …
Discussion:
Julia Alexander / The Verge: TikTok's Charli D'Amelio is bringing her entire family to Hulu with a new reality series
Paige Skinner / @paginaskinner: I, along with I'm sure other reporters, predicted this: https://www.lamag.com/... @LAmag https://twitter.com/...
Karl Bode / @karlbode: @mathewi @TaylorLorenz I'm getting “I cannot for the life of me understand why this person is so famous” tattooed on my forehead to save time at least she can dance. Twitter now is just a parade of trolls with no particular insight or expertise with 400K followers
@yashar: @mathewi @teroterotero @TaylorLorenz Some of this is right time, right place for sure. But she just makes people happy by being sweet and fun.
Tero Kuittinen / @teroterotero: @mathewi @TaylorLorenz She is really happy and upbeat and relentlessly positive. A lot of TikTok is kinda dark and snarky. She is doing the sunshine bit better than anyone - which is probably harder than it looks.
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: @teroterotero @TaylorLorenz I guess. But why her specifically? I'm sure there are lots of other happy and relatable not-very-talented people on there. What is it about her exactly? Maybe I should be asking the algorithm
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: @mathewi @teroterotero a lot has been written about this if you google and read some of the profiles on her.
Chris Stokel-Walker / @stokel: Brand D'Amelio continues (this was kinda obvious given the move to YouTube). I wrote this for @Telegraph three weeks ago https://twitter.com/...
Rich Greenfield / @richlightshed: 🔥🔥 From Tik Tok'ing in school to their own reality show on @hulu The power of digital creators in 2020 and especially @tiktok_us incredible @GregGoodfried @charlidamelio @dixiedamelio https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: I know @TaylorLorenz has probably explained this, but I cannot for the life of me understand why this person is so famous. She is completely unremarkable in every way. She's not particularly good looking or funny or talented at anything. I just don't get it. Also, I am old https://twitter.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: Hulu will have both the Kardashians and the D'Amelios. Seems like a conflict of interest. https://variety.com/...
Lia Haberman / Lia Haberman's Newsletter: Social Tools & Trends, Dec 18
Peter White / Deadline: Charli D'Amelio & Family Sign Up For Hulu Reality Series 'The D'Amelio Family'
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter: D'Amelio Family Reality Series Lands at Hulu
Brandy Zadrozny / NBC News:
Some local news stations are credulously covering anti-vaxxers' response to the COVID-19 vaccine and failing to feature doctors or public health advocates — Friday night's newscast on WFXG-TV in Augusta, Georgia, a Fox affiliate, featured some exciting news: The Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center …
Discussion:
Brandy Zadrozny / @brandyzadrozny: New from me: As platforms crack down on misinformation around Covid-19 vaccines, some anti-vaccination activists are pivoting to sparsely-attended real-world events trying to get local news outlets to amplify their message. It's working. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Laura Helmuth / @laurahelmuth: This is really dangerous. Anti-vaxxers are trying to get their disinformation amplified by local TV news, and it's working. By @BrandyZadrozny https://www.nbcnews.com/... via @nbcnews
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Gearing up for the COVID-19 vaccines, antix-vaxxers are have been able to get credulous local TV news stations to cover their rallies, providing “the kind of platform that public health professionals and misinformation experts dread.” https://www.nbcnews.com/...
@spj_tweets: “Experts have warned that credulous coverage of fringe and misleading anti-vaccine misinformation—coverage that doesn't explicitly state that the information is false—can cause real-world harm, including a hesitancy among some people to get vaccinated...” https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Alexios / @mantzarlis: we saw this earlier this year with the “Save the Children” rallies and it's a good reminder that local news can have many strengths, but also clear vulnerabilities https://www.nbcnews.com/...
@kubremner: Some anti-vaxxers have shifted from social media to small, in-person events, trying to get local news outlets to amplify their misinformation. This “information laundering' seems to be working for them - so journalists need to watch out for it. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
@donlday: The “anti” crowd looks to dupe local tv news stations into airing false facts in a practice called “information laundering.” There aren't two sides to providing facts. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Drew Petrimoulx / @drewpetrimoulx: Local news peeps: there's not always two sides to a story. Just because a few people show up to protest and you think “hey, there's some good video and sound,” doesn't mean they're worth talking to. https://www.nbcnews.com/... via @nbcnews
Joyce Carol Oates / @joycecaroloates: no demagoguery without media complicity, either. https://twitter.com/...
David Firestone / @fstonenyc: The anti-vaccination movement found a place that would publicize its lies about the Covid vaccine: local TV news stations. And many of the stations played right into their hands, covering the misinformation as part of a “debate.” Via @BrandyZadrozny https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Kate Starbird / @katestarbird: This. I watch 30 minutes of local news every night and our channels in Seattle do this as well. By amplifying a “protest” of 10 people spouting nonsense about masks/distancing/vaccines and not talking to the thousands of people who are safely staying home... isn't good journalism https://twitter.com/...
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
In a memo, NBCU CEO Jeff Shell says that Premier League soccer coverage is Peacock's number one driver of premium subscriptions and engagement — EXCLUSIVE: NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell didn't mince words about the “bad dream” that was 2020, but touted the success of Peacock and laid …
Discussion:
Celine Castronuovo / The Hill:
The Washington Post plans to add 150 jobs next year, bringing its total staff to a record high of more than 1,000 — The Washington Post plans to add more than 150 jobs to its newsroom next year, bringing its total staff to a record high of more than 1,000, the newspaper confirmed to The Hill Thursday.
Discussion:
@farhip, @doranimated, @lesserfrederick, @allyschweitzer, @blowryontv, @farhip, Press Gazette and @sarafischer
Discussion:
Paul Farhi / @farhip: —In 2021, Post will add about 150 new positions, largest annual increase in our history. —Post added 100 new employees in 2020....
Mike / @doranimated: This isn't a bet by Jeff Bezos on the surging profitability of the digital news business. It's a bet on the usefulness to an oligarch of information operations as a weapon | WashPost to add more than 150 jobs next year, bringing newsroom to record size https://thehill.com/...
@lesserfrederick: I'm glad the Washington Post is doing well. Truly, I am. Yet this only highlights the devastation of local news. https://twitter.com/...
@allyschweitzer: This is awesome. But how many are reporter positions? Would love to see beefing up of local journalism, in particular, at the Post. Is it naive to suggest this should be a priority? https://twitter.com/...
Brian Lowry / @blowryontv: Glad to see the extraordinary work done by the Post in 2020 paying off. https://twitter.com/...
Paul Farhi / @farhip: —Digital subscriptions now approaching 3 million. —Post will have two new international news hubs, in Europe and Asia. —Between June and mid-November, Post hired 36 new employees (58 percent were POC).
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