Top News:
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:
@justinhendrix, @shenlulushen, @camillefrancois, @dktatlow, @elmihiro, @sophia_yan, @mrbcyber, @postmodern3, @sub8u, @ajphelo, @jerometaylor, @minhazmerchant, @marietjeschaake, @williamyang120, @hillelneuer, @tim_canova, @suilee, Fox News, @gypsy_heart6, @artjonak, @propublica, The spying game, Trade War, Just Grady Things, @ajitpaifcc, @khanoisseur, @noupside, @tingdc, @gordongchang, @dabeard, @triketora, @alfonslopeztena, @raju, @informor, @gadyepstein, @propublica, @dicktofel, @ilariamariasala, @digiphile, @sheenagreitens and @paulmozur, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
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/...
Shen Lu / @shenlulushen: So it sounds like public opinion swaying, censorship, and propaganda are often sold as a package. Those tech companies provide truly comprehensive service! Reminds me also of this bit from @QiZHAI & his colleague's scoop on Ant Financial's IPO collapse. https://twitter.com/... 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/...
Didi Kirsten Tatlow / @dktatlow: Yup. Some of us have been pointing to and demonstrating these realities & risks for months, years. Good to finally see it in the pages of a major mainstream media: https://twitter.com/...
Sophia Yan / @sophia_yan: Read the whole thread about China's censorship/propaganda machine & how that shaped what the world knew of the pandemic in the early days https://twitter.com/...
Michael Ron Bowling / @mrbcyber: The Chinese government has created an incredibly sophisticated censorship system and there is every reason to believe they are extending it globally. - ProPublica https://www.propublica.org/...
Eddie Schmitt / @postmodern3: Erasure of online memorials to Li Wenliang last February was truly disappointing but hardly surprising. Despite terrible editorial decisions on subtitles (Engineers of the Troll... seriously?), there are important details about state censorship of memorialization here. https://twitter.com/...
Subrahmanyam Kvj / @sub8u: Oh, China! 🤦♂️ If the rest of the world is to recognize China as a key global leader, rest assured that will not come by trying to define online narratives. https://www.propublica.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Andrew J Phelan / @ajphelo: We knew this anyway but here's the Orwellian detail behind it and how the #CCP censorship machine works.Negative' News: How China Censored the Coronavirus https://www.nytimes.com/... @chrissmithonair
Jerome Taylor / @jerometaylor: The perfect lede: “At a time when digital media is deepening social divides in Western democracies, China is manipulating online discourse to enforce the Communist Party's consensus.” 👌🏼 https://www.nytimes.com/...
Minhaz Merchant / @minhazmerchant: How thousands of #Chinese censors blocked early news on #Covid_19 from reaching the world, possibly worsening the spread of the #pandemic. Long but rewarding read: story based on meticulous investigation of documentary evidence. https://www.propublica.org/...
Marietje Schaake / @marietjeschaake: Insightful on how China controls and weaponizes information online: Leaked Documents Show How China's Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus ↘️ https://www.propublica.org/...
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/...
Hillel Neuer / @hillelneuer: Nightmare dystopian universe of George Orwell's 1984—totalitarian surveillance and thought police of Big Brother—has come alive today in the Chinese regime. It reaches beyond as Beijing deploys propagandists like @jameschau, @WHO “goodwill ambassador.” https://www.nytimes.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/...
@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/...
Syed / @gypsy_heart6: It's like a horror movie. China has the sort of censorship & propaganda network that Pakistan's 5th generation warfare soldiers can only dream about. Neighborhoods have paid snitches & people hired to spread the “positive China/CCP” motto. https://twitter.com/...
Art Jonak / @artjonak: The world's best system of disinformation sits not in Moscow, but Beijing. @PaulMozur and his team have done an incredible job covering China this year. Read this eye-opening thread👇 —more evidence of how despicable the Chinese Communist Party is, and in many ways terrifying. https://twitter.com/...
@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/...
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.
Grady Yuthok Short / Just Grady Things: Google Forms Mailbag; Penguins in Danger; The Case Against Bike Helmet Laws
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/...
@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/...
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/...
@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/...
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/...
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/...
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/...
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
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/...
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/...
@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/...
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/...
Ilaria Maria Sala / @ilariamariasala: Read the piece - but also the thread below: 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/...
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/...
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, MSN, The Guardian, CNN, Washington Post, @geejustg, @alanweedspan, @amy_siskind, @limmered, @pjmooney, @nschneideraz13, @toddschnitt, @meiselasb, @ansonmount, @hig68, @loweringthebar, @oliverdarcy, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, Slate, @dandrezner, @swin24, @aghamilton29, @bryanlowry3, @jayrosen_nyu, @nycsouthpaw, @gcaw, @marceelias, @oneunderscore__, @anoushasakoui, Fox Business, @deetwocents, @mmasnick, @klasfeldreports, UPROXX, @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/...
Sarah Rumpf / MSN: Jeanine Pirro's Show Runs Same Fact-Check as Lou Dobbs — At End of Show With Guest Host Filling In
Richard Luscombe / The Guardian: Fox News retracts Smartmatic voting machine fraud claim in staged video
Oliver Darcy / CNN: After legal threat, Fox airs news package debunking election fraud claims made by its own hosts
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post: Lou Dobbs debunks his own claims of election fraud — after a legal demand from Smartmatic
Bigly Nasty / @geejustg: @kylegriffin1 If you haven't seen it yet, watch these clips. https://twitter.com/...
Alan Weedspan / @alanweedspan: They lied to you with a straight face. Now they can't get the toothpaste back in the tube. https://mediaite.com/a/yrihv
@limmered: Watch Lou Dobbs pretend like he's the one that reached out on behalf of “Election Integrity” Hard to lie when they have you by the sensitivities, isn't it Lou? #ONEV1 https://www.mediaite.com/...
@pjmooney: Lou Dobbs Airs Stunning Fact-Check of His Own Election Conspiracies After Company Threatens Legal Action https://mediaite.com/a/yrihv How humiliating—and how par for the course. @LouDobbs @FoxNews @IngrahamAngle @TuckerCarlson @seanhannity @JudgeJeanine
Nathan Schneider / @nschneideraz13: Instead of empty threats, could someone actually sue these f**kers? https://twitter.com/...
Todd ‘MJ’ Schnitt / @toddschnitt: WATCH: @foxnews and @FoxBusiness mitigation efforts to stave off a potential lawsuit from @smartmatic for wildly unsubstantiated claims made by Fox News personalities and surrogates about election conspiracy trash. Also ran on Judge Pirro's bonkers show. https://www.mediaite.com/...
Ben Meiselas / @meiselasb: Notice how he says “there are lots of opinions” about the 2020 election. His lawyers advised him an “opinion” is a defense to defamation. So he claims his disinfo are “opinions” then presents the FACTS as if it's a counter-opinion. This is how they will defend defamation cases. https://twitter.com/...
Anson Mount / @ansonmount: Not bizarre. It's the sudden realization of culpability after a legal threat from Smartmatic, & the further realization that FOX/Dobbs would have about as strong a defense as a naked prisoner strapped prostate to the ground &!forced to watch the red hot poker heating over flames. https://twitter.com/...
@hig68: Hair-brained conspiracy theories collapse like a house of cards. Especially when it threatens their livelihood and spreading further lies. #ONEV1 #wtpBLUE Lou Dobbs Airs Stunning Fact-Check of His Own Election Claims https://www.mediaite.com/...
@loweringthebar: That's what happens when you're facing a defamation suit and don't have the faintest possibility of proving what you said is true or even that you lacked actual malice. 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/...
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/ ...
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/ ...
Daniel Politi / Slate: Fox Airs Segment Debunking Voter Fraud Claims After Legal Threat From Smartmatic
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/...
@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/...
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/...
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: Everything about the way this is produced conveys the show's fear and panic. 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/...
Marc E. Elias / @marceelias: Does this mean his suggestion that Republicans pay me $500 million wasn't true either?👀 https://twitter.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/...
Anousha / @anoushasakoui: I've been wondering how long it would take for legal action. Pretty fascinating stuff https://twitter.com/...
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/...
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/...
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
Matthewprigge / UPROXX: Lou Dobbs Was Apparently Forced To Air A Segment Utterly Debunking His Baseless Conspiracy Theories About Voter Fraud
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/ ...
The Guardian:
Citizen Lab: iPhones of dozens of Al Jazeera journalists were hacked using software from NSO Group in an attack likely ordered by Saudi Arabia and UAE — Citizen Lab researchers say cyber-attack using NSO Group software likely ordered by Saudia Arabia and UAE
Discussion:
@jsrailton, The Citizen Lab, ZDNet, TechCrunch, @evacide, Engadget, @dr_ulrichsen, Associated Press and @anoushasakoui, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
John Scott-Railton / @jsrailton: 🚨MAJOR REPORT: zero-click #0day in #iMessage used to infect 36 ppl @Aljazeera w/ NSO spyware. We attribute to UAE & Saudi Arabia w/medium confidence. THREAD https://citizenlab.ca/... https://twitter.com/...
Bill Marczak / The Citizen Lab: The Great iPwn: Journalists Hacked with Suspected NSO Group iMessage ‘Zero-Click’ Exploit
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet: Zero-click iOS zero-day found deployed against Al Jazeera employees
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch: Dozens of journalists' iPhones hacked with NSO ‘zero-click’ spyware, says Citizen Lab
Eva / @evacide: New @citizenlab report finds a no-click 0-day in iMessage being used by NSO Group to targets Al Jazeera journalists. If you are concerned about being a target, make sure you've upgraded to iOS 14: https://citizenlab.ca/...
Kristian Ulrichsen / @dr_ulrichsen: ‘The claims of a hacking campaign against journalists from the two Qatari-funded media outlets underscores the extent to which Saudi Arabia and the UAE continue to see the Doha-based network as a major threat to their interests.’ https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Charles Kaiser / The Guardian:
Interview with Arthur Sulzberger Jr, who retires as NYT chairman this month, and AG Sulzberger about turning around the paper, keeping it in the family, more — Against the odds, a unique American institution has thrived. Its chairman is retiring but the paper will stay in the family
Discussion:
@vivian, Context is King, @jeffjarvis, @jswatz, @michaelluo, @andrewlavallee, @jayrosen_nyu, @jswatz, @ckummer, @meslackman, @eckholm and @raju
Discussion:
Vivian Schiller / @vivian: Arthur Sulzberger Jr is an American hero. He does not get enough credit — this tribute is a start. @nytimes .https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / Context is King: Media - and news in particular - is a Thankless Mission.
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Very Arthur: “But then he made his first big ad sale and 'realized that I had just covered Johnny Apple's liquor bill for a year!'” 😁 https://twitter.com/...
John Schwartz / @jswatz: “He did not ever push me to be his successor,” AG Sulzberger said. “He was always really consistent about me following my passions. But I made the mistake of having my first job out of college being a reporting gig.” https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Michael Luo / @michaelluo: Well deserved tribute to Arthur Sulzberger Jr. Also truth in this line from @CharlesKaiserNY: “...the Times tends to enter the bones of everyone who works there.” https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Andrew LaVallee / @andrewlavallee: ‘I only wrote for the paper for eight years, five as a reporter on the metro staff. But the Times tends to enter the bones of everyone who works there, and a preoccupation with its peculiarities has been my hobby ever since.’ https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “As soon as Rosenthal was succeeded by Max Frankel as executive editor, the Times was transformed from the most homophobic to the most gay-friendly major institution in America.” https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
John Schwartz / @jswatz: In incredibly tough times. AO Sulzberger, Jr. laid the groundwork for a safe, even thriving, New York Times. He leaves it in great hands. Journalism, and the nation, owe him gratitude. @CharlesKaiserNY — who can be fiercely critical of the NYT — weighs in. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Corby Kummer / @ckummer: “The lightbulb came on when he went to work in the advertising department. 'I figured I'd give it a year and go back to the newsroom.' But then he made his first big ad sale and 'realized that I had just covered Johnny Apple's liquor bill for a year!'” https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Michael Slackman / @meslackman: Paul Goldberger, a longtime Times architecture critic, said the most relevant description of Sulzberger Jr's philosophy could be found in a novel: “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.” Or as Arthur said “Adapt or die.” https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Erik Eckholm / @eckholm: 'But then he made his first big ad sale and “realized that I had just covered Johnny Apple's liquor bill for a year!” Excellent look at how the NYT survived intact. @CharlesKaiserNY https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: On @nytimes Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr who has, in time, become one of the best stewards of journalism out there, because of what the New York Times has become this past decade in a remarkable turnaround for a publicly held media company https://www.theguardian.com/ ... via @guardian
Pranay Prabhat / NYT Open:
A look at the NYT's first-party data program for its direct-sold ads; NYT says ad campaigns that used it performed as well as those using third-party data — The New York Times launched an advertising data program for our direct-sold ads business that uses our own data and data science techniques.
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, Washington Post, @opcofamerica, @marksimoneny, @chitrasd, @opindia_com, @louisemensch, @omar_quraishi, @patrickosgood, @leah_sottile, @lizsly, @asadabukhalil, New York Times, @darksecretplace, New York Times, @hshaban, @natashafatah, New York Post, @mitrakalita, @madhulikasikka, @johnjcook, CNN, New York Times, New York Times, @nycjim, @perlberg, @samsanders, @elaheizadi, @brianstelter, @cd_hooks, @cd_hooks, @peterbale, Washington Post, @sultanreina, @katie_robertson, @erikwemple, @nprinskeep, @amalahmed214, @lailaalarian, @lailaalarian, @lailaalarian, @lailaalarian, @doranimated, @madhulikasikka, @madhulikasikka, @radiokitty, @madhulikasikka, @chuckatwbhm, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @absurdistwords, @absurdistwords, @joshokane, @davidfolkenflik, @jbflint, @glcarlstrom, @davidfolkenflik, @steveguest, @janelytv, @lourdesgnavarro, @qjurecic, @bgrueskin, @miriamelder, @miriamelder, @mitrakalita, @mitrakalita, @sairakh, @erikwemple, @laurawags, @lailaalarian, @lailaalarian, Axios, @titonka, @neilphauer, @sulliview, @mattgallowaycbc, @dparvaz, @supriyan, @hannahallam, @johnmoe, @lourdesgnavarro, @jonahdispatch, @brianstelter, @marcatracy, @katie_robertson, @salmanmasood, @marcatracy, @brianstelter, @katie_robertson, The Line, The Independent, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Media Nut, Forbes, Business Insider, The Hill, allsides.com, Newser, Mediaite, The Guardian, The Wrap, kottke.org 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/...
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/...
Mark Simone / @marksimoneny: Once again The NY Times gets caught reporting totally fake news and apologizes for the millionth time: https://www.npr.org/...
Chitra Subramaniam / @chitrasd: Sensitive single source stories need constant, varied and several levels of verification. That's lesson #1 for #NYTimes after the #Caliphate fiasco. The apology is neither wholehearted nor convincing. #journalism https://twitter.com/...
@opindia_com: New York Times admits ‘institutional failure’, says it was likely duped by a Pakistani-Canadian pretending to be an ISIS executioner https://www.opindia.com/...
Louise Mensch / @louisemensch: That the Times, who have now corrected another false story from 2014, did nothing about what she said to James Foley's family is @deanbaquet's real responsibility here. For not bothering to check, they just reassign. There's nothing to be proud of. RIP, James Foley. https://twitter.com/...
Omar R Quraishi / @omar_quraishi: You should be fired by your employer the New York Times - you are lucky you've just been reassigned - also you should return your awards https://twitter.com/...
Patrick Osgood / @patrickosgood: While RC moves on to some undefined new beat at the NYT, are women and children still stranded in squalid internment camps in Syria because of political decisions explicitly premised on RC's egregious misreporting? Did the NYT reckon with this at all? If not, why not? https://twitter.com/...
Leah Sottile / @leah_sottile: Returning an award, but still offering the podcast for download. Gotcha. https://twitter.com/...
Liz Sly / @lizsly: The New York Times refrains from issuing a retraction for its “Caliphate” podcast even though it acknowledges its own investigation found that the guy featured was lying and the story “did not meet our standards for accuracy.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@asadabukhalil: I once argued with Callimachi (in public and in private) about her coverage of the fight against ISIS and found her woefully lacking in knowledge and expertise. https://twitter.com/...
@darksecretplace: NYT should probably retract the entire series. Too many reliable sources say it was a work of near fiction. (The reporter was reassigned to regions were she can speak and read the language.) A Riveting ISIS Story, Told in a Times Podcast, Falls Apart https://www.nytimes.com/...
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/...
Natasha Fatah / @natashafatah: Rukmini is one of the bravest and most impressive journalists out there. We all make mistakes. Easy to judge and sneer. Better to forgive and learn. https://twitter.com/...
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?
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/...
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/...
New York Times: Prologue: The Mission … Editors' Note [Dec. 18, 2020]: In 2018, The Times released …
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/...
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/...
Elahe Izadi / Washington Post: The New York Times could not verify ISIS claims in its ‘Caliphate’ podcast. Now it's returning a prestigious award.
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: 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...
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
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 Please see this thread by @madhulikasikka about how barren is that particular thought: https://twitter.com/...
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: @davidfolkenflik @madhulikasikka See those here: https://www.nytimes.com/... and here: https://www.nytimes.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?
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?
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/...
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/...
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/...
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/...
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/...
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/...
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: 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/...
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/...
Justin Vallejo / The Independent: NYT to reassign reporter hoaxed by Isis ‘con-artist’ in flagship Caliphate podcast
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:
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:
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: Another editor's note stemming from the @nytimes review of Rukmini Callimachi's work. This one pertains to a 2019 story on protection arrangements for an Islamic State leader: https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jacob Silverman / @silvermanjacob: Looks like the NYT added another editor's note to Callimachi's suspect Hurras al Din story. It still fails to address the central problem, which is that the sole source for the article is a shady self-proclaimed ex-spy who supplied forged documents. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: And to another story, this one from the end of 2019. The Times investigators were looking at a broader range of work than just Caliphate https://www.nytimes.com/...
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/...
Rukmini Callimachi / New York Times: ISIS Leader Paid Rival for Protection but Was Betrayed by His Own
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”
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/...
Ben Taub / New Yorker:
A look back at Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder in Malta, and how her sons used her unfinished work to crack the murder case, bringing down Malta's government — After a journalist was assassinated, her sons found clues in her unfinished work that cracked the case and brought down the government.
Discussion:
Andrew Giambrone / @andrewgiambrone: your weekend read: this incredible @bentaub91 story on corruption in Malta and a family's quest for the truth https://www.newyorker.com/...
Jane Gerster / @jane_gerster: Murder in Malta: After a journalist was assassinated, her sons found clues in her unfinished work that cracked the case and brought down the government https://www.newyorker.com/... via @NewYorker https://twitter.com/...
Paul Caruana Galizia / @pcaruanagalizia: How cynical was Joseph Muscat's government? The Electrogas power station, a vehicle to provide Yorgen Fenech with more money and Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri with kickbacks, now at the centre of a murder trial, was pitched to the electorate as a cure for cancer and asthma. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Robert J. DeNault / @robertjdenault: Glad to see @NewYorker covering Daphne Caruana Galizia and recognition for her bravery and the courage of her sons. She was killed for reporting corruption documented in the Panama Papers—in Malta. https://twitter.com/...
David Kaye / @davidakaye: in this piece @bentaub91 captures the awfulness of the murder of #DaphneCaruanaGalizia & the genuinely remarkable pursuit of justice & accountability by @mcaruanagalizia @pcaruanagalizia & @acaruanagalizia, who have brought their call to end impunity well beyond #Malta. https://twitter.com/...
Rebecca Vincent / @rebecca_vincent: Utterly gorgeous @NewYorker piece on #DaphneCaruanaGalizia. I'll be picking up the print edition to keep. Every last detail is heartbreakingly perfect, and underscores why we must ensure full #JusticeforDaphne no matter what. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Taub / @bentaub91: This is a tale of what happens when democratic institutions are so hollowed out by corruption that people close to the leader think they can kill with impunity. And they would have, if not for @pcaruanagalizia, @mcaruanagalizia, @acaruanagalizia, and the relentless, fearless few. https://twitter.com/...
@opensociety: “It bothered her that politicians spoke of themselves as public servants while demanding the kind of uncritical deference required by kings.” https://www.newyorker.com/...
Gaia Squarci / @gaiasquarci: Recent story about the investigation on the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the work her three sons have been doing to bring the instigators to justice. Article by @bentaub91. Thank you @pcaruanagalizia @mcaruanagalizia @acaruanagalizia https://www.newyorker.com/...
Ben Taub / @bentaub91: My latest: a journalist murdered; a government brought down by her sons. https://www.newyorker.com/...
Gabby Deutch / NewsGuard:
NewsGuard names news sites with most online engagement in 2020: NBCNews, NYT top among trustworthy sites; Breitbart, TheBlaze for COVID-19 and election misinfo — NewsGuard's Top Ten Disinformers - and Top Ten Straight Shooters With The Most Online Engagement — Facts did not always flourish in 2020.
Discussion:
@rsm, @anirbanroy, @retractionwatch, @daveyalba, @theinclinepgh, @retractionwatch, @larrypotash, @gsdeutch and MediaPost
Discussion:
@rsm: Congrats to my colleagues at @theinclinepgh for the recognition from @NewsGuardRating of their super-trustworthy local news! https://www.newsguardtech.com/ ...
Anirban Roy / @anirbanroy: Well, misinfo, disinfo and fake news has robust legs and with telling effect. Proof below. https://twitter.com/...
@retractionwatch: We're honored to be among @NewsGuardRating's “Unsung Heroes” who “are models in producing content that is truthful, compelling, credible, and transparent.” https://www.newsguardtech.com/ ...
Davey Alba / @daveyalba: The top 10 misinformers and top 10 repeat offenders of 2020 via @NewsGuardRating congratulations to all the winners 🍾 https://www.newsguardtech.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@theinclinepgh: We're one of @NewsGuardRating's ten “Unsung Heroes” of 2020 (!!), earning a perfect score on credibility and transparency: https://www.newsguardtech.com/ ... You can support our brand of credible and transparent local journalism by becoming a supporting member here: https://trypico.com/...
@retractionwatch: Retraction Watch is honored to be among NewsGuard's “Unsung Heroes” who “are models in producing content that is truthful, compelling, credible, and transparent.” https://www.newsguardtech.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Potash / @larrypotash: Here's a shock: you shouldn't believe everything you read off the web/social media. https://www.newsguardtech.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Mark Jacob / Local News Initiative:
An analysis puts the overall increase in digital circulation for news outlets in 138 markets at 51.2%, from Nov. 2019 to Nov. 2020; print circulation fell 12.9% — Newsroom Challenge for 2021: Keep New Customers in the Fold and Find More — The pandemic and other major news events …
Discussion:
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:
Art Jonak / @artjonak: Music streaming volume has flattened out over the last four months; potentially due to growth in podcasts, a lighter release calendar and losing share to video-games and TikTok. Source: The former chief economist of @Spotify 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/...
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 / Context is King: Record Labels: When Greed and Fear Collide
Andrew Liptak / Polygon:
Several writers of movie tie-in novels say they haven't been paid royalties for their work since Disney acquired Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox — This November, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, a professional organization for genre authors …
Discussion:
Context is King, @chuckwendig, @polygon, @malindalo, @dogpatchpress, @andrewliptak and Formerly Dangerous
Discussion:
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / Context is King: Hollywood As We Knew It Is Over (But Not For the Reason You Think)
Chuck Wendig / @chuckwendig: If you want a deeper dive into how Disney has screwed some writers like Alan Dean Foster and Mike Stackpole, and how SFWA is fighting it, @AndrewLiptak has you covered. https://www.polygon.com/... #DisneyMustPay
@polygon: Star Wars and Alien novelization writer Alan Dean Foster says Disney isn't paying his royalties — but as we learned from investigating the issue, the #DisneyMustPay campaign faces murky legal waters https://www.polygon.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Malinda Lo / @malindalo: There is so much IP/tie-in work in YA and SFF and in general, and this story shows how unfortunately problematic it can be for the writers who produce that content for mega corporations. I haven't done much IP work and this doesn't make me want to do more. https://twitter.com/...
Dogpatch Press / @dogpatchpress: Inside Star Wars writer Alan Dean Foster's fight with Disney https://www.polygon.com/... via @Polygon This is helpful to know what's going on with a writer who engaged the furry fandom in the 1980's: https://dogpatch.press/...
Andrew Liptak / @andrewliptak: Last month, SFWA went forward with some issues they had with Disney: Alan Dean Foster wasn't being paid for some of his books, and since then, more have come forward. The story is a complicated one, and I've written it up for @Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/... https://twitter.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:
@hofrench, @sarahw, @xtebordo, @spiegelandgrau, @brendacopeland, @ronhogan, @glecharles, @paulgrondahl and @booksijustread
Discussion:
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/...
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/...
Christian TeBordo / @xtebordo: this is becoming a new subgenre in the nytbr. each time i think, maybe it'll say they're just gonna publish good books, but instead they say stuff about podcasts or instagram. reminds me of barnes & noble in the 00s. 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/...
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