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Liberal media's lab-leak hypothesis coverage, which treated it as a conspiracy theory and conflated it with Trump's claims, shows dangers of Twitter groupthink — Yesterday, the Biden administration promised to redouble its efforts to investigate the origin of COVID-19 …
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Nieman Lab, @allmattnyt, @mattyglesias, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Media & Us, Insight, @alicia_smith19, @dleonhardt, @rottenindenmark, @jessesingal, @yair_rosenberg, @douthatnyt, @tomscocca, @joshtpm, @rextalionis, @mattyglesias, @heerjeet, @michaeljknowles, @axios, @yair_rosenberg, @maximebernier, @hotlinejosh, The Dispatch, @natesilver538, @amlivemon, @jbarro, @jonathanchait, @emilyrauhala, @rlheinrichs, @elilake, New York Magazine, @jonathanchait, @jonathanchait, @ayjchan, @johnfpfaff, @binarybits, New York Times, Engadget, Vanity Fair, Tangle, The Wrap and Politico, more at Techmeme »


Reuters has postponed the launch of its paywall after a dispute with data provider Refinitiv over whether the move would breach a deal between the companies — (Reuters) - Reuters News postponed the launch of its website paywall following a dispute with financial data provider Refinitiv …
Discussion:
@kenli729, @jackshafer, @gaberivera, @ivanthek, @alex, Financial Times, @felixsalmon and Talking Biz News


A Toronto PR firm created news and fact-checking sites pretending to originate from India, which were amplified on social media by dozens of Indian embassies — Site published spurious fact-checks & other content that were amplified by over 50 Indian diplomatic accounts on Twitter & Facebook
Discussion:
The India Cable, @churumuri, @etbrooking, @kursed, @dfrlab, @architmeta, @dfrlab, @joeycoleman, @bendobrown, @rezhasan, @dfrlab and @dfrlab


Source: in companywide address, Jason Kilar said he had no plans to step down this year as head of WarnerMedia and that he will reassess his options next year — AT&T Inc. is spinning off WarnerMedia into a venture with Discovery Inc. — WarnerMedia Chief Executive Jason Kilar …
Discussion:
CNN, @kimmasters, @ashkan, @lucas_shaw, @mylesudland, @mattbelloni, @kantrowitz, New York Post, The Desk, Insider, Variety, The Wrap, The Hill and Hollywood Reporter


Founder of Outkick Media Clay Travis and radio host Buck Sexton will take over Rush Limbaugh's time slot for distributor Premiere Networks starting June 21 — Duo's show to begin airing in the coveted weekday time slot on June 21 in hundreds of markets — The Rush Limbaugh replacements are in …


Twitter criticizes the Indian government's “intimidation tactics” and says it will push for changes to regulations that give it more authority over online media — The social media platform criticized what it called “intimidation tactics,” saying it would push back on new rules …
Discussion:
@cernovich, @jeffjarvis, Breitbart, Variety, BBC and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »


Fortune's editor-in-chief Clifton Leaf is leaving the publication; deputy editor Brian O'Keefe will be acting editor — Fortune editor in chief Clifton Leaf is leaving the publication, and Brian O'Keefe has been named acting editor. — “I have valued my partnership with Cliff enormously …
Thanks:@talkingbiznews


Lionsgate beat estimates with Q4 revenue of $876.4M, down 7.2% YoY; Starz streaming subscribers grew 69% YoY to 16.7M globally; motion picture revenue fell 25%+ — The better-than-expected results come as Lionsgate is seen as a potential acquisition target for tech giants and media conglomerates looking to get bigger.
Discussion:
@loudmouthjulia, Deadline, Los Angeles Business Journal, investors.lionsgate.com, MediaPost and The Wrap


Sources: Google is nearing a settlement of an antitrust case in France alleging it abused its power in online ads, and is likely pay a fine and make changes — French investigation alleged Google's ad server favored its own ad exchange — Alphabet Inc.'s Google is nearing a settlement …
Discussion:
Ad Age, @martinapennisi, @geradinlaw, Light Reading and @jason_kint, more at Techmeme »


Clubhouse has hired Kelly Stoetzel, head of conferences and speaker curation at TED, to lead efforts to attract “thoughtful people” like authors and scientists — Clubhouse has hired Kelly Stoetzel, a 17-year veteran of TED and the executive responsible for lining up the company's famous TED Talks.
Discussion:
The Verge and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »


CNN says the 5 Things podcast accounts for 43% of its total podcast downloads, as it plans to expand the 5 Things newsletter and turn it into a franchise — CNN Digital is stretching its 5 Things email newsletter from a daily article roundup into its own franchise.


Roku signs a deal with Saban Films giving it exclusive 24-month rights and says it's not seeking “the brightest, shiniest, most expensive” original content — Roku, in its latest bid to pack more exclusive content into The Roku Channel, landed a deal with Saban Films giving …
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Wrap, Advanced Television, /Film, Deadline, The Desk, Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News