Top News:
Lexi Lonas / The Hill:
NYT editorial board says Americans on the left and right are responsible for rising anxiety over free speech, drawing criticism for “both-sidesism” or hypocrisy — The New York Times editorial board in an op-ed Friday announced a project in the upcoming months where they will identify threats …
Discussion:
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Discussion:
@nycsouthpaw: The NYT editorial board collectively misunderstands freedom of expression. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
David Kaye / @davidakaye: i don't mind a NYT editorial addressing free speech culture in america. but they handle it ineptly, equating things that shouldn't be equated, misstating the norm of free expression itself, missing the basic threats of the moment. for instance...
@popehat: Dear @nytimes editorial board: regarding your op-ed today, what is the source of this right? Is it God-given? If so what's the scriptural source? Constitutional? Under what clause and recognized in what cases? /1 https://twitter.com/...
Natalie Jackson / @nataliemj10: Then we have this. Survey design 101: If you ask people if something is a problem, they will tell you it's a problem. This is called acquiescence bias - and it's usually discussed with agree-disagree questions, but it's also an issue with one-sided scales like this. https://twitter.com/...
Thomas Zimmer / @tzimmer_history: The NYT editorial board thinks “America Has a Free Speech Problem” - and presents a purely mythical idea of what “free speech” is, an a-historical tale of the country's past, and a narrative that is detached from the current reality of the political conflict. Some thoughts: 1/ https://twitter.com/...
David Kaye / @davidakaye: americans, the times says, don't face Russia's “strangling of free speech through government censorship”. well maybe. but what are 'don't say gay', anti-CRT, anti-protest laws, journalist arrests and other state restrictions if not govt censorship? https://twitter.com/...
Amanda Marcotte / Salon: What the New York Times doesn't get about free speech and “cancel culture”
@rudepundit: If you ever want to explain both-siderism to someone, use this from today's @nytimes editorial on free speech. The right is passing laws to literally make speech illegal, but the left makes you feel sad if you use the n-word. See? Both sides! https://twitter.com/...
Philip Bump / Washington Post: The complicated — but obvious — factors behind changing norms on speech
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: If I still worked at the NYT, I would seriously think about quitting today.
Karen Attiah / @karenattiah: “Cancel culture"* anxiety is not about free speech. It's about status anxiety. It's not a coincidence that “cancel culture” is now a pejorative after #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter targeted the existing sexist + racist structures in America. We are in a power struggle.
Scott Lemieux / @lemieuxlgm: I keep staring at this sentence in amazement. “We don't know what cancel culture is but we know it's bad” pretty much typifies the total lack of precision that is fundamental to most of these Free Speech In Crisis thumbsuckers https://twitter.com/...
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: I've wondered, my own self, why this NYT editorial promoting the false “cancel culture” panic has upset me so much. I think part of it is this: I have fucking LOVED the NYT. Worked there. When it's great, nothing comes close. But it has fundamentally misread this moment. 1/
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: If you doubt for a moment The Times' turn to sympathy with the white-right, let this end those doubts: a yes-but attack on the left for making white people uncomfortable. Here is white victimhood, naked to behold. 5/ https://twitter.com/...
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: As the right has become more explicitly an anti-Democratic ethnonationalist movement, the NYT (unlike, say, WaPo) has seen its fundamental duty to be a paper for “both sides.” It sees its fundamental flaw in 2016 as not grokking the Trump fan. 2/
Keith Olbermann / @keitholbermann: You're goddamned right “America has a free speech problem” - the @nytimes editorial board has lost the plot. There's freedom to have ANY opinion. There is NOT freedom to have ANY opinion without consequences. THAT is ‘yelling fire in a crowded theater.’ https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing: New York Times' editorial board: free speech is a “fundamental right” not to be “shamed” or “shunned”
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: It breaks my heart. There is so much great work there. Right now, heroic NYT journalists are on the frontlines in Ukraine. But cover America like you cover Ukraine! It's OK. It's good to report the truth. 6/end
Natalie Jackson / @nataliemj10: Okay, I have to stop because I need to get on with life/work. But I encourage you to look at the full poll. It's really interesting! And it doesn't necessarily support what NYT says it does - at least, that's not the full story here. https://int.nyt.com/...
Katie Mack / @astrokatie: @nycsouthpaw It reminds me of the dichotomy in that old Margaret Atwood quote: “Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them.” Being afraid of being laughed at and being afraid of being killed are really not at all the same problem.
@nycsouthpaw: This goes further than the typical “speech for me, but not for thee” sophistry that portrays criticism or “shaming” as a denial of free speech. It suggests “shunning”—just quietly refusing to associate with the avowed bigot or the holocaust denier—is a breach of their rights.
Natalie Jackson / @nataliemj10: A thread on why the NYTimes op-ed is a bad use of polling. To be clear, I am talking about the USE of it; this is not about the fine folks at Siena. The poll is used to say OMG, LOOK, WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM. Here's why that's a bad use of the polling:
Katie Mack / @astrokatie: @nycsouthpaw The fact that they did a bunch of polls asking about whether people kept quiet for fear of “retaliation or harsh criticism” but did not separate the results by WHICH of those things was specifically feared is a great example of entirely missing out on the important issues here.
Natalie Jackson / @nataliemj10: Final note - and this one is praise - good for all involved for releasing the question wording and order. That is crucial to survey transparency and good practice.
Natalie Jackson / @nataliemj10: We start here. People are saying they “hold their tongue.” Okay. I grew up with the attitude that you don't talk about politics or religion in polite company. (lol that I study both - that lesson sank in, eh?) Filtering is a way of getting along in the world. This is not new. https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Ingraham / @_cingraham: @AstroKatie @nycsouthpaw “Retaliation” is such a bad survey word. So much vagueness there - what kind of retaliation? And from who? The whole thing's just a trainwreck
William K. Wolfrum / @wolfrum: Cancel Culture is like Wordle. It was all anyone could talk about for a while but then the NY Times got involved and a lot of people started realizing it was a waste of time and effort.
@kagrox: My shunning is a sincerely held religious belief! You're canceling my cancel culture, and it's religious bigotry to do so!
Brandon Gillespie / Fox News: New York Times slams cancel culture, attacks on free speech despite past Tom Cotton op-ed fiasco
@govtrack: The @nytimes is out with quite possibly their worst editorial ever saying that no one should ever be held accountable for mistakes. Let's make up for this by strengthening all of our efforts to hold elected officials accountable for their words and actions. https://twitter.com/...
Ari Cohn / @aricohn: I'm just terribly surprised that the NYT editorial board published a scandalously stupid piece. https://twitter.com/...
Kai Ryssdal / @kairyssdal: What Ken said... https://twitter.com/...
Helen Kennedy / @helenkennedy: I guess the NYT thinks this tweet violates their made-up right not to be shamed for dumb opinions. https://twitter.com/...
Julian Sanchez / @normative: I agree with all of this, but also think in a healthy liberal culture there's a fairly limited domain of views we should treat as beyond the pale & best responded to by condemning the people who utter them rather than engaging with civil counterarguments. https://twitter.com/...
@popehat: /6 You posit this as a fundamental right of citizens of a free country. Are there remedies for its breach, punishments for breaching it? If I shun and shame you for this editorial am I violating your rights? And, I take it, I don't have the right to do that, in this free country?
Tim Carvell / @timcarvell: @Popehat “What they meant was...” We know what they meant. Their problem is that they accidentally said it.
Gabriel Malor / @gabrielmalor: I'm not sure what “mask is fully off now,” but White is correct to probe NYTimes' claim that there is a fundamental right to be free of shaming or shunning for speech. There is no such right, and White's thread, which is worth reading in full, simply explores the concept. https://twitter.com/...
@popehat: /11 The legally, morally, and philosophically incoherent error is to try to invent a categorical distinction between speech and response speech — to believe the First Speaker is privileged and should be encouraged and nurtured, but critics held at bay.
@popehat: /2 Since you say it's not merely a right, but a FUNDAMENTAL right, what historical and philosophical writings would you cite for its existence? Not a mere right to speech, mind you — a right to speak “without fear of being shamed or shunned.”
@popehat: /4 Given that the Times' editorial board believes this fundamental right exists, does the Times conduct its personnel affairs according to it? Are NYT journalists protected from being shamed or shunned at the Times?
Julia Bacha / @juliabacha: Teachers, journalists, newspaper publishers, lawyers, architects, engineers across the country are being fired and losing PUBLIC contracts for refusing to give up their right to free speech. https://www.aclu.org/...
Julia Bacha / @juliabacha: The @nytimes managed to run a massive editorial allegedly dissecting free speech issues ailing our country and completely missed Americans actually losing their livelihoods over political speech that the governments doesn't like, i.e. advocating for Palestinian human rights.
Julia Bacha / @juliabacha: The @ACLU and @CAIRNational have launched numerous lawsuits in Kansas, Arizona, Texas, Arizona and Arkansas on behalf of a diverse group of public contractors. So far, they've won all of their cases. https://www.aclu.org/...
Julia Bacha / @juliabacha: In addition, copy cat versions of these laws are now spreading across the country that target those advocating for climate justice and sensible gun control laws. https://www.nprillinois.org/ ...
@popehat: It's really kind of grim the way people are saying “well, maybe it wasn't expressed perfectly, but...” like it was an essay by your eighth-grade nephew and not the editorial board of the New York Fucking Times. Resist the soft bigotry of low expectations.
Julia Bacha / @juliabacha: You want some big numbers? 232 bills have been introduced attempting to criminalize or punish Americans engaged in advocacy for Palestinian human rights. 33 states, including liberal NY and California, have laws in the books TODAY. https://legislation.palestinelegal.org/
Julia Bacha / @juliabacha: Despite consistent defeats in courts, States are refusing to strike down the laws, choosing instead to “tweak” them so that the plaintiffs lose standing. https://www.texastribune.org/ ...
Rick Hasen / @rickhasen: From someone who has thought deeply about free expression around the world: https://twitter.com/...
@giladedelman: This is not a rhetorical question—I would like to hear people's answers to this https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Kosseff / @jkosseff: Exactly this. It's fine to debate civility and cancel culture, but it is incredibly disappointing to see so many people fail to distinguish those issues from government censorship. (hint: only one could result in a speaker going to prison) https://twitter.com/...
David Kaye / @davidakaye: yes, the editorial is critical of state restrictions but for some reason can't just call it what it is - a systematic political assault on the right to freedom of expression. here! in america! https://twitter.com/...
David Roberts / @drvolts: It is, among other things, just *embarrassing*. That editorial in the NYT is just flat fucking embarrassing. I know the people involved are too up their own rear ends to realize they should be embarrassed, but they really, really should.
Andrea Grimes / @andreagrimes: < taps the sign > https://twitter.com/...
Lili Loofbourow / @millicentsomer: look, being shamed *is* painful! so is (for example) having to “objectively” debate whether your existence rises to the category of full personhood against people who have never had theirs questioned—or whether or not you should be forced to give birth.
Laura Clawson / Daily Kos: This free speech take is staggering in its dishonesty
James Gleick / @jamesgleick: I was going to complain about this astonishingly bad editorial, but @tzimmer_history is more patient than I am, and instead of complaining he eviscerates it. 🧵 https://twitter.com/...
Sean Carroll / @seanmcarroll: A good thread about a bad NYT editorial. Threats to free speech are real and should be fought against. But much of the current hoopla is about certain people who used to be the *only* ones able to speak freely, now having to think about other perspectives, and they don't like it. https://twitter.com/...
Teri Kanefield / @teri_kanefield: Sort of funny that the NY Times editorial seems to think “free speech” means “freedom to say whatever you want without fear of ridicule” and all I want to do is ridicule that editorial. https://twitter.com/...
@shelleypowers: @politicalelle Not what happened. Too bad you can't get anything right. https://yaledailynews.com/...
Thomas Zimmer / @tzimmer_history: In fact, the editorial actively obscures the threat from the Right, assuring us that, unlike in Russia, actual government censorship is “not the kind of threat to freedom of expression that Americans face.” Then what are all these state-level GOP education bills about? 16/ https://twitter.com/...
Thomas Zimmer / @tzimmer_history: Crucially, the editorial itself is proof of this, uhm, imbalance of empirical evidence - it cites the state-level Republican assault and never comes up with anything from the “Left” that would be remotely equivalent. But that has no influence on how the problem is framed. 15/
Thomas Zimmer / @tzimmer_history: Unfortunately, this editorial matters. People don't shrug this off as “Just one editorial” - they read it as “the NYT says...” And with that, the idea that America is facing a free speech crisis, that cancel culture is real, and that *both sides* are at fault becomes dogma. /end
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: Nothing makes me pessimistic about the future of the U.S. quite like this. “What were you doing when Republicans were passing a wave of voter- and speech-suppression laws?” “Well son, I mostly wrote how the people opposing those efforts were irritating to me personally.”
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: Anyway when I made my video about this a few weeks ago I thought all the Republican anti-speech efforts were going to make the debate irrelevant. But literally nothing is going to stop elites from writing this same article another 100 times so enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/...
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: The idea that these two phenomena — random people on social media making bad arguments and elected officials banning speech — require equal amounts of media coverage is absurd. https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: If an editorial has been “expressed badly,” that's the journalistic equivalent of leaving 5 sponges inside the abdomen of an appendicitis patient. https://twitter.com/...
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: False. America *is* experiencing a free speech crackdown with real consequences for ordinary people. Yes somehow our elite media is still whining about people being mean to them on Twitter. Get a fucking grip you weirdos! https://twitter.com/...
Tom Watson / @tomwatson: It's almost 2 pm EDT and I'm still trying to get my head around the *Editorial Board of The New York Times* not understanding free speech in the United States. Folks, if you ever needed a neon light signpost of why we're here, this is it.
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: Utterly meaningless number. Huge majorities of Americans once thought frivolous lawsuits were out of control and that their children had a 50-50 chance of being kidnapped by a stranger. This is evidence of a moral panic, not that the panic is justified. https://twitter.com/...
Amanda Marcotte / @amandamarcotte: In a piece about threats to free speech, only 413 words out of over 2,500 are dedicated to actual government officials banning books and silencing educators. The rest of piece is complaining about “harsh criticism,” most of it online. https://twitter.com/...
Peter S. Goodman / @petersgoodman: Apparently I slept through the college class where they taught us that free speech means white people getting to say whatever they want without anyone hurting their feelings by calling them racists
Amanda Marcotte / @amandamarcotte: The “cancel culture” moral panic gets even dumber with the New York Times writing a 2,500 word essay not just equating “harsh criticism” with actual censorship, but treating it like it's far worse. https://www.salon.com/...
Amanda Marcotte / @amandamarcotte: What the @nytimes editorial board doesn't want to deal with is that “shaming and shunning” — even if it's not fair or justified — is a form of free speech. And just as protected as the opinions that trigger it. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: Another defender! @robbysoave from Koch- and Scaife-funded @reason writes: “The New York Times published a terrific editorial on Friday.” https://reason.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@ramshornstudios: @KarenAttiah This is exactly what I read into the NYT editorial today. “The myriad of problems we have today (climate change, racial inequality, wealth disparity, the threat of nuclear war) aren't the biggest problem we face. The biggest problem we face is upending the status quo.”
@dystopiabreaker: yeah 3 sitting us senators just proposed a bill that would define new thoughtcrimes and introduce unprecedented restrictions on free expression that run counter to the last 100 years of 1A jurisprudence lmao https://twitter.com/...
@upulie: This is really offensive. Free speech has consequences. Being criticised is not the same as being denied free speech and it is utterly disgraceful that the NYT thinks this is oppression https://twitter.com/...
Cathy Young / @cathyyoung63: And by “the left criticizing hate,” we mean “destroying someone's career for criticizing riots” or “mounting a vicious hate campaign against a writer who lapsed into ‘white saviorism’ or ‘cultural appropriation’ while writing sympathetically about minority groups” https://twitter.com/...
Instructor Florence Ashley / @butnotthecity: Love to see the New York Times rally around “muh freeze peach” instead of, gosh I don't know, opposing Texas literally ~*kidnapping*~ trans kids. https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: There are some valid and even important points in this Editorial — especially on how free speech principles came from the liberal-left, which now mostly rejects them — but it's an odd lecture from a paper that fired two editors for publishing an op-ed by a sitting Senator: https://twitter.com/...
@stonekettle: “People are losing the right to speak their minds & voice their opinions in public without fear of being shamed or shunned” Literally the opposite. Those who were once rightly shunned for their wrong, hateful, and insane beliefs NOW have huge platforms https://www.nytimes.com/...
@theradr: “Siri, what is the difference between experiencing social consequences for ideas others regard as harmful, potentially even to themselves, & the government infringing on the ability to share those opinions?” “Siri, does the Constitution protect citizens from experiencing shame?” https://twitter.com/...
@antheabutler: The thing about the @nytimes editorial is that they got their fee fee's hurt because we talked about them, and rightfully so. Like I said, there are some great op-ed folks, but some of the shit they let go by is awful. Then board doubles down and wonders why we all drag them.
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: The Times Editorial Board is trying to convince us that it is canceled. There is no such things as cancel culture. The Times is not canceled. It is merely complaining about having to share its stage. 16/
Howard Sherman / @hsherman: @jeffjarvis Great thread. This passage struck me. The message of “restraint” translates to - you hear something you don't like, turn the other cheek like a well-behaved citizen. Uh no, free speech can be angry speech as well. Don't treat us like children. https://twitter.com/...
Dave Algoso / @dalgoso: The false equivalency in the NYT editorial is too much... writing 101: the most important thing goes first. readers will weight the sentence about “the left” more heavily, even with the words “more extreme” in the second sentence. and yet NYT repeats this practice throughout. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Of course, the grand paradox of this editorial is that The Times is complaining of being silenced in the greatest platform for speech ever yet created, the editorial page of The New York Times. 14/
Julia Ioffe / @juliaioffe: @KarenAttiah 1000%
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: Here are some of the things that might persuade me that cancel culture is a real and pervasive problem: - A clear, falsifiable, and consistent definition of what it means to be canceled. - Some data (I'll start with a few anecdotes) that there are many cancelations. 1/
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: - Some sort of evidence that this is a new problem. - Some sort of evidence that we have fewer rather than more opinions shared in the world. 2/end
Aaron Rupar / @atrupar: The First Amendment right to force other people to endure my terrible opinions https://twitter.com/...
Wajahat Ali / @wajahatali: Retweet if you want the New York Times to add more columnists who write about the rise of fascism instead of adding more who always complain about cancel culture.
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: This is appalling. The both-sidesism of The New York Times comes out in full force from its editorial board as it equates the left criticizing hate and the right burning books. Pure moral panic. A 🧵. 1/ https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ted Lieu / @tedlieu: Dear @nytopinion: I served on active duty to defend the right of any person to say stupid, racist shit. That doesn't mean I have to respect or coddle people who say stupid, racist shit. I have the right to shame and shun people who say stupid, racist shit. Get it New York Times? https://twitter.com/...
Conor Friedersdorf / @conor64: The backlash to centrist liberals defending free speech, even in ways with the minor imperfections of that editorial, is baffling to me, as is the abandonment of the ethos that we should coexist with and tolerate people who disagree with us rather than quit or get them fired. https://twitter.com/...
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: I personally really like AG. He's a lovely guy and smart. But I think he is running a paper adrift and in crisis. And this editorial was like them screaming out: Yeah, mother fuckers, we're quadrupling down on our both-sidist views. 5/
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: @conor64 Yeah. If that was what anyone said that would be weird. Sure glad I said something different! Also: what is so bad about quitting? Why is that such a huge deal? Haven't you quit things? People keep saying me wanting to quit is some big thing. I've quit a lot of jobs.
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: I saw this as, mostly, a Dean Baquet problem. And I was hopeful (though wary) that his replacement will right the ship. But this editorial—approved, I have to assume, by AG Suzlberger, the publisher—suggests the problem is deep in the org. 4/
Kevin M. Kruse / @kevinmkruse: If the New York Times doesn't want people being shamed or shunned for bad opinions, they can help by no longer running columns by Dowd, Brooks and Stephens.
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: BTW, I think @nytopinion should publish a much wider range of views than it does currently. That includes from the right. But there's a catch: They should also explain why. See, from the archives: https://presswatchers.org/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: I hate polls as much as I hate from-on-high newspaper editorials for how they both preempt the public conversation, and this one brings me both. How did they expect people to answer this leading question? 3/ https://twitter.com/...
Matt Duss / @mattduss: For example, try searching for “Amnesty International report, apartheid” on the @nytimes website. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Note, too, how The Times tsk-tsks liberals for “shutting down”—loaded choice of verbs there—bigoted, anti-democratic, and untrue (read: Republican) speech. 4/ https://twitter.com/...
Chris Pandolfo / TheBlaze: New York Times readers revolt after editorial board offers a defense of free speech
Jeryl Bier / PLURIBUS: E-Pluribus | March 18, 2022 — A round up of the latest and best writing and musings …
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: The editorial's lede is the worst of it. No, we have not lost our right to speak. We are exercising our right to speak around the gatekeepers that included old, white, male, privileged, powerful, closed newspapers and editorial boards and they resent it. 2/ https://twitter.com/...
Alex Griffing / Mediaite: New York Times Editorial Board Sparks Furor Online With Op-Ed Shredding Cancel Culture
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: Jumping to @nytopinion's defense: None other than @TheFIREorg, which takes Koch money and spreads moral panic. They say the outpouring of negative responses “only lend more legitimacy to their claims” and: https://www.thefire.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Mitchell / Daily Briefing: “America Has a Free Speech Problem”
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: I bow to the greatness of @BoingBoing: “This is the shit sandwich everyone else has been eating since time immemorial and now you get to eat it too, you stupid fucking soaks.” https://boingboing.net/... https://twitter.com/...
Erielle Davidson / @politicalelle: This week, over a hundred Yale Law students shouted down a female conservative speaker at an event where the two speakers AGREED. They called her a “b*tch.” Today isn't your day, Jeff. Take a seat. The illiberal left has overplayed its hand. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: If one doubts this is about race, The Times own poll shows it is. Black people feel freer to discuss various topics and that is what bothers The Times but they are blind to it. 6/ https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Kosseff / @jkosseff: I really was on board with this take until the last sentence. https://twitter.com/...
Cathy Davidson / @cathyndavidson: True! And did you read the survey? Several questions about “did you hold your tongue because you feared harsh criticism for something you said” with no filter for whether or not you said something, uh, hateful, offensive, stupid, untenable, despicable . . . the list goes on https://twitter.com/...
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: The core problem with this discourse is that it's being led by people whose jobs subject them to public criticism. It's probably true that national newspaper editors receive more negative feedback than they used to. But that's not a generalized threat to free speech! https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Dan is right — there is no established human right that protects you from criticism for your speech, and it is ridiculous for the Times to suggest that there is https://presswatchers.org/...
Tom Watson / @tomwatson: I agree with @froomkin - the NYT should retract this insanity, and replace the entire editorial board. An absolute disgrace. https://presswatchers.org/...
Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:
Experts say banning Telegram, a popular destination for unfiltered news to an estimated 40M+ users in Russia, is technically difficult and may prompt a backlash — The social media and chat app has become an increasingly popular destination for unfiltered news, pro-Kremlin propaganda and everything in between
RELATED:
Reuters:
Brazil's Supreme Court orders regulator Anatel to suspend Telegram in 24 hours, saying it repeatedly refused to adhere to judicial orders or the country's laws — Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Friday ordered the suspension of messaging app Telegram …
Discussion:
Mitchell Clark / The Verge: Telegram forgot to check its email and now it's banned in Brazil
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac: Telegram banned in Brazil following Supreme Court order; app may be removed from App Store
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: (To be clear, by “secure app” I was just referring to its claims of encryption. @Snowden and others have said it's not safe - Signal is way better - and our Brazil exposés were enabled by hacks into Telegram. Was just emphasizing the ruling's severity).👇 https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: A Brazilian Supreme Court justice today banned the secure app Telegram from operating in all of Brazil, citing its failure to obey prior court orders to ban users from the platform and asserting the prevalence on Telegram of hate speech and disinformation https://www.reuters.com/...
Benedict Evans:
As Amazon's ad revenue passes YouTube's and US pay TV subscriptions drop, ad budgets will shift further to targetable spots and other customer-acquisition tools — About five years ago, a revenue line buried in the back of Amazon's accounts started to get quite big.
Discussion:
Daniel Frankel / Next TV: Should Amazon Keep 'em Separated? Mesh of Subscription and Ad-Supported Content Draws Scrutiny
Benedict Evans / @benedictevans: Amazon's ad business is bigger than YouTube and more profitable than AWS. Shein is the biggest fast-fashion retailer in the US, with no stores. US pay TV subscribers have fallen by a third. Where do ad budgets go, where does rent go, and how many brands will there be?
Jim Waterson / Guardian:
Ofcom revokes RT's broadcast license in the UK, citing new Russian laws that criminalized journalistic output, and says it conducted 29 investigations into RT — British media regulator says it does not consider RT ‘to be fit and proper to hold a UK licence’
Discussion:
Ofcom, Financial Times, BBC, CNN, World Politics Review, Mediaite, @nadinedorries, @jimwaterson, @jimwaterson, @rasmus_kleis, @ofcom, @s_m_marandi, @brian_whit, The Guardian, @markscott82, @jimwaterson, @mrbrendancox, @neilclark66, Digital TV Europe, @medialens, C21Media, Reuters, TheJournal.ie, Broadband TV News, Al Jazeera, Variety, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter and Politico
Discussion:
Mark Thompson / CNN: Britain bans Russian state TV channel RT
Nadine Farid Johnson / World Politics Review: Banning RT and Sputnik Sets a Dangerous Precedent for Free Speech
Nadine Dorries / @nadinedorries: I welcome @Ofcom's decision and it's right that our independent regulator has taken action against RT. The outlets' lies and propaganda, where victims are cast as the aggressors and the brutality of Russia's actions are concealed, have absolutely no place on our screens. https://twitter.com/...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: On Ofcom and RT -EU sanctions forced them off air but this stops them coming back in UK -Decision wasn't based on RT's reporting on Ukraine but Ofcom's concerns about ownership and Russian media law -RT says it hopes to keep targeting UK audiences online https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: Andddd there we go: Russian Embassy warns of further restrictions on British media outlets operating in Russia, in response to Ofcom banning RT from British airwaves. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis: “Given [new Russian government] constraints it appears impossible for RT to comply with the due impartiality rules of our Broadcasting Code in the circumstances”, so Ofcom is revoking its broadcast licence. A few notes 1/4 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/...
@ofcom: We have revoked RT's licence to broadcast in the UK with immediate effect. We do not consider RT to be fit and proper to hold a UK licence and cannot be satisfied that it can be a responsible broadcaster. Read about our decision ⬇️ https://ofcom.in/... https://twitter.com/...
Seyed Mohammad Marandi / @s_m_marandi: So for now on you are “free” to watch British state news and know what news the state thinks you need to know. https://www.bbc.com/...
Brian Whitaker / @brian_whit: Britain's media regulator, Ofcom, has revoked Russian-backed television channel RT's licence to broadcast in the UK with immediate effect. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Jim Waterson / The Guardian: Will Ofcom's decision to ban RT stop Kremlin message reaching UK audiences?
Mark Scott / @markscott82: UK regulator @Ofcom revokes RT's broadcasting license, citing its impartiality & notes it was already offline b/c of EU sanctions. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/... Reminder: RT's audience is TINY in the UK 👇 https://twitter.com/...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: RT's UK parent company is already in the process of being liquidated and its office cleared out of equipment. But the questions now are: Does killing a little-watched TV channel matter if you can't curtail RT's online operation, and does Russia now do anything else about the BBC?
Brendan Cox / @mrbrendancox: Obviously the right decision. Find the argument that this is an attack on free speech/media bizarre. RT isn't an example of free speech, it's a tool for the subjugation of free speech. https://twitter.com/...
Neil Clark / @neilclark66: Political censorship pure and simple. @RTUKnews not found to be in breach of any @ofcom rules or regulations for four years. It's being banned simply because it's got ‘Russia’ in its title. Sad day for media pluralism. https://twitter.com/...
Stuart Thomson / Digital TV Europe: UK's Ofcom revokes RT licence
@medialens: File under ‘Great Myths of our Time’, alongside ‘Western Democracy’ and ‘Free Press’: ‘BBC News serves the public’. https://www.bbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Clive Whittingham / C21Media: Ukraine latest: Ofcom revokes RT licence, more firms suspend Russian business
Julian Clover / Broadband TV News: Ofcom revokes RT licence
Naman Ramachandran / Variety: Russia-Backed RT Channel Banned by U.K. Media Regulator
Camille Gijs / Politico: UK regulator Ofcom revokes RT's license to broadcast
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Amazon Studios SVP Mike Hopkins details MGM interim reporting structure: Motion Picture Group's Mike De Luca, Worldwide TV's Mark Burnett to report to Hopkins — After holding two separate town hall meetings for Amazon Studios/Primetime Video and MGM employees earlier today, Mike Hopkins …
Discussion:
Deadline: Amazon's Mike Hopkins Reveals Interim Reporting Structure For Top MGM Execs As Companies Rally Troops In Town Halls
Brent Lang / Variety: Amazon Reveals Interim Leadership Structure at Town Hall With MGM Staff (EXCLUSIVE)
RELATED:
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Amazon finalizes its $8.5B acquisition of MGM, two days after the deal received clearance from the EU's antitrust regulator
Amazon finalizes its $8.5B acquisition of MGM, two days after the deal received clearance from the EU's antitrust regulator
Discussion:
About Amazon, Wired, Newslit Daily, Quartz, @truefactsstated, @variety, @jeremylittau, Deadline, @dsnynewscast, Transistori, @jacobqknight, @leojtravis10, @willmckinley, @barbaracrampton, @henereyg, @richlightshed, @colinhantsco, Wall Street Journal, Deadline, Nerdist, The A.V. Club, New York Post, The Verge, The Streamable, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, Consequence and IndieWire
Discussion:
Angela Watercutter / Wired: Amazon Finally, Officially Owns MGM. Now What?
Jose Montes de Oca / Newslit Daily: ☕️ What happened to Starbucks?
Adario Strange / Quartz: Amazon's MGM purchase opens TV universes for James Bond and Hannibal
Claude Taylor / @truefactsstated: In the near future three conglomerates will own 80% of everything. https://twitter.com/...
@variety: Amazon has closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM. The film studio, founded in 1924, will bring Amazon a catalog of more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV shows, including the James Bond and Rocky movie franchises. https://variety.com/...
Jeremy Littau / @jeremylittau: The streaming wars are a race to acquire intellectual property and library catalog from studios that don't already have a viable streaming product. You'll see the descent of second-tier conglomerates as tech companies and upstarts gobble up content. https://variety.com/...
Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline: Amazon-MGM Town Hall Scheduled For Friday; Amazon's Mike Hopkins Presages Upcoming Mesh & MGM COO
@dsnynewscast: This is a huge gain for Amazon Prime Video! I wonder if Apple will make more of a move to try and buy Sony now? The streaming wars are heating up! Netflix vs. Disney+ vs. Amazon Prime Video vs. HBO Max vs. Paramount+ vs. Peacock vs. Apple TV+ https://twitter.com/...
Robert / Transistori: Amazon omistaa nyt MGM:n
Jacob Knight / @jacobqknight: Buy all the physical MGM titles you can while you still can. https://twitter.com/...
Joe Ortiz / @leojtravis10: @ForgedinFire20 @willmckinley Yep, most of the pre-1986 MGM film library is owned by WB. MGM only owns the library post 1986.
@willmckinley: MGM is now owned by Amazon — but this MGM bears little resemblance to the classic Hollywood MGM, despite the misleading platitudes from new management https://variety.com/...
Barbara Crampton / @barbaracrampton: Amazon now owns the rights to FROM BEYOND. With this reboot renaissance could this mean something? https://twitter.com/...
Henry Gilbert / @henereyg: This endless media consolidation sure is depressing, and this one doesn't even result in an eventual Spider-Man meets Fantastic Four movie https://twitter.com/...
Rich Greenfield / @richlightshed: US Govt had no case to stop Amazon MGM $AMZN BIG win for consumers as more content will be coming to @PrimeVideo at NO extra cost https://twitter.com/...
Colin Chisholm / @colinhantsco: Now they just need to lock down those LOTR rights ($2 bil-ish) and they're off to the Middle Earth reboot races. (MGM had rights to The Hobbit, related characters) https://twitter.com/...
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline: Amazon finalizes its $8.5B acquisition of MGM, two days after the deal received clearance from the EU's antitrust regulator
Michael Walsh / Nerdist: Amazon Has Bought MGM for $8.5 Billion
Lauren Forristal / The Streamable: MGM Joins Amazon, $8.5 Billion Merger Complete
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch: Amazon completes $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter: Amazon Closes $8.5B MGM Acquisition
Abby Jones / Consequence: Amazon Closes $8.5 Billion Deal to Acquire MGM
Samantha Bergeson / IndieWire: Amazon Officially Closes $8.5 Billion Buy of MGM
Leah Nylen / Politico:
Sources: the FTC will not challenge Amazon's MGM Studios acquisition as Lina Khan decided not to call for a vote, anticipating opposition from GOP commissioners
Sources: the FTC will not challenge Amazon's MGM Studios acquisition as Lina Khan decided not to call for a vote, anticipating opposition from GOP commissioners
Discussion:
Protocol, MediaPost, @business, @ryangrim, @parismarx, @eriqgardner, Bloomberg, The Information, NPR, Input, Gizmodo, Variety, WHDH-TV and Vanity Fair, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost: Amazon Closes MGM Acquisition, FTC Challenge Unlikely
@business: The FTC's antitrust crusader suffered her first major defeat as Amazon closed its acquisition of movie studio MGM, underscoring the limits to Washington's efforts to rein in tech giants https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Ryan Grim / @ryangrim: The third vote @linakhanFTC needs to block this merger is languishing in the Senate. Up to Schumer to move that third vote through or just let this Amazon merger happen unchallenged https://www.politico.com/...
Paris Marx / @parismarx: Not a great sign for how much teeth Khan's FTC might actually have, at least until the Dems are able to get another commissioner through the Senate — if they're able to at all. https://www.politico.com/...
Eriq Gardner / @eriqgardner: This story by the wise @leah_nylen raises a key point about the FTC's immediate non-challenge of Amazon-MGM. The FTC was short a commissioner and tied 2-2 among Republicans and Democrats. Otherwise.... https://www.politico.com/...
Jaclyn Diaz / NPR: What the Amazon-MGM deal means for the streaming business
Andrew Paul / Input: It's official: MGM belongs to Amazon now
Mack DeGeurin / Gizmodo: Welp, Bezos Owns Bond Now
Todd Spangler / Variety: Following Amazon's MGM Acquisition Close, FTC Warns It May ‘Challenge a Deal at Any Time’
Frank O'Laughlin / WHDH-TV: Amazon closes $8.5 billion deal to acquire MGM
Savannah Walsh / Vanity Fair: Amazon Finalizes Deal to Acquire MGM for $8.5 Billion
Kathryn VanArendonk / Vulture:
Q&A with Baby-sitters Club's creator on Netflix canceling the show, the opacity of Netflix metrics, how global appeal influences cancelations, and more — “I don't know what they wanted that they didn't get.” Rachel Shukert is talking about her series The Baby-Sitters Club …
Discussion:
Too Much TV Newsletter, @adamconover, @doomquasar, @supriyadwivedi, We Have Notes …, @marawilson, @hhavrilesky, @mjschulman, @klcpegher, @redlianak, @sarahmaclean, @imleor, @farrahsafiakhan, @elainelow, @exfatalist, @darren_mooney, Polygon, @cbellantoni, @rob_sheridan, @mikehawthorne, @ashleyalese, @ilanacubana, @runwithskizzers, @aysrick, @juliekosin, ScreenRant, @bigmeaninternet, @scobie, Vulture, @kateyrich and The A.V. Club
Discussion:
Adam Conover / @adamconover: Terrific, candid interview with @rachelshukert about the new pressures that are put on television shows in the age of algorithmically-determined programming: https://www.vulture.com/...
Simone de Rochefort / @doomquasar: I'm gonna miss The Babysitter's Club :( https://twitter.com/...
Supriya Dwivedi / @supriyadwivedi: “Girls are expected to go straight from Doc McStuffins to Euphoria.” https://twitter.com/...
Abby Gardner / We Have Notes with Abby Gardner: Time Is Short and the Road Is Long
@marawilson: SO TRUE. Thank you, @RachelShukert. #BringBackTheBSC https://www.vulture.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Heather Havrilesky / @hhavrilesky: Interesting thoughts on Netflix's strategy here https://www.vulture.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Michael Schulman / @mjschulman: I am incredibly biased since @RachelShukert is one of my favorite human friends, but this interview gives so much insight into what happens when algorithms control culture, how Netflix has changed, and the dearth of representation for tween girls. https://www.vulture.com/...
Kelcie Pegher / @klcpegher: “Our audience compared to HBO shows that are seen as massive hits, Succession-like juggernauts — we do way bigger numbers.” 👀👀👀👀 https://twitter.com/...
Liana Kerzner / @redlianak: I'm discovering that it's not just girls at this age who get defined by how other people see them, and don't get that back until much later in life. Let's do better by teens. The world will be better off. https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Maclean / @sarahmaclean: I'm so disappointed that @Netflix cancelled The Baby-Sitters Club, which my 8yo adored, delivering the second in a 1-2 punch (she also flipped for Julie & the Phantoms). I loved that she found stories she could relate to — tough for that pre-teen age group! https://twitter.com/...
Leor Galil / @imleor: I am so curious why the company won't share this kind of data with its workers https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Farrah Khan / @farrahsafiakhan: I'm still devastated by the cancellation of #babysittersclub. Girls deserve shows that depict their lives with joy and care. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Elaine Low / @elainelow: Fascinating glimpse into Netflix's decision-making, from the BSC creator: “They want people to watch it a certain way, and they want shows that people will watch that way — not shows that people want to watch in their own way.” $NFLX https://www.vulture.com/...
@exfatalist: I only just survived those 20 years. This is actually really heartbreaking. https://twitter.com/...
Darren Mooney / @darren_mooney: This is a really good interview with @RachelShukert on how arbitrary Netflix's cancellation/renewal process can be. It's particularly striking a streaming service doesn't want a show that it takes viewers longer to complete, and so subscribing longer. https://www.vulture.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Joshua Rivera / Polygon: Your favorite Netflix show may not be global enough to survive
Christina Bellantoni / @cbellantoni: This is infuriating. Not only was the series quite good, it was thoughtfully adapted to the modern era and showcased strong role models. https://www.vulture.com/...
Rob Sheridan / @rob_sheridan: Algorithms are the enemy of art. Cherish and support good human curation wherever you can (publishers/labels/studios/channels/ etc that put out and stand behind work they believe in), because the more content has to serve the algorithm, the less risks and pure expression we get. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Hawthorne / @mikehawthorne: Having raised 2 girls I feel this at my core. https://twitter.com/...
Ashley Alese Edwards / @ashleyalese: this reminds me of taina getting canceled bc it didn't appeal to boys even though it was a massive hit & a great show for young girls. https://twitter.com/...
@ilanacubana: when i was pitching #diaryofafuturepresident people tried to get me to age elena up. a 12y/o girl lead felt unsellable - there's such a discomfort around celebrating that period of girlhood. i loved #babysittersclub and i'm sad the very few shows we get have such short lives. https://twitter.com/...
Preeti Chhibber / @runwithskizzers: This whole piece is fascinating (and p depressing). https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
AllYourScreens Rick Ellis / @aysrick: @mediagazer Speaking of that Baby-Sitters Club piece, I just posted something which is bit of a response to the interview https://allyourscreens.com/...
Julie Kosin / @juliekosin: struck/nauseated by the parallels between Rachel Shukert trying to keep BSC on the air in 2022 (left) and Melanie Mayron's decision to make the movie in '96 https://www.vulture.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Brady Entwistle / ScreenRant: Baby-Sitter's Club Season 3 Potential Story Details Revealed By Creator
Malcolm Harris / @bigmeaninternet: “A lot of times, Netflix things come out and for whatever reason, if the algorithm doesn't put it in front of you, no one knows it's on” https://www.vulture.com/...
Omid Scobie / @scobie: Interesting insight into how, and why, your favourite @Netflix shows often get canceled (and how that affects other content disproportionately). With big pressure to create global hits outside of North America, it's become increasingly difficult to succeed on the platform. https://twitter.com/...
Josef Adalian / Vulture: Interview with Mike Moon, who oversees Netflix's work in animation aimed at adult viewers, on competition, talent, and global reach as the genre booms
Stephen Montemayor / Star Tribune:
Minneapolis serves subpoenas on three local journalists in a police brutality lawsuit over 2020 protests, seeking materials gathered during their coverage — Materials sought as part of suit filed by photojournalist blinded by police. — TEXT SIZE — MORE
Discussion:
Matt DeLong / @mattdelong: The city of Minneapolis served subpoenas to local journalists with the Star Tribune, Minnesota Reformer and Fox 9 on Friday, seeking materials gathered during their coverage of the unrest that followed George Floyd's murder in May 2020 https://www.startribune.com/ ...
Vince Tuss / @vtuss: The city of Minneapolis is serving subpoenas on local journalists, including from @startribune, @MNReformer and @FOX9, as part of a lawsuit over the 2020 unrest response. Tip @mediagrazer https://www.startribune.com/ ...
Andy Mannix / @andrewmannix: “journalists have to be independent and cannot be, or be perceived as, independent if they are turned into the investigative arm of the government,” she said. Minneapolis serving subpoenas on journalists in lawsuit over 2020 unrest response https://www.startribune.com/ ...
Matt Sepic / @msepic: The #Mpls city attorney served subpoenas on 3 Twin Cities journalists @AndrewMannix @maxnesterak & @JaredGoyette as part of their defense of a lawsuit from @KillerMartinis, whom police partially blinded with a 40mm round in May 2020. Story: https://www.mprnews.org/...
@mprnews: The Minneapolis City Attorney's office has served subpoenas on three Twin Cities journalists who covered the protests and riots that followed the murder of George Floyd. https://www.mprnews.org/...
Thanks:@vtuss
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Startups like Wurl, Amagi, and Frequency, which enable distribution and ads for free ad-supported streaming channels, say their business is booming — Cord cutting isn't just changing the way we watch TV; it's also fundamentally transforming how television networks are operating.
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
AAM: US magazine circulation on Apple News+ rose 150% YoY on average in H2 2021; People, the most popular, had 213K users opening an edition on average, up 220% — America's largest magazines saw their Apple News+ ‘circulations’ increase by an average 150% year-on-year in the second half of 2021 …
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
Dow Jones, FT, The Economist, and WaPo have lifted their paywalls in Russia and Ukraine, where readership, albeit small, has grown significantly — Some news organizations are lifting their paywalls and creating new channels to make information on the war in Ukraine freely available to readers there and in Russia.
Wall Street Journal:
Gambling regulators in Nevada and Indiana are investigating Barstool Sports and Penn National in the wake of sexual misconduct accusations against Dave Portnoy — Gambling regulators in two states are looking into both companies amid sexual-misconduct allegations against Barstool's founder
Discussion:
Adam Manno / Daily Mail: Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy is probed by regulators over sexual misconduct allegations as gambling giant looks to buy his site
Ian Casselberry / Barrett Media: Gambling Regulators Scrutinizing Penn National, Barstool Amid Portnoy Allegations
Katherine Sayre / @katherinesayre: My story w/ @omarabdelb on the future of Penn National and Barstool amid accusations against Dave Portnoy https://www.wsj.com/...