Mediagazer: Federal government seizes classified advertising site Backpage.com and related domains, Arizona home of founder Micheal Lacey raided (Blake Montgomery/BuzzFeed)

10:50 PM ET, April 6, 2018

Top News:

Twitter partners with academic researchers to test whether showing users the Twitter rules will improve online behavior and reduce abuse — With multiple methods, online abuse can be greatly diminished—if we also discover which methods actually work in which situations.

Discussion: Fortune, TechCrunch, Engadget, Greensburg Tribune-Review and The Verge

Blake Montgomery / BuzzFeed:

Federal government seizes classified advertising site Backpage.com and related domains, Arizona home of founder Micheal Lacey raided — Backpage.com, the popular classified ads website, went offline Friday after being seized and disabled by the federal government.

Laura Lollman / KASW-TV:

Seven people indicted in Arizona on 93 counts related to Backpage.com; charges include money laundering and running a website to facilitate prostitution — SEDONA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - — Seven people have been indicted on 93 counts of several different crimes related to the classifieds website, Backpage.com.

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Wrap, CNET, Washington Post, Sedona Red Rock News, KVOA-TV, Motherboard, KPTV-TV, New York Post, Engadget, Hit & Run, Great Circle Media and thecut

Facebook:

Facebook will only allow authorized advertisers to post ads on widely discussed issues like political topics, will require verification of admins of large Pages — We believe that when you visit a Page or see an ad on Facebook it should be clear who it's coming from.

Paul Mozur / New York Times:

Myanmar civil society groups say Zuckerberg mischaracterized efficacy of Facebook systems to detect hate speech on Messenger in their country in Vox interview — SHANGHAI — Civil society groups in Myanmar on Thursday criticized Facebook's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Fortune, The Hill, BuzzFeed, Forbes, CNNMoney, @kevinroose, @francis_wade, @ethanz, The Guardian and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Cary O'Reilly / Bloomberg Law:

Department of Homeland Security to compile database of journalists, bloggers, and influencers in an effort to track 290K global news sources in 100 languages — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to monitor hundreds of thousands of news sources around the world and compile …

Discussion: Forbes, Boing Boing, RTDNA Recent Articles, The Week and Media Law Prof Blog

The Denver Post Editorial Board / Denver Post:

The Denver Post blasts owner Alden Global Capital for newsroom cuts as Digital First Media papers report solid profits, asks Alden to rethink business strategy — The photo on the left shows 142 members of The Denver Post's newsroom staff in the newspaper's lobby as it existed on May 15, 2013.

Discussion: Denver Post, @nocerabv, The Wrap, @mattdpearce, @jowens510, @bruce_arthur and @dangillmor

Politico:

President Trump does not plan to attend the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner; Press Secretary Sanders will represent the administration — President Donald Trump will not participate in this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner, and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders …

UMD Right Now: University of Maryland, White House Correspondents' Association, and Newseum partner to create a searchable digital archive of presidential pool reports

Ryan Ori / Chicago Tribune:

Developers who bought the landmark Chicago Tribune tower sue to stop Tronc from removing the newspaper's sign after the publisher moves out of building — The Chicago Tribune will leave its namesake tower by midyear, but the building's owners want the newspaper's exterior signage to stay put.

Discussion: @davidheinzmann, @kurtgessler, @docischief and @mattdpearce

Jonathan Beaton / HuffPost:

Ex-Sinclair reporter says he quit after being ordered to ask politically biased questions; Sinclair is suing him for $5,700 for leaving before contract expired — I quit my job at a television station owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, and I am fighting the company in court for trying to claw back $5,700.

Discussion: Orlando Sentinel and Fast Company

NPPA:

Sinclair rescinds promised $25K donation to the NPPA after it issued a critical statement about Sinclair's comments and coordinated messaging about the media — ATHENS, GA - Yesterday, NPPA made a statement regarding recent comments and coordinated messaging about the media made by Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Discussion: Poynter, @jcstearns, NPPA, The Wrap, Broadcasting & Cable, @cguess, @nishachittal, @perlberg and Washington Post

Reuters:

Sources: Netflix is attempting to acquire Regency Outdoor Advertising, a billboard company, for $300M as it increases spending on marketing to $2B this year — (Reuters) - Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) is attempting its largest acquisition, offering more than $300 million to acquire a company …

Discussion: The New York Observer, Multichannel News, Tubefilter, Adweek, FierceCable and Variety

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