Top News:
Max Fisher / New York Times:
1400+ pages of leaked Facebook content rules show the company is censoring mainstream speech in some countries while extremist language flourishes in others — Under fire for stirring up distrust and violence, the social network has vowed to police its users. But leaked documents raise serious questions about its approach.
Discussion:
@max_fisher, @alexstamos, @alexstamos, @max_fisher, @arifcrafiq, @adrianchen, @jessefelder, @alexstamos, @hummasaif, @karaswisher, @carnage4life, @klasfeldreports, @fordm, @max_fisher, @flitteronfraud, @max_fisher, @max_fisher, @max_fisher, @max_fisher, @codybrown, Gizmodo, Engadget and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Mark Zuckerberg:
Zuckerberg posts an overview of Facebook's efforts in 2018 to prevent harm on its services, like fighting hate speech and misinformation, adding ad transparency — For 2018, my personal challenge has been to focus on addressing some of the most important issues facing our community …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Business Insider, @mattocko, @rmac18, CNN, BGR, @sarahfrier, @stevekopack, TechCrunch, Boing Boing, The Hill, Gizmodo, Mashable and The Week, more at Techmeme »
Facebook:
Facebook responds to NYT report about its content moderation practices, says its policies are public and that it has about 15,000 content reviewers globally — Yesterday, The New York Times published an article about the way we moderate content on Facebook.
Discussion:
@dseetharaman, Engadget and New York Times, more at Techmeme »
Peter Rubin / Wired:
Netflix debuts its first choose-your-own-storyline movie, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, developed over 18 months using Twine, a game writing tool — BY NEARLY ANY measure, Netflix has had a ridiculous year. When all is said and done, the company will have spent upwards of $10 billion …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: New York Yankees in talks with Amazon, Sinclair about joint bid for the team's regional network, YES, that Disney must sell as part of Fox acquisition — Baseball team has also spoken with Altice USA and RedBird Capital about buying remaining 80% stake from Disney
Discussion:
Deadline, Fast Company, Fortune and TVWeek.com
BuzzFeed News:
Analysis: the top 50 fake stories of 2018 generated about 22M shares, comments, or reactions on Facebook, 7% fewer than the top 50 fakes in 2017 — After spending two years launching third-party fact checking programs, rolling out News Feed updates, and investing in other anti-misinformation initiatives …
Discussion:
@mattnavarra, @janelytv and @craigsilverman
Patrick Radden Keefe / New Yorker:
A profile of Mark Burnett, the Hollywood producer behind the TV hit “The Apprentice” which elevated Trump from a tabloid figure of fun to an icon of success — With “The Apprentice,” the TV producer mythologized Trump—then a floundering D-lister—as the ultimate titan, paving his way to the Presidency.
Discussion:
Slate, Vanity Fair, @jysexton, @dliebelson, @mrdanzak, The Week, bookforum.com, Decider, The Wrap, Mediaite, TVWeek.com, @andreachalupa, @janemayernyer, @joenbc, @poniewozik, The Daily Caller, @pamelacolloff, Deadline and The Daily Beast
Alex Pappas / Fox News:
Bre Payton, a staff writer at the Federalist and TV commentator, dies at 26 after a sudden illness — Bre Payton, a conservative writer at The Federalist and frequent guest on television news outlets including Fox News Channel, died Friday after a sudden illness, according to her employer.
Discussion:
CaringBridge, Newser, @mattdpearce, The Wrap, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Inside Edition and Mediaite
Matthew Schafer / BuzzFeed News:
A look at the role public records played in BuzzFeed News reporting in 2018, a year during which it filed ten FOIA lawsuits in federal courts — Texas was in a bind. The manufacturer of pentobarbital, the drug Texas uses to execute death row inmates, had prohibited its distributors …
Jason M. Bailey / New York Times:
Video game makers grapple with how to represent athletes due to litigation over the depiction of their tattoos, whose copyright is owned by tattoo artists — When LeBron James bounds down a basketball court, he is both a transcendent athlete and a prominent palette for dozens of tattoos.
Discussion:
UPROXX
Nyay Bhushan / Hollywood Reporter:
In addition to bigger show budgets and higher pay for screenwriters, US streamers are bringing Hollywood industry practices, like writers rooms, to India — As Netflix, Amazon and Fox-Disney battle it out for digital market share in the world's second-most-populous nation …
Shirin Ghaffary / Recode:
How unions can protect staff at digital media publishers during layoffs and mergers and the limits of their powers — Newly formed unions have been warning employees that winter is coming. Now that it has arrived, what can a union actually do about it? — 2018 has been a bumpy year for digital media publishers.