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Facebook says it won't back down from allowing lies in political ads but will give users the option to see fewer political ads in their feed and in Instagram — The company was under intense pressure to adjust its policies. But in this presidential election year, no big changes are planned.
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About Facebook, Washington Post, MediaPost, The Wrap, Axios, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, @nickconfessore, Quartz, VICE, Vanity Fair, The Daily Dot, Whither news?, @carolecadwalla, @danpfeiffer, BuzzFeed News, @kreissdaniel, @mattperault, National Review, The Week, @waltshaub, @guyverhofstadt, @jason_kint, @pkafka, @juddlegum, @drewharwell, Vox, @b_fung, @atrupar, @brianbeutler, @justinhendrix, @digiphile, @mattnavarra, @mmallin, @jimrutenberg, @tonyromm, @tonyromm and @donie, more at Techmeme »


KTLA weekend anchor Courtney Friel appeared in none of her regularly scheduled anchoring slots the weekend after publicly accusing Trump of making a pass at her — Courtney Friel appeared in none of her regularly scheduled KTLA anchoring slots the weekend after publicly accusing the president of making a pass at her.
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@brianstelter
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Twitter suspends accounts that impersonated NY Post reporter Mark Moore and Israeli Haaretz reporter Jack Khoury to push pro-Iranian regime propaganda
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@kabirtaneja, @noahshachtman, @njdg, @allisonlcarter, @noahshachtman, @createcraig, @rosenbergerlm, @elilake, @dfrlab, @arawnsley and The Daily Dot


Teen Vogue deletes uncritical election security Q&A with Facebook; an inaccurate disclaimer that labeled it as sponsored, added after publication, was removed — - Teen Vogue on Wednesday published and then deleted an uncritical story about Facebook that has prompted widespread bewilderment.
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Newsguard, which rates news websites for credibility and transparency, to become a paid service for $1.95/month and add new features like a reliability score — Newsguard, an online tool that rates and ranks news websites for credibility and transparency, is adopting a subscription model which means it will no longer be free to use.


dot.LA, a tech news site by former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff raises a $4M seed round from Comcast Ventures, Snap, others, will launch news coverage on Jan. 27 — Nearly a year after stepping down as CEO of Seattle-based Zillow Group, Spencer Rascoff has turned his focus to the tech …
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Talking Biz News, @spencerrascoff, @spencerrascoff and @joebelbruno


Quibi, which had already raised $1B, says it has raised another $400M from undisclosed investors ahead of its April launch — In a place known for high stakes gambling, tech veteran Meg Whitman says she's feeling even more confident these days about betting on the success of her streaming video start-up Quibi, which launches in April.
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The Verge, @jbenton, @reckless, @jbenton, @mccarthyryanj, @taylorlorenz, @reckless, @ranimolla, Music Ally, @gamoid, Forbes, Gizmodo and Fast Company
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Upcoming video streaming service Quibi will be built for mobile, with very short shows and content that works well in both portrait and landscape mode
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Adweek, Ad Age, The Streamable, @devindra, @gerryfsmith, @johncolucci, @ssavitsky, MediaPost, VentureBeat, The Wrap and Broadcasting & Cable, more at Techmeme »


Verizon eliminates bundles and contracts for Fios line of TV, broadband, and phone services, will now sell them as standalone products via “Mix & Match on Fios” — Verizon — feeling the pain of customer cancellations over high pay-TV prices — is killing off bundles …
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Ad Age, CNET, The Streamable, CNN and @sherman4949, more at Techmeme »

Kuwait says the twitter account of its state news agency KUNA had been hacked to issue an incorrect report about the withdrawal of US military forces in Kuwait — Kuwait's government said on Wednesday state news agency KUNA had been hacked and this had resulted in an incorrect report …
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The Verge and Associated Press


NBA announces a multi-year extension of its partnership with Twitter and Turner Sports to put more live game content and highlights on the social media platform — Channing Frye will be analyst for live game action on social platform — The National Basketball Association announced …
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Awful Announcing


TV broadcaster Tegna partners with First Draft, to help editorial staffers in its 49 local newsrooms identify false information online — TV broadcaster Tegna is partnering with First Draft, a non profit that trains journalists and academics to identify false information online to work …
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@wfederman and Broadcasting & Cable


Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say they will not participate in the rota system, or media pool of certain British publications, but will work with other outlets — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle resigning — as senior members of the Royal Family, their updated website has some very revealing changes …
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Press Gazette, The Atlantic, Fast Company, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, @hadas_gold, @stevenjbarnett and @markdistef


After no major Sunday news shows featured guests who voted against the Iraq War, it is time for mainstream media to start spotlighting experts skeptical of war — There she was: Judith Miller, the former New York Times reporter most closely identified with the paper's flawed reporting …
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@moonalice, @tvietor08, @katrinanation and CNN

CNN says its online shopping guide CNN Underscored's traffic increased 300% YoY and its revenue rose 400% YoY between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday in 2019 — CNN Underscored is slightly more than 2 years old, having launched just before the 2017 holiday shopping season started.


IAC to sell CH Media, the parent of CollegeHumor, to the unit's chief creative officer; source says 100 will be laid off, leaving 5-10 employees — - IAC will keep minority stake in slimmed down company — Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive Corp. plans to sell CH Media …
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