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Twitter says it has suspended 500+ accounts in India for violating rules but has not taken any action on accounts of journalists, activists, and politicians — Twitter said on Wednesday it has taken actions on more than 500 accounts and reduced visibility of some hashtags in India …
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Twitter, BuzzFeed News, Insider, @lee_toth, @adityakalra, @dhume, Financial Times, @rasmus_kleis, @sharmakadambini, Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, Quartz, @twittersafety, The Indian Express, @sanjukta, @raheelk, @nixxin, The Economic Times, @pranavdixit, @sagarikaghose, Bloomberg, @dangillmor and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Google launches Google News Showcase in UK and Argentina, after debuting the service in Australia last week, and says it now has over 450 publications globally — Google News Showcase is starting to roll out to more countries worldwide, including the UK and Argentina, on the heels of its Australian launch last week.
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The Keyword, Press Gazette, MacRumors, HoldtheFrontPage, 9to5Google, The Keyword, @googleuk and @danrussell12000, more at Techmeme »

A deep look at the media law defense strategy that the Murdochs' Fox News plans to use against Smartmatic in court — The Rupert Murdoch-owned news network has filed a motion to dismiss Smartmatic's blockbuster libel action. Now and down the road, the defendant will attempt …
Discussion:
New York Times, Poynter, @zeeshanaleem, @jonathanwpeters, @kazweida, foxcorporation, @dylanbyers, @jayrosen_nyu, Quartz, Washington Post and Fox News Channel Press
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Polish independent media suspended news coverage on Wednesday to protest a new advertising tax that it says is aimed at undermining the freedom of the press — Media groups warn government is trying to undermine press freedom. — WARSAW — Polish independent media suspended news coverage …

Axios let its reporter Alexi McCammond continue writing about Biden after she disclosed in November that she is dating his transition spokesman TJ Ducklo — DRIVING THE DAY — As Republicans get ready to beat back a DONALD TRUMP impeachment conviction for the second time …

A closer look at the departure of Donald G. McNeil Jr. from The NYT and the tensions his comments provoked for some students on a NYT-sponsored trip to Peru — The Constitution protects people from being prosecuted twice for the same offense. But those “double jeopardy” …
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New York Post, @conor64, @cd_hooks, Between Rock and a Hard Place, @andykroll, @esotericcd, @sarfrazmanzoor, @lesserfrederick, @cd_hooks, @lwoodhouse, @ijbailey, @jillfilipovic, @dangillmor, @ijbailey, @conor64, @katzonearth, @chrislhayes, @bazzinyu, @lhfang, @sonnybunch, @bradfordpearson, @tomgara, @jamessurowiecki, @argojournal, @ggreenwald, @banikarim, @aaschapiro, @danielmarans, @bendreyfuss, @ryangrim, @chrislhayes, @dangillmor, @phl43, @jeremymbarr, Fox News, Nieman Reports, New Republic, New York Magazine and Dana Loesch's Chapter …

BBC has cut the number of positions on the BBC News board from 11 to eight, leaving it temporarily in breach of its own rules on minority ethnic representation — Changes leave corporation temporarily in breach of own rules on minority ethnic representation

Sources: DAZN is pulling back from pricey sports deals in the US to focus on sports rights only in Japan and European countries like Germany, Italy, and Spain — DAZN had a vision of being a global sports streaming giant, but it was hampered by the pandemic and infighting over strategy.

WSJ launches The Wall Street Journal News Literacy Initiative, to help its “increasingly digital” readership differentiate between news and opinion sections — There's an old joke at The Wall Street Journal that subscribers get “two newspapers for the price of one.”
Discussion:
Poynter, @brucebartlett, @niemanlab, @niemanlab and @niemanlab

NYT appoints Rebecca Blumenstein to a newly created role as a “partner” to the publisher A. G. Sulzberger to help him run newsroom operations — Ms. Blumenstein will report to the publisher, helping to oversee newsroom operations and becoming a frequent public representative for The Times.
Discussion:
@marclacey, @nytimesbusiness and @nbj914

Facebook says it will test a reduction of political content in News Feed for some users in Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia this week, and the US in coming weeks — News feeds will start getting less political content in Canada, Brazil and Indonesia, the social network said, with the change reaching the U.S. in coming weeks.
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CNN, About Facebook, TechCrunch, Engadget, @wongmjane, @mattnavarra, The Verge, CNBC, @brianstelter and @jessedamiani, more at Techmeme »

Police officers in Beverly Hills have played licensed music while being filmed by citizens, seemingly in an effort to trigger social networks' copyright filters — Police officers in Beverly Hills have been playing music while being filmed, seemingly in an effort to trigger Instagram's copyright filters.
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Reason, Fortune, @actually_tina, @klonick, @fightfortheftr, @anylaurie16, @adamweinstein, @carolynmichelle, @radicalbytes, @ericcrampton, @daphnehk, @dakami, @chrismessina, @aneternalenigma, @kimzetter, @xuhulk, @vice, @doctorow, @doctorow, @doctorow, @doctorow, @doctorow, @mjchiusano, @doctorow, @kajerstin, @doctorow, @doctorow, @bobbylibby, @maxkennerly, @williamg1, @mikaelthalen, @jason_koebler, @webmink, Boing Boing and BNet, more at Techmeme »