Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Internal docs show frequent heated debates among Facebook staff and execs about how to rank, fact check, and moderate content of right-wing pubs like Breitbart — Employees allege content rules aren't enforced for Breitbart and other right-wing publishers for fear of public blowback …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Verge, CNN, Axios, Washington Post, Media Matters for America, Associated Press, CNBC, Fox Business, @rmac18, @keachhagey, Protocol, @brendannyhan, Gizmodo, Reclaim The Net, Wired, Mediaite, Forbes, @clarajeffery, @kombiz, @blackamazon, @ryanjreilly, @ryanjreilly, @jeffhorwitz, @dlberes, @biannagolodryga, @asharma, @keachhagey, @keachhagey, @keachhagey, @keachhagey, @keachhagey, @keachhagey, @keachhagey, @keachhagey, New York Post, Raw Story and Insider, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Alex Heath / The Verge: Inside Facebook's struggle to keep young people
Clare Duffy / CNN: Facebook has known it has a human trafficking problem for years. It still hasn't fully fixed it
Sara Fischer / Axios: Scoop: Facebook exec warns of “more bad headlines”
Washington Post: How Facebook neglected the rest of the world, fueling hate speech and violence in India
Nikki McCann Ramirez / Media Matters for America: Tucker Carlson gives Breitbart's editor a friendly space to complain about nonexistent Facebook censorship
Associated Press: The Facebook Papers — WASHINGTON (AP) — As supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol …
Lucas Manfredi / Fox Business: Facebook employees claimed tactics were ‘hostile’, ‘disrespectful’ toward users, document shows
Ryan Mac / @rmac18: Good story from @keachhagey and @JeffHorwitz on the influence of the policy team & political considerations on Facebook's decision-making. It has new stuff, particularly on Breitbart, and builds off what @CraigSilverman and I reported on at BuzzFeed News. https://www.wsj.com/...
@keachhagey: Breitbart was a source of constant consternation inside Facebook, internal docs show, with employees demanding “Get Breitbart out of News Tab” and begging Facebook to kick it out of Facebook Audience Network w/ @JeffHorwitz https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol: The Facebook Papers fallout
Brendan Nyhan / @brendannyhan: Facebook features Breitbart on its platform due to external political pressure despite its own data showing it is low-quality and low trust https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Didi Rankovic / Reclaim The Net: Facebook leaks reveal employees pushed for censorship of conservative news outlets
Ken Meyer / Mediaite: Facebook Employees Reportedly Clashed Over Social Media Giant's Special Treatment of Breitbart
Alison Durkee / Forbes: Here Are The Biggest ‘Facebook Papers’ Charges: Zuckerberg Caves To Communist Government And Lets Celebrities Break The Rules, More
Clara Jeffery / @clarajeffery: More details on what @MonikaBauerlein & I reported last Oct: Facebook put its thumb on scale for far-right (and, uh, not rigorously reported) sites for fear of blowback from conservatives, ref working—and, I'll posit to say, inclination of C-suiters: https://www.wsj.com/...
Zombies LoveOfBrainsies / @kombiz: I can't stress enough that the head of Facebook news last project before facebook, was starting an anti-union right-wing school choice news website. Facebook knew exactly what it was doing. https://twitter.com/...
@blackamazon: They were racist and they knew it . Clap your hands . They are racist and we know it Clap your hands They are racist and we know it How often did they show it They were racist and it screwed us CLAO YOUR HANDS https://twitter.com/...
Ryan J. Reilly / @ryanjreilly: “We're scared of political backlash if we enforce our policies without exemptions.” https://www.wsj.com/...
Ryan J. Reilly / @ryanjreilly: “Various employees called Mr. Carlson a ‘white nationalist’ and ‘partisan hack’ who 'looks as though he's a Golden Retriever who has been consistently cheated out of a cache of treats.'” https://www.wsj.com/...
Jeff Horwitz / @jeffhorwitz: I'm hoping everyone can set aside their disagreements to agree that this is both an excellent burn and an excellent response. https://twitter.com/...
Damon Beres / @dlberes: Honestly I'd be embarrassed to work at a company that Diamond and Silk had this much leverage over https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Bianna Golodryga / @biannagolodryga: “Employees allege content rules aren't enforced for Breitbart and other right-wing publishers for fear of public blowback, and management expresses wariness of appearing biased, according to internal documents” https://www.wsj.com/...
Amol Sharma / @asharma: Facebook had some interesting classifications of publishers as it evaluated the impact of its tools: Reuters was labeled “liberal,” along with the Washington Post, Politico, Axios and Apple News. CNN and the New York Post were labeled “moderate.” https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@keachhagey: Facebook says Breitbart is on News Tab because it only judges publications based on what they do on Facebook, not on what they do in the wider world, and Breitbart follows its rules
@keachhagey: More senior employees often pushed back against these calls, arguing that any steps aimed at removing Breitbart “would be a very difficult policy discussion.”
@keachhagey: After a Facebook engineer revealed that the company had a queue for prominent users to get white-glove assistance avoiding fact-checking strikes that was mostly full of conservative publishers like Breitbart and PragerU, Facebook employees were livid, internal chats show.
@keachhagey: In 2019, Facebook studied what would happen if it removed two key anti-misinfo tools: Breitbart traffic would go up 20%. “We could face significant backlash for having ‘experimented’ with distribution at the expense of conservative publishers,” a researcher wrote. It removed one.
@keachhagey: One researcher suggested there might be a fair way to get Breitbart out of News Tab by removing any publisher that had seen a drop in trust; another researcher said that wouldn't work because Breitbart was already the least trusted news org, per Facebook research
@keachhagey: “We are apparently providing hate-speech-policy-consulting and consequence-mitigation services to select partners,” one Facebook employee wrote. Another added: “Leadership is scared of being accused of bias.”
@keachhagey: One advertiser wrote Facebook complaining about Breitbart's inclusion in the Facebook Audience Network, saying Facebook's block lists didn't work when it came to Breitbart. “Breitbart tries to work around every control we put in place.” (Breitbart it doesn't work around controls)
@keachhagey: An internal Facebook study from 2019 found that Breitbart was the least trusted news organization among several dozen studied; the study also found it was “low quality.”
Mark Moore / New York Post: Facebook employees tried to suppress conservative news outlets, report shows
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story: Facebook refused to remove Breitbart as ‘news’ because it could anger Trump — employee chats reveal
RELATED:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
How Frances Haugen maximized the impact of her leaked Facebook documents, rolling them out first to WSJ and then broadening to a large group of outlets — In a time of mega-leaks, journalists' sources have become power players. Frances Haugen, the former Facebook executive who shared company documents …
Discussion:
Protocol, CNN, Media Matters for America, Observer, Nieman Lab, Washington Post, Vox, Slate, @emilybell, New York Post, Politico, Rolling Stone, CNBC, @brianstelter, Ad Age, Insider, @nickconfessore, TechCrunch, @carney, @hotlinejosh, @adamgoldmannyt, Vanity Fair, New Republic, Associated Press, @blackamazon, @karaswisher, @clarajeffery, @hshaban, @benthompson, @fbajak, @stmcneil, @szhang_ds, @dellcam, Bloomberg, @nbj914, Axios, @loudmouthjulia, @daveyalba, @blackamazon, @jayrosen_nyu, @mariaressa, @bostonjoan, @kombiz, @pranavdixit, @moonalice, @jessicalessin, @nytimes, @tysonbrody, @parismarx, @mattdrange, @seamushughes, @williams_paige, @silvermanjacob, @qjurecic, @dangainor, @alexthomp, Talking Biz News, Cointelegraph, Decrypt and CoinDesk, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
David Pierce / Protocol: Here are all the Facebook Papers stories
Kayla Gogarty / Media Matters for America: New data shows Facebook's groups problem goes way beyond “Stop the Steal”
Isabella Simonetti / Observer: Facebook Knows It Facilitates Hate and Other Unsurprising Surprises From the Facebook Papers
Alex Kantrowitz / Nieman Lab: I'm in the consortium possessing the leaked Facebook documents. Let's dissolve it.
Paul Farhi / Washington Post: The massive Facebook leak shows how investigative journalism is changing
Shirin Ghaffary / Vox: Wall Street doesn't care about the Facebook leaks. Mark Zuckerberg does.
Emily Bell / @emilybell: Also compelling reading is @benyt on the #FacebookFiles leak handling, which made me thing two things. One, as @IfeomaOzoma has often pointed out, whistleblowing requires strat comms. Two , where is the NYT Styles piece on the Puerto Rico crypto nomads? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Emily Birnbaum / Politico: Facebook looking for its voice at a ‘watershed moment’
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC: Facebook whistleblower Haugen tells UK lawmakers the company refuses to take responsibility for its harms
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: AP's @bcarovillano: “It's remarkable to see these news organizations, large and small, set aside some of their competitive impulses and work together to report out a story that is unquestionably in the public interest” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Kieran Press-Reynolds / Insider: Facebook recommended QAnon groups to a new user within 2 days of joining the platform, according to a new whistleblower report
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: The consortium approach is powerful for whistleblowers and a mixed blessing for news orgs, writes @benyt. (From what I can tell it is also bewildering for lay readers.) https://www.nytimes.com/...
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch: Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, raises trust and security questions over its e2e encryption
John Carney / @carney: Lots of good details from @benyt about this “consortium” that has been publishing stories based on documents Haugen and company are handing out to establishment media outlets. Inside the Big Facebook Leak https://www.nytimes.com/...
Josh Kraushaar / @hotlinejosh: “The polished rollout, including Ms. Haugen's Oct. 3 appearance on ‘60 Minutes’ and congressional testimony days later, has led to dark hints from Facebook and its allies that there's something a little too good to be true about her.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Adam Goldman / @adamgoldmannyt: She also got the impression that @JeffHorwitz would support her as a person, rather than as a mere source who could supply him with the inside information she had picked up during her nearly two years as a product manager at Facebook. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair: Someone Tell Mark Zuckerberg Not to Google Himself Today
Alex Shephard / New Republic: Facebook Is Even Worse Than Anyone Imagined
@blackamazon: She may not need financial support but she's getting institutional and press support https://twitter.com/...
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: This is yet another must read @benyt and it leaves me media nauseous: How Frances Haugen Became a Power Player in the Facebook Leaks https://www.nytimes.com/...
Clara Jeffery / @clarajeffery: Lots of media intrigue in the latest @benyt on the massive Facebook leaks but please note that whistleblower is now in Puerto Rico with her “crypto friends” which is a signifier of a whole other horrible terrible thing happening to society https://www.nytimes.com/...
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: Interesting discussion about the power wielded by the Facebook whistleblower, how her approach to journalists and her media presence differs from Snowden's, and a quick aside about her personal wealth and “crypto friends” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Frank Bajak / @fbajak: The @AP's @bcarovillano on this public service effort by 17 U.S. news organizations he helped coordinate. There is also a smaller European group. https://twitter.com/...
@stmcneil: “It's remarkable to see these news organizations, large and small, set aside some of their competitive impulses and work together to report out a story that is unquestionably in the public interest,” said @bcarovillano, the head of investigations for @AP https://www.nytimes.com/...
@szhang_ds: In retrospect I should probably have done something similar. I liked @juliacarriew and the Guardian, but was probably too focused on ensuring that I retained control over my message to the exclusion of actually reaching people. Mea culpa. https://twitter.com/...
Dell Cameron / @dellcam: @jayrosen_nyu @mehdirhasan Working with a single outlet was very clean and efficient.
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: The Facebook Whistleblower Documents: What to Expect
Nicholas Jackson / @nbj914: This is great, and newsrooms should work together much more often, and the weird part, if there is a weird part, is that, even in 2021, it takes a project manager from Facebook to force these institutions to collaborate on something. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: This Slack sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime rad chaotic moment. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Davey Alba / @daveyalba: @BostonJoan I really really really hope you and other researchers get the docs soon, Joan!
@blackamazon: How media covered leaks when it was a white woman and tried to make it sound like it was a brilliant strategy not their own bias https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Facebook whistleblower: “First she handed her documents to The Journal for a boutique rollout. Then she opened the journalistic equivalent of an outlet store, allowing reporters on two continents to root through everything The Journal had left behind.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Maria Ressa / @mariaressa: Fascinating. Only way forward is collaboration. #CourageON https://twitter.com/...
Joan S. Pumpkins / @bostonjoan: Been waiting all weekend for this one https://twitter.com/...
Zombies LoveOfBrainsies / @kombiz: Oh no, she was such a compelling figure till i read this... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@pranavdixit: .@FrancesHaugen told @benyt she plans to share the documents with academic writers and publications in countries where she sees the greatest peril, including India and the Middle East. “The reason I wanted to do this project is because I think the global South is in danger.” https://twitter.com/...
Roger McNamee / @moonalice: I have maximum admiration for @FrancesHaugen. She accepted huge risk to be a whistleblower. She organized and executed a masterful, revolutionary disclosure campaign. I do not agree with all of her recommendations, but so what? She is a hero. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jessica Lessin / @jessicalessin: The Facebook whistleblower says she doesn't need financial support because she bought “crypto at the right time.” She is in Puerto Rico in part to join her crypto friends, who are there seeking a tax shelter. Now I'm entertained. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimes: In a time of mega-leaks, journalists' sources have become power players. Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower who shared company documents, led a meticulous media rollout, our media columnist Ben Smith writes. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tyson Brody / @tysonbrody: So what's the deal with crypto tax arbitrage in Puerto Rico https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Paris Marx / @parismarx: My god, Haugen is also so deep into crypto she joined the crypto colonists and disaster capitalists who wanted to turn Puerto Rico into a technolibertarian utopia. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Drange / @mattdrange: It's 2021 and I, for one, find this enormously reassuring. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen tells @benyt that she “auditioned” WSJ's @JeffHorwitz, “and one of the reasons I went with him is that he was less sensationalistic” than other reporters. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Seamus Hughes / @seamushughes: “But while a glance at Twitter shows that journalists on any beat can slip into a herd mentality, there's little evidence that this leak, with its trove of documentary detail, had deepened that tendency.” by @benyt https://www.nytimes.com/...
Paige Williams / @williams_paige: “Now that I've met so many journalists, and I've seen how hard Jeff works, I feel more grateful for the media than when I started.” At least that's something. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jacob Silverman / @silvermanjacob: Against anti-trust, mixed on encryption, so deep into crypto that she moved to a tax haven — a worldview is assembling itself. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Quinta Jurecic / @qjurecic: really striking difference between what's described here and Snowden's approach of “give it all to the journalists and let them figure out what to publish” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dan Gainor / @dangainor: This “leak” smells worse than a rendering plant. The left is manipulating an attack on Facebook to push government control of the internet. | Inside the Big Facebook Leak https://www.nytimes.com/...
Alex Thompson / @alexthomp: “We live in a time of mega-leaks...These leaks have given the leakers and their brokers a new kind of power over the news media, raising tricky questions about how their revelations should enter the public sphere.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Scott Chipolina / Decrypt: Facebook Whistleblower Bought ‘Crypto at the Right Time’ and ‘Fine for the Foreseeable Future’
Sebastian Sinclair / CoinDesk: Facebook Whistleblower Holds Crypto to Support Herself Financially: Report
Charlie Warzel / Galaxy Brain:
Sources say no restrictions were placed on sharing of Facebook Papers, so media outlets should model transparency and make them publicly accessible — OK, STRAP IN, NERDS: — Charlie Warzel @cwarzel — legitimately don't know how to consume this much facebook news — October 25th 2021
Discussion:
New York Magazine, CNN, New York Times, @cwarzel, @digiphile, Protocol, GOOD INTERNET and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Jacob Silverman / New York Magazine: No Amount of Whistleblowing Can Fix Facebook
Brian Stelter / CNN: The Facebook Papers consortium is growing, and reporters are gaining access to more documents
Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel: the facebook papers are so clearly important but i also can't stop wondering what they're building toward and what comes next https://warzel.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Alex Howard / @digiphile: A year later, I'd say my “highly questionable set of assertions” holds up. What's missing is news outlets reporting out the #FacebookPapers to publish them, after scrubbing PII. @cwarzel is right about that bit: https://warzel.substack.com/ ... Outlets are holding back for self-interest. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol: It's Frances Haugen's world. We're all just living in it.
René Walter / GOOD INTERNET: [Links] The Facebook Papers / Propagandamaschine Social Media / Entertainment-Value of Conspiracies
The Information:
More than 12 news outlets, including AP and Fox Business, form a consortium to sift leaked Facebook docs from Frances Haugen, reporting stories separately
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, NBC News, Politico, Washington Post, New York Times, Financial Times, American Press Institute, The Guardian, CNN, The Wrap, The Verge, Platformer, NPR, @brhodes, @conor64, Axios, New York Magazine, CNET, Fast Company, The Sun, MediaNama, @mikeisaac, Columbia Journalism Review, Free Press, @pilhofer, @mariaressa, @normative, @mollyjongfast, @pranavdixit, @ap, @justinhendrix, @kaaashif, @tribelaw, @slpng_giants, @brian_riedl, @stengel, @michaelssmithii, @hannahd15, @ben_hallman, @charliehtweets, @kenroth, @amyklobuchar, @melissajpeltier, @timobrien, @katestarbird and @rmac18, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab: In the ocean's worth of new Facebook revelations out today, here are some of the most important drops
Alexandra S. Levine / Politico: Inside Facebook's struggle to contain insurrectionists' posts
Cristiano Lima / Washington Post: Facebook knew ads, microtargeting could be exploited by politicians. It accepted the risk.
Adam Satariano / New York Times: Frances Haugen, Facebook whistle-blower, to testify in Parliament Monday
Chris Stokel-Walker / The Guardian: Facebook cannot moderate itself - its problems have only just begun
Tara Subramaniam / CNN: The big takeaways from the Facebook Papers
Bill Chappell / NPR: The Facebook Papers: What you need to know about the trove of insider documents
Ben Rhodes / @brhodes: Facebook is an existential danger to democracy and a global public safety hazard. Like previous products that endanger people, it necessitates aggressive government action with strong enforcement. https://twitter.com/...
Conor Friedersdorf / @conor64: This is way too close for my comfort to *the press is the enemy of the people and must be regulated like other dangerous products for the common good* https://twitter.com/...
Mark Sullivan / Fast Company: Under fire, Facebook announces a strong third quarter
Nikki Main / The Sun: What do the Facebook papers allegedly say?
Nishant Kauntia / MediaNama: Facebook's failure to check hate speech in India spurs demand for an investigation
Rat King / @mikeisaac: spent two weeks with other journalists reviewing thousands of Facebook documents It was striking how much of the self-scrutiny was aimed at the very core functions — Likes, Shares, Recommendations — that made Facebook into the colossus it is today https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review: Top outlets (sort of) team up to make Facebook's awful month worse
Amy Kroin / Free Press: A Friday News Dump Details Facebook Role in Coordinating a Coup Amy Kroin Mon, 10/25/2021 - 11:41
Aron Pilhofer / @pilhofer: I would bet my bottom dollar this is less collaboration than coordination: shared docs, reporting done independently. Been there many times, and it sucks. This always happens. Always. https://twitter.com/...
Maria Ressa / @mariaressa: More evidence of what has been pointed out for years — How Facebook neglected the rest of the world, fueling hate speech and violence in India https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Julian Sanchez / @normative: So, the obvious (and justified) takeaway from this is that it's wildly irresponsible for FB to have allowed this. The slightly less obvious & more disturbing inference is that QAnon content would have to have ALREADY been pretty popular with conservatives to yield this result. https://twitter.com/...
Molly Jong-Fast / @mollyjongfast: Facebook knew they were radicalizing people and they did nothing to stop it https://www.nbcnews.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@pranavdixit: Not holding Facebook to account in India is one of the Indian press's most glaring failures (among many others). It's increasingly harder to take any tech journalism out of India seriously. https://twitter.com/...
@ap: Facebook in India has been selective in curbing hate speech, misinformation and inflammatory posts, particularly anti-Muslim content, according to leaked documents obtained by @AP. The files show that Facebook has been aware of the problems for years. https://apne.ws/2wAKWPc
Justin Hendrix / @justinhendrix: By Nov. 9 2020, “As much as 1 out of every 50 views on Facebook in the United States, or 10 percent of all views of political material, was of content declaring the vote fraudulent, [a Facebook] researcher wrote” in internal documents disclosed this week. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@kaaashif: thank you @nytimes for highlighting this. we hope @Facebook do something about the fb and WhatsApp role in spreading hate in India. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Laurence Tribe / @tribelaw: To be clear: Facebook's radicalizing business model is NOT free speech. The obstacles to regulating FB's dangerous algorithms aren't constitutional or technical but political and economic. Don't let that Zuckerman dude hide behind the First Amendment. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Brian Riedl / @brian_riedl: Its funny to see Ben Rhodes criticizing irresponsible misinformation and propaganda, given that — when working in the Obama White House - he famously bragged about his ability to trick “know-nothing” reporters into publishing Obama White House propaganda as fact. https://twitter.com/...
Richard Stengel / @stengel: Algorithms are not neutral mathematical equations—they have biases like people do. Just as a bar can be held accountable for serving a drunk customer, the tech companies have to be held accountable for serving content that can lead to violence. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Michael S. Smith II / @michaelssmithii: Now do countries in the Western Balkans. https://twitter.com/...
Hannah Ryan / @hannahd15: *rubs hands together gleefully* leaked slack messages https://twitter.com/...
Ben Hallman / @ben_hallman: Don't know what happened here, but the only limit on journalistic collaboration is the willingness of partnering orgs to communicate and act in good faith. https://twitter.com/...
Charlie Haynes / @charliehtweets: can't wait to start my new job on Monday running facebook's PR. I'm looking forward to getting a coffee, opening up the computer and having a nice relaxed first day! https://twitter.com/...
Kenneth Roth / @kenroth: A researcher created an account to see what Facebook users experience in India. For three weeks, it follow all recommendations generated by Facebook's algorithms. “The result was an inundation of hate speech, misinformation and celebrations of violence.” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Amy Klobuchar / @amyklobuchar: An unaccountable Facebook is a danger to our democracy. We're not going to get many more chances to get this right. https://twitter.com/...
Melissa Jo Peltier / @melissajpeltier: Want to know how your formerly sweet auntie went full raging Q-Anon? Facebook knows how. And it helped. https://twitter.com/...
Tim O'Brien / @timobrien: “Company documents show the degree to which Facebook knew of extremist movements and groups on its site that were trying to polarize American voters before the election.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Kate Starbird / @katestarbird: “... FB research ... in 2019 ... found that misinformation shared by politicians was more damaging than that coming from ordinary users. Yet the company maintained a policy that year that explicitly allowed political leaders to lie without facing the possibility of fact checks.” https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Mac / @rmac18: In July 2019, a Facebook researcher created a test account modeled after a “conservative mom” from the South. It started by following Fox News and Sinclair Broadcasting. FB fed it a recommendation for QAnon content within three days and continued to do so. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Good Information Inc., funded by Reid Hoffman and others, launches to invest in media companies that tackle misinformation — A new public benefit corporation backed by billionaires Reid Hoffman, George Soros, and others is launching Tuesday to fund new media companies and efforts that tackle disinformation.
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @jeffjarvis, @jerrydunleavy, @bigmeaninternet, @taraemcg, @maggieseverns, @shanegoldmacher, @timmarchman and @brandyzadrozny
Discussion:
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Exclusive: Billionaires Reid Hoffman, George Soros and others back new media firm led by @taraemcg to combat disinformation — As part of its launch, “Good Information” will acquire @CourierNewsroom, a local news group with a progressive perspective. https://www.axios.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Interesting. @reidhoffman, Soros, others invest in news. News wasn't investable, except by hedgies buying up debt of dying dinos. Here we have investment in new entities that don't buy the old ethos of objectivity. I'll be eager to hear more. https://twitter.com/...
Scary Dunleavy / @jerrydunleavy: it would be kind of funny if Reid Hoffman was backing an outlet to combat “disinformation” simply in order to change his Google search results (because this is still the top result when you search Reid Hoffman + disinformation). https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Malcolm Harris / @bigmeaninternet: Billionaires investing in TRUTH seems so silly. Just buy your local paper and pay the union like Patrick Soon-Shiong https://www.axios.com/...
Tara McGowan / @taraemcg: The broken, divisive information ecosystem in which we find ourselves today is an all-hands-on-deck challenge for American democracy. Excited to finally share what we've been building over the past few months to address it👇🧵 https://twitter.com/...
Maggie Severns / @maggieseverns: McGowan's new venture is buying Courier Newsroom, a network of progressive websites started by McGowan that aimed to boost Dem candidates in battleground states https://twitter.com/...
Shane Goldmacher / @shanegoldmacher: The news here is that Soros and Hoffman are behind this https://www.axios.com/... @teddyschleifer got the docs outlining the group back in February https://www.vox.com/...
Ben Hubbard / New York Times:
Citizen Lab: the iPhone of Ben Hubbard, an American reporter for NYT, was hacked in 2020 and 2021, likely by Saudi Arabia using NSO's Pegasus; NSO denies claim — Invasive hacking software sold to countries to fight terrorism is easily abused. Researchers say my phone was hacked twice, probably by Saudi Arabia.
Discussion:
The Citizen Lab, @billmarczak, @jsrailton, The Sun, BGR, Insider, AppleInsider, @adam_k_levin, Beyond Search, @doctorow, @adamgoldmannyt, @ghadaoueiss, @nytimesworld, @film_girl, @danprimack, @cristingoodwin, @kenroth, @sarahleah1, @harisalisic, @jvagle, @doctorow, @jsrailton, @jsrailton, @jsrailton, @nytben, @billmarczak, @abirghattas, @citizenlab, @thegrugq and @runasand
Discussion:
Bill Marczak / The Citizen Lab: Breaking the News: New York Times Journalist Ben Hubbard Hacked with Pegasus after Reporting on Previous Hacking Attempts
Bill Marczak / @billmarczak: New @citizenlab report “BREAKING THE NEWS”, in which we show how New York Times journalist Ben Hubbard was hacked with Pegasus twice (July 2020 and June 2021), both after he complained to NSO about previous hacking attempts against him https://citizenlab.ca/...
John Scott-Railton / @jsrailton: NEW: iPhone of @NYTBen was hacked with #Pegasus spyware *after* he complained to NSO Group about previous targeting. THREAD Our @citizenlab investigation: https://citizenlab.ca/... https://twitter.com/...
Harry Pettit / The Sun: My iPhone was hacked with a single text - and I didn't even have to click it
Chris Smith / BGR: How an NYT reporter was targeted by an invisible iPhone hack
Dominick Reuter / Insider: NYT reporter says hackers used a ‘zero-click’ tool to get inside his phone: 'It's like being robbed by a ghost'
Malcolm Owen / AppleInsider: NYT reporter details being attacked by Pegasus malware
Adam Levin / @adam_k_levin: “As long as we store our lives on devices that have vulnerabilities, and surveillance companies can earn millions of dollars selling ways to exploit them, our defenses are limited, especially if a government decides it wants our data.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Stephen E. Arnold / Beyond Search: Rogue in Vogue: What Can Happen When Specialized Software Becomes Available
Cory Doctorow / @doctorow: The technical forensics linking NSO surveillance to the hacks against Hubbard's Iphone can be found in Citizen Lab's new “Breaking the News” report: https://citizenlab.ca/... 13/
Adam Goldman / @adamgoldmannyt: In the two attempts in 2018, it appeared that Saudi Arabia had launched the attacks because they came from servers run by an operator who had previously targeted a number of Saudi activists. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@ghadaoueiss: I am a victim of spyware. My photos were stolen&used to smear me across social media and the press. No one should have to go through this. No journalist, activist, academic or citizen should feel unsafe just for owning a phone. We need to fight for the right to privacy! https://twitter.com/...
@nytimesworld: “I hoped to find out when I had been hacked, by whom and what information had been stolen. But even with the help of professional internet sleuths, the answers were elusive,” writes @NYTBen. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chriscreama Warren / @film_girl: This is so fucked up and so beyond scary. I don't even know the solution b/c even if you have a separate device, you can still be a target https://citizenlab.ca/...
Dan Primack / @danprimack: There is a big difference between taking investment from a Saudi company (or individual) and taking investment from the Saudi government. For tech startups, most of the incoming $$ is from the latter. https://twitter.com/...
Cristin Goodwin / @cristingoodwin: I don't get a vote for the Nobel Peace Prize but @citizenlab work to protect journalists & human rights, and share info with the world about the risks of these tools and weapons is truly admirable. https://twitter.com/...
Kenneth Roth / @kenroth: Israeli spyware NSO Group “canceled its contracts with Saudi Arabia” after Saudis killed Khashoggi. NSO resumed the following year with “contractual restrictions.” It cancelled again when the Saudis used its spyware to hack phones of 36 Al Jazeera staff. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sarah Leah Whitson / @sarahleah1: On #Saudi and #UAE hacking activists, journalists, even their wives, over and over and over again, and @NSOgroup profiting over and over and over again https://www.nytimes.com/...
Haris Alisic / @harisalisic: Behind every hacking of a journalist there is Israeli software. So fitting for the only apartheid regime in the Middle East. I Was Hacked. The Spyware Used Against Me Makes Us All Vulnerable. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeffrey Vagle / @jvagle: NSO Group creates malware for despots who wish to spy on journalists and activists, but in classic bully behavior, avoids riling opponents who might pose a real threat to their livelihood. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Cory Doctorow / @doctorow: That's why they used NSO Group's Pegasus malware to hack the @nytimes's @NYTBen. https://www.nytimes.com/... 12/
John Scott-Railton / @jsrailton: 6/ Remember the #pegasusproject? Yeah, @NYTBen 's number is on that list of potential targets, too. Along with @nytimes colleague @azamsahmed who extensively reported on Pegasus in Mexico. July report by @ronenbergman & @PatrickKingsley: https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
John Scott-Railton / @jsrailton: 2/ It began in 2018: @NYTBen shared a suspicious message with my colleague @billmarczak. It was a #Pegasus infection attempt. We @citizenlab attributed it to #SaudiArabia. Ben wrote it up & complained to NSO Group. NSO issued a predictable denial. https://twitter.com/...
John Scott-Railton / @jsrailton: 3/ A member of the @nytimes tech security team later found another #Pegasus infection attempt from 2018. Here it is, inviting him to cover a protest at the #Saudi embassy in Washington DC. Clicking on the link would infect his device with the spyware. https://twitter.com/...
@nytben: After yet another hacking scare, I decided to work with @citizenlab to see what they could find. Had I been hacked? With what? By whom? What, if any, of my info was stolen? Here are the results, with a number of questions left unanswered. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Bill Marczak / @billmarczak: We attribute the spyware to NSO Group with high confidence. NSO Group says that it couldn't have been them for “technical and contractual reasons,” but it's quite likely they're wrong. We conclude it was their spyware with high confidence, as we show in our report.
Abir Ghattas / @abirghattas: 👉🏽 @NYTBen was repeatedly targeted with #NSO Group's #Pegasus spyware over a three-year period from June 2018 to June 2021. The targeting took place while he was reporting on #Saudi and writing a book about Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman #MBS https://www.nytimes.com/...
@citizenlab: Read @NYTBen's account of our investigation of how we discovered his phone was hacked with Pegasus @nytimes: I Was Hacked. The Spyware Used Against Me Makes Us All Vulnerable. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Stephanie Condon / ZDNet:
Facebook says Q3 ad revenue grew 33% YoY to $28.28B but warns of “continued headwinds” in Q4 due to Apple's ATT changes in iOS — The social media giant also expects its “metaverse” investments will reduce operating profits by $10B for FY 2021, as it begins breaking out Facebook Reality Labs as its own business segment
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Axios, CNBC, Reuters, The Verge, Facebook, Facebook, Axios, @edbott, @jason_kint, @amy_siskind, @megancgraham and @anthony, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Sarah E. Needleman / Wall Street Journal: Facebook Posts Slower Sales Growth With Apple Privacy Policy
Sara Fischer / Axios: Apple's privacy changes eat rivals' businesses
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC: Facebook shares rise as investors focus on earnings beat and look past whistleblower document dump
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge: Facebook says it's refocusing company on ‘serving young adults’
Sara Fischer / Axios: Facebook beats earnings, but misses on revenue
Ed Bott / @edbott: A financial analyst quoted in this story actually said, “This is fine,” UNIRONICALLY. (Free @WSJ link) https://www.wsj.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: This should infuriate investors considering in July Facebook soft-warned yet knew but didn't share their iOS tracking opt-out rate...it's a critical metric since a majority of FB's data comes from third parties rather than its own apps and sites. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@amy_siskind: Thank you to CEO @tim_cook and @Apple for taking measures to protect our privacy. https://www.wsj.com/...
Meg Graham / @megancgraham: In Q3, the average price per ad on Facebook increased 22%, CFO Dave Wehner says. Total ad impressions served across its services increased 9%. More from @saraheneedleman https://www.wsj.com/...
Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:
Interview with LA Times politics columnist Jackie Calmes, who calls on reporters to end false equivalence by never using quotes with lies without refuting them — Jackie Calmes, a veteran former New York Times White House reporter, lit up media Twitter over the weekend with a powerful …
Discussion:
@jayrosen_nyu, @eugene_scott, @janinezacharia, @chunterct, @froomkin, @mattwelch, @lisatozzi, @froomkin, @jayrosen_nyu, @froomkin, @vanillatary, @froomkin, @jgkoomey, @niemanlab, @froomkin and @jonfavs
Discussion:
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “I felt more pressure of the bothsidesism sort coming from the New York Times than I did from the Wall Street Journal,” she said, “...the New York Times is sensitive to the fact that it is known to be a liberal paper, so it bends over backwards.” https://presswatchers.org/...
Eugene Scott / @eugene_scott: This is the reality at so many mainstream media organizations that conservatives have painted as liberal https://twitter.com/...
@janinezacharia: “If reporters know, based on their reporting, that a politician has lied to them, then they should either not use the quote at all, or, 'if you do use it, to show the rhetoric...you must follow up right behind that quote with words of your own to point out why that is false.” https://twitter.com/...
Craig Hunter / @chunterct: .@jackiekcalmes: “The Republican Party is an anti-democratic, authoritarian-led party, and if our reporting doesn't reflect that, it's not true. It's not giving the readers a true picture.” https://presswatchers.org/... via @froomkin
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: I'm surprised this hasn't gotten even more attention in the media community. I think it's very significant, and potentially very constructive. Please RT! https://twitter.com/...
Matt Welch / @mattwelch: “Calmes called on all reputable media organizations to take a concrete first step towards ending false equivalence by vowing never to use a quote that reporters and editors know is a lie without immediately refuting it.” Would be funny to watch them try. https://presswatchers.org/...
Lisa Tozzi / @lisatozzi: “I think it's more true of guys than women reporters that they approach politics and government as a game, that they just admire someone who — even if they're a jerk or even if they may deflate the football — gets away with it and wins a lot.” https://presswatchers.org/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: And speaking of Mitch McConnell's overly indulgent coverage from reporters who should know better: https://presswatchers.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: The speaker is Jackie Calmes, former politics reporter for the New York Times and LA Times, interviewed by @froomkin. Here she captures the essence of what I have called the “savvy style” in political journalism. https://presswatchers.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: Sick of false equivalence, former NYT political reporter @jackiekcalmes told me the Times “needs to loosen up. Because there isn't any one-hand-on-the-other hand anymore.” She'll be on @ReliableSources w/@brianstelter. Should be good. https://presswatchers.org/...
@vanillatary: Yeah that'd make sense. Trying so hard to to reach some arbitrary “balance” to deflect criticism of being too liberal they they've turned the paper into an eye-roll inducing hive of contrarianism. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: As for her former employer, the @nytimes, Calmes says: “It needs to loosen up. Because there isn't any one-hand-on-the-other hand anymore.” https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Koomey / @jgkoomey: The cancer of “both sides” journalism must be cut out of the US body politic if democracy is to survive here. https://presswatchers.org/...
@niemanlab: “Calmes called on all reputable media organizations to take a concrete first step towards ending false equivalence by vowing never to use a quote that reporters and editors know is a lie without immediately refuting it.” https://presswatchers.org/...
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube's VP of Content Partnerships Malik Ducard leaves the company after a decade to join Pinterest as its first chief content officer — After a decade at YouTube, Malik Ducard is moving on: He's been hired by Pinterest as the image-sharing and social media company's first chief content officer.
Discussion:
Max Bosenko / @maxthecomrade: $PINS hired Malik Ducard as its first Chief Content Officer. At Pinterest, Ducard (former VP of content partnerships at YouTube) will lead the content and creator team, tasked with developing its content strategy and vision to tap into the creator economy. https://variety.com/...
Geoff Weiss / Tubefilter: Veteran YouTube Exec Malik Ducard Departs To Forge Creator Strategy At Pinterest
Mark Bergen / @mhbergen: Ducard has been at YouTube longer than most (and is one of the few Black execs at Google). He was the prime driver of its Kids app and strategy. And his move suggests Pinterest wants to get more contenty. https://variety.com/...
Financial Times:
Fox launches Fox Weather in a new HQ with 120 meteorologists and a ceiling that changes color with the weather, as critics say it will face credibility issues — TV channels bet that reports of increasingly extreme climate can pull them out of a ratings nosedive
Discussion:
Brian Flood / Fox News: How FOX Weather meteorologist Amy Freeze's chilly last name paved her career path: 'It's my real name'
Brian Flood / Fox News: FOX Weather launches with trailblazing app that will change how Americans consume weather news, analysis
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg: Fox Weather is Stockpiling Meteorologists and Taking on the Weather Channel
Michael Sadowski / @sustainnyc: Some? “Some observers question whether Fox News will face a credibility problem.” Fox News hopes round-the-clock weather coverage will brighten outlook https://www.ft.com/... #nottheonion
Henry Mance / @henrymance: Fox News: climate change isn't happening also Fox News: check out our new dedicated weather app for updates on extreme floods and hurricanes! https://www.ft.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Anna Nicolaou / @annaknicolaou: in real life succession, the Lachlan vs James battle has moved to...............weather reporting James Murdoch is funding climate change reporting at the AP. Lachlan is starting a Fox News weather channel, which will “not ignore” climate change https://www.ft.com/...
Rebecca Baird-Remba / @thecitywanderer: newscorp is launching a fox-branded weather channel... incredible. an IRL succession story line. https://twitter.com/...
@financialtimes: As climate disasters intensify in the US, an unlikely battle is brewing in the media business to compete for viewers' attention on the topic. On Monday, Fox News launched an app with 24/7 content on weather, but many are questioning its credibility https://www.ft.com/...
Sam Joiner / @samjoiner: Fox News is moving into... 24 hour weather coverage. It includes a new studio that will “change colour with the weather, the ceiling turning red during severe events” 🤨 https://www.ft.com/...
@jasonfrazertv: Here's more info on what you can expect from @FoxWeather. I'll be on from 6am-12pm EST. However, our coverage continues 24/7! Don't have the app yet? Download it on your mobile device by visiting the Google or Apple stores and search Fox Weather. https://www.foxnews.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Fox is launching a Weather channel, but internal sources say it will only be covering weather systems that come from the left (thanks, I'll be here at Dad Jokes all week)
Justin Guay / @guay_jg: First you deny climate change exists Then you pivot to stream 24 hour daily coverage of the chaos that denial has unleashed Unbelievable https://www.ft.com/...
Jess Barnes / Cord Cutters News: Fox Weather Launches for iOS and Android
Gerry Smith / @gerryfsmith: Fox is launching a new streaming service for weather with 3D-radar, storm chasers, stadium cams, 42 kinds of alerts and a meteorologist with the last name “Freeze.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Gerry Smith / @gerryfsmith: Fox Weather execs say they won't ignore climate change, but climate experts are skeptical. “We should assume, unless proven otherwise, that this network will be used to further promote climate denialism,” says @MichaelEMann https://www.bloomberg.com/...
George Winslow / TV Technology: Fox Weather Goes Live
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Cameo makes its first acquisition, buying Represent, which develops and operates direct-to-fan ecommerce sites for celeb clients like Leonardo DiCaprio — Cameo, the startup that has built a fast-growing business selling video shout-outs from celebrities (and others), is extending into a new line of fandom business.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Axios, @bookcameo, @sarafischer, @adweek, @mr312, Tubefilter, Adweek, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter
Discussion:
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch: Cameo buys fan merch platform Represent
Sara Fischer / Axios: Cameo makes its first acquisition
Cameo / @bookcameo: We're excited to create new opportunities to connect celebs with their biggest fans through our recent acquisition of @Represent: https://cameoblog.medium.com/ ...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: 🛍 @BookCameo is acquiring marketing and merchandising platform @Represent, which will eventually make it possible for the company to sell bundles of merchandise and custom videos to users from their favorite celebs https://www.axios.com/...
Ad-Eek / @adweek: Cameo is diving into the merchandising pool with its acquisition Monday of marketing and merchandising platform Represent—its first ever acquisition. https://www.adweek.com/...
Steven Galanis / @mr312: I'm incredibly excited to share that Cameo is getting into the merch game through our acquisition of @Represent. Read all about it here. https://cameoblog.medium.com/ ...
Geoff Weiss / Tubefilter: Cameo Enters Merch Business With Its First-Ever Acquisition Of ‘Represent’
Diane Haithman / The Wrap: Cameo Acquires Celebrity Merchandise Platform Represent
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
A look at IMDb TV, as Amazon hopes attracting Judge Judy and other stars, alongside a possible name change, will boost the free, ad-supported service — The company hopes a new court show starring the straight-talking judge will help turbocharge its free, ad-supported streaming platform, IMDb TV.
Discussion:
@nytimesbusiness: Amazon has more than one streaming service, and hopes Judge Judy will help more people discover IMDb TV, its free, ad-supported platform https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brooks Barnes / @brooksbarnesnyt: I noted the bathroom break difficulties faced by harried Amazon drivers and asked her if *she* had to pee in a bottle now that she's an Amazon employee. She was not amused. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Stephen Witt / New Yorker:
Profile of Patrick Soon-Shiong, a controversial doctor who bought LA Times with “little due diligence” thinking owning it would be “easier than curing cancer” — The billionaire doctor has become one of Los Angeles's most prominent civic leaders, after a boundary-pushing ascent in medicine.
Discussion:
@niemanlab, @erictopol, @newyorker, @newyorker, @daviesbj, @lfung, @michaelluo and @sduncovered
Discussion:
@niemanlab: .@latimes owner Patrick Soon-Shiong “has been repeatedly accused of financial misrepresentation, self-dealing, price gouging, and fraud. He has been sued by former investors...he has been sued by his own brother, twice; he has been sued by Cher.” https://www.newyorker.com/...
Eric Topol / @erictopol: That doesn't look good ;-) https://www.newyorker.com/... @NewYorker https://twitter.com/...
@newyorker: Stephen Witt profiles Patrick Soon-Shiong, one of the richest doctors in the world—and also one of the most controversial. https://www.newyorker.com/...
@newyorker: The L.A. tycoon Patrick Soon-Shiong is worth at least $8 billion. He is one of the richest doctors in the world—and also one of the most controversial. Who is he? https://nyer.cm/mKD6USY
Benjamin J. Davies MD / @daviesbj: The long form article on biotech's richest iconoclast: PSS. Factoids: he was in the OR for Kobe Bryant's Achilles tendon repair and @peterbachmd has been skiing with him https://www.newyorker.com/...
Lisa Fung / @lfung: ‘Journalists looking for a savior may have to settle for the occasional pep talk from a distracted billionaire.’ Fascinating look at @latimes owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and his many ventures Via @stephen_witt @NewYorker https://www.newyorker.com/...
Michael Luo / @michaelluo: On buying @latimes. “He made the acquisition with very little due diligence, because he thought that it had to be easier than curing cancer,” Pearlstine told me. “I'm not sure whether he still believes that.” Ha. https://www.newyorker.com/...
Matthew T. Hall / @sduncovered: When I asked him who his friends were, he gave me three names: composer Burt Bacharach, basketball player Metta Sandiford-Artest (known in his playing days as Ron Artest and later as Metta World Peace), and Jerry Zucker, who produced the movie “Airplane!” https://www.newyorker.com/...
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