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Analysis: in May and June 2023, 141 major brands ran ads, mostly via Google Ads, across 55 low-quality sites with AI-generated articles, some posting ~1,200/day — NewsGuard identified 141 brands that are feeding programmatic ad dollars to low-quality AI-generated news and information sites operating with little to no human oversight
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AI is killing the web with spam sites, mass article producing “AI editors”, AI-generated junk on Etsy, Reddit, and Wikipedia that exhausts moderators, and more — In recent months, the signs and portents have been accumulating with increasing speed. Google is trying to kill the 10 blue links.

Fox News' new prime time: Jesse Watters takes Tucker Carlson's 8pm slot, Laura Ingraham moves to 7pm, Sean Hannity stays at 9pm, and Greg Gutfeld moves to 10pm — Fox News announced the new prime time lineup it's putting in place in the wake of Tucker Carlson's shocking ouster earlier this year.
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Fox News, Variety, The Daily Beast, Wall Street Journal, @chadwick_moore, @bristei, The Hill, Deadline, Vox, @nycsouthpaw, Jezebel, @kir_bigg50, @brianstelter, @abughazalehkat, @brianstelter, The Guardian, @bristei, @mehdirhasan, The Desk, Fox News, Axios, @dylanbyers, @martinpengelly, Newser, @ingrahamangle, @nikkimcr, @johnnydollar01, @mollyjongfast, CNBC, @frankconniff, @deggans, @nataliedavisgdread …, New Republic, @brianstelter, @matthewkeys@newsie.social, Next TV, Media Matters for America, New York Daily News and KRON4

As the use of AI-generated ads in political campaigns increases globally, consultants, election researchers, and lawmakers push for setting up new guardrails — Gaps in campaign rules allow politicians to spread images and messaging generated by increasingly powerful artificial intelligence technology.

Some question The Athletic reporter Shams Charania's commercial partnership with FanDuel after his June 22 tweet, which was wrong, moved NBA draft betting lines — Shams Charania works for both sports news site the Athletic and gambling company FanDuel. Things got complicated when he tweeted …
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@jareddiamond, New York Post, @phil_rosenthal, @chieftwopointoh, @jasonschreier, @sportsvanessa, @jareddiamond, @adamlevitan, @dhpiv, @dannymarang, @trentreinsmith, @danwolken, Front Office Sports, @brettaesch, @davidpurdum, @pdwolves, @worldsnicestman, @nickatnews, @dandarling, @raptorsslander, @emorymort, @paulvieira, @thenflchick, @trentreinsmith, @dougespn, @sixersadam, @kkoczwara, @jgundy85, @jonjacobson, @castleofjays, @lthomasnews, @sahyder1, @bpmoritz, Washington Post and Awful Announcing

Profits at the largest US entertainment companies have fallen 60%+ since 2013, despite mergers, as media companies spent record sums to build streaming services — Good afternoon from Los Angeles, wherever you may be. Thanks to those of you who came to Bloomberg's Tech Summit.
Discussion:
Media Voices, @lucas_shaw, @conorsen, @stevewells11, @dkthomp, @ryanmcraver, @tiagodf, Digital Music News, @lucas_shaw and @tvgrimreaper, more at Techmeme »

Spotify, SiriusXM, iHeartMedia, and other podcast companies are shifting from A-list celebrities and big-budget audio narratives to professional audio talent — The News — CANNES — In 2020, Spotify's stock spiked on the news that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry signed an exclusive deal with the streaming platform.

Analysis: the UK's NUJ had 24,528 members in 2022, of whom 20,722 pay, down by 21% since 2012 and 32% since 2004; some journalists blame high subscription fees — The journalists' union voted in April to raise membership fees by 5% this year and next. — Membership at the National Union …
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@nuj_leeds

An interview with Kim Min-seok, CEO of Pinkfong, about Baby Shark Live, a live show based on the viral song, plans to expand into webtoons and theme parks, more — Seven years after posting “Baby Shark Dance” on YouTube, Kim Min-seok, CEO and cofounder of the Korean company behind the viral video …

An annual fact-checking census finds there are 417 fact-checking sites active globally in 2023 so far, roughly the same as in 2022 and 2021, up from 151 in 2015 — 10th annual fact-checking census from the Reporters' Lab tracks an ongoing slowdown — While much of the world's news media …
Discussion:
@billadairduke

The White House condemns the online harassment of WSJ reporter Sabrina Siddiqui for questioning PM Modi about human rights in India at a press event last week — Biden spokesman says harassment of journalist is unacceptable after attacks by officials from Indian prime minister's party
Discussion:
@andrewrestuccia, @andrewrestuccia, The Wire, @sajahq, @mythilisk and The Hill

Cineworld plans to file for the administration of its listed entity Cineworld plc in the UK as part of its restructuring, but will continue operating as normal — Cineworld said on Monday that as part of its proposed restructuring following Chapter 11, it expects to file for administration …