Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Meta debated buying a publisher like Simon & Schuster for AI training data and weighed using copyrighted online data even if that meant facing lawsuits — To make artificial intelligence systems more powerful, tech companies need online data to feed the technology. Here's what to know.
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New York Times:
Sources: OpenAI transcribed 1M+ hours of YouTube videos through Whisper and used the text to train GPT-4; Google also transcribed YouTube videos to harvest text — OpenAI, Google and Meta ignored corporate policies, altered their own rules and discussed skirting copyright law …
Reuters:
A look at tech giants' AI training data deals; Defined.ai: some are ready to pay $1-$2 per image, $2-$4 per short video, and $100-$300 per hour of long video — At its peak in the early 2000s, Photobucket was the world's top image-hosting site. The media backbone for once-hot services …
Bloomberg:
FTC lawsuit filings: Instagram had ad revenues of $22B in 2020, or 26% of Meta's total revenue, $32.4B in 2021, or 27% of Meta's revenue, and $16.5B in H1 2022 — - Sales figures for the app released in FTC's antitrust lawsuit — Meta Platforms Inc. brought in almost 30% of its revenue …
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Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
Court filings from FTC lawsuit against Meta show Instagram made $32.4B in ad revenue in 2021, which is more than YouTube's $28.8B in ad revenue that year — - Instagram generated $32.4 billion in ad revenue in 2021, making up 27% of Meta's total revenue. — Instagram's ad revenue …
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: Skydance's bid for Paramount, backed by RedBird and KKR, would keep Paramount publicly traded; David Ellison and Jeff Shell would have leadership roles — WATCH NOW — Skydance's offer for Paramount would give it a significant stake while keeping the company public
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Matt Binder / Mashable:
X promoted a fake headline about Iran attacking Israel on its Explore page, after Elon Musk promised “real-time customized news for you created by Grok AI” — The AI-generated false headline was promoted by X in its official trending news section.
Sherman Smith / Kansas Reflector:
A day after apologizing for blocking Kansas Reflector posts, Meta temporarily blocked links to two sites reposting a Reflector item; Meta cites a security error — Social media posts reflect Facebook's actions to block news sites that published Dave Kendall's column, which was critical of Facebook.
Discussion:
The Handbasket, @nycsouthpaw@threads.net, @darby.lyons@threads.net, @moskov@threads.net, @andymstone, @marisakabas@threads.net, @nycsouthpaw@threads.net, @naughtfollowers@threads.net, @sherman_news, @moskov@threads.net, @sherman_news, @sherman.smith.journalist …, @simondowens@threads.net, Mercury News, @mosseri@threads.net, @mrhunterwalker@threads.net, @deanbetz@threads.net, @barzinlotfabadi@threads.net, @marisakabas@threads.net, @chrisgeidner, @nycsouthpaw@threads.net, @joelmmathis, @andymstone, @kansasreflector, @kseconomist, @andymstone, @dkiesow@threads.net, @sherman_news, @michaeljstern1@threads.net, PCMag, @marisakabas@threads.net, @kenpopehat@threads.net, @kenpopehat@threads.net, @kenpopehat@threads.net and @clancyny.bsky.social
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Clay Wirestone / Kansas Reflector:
Facebook restores the Kansas Reflector's ability to share links, removed the day the outlet ran a piece critical of Facebook, which still can't be shared
Discussion:
@andymstone, Wichita Eagle, The Wrap, @marisakabas@threads.net, @marisakabas@threads.net, @marisakabas.bsky.social, Kansas City Star, @blogoklahoma@social …, @Smootasaurus@mstdn.social, @1060waddy, @sherman_news, @janenorman, @fitzsimon, The Handbasket, @couts.bsky.social, @marisakabas@threads.net, @kalihays1@threads.net, David Jordan on LinkedIn, @marisakabas@threads.net, Media Nation, @kalihays1@threads.net, @robpegoraro@threads.net, @hybridhavoc@darkfriend.social and @shawngoldwater@mstdn.ca
Ernie Smith / Fast Company:
A look at The Santa Barbara News-Press' tentative deal to sell its assets to Weyaweya, whose principal Max Noremo has ties to Malta's online gambling industry — For 155 years, the Santa Barbara News-Press and its predecessors played a fundamental role in the California coastal city as its primary broadsheet newspaper.
Discussion:
@shortformernie and @harrymccracken@mastodon …
Benjamin Bathke / Reuters Institute:
A look at Correctiv, Germany's first nonprofit investigative outlet, which has 100 full-time staff and published a bombshell investigation into the far right — We take a deep dive into Correctiv's investigation, its mission and its funding — Imagine you're an investigative reporter.
Discussion:
@jpmarthoz, @eduardosuarez, Anping Richter on LinkedIn, Daniel Drepper on LinkedIn and JURIST
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Top ESPN executive Norby Williamson is leaving the network after almost 40 years; in January, Pat McAfee accused him of “sabotaging” his show — Norby Williamson, the ESPN veteran who has managed everything from NFL coverage to “SportsCenter,” is leaving the Disney sports-media giant abruptly …
Ryan Heath / Axios:
Meta plans to label a wider range of video, audio, and image content as “Made with AI” starting in May, following feedback from its independent Oversight Board — - The labels could be generated through self-disclosure when a user posts content, as a result of advice from fact-checkers …
Discussion:
Reuters, Meta, Jennifer Broxmeyer on LinkedIn, The Hill, MediaPost, CBS News, TechCrunch, Ars Technica, Raw Story, Engadget and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
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