WhatsApp seems ready to restrict how easily messages spread in a bid to reduce misinformation
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Monday, April 4, 2022
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WhatsApp seems ready to restrict how easily messages spread in a bid to reduce misinformationA new beta version would add significant friction to forwarding messages more than once — the latest in a line of structural changes meant to reduce how often misinformation goes viral. By Joshua Benton. |
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Stories of resilience may be linked to lower suicide rates. Will media organizations listen?“We’re asking [media organizations] to not talk about the emotional appeal of the story, which is what good journalism often does.” By Christina Couch. |
What We’re Reading
openDemocracy / Alik Sardarian
International media are abusing the heroism of Ukraine’s journalists →
“A month into this war, we can see that Western journalists – although not all of them, and not on every occasion – regularly show disrespect to their Ukrainian colleagues. They neglect Ukrainian colleagues' safety. They violate all possible ethical standards, which, 20 or 30 years later, they will go on to teach young journalism students somewhere in Missouri or London.”
Associated Press / David Klepper and Amanda Seitz
Russia is aiming a lot of its Ukraine disinformation at Spanish speakers →
“Though many of the claims have been discredited, they're spreading widely in Latin America and helping to make Kremlin-controlled outlets some of the top Spanish-language sources for information about the war. Russian outlet RT en Español is now the third most shared site on Twitter for Spanish-language information about Russia's invasion.”
Quartz / Scott Nover
Twitter critic Elon Musk just became the platform’s largest shareholder →
“Whether or not Twitter is the "public square," as Musk described it, it is a publicly listed company, in which he bought a more than 9% stake on April 4, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Musk became its largest shareholder in the process.”
The Washington Post / Paul Farhi
Paul Huntsman saved a newspaper — then launched an investigation of his brother’s rival →
“Huntsman's continuing efforts to investigate the man who defeated his brother have unsettled many in the Tribune's newsroom. Several journalists — who asked not to be named, to avoid running afoul of Huntsman — are concerned the chairman's actions are an outgrowth of a purported rivalry between [Utah Gov. Spencer] Cox and Huntsman's family, one of the wealthiest and most prominent in the state.”
Foreign Policy / Mark Hannah
Why is the wartime press corps so hawkish? →
“…national security coverage largely relies on official and military sources that, like a man with a hammer who always sees a nail, are likely to favor intervention…is especially dependent on government sources, since it often requires access to active combat zones and sensitive information… journalists and analysts tend to force global events into clear moral frameworks with clear-cut heroes and villains.”
Washington City Paper
The last print issue of Washington City Paper will come out May 5 →
“Today we are announcing that Washington City Paper is becoming a digital-first publication and will no longer offer a regular print edition…We held on as long as we could, but our current way of operating was no longer sustainable and the change will let us focus our efforts on being the best digitally native publication we can be.”
Reuters / Jonathan Stempel
Trump ally Devin Nunes has lost his Washington Post defamation appeal →
“In a 3-0 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., said Nunes ‘does not point to a single statement’ that was false or defamatory on its face in the February 2020 article about Russia’s desire for Trump to win a second White House term. Nunes ‘failed to plausibly allege a claim of defamation,’ the court said.”
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Marina Adami
How European news outlets are reaching Ukrainian refugees in their own language →
“Newspapers, news sites and public broadcasters across Europe are helping Ukrainian refugees with this transition by creating news products…offering crucial details regarding issues such as claiming asylum, finding accommodation and accessing education and health services in their respective countries.”
NPR / David Folkenflik
When police cracked down on reporters on one chaotic night in L.A.’s Echo Park →
“A year ago this month, as police prepared to sweep Echo Park Lake of homeless encampments, protests broke out. The reporters who descended on the scene to record it were caught in the middle, as police were unable or unwilling to distinguish between reporters and activists. According to press advocates, police detained at least 16 journalists [and] shot two photojournalists with what are called less-lethal rubber bullets.”
The Guardian / Dan Milmo
The U.K.’s new chief regulator of social media doesn’t use social media →
But Michael Grade, 79, says he “is aware of how it works thanks to his children.”
Vulture / Josef Adalian
Ouch: “CNN+ has Quibi vibes” →
“While it's far too early to reach any definitive judgements, CNN+ in its formative phase feels somewhat like the Quibi of streaming news: Lots of money has been spent, big stars are onboard, but it's hard to figure out just what the service is supposed to be and why a large number of people will want to pay for it.”
Poynter / Angela Fu
Unionized journalists at McClatchy’s Florida newspapers staged a work stoppage Friday →
“The walkout, which is scheduled to last 24 hours, comes after more than two years of bargaining at the One Herald Guild, which represents workers at the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald…The unions first put out a proposal for a full contract in December, and the company has not yet offered a counter.”
Axios / Sara Fischer
Jen Psaki is planning to leave the White House this spring for a gig at MSNBC →
“Psaki has been in close consultation with the White House counsel’s office about her departure, according to two sources familiar with the plans. She’s been treading carefully on the ethics and legal aspects of her plans.” Still, seems like a thing to disclose when you’re taking questions from your future coworkers?
Bloomberg / Matthew Yglesias
What happens if you pay Fox News viewers to watch CNN instead? They change their minds →
“Broockman and Kalla recruited a sample of regular Fox News viewers and paid a subset of them to watch CNN instead…the audience of committed Fox viewers, which started the month with conservative predispositions, changed their minds on many issues…they were 10 points less likely to believe that supporters of then-candidate Joe Biden were happy when police officers get shot…and 13 points less likely to agree that if Biden were elected, ‘we'll see many more police get shot by Black Lives Matter activists.'”
The Guardian / Mark Sweney
Will the news boom prevent more media outlets from going bust? →
“One of the knock-on effects of such an extraordinary news run is that it has given confidence back to the news industry that it has a role, a purpose and a community of people prepared to value it. Every conversation used to be about the battle with Google, but now heads are up. For the first time executives can see, imagine, and picture an online future."
The New York Times / Megan Specia
A Ukrainian photojournalist was the sixth journalist killed in Russia’s invasion →
“The photojournalist, Maks Levin, 40, was a prominent freelancer who had spent years covering the conflict in Ukraine…’Every Ukrainian photographer dreams of taking a photo that will stop the war,’ Mr. Levin once explained, according to LB.ua.”
The Guardian / Andrew Roth
“Embarrassing”: Russia scrambles to copy banned Western social media platforms →
“As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, opportunistic developers have rolled out a suite of locally made social networks to replace services such as Instagram that have been blocked by the government…Many appear to be hasty imitations or include obvious attempts at surveilling ordinary Russians, as the Kremlin tries to censor news about the war and further clamp down on dissent under the country's president, Vladimir Putin.”
Techdirt / Mike Masnick
Why moderating content actually does more to support the principles of free speech →
“I started to say that [removing content] should be avoided at almost all costs…when they began tossing out example after example that began to make me realize that ‘never’ is not an answer that works here…not only is ‘never’ not a reasonable option, but how no matter what rules you set, you will be faced with an unfathomable number of cases where the ‘right’ answer or the ‘right’ way to apply a policy is not at all clear.”
The New York Times / Eric Lipton and Maggie Haberman
She took the White House photos. Trump moved to take the profit. →
“That the profits from Ms. Craighead's labor are now going into Mr. Trump's pocket has left several of Mr. Trump's former aides upset — but not exactly surprised.”
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