Monday, February 26, 2024 |
| “They are easier and cheaper to create than deepfake videos, and there are fewer contextual clues to detect with the naked eye.” By Rowan Philp. |
What We’re ReadingTwitter / Desert Sun NewsGuild
Journalists at Gannett’s Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.) have voted to authorize a strike →“Over three years of bargaining, Gannett has refused to offer consistent cost-of-living raises and crucial health care protections.”Dublin Inquirer / Sam Tranum
In Ireland, a local paper battles on →“If our digital platform was to close down tomorrow, we’d still be running the business, because it’s not the thing making money for us. But if you flip that and stop the print edition, yeah, and decided to just be online? We’d have to close everything. It wouldn’t sustain paying 15 people. It might sustain two.”Journalism.co.uk / Marcela Kunova
New project InOldNews wants to improve representation in video journalism →“The idea to focus on producing open-license footage from developing countries was born after they were unable to find relevant footage for an environment journalism workshop for journalists in Rwanda. So [Manon] Verchot and another co-founder of InOldNews, Sanshey Biswas, started to shoot royalty-free footage themselves.”Rest of World / Viola Zhou
Want to stop livestreaming in China? That’ll be $42,000 →“China’s multibillion-dollar livestreaming industry is driven, in part, by about 24,000 talent agencies, which provide training and equipment to livestreamers to help them gain followers and income. These agencies take commissions from the earnings of individual influencers, as they sing, dance, sell products, flirt with the audience, or stage life-threatening gimmicks to make a living.”Slate / Scott Nover
Why dead sites like Gawker and The Messenger go blank — and why it doesn’t have to be this way →“There are a lot of bad things a media company can do…But the worst thing a media company can do is erase a website. Insult to injury doesn’t begin to describe it”The Verge / Sarah Jeong
When does a journalist become a hacker? →“On Thursday, federal law enforcement arrested journalist Tim Burke and arraigned him in court in handcuffs. Twelve of the 14 charges levied against him in the since-unsealed indictment are under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the federal anti-hacking statute.”The Verge / Emma Roth
A former Gizmodo writer changed his name to “Slackbot” and stayed undetected for months →“The move camouflaged McKay’s active Slack account for months, letting his account evade deletion. It also allowed him to send bot-like messages to his colleagues such as, ‘Slackbot fact of the day: Hi, I’m Slackbot! That’s a fact. Have a Slack-ly day!’ My colleague Victoria Song, who previously worked at Gizmodo, isn’t all that surprised that this situation unfolded, and says, ‘As Tom’s former coworker and a G/O Media survivor, this tracks.'”The Verge / Lauren Feiner
The Supreme Court is about to decide the future of online speech →“The laws’ opponents warn that a ruling for the states could force social media companies to carry ‘lawful but awful’ speech like Nazi rhetoric or medical misinformation, which would likely repel a wide swath of users. Rather than offend users, critics argue, platforms may choose to block whole categories of discussion — around topics like race — to avoid legal blowback.”Vulture / Nicholas Quah
How Matthew Belloni became the must-read columnist for Hollywood’s executive class →“The newsletter in question, Puck’s What I’m Hearing, with 15,000 paid subscribers (and 35,000 more unpaid ones who can only read snippets), has steadily become the go-to chronicle of Hollywood, a must-read among the entertainment power elite, those who aspire to join its ranks, and many whose livelihood depend on that elite.”Sherwood Media / Rani Molla
Microsoft’s Copilot AI search is making up fake Vladimir Putin quotes from press conferences that never happened →“‘We have investigated this report and are making changes to refine the quality of our responses,’ a Microsoft spokesperson told Sherwood when asked about the fabricated stories. ‘As we continue to improve the experience, we encourage people to use their best judgment when viewing results, including verifying source materials and checking web links to learn more.'”Vanity Fair / Amie Parnes
How Jimmy Finkelstein wooed me to The Messenger — and left me high and dry →“And my colleagues have been going through similar situations. They’re filing for food stamps and unemployment and counting on a GoFundMe — set up by members of our team — for an extra financial boost. Jimmy recently called that effort ‘wonderful,’ which incensed all of us.”The Verge / Wes Davis
Apple’s wearable ideas include smart glasses and cameras in your ears →“Apple is looking for ways to bolster its wearables division as its existing products have matured. Putting cameras on AirPods is a decidedly wacky idea that vaguely points at Apple’s plans for generative AI, and who knows — if people are open to face computers, why not ear cameras, too?”The Verge / Jon Porter
The future of phones depends on the future of apps →“It’s too early to say if AI-powered devices like the Rabbit R1 or Brain.ai and Deutsche Telekom’s ‘app-less’ smartphone concept are the answer. But they’re a recognition that whatever comes after today’s smartphones needs to either build on top of our formidable app ecosystems or else be very creative in working around them.”PA Media
British government backs crackdown on lawsuits used to silence journalists →“The new measures will allow independent judges to dismiss spurious claims before they go to trial and protect defendants from paying exorbitant costs. The Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill also aims to remove the threat of intimidation they bring by ensuring there is proper compensation for people who are subject to them.”The Washington Post / Jeremy Barr
How everything became a “psyop” for conservative media →“Actual experts in real-life psyops are unconvinced by this latest wave of claims. ‘Most people realize it’s just baloney,’ said Herbert A. Friedman, a retired sergeant major who worked in psychological operations for the Army.”Press Gazette / Bron Maher
Reach is using AI to speed up “ripping” and using the same article on multiple sites →“Since late January the Mirror, Express, and Liverpool Echo publisher has been holding weekly drop-in training sessions for staff on how to use its new in-house AI tool, Gutenbot. A significant amount of content on Reach’s network of local and national news is rewritten or reposted from sister sites. Rewrites enable the company to get more traffic out of the same content without duplicating it.”The Guardian / Ben Quinn
GB News is being allowed to break the U.K.’s impartiality rules, senior TV figures say →“Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is paid about £350,000 a year by the broadcaster, plus Esther McVey, now a minister, and Philip Davies, a Tory backbencher, are among those with shows under scrutiny.”
Nieman Lab / Fuego
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