In Canada’s battle with Big Tech, smaller publishers are caught in the crossfire

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

In Canada’s battle with Big Tech, smaller publishers are caught in the crossfire Independent outlets explain how traffic and engagement have plummeted overnight after Meta blocked news from its platforms. By Gretel Kahn.

The New York Times hits 10 million subscribers by using non-news products as an on-ramp What We’re ReadingFashionistaHearst’s new social media policy bans staffers from sharing their personal, political opinions online →“The updated policy requires that personal social media accounts not be used to express personal political views and that political posts (with a candidate or opinion) must first be reviewed by a supervisor before posting…The policy also encourages employees to report their fellow coworkers for posts that feel too ‘inflammatory.'”LupaBrazilian fact-checking organization Lupa is tracking all of the anti-disinformation legislation around the world →See the interactive map here.Wired / Jason ParhamThe first-generation social media users have nowhere to go →“Millennials are the last of the analog world, both of yesterday and tomorrow. Maybe this is where my hesitation takes root, and why it feels like there are no good apps left for socializing the way we used to.”Digiday / Hailey MensikA third of managers harbor unconscious fear that’s leading to a $36 billion productivity loss →“Fear-based leaders lose an estimated 10 hours a week in productivity for their companies, adding up to about $29,000 a year per leader or $36 billion annually, according to the survey from Love Leadership and First & First consulting, conducted this September. It included responses from over 2,000 managers aged 24 to 54 years old at companies with 500 or more employees in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.”The New York Times / Mike IsaacWhatsApp used to be an asset that Mark Zuckerberg left alone. No longer. →“In the interview, Mr. Zuckerberg positioned WhatsApp as a ‘next chapter’ for his company. The messaging app could become a cornerstone for business messaging, he said, as well as a primary conversation app.”The Present Age / Parker Molloy8 music writers on Taylor Swift and the state of music journalism →“It seems like every day we lose a media outlet, or there are mass layoffs — jobs cut, places where people could be covering a wide variety of music and other arts. Instead, we have a special position created as fan service for one of the most covered artists on the planet. Who suffers? Everyone.”Jacobin / Branko MarceticIsrael’s war on Gaza is also a lethal war on Palestinian journalists →“According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), as of this past weekend, the Israeli government’s nearly four-week-long indiscriminate bombing campaign on Gaza has killed thirty-six journalists and other media workers, thirty-one of whom were Palestinian. A further eight are injured, and three are missing.”TechCrunch / Annie NjanjaAdvocacy organizations want Meta to compensate war victims amid claims that Facebook inflamed the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia →“Rights group Amnesty International, in a new report, has urged Meta to set up a fund, that will also benefit other victims of conflict around the world, amidst heightened fears that the social site’s presence in ‘high-risk and conflict-affected areas’ could ‘fuel advocacy of hatred and incite violence against ethnic and religious minorities’ in new regions. Amnesty International report outlines how ‘Meta contributed to human rights abuses in Ethiopia.’”Bloomberg / Margi MurphyMicrosoft is offering to help U.S. politicians crack down on deepfakes →“The new tool will allow parties to authenticate their videos and photos with so-called watermark credentials.”Futurism / Victor TangermannElon Musk’s new chatbot is astoundingly vulgar →“Musk’s AI is essentially a response to what he sees as excessively “woke” AI chatbots that have been playing it too safe. Musk went on a tirade earlier this year, arguing that companies like OpenAI are actively censoring their models and giving in to the purported demands of the left.”The Wall Street Journal / Salvador RodriguezMeta says political campaigns have to disclose when AI is used in political ads →“Meta provided examples of scenarios where political advertisers would need to make this type of disclosure, including ads that depict a real person saying or doing something they didn’t say or do. Another example includes the digital creation of a realistic-looking event or person that didn’t occur or doesn’t exist.”The Guardian / Alexandra ToppingA BBC presenter has quit over its new restrictive social media guidelines →“In September the BBC updated its social media guidelines to include a strengthened ‘Lineker clause,’ in an attempt to stop high-profile presenters expressing strong views on party politics…The guidelines state that presenters on flagship shows must not endorse or attack a political party, criticise the character of individual politicians in the UK, or take up an official role in campaigning groups.”Esquire / Kate DwyerHas it ever been harder to make a living as an author? →“That’s a seismic difference in the world today, this question of platform: What is the author going to bring to the table?” Vanity Fair / Charlotte KleinWill Lewis introduces himself to The Washington Post staff →“We’re not in a place that we want to be in and we need to get to that place as fast as we can.”The Oaklandside / Jacob SimasCityside is launching an independent, nonprofit newsroom for Richmond →The California-based Cityside has launched Berkeleyside, The Oaklandside, and (now) Richmondside.

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