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Media Bits and Bytes – May 17, 2022

Millions for misinformation, and the death toll for journalists

Sherine Abu Akleh was an inspiration for a generation of Palestinian women journalists. Credit,Mohammed Abed/AFP

 

Crypto Crash
By David Gura
NPR

Stocks, bonds and other assets have tumbled in recent weeks as investors fear the Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates aggressively to fight inflation, raising the prospect of a recession. The falls in broader markets have affected cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin down more than 20% in the past two weeks.

The Facebook Papers
By Dell Cameron, Shoshana Wodinsky, and Mack DeGeurin
Gizmodo

The Facebook Papers is a trove of documents that offer an unprecedented look inside the most powerful social media company in the world. The results of a poll commissioned by Facebook itself showed what already felt anecdotally true to many: That a majority of Americans believed Facebook at least partly responsible for the events of Jan. 6.

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TV Warnings About LGBTQ Content?
By Matt Lavietes
NBC News

Five GOP senators suggested that parents’ “rightfully expressed outrage” should be directed beyond the classroom and at broadcasters for creating children's shows with LGBTQ characters and storylines. It also argued that content on sexual orientation and gender identity “harms child actors.”

Murdoch and Putin Prop
By Nick Cohen

The Guardian

If the west could find the courage, it would order an immediate freeze of Rupert Murdoch’s assets. His Fox News presenters and Russia’s propagandists are so intermeshed that separating the two is as impossible as unbaking a cake.

Need to Know: EU Digital Services Act
By Miranda Miller
Search Engine Journal

The EU Commission announced recently that Parliament and Member States had come to a “swift political agreement” on the proposed Digital Services Act (DSA). It establishes an “unprecedented new standard” for online platforms, and will force them to share how their algorithms work, remove illegal goods and content quickly, and crack down on misinformation.

Journalists Murdered

How to Disable Ad ID Tracking
By 
Bennett Cyphers
Electronic Frontier Foundation

The ad identifier - aka “IDFA” on iOS, or “AAID” on Android - is the key that enables most third-party tracking on mobile devices. Disabling it will make it substantially harder for advertisers and data brokers to track and profile you, and will limit the amount of your personal information up for sale.

The GOP Blocks the FCC Road
By Jacob Seitz
The Daily Dot

In October 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to serve on the Federal Communications Commission. Sohn is a career tech watchdog and former FCC staffer. Sohn hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate—a delay of over six months since her nomination. Republicans, with their stall tactics, may have found a way to kill net neutrality.

Foxifying British News
By Scott Bryan

Variety

A strange trend is taking place on British television: Opinionated American-style television channels have appeared for the very first time. If you watch GB News on any given night, you’ll see regular features about so-called “cancel culture” and “wokeism,” as well as a show hosted by the far right leader Nigel Farage. 

Diversification in the News Room
By Kyra Kyles
Current

Despite some improvements in terms of bringing on board more staffers of color and a righteous proliferation of BIPOC-led outlets, the media industry as a whole is nowhere near as rich with diverse perspectives as one would imagine. It is possible to transform newsrooms across America at a rapid pace befitting this moment in our history.