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Wednesday, July 18, 2018
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The investigations and reporting of BuzzFeed News — *not* BuzzFeed — are now at their own BuzzFeedNews.comNo longer will “Prosecutors Say Accused Russian Agent Maria Butina Appeared To Have Ties To Russian Intelligence” live on the same website as “I’m Upset That Travis Scott Doesn’t Know Kylie Jenner’s Dogs’ Names (UGH).” By Shan Wang. |
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On a big story like the Helsinki Trump/Putin summit, Google News’ algorithm isn’t up to the taskThe algorithm that ranks content can make some truly strange decisions. What set of signals is Google News looking for? By Rich Gordon. |
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When a link to a news story shows the source of the story, some people end up trusting it lessNot that they can remember the source five minutes later, anyway. By Shan Wang. |
What We’re Reading
Committee to Protect Journalists
Vietnam suspends local news website on accusation of false news →
“Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communication announced that the state-run publication would be suspended for three months and fined 20 million dong (US$10,000) for a June 19 report that authorities said misquoted President Tan Dai Quang endorsing a law on public demonstrations.”
BuzzFeed / Mark Di Stefano
BuzzFeed U.K. staff voted against unionizing →
“The final vote was 22 votes against unionization to 4 in favour, according to a BuzzFeed source. The staff-led push for union recognition began in November 2016, with a majority of staff across the desks signing union cards calling for recognition with the UK’s National Union of Journalists.”
Los Angeles Times / Victoria Kim
Remember how the L.A. Times was forced by a judge to alter an article? The judge reversed course →
“U.S. District Judge John F. Walter had issued the order Saturday after The Times published information on its website about a plea agreement between prosecutors and the former detective. The agreement had been sealed by the court but was placed in a court database of documents accessible to the public.”
Bloomberg / Gerry Smith
The scuttling of the Sinclair-Tribune deal is yet another regulatory win for Rupert Murdoch →
“Things in Washington just keep going Rupert Murdoch's way…Since the 2016 presidential election, the billionaire has forged close ties with President Donald Trump. The president's administration has recently made a series of decisions that could benefit Fox's business or thwart its competitors. A spokesperson for Fox declined to comment.”
Poynter
Applications are now open for the Poynter-NABJ 2018 Leadership Academy for Diversity in Digital Media →
The interactive, week-long academy will focus on critical skills journalists of color face on the path to leadership in digital journalism and technology. Apply here.
The Verge / Nick Statt
An undercover Facebook moderator was instructed not to remove fringe groups or hate speech →
“An investigative journalist who went undercover as a Facebook moderator in the UK says the company lets pages from far-right fringe groups ‘exceed deletion threshold,’ and that those pages are ‘subject to different treatment in the same category as pages belonging to governments and news organizations.’ The accusation is a damning one, undermining Facebook's claims that it is actively trying to cut down on fake news, propaganda, hate speech, and other harmful content that may have significant real-world impact.”
BuzzFeed News / Craig Silverman, J. Lester Feder, Saska Cvetkovska, and Aubrey Belford
Those Macedonian teens running fake news sites had some American connections →
“…Veles' political news industry was not started spontaneously by apolitical teens. Rather, it was launched by a well-known Macedonian media attorney, Trajche Arsov — who worked closely with two high-profile American partners for at least six months during a period that overlapped with Election Day… The investigation also reveals that at least one member of Russia's ‘troll factory,’ who has been indicted by US special counsel Robert Mueller for alleged interference in the election, was in Macedonia just three months before the web domain for the country's first US-focused politics site was registered.”
Wall Street Journal / Benjamin Mullin
Civil announces more details about its token offering and its first (media celebrity) council members →
“Beginning today, potential investors can register to buy Civil tokens for the upcoming offering, which will take place Aug. 13, Mr. Iles said. At that sale, buyers will have the option of exchanging ether, another cryptocurrency, for the tokens.” The council members include Emily Bell, Maria Ressa, and Raju Narisetti.
Recode / Kara Swisher
Mark Zuckerberg on his power, responsibility, and what he plans to do about it →
“Zuckerberg can cling closely to talking points, but he also did reveal more than he has about this annus horribilis for him and, well, the rest of us”: Here’s the transcript (and the audio) of Kara Swisher’s 90-minute interview with the CEO.
The Ken / Rohin Dharmakumar
The Ken, a one-story per weekday subscription news site in India, raises $1.5 million in an investment round led by the Omidyar Network →
“What truly makes us click our heels is the sweet irony of announcing it today. Because yesterday was exactly two years to the day that The Ken published its very first story, ‘How Rocket Internet Got Pushed Out of GoJavas.’ (Long story: we got sued for it, earned valuable trust from readers for our investigative reporting, and are still fighting it in India's Supreme Court.)” We wrote about their model last year.