Fake newspapers are flooding America
From Ohio to North Dakota, thousands of people have suddenly gotten brand new newspapers delivered to their doorsteps. At first glance, they look legit. But these newspapers are fake news outlets created by the oil and gas industry to influence public opinion.
Investigative journalist Miranda Green has been uncovering these oil and gas-backed news outlets and websites. She joined me on my podcast Power User talk about how these shady publications are mimicking legitimate local newspapers to spread propaganda and influence public opinion, especially around climate change and other major political issues.
There’s evidence that the recent $666 million judgment against Greenpeace related to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests was issued by a jury that was influenced by these fake newspapers. We discuss the oil and gas industry’s local news playbook, how to find/identify these websites and papers, and what the oil and gas industry is planning next that could make this problem 10x worse. Watch below!!
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What I’m reading
The race to turn brainwaves into fluent speech
Californian researchers and groups such as Precision Neuroscience use implants and AI to make advances in ‘voice prosthesis’. — Financial Times
Who Is the Queen of #RichTok?
In just a few weeks, Becca Bloom has attracted millions of followers on TikTok for embodying “rich people who rich right” — Airmail
Subtitling Your Life
Hearing aids and cochlear implants have been getting better for years, but a new type of device—eyeglasses that display real-time speech transcription on their lenses—are a game-changing breakthrough. — New Yorker
Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program
A little-known firm with investors linked to JD Vance, Elon Musk and Trump could get a piece of the federal expense card system — and its hundreds of millions in fees. “This goes against all the normal contracting safeguards,” one expert said. — ProPublica
Pivot to Video: The Big Business Behind the Rise of Podcasts You Can Watch
Fans of video podcasts are more than twice as likely to watch a full ad than if they were listening to an audio-only episode. — The Wrap
How the ‘Uber of weed’ went up in smoke after raising $350 million
Eaze’s eat-the-world ambition was wiped out by broken technology, a revolving door of CEOs, and bungled regulation. — SF Standard
Hollywood’s Super Networker Is Building an Entertainment Powerhouse
Talent agent Ari Emanuel is buying sports events, and music and art festivals. — WSJ
Shopping for Tweens Is a Nightmare. These Brands Want to Fix That.
Tween girls are looking for something more mature than the kids clothes they used to buy but not so grown-up as the looks being shilled on Instagram in “haul.” Clothing lines founded by moms and daughters are addressing the tween gap. — WSJ (h/t )
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User Mag news rundown
- Defense secretary Pete Hegseth shared confidential military attack details in a second personal signal chat that included his wife and brother.
- A new kids’ show called “Owen Nowhere” will come with a crypto wallet when it debuts this fall.
- Young people are making up to $36,000 a year renting t-shirts and speakers on rental apps like Pickle and Yoodlize.
- Joe Rogan explained why due process is important on his podcast, saying that “it is better 100 guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer.”
- El Salvador didn’t allow a U.S. Senator to see inside their mega prison, but they allow lots of influencers to film propaganda videos.
- Awesome photos inside the largest crossword tournament in the United States.
- TikTok takes on Google Maps by surfacing reviews in the comments tab.
- A famed AI researcher launched a controversial startup to replace all human workers everywhere.
- A video of a simple black screen has over a billion more views than any other TikTok video.
- Andrew Cuomo used ChatGPT to generate his housing plan. (Reminder not to rank Cuomo if you’re voting in NYC, and vote for Zohran Mamdani!!)
- The notorious r/AmITheAsshole subreddit is being turned into a gameshow for Comedy Central UK.
- Just 13% of Americans feel confident about their finances.
- Americans are obsessed with protein and it’s driving nutrition experts nuts.
- A never-before-seen color has been discovered, claim scientists. The color can’t be viewed through a computer monitor, but it’s a type of turquoise.
- A stream sniper named the Dr. Pepper Guy is tracking down Twitch streamers in Japan with frightening accuracy, handing them a cold Dr. Pepper while saying nothing.
- Roboticists are building tiny robot bees to help pollenate as IRL honey bee populations plummet.
- Mark Zuckerberg and Jamie Dimon unloaded millions of dollars of stock right before tariff announcements roiled markets.
- Drones pose increasing risk to airliners near major US airports.
Meta is ramping up its AI-driven age detection. AI tools will detect underage users and automatically change their account settings. (Horrible and moronic system that will lead to more data collection and privacy violations!)
- YouTube is showing users fewer videos on their home screens, instead making thumbnails massive, in a change that creators are calling ‘devastating.’
- How do you tell a $45,000 bull and an $8,000 bull apart?
- Airbnb will finally show users the total cost of their stay right away.
- Zales is trying to sell Gen-Z on diamonds and precious metals as everyday staples they can buy for themselves.
- DNA-coded skincare, wearable nanobots and more beauty products of tomorrow.
- Quiz shows are evolving for gen Alpha with puzzles and social media teasers.
Please, for god’s sake stop with the “dark woke” stuff. (Dark woke is when you claim to be progressive but use slurs and support a bunch of regressive shit. It’s bad! The media should stop pushing it).
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Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors
Related Knowledge Center: Digital privacy and data security
If you’re online, you’re generating a constant stream of information about yourself — sometimes voluntarily, sometimes unwittingly — that is assembled and used to craft your online experience. And generate wealth for data brokers. Meanwhile, designers and managers of the digital infrastructure on which the world depends are engaged in a never-ending effort to thwart attempts, by both criminal enterprises and state actors, to exploit vulnerabilities in those systems.
Signalgate | State surveillance