A look at concerns about Saudi Arabia "sportswashing" as it hosts the Esports World Cup; Saudi Arabia's PIF has bought some of the biggest gaming companies (Ben Church/CNN)

Mediagazer: A look at concerns about Saudi Arabia “sportswashing” as it hosts the Esports World Cup; Saudi Arabia's PIF has bought some of the biggest gaming companies (Ben Church/CNN)

Top News:

New York Times:

Biden aides provided questions for radio interviews on The Source on Philadelphia's WURD, on July 3, and The Earl Ingram Show on Wisconsin's WAUK, on July 4— The host of “The Source” on WURD in Philadelphia said officials provided her with a list of eight questions to choose from.
Discussion: TMZ.com, Mother Jones, @ethank@threads.net, @jonkarl, @alexthomp, The Wrap, CBS News, @ethank@threads.net, ABC News, @aghamilton29, CNN, New York Post, Axios, @victorblackwell, @jabeale, @charlesarthur, Fox News and Mediaite

Discussion:

Ethan Kaplan /
@ethank@threads.net: Quick: everyone who has ever worked with a publicist, hide your media briefs you've received or given. What in the ever fuck is going on with the beltway media right now?

Jonathan Karl /
@jonkarl: This is malpractice. When you give the interviewer questions, it is no longer an interview. Why did the White House do this?

Alex Thompson /
@alexthomp: New: Biden's team drafted the questions for his 2 first post-debate interviews (both on Black radio). The WH was involved in drafting the q's, per person familiar WH Black media director wasn't part of the process Biden campaign denies WH's involvement. https://www.axios.com/...

Stephanie Kaloi /
The Wrap: White House Gave Radio Hosts Questions to Ask Biden Ahead of Interviews | Video

Ethan Kaplan /
@ethank@threads.net: One guy's press shop pre-screens questions (as any press shop does, you think late night interviews are “spontaneous?"). The other candidate is a felon whose supporters staged a coup at his direction. Media: we gotcha Joe! Fucking clowns.

Olivia Rubin /
ABC News: 2nd local radio host says they were given questions ahead of Biden interview @aghamilton29: Holy smokes. The Biden camp has been pointing to the local radio interviews he did after the debate as evidence that he's fine, but the radio hosts who conducted those interviews told CNN this morning the questions were scripted and provided by the White House. [video]

Rich Calder /
New York Post: Radio host says White House gave her questions for Biden interview— and he still managed to make a massive gaffe @victorblackwell: A radio host who interviewed President Biden Wednesday tells me the White House sent her the questions before the interview. [video]

Jason Beale /
@jabeale: The radio host who interviewed Biden two days ago - Andrea Lawful-Sanders - just told @CNN that the White House sent her 8 questions in advance and she picked four of the 8 WH questions to ask Biden during the interview.

Charles Arthur /
@charlesarthur: This is pitiful, on both sides. You dictate the questions? You accept the questions? Fox News: Radio host who interviewed Biden after debate reveals campaign sent her questions beforehand

Caleb Howe /
Mediaite: Approved Questions To Ask Biden Given To Radio Hosts By White House Before Interviews, Says Talk Host

RELATED:

ABC News:
Biden gives a rare one-on-one interview to ABC News, pushing back against questions about his fitness, after about a month of heavy media focus on his age

Discussion:
Variety, Washington Post, Deadline, @joshjame, New Yorker, @erratarob, @brianstelter, Axios, @pinboard, Variety, CNN, @pinboard, @springer, @sahilkapur, HuffPost, @amoratv, Associated Press, The Atlantic, Slate, New York Times, Fox News, Reason, Reuters, Axios, The Sun, TMZ.com, Mediaite, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, CBS News, The Hollywood Reporter, NPR, The Wrap, Semafor and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Discussion:

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: President Biden Fights Critics Calling for Him to Drop Out, Asserts He's ‘Most Qualified’ to Beat Trump in High-Stakes ABC News Interview Washington Post: Sen. Mark Warner seeks to assemble group of Democratic senators to ask Biden to exit race

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: ABC News Saw Significant Ratings Bounce With Joe Biden Interview And Easily Won Timeslot, Early Numbers Show

Josh Jamerson /
@joshjame: George Stephanopoulos, incredibly impressive interviewer tonight. Not grandstanding at all. Just straight-forward questions.

Robert Graham /
@erratarob: This is a great moment to learn about “media training”, between the interviewer trying to get the target off-message, and the interviewee staying on message. Biden ably (given his stutter and age) fends off the attack and delivers his key points ("they all support me"), but

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: Overnight ratings for Biden's interview are in: ABC averaged 8 million viewers for the special telecast. (This total counts TV viewership at home, but does not count all streaming.)

Sara Fischer /
Axios: 8.5 million watched Biden's ABC News interview @pinboard: The whole reason this debate blew up, and why it was so important, is that you can just go see for yourself. You don't need to listen to analysts or reporters. There's a long video of 2024 Biden in an unscripted setting, and endless videos of him in past years to compare it to.

Cynthia Littleton /
Variety: President Biden's ABC News Interview Draws 8.5 Million TV Viewers

Hadas Gold /
CNN: George Stephanopoulos steadily presses Biden with tough questions but got no fireworks

@pinboard:
This is the way. Go to YouTube, pick whatever interview you want from 2019-2020, and compare that to Biden's debate or his interview today. Then extrapolate another four years out and you'll understand why having him seek re-election is simply not tenable.

Andrew Springer /
@springer: What we learned tonight is that George Stephanopoulos is perhaps the best journalist on US television. Period.

Sahil Kapur /
@sahilkapur: Biden's response to this final question is reverberating among Democrats right now. [image]

Antonio Mora /
@amoratv: I'm mystified about the attacks on @GStephanopoulos from some on the right. He asked tough questions, and, if anyone thinks the interview with #Biden helped @POTUS, they need their heads examined. #Stephanopoulos

Steve Peoples /
Associated Press: Biden says he ‘might’ exit race if God tells him to, while more Democrats urge him to drop out

David A. Graham /
The Atlantic: Joe Biden Doesn't Understand the Post-debate Reality

Ben Mathis-Lilley /
Slate: Joe Biden Doesn't Seem to Realize How Much Trouble He's In

Michael M. Grynbaum /
New York Times: For George Stephanopoulos, 22 Minutes of Probing the Personal.

Simon J. Levien /
New York Times: Read the Full Transcript of President Biden's ABC News Interview

Zolan Kanno-Youngs /
New York Times: Biden Says He Has Not Had a Cognitive Test and Doesn't Need One

C.J. Ciaramella /
Reason: Biden Insists Beyond All Reason That He's the Most Qualified Person To Be President

Hans Nichols /
Axios: Biden refuses cognitive test, denies he's losing to Trump

Cheyenne R. Ubiera /
The Sun: Oblivious Biden refuses to accept campaign is up in flames as he says ‘only the Lord almighty’ could make him leave race

Zachary Leeman /
Mediaite: George Stephanopoulos Asks Biden ‘Tough, Personal Question’: ‘Are You Being Honest With Yourself?’

David Smith /
The Guardian: Biden says only ‘the Lord almighty’ could make him drop out in pivotal TV interview

Corbin Bolies /
The Daily Beast: Biden Says Only ‘Lord Almighty’ Can Make Him Go as Dems Sharpen Axes

Kathryn Watson /
CBS News: Biden tells ABC News his debate was simply a “bad episode” and he doesn't think he's watched it

James Hibberd /
The Hollywood Reporter: Joe Biden Insists to ABC News There's “No Indication of Any Serious Condition”

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: How to Watch Joe Biden's ABC News Interview: What Time Does it Air?

Tasneem Nashrulla /
Semafor: Biden insists poor debate performance was just a ‘bad night’

Bloomberg:

A look at the inaugural Esports World Cup, a multi-genre tournament in Riyadh funded by Saudi Arabia, featuring 1,500+ gamers and a record $60M+ prize pool— - Esports World Cup has record prize pool of $60 million — Crown Prince MBS wants to build esports capital in Riyadh

Discussion:
The Sun, BBC, Insider Gaming, DAZN, VSPN Tournaments Limited, USA Today, The UBJ and VentureBeat

Discussion:

Nyle Smith /
The Sun: Esports World Cup 2024 prize money: How much cash be won at huge gaming tournament?

Nyle Smith /
The Sun: Esports World Cup 2024: FULL schedule, stream, TV channel and results for first-ever Saudi gaming competition

Grant Taylor-Hill /
Insider Gaming: The $60 Million Esports World Cup Is Now Live in Riyadh VSPN Tournaments Limited: Esports World Cup Enters Full Swing, Co-organizer VSPO Brings Immersive Coverage

Amaris Encinas /
USA Today: The Esports World Cup, with millions at stake, is underway: Schedule, how to watch

Sourabh Singh /
The UBJ: With millions of dollars on the line, the Esports World Cup has begun: Timetable and methods for viewing.

Jordan Fragen /
VentureBeat: These 27 brands are sponsoring the 2024 Esports World Cup

RELATED:
CNN:

A look at concerns about Saudi Arabia “sportswashing” as it hosts the Esports World Cup; Saudi Arabia's PIF has bought some of the biggest gaming companies— In the heart of Saudi Arabia's capital, a seismic moment for esports is underway; one which has triggered both excitement and concern across the industry.

Discussion:
VG247, BBC, @liquid112, @lsxyz9, BBC News on YouTube, @slasher, @liquidnazgul, @lsxyz9, @devrelcallum, @pengu, @bekahboo1290, CBC News, @jacobwolf, @middlecottisme, @thechowderhead, @rlewisreports, @moneyfolder5, @ewc_en, @teadvocated, @jacobwolf, @dszajnuk, @jimohagan, @myra__davis, @mattomattik, @hoffasaurusx, @owcesports, @fishstix, @rlewisreports, ABC News (Australia) on YouTube, The Esports Advocate, @jimohagan, The Esports Advocate, @daesanghyeokie, @fishstix, @ow_svb, @invert_lol and @cointree_ow

Discussion:

Connor Makar /
VG247: First F1, the World Cup, and golf - now esports: gaming's biggest ever sports-washing tournament starts today

Andrew Rogers /
BBC: Esports World Cup boss defends holding event in Saudi Arabia @liquid112: In my last retweet, Victor explains the competitive and commercial considerations that influenced our choice to participate in this year's inaugural EWC. We have not come to this decision lightly, and the video details our concerns about human rights in Saudi Arabia, the @lsxyz9: Don't know how in any world I'm reading negative or ironic tweets or quote retweets on this. Change doesn't happen overnight. People can scoff that it doesn't mean anything but it does even if it's just a needle. Planck's principle will absolutely occur regardless, and actions BBC News on YouTube: Esports World Cup: ‘Everyone is welcome - but adhere to Saudi culture’, says CEO | BBC News

Rod Breslau /
@slasher: Team Liquid players and teams across all games have been permitted and will wear Pride jerseys while competing at EWC in Riyadh, team confirms.

Victor Goossens /
@liquidnazgul: On our participation in the Esports World Cup: [video]

@lsxyz9:
@MiddlecottIsMe It doesn't matter if it benefits them, it benefits lgbt of saudi arabia and others too. Why do you not care that it's a micro win just because it isn't big? You're not going to change their government, large change isn't going to happen, it will come via 1000 micro wins from all

Callum UwUnderwood /
@devrelcallum: A non-games friend texted me about it, and I heard it on the BBC that “thousands of gamers are heading to Qatar” yet I'd seen barely any discussion on twitter, other than some folks apologising for working it [image] @pengu: The lack of streams for EWC have been very puzzling? Huge event, loads of big teams, and all it would take is 1 spectator and a co-streamer or community casters - so many upsets, yet no vods or hype to really share it =(

Bekah /
@bekahboo1290: I hope EWC doesn't make everyone forget that Saudi Arabia and their Crown Prince MBS murdered an American citizen and has some of the worst human rights abuses in the world. Don't let streamers try to make it sound glamorous.

Jacob Wolf /
@jacobwolf: SGDQ, a community event to benefit charity, has more viewers than the Esports World Cup, a Saudi state-backed tournament with the largest prize pool in esports history. I'm sure the Crown Prince is very happy with their investment 👍 [image] @middlecottisme: The whole purpose of sports washing is the sanitisation of the external view of Saudi Arabias government. Gestures like this further their aims by demonstrating that Saudi is a “safe” place for western members of the LGBT community to go and work. Emphasising that the Saudi @thechowderhead: Now, personally, if I was the Saudi government and I saw that my like 60+ million dollar event was having the brakes beaten off it in terms of viewership by fucking Mario Kart DS, I'd be slightly miffed. [image]

Richard Lewis /
@rlewisreports: And everybody clapped. https://x.com/... @moneyfolder5: no offense to the numerous people im going to offend but if the survival of OW esports hinges on saudi oil money, maybe it doesnt deserve to survive anyway @ewc_en: His Royal Highness Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud greeting the South Korean representatives from @T1LoL and @GenG at the #EsportsWorldCup 2024. [image] @teadvocated: Double Dip: TEA has unearthed some early details on the @QiddiyaGaming Club Program, which encourages esports orgs to set up shop in the Kingdom. Orgs that are already a part of the @EWC_EN Club Support Program will likely be a part of this. ✍🏻 @jfudge https://esportsadvocate.net/ ... [image]

Jacob Wolf /
@jacobwolf: Anyone who thought EWC was going to do any better than other regular esports events — aka mid viewership with exception of the major calendar hallmarks of each game — is super dense. It's not the lack of money that's the industry's problem. It's the lack of interest.

David Szajnuk /
@dszajnuk: The fact that the most viewed stream was Twitter and not where gaming culture actually is should tell all You'll see “200K for the opening ceremony” mentioned a lot and the feeling of 2018 VC talk will come flooding back

James O'Hagan /
@jimohagan: This is textbook sportswashing. It is a cruel paradox, highlighting freedoms those who live in the shadows see but not experience. North Korean playbook in full effect here. @myra__davis: LinkedIn is full of people who value a direct influx of unsustainable cash into their industry over building sustainable ecosystems not beholden to the Saudi Crown's blood money. The event is a soulless attempt at SA rebranding via (e)sportswashing and will be dead within 2 years @mattomattik: Esports World Cup created by Saudi Arabia's is rather interesting, Saudi Arabia has no place in esports today, or very little, because the market was too controlled by Europe/America/China, it's going on all weekend, and so far the production looks good, I get the impression

Michael Hassall /
@hoffasaurusx: I'd worry that this move could limit the potential of women and LGBT people to be employed in roles within esports organizations. Notionally, you'd be required to operate an a full office in the KSA and staff it. Or you could operate a kind of token office for the money. @owcesports: Masaa will not be attending EWC, stating he does not want to support the Saudi Arabian regime 🚫 [image]

Ben Goldhaber /
@fishstix: The Esports World Cup has officially kicked off with a $60,000,000+ prize pool, most in esports history, and I've legitimately seen more “hype” and discussion about it on LinkedIn than X.

Richard Lewis /
@rlewisreports: @FishStix That's because that's who it's for, the esports grifter class who've found a reservoir of tainted money to keep their careers alive. ABC News (Australia) on YouTube: Esports World Cup boss defends holding event in Saudi Arabia | The World

James O'Hagan /
@jimohagan: Watching the #sportswashing play out in real time at the @EWC_EN in Riyadh, while Manahel al-Otaibi sits in al-Maraz prison less than 20 miles from the spectacle, is a cruel juxtaposition of fantasy and the reality of rights for the Saudi people. https://esportsadvocate.net/ ...

James Fudge /
The Esports Advocate: Qiddiya City Club Program Details Unearthed

Liz /
@daesanghyeokie: Hello, just want to say this. I know majority are boycotting EWC. Valid by the way. But I still want to say this and I hope you take this with an open mind. While we label this as an event “for funsies” for our LoL teams, I hope we also understand that these are pro games. +

Ben Goldhaber /
@fishstix: It's a much needed lifeline for a sponsorship-dependent industry who has had gambling and crypto sponsors evaporate over the past half decade. Yeah, I'm extremely conflicted, but oil money is already all over the biggest sports in the world. Esports is not immune or special. @ow_svb: Esports went from taking from gambling/crypto to Saudi blood money & yet they've learned 0 lessons along the way If the only way esports can be viable is as pump & dump marketing gimmicks for scummy people to dupe some teens then... maybe not all games should try to be esports @invert_lol: Generously, half the esports LinkedIn crowd is composed of snake oil salesmen and inauthentic entry points into the space. Any “hype” coming from that group is not surprising to me @cointree_ow: Overwatch esports need Saudi oil money to survive this year so it can actually have a chance to attract more worldwide investment next year After that, you can do whatever you want without Saudi money getting in the way of morals This year might unironically be Overwatch's last [image]

Bloomberg:

Discovery investors reach a $125M settlement over claims that company insiders reaped improper benefits worth $1B+ in its $43B merger with WarnerMedia— - Settlement involves payment by Advance/Newhouse partnerships — Merger created one of world's largest entertainment companies

Discussion:
Deadline

The Hollywood Reporter:

Germany's government pledges to add a 30% film/TV production tax incentive, effective as early as January 2025; Australia raised its rebate to 30% on July 1— German studios have been pushing for the incentive, which they say is necessary to remain competitive in attracting international productions.

RELATED:

Deadline:
Australia raises its Location Offset tax rebate for TV and film productions shooting in the country from the previous 16.5% to 30%

Discussion:
IF Magazine and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:

Brendan Swift /
IF Magazine: Location Offset increase finally passed after long delay

Associated Press:

Former Marion County Record reporter Deb Gruver agrees to accept $235,000 to settle part of her lawsuit over a police raid on the Kansas paper in August 2023— A former reporter for a weekly Kansas newspaper has agreed to accept $235,000 to settle part of her federal lawsuit over a police raid …

Discussion:
New York Times, @apjdhanna and

Discussion:

Emmett Lindner /
New York Times: $235,000 Settlement Is Reached in Police Raid of a Kansas Newspaper

John Hanna /
@apjdhanna: Gruver's lawsuit is among five federal lawsuits filed over the raid. One was filed by a fellow Record reporter, one by the paper's office manager, one by the paper and its publisher, and the fifth by a city council member whose home also was raided. #ksleg

Variety:

At the half-year mark, Hollywood media giants have had double-digit stock price declines, except Disney and Fox, and will likely stay underwater in 2024— Disney and Fox Corp. buck the downtrend for showbiz shares at the midyear mark — As always, the numbers tell the tale.

New York Times:

How xenophobic content on Chinese social media, directed towards Japan, the US, Jews, and others, became the subject of a debate and spreads despite censorship— Violent attacks on foreigners have prompted a debate about extreme nationalism online in a country that heavily censors information the government bans.

Discussion:

Kenneth Roth /
@kenroth: “To stop the Chinese public from talking about Xi Jinping, a social media platform censored 564 names that users had come up with to refer to him....A regulator gave a video platform a database of more than 35,000 terms about Mr. Xi that it wanted policed.” https://www.nytimes.com/...

Li Yuan /
@liyuan6: China has the world's most sophisticated censorship system.Yet its internet is laden with hate speech toward Japanese,Americans,etc. Now violent attacks on foreigners have prompted a debate whether online xenophobia is teaching real-world hate. My latest https://www.nytimes.com/...

Alfons López Tena /
@alfonslopeztena: China's dictatorship has the world's most sophisticated system to censor the internet when it wants to. Yet the Chinese internet is laden with hate speech toward Japanese, Americans, Jews, and Africans, and violent attacks on foreigners are spreading https://www.nytimes.com/... @scs_disputes: “In the past, if CCTV made a significant error in its reporting, you could mock it, right? But now, even if they blatantly lie, there's nothing you can do about it.” Misinformation incl state-sanctioned xenophobia thrives in Xi's ‘Thought Unity’ world. https://www.nytimes.com/...

@scs_disputes:
When information - on everything - is routinely weaponised, censored and rewritten by the single-party state, what is allowed to be read, seen and discussed is itself a state message. @LiYuan6 [image]

David Mulroney /
@david_mulroney: Is Xenophobia on Chinese Social Media Teaching Real-World Hate? https://www.nytimes.com/... “If the backbone of a society is completely submerged by the tide of nationalism, the future fate of the country is predictable”

Michael D Pendleton /
Michael D Pendleton on LinkedIn: “Xenophobic online content like the schoolyard video is the subject of debate in China right now. Last week, a Chinese man stabbed a Japanese mother and her son in eastern China. …

Dr. Nils Seibert /
Dr. Nils Seibert on LinkedIn: „Yet the Chinese internet is laden with hate speech toward Japanese, Americans, Jews and Africans, as well as Chinese who are critical of the government. …

Gabriele Iuvinale /
Gabriele Iuvinale on LinkedIn: The video posted last year on Chinese social media showed more than 100 Japanese children, supposedly at an elementary school in Shanghai, gathered in their schoolyard. …

Dow Jones Newswires:

Netflix, Disney, and other US streaming companies ask a Canadian court to block imposition of a fee of 5% of sales to help finance local news and other content— OTTAWA—Netflix, Walt Disney and other U.S. streaming companies have asked a Canadian court to stop plans by authorities to force …

Discussion:
Media Play News, IndieWire, New York Post, MobileSyrup, @fagstein, @mgeist, @hertzbarry, @paulvieira, MEDIANAMA, CBC News, Cartt.ca, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Globe and Mail, CBC News and Bloomberg

Discussion:

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: U.S. Streamers File Appeal of Canadian 5% Tax on All Localized Revenue

Tony Maglio /
IndieWire: Netflix, Paramount, and Crunchyroll Do Not Want to Subsidize Your Canadian Local News

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: Netflix, Disney ask Canada court to stop proposed tax on streaming revenue: report

Bradly Shankar /
MobileSyrup: Canada's new digital services tax could lead to higher subscription fees

Steve Faguy /
@fagstein: Considering how much money is at stake, it's unsurprising the foreign streaming giants are throwing whatever their lawyers can come up with at the courts trying to overturn the CRTC.

Michael Geist /
@mgeist: The battle over the CRTC's mandated 5% payment is heating up. The video streamers led by @MPACanada asking federal court to quash payments for news in Bill C-11 ruling. Argue CRTC acted unreasonably in compelling news payments and provided inadequate reasons for doing so. [image]

Barry Hertz /
@hertzbarry: BREAKING: @MPACanada, which represents major Hollywood studios and streaming services, files applications to appeal CRTC's recent Bill C-11 move to compel foreign streamers to pay percentage of Canadian revenues to support local news. C-11 levies set to come into effect Sept. 1 [image]

Paul Vieira /
@paulvieira: Netflix, Walt Disney and other U.S. streaming companies have asked a Canadian court to stop plans by authorities to force them to fork over 5% of their sales in the country to help finance local broadcast news and other domestic content. https://www.morningstar.com/ ...

Kamya Pandey /
MEDIANAMA: Global streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ challenge Canada's demand for a 5% levy to support local news content

Peter Zimonjic /
CBC News: Liberal government enacts controversial digital services tax, raising trade concerns

Ahmad Hathout /
Cartt.ca: Amazon, Apple join chorus of foreign streamers challenging CRTC's contribution decision

Marie Woolf /
Globe and Mail: Streaming platforms launch multiple legal challenges to Bill C-11 payments in Canada

Jenna Benchetrit /
CBC News: Foreign streamers must pay into fund to boost Canadian content, CRTC says

Randy Thanthong-Knight /
Bloomberg: Netflix and Disney Caught by Canada's New Media Funding Rules

TechCrunch:

YouTube updates its Erase Song tool for creators with an AI algorithm to detect and remove any copyrighted music from their videos without impacting other audio— On July 4, YouTube released an updated eraser tool for creators so they can easily remove any copyrighted music …

Discussion:
Neowin, Christian Falk on LinkedIn, @nealmohan, Boing Boing, Engadget, Android Authority and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Aditya Tiwari /
Neowin: YouTube's updated removal tool can now erase copyrighted songs

Christian Falk /
Christian Falk on LinkedIn: The project I've been working on recently just launched and got some nice attention - YouTube Studio Erase Song. …

Neal Mohan /
@nealmohan: Good news creators: our updated Erase Song tool helps you easily remove copyright-claimed music from your video (while leaving the rest of your audio intact). Learn more... https://www.youtube.com/...

Vinayak Guha /
Android Authority: YouTube's AI eraser removes copyrighted music, preserves other audio

Gaby Del Valle /
The Verge: YouTube's improved eraser tool easily removes copyrighted music from videos

VentureBeat:

ElevenLabs launches Voice Isolator, a freemium AI tool for removing background noise from audio files for film, podcast, and interview post production— ElevenLabs, the AI voice startup known for its voice cloning, text-to-speech and speech-to-speech models, has just added another tool to its product portfolio: an AI Voice Isolator.

Discussion:
Cryptopolitan, ElevenLabs, @elevenlabsio, @racheltobac, Maginative, @ammaar, @elevenlabsio and Hacker News

Discussion:

Enacy Mapakame /
Cryptopolitan: ElevenLabs debuts AI Voice Isolator to remove unwanted noises from recordings @elevenlabsio: Introducing Voice Isolator. Remove unwanted background noise and extract crystal clear dialogue from any audio to make your next podcast, interview, or film sound like it was recorded in the studio. Try it free: https://elevenlabs.io/... [video]

Rachel Tobac /
@racheltobac: Now I don't need to independently edit the voice I want to voice clone out of a noisy environment before cloning it — I can just isolate the voice and then clone it easily. Voice cloning is only going to get easier for hacking, folks.

Richard Banfield /
Maginative: ElevenLabs Launches AI Voice Isolator to Clean Up Messy Background Noise

Ammaar Reshi /
@ammaar: We just launched our Voice Isolator! 🚀 The best way to remove any background noise and extract crystal clear dialog from your content There was a method to our madness yesterday [video]

@elevenlabsio:
We plan to make Voice Isolator available via API in the coming weeks. Share your email in the form on the bottom of the landing page to be notified as soon as it's available: https://elevenlabs.io/...

TechCrunch:

Cloudflare launches a tool that aims to block bots from scraping websites for AI training data, available free for all its customers— Cloudflare, the publicly traded cloud service provider, has launched a new, free tool to prevent bots from scraping websites hosted on its platform for data to train AI models.

Discussion:
The Cloudflare Blog, Neowin, @rami_bball_fan, @theobsguy, @jenstirrup, @digitalbizweb, @alex, @rustybrick, @nfergu, @cloudflare, @carlhendy, @mattfthompson, @gergelyorosz, @scottkrauss, @drale2k, @iliedaboutcake, @gergelyorosz, @youraimarketer, Dataconomy, Hackaday, Computerworld, TechSpot, The Verge, Decrypt, SiliconANGLE, Engadget, TechRadar, The Register, CMU and Windows Copilot News

Discussion:
The Cloudflare Blog: Declare your AIndependence: block AI bots, scrapers and crawlers with a single click

John Callaham /
Neowin: A major internet hosting company has made it easier for customers to block AI training bots

Rami Sufian /
@rami_bball_fan: @Cloudflare I'm impressed by Cloudflare's proactive move to protect content creators from AI bots! This easy button solution is a game-changer, especially with the rising concerns about AI-generated content. @theobsguy: Kudos to Cloudflare for this. The AI companies need to act responsibly and ethically. Hoovering up terabytes of data from the public web without the consent of content-creators does not constitute fair use. #cloudflare #llms #Ai https://blog.cloudflare.com/ ... @jenstirrup: Cloudflare has launched a new feature allowing customers to block AI bots, scrapers, and crawlers. Decision-makers must now consider how this could affect the quality and breadth of AI training data, potentially impacting future #AI tools. https://blog.cloudflare.com/ ... @digitalbizweb: Watch @Cloudflare become the most valuable company in the world. I am activating this feature right away. @thatkatieberry and friends you need to see this. https://blog.cloudflare.com/ ...

Barry Schwartz /
@rustybrick: Ooo - @Cloudflare lets you block AI crawlers with one click https://blog.cloudflare.com/ ... [image]

Neil Ferguson /
@nfergu: @Cloudflare Seems like a nice feature but I'm skeptical about this claim. How would you know if you got a false negative if you don't know the ground truth? [image] @cloudflare: To help preserve a safe Internet for content creators, we've just launched a brand new “easy button” to block all AI bots. It's available for all customers, including those on our free tier. Read our blog post for more details: https://blog.cloudflare.com/ ...

Carl Hendy /
@carlhendy: Cloudflare has launched a new feature to block AI bots, scrapers, and crawlers with a single click, and it's free. As AI crawlers continue to swallow up web content, this tool helps protect your content from being used without consent. Many AI crawlers ignore robots txt [video]

Matt F. Thompson /
@mattfthompson: As robots.txt is increasingly ignored, Cloudfare launches functionality to block all AI bots. https://blog.cloudflare.com/ ...

Gergely Orosz /
@gergelyorosz: Notice how many companies w creatives or creators as paying customers have misread what those customers want from AI. They attempt to train their own AIs on their paying customers' work, without seeking opt-in (and enraging customers.) Cloudflare, again, showing how it's done.

Gergely Orosz /
@gergelyorosz: I've decided to move my blog as well over to Cloudflare - I block AI crawlers in robots.txt, but clearly this is not respected. Almost all AI crawlers are a parasocial relationship, where they offer no value to any website: it's extraction in exchange for nothing (by design.)

Scott Krauss /
@scottkrauss: Two things: 1. There's absolute explosion of bots crawling the web due to GenAI tools. If you want to drive revenue from these platforms you need to ensure bots can find your content 2. I think the wholesale blocking of all GenAI platforms is a mistake https://blog.cloudflare.com/ ...

Drazen /
@drale2k: Interesting chart from Cloudflare. The top 3 AI crawlers are from Bytedance (TikTok), OpenAI and Anthropic. You can now block them with a single toggle using Cloudflare https://blog.cloudflare.com/ ... [image] @iliedaboutcake: @Cloudflare Awesome, was doing this manually via WAF for ChatGPT, but this is easier :) [image]

Gergely Orosz /
@gergelyorosz: A company that “gets” its customers: Cloudflare offers functionality to block AI crawlers, which give zero value to any site (in fact, take away value: the more they crawl, the less traffic the site will later get!) They also consume resources (bandwidth, CPU, etc.) Great move: @youraimarketer: Bytespider, Amazonbot, ClaudeBot, and GPTBot Top four AI web crawlers... Some of these AI scrapers do not respect the robots.txt file and scrape all your content. To prevent this, Cloudflare has launched a new free tool to block AI bots from scraping your website. You can [image]

Eray Eliaçık /
Dataconomy: Cloudflare will block AI bots with this free tool

Paul Barker /
Computerworld: Cloudflare offers simpler way to stop AI bots

Alfonso Maruccia /
TechSpot: Cloudflare offers one-click solution to block AI bots

Richard Lawler /
The Verge: From ChatGPT to Gemini: how AI is rewriting the internet

Jose Antonio Lanz /
Decrypt: Blocking AI Bots From Scraping Websites Gets Boost From Cloudflare

Maria Deutscher /
SiliconANGLE: Cloudflare rolls out feature for blocking AI companies' web scrapers

Anna Washenko /
Engadget: Cloudflare is taking a stand against AI website scrapers

Thomas Claburn /