A look at the flood of 'fancam' videos and memes about Kamala Harris on short-form video platforms, echoing 'meme armies' that have supported Donald Trump (Washington Post)

Mediagazer: A look at the flood of “fancam” videos and memes about Kamala Harris on short-form video platforms, echoing “meme armies” that have supported Donald Trump (Washington Post) Top News: The Guardian: A bankruptcy judge throws out The Gateway Pundit’s case, saying the company is solvent; the outlet faces significant defamation cases over false election claims— Bankruptcy judge dismisses case filed by Gateway Pundit, which faces defamation cases over false election claims Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, @Green_Footballs …, @cdarwin@c.im, CNN and Law & Crime Discussion: Sarah Ellison / Washington Post: Judge throws out Gateway Pundit’s bankruptcy claim Dietrich Knauth / Reuters: Far-right Gateway Pundit kicked out of bankruptcy, exposing it to lawsuits Charles Johnson / @Green_Footballs@mastodon.social: “A federal judge in Florida threw out a bankruptcy case filed by the Gateway Pundit, ruling that the site, known for spreading conspiracy theories, sought bankruptcy protection in “bad faith” to avoid potential damages in multiple defamation suits.” — https://www.washingtonpost.com/ … Chuck Darwin / @cdarwin@c.im: Judge says far-right US news outlet filed bankruptcy in bad faith — A bankruptcy judge dismissed a bankruptcy case filed by the #Gateway #Pundit on Wednesday, saying the far-right outlet did not file the case in good faith. … Marshall Cohen / CNN: Far-right Gateway Pundit sought bankruptcy protection in ‘bad faith’ to avoid 2020 defamation suits, judge rules Wall Street Journal: OpenAI says it partnered with publishers including WSJ and The Atlantic to build its search engine SearchGPT; publishers can manage how their content appears— Built with input from publishers, SearchGPT will summarize real-time information on websites — OpenAI is launching a test version … Discussion: The Verge, The Guardian, The Media Leader, Arun Arunachalam on LinkedIn, New York Times, Gizmodo, The Drum, CNBC, The Register, Engadget, The Information, 9to5Mac, Neowin, Tech Xplore, Quartz, Bloomberg, Search Engine Land, The Cyber Express, @chris@threads.net, CNN, BGR, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, New York Post, 9to5Google, Semafor, Cointelegraph and iPhone in Canada Blog, more at Techmeme » Discussion: Kylie Robison / The Verge: OpenAI is releasing a prototype of its search engine to rival Google, Perplexity Nick Robins-Early / The Guardian: OpenAI tests new search engine called SearchGPT amid AI arms race Sabrina Quagliozzi / The Media Leader: OpenAI unveils SearchGPT, its AI-powered search engine, vying for Google’s crown Arun Arunachalam / Arun Arunachalam on LinkedIn: 🚀 Proud Moment: Our Team’s Role in the SearchGPT Launch! 🚀 — I’m thrilled to share that our engineering team … Kyle Barr / Gizmodo: OpenAI Hopes to Take on Google With SearchGPT Matthew Connatser / The Register: OpenAI unveils AI search engine SearchGPT — not that you’re allowed to use it yet Pranav Dixit / Engadget: OpenAI unveils SearchGPT, an AI-powered search engine Stephanie Palazzolo / The Information: OpenAI Announces AI-Powered Search Engine, SearchGPT Ryan Christoffel / 9to5Mac: SearchGPT, the long anticipated OpenAI search engine, launches today with waitlist Britney Nguyen / Quartz: OpenAI’s rival to Google search is here Shirin Ghaffary / Bloomberg: OpenAI Tests New AI Search Features in Direct Challenge to Google Danny Goodwin / Search Engine Land: OpenAI starts testing SearchGPT prototype, here’s what it looks like Mihir Bagwe / The Cyber Express: OpenAI’s SearchGPT: A Game Changer or Pandora’s Box for Cybersecurity Pros? Chris Messina / @chris@threads.net: OpenAI just rolled out a “search prototype” that’s ultimately competitive with Microsoft AND Google… AND @perplexity.ai! The difference is that OpenAI signed a bunch of content deals and will privilege those who chose to partner rather than sue… Nice move @nxthompson — getting ahead of the @nytimes! Clare Duffy / CNN: OpenAI is testing an artificial intelligence search engine José Adorno / BGR: OpenAI challenges Google with AI search engine SearchGPT Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: With Google in its sights, OpenAI unveils SearchGPT Thomas Barrabi / New York Post: OpenAI tests ‘SearchGPT’ prototype as direct challenge to Google search engine Claire Cameron / Semafor: OpenAI announces SearchGPT in direct challenge to Google Turner Wright / Cointelegraph: ChatGPT launches AI-powered search engine prototype Austin Blake / iPhone in Canada Blog: OpenAI SearchGPT Waitlist: AI Comes to Search The Drum: Publicis Groupe announces it will acquire Influential, the world’s largest influencer agency by measure of revenue; Influential has a network of 3.5M+ creators— News of the acquisition comes just one week after the holding company posted impressive Q2 results. Discussion: Ad Age, Publicis Finance Services, PRWeek, @kerrymflynn, @martyswant, Adweek, The Media Leader and MediaPost Discussion: Publicis Finance Services: Publicis Groupe to acquire Influential, creating world’s leading influencer marketing solution Brandon Doerrer / PRWeek: Publicis Groupe to acquire creator marketing agency Influential Kerry Flynn / @kerrymflynn: 💰 @PublicisGroupe to buy @influential Latest in consolidation of influencer agencies by holding companies, as @emayhawk and I just wrote: https://www.axios.com/… — @stagwell: Leaders — @WPP: @VillageMkting, @obviouslysocial, @TheGoatAgency — @brandtechgroup: @collectivelyInc Marty Swant / @martyswant: Publicis Groupe is getting deeper into the creator economy by acquiring @Influential_Co to integrate the startup with consumer data from Epsilon The plan is to offer a creator network, ID-based content and cross-channel media to better match creator content with right audiences. Sabrina Quagliozzi / The Media Leader: Publicis Groupe to create global influencer powerhouse with Influential acquisition Flipboard adds feeds for 60+ US-based local and regional publications to the fediverse, including Texas Monthly, Honolulu Civil Beat, and CalMatters— BYCARL SULLIVAN — Has local news ever been more important? Journalists who live in the communities they serve don’t just keep residents informed … Discussion: @mastodonmigration@mastodon.online: Ok, this is pretty huge! — Open social media pioneer @Flipboard is bringing local news to the Fediverse! — Read all about it! — https://about.flipboard.com/ … Great job Flipboard! Annie Snodgrass Dennett / Annie Snodgrass Dennett on LinkedIn: I am excited to share that the Flipboard team has federated 64 local news publications! Local news is as important as ever but feeling pressure from many fronts. … Carl Sullivan / Carl Sullivan on LinkedIn: Local news is so incredibly important for our communities and our democracy. Sadly, many local media organizations have gone out of business or been forced to cut staff. … Tim Chambers / @timothyjchambers@threads.net: The incredibly important open social web work by @flipboard continues, and once @threads fully supports the Fediverse all of these accounts will be available here too. fediverse threads https://about.flipboard.com/ … @FlipboardMagazines@flipboard.social: If you live in the Northeast, join us in welcoming these local news outlets to the fediverse! Follow these accounts to stay up on local news and happenings in your area. — Gothamist, @Gothamist — Hidden City Philadelphia, @HiddenCityPhila — Investigative Post, @Investigati39q0 … Kevin Gamin / @kevingamin@twit.social: @mike Just added the Cleveland.com feed. Thank you for providing this service! @Andres4NY@social.ridetrans.it: @chris @mike @SunSentinel @Gothamist @AustinMonitor Nice! I’d been following a scraping bot for Gothamist, but it only syncs once/day. @Flipboard@flipboard.social: Local news matters, now more than ever. So a few weeks ago, we asked you for your thoughts on federating local papers in the USA — where you’re located, and the specific publications you’d like to see. You responded, with ideas, suggestions, and an education on American geography. … Mike McCue / @mike@flipboard.social: Hello fediverse. Today we federated 63 awesome local publications like @SunSentinel, @Gothamist and @AustinMonitor. — Local news is critical to the communities we live in and so we’re excited and grateful to help bring some of the best local publications to the fediverse. — You can learn more here: … 404 Media: Source and doc: Runway scraped thousands of videos from YouTube creators and brands, including Disney and VICE News, to train its Gen-3 AI video generation tool— A leaked internal document shows Runway’s celebrated Gen-3 AI video generator collected thousands of YouTube videos and pirated movies for training data. Discussion: Martin Peers / The Information: Google’s Shrinking Ad-Tech Business Anurag Singh / Dexerto: AI video generator slammed after scraping 1700 MKBHD YouTube videos without consent @noellemitchell@mstdn.social: AI Video Generator Runway Trained on Thousands of YouTube Videos Without Permission — “…404 Media tried generating videos and images on Runway using prompts that contained keywords and content based on the spreadsheet, and were able to generate videos in the same styles as the creators listed in the sheets.” … Carl Franzen / VentureBeat: Runway faces backlash after report of copying AI video training data from YouTube Samantha Cole / Samantha Cole on LinkedIn: A leaked document obtained by 404 Media shows Runway employees embarked on a mission to compiled tens of thousands of YouTube videos and channels … Will Shanklin / Engadget: AI video startup Runway reportedly trained on ‘thousands’ of YouTube videos without permission Jason Koebler / Jason Koebler on LinkedIn: New: We obtained a gigantic spreadsheet of videos used to train the AI video generator Runway without permission. … Dduane / Diane Duane: AI Video Generator Runway Trained on Thousands of YouTube Videos Without Permission … Mediaite: The AP removed a fact check debunking the claim that JD Vance admitted he had sex with a couch; AP said the post didn’t go through its standard editing process— The Associated Press removed its fact-check debunking the claim that former President Donald Trump’s running mate Senator JD Vance … Discussion: The Verge, @underthedesknews@threads.net, Associated Press, USA Today, New York Post, @bfriedmandc, @lyndonbajohnson, @mattgertz, @Haste@mastodon.social, @akivamcohen.bsky.social, @leo@60228.dev, @horbinski, @ryansingel@writing.exchange, @bgrueskin, @farhip, @ericmgarcia, @mattsheffield, @illumi.meme, @mikeisaac, @nycsouthpaw, New Republic, @dwade, @ranimolla, @timmarchman, Defector, @lolennui.bsky.social, @kfile, @timmarchman, @paleofuture.bsky.social, Rolling Stone, @QueerSatanic@kolektiva.social, @davidmgilmour, Gizmodo, HuffPost, @swordsjew.bsky.social, @carlbergstrom.com, The one and only Goblin Queen and Boing Boing Discussion: Mia Sato / The Verge: The Associated Press removes a fact-check claiming JD Vance has not had sex with a couch V Spehar / @underthedesknews@threads.net: It doesn’t matter if it’s not true. I will never be able to see this man sit on furniture and not giggle. Melissa Goldin / Associated Press: No, JD Vance did not have sex with a couch Blake Schuster / USA Today: JD Vance couch memes and the Associated Press fact check, explained Brandon Friedman / @bfriedmandc: Greatest example ever of “if you’re explaining, you’re losing” [image] Lyndon Baines Johnson / @lyndonbajohnson: An important element of the story was that the SOB was believably a pig fucker. Matthew Gertz / @mattgertz: So does this mean he DID have sex with the couch? https://apnews.com/… [image] @Haste@mastodon.social: According to this publication, the AP explained that the article had “bypassed their usual editing process”, and they took it down themselves. — https://www.mediaite.com/… AkivaMCohen / @akivamcohen.bsky.social: Reason: It’s nobody’s business how old the couch was [embedded post] @leo@60228.dev: the AP ran the headline “No, JD Vance did not have sex with a couch” and then retracted it https://apnews.com/… [images] @horbinski: Boris Johnson took notes on this story (he was almost certainly the source of the rumors about Cameron). Also hey, did you hear what they’re saying JD Vance did to a couch? Ryan Singel / @ryansingel@writing.exchange: @Mediagazer So he did? Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: Editor: “Headline looks good. I’m just gonna change ‘with’ to ‘on.’” Reporter: “NOOOOO!” https://apnews.com/… [image] Paul Farhi / @farhip: Possibly the weirdest headline about a major-party candidate the @ap has ever run: https://apnews.com/… [image] Eric Michael Garcia / @ericmgarcia: Back in the day, Lyndon Johnson allegedly tried to spread a rumor an opponent had carnal knowledge with a pig. His aide said “Christ, Lyndon,” said the aide, “we can’t just call the guy a pig-f**ker. It isn’t true.” Johnson says “but I want to make the son-of-a-bitch deny it.” Matthew Sheffield / @mattsheffield: If the left and right media ecosystems were remotely similar, multiple socialist Alex Jones types would’ve already breathlessly pretended that the JD Vance couch gag was real. Instead, it’s just an inside joke about a guy everyone knows is an angry weirdo. Rat King / @mikeisaac: imagining the enterprising disinformation reporter pitching this to their editor https://apnews.com/… [image] @nycsouthpaw: This article’s headline doesn’t meet the ordinarily high standards of the Associated Press. The most anyone can say at this point is he didn’t put it in his memoir, NOT that he never put it in the sofa. https://apnews.com/… Dan Wade / @dwade: I don’t really care what JD Vance did it didn’t do. I just hope it was a committed relationship with furniture and not one nightstand. Tim Marchman / @timmarchman: I’ve asked the Associated Press whether this is a retraction or a technical glitch, because for some users on some devices, the article appears to still be live, and because if it’s been retracted, there should be an editor’s note. Kelsey McKinney / Defector: A List Of Words That Do NOT Appear In ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ So Stop Asking!! Andy Kaczynski / @kfile: AP fact-checked what was a joke from left-wing Twitter — but the link for this is dead now and I can no longer find the story on the AP website. What is going on? https://apnews.com/… [image] Tim Marchman / @timmarchman: Looks like it was retracted; AP spokesperson says “The story, which did not go out on the wire to our customers, didn’t go through our standard editing process. We are looking into how that happened.” Matt Novak / @paleofuture.bsky.social: The funny thing is that I filed this yesterday afternoon before the AP story and so much happened that I didn’t have the opportunity to update in time before it ran. [embedded post] Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone: So … What’s With This Rumor That J.D. Vance Had Sex With a Couch? @QueerSatanic@kolektiva.social: There’s something truly beautiful about J.D. Vance saying something like, “I like Mountain Dew, so I’m sure the biased media will call me a racist now,” only for that media to hit him with that complete knuckleball of “Actually, J.D. Vance did NOT have sex with a couch” — https://web.archive.org/… … David Gilmour / @davidmgilmour: After AP took down the article, a spokesperson told @Mediaite: “The story, which did not go out on the wire to our customers, didn’t go through our standard editing process. We are looking into how that happened.” Matt Novak / Gizmodo: Why People Are Saying JD Vance Has Sex With Couches Talia Lavin / @swordsjew.bsky.social: when you’re doing great and definitely didn’t fuck a couch [image] Carl T. Bergstrom / @carlbergstrom.com: Goddamn if he isn’t getting trolled by *Amtrak*. [image] Maeamian / The one and only Goblin Queen: No, JD Vance did not have sex with a couch — It’s important that everyone understand … Jason Weisberger / Boing Boing: JD Vance is not a couch f*cker Washington Post: A look at the flood of “fancam” videos and memes about Kamala Harris on short-form video platforms, echoing “meme armies” that have supported Donald Trump— A grassroots network of TikTok creators, energized by the new likely Democratic nominee … Discussion: Todd Spangler / Variety: Kamala Harris Joins TikTok Jamie Cohen, PhD / Jamie Cohen, PhD on LinkedIn: The problem with “Dark Brandon” is that it was structured on top of problematic memes. The memes helping Harris are the opposite, built organically, and foster a joy-based vibe. … Simon Owens / Simon Owens on LinkedIn: It can be easy to mock “meme armies,” but individual social media users have more collective reach than the entire mainstream media … Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz: Yeah, that ban isn’t happening @jeffjarvis: It would be in Democrats’ interest — not to mention that of free speech — to forestall or end plans for a TikTok ban. An online army rises, this time on Kamala Harris’s side https://www.washingtonpost.com/ … Rafal Hill / @rafalhill: The online army consists mostly of young people who know how to use the social media. Kamala Harris speaks to young people. This is refreshing and gives me so much hope. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ … Rachel Van Dongen / @rachelvand: Yunker says memes “a language” for her Gen … ‘We’re so used to just feeling like there’s nothing we can do…This is the 1st time in a long time where we’ve thought maybe, maybe, fingers crossed, things cld start turning around.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ … Drew Harwell / @drewharwell: New: We talked to the fancam TikTokers who built Kamala Harris a giant viral messaging machine overnight. They’re teenagers and political novices; one runs an account about Jersey Shore. But they’ve mobilized in a way unseen since the Obama days https://www.washingtonpost.com/ … Kamala Harris / @kamalaharris: See you on TikTok. https://tiktok.com/… [video] Andrew Unterberger / Billboard: The Kamala Bump: Presidential Candidate Spurs Gains for Beyoncé, Charli XCX & Chappell Roan Bloomberg: UMG shares fell as much as 30% on Thursday, the biggest decline since company’s IPO, and closed down 21%, after revenue growth disappointed investors— — The company’s shareholders include billionaire Bill Ackman — Universal Music Group is the world’s biggest record label Discussion: Billboard, Digital Music News, Financial Times, New York Post, Music Business Worldwide, Reuters, Music Ally and Variety Discussion: Glenn Peoples / Billboard: Universal Music Shares Plunged 24% After Quarterly Earnings Revealed Subscription Growth Slowdown Dylan Smith / Digital Music News: Universal Music Stock Plummets More Than 23% Over Streaming ‘Deceleration’ Concerns Taylor Herzlich / New York Post: Universal Music Group loses $16B in market value, plunging 24% after weak streaming reveal Daniel Tencer / Music Business Worldwide: Why UMG’s slowdown in streaming revenue growth is (partly) an illusion… and 4 other things we learned from UMG’s latest earnings call Stuart Dredge / Music Ally: UMG calls out subscriber slowdown at some big music services New York Times: A US judge rejects ABC News’ motion to dismiss Trump’s defamation suit filed after George Stephanopoulos said Trump was found liable for raping E. Jean Carroll— The litigation stems from a March 10 interview in which George Stephanopoulos, the network’s star anchor, referred to a civil case brought … Discussion: @whetstone.bsky.social, Law & Crime, @wendelschwab.bsky.social, Fox News, The Guardian, CNN, The Daily Beast, Deadline, The Hill and TVNewsCheck Discussion: Whetstone / @whetstone.bsky.social: how is that defamation, that’s a plain statement of fact? a jury *did* find him liable and the judge clarified that the thing they found him liable for was in fact “rape”? Matt Naham / Law & Crime: Judge who urged Cannon to step aside from Mar-a-Lago case refuses to throw out Trump’s ‘liable for rape’ suit against ABC, Stephanopoulos Fox News: Trump’s defamation lawsuit against ABC, George Stephanopoulos can move forward, judge rules Marshall Cohen / CNN: Judge refuses to dismiss Trump’s defamation suit against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos over rape claim Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast: Judge Refuses to Dismiss Trump’s Defamation Lawsuit Against ABC, George Stephanopoulos Bloomberg: Russia says it will throttle YouTube download speeds on computers by 70% by the end of next week, as “a consequence of the anti-Russian policy of the host”— — Download speeds to be slowed by 70% by the end of next week — YouTube one of last US social media sites available in Russia Discussion: Reuters and Politico, more at Techmeme » Associated Press: SAG-AFTRA announces a strike starting Friday against major video game companies, including EA, after talks for a new contract broke down over AI protections— Hollywood’s video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage … Discussion: The Verge, Reuters, NPR, Forbes, New York Times, Jodie Hudson on LinkedIn, Wired, Associated Press, Dexerto, NBC News, Gizmodo, ComingSoon.net, SAG-AFTRA, VentureBeat, Media Play News, Los Angeles Times, Digital Trends, Sarah Parvini on LinkedIn, Deadline, The Wrap, @stephentotilo, Rolling Stone, Engadget and Dot Esports, more at Techmeme » Discussion: Ash Parrish / The Verge: Video game performers to go on strike Clare Lombardo / NPR: Video game performers call strike against gaming companies Jodie Hudson / Jodie Hudson on LinkedIn: Video game performers could have looked at the IATSE contract and said, “Well studios won’t give us AI protections, let’s just sign the contract and hope for the best.” … Megan Farokhmanesh / Wired: Video Game Performers Are Going on Strike Over AI Sarah Parvini / Associated Press: Video game performers are going on strike over AI concerns. Here’s what to know Kalhan Rosenblatt / NBC News: Video game performers announce strike, citing artificial intelligence concerns James Whitbrook / Gizmodo: Video Game Actors Are Going on Strike Brandon Schreur / ComingSoon.net: SAG-AFTRA Going on Strike Against Video Game Companies Over AI Issues Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat: SAG-AFTRA talent union calls for strike against game companies over AI Erik Gruenwedel / Media Play News: SAG-AFTRA Calls on Video Game Voice Actors to Go on Strike Regarding A.I. Issues Christi Carras / Los Angeles Times: Video game actors are going on strike after contract talks fail over AI terms Tomas Franzese / Digital Trends: Video game actors are going on strike over AI protections Sarah Parvini / Sarah Parvini on LinkedIn: Hollywood’s video game performers are going on strike, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage after talks … Deadline: SAG-AFTRA Calls Strike Against Major Video Game Companies After Nearly 2 Years Of Contract Talks Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap: SAG-AFTRA Video Game Performers Go on Strike After Contract Talks Stall on AI Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo: BREAKING: SAG-AFTRA video game voice/performance actors are going on strike at midnight tonight. Basically over AI “We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough.” — AG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher [image] Kalia Richardson / Rolling Stone: SAG-AFTRA Video Game Performers Announce Strike Anna Washenko / Engadget: Video game performers will strike over AI concerns Grant St. Clair / Dot Esports: SAG-AFTRA video game actors strike over AI, forcing industry to examine its role in game development Bloomberg Law: Ozy Media drops its lawsuit claiming Ben Smith used trade secrets from Ozy to create and launch Semafor— Ozy Media Inc. ended its lawsuit claiming journalist Ben Smith used trade secrets to create and launch the global news platform Semafor Inc. — Judge Frederic Block of the US District Court … Discussion: Business Insider and @pressgazette Discussion: Jacob Shamsian /