Vox plans to launch a subscription program for $5 per month or $50 per year that gives access to exclusive content, including newsletters and a digital magazine (Oliver Darcy/CNN)

Mediagazer: Vox plans to launch a subscription program for $5 per month or $50 per year that gives access to exclusive content, including newsletters and a digital magazine (Oliver Darcy/CNN) Top News: NBC News: Scarlett Johansson says she declined an offer to voice ChatGPT and was “shocked, angered” that Sam Altman would pursue Sky, a voice “so eerily similar” to hers— The “Her” actor released a statement following OpenAI pulling its “Sky” voice from ChatGPT, which many people said sounded like her. Discussion: @openai, NPR, Fast Company, The Verge, TechCrunch, IndieWire, The Wrap, Variety, New York Times, Benzinga, Page Six, Reuters, New York Post, David Deal on LinkedIn, The Information, Rolling Stone, @DAIR@dair-community.social, The A.V. Club, Platformer, Wired, E! Online, @gartenberg, @chrisgeidner, @garymarcus, @fordm, @eriqgardner, @kantrowitz, @alexrkonrad, @pkafka, @bcmerchant, @tomaxwell, @shiringhaffary, @carnage4life, @kattenbarge, @maccaw, @katienotopoulos, @lexnfx, @conorsen, @benjysarlin, @elonmusk, VentureBeat, Paul Roetzer on LinkedIn, Erika Hall on LinkedIn, @crumbler@threads.net, @jbillinson@threads.net, @minimaxir, @crumbler@threads.net, @markgurman, @minimaxir, @loudmouthjulia, @cwarzel, @eshumarneedi@threads.net, @wongmjane@threads.net, @motorcityadam@threads.net, @kevinroose@threads.net, @bzamayo@threads.net, @sung.kim.mw@threads.net, @trevorcroker@threads.net, @crumbler@threads.net, @mikehos3@threads.net, @makenakellyx@threads.net, @loveallthis@threads.net, @willoremus, @kyliebytes, Bloomberg, Boing Boing, TMZ.com, @keith@cute.is, @MikeElgan@mastodon.social, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, The Verge, CBS News, Deadline, CNN, New York Post, Forbes, TechCrunch, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, RTÉ, TVLine, BGR and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme » Discussion: @openai: We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky. We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them. Read more about how we chose these voices: https://openai.com/… Jesus Diaz / Fast Company: OpenAI says its ChatGPT voice isn’t a Scarlett Johansson rip-off. Johansson disagrees Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge: Scarlett Johansson told OpenAI not to use her voice — and she’s not happy they might have anyway Sharon Knolle / The Wrap: Scarlett Johansson Says She Declined ChatGPT’s Proposal to Use Her Voice for AI — But They Used It Anyway: ‘I Was Shocked’ Todd Spangler / Variety: Scarlett Johansson Says She Was ‘Shocked’ and ‘Angered’ Over OpenAI’s Use of a Voice That Was ‘Eerily Similar to Mine’ Alissa Wilkinson / New York Times: What We Lose When ChatGPT Sounds Like Scarlett Johansson Ananya Gairola / Benzinga: Scarlett Johansson ‘Forced To Hire’ Lawyer Over AI Voice Mimicry By Sam Altman-Led OpenAI: ‘I Was Shocked, Angered And In Disbelief’ Bernie Zilio / Page Six: ‘Angered’ Scarlett Johansson declined offer from OpenAI before company used voice ‘eerily similar’ to hers David Propper / New York Post: Scarlett Johansson ‘shocked’ and ‘angered’ over ChatGPT voice that sounds ‘eerily similar’ to hers — says she rejected offer to do it David Deal / David Deal on LinkedIn: Don’t mess with Scarlett Johansson. Disney learned that lesson painfully in 2021 when she filed a breach of contract lawsuit over her compensation for “Black Widow.” … Tomás Mier / Rolling Stone: Scarlett Johansson ‘Shocked, Angered’ After ChatGPT Used Voice ‘Eerily Similar’ to Her Own Dair / @DAIR@dair-community.social: “When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference…Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional … Matt Schimkowitz / The A.V. Club: Scarlett Johansson shuts down OpenAI’s cursed Her remake Casey Newton / Platformer: OpenAI loses its voice Lindsay Weinberg / E! Online: Scarlett Johansson Slams OpenAI for Using “Eerily Similar” Voice on ChatGPT’s Sky System Michael Gartenberg / @gartenberg: So basically, when Altman said Sky wasn’t modeled on Scarlett Johansson he was totally lying Gary Marcus / @garymarcus: The OpenAI board was right. Even on little things, Sam is not consistently candid. Earlier today OpenAI said the resemblance to ScarJo was a “coincidence”. It was not: Eriq Gardner / @eriqgardner: Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI is a blockbuster legal case in the making… and couldn’t come at a better time for SAG-AFTRA as it pushes for passage of No AI FRAUD Act Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz: Nuts. Pretty sensitive situation for actors when tech takes their talents, doesn’t pay, and makes it available at scale. Alex Konrad / @alexrkonrad: Contacting ScarJo twice for permission to use her voice, not getting it and doing it anyway, then swiftly taking it down… not a good look for OpenAI if true 🤨 Brian Merchant / @bcmerchant: “Open” AI is now a company that: -keeps all of its training data and key operations secret -forced employees to sign powerful NDAs or forfeit equity -won’t say whether it trained its video generator on YouTube -lies to movie stars then lies about the lies “Open.” What a farce. Thomas Maxwell / @tomaxwell: The creepiness of clearly imitating ScarJo’s voice, after she met with OpenAI and said no thanks, combined with how it felt sort of flirty in the demo videos, is kind of what bothers me more than the IP stuff. But also reminds me of the old FB days when it was releasing Shirin Ghaffary / @shiringhaffary: Scarlett Johansson claiming that Sam Altman reached out to her prior to 4o’s release, wanted to use her voice, and when she declined, went ahead with it anyway. Not a good look for OpenAI as it’s trying to make partnerships w/ Hollywood industry Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life: This is nuts. Sam Altman asked Scarlett Johansson to voice ChatGPT 4o and when she refused, OpenAI hired someone else to mimic her voice from “Her” only to take it down after she complained. Wow. 🤯 [image] Kat Tenbarge / @kattenbarge: Re: Scarlett Johansson and AI, she has been one of the celebrities at the forefront of the nonconsensual deepfakes issue for longer than most people knew they existed. She spoke out about the legal impossibilites of fighting them back in 2018 https://www.washingtonpost.com/ … Katie Notopoulos / @katienotopoulos: lol they actually MET with her first, this is so much worse than I initially thought https://x.com/… Alexei Oreskovic / @lexnfx: Skygate thoughts: 1. Shady as it is, not actually misuse of digital likeness. Just old fashioned subterfuge 2. This is a big, perhaps irrecoverable, blow to Altman’s credibility (if it’s true) 3. Calls into question gov penchant for having industry leaders on AI policy panels Conor Sen / @conorsen: Now whenever a reporter or politician is trying to point out the IP issues of AI they can say “Sam stole ScarJo’s voice even after she denied consent.” It’s a much easier story to sell to the general public and members of Congress. Benjy Sarlin / @benjysarlin: Well I’m sure the AI company accused of stealing a famous actress’ voice and sticking it in a sexy robot after she refused a deal will be meticulous about making sure our articles, photos, music, and videos don’t get mixed up without compensation Elon Musk / @elonmusk: @cb_doge Dick move Shubham Sharma / VentureBeat: ‘Not an imitation’: OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice that sounded like Scarlett Johansson Paul Roetzer / Paul Roetzer on LinkedIn: Last Monday, when OpenAI debuted its new voice model that was expressive, fast, and maybe a bit too flirty, people were impressed. … Erika Hall / Erika Hall on LinkedIn: So gross in so many ways. — “The new voice assistant will be publicly available in the coming weeks. … Casey Newton / @crumbler@threads.net: This is really looking like one for the “never tweet” hall of fame Josh Billinson / @jbillinson@threads.net: Really inspires a lot of confidence that this company has such poor judgement on something as low stakes as what the voice assistant will sound like. Probably no cause for alarm on their judgement in any other areas. Max Woolf / @minimaxir: One interesting legal caveat is that the Sky voice isn’t “ScarJo”, it’s ScarJo as acted in the movie Her. An issue with VAs having their voice stolen by AI models is that they have no legal standing because their performance is owned by their client, and therefore no ownership. Casey Newton / @crumbler@threads.net: It’s insane that OpenAI trotted out poor Joanne Jang to pretend that this was all just a big misunderstanding today when Altman had been negotiating to get ScarJo’s voice the whole time https://www.theverge.com/… Mark Gurman / @markgurman: Three weeks until WWDC Max Woolf / @minimaxir: ScarJo may not have standing, depending on the contract (I suspect hers is much different than typical VA). It might have to be Annapurna Pictures that sues OpenAI instead. Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Concerning thing is upon being told no, OpenAI weighed the potential consequence of a prolific artist speaking out against the potential benefit of showing off a piece of technology fetching tens of billions in valuation, knowing where its backers would stand, and went “we win.” Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel: just a microcosm of the extractive ai training dynamic. ‘we are building a thing that will bring us fame and fortune and maybe change the world (do you want that? well, it’s not up to you) and here’s the catch: it’s trained off your human output. you have two options. partner @eshumarneedi@threads.net: Sam Altman’s “Her” tweet was absolutely ridiculous and he should’ve never sent it. This kind of unserious nonsense is only going to get the company in trouble. Jane Manchun Wong / @wongmjane@threads.net: So it seemed like @sama’s “her” tweet voided the plausible deniability and gave ScarJo the ammo to pursue the C&D Adam Cook / @motorcityadam@threads.net: Not that I think Apple is some bastion of ethics, but in my view, Apple would do well to cut loose of their recently-disclosed partnership with OpenAI. What Sam and OpenAI management did here flies in the face of Apple’s brand image if Apple wants to view it that way. And of course, the whole thing is just gross. … Kevin Roose / @kevinroose@threads.net: For a company that is usually so careful about PR, it’s wild that OpenAI didn’t anticipate that picking a fight with one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood (with a history of litigation!) would backfire. What did they think would happen? Benjamin Mayo / @bzamayo@threads.net: openai is going for the lawsuit speedrun challenge Sung Kim / @sung.kim.mw@threads.net: I am confused why Sam Altman would do this since Scarlett Johansson has a history of suing companies. She sued Disney for not guaranteeing an exclusive theatrical window for her movie during the pandemic. She was the ONLY actor who sued. Trevor Croker / @trevorcroker@threads.net: Now we know why Sam needed that $7T Casey Newton / @crumbler@threads.net: (reading Johansson statement on OpenAI) now that’s what I call a Scarlett letter!!!!!!! Mike / @mikehos3@threads.net: Sam Altman is the kind of coworker that takes your lunch from the office fridge that you have clearly labeled with your name. Makena Kelly / @makenakellyx@threads.net: the sheer confidence in seemingly moving ahead on all of this says a lot about openai and how it thinks about creatives, journalists, and basically anyone posting online Sarah Emerson / @loveallthis@threads.net: It is baffling — BAFFLING — that Sam Altman would go ahead with using Scarlett Johansson’s voice without permission, knowing he’ll alienate most of Hollywood. Will Oremus / @willoremus: This seems pretty brazen until you remember that it’s the official stance of OpenAI and other tech giants that they have the right to scrape pretty much anyone’s published work at any time without permission in order to train their models to imitate it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ … Kylie Robison / @kyliebytes: Last Monday, I asked OAI CTO Mira Murati if the Scarlett Johansson voice was intentional, she said that wasn’t the case at all. One week later, ScarJo is coming for OAI with the receipts… [image] Rachel Metz / Bloomberg: Scarlett Johansson Hired Lawyers to Push Back on ‘Eerily Similar’ OpenAI Voice Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing: Scarlett Johansson denied OpenAI the right to use her voice. They used it anyway. Keith Kurson / @keith@cute.is: https://www.npr.org/… OpenAI is a company built on stealing things from other people. I’m not surprised by this, but they’re about to finally meet someone with a team of lawyers that made Disney pay up. Mike Elgan / @MikeElgan@mastodon.social: Scarlett Johansson got Sherlocked by OpenAI. They tried to hire her to voice GPT-4o. When she turned them down, they copied her voice and denied they copied it. Now they’re removing the fake ScarJo voice. This is the company inventing the future? — https://www.nbcnews.com/… [image] Dan Gillmor / @dangillmor@mastodon.social: …and, still aboard the Big Tech sleazeball express: “Open”AI used Scarlett Johansson’s voice even after being told not to do that. https://www.npr.org/… Emilia David / The Verge: OpenAI is ‘in conversations’ with Scarlett Johansson over the ChatGPT voice that sounds just like her Deadline: Scarlett Johansson Had To Threaten OpenAI With Legal Action To Get Soundalike Voice Taken Down, Wants “Appropriate Legislation” To Stop Such Deepfakes — Update Ariel Zilber / New York Post: OpenAI to pull ChatGPT voice that sounds like Scarlett Johansson character in film ‘Her’ Robert Hart / Forbes: OpenAI Says Its Pulling ChatGPT Voice ‘Sky’ That Sounds Like Scarlett Johansson Nick Robins-Early / The Guardian: ChatGPT suspends Scarlett Johansson-like voice as actor speaks out against OpenAI Wendy Lee / Los Angeles Times: Scarlett Johansson also thinks OpenAI’s new voice sounds like her. She’s not happy about it Nick Caruso / TVLine: Scarlett Johansson Says She Was ‘Shocked, Angered and in Disbelief’ After Hearing ChatGPT Voice That Sounds Like Her — Read Statement Andy Meek / BGR: Scarlett Johansson issues blistering statement against OpenAI and Sam Altman over ‘Sky’ Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter: OpenAI to Pull ChatGPT Voice That Sounds Similar to Scarlett Johansson Semafor: Many outlets have increased reliance on Apple News+; The Daily Beast is set to make $3M-$4M from it in 2024, and Time says it delivers a 7-figure annual revenue— The Scoop — Like many digital publishers, The Daily Beast was struggling at the end of 2023. Discussion: Chris Krewson / @ckrewson: Every time I watch this movie the ending is the same Hanna Evron / Hanna Evron on LinkedIn: Celebrating 8 years on Apple News this week, what an incredible ride it’s been. — https://lnkd.in/… Alexei Oreskovic / @lexnfx: Dream news app -Monthly fee for customized bundle of publications: 1-2 local news sites; 2-3 national/international; 2-3 specialty news (business, sports, etc) -A la carte one-click payment for “out of network” articles I want to read https://www.semafor.com/… Ben Smith / @semaforben: Big @maxwelltani story on a huge, unnoticed story in media: The rise and rise of Apple News https://www.semafor.com/… @nealunger: Smart read by @maxwelltani at @semafor on the rise (and rise) of Apple News+. Apple News+ audience skews more “prestige” & UI/UX experience is more publisher-friendly than social media. https://www.semafor.com/… Colin Jones / Colin Jones on LinkedIn: I LOVE Apple News. When I was working at orgs that were whitelisted, it was amazing to see the amount of audience you could bring in. … Michael Roston / @michaelroston: had no idea publishers were getting paid to make specific content for Apple News https://www.semafor.com/… Adriana Lacy / @adriana_lacy: The free version of Apple News is one of the biggest news platforms in the world. It’s the most widely used news application in the United States, the U.K., Canada, and Australia, and boasted over 125 million monthly users in 2020 https://www.semafor.com/… Rachel Janfaza / @racheljanfaza: Interesting read. In listening sessions with young people, I always ask them where they get their news. The number who tell me they get it “from Apple News” continues to rise… Josh Billinson / @jbillinson@threads.net: News outlets becoming overly reliant on a distribution platform where they don’t actually have a direct relationship with their audience? @caitleg: FWIW…I believe Biden gets a lot of his news from Apple News, so he sees a lot of what normies are seeing and probably explains a lot about his ability to ignore those of us whose brains have been rotted by twitter Thomas Maxwell / @tomaxwell: Publishers say Apple News+ is driving solid additive revenue, but I’m cynical because once again it’s publishers relying on a tech platform for distribution and revenue https://www.semafor.com/… Sky News: UK High Court rules that Julian Assange can appeal against his extradition to the US because judges deemed US assurances insufficient— The US authorities want to put Julian Assange on trial over 18 charges, nearly all under the Espionage Act, with Monday’s decision marking the latest chapter … Discussion: CNN, Mumbrella, New York Times, Reuters, The Register, Reuters, The Guardian, CBS News, Associated Press, @jonathan_k_cook, Mediaite, Reporters Without Borders, The Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, GB News, Semafor, ABC, Freedom of the Press …, @kgosztola, Breitbart, UPI, Deadline, Reclaim The Net, Committee to Protect …, Press Gazette, Rolling Stone, The Independent, Wired, National Union of Journalists …, RTÉ, Politico, The US Sun, New York Post and Voice of America Discussion: Nathan Jolly / Mumbrella: ‘Media freedom continues to be imperiled’: Albanese asked to intervene as UK High Court allows Assange appeal Jessica Lyons / The Register: Julian Assange can appeal extradition to the US, London High Court rules Haley Ott / CBS News: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against U.S. extradition, U.K. court rules Jonathan Cook / @jonathan_k_cook: Julian Assange wins the right to appeal against the US extradition case. The US wins the right to continue keeping Assange locked up for publishing details of its war crimes — despite the potentially fatal toll on his health after 12 years of incarceration. David Gilmour / Mediaite: Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Wins Right To Appeal Against Extradition to US Reporters Without Borders: UK High Court grants Julian Assange right to appeal US extradition, opening a new path to justice Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter: WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Can Appeal U.S. Extradition, U.K. High Court Rules Fox News: Julian Assange London hearing could decide whether the WikiLeaks founder is extradited to the US Riley Stuart / ABC: Julian Assange granted leave to appeal against extradition to US Freedom of the Press Foundation: UK grants Assange extradition appeal — but US can end this case now Kevin Gosztola / @kgosztola: US government believes Assange isn’t a “responsible journalist” so he shouldn’t be protected from extradition and trial. The First Amendment oddly enough doesn’t distinguish between “responsible” and “irresponsible” journalism when generally protecting freedom of the press. Kurt Zindulka / Breitbart: WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Granted Right to Appeal Extradition to United States Clyde Hughes / UPI: Julian Assange wins right to appeal extradition to United States Christina Maas / Reclaim The Net: UK High Court Allows Assange to Challenge US Extradition Jon Blistein / Rolling Stone: Julian Assange Allowed to Appeal U.S. Extradition Alan Rusbridger / The Independent: “I know Assange is problematic, but I will always defend the work we did together” National Union of Journalists (NUJ): High Court grants Julian Assange permission to appeal extradition to the United States Noah Keate / Politico: Julian Assange wins right to appeal US extradition Julia Atherley / The US Sun: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange wins bid to appeal against his extradition to US Nicholas McEntyre / New York Post: WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange faces US extradition judgment day Pew Research Center: About 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are unavailable now and 8% of pages from 2023 are unavailable; 23% of news pages have at least one broken link— 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible a decade later — Table of Contents Table of Contents Discussion: Thomas Claburn / The Register: Pew: Quarter of web pages vanished in past decade A. Rivera / @bloodravenlib@mas.to: Why things like Internet Archive ( @internetarchive ) and other forms of #preservation are essential. — >When Online Content Disappears https://www.pewresearch.org/ … #Internet #tech #SocialMedia #libraries Charlesarthur / The Overspill: Start Up No.2225: linkrot hits 25% of the past decade’s links, floods in Brazil, pricing semaglutide, avian flu redux, and more Matt G. Southern / Search Engine Journal: Link Rot: 38% Of Webpages From 2013 Have Vanished @pewresearch: 23% of news webpages contain at least one broken link. Site traffic doesn’t change this likelihood: news sites with a high level of site traffic and those with less are about equally likely to contain broken links. https://www.pewresearch.org/ … [image] Vincent Brown / @vinbrown: Nearly 1-in-5 tweets are no longer publicly visible on the site just months after being posted. Most tweets that are removed from the site tend to disappear soon after being posted. 1% of tweets are removed within one hour 3% within a day 10% within a week 15% within a month @internetarchive: Why is the @waybackmachine so important for preserving our digital culture? According to new analysis from @pewresearch: ❌ 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible ❌ 23% of news webpages contain at least one broken link 🔗⤵️ https://www.pewresearch.org/ … Andy Beard / @andybeard: Interesting link rot and content decay research from @pewinternet The data they used for web is from October 2023 and for X a sample was collected from the streaming API 1 year old. https://www.pewresearch.org/ … @mikko: The mankind’s knowledge lasted better when it was printed on paper. 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible. https://www.pewresearch.org/ … [image] Glenn Gabe / Glenn Gabe on LinkedIn: Pew ‘digital decay’ study -> About 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are unavailable now and 8% of pages from 2023 are unavailable; 23% of news pages have at least one broken link … Trevor Owens / Trevor Owens on LinkedIn: New report from Pew Research Center finds 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible a decade later. … David M. Perry / @lollardfish.bsky.social: 2002: kinda creepy that everything we put on the internet is there forever — 2024: i wish i could read anything I wrote before 2015 — 3024: we call the period from 1900-2100 “the dark ages” as paper had acid in it and later they trusted their writing to something called a cloud. Very little is known. … Bloomberg: The NFL knows it provides must-see TV, earning $75M/game from Netflix and showing games across Amazon, YouTube, Disney, Comcast, Fox, and Paramount— The two leading suitors for Paramount Global are both offering flawed deals. What will the media mogul decide? Discussion: The Streamable, @lucas_shaw, @benfischersbj, Deadline and The Wrap Discussion: David Satin / The Streamable: Sony, Paramount Sign Non-Disclosure Agreement, but $26 Billion Bid Likely Off the Table Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: Netflix has watched every other streaming service copy its user interface. Here is how its co-CEO judges the competition: [image] Ben Fischer / @benfischersbj: Incidentally, NFL owners still need to approve the new rights deal with Netflix that was announced last Wednesday. A bit odd, isn’t it? Goes to show the influence and trust ownership has in the Media Committee and Chairman Bob Kraft. Jill Goldsmith / Deadline: Sony & Paramount Sign Non-Disclosure Agreement Allowing Deal Talks To Start, But It’s Not Looking Like A $26 Billion Bid For Whole Company Anymore RELATED: CNN: Vox plans to launch a subscription program for $5 per month or $50 per year that gives access to exclusive content, including newsletters and a digital magazine— Vox is preparing to celebrate its 10th birthday — making a major change to its business model that reflects how digital news publishers … The Guardian: How a rightwing smear campaign against NPR and its CEO Katherine Maher, who is on Signal Foundation’s board, led Elon Musk to malign Signal— Rightwing media personalities on X transmuted a screed against NPR’s CEO into a fight over encryption via the Transitive Property of Bad People Discussion: Talya / @Yuvalne@433.world: so you know how recently there’s a rumor going around that #Signal is insecure (it’s not) and that #Telegram is (it’s not) and that people should switch? — well it turns out the source for this misinformation is… right-wing deep-state conspiracy theories. — I really should have seen that one coming. … Renee DiResta / @renee.diresta@threads.net: It would be novel and quaint at this point for a culture war skirmish to NOT devolve into some insane conspiracy theory. Arguing ab left-leaning bias & calls to “Defund NPR” have happened for years. Now, we get stuff like “actually the CEO is a deep state color revolutionary ushering in regime change in America” — pure innuendo presented as if it’s a serious argument. … Renee DiResta / @renee.diresta@threads.net: 🧵 I wrote ab the “is Signal secure?” manufactroversy on X. The Guardian wanted an explainer on why Elon & Jack were “concerned” about Signal. The answer, though, has nothing to do w/Signal’s product. It was part of an extended fight over whether woke NPR should be defunded & the CEO fired. … @fiona_webster22: The “Transitive Property of Bad People” is a smear campaign of guilt by association. It plays connect-the-dots w/o explicit accusations that could invite defamation suits. Striking analysis… #ProudBlue #USDemocracy https://www.theguardian.com/ … Chris Adams / @acdha@code4lib.social: “There are reputational costs to those ensnared in the conspiracy theories, who find it nearly impossible to convince the converted they’ve been misled. But in the case of “Telegram vs Signal: a crypto clash”, there is also risk to activists, particularly outside the US, who might switch to the less secure alternative because they’ve been misled by prominent tech heroes.” … Bloomberg: A look at Snap’s shift towards investing aggressively in AI and AR after revamping its ad business, as it tries to adapt to changing social media habits— — Messaging app turns attention to improved, personalized tools — Company seeks to adapt to changing social media habits Discussion: Nick Wingfield / The Information: In Praise of Microsoft’s ‘Prosaic’ AI Features Webb Wright / The Drum: Following ad business overhaul, Snap will ramp up investments in AI and machine learning Joe Darko / Joe Darko on LinkedIn: After posting the first two quarters ever of declining revenue in 2023, Snap’s new ad offerings are catching on. … Russ Caditz-Peck / Russ Caditz-Peck on LinkedIn: Long-read today from Bloomberg’s Alex Barinka on Snap Inc.’s business and product vision: “[Spiegel] spent much of his time the last few years overseeing … Ajit Mohan / Ajit Mohan on LinkedIn: Last week, in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to spend time with Evan as well as many of the company’s leaders from around the world. … Anusuya Lahiri / Benzinga: Snap Leverages AI To Boost Snapchat’s Appeal: CEO Evan Spiegel’s Strategy Unveiled David Sommer / David Sommer on LinkedIn: Evan Spiegel (our CEO) landed some great points in this Bloomberg story. — 👊 Snap’s new ad offerings are catching on. … Resh Sidhu / Resh Sidhu on LinkedIn: Excited to be at Snap Inc. where #AR and #AI are front and center! We’re creating innovative tools that transform how users interact with technology, making experiences more engaging and authentic. … Reuters Institute: Studies suggests that media coverage of AI tends to be led by industry sources and often takes their claims about the tech’s potential at face value— “Research suggests that reporting tends to be led by industry sources, and often take claims at face value,” our Director Rasmus Nielsen writes Discussion: Reclaim The Net, @rasmus_kleis and @aud@fire.asta.lgbt Discussion: Rick Findlay / Reclaim The Net: Google’s AI-First Ambitions Sideline Publishers, Boost Its Ability To Filter and Control Information Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis: Some people in tech complain about allegedly overtly critical news coverage, but, if anything, research suggests bulk of coverage is led by industry sources, and often take claims at face value I summarize research by e.g @jsbrennen @SR_B_ and others here https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac .uk/ … New York Times: The trial of Ozy founder Carlos Watson began today with jury selection; Watson is charged with trying to defraud investors to raise money for Ozy— Mr. Watson’s lawyer has argued that many other media leaders lured investors with “puffing and bluffing,” and that Mr. Watson is being singled out because he is Black. Discussion: Business Insider, @jeffjarvis, @benmullin, @chronotope, @kantrowitz, @mediaevan, @benmullin, @cpaige_noah and @pressgazette Discussion: Natalie Musumeci / Business Insider: The fraud trial of Ozy Media cofounder Carlos Watson has begun. His attorneys have argued race played a role in his indictment. @jeffjarvis: No, Mr. Watson, BuzzFeed is no Ozy. Even Vice wasn’t Ozy…. Fraud Trial to Begin for Ozy Founder Carlos Watson https://www.nytimes.com/… Ben Mullin / @benmullin: Ozy founder Carlos Watson’s trial begins today. His lawyers have made an audacious argument: The rest of the digital media industry was also “puffing and bluffing.” w/@katie_robertson https://www.nytimes.com/… Aram Zucker-Scharff / @chronotope: I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that if Watson was willing to pull one fraud he’d be willing to pull another, but somehow the latest Ozy allegations still are surprising. https://www.nytimes.com/… Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz: Carlos Watson could get up to 37 years if convicted https://www.nytimes.com/… Evan DeSimone / @mediaevan: There’s a kernel of truth in the “everyone was doing it” defense, but this all started with one of his execs trying to impersonate a Google manager to defraud some clients so… https://www.nytimes.com/… Ben Mullin / @benmullin: .@weareyourfek on the difference between Ozy and other digital media companies: https://www.nytimes.com/… [image] Craig Paige / @cpaige_noah: Ozy Media Founder Faces Trial for Investor Fraud as New Jersey Senator Menendez Faces Bribery Charges — Carlos Watson, founder of Ozy Media, and New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez are facing separate trials for charges related to investor fraud and bribery… https://noah-news.com/… Vanity Fair: A profile of Charlotte Behrendt, the “inspector general” of NYT’s newsroom whose “prosecutorial” style in probing internal matters has rankled some journalists— Charlotte Behrendt’s “prosecutorial” style in probing internal Times matters has rankled some journalists … Discussion: @froomkin, @mlcalderone, @charlottetklein, @theferocity.bsky.social, @bgrueskin and @sidhubaba Discussion: Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: “To me, putting a humorless lawyer from a union-busting firm in charge of [New York Times] newsroom discipline—which is to say, in charge of the internal spirit of the place—was a recipe for anger and resentment and a climate of fear.” https://www.vanityfair.com/… Michael Calderone / @mlcalderone: Revealing @charlottetklein look into how the New York Times investigates itself. https://www.vanityfair.com/… Charlotte Klein / @charlottetklein: Here’s a look at Charlotte Behrendt, the “inspector general” of the Times newsroom, who has conducted internal investigations inside the Gray Lady for more than 20 years https://www.vanityfair.com/… Saeed Jones / @theferocity.bsky.social: “Her existence is essentially a legacy of a time when yes, the New York Times Company had HR, but the newsroom essentially ran its own HR,” said one Times alum. ” [embedded post] Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: How NYT’s internal-investigations czar is described by newsroom employees: “Police interrogator meets prosecutor” “Management’s hammer” “Bullying/threatening” “Miss Chop-Their-Heads-Off” “Humorless lawyer from a union-busting firm” Via @charlottetklein https://www.vanityfair.com/… New York Times: In a significant shake-up, Penguin Random House dismisses Alfred A. Knopf publisher Reagan Arthur and Pantheon and Schocken publisher Lisa Lucas— The departures of Reagan Arthur, of Alfred A. Knopf, and Lisa Lucas, of Pantheon and Schocken, in a restructuring came as a surprise to many in the company. Discussion: Sophia Stewart / Publishers Weekly: Reagan Arthur, Lisa Lucas to Depart KDPG in Another ‘Restructure’ @kashana.bsky.social: Just got word that a prominent Black women acquaintance got canned, and it’s like watching a serial killer work. The George Floyd era is over and it’s amazing how many people don’t want us around. Lisa Lucas / @likaluca: Let me tell you that getting honored for a professional achievement award from my university next to a Nobel winner, followed by my dad’s 6 year death anniversary, followed by surprise no-job=WILD RIDE FOR ONLY FOUR DAYS. Press Gazette: UK’s Ofcom is considering a statutory sanction against GB News for “serious and repeated” breaches of impartiality rules and aims for a decision within 60 days— Broadcast regulator Ofcom has said it is considering a statutory sanction against GB News for “serious and repeated” breaches of due impartiality rules. Discussion: The Desk, Ofcom, GB News, The Guardian, Mediaite, @arusbridger, @chrismsutcliffe, Politico, Deadline, Financial Times and The Media Leader Discussion: Matthew Keys / The Desk: Ofcom could sanction GB News over Rishi Sunak town hall GB News: GB News hits back at ‘alarming’ Ofcom ruling on People’s Forum: ‘We will never stop fighting to be the voice of the people’ Jim Waterson / The Guardian: Ofcom considers sanction against GB News for breaking impartiality rules David Gilmour / Mediaite: Ofcom Weighs Sanction Against GB News, Rules Rishi Sunak Q&A Broke Impartiality Rules Alan Rusbridger / @arusbridger: Ofcom is really quite cross with GB News and is seriously thinking about beginning to consider what to do about it https://www.theguardian.com/ … Chris Sutcliffe / @chrismsutcliffe: GB News to be tutted at and have a finger wagged vaguely in its direction by Ofcom, perhaps, at some point in the future maybe Eleanor Myers / Politico: UK sanctions watchdog flops in face of Russia’s war Max Goldbart / Deadline: Ofcom Begins Procedure To Sanction GB News Over Rishi Sunak ‘People’s Forum’ Daniel Thomas / Financial Times: GB News faces possible fine over Rishi Sunak Q&A programme, says regulator Ella Sagar /