Media Bits and Bytes — June 25, 2024
- Washpost Washout
- Neo-Nazis are All-In on AI
- Meta and TikTok Curbing Abortion-Related Content
- Fixing Election Night Coverage in the UK
- AI Energy Usage
- Tracking Digital Dopamine
- Social Media Backlash Against Islamophobic Film
- Big Illegal Streaming Service Bust
- Twitter Alternatives
- The Smearing of Maha Husseini
By David Folkenflik
NPR
Beset by crisis, Washington Post Chief Executive and Publisher Will Lewis' pick to be its lead editor, Robert Winnett, has withdrawn from the job as Lewis seeks to salvage his own tenure at the newspaper. The ethical records of both men have come under withering scrutiny in recent days.
Extremists are developing their own hateful AIs to supercharge radicalization and fundraising—and are now using the tech to make weapon blueprints and bombs. And it’s going to get worse.
Meta and TikTok Curbing Abortion-Related Content
Since the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, have removed abortion-related content, including how to access abortion care.
Fixing Election Night Coverage in the UK
By Patrick Dunleavy
London School of Economics
We are days away from the PR blitz by the BBC, ITV, and SKY about how their Election Night offerings will be bigger, better, glitzier than ever. But the truth is that all three are wedded to a format that has not changed substantially since the 1970s and will yet again produce some of the most boring and pointless television moments.
While the mass adoption of AI has transformed digital life seemingly overnight, regulators have fallen asleep on the job in curtailing AI data centers’ drain on energy and water resources.
As the U.S. Surgeon General is calling for a warning label on social media sites, similar to those found on tobacco products, one startup is launching a set of new tools that put the power to fight app addiction into users’ own hands.
Social Media Backlash Against Islamophobic Film
By Noor El-Terk
Middle East Eye
Trigger Warning, a new action film, was released on Netflix last week. It marked. But many viewers who flocked to see Jessica Alba's return to the screen accuse the filmmakers of reinforcing anti-Arab and anti-Muslim tropes and normalising the killing of Arabs.
Big Illegal Streaming Service Bust
By Todd Spangler
Variety
Five men were convicted by a federal jury in Las Vegas this week for their part in operating Jetflicks, which officials say was one of the largest illegal streaming services in the U.S. At one point, Jetflicks claimed to host more than 183,200 TV episodes — a lineup larger than the combined catalogs of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and Amazon Prime Video, according to prosecutors.
By Rory Mir and Ross Schulman
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The ongoing Twitter exodus sparked life into a new way of doing social media. Instead of a handful of platforms trying to control your life online, people are reclaiming control by building more open and empowering approaches to social media. Each is distinct, but their differences can be hard to understand as they’re rooted in their different technical approaches.
By Middle East Eye
The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has been condemned for withdrawing its Courage in Journalism Award from Palestinian journalist Maha Hussaini, who is reporting from the war-torn Gaza Strip. Following allegations made by conservative US publication the Washington Free Beacon, the IWMF said it was rescinding the award.