- Cartoonist Quits WashPost, Tells All
- Meta’s MAGA Move
- Bluesky Shows Up Net Giants
- Goodbye Net Neutrality
- Kari Lake to Take Over Voice of America
- Rightist Influencers and Digital Literacy
- Arrests of US Journalists Surged in 2024
- The Decline of Physical Media
- Ten Hottest Social Media Videos
- Tech Breakthroughs in 2025
Cartoonist Quits WashPost, Tells All
By Ann Telnaes
Open Windows
I’ve worked for the Washington Post since 2008 as an editorial cartoonist. In all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now. The cartoon that was killed criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump.
By Avery Lotz and Sara Fischer
Axios
Meta announced Tuesday that it will end its fact-checking program on its platforms in exchange for X-style community notes as part of a slate of changes targeting “censorship” and embracing “free expression.” The changes echo calls from the right to walk back “censorship” on social media and coincide with President-elect Trump’s return to the White House.
By Ryan Cooper
The American Prospect
Unlike any other big platform, Bluesky does not censor posts with outgoing links. Indeed, it does not have any proprietary “for you” algorithm, instead defaulting to a traditional reverse-chronological feed, and allowing users to pick from algorithms that can be developed by others. Despite its modest size, The Guardian reports that Bluesky traffic has already outstripped that from Twitter.
The powerful telecom industry did what they always do when the FCC does anything good or important on behalf of consumers: They sued to overturn the rules.
Kari Lake to Take Over Voice of America
By Brian Stelter
CNN
President-elect Donald Trump says he wants his ally Kari Lake to take over the federal government's official news outlet, VOA. Voice of America is part of the US Agency for Global Media, which also runs networks like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
Rightist Influencers and Digital Literacy
By Aaliyah Guzman
Feminist Majority Foundation
What made Trump unique wasn’t just his message, but his ability to speak the language of internet culture – his unfiltered tweets, his willingness to be politically incorrect, and his embrace of meme culture all aligned perfectly with the communication style of online spaces.
Arrests of US Journalists Surged in 2024
By Eloise Goldsmith
Common Dreams
Journalists were arrested or detained by police at least 48 times this year—eclipsing the number of arrests that took place in the previous two years combined. The vast majority of the arrests and detainments were linked to pro-Palestine demonstrations, and it was protests at Columbia University’s Manhattan campus that were the site of this year's largest detainment of journalists.
The decline of physical media and the death of analog formats is consolidating corporate control over digital content. This shift raises serious concerns about access, ownership, and consumer rights.
Hyperallergic’s Ten Hottest Social Media Videos
By Isabella Segalovich
Hyperallergic
In no strict order, here are 10 of our top social media video highlights from 2024, which include a mixture of our most popular posts with those that sparked the most electrifying conversations.
By Lewis Endlar
The Conversation
We can expect technology to be able to achieve tasks that used to be the exclusive domain of humans. It will be able to complete work tasks and report back. This will lead to efficiencies and big changes to work. We’ll also see technology that enhances our leisure time and quality of life.
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