WSJ, (Jeff Horwitz andDeepa Seetharaman) Facebook Executives Shut Down Efforts to Make the Site Less Divisive
A Facebook Inc. team had a blunt message for senior executives. The company’s algorithms weren’t bringing people together. They were driving people apart. “Our algorithms exploit the human brain’s attraction to divisiveness,” read a slide from a 2018 presentation. “If left unchecked,” it warned, Facebook would feed users “more and more divisive content in an effort to gain user attention & increase time on the platform.”…Read More
NYT, (Kate Conger and Davey Alba) Twitter Refutes Inaccuracies in Trump’s Tweets About Mail-In Voting
OAKLAND, Calif. — Twitter added information to refute the inaccuracies in President Trump’s tweets for the first time on Tuesday, after years of pressure over its inaction on his false and threatening posts. The social media company added links late Tuesday to two of Mr. Trump’s tweets in which he had posted about mail-in ballots and falsely claimed that they would cause the November presidential election to be “rigged.”…Read More
NYT, (Kara Swisher) Twitter Must Cleanse the Trump Stain
The president is spreading a vile conspiracy theory on the platform. Maybe Twitter should finally hold him to its rules. “Please delete those tweets,” the widower begged in a letter last week to Twitter’s chief executive, Jack Dorsey. “My wife deserves better.” Yes, Twitter, Lori Klausutis certainly does deserve better, nearly two decades after she died in a tragic accident that has morphed into a macabre and continuing nightmare for her husband, Timothy Klausutis….Read More
THEVERGE, (James Vincent) YouTube is deleting comments with two phrases that insult China’s Communist Party
YouTube is automatically deleting comments that contain certain Chinese-language phrases related to criticism of the country’s ruling Communist Party (CCP). The company confirmed to The Verge this was happening in error and that it’s working to fix the issue. “Upon review by our teams, we have confirmed this was an error in our enforcement systems and we are working to fix it as quickly as possible,” said a YouTube spokesperson. The company did not elaborate on how or why this error came to be, but said it was not the result of any change in its moderation policy…Read More
WSJ, (Benjamin Mullin and Suzanne Vranica) Advertisers Seek to Revise Deal Terms With Streamer Quibi
Streaming service Quibi is beginning to feel the pinch of its lackluster performance since launching last month, as major advertisers seek to defer payments and the company looks to cut costs, according to people familiar with the situation. The advertisers, which include PepsiCo Inc., Yum Brands Inc.’s Taco Bell, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA and Walmart Inc., have asked for the changes because of concerns about the…Read More
CNN, ( Frank Pallotta) HBO Max: Everything you need to know about AT&T's new streaming service
New York (CNN Business) HBO Max, AT&T's bet-the-farm streaming service, is about to take on Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu. It has a lot going for it: a deep content vault and the exclusive streaming home for DC superheroes, Turner Classic Movies and some of the world's most celebrated TV shows. But it comes with a hefty price tag…Read More
FORBES, (Jay Kapoor) Joe Rogan, Barstool Sports And Podcasting’s Walled Garden Problem
Spring may have just sprung, but the Podcast Wars are already in in full bloom, and last week turned out to be a historic one in the world of podcasting. First, runaway cult hit Call Her Daddy’s contract dispute became public fodder when Barstool Sports’ founder took to the airwaves to air out his side of the negotiations. Equal parts entertaining and obscene, Barstool’s public addresses crucially treated fans to an inside look at the sheer scale of podcasting revenues, retention value of on-mic talent, and importance of intellectual property…Read More
HBR, (Eddie Yoon) 3 Behavioral Trends That Will Reshape Our Post-Covid World
We’ve made our coronavirus coverage free for all readers. To get all of HBR’s content delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Daily Alert newsletter. Typically, consumers’ supermarket shopping habits are stable and slow to change. When people do dramatically change their behavior around buying food and beverages, it’s usually driven by a major life event such as having a baby, moving to a new town, or changing jobs…Read More
INSIDER, (Rachel Askinasi) The New York Times says Alison Roman's column will return as the food writer announces she is starting her own newsletter
Food writer Alison Roman's column will return to The New York Times, a representative for the publication has confirmed to Insider. Some reports suggested that Roman was leaving The Times following her announcement on Tuesday that she is starting a newsletter.Her food column for The Times was put on hiatus after Roman received backlash for comments she made about Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo in an interview with The New Consumer in early May….Read More
This newsletter is a curated summary of compelling news and stories shaping the convergence of business and culture. Some of the stories require subscriptions and will only get you to the paywall. We hope this email encourages you to subscribe to some (or all) of the outlets and support great journalism.