Happy Tuesday. Scroll down for a scoop about U.S. Agency for Global Media fallout. Plus, the latest on WIRED, Semisonic, The Atlantic, TikTok, UTA, and much more...
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Can 'AI slop' be stopped? |
Jason Koebler's latest story for 404 Media is a warning to all of us. He says generative AI "slop" – cheap, often weird videos and stories that clutter the web – is a "brute force attack on the algorithms that control reality," and it's working. "Human-created content is getting almost entirely drowned out by AI-generated content because of the sheer amount of it."
Koebler says "I no longer see almost anything real on my Instagram Reels anymore, and, as I have often reported, many users seem to have completely lost the ability to tell what is real and what is fake, or simply do not care anymore." I notice this almost every day on Facebook as seemingly real human users earnestly reply to AI-made monstrosities.
"Platforms and new types of startup companies aren't trying to stop this spam. They benefit from it, enable it, and worst of all, are finding ways to supercharge it," Koebler argues. Here's his full story...
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A fresh AI copyright fight |
In a submission to the Trump administration, OpenAI asked the government "to make it easier for AI companies to learn from copyrighted material," as NBC reported here. The News/Media Alliance responded yesterday by saying that OpenAI's proposal "throws away the values and legal guidelines that made America great in the first place."
>> "Ending our centuries-long respect for copyright would decimate creative industries across the country," with terrible long-term implications, the group's CEO Danielle Coffey said. The News/Media Alliance has made its own submission...
>> Related: "Dozens of newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital on Monday ran online editorials" slamming OpenAI and Google's proposals, Sara Fischer reports for Axios.The
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More and more AI-associated content is being thrust upon us, and it's imperative to pay attention to how the internet is changing as a result. Publishers and platforms are both incentivized to keep it coming – it's why every Google search has an AI result at the top, why Apple is using AI to give you summaries of text messages, why media companies are starting to experiment with AI stories, etcetera. This tech is beneficial in some ways, to be sure, but it's also bewildering to many consumers. As Koebler wrote, when it comes to AI slop, "many of the comments I've seen are from people who are disgusted or annoyed." Technically that counts as "engagement" – but it ultimately turns people off and harms the digital public square.
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The leaders of several US-funded international networks have instructed their organizations to continue broadcasting, despite last weekend's Trump administration order, because they believe the terminations were unlawful, according to a person involved in the matter.
The entities – including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting Networks – are continuing to operate around the world while network executives contemplate next steps, including potential legal action.
My source did not say if or when a formal legal challenge will happen. But Lisa Curtis, who chairs the board of Radio Free Europe, wrote on LinkedIn that "our pro bono legal team is prepared to take all necessary steps to ensure that RFE/RL continues its Congressionally authorized mission." Here's my brand new story...
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This is why VOA is different |
Voice of America employees work directly for the federal government, which is why Trump loyalist Kari Lake was able to bench them right away. VOA's website is now frozen in time, with out-of-date articles like "forecasters warn of tornadoes in US in coming days" still on the home page.)
But most of the U.S. Agency for Global Media's other networks are structured as nonprofit organizations that are funded through federal grants, and that distance is making a big difference right now. The networks are skeptical that Lake even had the legal authority to terminate their grants. (USAGM PR has not responded to my request for comment.)
For now, the broadcasters are reporting on the uncertainty over their future. Radio Free Asia's story says "Asian dissidents" and activists are voicing "dismay" over the funding freeze. Radio Free Europe's story notes that some EU lawmakers want to come to the rescue.
Meanwhile, there are serious concerns that some journalists could be left in harms' way due to the funding freeze. CNN's Christian Edwards has details here... |
'Russia and Chinese propaganda will fill in' |
On "The Lead with Jake Tapper," Russian-American RFE journalist Alsu Kermasheva – who was imprisoned in Russia nine months, and freed as part of a prisoner exchange last summer – said that without the networks, there will be an "empty space" in the global media, and "Russia and Chinese propaganda will fill in." Here's the full segment. Deposed VOA director Michael Abramowitz expressed the same concern in an interview with CBS yesterday...
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'MAGA authorities have learned Orbán's lessons' |
"As I watch from afar what's happening to the free press in the United States during the first weeks of Trump's second presidency — the verbal bullying, the legal harassment, the buckling by media owners in the face of threats — it all looks very familiar," András Pethő writes.
Pethő is an investigative journalist from Hungary. He witnessed prime minister Viktor Orbán build "his own media universe while simultaneously placing a stranglehold on the independent press, and he says "the MAGA authorities have learned Orbán’s lessons well." Read Pethő's full essay for The Atlantic here...
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Speaking of 'verbal bullying...' |
And speaking of The Atlantic, Trump posted a Truth Social rant last night that really illustrates what Pethő is talking about. He attacked two journalists from The Atlantic, Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, and falsely said the publication "is doing terribly" and "losing a fortune." The Atlantic (where I contributed in 2023/2024) is actually profitable and is on a bit of a hiring tear. Trump said it "will hopefully fold up and be gone in the not too distant future," but the opposite seems likely; the publication keeps staffing up and landing Trump-related scoops...
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Trumpworld notes and quotes |
>> One of the top headlines on CNN.com is "What is a constitutional crisis and are we in one right now?" (CNN)
>> Trump claims that the government will release "around 80,000 unredacted files on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy" later today. (Fox)
>> The president both criticized the Kennedy Center and vowed to remake it during yesterday's visit. (CNN)
>> Semisonic "is objecting to the use of their song 'Closing Time' in a White House video on deportations," Ted Johnson reports. (Deadline)
>> "Why the Arabic 'Sesame Street' and other cuts are not really about fraud:" Trump and Musk's "fraud" and "corruption" cries are often just "differences of opinion about policy," Luke Broadwater writes. (NYT)
>> "Amid 'DEI' purge, Pentagon removes webpage on Iwo Jima flag-raiser." (Wash Post)
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Making WIRED's public records reporting free for all to read |
Liam Reilly writes: WIRED, the magazine that has delivered scoop after scoop at the intersection of tech and politics during Trump's second term, will no longer put articles that primarily use public records obtained by FOIA behind its paywall. The announcement is in partnership with the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
"Access to journalism based on public records is more important than ever at this moment — and public records are public for a reason," WIRED's global editorial director Katie Drummond says. "I'm proud to partner with Freedom of the Press to make WIRED's public records journalism available for anyone to read, especially at this pivotal moment for our country."
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Today's new nonfiction releases |
So many great new books today! First, I'm enthralled by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's "Abundance." Second, I'm excited to get my hands on "Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire" by Christine Wenc.
Several of today's new releases are already in the top 10 on Amazon, including "Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West" by Josh Hammer; "Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service" by Michael Lewis; and "Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection" by John Green.
Also on sale today: Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall's book "Resolute: How We Humans Keep Finding Ways to Beat the Toughest Odds" and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer's book "Antisemitism in America: A Warning," which is making news because Schumer has scrapped several book tour events.
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>> The New Yorker has parted ways with art critic Jackson Arn "after the magazine received complaints about his behavior at its 100th anniversary party," Katie Robertson and Ben Mullin report. Arn declined to comment for the Times' story. (NYT)
>> "Amid Trump-induced chaos," CNBC and Fox Business are in the "eye of the storm," Brian Lowry observes. (TheWrap)
>> "ABC News is pivoting its audio podcast strategy, focusing on true crime via its newsmagazine '20/20,'" Alex Weprin reports. (THR)
>> UTA co-founder Jeremy Zimmer is out as CEO; "David Kramer will take over as CEO in June." (THR)
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Checking in on the TikTok talks |
TikTok, "in the face of a looming survival deadline" of April 5, "has launched an old-school campaign to sway Washington, blanketing Metro stations with ads to remind policymakers of its importance to the economy, and circulating new research that argues it's not a security threat to the US," Politico's Christine Mui reports.
>> Meanwhile, the White House "is playing an unprecedented role" as both investment bank and auctioneer for TikTok, which "adds to the complexity of striking an agreement," Dawn Chmielewski, Kane Wu, and Krystal Hu write for Reuters...
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> "Social media apps like TikTok have become an essential tool for smugglers and migrants alike," Megan Janetsky writes. (AP)
>> Google has "expanded its partnership with Reddit amid concerns that the social media platform's user growth relies heavily on traffic from Google Search." (Reuters)
>> xAI "has acquired Hotshot, a startup working on AI-powered video generation tools along the lines of OpenAI's Sora." (TechCrunch)
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Entertainment odds and ends |
>> Here are the winners from last night's iHeartRadio Music Awards. (CNN)
>> Universal Music Group "has filed a scathing motion to dismiss Drake's New York lawsuit against them for promoting Kendrick Lamar‘s 'Not Like Us,' stating that he’s only suing because he 'lost a rap battle' and took legal action to 'salve his wounds,'" Steven J. Horowitz reports. (Variety)
>> Philly Inquirer jack-of-all-trades Rob Tornoe said he was "trying to dodge White Lotus spoilers on social media today and came to a realization: HBO might be the final network where linear viewing is a thing (outside of sports)." (X)
>> "Moana 2" drew 27.3 million views in its first five days on Disney+, which is "the best streaming launch for a Disney animated film since 'Encanto' in 2021," Jeremy Fuster writes. (TheWrap)
>> And last but not least, Netflix, Amazon and Peacock are betting big on popular YouTubers, Jessica Toonkel reports: "As 'Beast Games' boasts profit and gears up for more seasons, streamers search for similar success." (WSJ)
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