- Bending Over Backwards for Trump
- Big Crypto, Big Spending
- Where AI is Going
- Who Fact-Checks the Fact-Checkers?
- Social Media Spews Hatred for Women in Politics
- Tech CEO Arrested
- Community Radio Supports Bolivia’s Campesino Movements
- Politics for Bucks on TikTok
- Banning X in Brazil
- TCM Airs Political Film Series in September
Bending Over Backwards for Trump
By Jim Risen
The Intercept
The press has proven unable to alter its traditional formula for campaign coverage. The threat Trump poses to democracy is now an afterthought. For Trump to escape much scrutiny from the press for the third time can be attributed in part to the deep historical, technological, and financial trends that have swept through the news industry.
Big Crypto, Big Spending
By Rick Claypool
Public Citizen
Cryptocurrency corporations are spending big to make crypto regulation a top issue for candidates in the 2024 elections. Crypto-sector corporations – primarily Coinbase and Ripple – have dumped over $119 million in real dollars into the 2024 elections so far, almost entirely into super PACs dedicated to elevating pro-crypto candidates and attacking crypto skeptics.
Where AI is Going
• ...To Hell By Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism
• Answering to SAG-AFTRA By Gene Maddaus, Variety
• To China By Megha Shrivastava, East Asia Forum
• To War By Mark Tsagas, Asia Times
• To Organize By Ron Miller, TechCrunch
Who Fact-Checks the Fact-Checkers?
By Dan Froomkin
Press Watch
Fact-checkers are so devoted to not “taking sides” that instead of exposing the vast gulf in truth-telling between the two parties, they effectively hide it. They want to mete out their dings if not equally, at least comparably. And that’s impossible to do, ethically, given that one party is constantly lying and the other is not.
Social Media Spews Hatred for Women in Politics
By Imran Ahmed
Center for Countering Digital Hate
The cacophony of hate speech, threats, and gendered abuse we find flooding the comment sections of prominent women politicians is united in one shared purpose: to push women out of political life. Countless studies have been conducted in recent years chronicling the ways women in politics face abuse online. But nothing changes if platforms refuse to act.
Tech CEO Arrested
By Gabriel Stargardter
Reuters
The investigation into Telegram boss Pavel Durov that has fired a warning shot to global tech titans was started by a small cybercrime unit within the Paris prosecutor’s office, led by 38-year-old Johanna Brousse. The arrest of Durov, 39, last Saturday marks a significant shift in how some global authorities may seek to deal with tech chiefs reluctant to police illegal content on their platforms.
Community Radio Supports Bolivia’s Campesino Movements
By Benjamin Dangl
NACLA Report
Community radio has been one of the backbones of union and social movement organizing in Bolivia for decades. Radio still plays a crucial communication role, particularly in rural areas that lack electricity and the internet. Such a medium was pivotal during key uprisings among campesino, miner, and Indigenous movements throughout Bolivian history.
Politics for Bucks on TikTok
By Viola Zhou
Rest of World
TikTok creators are pitting Donald Trump against Kamala Harris in live battles, a feature first popularized on Chinese livestreaming apps. TikTok has sophisticated features designed to make viewers buy more gifts during livestreams. One college student says he makes up to $7,000 a month from TikTok live matches.
Banning X in Brazil
By Andrew Hutchinson
Social Media Today
X has now been banned in Brazil, after refusing to comply with Brazilian court orders to remove the accounts of seven anti-government commentators which it claims have contributed to ongoing unrest in the region.
TCM Airs Political Film Series in September
By Mike Barnes
The Hollywood Reporter
“This series brings an eclectic mix of filmmakers, actors, political figures and journalists to TCM to discuss a varied selection of brilliant movies. Along the way, we’ll discuss how great films have managed to predict political culture, to reflect it and to challenge it.” The series leads off with “The Battle of Algiers” at 8 pm EST, September 6.
