Jail for defying data terms of service: D. Victoria Baranetsky notes journalists face possible penalties when using data from public websites like Facebook and Twitter.
No journalists have been prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, she writes, “but their sources have, and some journalists have been asked to stop using specific reporting tools by Facebook.”
YouTube a conspiracy ecosystem: Craig Timberg and Drew Harwell write about wild conspiracies that flood YouTube.
“Among the most popular genres in the collection were related to mass shootings, and especially the one in Las Vegas in October that killed 58 people,” they write. “Typically these portrayed the attacks as politically motivated hoaxes, so called ‘false flags’ intended to dupe the public into believing that gun rights needed to be curtailed.” The 50 most widely viewed mass-shooting conspiracy videos were viewed 50 million times.
Resisting information disorder: Julie Posetti and Cherilyn Ireton write journalists can push back against the scourge of fake news.
“Disinformation and misinformation go beyond challenging journalists’ reputations and safety,” they write. “They question their purpose and effectiveness, and they perpetuate the degradation of journalism to the detriment of civic discourse.”
The enduring weather person: Andrew McCormick observes that weather reporters entertain audiences in fair weather and counsel them in bad.
“It isn’t completely surprising that they would be in demand as storms loom,” he writes. “But it is notable, in the age of Twitter and smart phones, that the broadcast TV weather person — analog, local, old-school — has stayed so viable.”
Messy case of Twitter account ownership: Jonathan Peters writes about a sports reporter sued by a former employer for failing to hand over his Twitter login information when he changed jobs.
“It’s unclear how the case will turn out,” writes Peters. “The problem is twofold: Few cases have addressed social-media ownership in an employment context, and the most relevant ones have settled out of court.”
Media trust down, can be restored for some: Gallup and the Knight Foundation release new findings.
“These results indicate that attempts to restore trust in the media among most Americans may be fruitful, particularly if those efforts are aimed at improving accuracy, enhancing transparency and reducing bias,” they report.
About one-third of those on the political right have lost faith in the media and expect that to be permanent.
Investigating a journalist: The Houston Chronicle’s editor says “we have launched an investigation into the work of one of our own reporters” who is accused of quoting people who don’t exist.
“We owe our readers the truth and to tell you if, in fact, there were inaccuracies in anything we published,” he writes. “We simply don’t know the full story yet.”
Celebrity death hoaxes: Daniel Funke and Alexios Mantzarlis report that celebrity deaths are a popular subgenre of misinformation and offer 15 fact-checking links.
“At a time when we are at pains to distinguish ‘real news’ from ‘fake news,’ falling for these shallow fabrications undermines the argument,” they write.
Doubting anonymity: David Frum challenges the New York Times decision to publish an anonymous anti-Trump op-ed.
“Previous generations of Americans have sacrificed fortunes, health and lives to serve the country,” Frum tells the anonymous writer. “You are asked only to tell the truth aloud and with your name attached.”
Spotting fake Facebook posts: Keith Collins and Sheera Frenkel report that Facebook discovered hundreds of fake pages and user accounts this summer.
The New York Times reporters show real and deceptive posts, asking if you can tell which is fake. It isn’t easy.
The latest influence campaigns imitated post by legitimate pages and groups on Facebook that advocate political beliefs, they report, “amking it difficult to tell what was a genuine post and what was not.” Such campaigns also are known as online disinformation.
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 