 |
Reacting to rising online extremism triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the elections, a group of House Democrats want President Biden to launch a multiagency digital democracy task force to develop a federal strategy to increase resilience to online threats and create stronger protection for the democratic process.
In a Dec. 10 letter to the president-elect, members of the Congressional Task Force on Digital Citizenship asked him to adopt a “whole of government system to build citizen resilience to disinformation and misinformation.”
They see the need for “media literacy programs with commitments to truth-seeking" to counter social media platforms that traffic in “false, misleading or emotionally manipulative” content to boost engagement and corporate profits.
 |
The US needs to partner with allies to help set global mechanisms on platform transparency, share information on the evolving digital ecosystems and develop protocols for citizen resilience to online information, according to the letter.
The Congressmen warn that the COVID-19 vaccine will not cure the online infodemic and conspiracy will continue to be exploited.
“We encourage you to work with researchers, scholars and civil society to understand the impact of disinformation and misinformation on American society and we stand ready to assist you in putting forward these new initiatives," said Jennifer Wexton (VA), David Cicilline (RI), Donald Beyer (VA), Zoe Lofgren (CA), Bill Foster (IL), Bill Keating (MA) Yvette Clark (NY), Jamie Raskin (MD), Elissa Slotkin (MI).
Boston Globe Media acquires InstaTrac, a company that provides subscription-based services aimed at making government information easier to find, track, and understand... AARP names former New Republic CEO and publisher Michael Caruso as its SVP and chief content officer, unifying the organization's portfolio of media, live events and digital platforms... The Fund for American Studies, an educational nonprofit, awards its inaugural Journalism Excellence Fellowships.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
