Internet Media

Social Media Hazardous to Health?

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Article in The Hill by Sarah Fortinsky, 09/10/24 2:42

Headline: “42 states and territories press Congress on social media warning labels”

“US Surgeon General Murthy, in June, called for a surgeon general’s warning label to be placed on social media platforms, similar to those warning labels that appear on tobacco and alcohol products. He noted that studies have shown that warning labels on tobacco products can increase awareness and change a user’s behavior.

“ ‘It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents,’ he wrote.

“This problem will not solve itself and the social media platforms have demonstrated an unwillingness to fix the problem on their own. Therefore, we urge Congress to act by requiring warnings on algorithm-driven social media platforms, as recommended by the Surgeon General,” they wrote in the letter”

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4871983-social-media-warning-labels-attorneys-general/

 

Burning Down the Press

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Article in The Guardian by Jack Apollo George, 9/7/24

Headline:  “If journalism is going up in smoke, I might as well get high off the fumes: confessions of a chatbot helper”

Subhead:  “Journalists and other writers are employed to improve the quality of chatbot replies. The irony of working for an industry that may well make their craft redundant is not lost on them”

“Aren’t these machines trained on billions and billions of words and sentences? What would they need us fleshy scribes for?

“Well, for starters, the internet is finite. And so too is the sum of every word on every page of every book ever written. So what happens when the last pamphlet, papyrus and prolegomenon have been digitised and the model is still not perfect? What happens when we run out of words?

“The date for that linguistic apocalypse has already been set. Researchers announced in June that we can expect this to take place between 2026 and 2032 “if current LLM development trends continue”. At that point, “Models will be trained on datasets roughly equal in size to the available stock of public human text data.”

. . . “And therein lies the ultimate irony. Here is a new economic phenomenon that rewards writing, that encourages it, that truly values it; all while simultaneously deeming it an encumbrance, a problem to be solved, an inefficiency to be automated away. It is like being paid to write in sand, to whisper secrets into a slab of butter. Even if our words could make a dent, we wouldn’t ever be able to recognize it.”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/sep/07/if-journalism-is-going-up-in-smoke-i-might-as-well-get-high-off-the-fumes-confessions-of-a-chatbot-helper

 

Truth Social Media Falling Into the Void?

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From United Press International by Sheri Walsh, 9/3/24

Headline: “Trump Media shares hit new low, slip below $18 for first time”

Fron United Press International by Sheri Walsh, 9/3/24

“Trump Media and Technology Group’s shares hit a new low Tuesday, dropping below $18 for the first time since it began public trading in March.

“In June, Trump Media shares were down nearly 40% following the former president’s conviction in May on 34 counts of falsifying business documents to cover up an alleged affair with an adult film actress. Trump has denied the affair and pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18.”

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/09/03/trump-media-shares-new-low/8001725410524/

News Falls Into Social Media Black Hole?

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Audio Feature from CNN by David Rind & Clare Duffy, 8/28/24

Headline: “Social Media Scrutiny: Telegram, X, & the AI Election”

“The detention of Telegram founder Pavel Durov over the weekend has sparked major questions about free speech and criminal activity online. In this episode, we examine why the app has come under intense scrutiny in Europe and why a lack of moderation from American social media platforms has allowed election misinformation to flourish.

“Most tech founders are not household names. Those that are are usually either incredibly successful. Think Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, or infamous like Elizabeth Holmes from Theranos. Well, over the weekend, another name you may not know may have found himself in the latter category.”

Listen here – You could scroll past the ads after 35 seconds –
https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/one-thing/episodes/97bb14c4-179e-11ef-aba1-2f81b79364a4

Truth Social in Trouble?

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Headline: “The whole ‘Truth’: Is Trump Media the next Trump brand to go belly-up?”

Article in Daily Kos by Walter Einenkel, 8/29/24

“Trump Media & Technology Group’s stock price dropped below $20 a share on Wednesday. This marks a new low for the Donald Trump-owned company since it went public five months ago.

Predictably, Trump is having one of his classic public freakouts on his Truth Social site, even as the social media platform rapidly depreciates . . .”

Read here:    https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/29/2266386/-The-whole-Truth-Is-Trump-Media-the-next-Trump-brand-to-go-belly-up?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_8&pm_medium=web

 

Post-Cable But Want Local News?

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Streaming News Media

Article from Associated Press by David Bauder, 8/26/24

Headline: “Going local: A new streaming service peeks into news in 2024 election swing states”

In some states, for those who ditched their cable and still want to keep track of local campaign news.

“Fans of politics have another way to keep track of what’s happening in the most competitive states in the country through a new service that collects and streams local newscasts.

Swing State Election News, which began operation Monday, lets streamers choose from among 37 local television stations . . . ”

https://apnews.com/article/swing-states-election-tv-streaming-09fc97f64ad284f29134371a923a4d74

Media Future in Computer World

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From the New York Times Columnist Gail Collins 8/12/23

“But on a more cosmic level, Bret, I worry and wonder all the time about the future of the media in a wireless world. Very hard to make money doing critical chores like covering state and local government. Or even just pursuing hard news.”