Weekly New Digital Media - 14.12.16 (28)

Twitter U-turns over banning white nationalist

                             

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/12/twitter-u-turn-banning-white-nationalist-richard-b-spencer-alt-right 

Summary: Twitter has reinstated the account of Richard B Spencer, a self-styled white nationalist leader who was suspended from the service in the wake of a much publicised crackdown on hateful conduct. Spencer’s account was initially suspended on 15 November, as part of a sweeping move against leaders of the “alt-right”, a far-right movement which has been resurgent in America since the election of Donald Trump. Within the same day that B Spencer was suspended Twitter had announced new safety tools on its social network, including the ability to more easily report hateful conduct. It had also announced changes in how it trained its moderators to enforce the policies.  However, it appears that Twitter suspended Spencer for other reasons. Twitter sent the Guardian a copy of the email the company sent to the white nationalist activist, which suggests that Spencer was banned instead for running multiple accounts with too much overlap. Twitter spokesperson said: “Our rules explicitly prohibit creating multiple accounts with overlapping uses. When we temporarily suspend multiple accounts for this violation, the account owner can designate one account for reinstatement.” But later on, his account was later reactivated and re-verified. 

[] the Twitter Rules prohibit violent threats, harassment, hateful conduct and multiple account abuse, and we will take action on accounts violating those policies.”

My opinion: Audiences are very active on social media especially, they comment, like share and re-tweet a lot and that can be seen as an advantage. Twitter is the biggest social media where audience put out their views more than any other sites, this can be from politics, to gossips about people. Being able to spot things is being more easier than ever, people are able to report other twitter accounts for various of reasons and twitter does respond back unlike Facebook. 

Weekly New Digital Media - 14.12.16 (27)

Fake news could affect next UK election, warns Channel 4 executive

                                    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/13/fake-news-could-affect-next-uk-election-warns-channel-4-executive 

Summary: A top Channel 4 executive has warned that fake news could affect the next UK election, and urged the UK government to step in if Facebook and other internet firms do not do more to tackle the problem. Dan Brooke suggested the problem could become equally serious in the UK, and companies such as Google and Facebook were trying to avoid taking responsibility. Dan Brooke said “Something must be done. So I’ll say to social media players today: with your power comes responsibility. Much … greater … responsibility than you have yet shown. They claim they are technology companies … not media companies … and therefore that the regulation of content is not their responsibility.”Google and Facebook have said they are working on ways to eliminate fake news or stop it spreading, and have already taken steps such as cutting off ad revenue to some sites identified as sources of completely made up stories. However, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly rejected the “crazy idea” that they affected the US election.

[]  Companies did not do more they should be made subject to regulation by the government, which has said it is looking into fake news. Channel 4 and other UK broadcasters are required by law to follow rules on accuracy and impartiality. 

My opinion: Fake news needs to be under control, and seeing that major institution understand and realise that fake news to be under control and Facebook needs to manage this as is mostly appearing on social media like Facebook. In my opinion companies such as Google and Facebook were trying to avoid taking responsibility, even though majority of the fake news happens.. “In short, the worry is that social media is fiddling with fake news while democracy burns.” - Dan Brooke

NDM News: Globalisation and fake news

The Guardian & the global problem of fake news

1) Read this Guardian feature - Fake news: an insidious trend that's fast becoming a global problem 

2) What similarities do you notice between the different countries outlined in the article and their problems with fake news?
The countries that were involved in this article were Germany, France, Italy, China, Brazil, Australia, and India, all these countries have a problem with fake news and it is a growing problem, they are trying to find a way to tackle them but they are different strategy. The German political mainstream is getting increasingly nervous about the effect that the rise of fake news might have on federal elections next autumn. Fake news and Russian interference – either by influencing fake news sites, or by hacking or misinformation – are viewed as a serious threat to the democratic process, particularly since the US presidential elections. France has had a sharp increase in the readership of alternative, far-right sites, blogs and social media operations. Promoting views including anti-immigration, nativism and ultra-nationalism, these sites are run independently, rather than by a political party. But they feed into a mood of distrust of the traditional media, both on the far right and the far left. 
With each of the stories that are boradcasted in  each of the countries are fake news but audiences do not realise that they are, these stories have caused audiences to react in different ways but it has be done in a way to cause a lot of distribution within the days of political elections 

3) Is fake news an inevitable consequence of the "culture of freedom and innovation" that the internet has brought with it? Is there a way to stop it?
In my opinion, i don't think there is a way to stop it because nobody can control audiences and what they write because it can be seen as taking away their freedom of speech. There is always going to be fake news told and braodcasted, this is because people want reactions or some audiences wouldn't question what they read so things will get posted anyway.Fake news can be created especially within the US presidential elections so that people could persuade a wider audience to believe what they want and to be influenced by their decisions, as some audiences are still seen as passive. People who post fake news know they will get people clicking on their sites, no matter what, it will still help them gain money through it - they don't actually care if audiences are reading the right or wrong information. 

New York Times and the creation of fake news

1) Read this New York Times feature - Inside a Fake News Sausage Factory: ‘This Is All About Income’

2) Which fake news stories were particularly successful for Beqa Latsabidze, the 22-year-old student in Tbilisi, Georgia, who tried to make money from web articles on Trump? 
So successful was the formula that others in Georgia and other faraway lands joined in, too, including Nika Kurdadze, a college acquaintance of Mr. Latsabidze’s who set up his own pro-Trump site, newsbreakshere.com. Its recent offerings included a fake report headlined: “Stop it Liberals…Hillary Lost the Popular Vote by Several Million. Here’s Why.” That story, like most of Mr. Latsabidze’s work, was pilfered from the web .A lot of that was conservative readers who see it picked up on other sites and believe it,” some didn't even read the actual article but they're just reacting to the headline. 

3) How much can Facebook and Google be blamed for this global rise in fake news?
I think that Facebook and Google are to blame for this global rise in fake news. This is because they do notice that there is a lot of fake news being posted but yet they haven't tackled the issue, they should be able to monitor what their audiences (especially facebook) are posting up, and either take it down and give them a warning about posting fake news. They should be able to automatically notice fake news and prevent it from being posted up.These institutions are very big, they have the money and the knowledge to control this issue if they really wanted to. 

Globalisation: taking it further

Media Magazine: Globalisation case study

Go to our Media Magazine archive and click on MM47 - the case study issue. You need to find page 31 and the Google Glass feature: a case study in Globalisation.

Read the article and answer the following questions:

1) Why was Google Glass controversial?

Google Glass is controversial because the fact that this glass could record anything and everything that it wanted, made a lot of people intimated and felt frightened - this was something that not many users wanted to be a part of. It also bought up a lot of discussion about whether or not this should be aloud due to a lot of users then becoming disconnected with the 'real world', this could be through the engagement between conversations that they have with each other, because of the uncertainty that the person you're talking to is actually paying attention to you and isn't preoccupied with surfing the net. Some of the dialogue regarding Glass and its release could be viewed as both moral and techno-panics.

2) What are the positive elements to Globalisation that the article highlights?

The positives that come along to globalisation, is that the world becomes more accessible, and people are enriched by getting to know and understand the development of technology much better. In addition, the access to information can enhance not only for people to make informed decision but even the democratic process. This also increases choice and opportunities empower people. 

3) What are potential negatives to Globalisation?

One of the negatives that comes along to Globalisation through the Google Glass is the concentration of ownership, and the possibility that smaller companies have little or no hope if staking a claim on the global markets as they wont be able to compete. This then also contradicts the point of having choice, because there are only a limited number of companies that dominate the global market, and in the main, only distribute the majority of the worlds wealth amongst themselves.

4) What is a techno-panic? How does it link to moral panics?

Techno-panic is a moral panic that centres around the fears regarding a specific contemporary technology. It is linked to moral panic because instead of putting fear on the people about issues, this is the fear of technologies. 

5) What is your opinion on the privacy debate and major corporations being able to access large quantities of personal data?

In my opinion, I don't think it is right for companies/major corporations to be able to access large quantities of personal data, this is because it supports the theory of the status quo, it reinforces that the media is in control all of the time, nationally and globally. The point of privacy means that nobody can look at it, not even the major corporations despite the fact that they have the power to do so. If corporations and the media did want to access large quantities of personal data then they shouldn't make the users feel like they are part of them. 

However, I do understand that there could be situations were major corporations would need to intrude/invade into our privacy when there is a serious situation going on and if someone is at risk/harm then I would understand - but other than that, I really don't think that major corporation should be able to access large quantities of our personal data. 

Media Factsheet: Globalisation and capitalism

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 92: Globalisation. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) Who coined the phrase 'a global village' and what multinational companies illustrate this?

McLuhan coined the phrase 'a global village' where it allows us to understand an connect with other culture of the world which is a positive. A negative of 'global village' is that it can help lose your own identity/culture if we are too engrossed. Coca-Cola are one of the multinational corporations. 

2) What role does Slavoj Zizek suggest the media plays in global capitalism? How can you link this to our previous work on Marxism and Hegemony? 

He argues that the media reinforces and naturalises the ideology that making money is the right way of conducting businesses, but at the same time allows people to feel less guilty about how these goods are produced. This can be linked to hegemony because it encourages the differences between the social classes, although Zikek looks at recent changes in the methods of marketing used by multinational corporations and business who are intent upon developing , while exploiting, the increased desire among the liberal classes in the West to ‘do something’ about saving the endangered planet and helping the world’s poor. This can be also linked to Marxism because the example of the campaign for Starbucks reinforces the view of Marxism, as audiences are active and they play a role in the worlds capitalism. 

3) What does 'capitalism with a conscience' mean? 

Slavoj Zizek says that global media has raised awareness about social issues but agrees that in order to sustain Western capitalist dominance, the marketing campaigns have constructed capitalism with a conscience. 

4) What is the (PRODUCT) RED campaign? 

This campaign was founded in 2006 by frontman and activist Bono to engage the private sector to rase awareness and funds to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. The global fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is recipient of product red money but product red not a product in itself, rather than it is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express (UK) Apple Inc, Starbucks, Converse, Penguin Classics (UK & international, Emporio Armani etc. 

5) Based on what you've read in the Factsheet, what is YOUR opinion of the (PRODUCT) RED brand? Is it a positive force helping to fight AIDS in Africa or a cynical attempt to make multinational companies look more ethical than they actually are? 

In my opinion, Product red is definity a good campaign to get involved with and help raise awareness about to those in needs. Although in my opinion, I think it is a way for multinational companies to look more ethical than they actually are, in a way for me, it shows that they are trying to prove to everyone what good things they are doing but it is just for show to show their customers and to the rest of the world. 

NDM: Globalisation

One of the topics that we need to cover in A2 Media is Globalisation - which has huge relevance to digital media, news and beyond.

You should have read the notes on Globalisation in class - the handout is here if you need an electronic copy.

Globalisation and news: blog task

Having discussed these issues in class in relation to our news case study, you now need to answer the following questions on your blog:

1) Is our news influenced by American cultural imperialism? Give some examples arguing for or against this perspective.
Cultural imperialism is often when theres a cultural influence but also their dominant ideologies and values are represented on other countries. I believe that UK news is heavily included by American culture, this is because we get a lot of our resources and stories from there. I think without noticing it, from how we present our news to the stories we share are americanised. An example of this through American's presidential elections - the UK news became very similar to how America does their news outlets as well as the information they were sharing. 

2) Has the increased globalisation of news improved the audience experience? How? Why?
In my opinion, I think that the increased globalisation of news has improve the audiences experience because audiences are able to gain news worldwide and its very accessible for them to do so. This can be news that is suitable for audiences - news provided in their own language or from there hometown - through globalisation this has happened. In addition, by having this increase means that audiences are able to see news differently and make their own judgements on news, in terms of how different stories are represented and what stories are shown. 

3) Has globalisation benefited or damaged major news institutions? How? Why?
I believe that globalisation benefits major news institutions rather than damage them. I believe this because it allows major institutions become well known globally and it could possibly bring them more connections, in terms of the resources they gain and how they may represent themselves in the countries that they want to become well known. Although a damage for this can be that audiences see that major institutions are just branding their organisation without any good intention for the country itself. 

Weekly New Digital Media - 7.12.16 (26)

Facebook reportedly testing new tool to combat fake news 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/06/facebook-tool-fake-news-rank-misleading-language-data-collecting 

Summary: Facebook appears to be testing a tool designed to help it identify and hide “fake news” on the social network, in an attempt to quell increasingly vocal criticism of its role in spreading untruths. The tool, reported by at least three separate Facebook users on Twitter, asks readers to rank on a scale of one to five the extent to which they think a link’s title “uses misleading language”. The articles in question were from reliable sources: Rolling Stone magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Chortle, a news site which reports on comedy. It isn’t clear how Facebook intends to act on the data it is collecting, or whether it intends to act at all. Misleading link text is certainly a part of the fake news problem on the social network, as evidenced by the two misleading adverts that accompanied Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s 18 November post about fake news.

[] Almost 60% of social media shares come from users who never clicked the link, implying that the headline drives discussion and sharing far more than the content of an article.

My opinion: Fake news is getting out of hand, it is being increasingly important to owners of social media and audiences who get involved into fake news. Interestingly, fake news is mainly on social media where audiences themselves are interactive and active, audiences are pushing on this and making it harder for social networkers to control. But it is a bit silly of Facebook using this tool that is explained in the article above because personally, i understand how it can tackle fake news that comes in their social network sites. It could make users think twice and think about what they read but personally, I don't really think it will stop fake news to be created. 

Weekly New Digital Media - 7.12.16 (25)

James Murdoch involved in News International email deletion, court told

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/05/james-murdoch-involved-news-international-email-deletion-high-court-phone-hacking 

Summary: This article explains that James Murdoch was personally involved in authorising the deletion of emails at News International in early 2010 when the phone-hacking scandal was taking off, it has been alleged in the high court. David Sherborne claimed on Monday there were documents, emails and meeting agendas that showed senior executives including Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks pursued an email deletion policy that removed “emails that could be unhelpful in future litigation in which News International could be a defendant”. Part of the evidence presented includes an email sent in August 2010 by Andrew Hickey, who was the CIO of News International, to Jon Chapman, an in-house lawyer at the company, which references both Brooks and Murdoch, saying Murdoch wanted to “draw a line” under the organisation’s time in its Wapping HQ prior to 2010. Andrew Green QC, acting for News Group Newspapers, a News UK subsidiary, said it had previously provided a “non-admission” concerning the email deletion programme, but would be prepared to set out the position again given the extent of the allegations, in particular their relation to the Sun.

[] High court hears claim made on behalf of 17 people suing publisher of the News of the World and Sun over alleged phone hacking.
[] Murdoch was executive chairman of News International between 2007 and 2012. He is now chairman of the UK broadcaster Sky.

My opinion: This article, supports pluralists views about news does question and expose the powerful. The phone hacking scandals have been reported in 2010, and the fact that 6 years later, there are some links/evidence to this scandal can show that things in the media industry doesn't go away that easily, and people can be always caught. Despite the fact, of how big the newspapers are, they will still receive their consequence for what they were involved in and the deletion of emails. Although seeing these scandals happen with a lot of empowered people in the industry can make them feel like these things are a "norm" to them and shows that they don't really worry about what bad decisions/things they are doing because being powerful would save them from everything, but when things come out, it should challenge and make them rethink that some part of the media and audience can be in more of power than they think.