Engadget: Your phone will blare a national emergency alert test on October 4 at 2:20PM ET

Engadget: Your phone will blare a national emergency alert test on October 4 at 2:20PM ET. “The federal government will conduct a nationwide alert test on Wednesday, October 4. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will send notifications to cell phones (as well as radios and TVs) to test the National Wireless Emergency Alert System and ensure the system (including the public’s familiarity with it) is ready for a real crisis.”

NME: Megan Thee Stallion launches mental health resources site, Seize The Awkward

NME: Megan Thee Stallion launches mental health resources site, Seize The Awkward. “Megan Thee Stallion has launched a new mental health resources website called Seize The Awkward…. Seize The Awkward features a series of videos in which Megan Thee Stallion opens up about various topics like checking in on friends and being vulnerable. There’s also videos from other stars like Noah Cyrus, Ava Max, Tyler Posey and athletes like American football player Caleb Williams and wrestler Big E.” This is the second mental health resources site launched by Ms. Thee Stallion.

North Carolina State University: State COVID-19 Websites Fail to Meet Accessibility Standards

North Carolina State University: State COVID-19 Websites Fail to Meet Accessibility Standards. “Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. states and territories all created websites designed to share information with the public about the disease, vaccinations and related public health recommendations. However, a new study finds these sites do not meet accessibility standards – meaning that some members of the public, such as individuals who are blind or visually impaired, are not able to access all of the relevant information on the sites.”

EXCLUSIVE: 5th Circuit’s Craven Ruling In Biden Social Media Case Was A ‘Clerical Error’ (Talking Points Memo)

Talking Points Memo: EXCLUSIVE: 5th Circuit’s Craven Ruling In Biden Social Media Case Was A ‘Clerical Error’. “The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals this morning abruptly withdrew Monday’s order giving red states a chance for an even bigger win in a case that has blocked much of the Biden administration from flagging misinformation on social media sites. The 5th Circuit’s Clerk of Court told TPM that the original order was a ‘clerical error.’”

British Library UK Web Archive Blog: How YouTube is helping to drive UK Web Archive nominations

British Library UK Web Archive Blog: How YouTube is helping to drive UK Web Archive nominations. “There currently exists a plethora of digital platforms for all manner of online published works; YouTube itself has become more than just a platform for sharing videos, it has evolved into a platform for individuals and organisations to reach a global audience and convey powerful messages. Recently, a popular content creator on YouTube, Tom Scott, produced a short video helping to outline the purpose of Legal Deposit and by extension, the work being carried out by UKWA.”

Harvard Gazette: How federal missteps opened door to COVID misinformation

Harvard Gazette: How federal missteps opened door to COVID misinformation. “Federal agencies helped set the stage for a wave of COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories about its origins through early missteps in messaging about the virus and control measures, stumbles that fueled public distrust and hampered government efforts, according to New York Times health and science reporter Apoorva Mandavilli. For instance, public health agencies failed to speak clearly and in a timely fashion about how the virus could spread indoors, Mandavilli said in a talk sponsored by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Health Communication on Wednesday afternoon.”

Baptist Press: Paying for X (Twitter)? Churches, pastors consider the cost

Baptist Press: Paying for X (Twitter)? Churches, pastors consider the cost. “Churches tend to focus their social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Accounts on X exist, but generally lag in activity compared to those of pastors and other church leaders. And even for the latter two categories, the way X is used makes a difference as to the need to pay for it. It literally becomes a case of the cost being worth … well, the cost.”

George Washington University: Social Media May Be Used to Combat COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Nigeria

George Washington University: Social Media May Be Used to Combat COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Nigeria. “A social media campaign launched in 2022 helped encourage some Nigerians to roll up their sleeves for a COVID vaccine, according to a study published today in PLOS ONE. ‘Our research suggests that a social media campaign can reduce vaccine hesitancy and increase the vaccination rates in Nigeria and possibly other low-income countries,’ said Doug Evans, the lead author of the paper and a professor of prevention and community health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.”

NiemanLab: A new station in Mexico City is making radio for social media — and filling local news gaps

NiemanLab: A new station in Mexico City is making radio for social media — and filling local news gaps. “What happens when a capital city of 22 million people and 16 boroughs doesn’t have enough local news sources to cover its massiveness Welcome to Mexico City, Mexico, where this is a reality that a new radio station is trying to address. Radio Chilango, launched on August 28, is the newest wing of Chilango, a news and culture magazine covering Mexico City. The station is starting off with four shows: The morning show ‘¿Qué chilangos pasa?’ discusses need-to-know news for the day, along with tips for surviving the unique challenges of the megalopolis (the traffic, the air pollution, gentrification, the works).”

USC Marshall: Crowdfunding is a Boon for Many Projects, but Why Doesn’t it Work as Well for Social Impact Initiatives?

USC Marshall: Crowdfunding is a Boon for Many Projects, but Why Doesn’t it Work as Well for Social Impact Initiatives?. “In new research, published in Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, the team, including USC Marshall School of Business Professor Jill Kickul, identified strategies to incentivize individuals to more readily contribute to social impact projects through crowdfunding. As part of this work, the team sought to better understand what motivates individuals to contribute to social impact work in the first place.”

Reuters: Court eases curbs on Biden administration’s contacts with social media firms

Reuters: Court eases curbs on Biden administration’s contacts with social media firms. “A federal appeals court on Friday ruled the White House, the FBI and top health officials may not ‘coerce or significantly encourage’ social-media companies to remove content the Biden administration considers misinformation, including about COVID-19. But the three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed much of an injunction issued by a Louisiana judge that restricted Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration from communicating with social-media companies.”

Poynter: A policy tracker helped Nevadans make sense of the latest legislative session

Poynter: A policy tracker helped Nevadans make sense of the latest legislative session. “Imagine how difficult that political maze must be to navigate and understand for residents who’ve never visited a state capitol or read a bill. Making sense of the legislative session has been the goal of the Nevada Policy Tracker, a web page created by The Nevada Independent, a nonprofit news site that launched in 2017.”