BuzzFeed News: Facebook Took Down A Fact-Check Of An Anti-Abortion Video After Republicans Complained. “Though [Lila] Rose said abortion is never medically necessary, the fact-check pointed out several medical conditions including pre-eclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and placenta previa can make abortion necessary to save a mother’s life. Rose has said in these scenarios, a doctor could instead deliver a baby early. But that’s only possible when a fetus has developed enough to survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks, the fact-check said. The doctors also pointed to the case of Savita Halappanavar, a woman in Ireland who died after being denied an abortion.”
content removal
Nieman Lab: Unprepared for unpublishing? Here’s how some newsrooms are rethinking what lasts forever
Nieman Lab: Unprepared for unpublishing? Here’s how some newsrooms are rethinking what lasts forever. “News outlets are notoriously bad at saving their work. Archiving the journalism that you pour blood, sweat, and whatever else into is a crucial step to having a lasting impact. But 19 news organizations out of 21 in a study conducted earlier this year weren’t taking any steps to archive their online content (no, saving it in a Google Doc or Github doesn’t count)…. But another equally important issue is unpublishing — a news outlet choosing to remove a piece of reporting from the internet, usually on the request of a person mentioned in the story, often related to a crime.”
YouTube: YouTube says it’s removing more hate speech than before but controversial channels remain up
CNN: YouTube says it’s removing more hate speech than before but controversial channels remain up. “In a blog post on Tuesday, YouTube said it had removed more than 100,000 videos and over 17,000 channels for violating its hate speech rules in April through June, which is five times more than it removed in the previous three months. It also took down over 500 million comments over hate speech.”
CNET: Instagram, YouTube and Facebook could be fined millions over harmful content
CNET: Instagram, YouTube and Facebook could be fined millions over harmful content. “Instagram, Facebook and YouTube could face huge fines for failing to remove toxic online videos as part of a crackdown by the UK government on harmful social media content. The government said on Monday that under new rules due to be introduced next year, tech companies would have to pay up to 5% of their revenue or even face restriction or suspension of services if they fail to remove content.”
CNN: Facebook announces first takedown of influence campaign with ties to Saudi government
CNN: Facebook announces first takedown of influence campaign with ties to Saudi government. “Facebook said Thursday it had found evidence of something cyber security and national security experts have long suspected: people tied to the government of Saudi Arabia have been running covert campaigns on Facebook and Instagram in a bid to prop up support for the kingdom and attack its enemies.”
CBS News: CBS News investigation finds fraudulent court orders used to change Google search results
CBS News: CBS News investigation finds fraudulent court orders used to change Google search results. “A Google search can reveal negative information about anyone or any company. Since it’s difficult to change those results, many small businesses are paying thousands to so-called reputation management companies to make negative web pages disappear. Much of the work is legitimate, but a CBS News investigation into online reputation management found some companies hired to clean up Google searches appear to be engaging in criminal activity.”
Mashable: Instagram won’t say why teen’s dead body still shows up in profile pics despite image-blocking tech
Mashable: Instagram won’t say why teen’s dead body still shows up in profile pics despite image-blocking tech. “Instagram is taking steps to block users from posting horrific photos of a teen’s body after her brutal murder, but the platform’s filters seem to have blind spots: profile pictures and videos. Days after heavy backlash for not taking down gruesome photos of Bianca Devins’ body quickly enough, Instagram still struggles to get a handle on content moderation.”
