We keep an eye out for the most interesting stories about Labby subjects: digital media, startups, the web, journalism, strategy, and more. Here’s some of what we’ve seen lately.
August 2, 2024
“[Trump’s team] said, ‘Well, can you not fact check? He’s not going to take the stage if you fact-check.'” (Trump did go on stage.) —
Axios / Delano Massey, Sophia Cai, and Russell Contreras
/ Aug 2August 1, 2024
“The Russian Federation had a few final items of protocol to tick through with the man who had become its most famous prisoner…they had another piece of writing they required from him, an official request for presidential clemency. The text, moreover, should be addressed to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The pro forma printout included a long blank space the prison could fill out if desired, or simply, as expected, leave blank. In the formal high Russian he had honed over 16 months imprisonment, the Journal’s Russia correspondent filled the page. The last line submitted a proposal of his own: After his release, would Putin be willing to sit down for an interview?” —LO
The Wall Street Journal / Joe Parkinson, Drew Hinshaw, Bojan Pancevski, and Aruna Viswanatha
/ Aug 1“It may never be clear if Gershkovich was targeted for specific reporting, or simply because the Kremlin needed a hostage to further negotiations for a prisoner swap with the west, after numerous arrests of high-profile Russian assets and officers.” —
The Guardian / Andrew Roth, Pjotr Sauer, and Shaun Walker
/ Aug 1“Since Russia imprisoned Mr. Gershkovich in March 2023, The Journal has pushed to keep his detainment top of mind.” (Nieman Lab also covered the Journal’s efforts
here.)
—LONew York Times / Katie Robertson
/ Aug 1The 32-year-old’s release was secured as part of the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War. Read a letter from Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker
here.
—LOThe Wall Street Journal / Drew Hinshaw, Joe Parkinson, and Aruna Viswanatha
/ Aug 1“Mr. Lemon did not sign a contract cementing the agreement, which he believed would be a launchpad for his new show after CNN fired him last year, the lawsuit said. Mr. Musk told him during a phone call that there was no need to ‘fill out paperwork’ and reassured Mr. Lemon that X would financially support the show even if he did not like the views Mr. Lemon espoused, according to the court filing.” —
The New York Times / Kate Conger
/ Aug 1“The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accuses Abraham Shafi of defrauding investors by making misleading statements about the company’s growth. IRL – which was once considered a potential rival to Facebook – took its name from its intention to get its online users to meet up in real life. However, the initial optimism evaporated after it emerged most of IRL’s users were bots, with the platform shutting in 2023.” —
BBC / Graham Fraser
/ Aug 1“In Futurism’s testing, ChatGPT regularly cited DNyuz’ plagiarism factory as an authoritative and original source. And even after we alerted OpenAI to the issue, ChatGPT continued basing its answers on DNuyz’s stolen content.” —JB
Futurism / Maggie Harrison Dupré
/ Aug 1“The signatories said they wanted ‘to draw X’s immediate attention to its persistent failings in the fight against the availability of unlawful content on its platform and urgently call for a meeting with X’s representatives to address this unacceptable situation.’” —
AP News / Tales Azzoni
/ Aug 1“If it passes, the NO FAKES Act would create an option for people to seek damages when their voice, face or body are recreated by AI. Both individuals and companies would be held liable for producing, hosting or sharing unauthorized digital replicas, including ones made by generative AI.” —
Engadget / Anna Washenko
/ Aug 1
