May 2016

INTERNET/BROADBAND

DETROIT’S DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
As one of the country’s most troubled cities tries to get back on its feet, a lack of Internet connectivity is keeping large segments of its population from even getting a fighting chance. Detroit has the worst rate of Internet access of any big American city, with four in 10 of its 689,000 residents lacking broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. While difficulties connecting to the Internet are well known in rural areas, Detroit is becoming a case study in how the digital divide in an urban setting can make or break a recovery. The deficiency of Internet access in Detroit is particularly glaring given that broadband is now considered as basic as having electricity and water.
benton.org/headlines/unemployed-detroit-residents-are-trapped-digital-divide | New York Times
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CONTENT

HOW FACEBOOK TRENDING SKEWED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Mike Isaac]
‘Trending Topics’ began as a tiny experiment for Facebook, but has a swollen into a national headache. The company faces allegations of intentionally suppressing conservative news from appearing on Trending Topics. In a rough-and-tumble presidential election year in which social media is playing an increasingly large role, some Republican leaders say they have lost trust in Facebook’s ability to maintain impartiality as a communication and news platform. An examination of Trending Topics, based on interviews with current and former Facebook employees and a demonstration of the curator tools, found that Facebook’s employees were not directed to squelch conservative news on the site, nor would that be easily accomplished by a staff member who wished to do so. Instead, these people said, Trending Topics was a fledgling, ill-managed group — made up largely of recent college graduates with little work experience — where individual judgment of news was encouraged. That led to inconsistencies in how the most popular stories were presented, along with departures from the team, eventually landing the group in the controversy that spotlights Facebook’s huge role in the type of information people see every day.
benton.org/headlines/facebook-trending-list-skewed-individual-judgment-not-institutional-bias | New York Times
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HOW FACEBOOK TRENDING COULD SKEW
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Callum Borchers]
[Commentary] Facebook doesn’t merely have the ability to dictate which already-written stories merit inclusion in its own trending news section; in some cases, the social media juggernaut can also influence which stories journalists wind up writing — and the kinds of questions they ask — in the first place. Facebook launched a reporting tool called Signal that is designed to help journalists “monitor what topics are trending on Facebook” and “find stories as they grow in importance.” One big challenge for media outlets is that there’s no way to fact-check Facebook data because it’s proprietary. No one but Facebook knows what’s really trending on Facebook. The inability to authenticate Facebook data means newsrooms have to think hard about how heavily they lean on it. They also have to consider how — amid intense competition for Internet traffic — the desire to produce viral content might color editorial judgments. Many news sites draw large portions of their audiences from Facebook, so the temptation is to try to create content that seems likely to be shared and liked over and over. So there is a shared responsibility where the potential for abuse exists. Facebook could theoretically nudge journalists toward the topics it wants covered by showing those topics to be trending when, in fact, they are not.
benton.org/headlines/how-facebook-can-influence-news-not-just-share-it | Washington Post
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MICROSOFT TO EXPLICITLY BAN 'TERRORIST CONTENT' ON ITS SERVICES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
Microsoft is updating its terms of use to specifically ban the posting of "terrorist content" on its services. The company is also considering whether to prominently display "positive messaging" in its Bing search results when users look for terror-related materials. However, it will not hide results for terror content on its search engine unless it is banned by local governments. "Terrorism is one of the truly urgent issues of our time," the company announced. "We are committed to doing our part to help address the use of technology to promote it or to recruit to its causes." Microsoft said it already bars hate speech and violence on its services, but now it is specifically banning terrorist content. It defined terror content as posts that support any organization on a sanctions list maintained by the United Nations and that depict "graphic violence, encourages violent action, endorses a terrorist organization or its acts, or encourages people to join such groups."
benton.org/headlines/microsoft-explicitly-ban-terrorist-content-its-services | Hill, The
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

SCORING THE 2016 CANDIDATES ON PRESS FREEDOM
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Joel simon]
[Commentary] When it comes to political campaigns, journalists traditionally serve as the referees, covering the action but not taking sides. There is one issue, however, on which journalists might be forgiven for showing preference—choosing who among the candidates is best for the media. For anyone trying to see how the candidates measure up, here’s a scorecard to help them decide. Up to five points are awarded for policies or actions that benefit the media; likewise, up to five points are subtracted when they are detrimental. And the winner between the presumptive nominees is—no surprise here— Hillary Clinton with a total score of -1, compared to -8 for Donald Trump. The fact that Clinton comes out ahead with a negative score strongly suggests the challenges ahead. President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to lead the “most transparent” administration in American history but has failed to meet this commitment. Based on the candidates left in the race, there is a good chance the situation will get worse, not better, in the next administration. The question to be decided on Election Day is how much worse, and how quickly.
benton.org/headlines/scoring-2016-candidates-press-freedom | Columbia Journalism Review
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TRANSPORTATION

NYC BUSES
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Corey Fedde]
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has embarked on an ambitious plan to modernize public transportation in New York. Gov Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) announced the first next-generation public transit bus had arrived in New York City. The bus is the first of 75 that will be launched in 2016 to address a growing problem of outdated and overcrowded transport in the region with more modern designs and digital features to satisfy an increasingly wired public. The buses are one part of a sweeping technological reform for the dated MTA. Thousands of new buses, new ways of buying tickets, and more general updates are aimed at revamping public transportation in the Big Apple. All of the new buses will have free Wi-Fi for passengers and USB charging ports line the top of the buses above the windows. Thousands of buses new and old will also be fitted with new information screens. Also at the announcement event, a new free app that will allow riders to buy tickets for metro and train lines via their phones was shown to have successfully passed its first field test. It would be available for all riders by the end of 2016.
benton.org/headlines/free-wi-fi-phone-chargers-cooler-design-can-nyc-make-buses-hip | Christian Science Monitor | Associated Press
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

FIFTY CENT PARTY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Paul Mozur]
China heavily censors its Internet, limiting what its people can see or say online to channels that the government can control. But China’s managing of its message does not end there. It also taps untold masses of people to cheer for its side on online message boards and social media. The common belief that they are paid 50 cents per post leads people in China to call them the Fifty Cent Party. A new study says those people are closer to the government than previously thought. The study, from researchers at Harvard, says the legions of online commenters are not all freelancers paid by the post. In fact, it says that most are government employees, preaching the principles of the Chinese Communist Party on social media while carrying out their jobs in the local tax bureau or at a county government office. They are also incredibly prolific.
benton.org/headlines/china-government-workers-push-rosy-diverting-views-online | New York Times
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May 2016

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May 23, 2016 (Detroit's Digital Divide)

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