From shrimp Jesus to fake self-portraits, AI-generated images have become the latest form of social media spam

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Wednesday, April 24, 2024 [From shrimp Jesus to fake self-portraits, AI-generated images have become the latest form of social media spam]( Within days of visiting the pages — and without commenting on, liking, or following any of the material — Facebook’s algorithm recommended reams of other AI-generated content. By Renee DiResta, Abhiram Reddy, and Josh A. Goldstein. What We’re Reading The Boston Globe / Aidan Ryan [WBUR lays off seven employees, as 24 staffers take buyouts →]( “The station, which has been grappling with a financial shortfall for months, is also eliminating nine open jobs, pulling back on travel expenses, and will spend less or negotiate lower rates for contract services, [CEO Margaret Low] said.” Wall Street Journal / Alexandra Bruell [NPR chief defends coverage, accuses critics of “bad faith distortion” of her views →]( “There are many professions in which you set aside your own personal perspectives in order to lead in public service, and that is exactly how I have always led organizations and will continue to lead NPR.” Court Watch / Seamus Hughes [Bitcoin, Telegram, and Instagram were all used in a recent murder-for-hire and extortion plot in New York City →]( “The court record provides insight into how some alleged modern murder-for-hire rings operate using a combination of cryptocurrency and social media to plan, coordinate, and finance their crimes.” SpyGlass / M.G. Siegler [Ban or not, this is the end of TikTok as we know it →]( “The best hope TikTok may have now is a strange one: that Donald Trump comes riding back into the White House.” The New York Times / Benjamin Mullin and Jeremy W. Peters [Inside the crisis at NPR →]( “Internal documents reviewed by The New York Times and interviews with more than two dozen current and former public radio executives show how profoundly the nonprofit is struggling to succeed in the fast-changing media industry. It is grappling with a declining audience and falling revenue — and internal conflict about how to fix it.” The State News / Alex Walters and Theo Scheer [The best Michigan State University FOIA redactions of 2023-2024 →]( “The university’s handling of our requests has been extremely frustrating. We’ve dealt with countless unjust denials and redactions that keep information of great importance out of the public eye…But sometimes, the redactions are quite funny — at least to FOIA nerds like us.” State Press / The State Press Editorial Board [Arizona State University’s student newspaper has retracted 24 stories due to generative AI use →]( Of the 24 stories removed from the [State Press]( website, 13 were weekly horoscopes. Where's Your Ed At / Ed Zitron [The man who killed Google search →]( “[Prabhakar Raghavan] is a hall-of-fame rot economist, and one of the many managerial types that have caused immeasurable damage to the Internet in the name of growth and “shareholder value.” And I believe these uber-managers — these ultra-pencil-pushers and growth-hounds — are the forces destroying tech’s ability to innovate.” The Present Age / Parker Molloy [Trying to keep up with the protests happening at Columbia University? Check out the student newspaper. →]( “Student journalism, like that of the Spectator covering the campus protests, is a critical component in the broader media landscape, particularly in situations like protests where immediate, local insight is crucial.” Toolkits / Shareen Pathak [Why content is becoming the cornerstone of companies’ internal communications →]( “Companies increasingly view employees as they do external audiences: As people to be engaged with, courted, and communicated with regularly. As a result, a growing number of organizations are developing editorial content aimed specifically at internal audiences. That means content responsibilities are increasingly becoming part of internal communicators’ job descriptions.” The Verge / Lauren Feiner [Joe Biden has signed the TikTok “ban” bill into law →]( “The divest-or-ban bill is now law, starting the clock for ByteDance to make its move. The company has an initial nine months to sort out a deal, though the president could extend that another three months if he sees progress.” Nieman Foundation [Henry Chu named deputy curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard →]( Chu joins the Nieman staff after a distinguished journalism career spent primarily at the Los Angeles Times. Chu has taken on a series of overseas postings for the Times, reporting from more than 30 countries while serving as bureau chief in Beijing, Rio de Janeiro, New Delhi, and London. Most recently, he served as the newsroom’s deputy news editor in London, overseeing breaking news coverage and shepherding the homepage in the middle of the Los Angeles night as well as editing correspondents in other parts of the world. [Nieman Lab]( / [Fuego]( [Twitter]( / [Facebook]( [View email in browser]( [Unsubscribe]( You are receiving this daily newsletter because you signed up for for it at www.niemanlab.org. Nieman Journalism Lab Harvard University 1 Francis Ave.Cambridge, MA 02138 [Add us to your address book](