Most readers want publishers to label AI-generated articles — but trust outlets less when they do

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Tuesday, December 5, 2023 [Most readers want publishers to label AI-generated articles — but trust outlets less when they do]( “We already expect quite a lot from the public in terms of media literacy to be able to navigate the contemporary information environment; the use of these technologies in news adds a whole other layer to that.” By Sarah Scire. [Google’s $100 million to Canada’s news industry is a small price to pay to avoid regulation]( “Bill C-18 is a test case of the power of platforms like Google and Meta to run and control Canada’s communications infrastructures. While the agreement allows all sides to claim victory, it is clear that Google successfully extracted key concessions over how it is regulated in Canada.” By Alfred Hermida. What We’re Reading Documented / April Xu [Documented launches a WeChat account for Chinese readers →]( “The original purpose of setting up our WeChat public account is to deliver our news to our readers more effectively and to break the traditional mode of news, that is, the news media’s one-way delivery of information to the readers.” Bloomberg / Ashley Carman [Spotify cancels acclaimed podcasts “Heavyweight” and “Stolen” →]( “Both shows came out of Spotify’s Gimlet Media studio, which often focused on limited series … Stolen’s most recent season about Canada’s residential schools for Indigenous people won a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody Award. Heavyweight, which premiered its most recent season in October, was just listed as a best podcast of 2023 by the New York Times.” Prospect Magazine / Alan Rusbridger [Images coming out of Israel and Gaza are horrifying but we mustn’t look away →]( “So long as Motaz Azaiza is there, risking death on a daily basis, I feel an obligation each day to ignore my urge to flinch and to confront his heart-rending and horrific photographs on Instagram.” Drilled / Amy Westervelt and Matthew Green [Reuters and The New York Times top the list of the fossil fuel industry’s favorite media partners →]( “All of the media companies reviewed — Bloomberg, The Economist, the Financial Times, the New York Times, Politico, Reuters, and The Washington Post — consistently top lists of “most-trusted” news outlets. They also all have internal brand studios that create advertising content for major oil and gas companies, furnishing the industry with an air of legitimacy as it pushes misleading climate claims to trusting readers.” Vanity Fair / Charlotte Klein [How Jessica Lessin’s The Information has survived a decade of media tumult →]( “Today, per Lessin, The Information has 475,000 active readers (i.e., paid subscribers and unpaid newsletter subscribers). According to Lessin, they expect to be profitable this year.” Digiday / Sara Guaglione [News publishers are hesitant to commit to investing more into Threads next year despite growing engagement →]( “X still gets about 100 times more web traffic than Threads worldwide and has more than 11 times more monthly active users of its mobile apps in the U.S., according to David Carr, senior insights manager at data analytics company Similarweb.” Motherboard / Matthew Gault [Israel’s latest war is a case study in how online propaganda shapes modern conflict →]( “Your posts matter more than you think. Social media has changed the way wars are fought and the internet has become a new battlefield.” The Daily Beast / Confider [The media grinches steal Christmas →]( “As 2023 nears its end, the media grinches are about to steal Christmas for many, as several key outlets are poised to suffer through a final wave of layoffs.” Platformer / Casey Newton [How Facebook helps predators find each other →]( “The platform dynamics of this terrible abuse are very well known — the only question has been when the company would at long last get around to addressing them.” Lupa / Cristina Tardáguila [The Brazilian government’s fact-checking initiative doesn’t follow basic fact-checking practices →]( According to an investigation by Lupa and Lagom Data, 52% of the initiative’s fact-checks “do not have linked sources, that is, they are not transparent regarding the origin of the information used to deny a rumor, or they rely solely on the government’s own websites when drawing conclusions about the veracity of a matter.” [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](