9 Best Articles in 2021
The Atlantic
The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President
The Atlantic
644 saves · 2020-02-06 · How new technologies and techniques pioneered by dictators will shape the 2020 election
Visual Capitalist
How COVID-19 Has Impacted Media Consumption, by Generation
Visual Capitalist
~15 min read · 637 saves · 2020-04-07 · This visualization explores how each generation's media consumption is changing amid the frenzy of pandemic-induced quarantines.
Current Affairs
The Truth Is Paywalled But The Lies Are Free ❧ Current Affairs
Current Affairs
~14 min read · 588 saves · 2020-08-03 · The political economy of bullshit.
BuzzFeed
He Predicted The 2016 Fake News Crisis. Now He's Worried About An Information Apocalypse.
BuzzFeed
~14 min read · 483 saves · From 2018 · By predicting the fake news scandals surrounding the 2016 US presidential election campaign, tech engineer Aviv Ovadya has become an early Cassandra of Silicon Valley. Yet today, Ovadya believes that your children will look at the post-2016 election fallout with nostalgia. He warns that AI-enhanced technology is steering the world toward a disinformation apocalypse. To learn more about Ovadya’s background and thinking, getAbstract recommends you read Charlie Warzel’s recent post on BuzzFeed News.
The Guardian
How technology disrupted the truth
The Guardian
20+ min read · 450 saves · From 2016 · Social media has swallowed the news – threatening the funding of public-interest reporting and ushering in an era when everyone has their own facts. But the consequences go far beyond journalism
VANITY FAIR
“I Was Devastated”: The Man Who Created the World Wide Web Has Some Regrets
VANITY FAIR
~12 min read · 421 saves · From 2018 · Katrina Brooker · Tim Berners-Lee has seen his creation debased by everything from fake news to mass surveillance. But he’s got a plan to fix it.
The Guardian
Why can’t we agree on what’s true anymore?
The Guardian
~16 min read · 393 saves · 2019-09-19 · William Davies · The long read: It’s not about foreign trolls, filter bubbles or fake news. Technology encourages us to believe we can all have first-hand access to the ‘real’ facts – and now we can’t stop fighting…
Guardian Tech
Tim Berners-Lee on the future of the web: 'The system is failing'
Guardian Tech
6 min read · 384 saves · From 2017 · The inventor of the world wide web remains an optimist but sees a ‘nasty wind’ blowing amid concerns over advertising, net neutrality and fake news
The Correspondent
The new dot com bubble is here: it’s called online advertising
The Correspondent
20+ min read · 355 saves · 2019-11-06 · In 2018 $273bn was spent on digital ads globally. We delve into the world of clicks, banners and keywords to find out if any of it is real. What do we really know about the effectiveness of digital…
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The New Yorker
Is Substack the Media Future We Want?
The New Yorker
8 min read · 205 saves · 2020-12-28 · Anna Wiener · The newsletter service is a software company that, by mimicking some of the functions of newsrooms, has made itself difficult to categorize.
The New York Times
Now It Can Be Told: How Neil Sheehan Got the Pentagon Papers
The New York Times
~11 min read · 159 saves · Jan 7th · Janny Scott · It was a story he had chosen not to tell — until 2015, when he sat for a four-hour interview, promised that this account would not be published while he was alive.
The New York Times
Heather Cox Richardson Offers a Break From the Media Maelstrom. It’s Working.
The New York Times
6 min read · 142 saves · 2020-12-28 · Ben Smith · She is the breakout star of the newsletter platform Substack, doing the opposite of most media as she calmly situates the news of the day in the long sweep of American history.
Reuters Institute
Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2021
Reuters Institute
124 saves · Jan 7th · This annual report, based on a survey of senior executives, looks at some of the issues facing journalism in 2021 and beyond.
The New York Times
Violence on Capitol Hill Is a Day of Reckoning for Social Media
The New York Times
6 min read · 80 saves · Jan 6th · Critics and even some allies of companies like Twitter and Facebook say they have failed to prevent the misinformation that led to chaos on Wednesday.
The Economist
Wikipedia is 20, and its reputation has never been higher
The Economist
6 min read · 65 saves · Jan 9th · The crowdsourced encyclopedia is a welcome oddity on the modern internet
MIT Technology Review
The best way to protect free speech on social media is to promote competition
MIT Technology Review
2 min read · 63 saves · Jan 9th · Until users have other platforms to choose from, Twitter and Facebook will keep calling the shots.
The New York Times
Surprise Ending for Publishers: In 2020, Business Was Good
The New York Times
5 min read · 62 saves · 2020-12-29 · Elizabeth A. Harris · With people stuck at home and so many other activities shut down, a lot of reading — or at least a lot of book buying — happened this year.
The Atlantic
The Resistance’s Breakup With the Media Is At Hand
The Atlantic
6 min read · 52 saves · 2020-12-29 · The White House spent four years vilifying journalists. What comes next?
