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☆ The election proved the media is in crisis. Here’s what it needs to do to regain its relevance
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Brian Stelter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

What can news outlets do to regain trust and appeal to new audiences without alienating existing readers and viewers? For the past week, CNN’s media team has been receiving feedback from readers of the Reliable Sources newsletter. Mainstream media outlets have been losing public trust for decades, particularly among Republicans, but also among Democrats and independents. Maybe, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan commented last week, the media collectively spent “too much time obsessing about polling (where did that get us?) As long as President-elect Donald Trump keeps repeating lies and raising controversies, the press will be seen as a hostile force by many Trump voters.

Persons: New York CNN — Donald Trump’s, Kamala Harris, “, ”, Greg Gutfeld, Sean Hannity, ” Elon Musk, Harris, Donie O’Sullivan, MAGA, it’s, TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman, Donald Trump, They’re, Joe Rogan’s, Charlie Warzel, Rachel Karten, “ Trump, Tim Graham, Arlie Russell Hochschild, Vox, Lulu Garcia, Navarro, Buck, Richard Stengel, Andrew Morse, “ It’s, Will Bunch, there’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, ” Fox, Trump, Media, ABC News, Nielsen, CNN, News, Civic Health, Media Research Center, ” New York Times, Atlanta, Philadelphia Locations: New York, Washington, York, U.S

☆ How Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to dispute the election results – again
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-03 | by ( Jeremy Herb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Election officials warn they’re outmatched and struggling to combat the wave of falsehoods coming from Musk and his platform. Manipulating early voting numbersIn 2020, Trump attacked early voting and mail-in voting, claiming they were used to cheat. Election officials have been inundated with threats of violence since the 2020 election. But Trump and his allies have been laying the groundwork to try to dispute the election should he lose. In Georgia, conservatives sought to allow county election officials to refuse to certify the election results, though the effort was blocked by a state judge.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, He’s, he’s, Kamala Harris, “, ”, Ben Ginsberg, you’re, they’re, Justin Levitt, ” Levitt, hasn’t, Elon Musk, they’re outmatched, Musk, it’s, –, Kathy Boockvar, Boockvar, Athena, doesn’t, Elon, what’s, Jocelyn Benson, ” Musk, Benson, Lara Trump, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, Ruth Greenwood, Harris, Michael Morley, ” Trump, Glenn Youngkin, They’ve, Andy Harris, Hurricane Helene, Ginsberg, ” CNN’s Yahya Abou, Ghazala, Sarah Boxer, Pamela Brown, Ethan Cohen, Marshall Cohen, Zachary Cohen, Devan Cole, Daniel Dale, Curt Devine, Danny Freeman, John Fritze, Brian Fung, Majlie, Puy, Holmes, Lybrand, Sean Lyngaas, Sara Murray, Paula Reid, Fredreka Schouten, Tierney Sneed, Donie O’Sullivan, Casey Tolan Organizations: CNN, noncitizens, Republican, Loyola Law School, Biden White, Elon, Democrat, Benedictine, Republicans, Republican National Committee, Trump, Harvard Law School, RNC, Democratic, Florida State University College of Law, ” Republicans, Virginia Republican Gov, Justice Department, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Capitol, Maryland GOP, North, GOP, Republican National Locations: American, Florida, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, Allentown , Pennsylvania, Lancaster County, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Erie County, Erie, Bucks, Michigan, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Allegheny County, Portland , Oregon, Vancouver , Washington, Maryland, North Carolina, Hurricane

☆ Who will be the next president? News outlets are running out of ways to communicate the uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-30 | by ( Brian Stelter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —“Jump ball.” “Coin flip.” “Toss up.” “Dead heat.” “Deadlocked.” On TV and online, political analysts are running out of ways to say the presidential race is effectively tied. As CNN’s Dana Bash said on “Inside Politics” Tuesday, “this race could not be closer.”In this final week of the campaign, the most important thing for the news media to communicate is uncertainty. On the right, former President Donald Trump and many of his right-wing media allies are expressing unbridled confidence that the Republican is going to win next week. “I spend more hours figuring out ways to say this race is close than New Yorkers spend in traffic,” Enten quipped. Even after all the polls are closed, there may still be uncertainty about the outcome since different states tabulate votes in different ways.

Persons: ”, ” “, CNN’s Dana Bash, Rick Klein, Donald Trump, Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Trump, Matt Lewis, Donie O’Sullivan, “, Kamala Harris, they’re, Michelle Obama, Harry Enten, ” Enten, Enten, Harris, “ I’ve, ” Anthony Salvanto, ” Salvanto Organizations: New, New York CNN, ”, ABC News Washington, CNN, Republican, Fox News, Trump, MSNBC, Fox, Journalists, CBS News Locations: New York, “ MAGA, New

☆ How some of the biggest right-wing media stars ended up as unwitting puppets of Russian propaganda
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-07 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Now, the Justice Department is alleging that some of the biggest stars in right-wing social media were, unwittingly, part of a sinister Russian operation to influence the 2024 US election. What is Tenet Media? “Overt shilling”The Russians also pushed Tenet to promote videos that were going viral on social media, according to the indictment. Tenet Media has not responded to requests for comment and stopped posting content on Wednesday. After the 2016 US presidential election, congressional and federal investigations showed Moscow had successfully co-opted unwitting Americans to stage protests, run social media accounts and host events at its behest.

Persons: CNN — They’re, weren’t, Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, Matt Christiansen, Dave Rubin, Johnson, MAGA influencers, Rubin, Glenn Beck’s, Enrique Tarrio, Jack Posobiec, Pool, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Christiansen, Lauren Chen, Liam Donovan, Chen, Donovan, ”, Donald Trump’s, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban, Evgenia Novozhenina, “, Trump, Q, Justin Trudeau, Putin, Trudeau, Israel, ” Rubin, Eduard Grigoriann, “ Grigoriann, Tenet, Tucker Carlson, Carlson fawned, I’ll, Nina Jankowicz, ’, unvarnished ’, Renee DiResta, Donie O’Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Justice, Justice Department, Tenet Media, Kremlin, Vice Media, Independent, Young Turks, YouTube, Tenet, Google, Proud Boys, Blaze Media, Ukraine, The Justice Department, Republican Party, Trump, Democrats, ”, United, ISIS, Hungary's, Reuters “, Canadian, Hamas, FBI, Fox News, American Sunlight, Media, DOJ, Soviet, Stanford Internet Observatory Locations: Tennessee, Russia, Ukraine, ”, “ Ukraine, United States, Moscow, Russian, Colorado, American

☆ States target AI and deepfakes as election interference threat looms
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Piper Hudspethblackburn | Piper Hudspeth Blackburn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

While Michigan, Washington, Minnesota, Texas and California already had laws regulating deepfakes, Minnesota updated their law this year to require a candidate to forfeit their office or nomination if they violate the state’s deepfake laws, among other provisions. In states such as New York, New Mexico and Alabama, victims can seek a court order to stop the content. Katie Hobbs signed his proposal into law in May, along with another AI bill that requires disclosures in campaign ads. Big Tech has already taken some steps to moderate deepfake content. TikTok and Meta (the parent company of Instagram, Threads and Facebook) announced plans in recent months to label AI content, while YouTube requires creators to disclose when videos are AI-created.

Persons: deepfakes, Amy Beth Cyphert, Cyphert, Alexander Kolodin, Kolodin, it’s, ”, Katie Hobbs, Robert Weissman, Chuck Schumer, Sen, Mitch McConnell, Weissman, Sean Cooksey, It’s, Jessica Rosenworcel, ” Jonathan Uriarte, there’s, Dar’shun Kendrick, “ there’s, ” Kendrick, Alex Curtas, CNN’s Oliver Darcy, Sean Lyngaas, Donie O’Sullivan, Yahya Abou, Ghazala Organizations: CNN, Republican, Democrat, Department of Homeland Security, West Virginia University’s College of Law, ” Arizona Democratic Gov, Big Tech, Meta, YouTube, Swift, Public Citizen, House, Federal, Commission, Federal Communication Commission, FCC, . State Locations: Florida, Hawaii , New York , Idaho , Indiana, New Mexico , Oregon , Utah , Wisconsin , Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Washington , Minnesota , Texas, California, deepfakes, Minnesota, New York, New Mexico, Alabama, Florida , Mississippi, Utah, Wisconsin, Oregon and Mississippi, statehouses, robocalls, Georgia, . Arizona

☆ The Ukraine war is a huge opportunity for US intel to recruit Russian spies
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Analysis Josh Campbell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Editor’s Note: The CNN Original Series “Secrets & Spies: A Nuclear Game” examines the tenuous global geopolitics during the Cold War through the lens of two notorious double agents: Oleg Gordievsky and Aldrich Ames. CNN —Russia’s brutal ongoing invasion of Ukraine has provided US intelligence services with a rare opening to recruit Kremlin insiders furious with the handling of the war. “Disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us,” said CIA Director Bill Burns last year during a speech in the United Kingdom. Russian Foreign Ministry building is seen behind a billboard showing Z, a tactical insignia of Russian troops in Ukraine, on October 13, 2022. As the documentary underscores, the espionage lessons of the Cold War could very well determine future global stability.

Persons: Oleg Gordievsky, Aldrich Ames, CNN —, ”, Bill Burns, “, David McCloskey, Alexander Nemenov, James Schlesinger, Douglas London, Edgar Hoover, Stefani Reynolds, Jim Sciutto, Tim Naftali, –, Sarah Moon, Alex Marquardt, Donie O’Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, CIA, Russian Foreign Ministry, Getty, FBI, BBC, Edgar Hoover FBI Locations: Ukraine, United Kingdom, Moscow, AFP, Virginia, Russia’s, Washington, Washington ,, Soviet Union, Europe

☆ Elon Musk has been getting Trumpier. A direct line to Trump may be next
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Clare Duffy | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Elon Musk has sought to accumulate political capital commensurate with his extravagant wealth. Musk has discussed advising Trump should he win the 2024 election, the Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Musk called Trump directly via cellphone to explore a role that could potentially give Musk significant influence over US policies. Reporting that Musk and Trump’s relationship has improved comes after Musk’s politics have become more aligned with Trump’s. For Musk to have a direct, private line to a future President Trump “would seem to be a blatant conflict of interest,” said Darrell West, a senior fellow in the governance studies program at the Brookings Institution.

Persons: CNN — Elon Musk, Musk, Donald Trump, Trump, Brian Hughes, –, Andrew Harnik, ”, Darrell West, ” West, Herika Martinez, —, Donald Trump’s, Biden, Ron DeSantis, Robert Kennedy , Jr, Paul Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, White supremacists, Imran Ahmed, X, CCDH, Donie O’Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Republican, Wall Street, Trump, SpaceX, Tesla, Brookings Institution, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Traffic Safety Administration, Justice Department, Migrants, US Border Patrol, AFP, Getty, Twitter, US, Republican Florida, Politico Locations: Paris, El Paso , Texas, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua State, Mexico

☆ Misinformation has created an alternative world for some Americans
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

O’SULLIVAN: So much of mainstream American politics now is being infected and affected by what is happening on what was once considered the real fringes — fringe platforms, fringe personalities. O’SULLIVAN: A lot of people got kicked off the major social media platforms after January 6. Because major social media platforms like Facebook have these rules. But I think just overall, in 2016, all the guards were down when it came to social media. And then in 2020 there was a big crackdown from the social media platforms, which got a huge amount of blowback from conservatives.

Persons: CNN —, —, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, Trump, Anderson Cooper ”, Joe Biden didn’t, They’ve, they’ve, we’ve, Rachel Powell, “, O'Sullivan, It’s, Joe Black, Donald Trump, O’Sullivan, Black, Joe Biden, it’s, You’re, ”, Tim Alberta, Christiane Amanpour, Caleb Campbell, — he’s, You’ve, you’ve, Elon Musk, WOLF, There’s, she’ll, She’s Organizations: CNN, FBI, Pastors, Facebook, Twitter, Elon, Trump Locations: Colorado, Alberta, West Virginia, Trump

☆ Biden officials confront limits of federal response in exercise preparing for 2024 election threats
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Carolyn Kaster/AP/FileUS national security officials have to weigh whether publicly calling attention to disinformation might inadvertently amplify the very message they’re trying to bat down. In both scenarios, federal officials favored a muted public response, largely choosing to let state and local governments take the lead. State and local officials run elections and are more trusted voices in their communities, but how can federal officials act decisively to support them? “It’s a trick box,” said Adam Hickey, who worked on election security issues for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “[W]e prioritize tabletop exercises that integrate the range of cyber, physical, and operational threats election officials may encounter,” Conley said in a statement to CNN.

Persons: “, ”, —, Carolyn Kaster, there’s, Biden, Xi Jinping, Kevin Lamarque, Joe Biden, deepfakes, ” Sen, Mark Warner, Kevin Dietsch, Francisco Aguilar, ” Aguilar, Donald Trump’s, Adam Hickey, Hickey, Cait Conley, DHS’s, ” Conley, –, ” CNN’s Evan Perez, Natasha Bertrand, Donie O’Sullivan, Katie Bo Lillis Organizations: Washington CNN, CNN, FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, Biden White, Jeffersonville Masonic, New Hampshire, Foreign Ministry, ”, Senate, Committee, White, Senate Intelligence, Virginia Democrat, Republican, Trump, Capitol, Justice Department’s National Security, “, Justice Department, Department of Homeland, National Security Council, US Army, DHS’s Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency Locations: China, Jeffersonville, Jeffersonville , Ohio, American, Woodside , California, Nevada, Russia, Iran, Russian, Iranian

☆ Fake Biden robocall linked to Texas-based companies, New Hampshire attorney general announces
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( David Wright | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A robocall that used an AI voice resembling President Joe Biden’s to advise New Hampshire voters against voting in the state’s presidential primary has been linked to a pair of Texas-based telecommunications companies, the state’s attorney general announced on Tuesday. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, in a news conference on Tuesday, said the source of the calls were linked to two businesses: Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom. Formella identified Walter Monk as the owner of Life Corporation. Formella said the investigation is ongoing and suggested it involves additional entities other than Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom. “We have issued a cease-and-desist letter to Life Corporation that orders the company to immediately desist violating New Hampshire election laws.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, John Formella, Formella, Walter Monk, “, ” Formella, ”, Donald Trump, That’s, we’ve, I’m, Biden, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan Organizations: CNN, New, . New Hampshire, Life Corporation, Lingo Telecom, “ Republicans, Democratic, Texas Life Corporation, New Hampshire, University of California, Berkley Locations: New Hampshire, Texas, ., Hampshire

☆ Homebuilder stocks could get another boost from rate hikes ending
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —For over a year, the red-hot housing market has been at the mercy of the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes, which have driven mortgage rates to sky-high levels. Mortgage rates have hovered above 7% since August, according to Freddie Mac data. Both those factors have helped create a scorching-hot housing market and a boom in homebuilder stocks, as Americans turned to building as a buying alternative. Moderating bond yields could change the narrative for the housing market. Tight supply and elevated mortgage rates this year made home purchases the least affordable they’ve been since 1984.

Persons: Bell, Freddie Mac, Toll, DR Horton, Lennar, Price, Steve Sosnick, ”, John Petrofsky, Chris Isidore, Danielle Wiener, Bronner, haven’t, Clare Duffy, Donie, Meta Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New, New York CNN, Homeowners, DR, Federal, Treasury, Interactive, National Association of Home Builders, FBB Capital Partners, Starbucks, United Auto Workers, SAG, Writers Guild of America, Starbucks Workers United, Facebook, Street, Washington Post Locations: New York, Wells Fargo, Buffalo , New York, United States, Brazil, Israel, Italy

☆ Messaging app Telegram blocks access to Hamas-run channels
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Clare Duffy | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The messaging app Telegram has restricted access to several channels closely associated with or operated by Hamas, as the militant group’s war with Israel rages on. The restrictions mark a significant clampdown on a major source of pro-Hamas propaganda since the Israel-Hamas war began, one that Telegram’s error messages suggest may be driven by the app store operators’ policies. Other popular Telegram channels that have expressed support for Hamas have also been restricted, according to CNN’s analysis. That account is among those no longer accessible via Telegram apps downloaded from the Google Play or Apple App stores, CNN confirmed. An Apple spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s questions about the Telegram channels now blocked for iOS users.

Persons: Israel, —, ”, United States —, ” Google’s, didn’t, Brian Fishman, –, O’Sullivan, Paul Murphy Organizations: New, New York CNN, Hamas, Google, CNN, ” CNN, CNBC, Meta, Brigades, Apple, Capitol, Facebook, Twitter Locations: New York, Israel, Russian, United States, Dubai, Europe

☆ Her son was an accused cult leader. She says he was a victim, too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

The man talking on the tape was her son, Michael Protzman. Michael Protzman got swept up in this alternate reality. We spoke to dozens of Americans whose lives and families have been affected by conspiracy theories, including Protzman’s own family. After Michael Protzman died this summer, some of his followers refused to believe he had passed. Vigrass never imagined that the conspiracy theories her brother was airing at the kitchen table could lead to him to join what she views as a cult.

Persons: CNN’s, O’Sullivan, Anderson Cooper, CNN —, “ John John, … Trump, Joe Kennedy, George Patton, Mussolini … ” Colleen Protzman, Michael Protzman, ”, “, John F, Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump, Kennedy, Junior —, “ He’ll, Trump, Jesus Christ, reemerge, opportunists, Protzman, Michael Brian Protzman, Michael “, Colleen Protzman, Michael, it’s, Sandy, ” Colleen Protzman, —, QAnon, Barack Obama, Rachel Maddow, Donie O'Sullivan, Michal Protzman, didn’t, JFK, Erica Vigrass, Jason, Erica, ‘ I’m, ’ ” Protzman’s, – Protzman, Erica Vigrass ’, Vigrass, ” Protzman, Jason –, They’re, Jesselyn Cook, It’s, Diane Benscoter, General, ” Benscoter Organizations: JFK, CNN, Dealey, Junior, Junior — JFK, WFAA, JFK Jr, Trump, Kennedys, Democratic Party, Michael Protzman CNN, Dallas CNN, Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Capitol, Facebook, Twitter, Hollywood, Unification Church, US Locations: United States, Dallas, JFK, Minnesota, Seattle, Washington, Dealey, –

☆ US officials worry about ‘chilling effect’ on combating election disinformation after order limiting Biden administration contact with social platforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Brian Fung Sean Lyngaas | Brian Fung | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

The resulting uncertainty, they say, risks slowing the government and social media companies’ ability to respond to election-related disinformation that appears on tech platforms. Last week, the State Department canceled a routine meeting on election security with Facebook, according to a person familiar with the matter. On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray defended the close contacts between the US government and the social media companies. The injunction does contain some exceptions allowing more limited contact between affected agencies and social media companies. “Well, the government doesn’t necessarily have those capabilities to do that back-end work that the social media companies do.

Persons: Biden, ”, Chris Krebs, Krebs, Katie Harbath, Donald Trump, Christopher Wray, ” Wray, Trump, Harbath, Yoel Roth, Twitter’s, Gowri Ramachandran, “, ” Ramachandran, they’re, Ramachandran, Russia’s, ” Harbath, you’re, ’, Evelyn Douek, Jocelyn Benson, ” Benson, Adam Mosseri, Meta, ’ ”, Nick Clegg, Donie O’Sullivan Organizations: Washington CNN, Infrastructure Security Agency, CNN, State Department, Facebook, Justice Department, FBI, of Homeland Security, Health, Human Services, Twitter, “, Senate Intelligence, Department of Homeland Security, National Intelligence, Big Tech, Brennan Center for Justice, New York University, Stanford Law School, Meta, YouTube, Meta Global Locations: Louisiana, Missouri, State, Michigan

☆ Trump campaign has asked Meta to unblock the former president’s Facebook account
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Kristen Holmes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Former President Trump’s campaign sent a letter to Facebook’s parent company, Meta, Tuesday petitioning them to unblock his Facebook account, a source familiar with the letter tells CNN. Trump’s Facebook and Twitter accounts were blocked following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Facebook initially said its ban of Trump would be indefinite. A Trump adviser said that reinstating the former president’s Facebook account would make it easier for the campaign to do outreach. Still, this person said, the Trump campaign would leap at the opportunity to resume using his likeness in its Facebook advertisements.

☆ The tech we couldn’t live without in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Bone conduction headphones, TV streaming devices and Bluetooth speakers are among the tech gadgets topping holiday wish lists this year. Other notable products – ahem, the new 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max – are near impossible to find. Since my move to New York, I’ve had to find all new favorite spots for good food and drinks. – Victor Blackwell, co-anchor of CNN NewsroomHBO MaxNow that I commute home at the ungodly hour of 1 a.m., I lean heavily on my HBO Max app (starts at $9.99 a month). – Samantha Kelly, CNN senior tech writerRev.comI remember being an intern over a decade ago logging half hour long interviews for producers.

☆ Elon Musk’s security team sought for questioning over incident he cited as reason to ban journalists
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Jon Passantino | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

While the @ElonJet account showed Musk’s private jet landed on Dec. 12 in Los Angeles, the incident occurred roughly 24 hours later and 25 miles away from the airport, according to police. Two days after the incident, on Dec. 15, police said they “learned the suspect involved in this case is believed to be a member of Elon Musk’s security team. O’Sullivan and other reporters had recently written about the Twitter account that tracked Musk’s private plane. “They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service,” Musk claimed in a tweet Thursday night. Asked for comment by O’Sullivan on the incident Tuesday, Musk told CNN in an email: “Donor O’Sulivan [sic] is a liar.”- CNN’s Stella Chan contributed to this report.

☆ Tesla gets downgraded on Wall Street over Elon Musk’s Twitter antics, banning of journalists
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Elon Musk’s management of Twitter, including the banning of multiple journalists, has “severely damaged” market sentiment around Tesla, and risks sparking a backlash from advertisers and consumers, a Wall Street analyst warned on Monday. Oppenheimer & Co. downgraded its rating on Tesla, where Musk is the CEO, solely because of risks posed by the billionaire’s ownership and management of Twitter. We see potential for a negative feedback loop from departure of Twitter advertisers and users,” Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch wrote to clients. Tesla shares briefly jumped in premarket trading Monday after Musk polled users on whether he should quit as Twitter CEO. “I think it is in the best interest for Tesla shareholders for Elon to be back at Tesla working full time,” Gerber said on Twitter.

☆ Elon Musk offers journalists he banned from Twitter ability to return under certain condition
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —New Twitter owner Elon Musk offered several of the journalists he banned from the social media website earlier this week the ability to return to the platform if they deleted the tweets he falsely claimed shared his “exact real-time” location. The move from Musk came after he posted an unscientific poll on his personal Twitter account that concluded Friday night with 59% of participants voting in favor of immediately restoring the accounts. Musk had on Thursday banned CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, The New York Times’ Ryan Mac, and The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell. But while the accounts were made publicly viewable on Saturday, the journalists were restricted from posting until they removed the tweets Musk had claimed violated Twitter’s rules. In the past, Twitter had required the removal of violative tweets for users to regain access to their accounts, but the journalists in this case strongly dispute that their posts violated Twitter rules.

☆ Democrats criticize Elon Musk for suspending journalists covering Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Amanda Terkel | Amanda Is Senior Politics Editor For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — Democratic members of Congress had harsh words for Elon Musk on Thursday night after Twitter suddenly suspended a number of high-profile journalists who have been covering the company and Musk, its billionaire CEO. In November, shortly after he took over Twitter, Musk tweeted that he would not ban the account. Musk tweeted Thursday night. "Ro Khanna is great," Musk tweeted in response to one of some of the Twitter files. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., tweeted: "Twitter can suspend whoever it wants.

☆ Musk Censors the Press
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk is no free speech warrior. Will news and media organizations remain on the platform, while Musk hastily bans their reporters without explanation? Musk has touted that he is a free speech maximalist and repeatedly said he would like to permit all legal speech. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk once tweeted. As Harwell told me, “Elon says he is a free speech champion and he is banning journalists for exercising free speech.

☆ European Union threatens sanctions over Twitter's ban of journalists
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Elon Musk’s decision to suddenly ban prominent tech journalists from Twitter is fanning a fierce backlash in Europe. Germany warned of the impact on press freedom, while a senior EU official said Twitter must comply with the bloc’s rules or face possible sanctions. “The EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. European leaders previously said they were watching how Musk’s takeover of Twitter would affect the platform. Thierry Breton, a top EU official, warned Musk in late November that the social media platform must take significant steps to comply with the bloc’s content moderation laws.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter bans several prominent journalists without explanation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Twitter on Thursday evening banned the accounts of several high-profile journalists from top news organizations without explanation, apparently marking a significant attempt by new owner Elon Musk to wield his unilateral authority over the platform. Neither Musk nor Twitter responded to a request for comment Thursday evening, and the platform did not explain precisely why the journalists were exiled from the platform. It also called into serious question Musk’s supposed commitment to free speech. We hope that all of the journalists’ accounts are reinstated and that Twitter provides a satisfying explanation for this action.”“Elon says he is a free speech champion and he is banning journalists for exercising free speech,” Harwell told CNN on Thursday. Several of the journalists banned Thursday had covered the ban of the @ElonJet account, and highlighted the irony of Musk’s self-purported mission to advance free speech.

☆ Twitter is less safe due to Elon Musk’s management style, says former top official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN Business —Twitter owner Elon Musk’s dictatorial management style risks driving the company headlong into unforced business blunders, content moderation disasters and the degradation of core platform features that help keep vulnerable users safe, according to a former top Twitter official who led the company’s content moderation before abruptly resigning this month. For two weeks after Musk closed his purchase of Twitter, Roth presented himself as a voice of stability and calm at the center of a company undergoing dramatic change. Roth knew that by remaining at the company, Musk was using him to help keep advertisers from abandoning the platform. In a subsequent New York Times op-ed, Roth said his reason for leaving came down to Musk’s highly personal and improvisational approach to content moderation. Before Musk took over Twitter, Roth wrote down several commitments to himself that would trigger the decision to quit.

☆ Analysis: Midterm elections present a big test for newsrooms in the era of election lies and misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN Business —The first major test of the election denialism era has arrived. Tuesday’s midterms will be the first significant contest since conspiracy theories and lies about the US election process swallowed one of its two major parties whole. It’s difficult to put into words how dominant election lies are in the information universe in which Republicans almost exclusively get their news. There are different machines to cast and count ballots, there are different local election laws and procedures. Bad-faith media organizations and personalities, however, will exploit such situations to draw sweeping and incorrect conclusions that serve to benefit their political worldview.

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