Latest news with #WashingtonInformer
Axios
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Axios
SCOOP: Onyx Impact launches disinformation lab for Black communities
Onyx Impact is launching an effort to counter digital disinformation in Black communities — tapping influencers, local Black media, and digital tools to strengthen trust, boost engagement and fight suppression ahead of elections. Why it matters: Black Americans are disproportionately targeted by mis- and disinformation. With voting rights under pressure and AI disinformation spreading, media leaders are racing to protect trusted news ecosystems — and reclaim control of the digital conversation. What they're saying: "Every day it gets harder and more expensive to access the truth — while the cost of spreading lies keeps getting cheaper," said Esosa Osa, founder of Onyx Impact. "If our stories aren't in the data, we get erased again — just digitally this time." Zoom out: The Lab's approach combines influencer collaborations, media training, cultural research, and AI tools to spark "healthier cultural conversations" online. The program is launching with partners like the Washington Informer, Baltimore AFRO, Dallas Weekly, Sacramento Observer, and Houston Defender. State of play: The effort leans heavily into Black press — long overlooked by legacy institutions and underfunded by tech. "We've always told our stories — even when others ignored them," Washington Informer publisher Denise Rolark Barnes told Axios. "But now, if we're not in these digital spaces, we disappear," said Barnes, who inherited the paper from her father, Dr. Calvin Rolark, a civil rights-era activist who used journalism to fight for justice. Catch up quick: A 2023 Pew survey found that 63% of Black Americans say news coverage about Black people is more negative than coverage of other groups — and just 14% are confident that will improve in their lifetimes. Despite post-2020 promises to diversify newsrooms, only 18% trust social media, and less than half say traditional media gets their stories right. Nearly half of Black respondents said having more Black reporters and newsroom leaders would improve coverage. Reality check: Historically speaking, the Black press served as a counter‑narrative to disinformation—well before the internet. For example, the Chicago Defender called Emmett Till's 1955 murder what it was — a racial terror killing — while mainstream outlets labeled it a kidnapping or buried the story altogether. "In this digital space, it's become harder to do what our founders established over 100 years ago," said Barnes. "Speak for ourselves and tell our truth on behalf of the Black community." Onyx's Information Integrity Lab aims to support Black-led journalism and help communities combat disinformation and algorithmic erasure. It builds on the 2024 Trusted Messengers Program, which targeted disinfo against Black voters. "If we aren't in the space and doing the work, we're basically writing ourselves out of history," Barnes said. "Our audiences are moving fast — and if we don't meet them there, we get left behind." The Lab links influencers with legacy Black newspapers to increase visibility and trust. It's supported by Onyx's Digital Green Book, an AI platform helping Black users identify misinformation, secure data, and find verified Black content. "This project helps us be more intentional," Barnes said. "It's not just about posting a story anymore. We're creating an ecosystem." By the numbers: In a pilot with the Washington Informer, influencer Elizabeth Booker Houston helped generate: 34,000+ likes 3,200 shares 6,700 new Instagram followers for the paper The boost led to more newsletter signups and a noticeable jump in site visits. What's next: Onyx aims to expand the Lab to include more local creators, enhance training for publishers, and develop a model for other Black media outlets. The goal is to build a scalable defense against narrative suppression, allowing Black media to not just survive online but lead.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pastor calls for ‘full Target boycott' over DEI rollback
(The Hill) – A Georgia pastor is calling for a 'full Target boycott' over the company's decision to end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Rev. Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, said his goal is to convince the corporation to reinstate policies geared towards advancing racial equity, including supporting career development for Black employees and bolstering the use of Black owned brands and businesses. Target was one of the first companies to expand DEI initiatives in 2020 after George Floyd's murder by police in Minneapolis, where the business is headquartered. The company set an objective to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025, which they fell short of achieving. 'They said they were going to invest in Black communities. They said it — not us,' Bryant said during a town hall in the church's sanctuary, according to the Washington Informer. 'Now they want to break those promises quietly. That ends tonight.' Most expect higher prices from Trump tariffs: Survey Target CEO Brian Cornell recently asked to meet with Al Sharpton, who leads the National Action Network (NAN), after Sharpton reportedly urged Black consumers to avoid shopping at companies that have ended their DEI initiatives. Bryant first launched a '40 day fast' of Target for Lent in March, hoping to gain the company's attention. But he says results did not materialize and is calling on other Black leaders to encourage people to protest the company's new policies. Former NAACP president Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., U.S. Black Chambers President Ron Busby and others have joined in the fight. 'They played on our sympathies in 2020. But now we know better,' Bryant said during the town hall. 'And now, we move.' The pastor has also launched a website for those interested to follow their call to action. 'Silence and delay are no longer acceptable. Our communities deserve action, not platitudes. Our demands are not radical — they are righteous, reasonable, and long overdue,' Bryant wrote in a statement on the site. 'It is vital to remember: this boycott is a coalition effort. It is not about any single individual, personality, or public figure. It is about people. It is about power. It is about principle.' Target did not respond to The Hill's request for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump US attorney nominee distances himself from antisemitic Jan. 6 rioter he once praised
Ed Martin, President Donald Trump's nominee for the next U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., apologized in a new interview for his past praise of a Jan. 6 rioter who had a lengthy history of antisemitic statements and infamously posted photos of himself dressed as Adolf Hitler. "I'm sorry," Ed Martin said in an interview with the Jewish publication Forward. "I denounce everything about what that guy said, everything about the way he talked, and all as I've now seen it ... At the time, I didn't know it.' Martin's comments come as his nomination faces headwinds in the Senate over his public praise for Jan. 6 rioter Timothy Hale-Cussanelli at a 2024 event at Trump's Bedminster club in 2024. MORE: Interim US attorney for DC likens Jan. 6 cases to Japanese internment At the event, one of several fundraisers held at Trump's private clubs to benefit Jan. 6 rioters, Martin described Hale-Cussanelli as an "extraordinary man" and "extraordinary leader." It's unclear how Martin, vying to be the top prosecutor in one of the nation's most important U.S. attorney's offices, could claim to be unaware of Hale-Cussanelli's past anti-Semitic statements and praise for Hitler -- much less as late as 2024. A Google search of Hale-Cussanelli's name turns up the series of now-infamous selfies that surfaced following his arrest that show him donning a Hitler mustache and holding his hand over his chest. Hale-Cusanelli's antisemitic views made him one of the more prominently covered Jan. 6 defendants. At his sentencing hearing, the Trump-appointed judge overseeing his case, Trevor McFadden, said, "Statements and actions like yours make [Jewish people] less safe and less confident they can participate as equal members of our society.'' Prosecutors further surfaced antisemitic statements he made to his coworkers at a naval weapons station that 'Hitler should have finished the job' and 'babies born with any deformities or disabilities should be shot in the forehead.' Martin was also previously asked about Hale-Cussanelli's antisemitic views in a recently posted interview with the Washington Informer, and didn't denounce him directly. "When someone says, 'Hey, do you understand that of the January 6 defendants, there were some really rotten actors, and there were people that said terrible things in their lives, or even did terrible things?' then, fair enough," Martin said in that interview. "But I feel pretty good about the fact that we try to make ourselves better every day, and we try to get people give people a break, going forward, and I've got a pretty long career of fighting, I think for the right causes." Trump US attorney nominee distances himself from antisemitic Jan. 6 rioter he once praised originally appeared on
24-04-2025
- Politics
Trump US attorney nominee distances himself from antisemitic Jan. 6 rioter he once praised
Ed Martin, President Donald Trump's nominee for the next U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., apologized in a new interview for his past praise of a Jan. 6 rioter who had a lengthy history of antisemitic statements and infamously posted photos of himself dressed as Adolf Hitler. "I'm sorry," Ed Martin said in an interview with the Jewish publication Forward. "I denounce everything about what that guy said, everything about the way he talked, and all as I've now seen it ... At the time, I didn't know it.' Martin's comments come as his nomination faces headwinds in the Senate over his public praise for Jan. 6 rioter Timothy Hale-Cussanelli at a 2024 event at Trump's Bedminster club in 2024. At the event, one of several fundraisers held at Trump's private clubs to benefit Jan. 6 rioters, Martin described Hale-Cussanelli as an "extraordinary man" and "extraordinary leader." It's unclear how Martin, vying to be the top prosecutor in one of the nation's most important U.S. attorney's offices, could claim to be unaware of Hale-Cussanelli's past anti-Semitic statements and praise for Hitler -- much less as late as 2024. A Google search of Hale-Cussanelli's name turns up the series of now-infamous selfies that surfaced following his arrest that show him donning a Hitler mustache and holding his hand over his chest. Hale-Cusanelli's antisemitic views made him one of the more prominently covered Jan. 6 defendants. At his sentencing hearing, the Trump-appointed judge overseeing his case, Trevor McFadden, said, "Statements and actions like yours make [Jewish people] less safe and less confident they can participate as equal members of our society.'' Prosecutors further surfaced antisemitic statements he made to his coworkers at a naval weapons station that 'Hitler should have finished the job' and 'babies born with any deformities or disabilities should be shot in the forehead.' Martin was also previously asked about Hale-Cussanelli's antisemitic views in a recently posted interview with the Washington Informer, and didn't denounce him directly. "When someone says, 'Hey, do you understand that of the January 6 defendants, there were some really rotten actors, and there were people that said terrible things in their lives, or even did terrible things?' then, fair enough," Martin said in that interview. "But I feel pretty good about the fact that we try to make ourselves better every day, and we try to get people give people a break, going forward, and I've got a pretty long career of fighting, I think for the right causes."
The Hill
24-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Pastor calls for ‘full Target boycott' over DEI rollback
A Georgia pastor is calling for a 'full Target boycott' over the company's decision to end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Rev. Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., said his goal is to convince the corporation to reinstate policies geared towards advancing racial equity, including supporting career development for Black employees and bolstering the use of Black owned brands and businesses. Target was one of the first companies to expand DEI initiatives in 2020 after George Floyd's murder by police in Minneapolis, where the business is headquartered. The company set an objective to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025, which they fell short of achieving. 'They said they were going to invest in Black communities. They said it — not us,' Bryant said during a town hall in the church's sanctuary, according to the Washington Informer. 'Now they want to break those promises quietly. That ends tonight.' Target CEO Brian Cornell recently asked to meet with Al Sharpton, who leads the National Action Network (NAN), after Sharpton reportedly urged Black consumers to avoid shopping at companies that have ended their DEI initiatives. Bryant first launched a '40 day fast' of Target for Lent in March, hoping to gain the company's attention. But he says results did not materialize and is calling on other Black leaders to encourage people to protest the company's new policies. Former NAACP president Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., U.S. Black Chambers President Ron Busby and others have joined in the fight. 'They played on our sympathies in 2020. But now we know better,' Bryant said during the townhall. 'And now, we move.' The pastor has also launched a website for those interested to follow their call to action. 'Silence and delay are no longer acceptable. Our communities deserve action, not platitudes. Our demands are not radical — they are righteous, reasonable, and long overdue,' Bryant wrote in a statement on the site. 'It is vital to remember: this boycott is a coalition effort. It is not about any single individual, personality, or public figure. It is about people. It is about power. It is about principle.'
