Latest news with #mediaethics
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Challenge use of ‘nefarious' news sources, says environmentalist
People should confront their family members who read news from 'nefarious' sources, suggests the environmentalist Mike Berners-Lee. 'Challenge your friends and family and colleagues who are getting their information from sources that have got nefarious roots or a track record of being careless – or worse – with the truth, because we need to make this sort of thing socially embarrassing to be involved in,' said Berners-Lee, the brother of the World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee. Speaking at Hay festival on Saturday about his most recent book, A Climate of Truth, the writer encouraged people to ask themselves 'really discerning questions' about their basis for trusting the media they consume. Berners-Lee, 61, said that lack of progress on climate issues comes down to political 'deceit', which he likened to abuse. If a media personality 'is found to have groped someone even once, that's the end of their career, because we've decided collectively that that's abuse, and it's disgusting, and we're not having it', he said. 'If a politician abuses us' by being deceitful, 'we need to start screaming about that' too. Though there have been 29 Cop conferences in the past 30 years, there is 'no evidence whatsoever that those Cops have made any difference' to the rising trajectory of the global emissions from fossil fuel use, he said. 'Those 29 Cops have been totally corrupted and destroyed by the very cynical, very well-funded, very calculating, very sophisticated efforts of the fossil fuel industry to make sure those Cops don't get where they need to get to,' he said. While energy companies argue they are helping the world meet rising energy needs, Berners-Lee said: 'We don't have rising energy needs, not at the global level.' Technology is not the obstacle to solving the climate crisis, he said. 'We've got all the technology we need, for example, for an energy transition and vast improvements to our food system.' The 'simplest mechanic by a mile' for 'helping the fossil fuel to stay in the ground' is a carbon price, he suggested. This creates a revenue stream which can be used for 'all kinds of great things' including relieving poverty and supporting 'all the technologies that we need'. He said that humanity's 'time is going to be up' if we carry on business as usual. 'We've got all this energy and technology at our fingertips, and we don't yet have the wisdom and care to be able to wield it,' he said. 'We're like children running around the playground with machine guns, and we've got to put that straight, otherwise we're going to be in for a very, very, very nasty time, and I don't think it's too far away.'
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
The New York Post judges The Fact Checker
The New York Post editorial board blasted The Fact Checker last week, calling us a 'propaganda mill' and suggesting it was time to 'close up shop.' They name-checked three articles, but with sparse details that might have left readers scratching their heads. Everyone makes mistakes — which we quickly try to correct. (And when we write negatively about Democrats, the New York Post often eagerly reports on those fact checks.) But the sharp tone of the editorial inspired us to look back and assess the columns.
Gizmodo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Gizmodo
Texas House Passes Bill That Criminalizes Using Altered Media in Political Ads Without Disclosure
Political memes are one of the few things that make keeping up with this whole charade worth it. But now, legislators are fighting back. Recently, the Texas House passed a bill that would criminalize using altered media like memes without disclosure in political ads. Earlier this year, former House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) introduced HB 366, which requires political ads to disclose when they use content that 'did not occur in reality.' This altered media includes images, audio, video, and AI-generated content. Without a disclosure, the distributors could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000. The law would not apply to everybody. Instead, it focuses on politicians, including candidates or current officeholders, entities or individuals that spend over $100 on political advertising, and anyone who publishes or distributes such content for compensation. Additionally, it doesn't apply to media that has only been superficially changed, like adjusting the brightness or contrast. Phelan's bill comes after he was the subject of targeted campaigns by the more conservative branches of his own party during his re-election run. The Club for Growth, a massive conservative PAC, sent out mailers with an edited picture of Phelan's head on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' body while hugging Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Currently, Texas has a law that prohibits using AI pictures within 30 days of an election. However, those mailers didn't fall into that period of time. 'This is the beginning of a new era in ethics where the voters need to know what is real and what is not,' Phelan said on the House floor, per the Texas Tribune. 'This AI technology gets better every single day. It gets more inexpensive every single day, and it's going to become the norm.' It may seem silly to require a disclosure for altered media, especially if it's AI slop. However, you can't trust everybody's ability to judge content. Last year, researchers showed that scammers are successfully using AI images on Facebook for audience growth. According to the report, Facebook users 'often suggested that they did not recognize the images were fake—congratulating, for example, an AI-generated child for an AI-generated painting.' Per the Tribune, Phalen said, 'This is nothing different than what we currently do with political advertisements. You have to put 'political ad paid for by' when you enter this political advertising arena. And all this does is tell you to add a disclosure that you are using altered media.' All things considered, it's not the worst bill to come out of Texas this year. However, it's still not hard to see how it can go wrong. For example, advocates expressed concerns that the bill leaves too much open to interpretation. In a tweeted statement, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression wrote that the bill 'shift[s] the power to judge the accuracy of political messaging from voters to the government.' FIRE specifically honed in on the bill's language of media that 'did not occur in reality,' writing, 'The content doesn't have to be misleading – only different from what the government thinks really happened.' In addition, the organization expressed concerns over the $100 minimum as it could easily sweep up regular people who simply do something like pay to boost content on social media. 'It is quite a serious bill with First Amendment concerns,' Sam Hooper, counsel for the Institute of Justice, said in a video statement. 'Political satire, parody, memes, all of these have always been a part of how Americans criticize those in power. You shouldn't have to slap a disclaimer on it. You should be able to trust the recipients of information to judge by themselves what they want to accept, what they believe to be true.' In addition, representatives voiced concerns over the bill giving power to the Texas Ethics Commission to determine what the disclosure would look like. Per KVUE, Steve Toth (R) said, 'The TEC should not be an arbiter of truth in language, and we should stand against any time government wants to regulate speech.' The outlet also reported that Nate Schatzline (R) condemned the bill as 'anti-American', saying, 'To throw someone in jail is to silence political speech. This is insanity that we would propose such a harsh penalty for simply expressing our displeasure of an elected official.' Ultimately, HB 366 passed the state House with a 102-40 vote. Although it is heading to the Senate, it's not clear if the bill will pass there.
