Author: Reporter

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said on January 7 it was scrapping its third-party fact-checking program and replacing it with Community Notes written by users similar to the dubious model used by Elon Musk’s social media platform X. Starting in the U.S., Meta will end its fact-checking program with independent third parties. The company claimed that it decided to end the program because expert fact-checkers had “their own biases and too much content ended up being fact-checked.” Instead, it will pivot to a Community Notes model that uses crowdsourced fact-checking contributions from users, a platform that has been under...

For the press heading into a second Trump administration, there is a balancing act between being prepared and being fearful. The return to power of Donald Trump, who has called journalists enemies and talked about retribution against those he feels have wronged him, has news executives nervous. Perceived threats are numerous: lawsuits of every sort, efforts to unmask anonymous sources, physical danger and intimidation, attacks on public media and libel protections, day-to-day demonization. In a closely-watched case settled over the weekend, ABC chose to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by the president-elect over an inaccurate statement made by George...

The Associated Press, better known simply as the AP, said in November that it would begin offering buyouts and lay off selected employees, part of a plan to reduce the news outlet’s staff by about 8% and accelerate a transition to a digital-first organization. The move is part of what is expected to be a dispiriting end-of-year period in the news industry, which is beset by business woes that go back years. The end of a busy presidential-election cycle was also expected to accelerate reorganization plans. The AP said those eligible for buyouts were to learn of the offer,...

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship as soon as he gets into office to make good on campaign promises aiming to restrict immigration and redefining what it means to be American. But any efforts to halt the policy would face steep legal hurdles. Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It has been in place for decades and applies to children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa who plans to return to their home country. It is not...

The congressional joint session to count electoral votes on January 6 is expected to be much less eventful than the certification four years ago that was interrupted by a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump who tried to stop the count and overturn the results of an election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. This time, the convicted felon is returning to office after winning the 2024 election that began with Biden as his party’s nominee and ended with Vice President Kamala Harris atop the ticket. She will preside over the certification of her own loss, fulfilling...