What I'm Reading - 10/20/24

Panic season is starting to set in ... don't forget to touch grass

I had a lovely week on the West Coast, catching up with a few folks. I spent Wednesday and Thursday at Stinson Beach with the Duco team and got this fantastic picture of the moon's setting while the sun rose. This full moon has been so pretty. I’m obsessed with it.

With 16 days before the election in the United States, I can feel the panic and anxiety starting to increase. I’m feeling it, too. Don’t forget to take care of yourself. Touch some grass. Drink water. I’ve made two new stickers on the Panic Responsibly store if you need a friendly reminder on your laptop or notebook.

Also, friend of the newsletter, Mike Masnick, is previewing a new project on Kickstarter - “One Billion Users: The Social Media Card Game by Mike Masnick.”

The description, “Have you ever been on social media and thought ‘I bet I could run this site better than the people in charge?’ Well, now’s your chance to test your skills out. We’ve created ‘One Billion Users,’ a fast, fun card game where you’re in charge of your own social network.”

Sign up here to be alerted when it launches.

Have a great Sunday!

What I’m Reading

AI Developments

1. Science: AI can help humans find common ground in democratic deliberation

2. Dario Amodei, Anthropic CEO: Machines of Loving Grace 

Stories About Specific Countries

1. POLITICO: In Gaza, a 'tipping point' for social media at war 

2. Digital Politics: Why you should pay attention to Moldova 

Political & Social Commentary

1. Wesleyan Media Project: New report details at least $600 million in digital ad spending this cycle

2. CNN: Why the Harris campaign has spent $11 million on a Facebook page with 1,000 followers 

3. YouGov: 2024 Presidential Election Polls  

4. Gallup: Americans' Trust in Media Remains at Trend Low

5. Axios: Podcasts become politician magnets  

6. TechPolicy.Press: Perspectives on US Tech Policy After November 

7. TechPolicy.Press: Election Meddling, Censorship, and More Bad News in 2024 Freedom on the Net Report 

8. Axios: AP readies record level of staffing for 2024 election 

9. The New York Times: With 100-Foot-Wide Trump Sign, Sticker Mule Dives Into Politics 

10. Freedom House: The Struggle for Trust Online 

11. TechPolicy.Press: Election Meddling, Censorship, and More Bad News in 2024 Freedom on the Net Report 

12. NBC News:How Russian disinformation is reaching the U.S. ahead of the 2024 election 

13. Atlantic Council: Apocalypse later? 

14. PsyPost: The confrontation effect revealed: Outrage over opposing political views fuels social media engagement 

15. PNAS Nexus: Voters distrust delayed election results, but a prebunking message inoculates against distrust 

16. The Verge: Facebook put us out there 

17. NBC News: An AI-powered bot army on X spread pro-Trump and pro-GOP propaganda, research shows 

18. Edelman: Elections Put Government Trust on the Line 

19. The New York Times: Trump Wants Young Voters, but He’s Nowhere to Be Seen on Snapchat 

20. Reuters: Musk gave $75 million to pro-Trump group, becoming a Republican mega donor 

21. Axios: Scoop: Google will block election ads after polls close 

22. The Washington Post: Don’t say ‘vote’: How Instagram hides your political posts 

23. HuffPost: Elon Musk Is Going All-Out To Elect Donald Trump 

24. The Wall Street Journal: Republicans Rush to Bolster Trump’s Ground Game 

25. The Washington Post: Everything we know about ‘shadowbans’ on social media 

26. Pew Research Center: Republicans, young adults now nearly as likely to trust info from social media as from national news outlets 

27. The New York Times: Opinion | Forget Swing States. It’s These 21 Microcommunities That Could Decide the Election. 

28. The New York Times: How Silicon Valley Billionaires Became Trump’s Biggest Donors

29. The Associated Press: TikTok let through disinformation in political ads despite its own ban, Global Witness finds 

30. The New York Times: Opinion | AI, Aging and Shifts Globalization Will Shock the American Economy

31. Financial Times: Yes, CEOs are moving left, but ‘woke capitalism’ is not the whole story 

32. Hollywood Reporter: Amazon Reveals Brian Williams Election Night Special in Big News Experiment 

33. Hollywood Reporter: Alex Cooper Is Blowing Up: “I’m a Motherf***er When It Comes to Business” 

34. Marketing Brew: Truth Social pushes into TV ads ahead of Election Day 

35. MSNBC: I ran Twitter’s civic integrity team. Elon Musk has no idea how elections work.

36. 404 Media: This Is Exactly How an Elon Musk-Funded PAC Is Microtargeting Muslims and Jews With Opposing Messages

Legal & Regulatory

1. Lawfare: The Rise of the Compliant Speech Platform 

2. Axios: House Democrats sue FEC over GOP embrace of campaign finance loophole 

3. Microsoft: Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024 

4. The Verge: The FTC is finally making it easier to cancel your gym membership 

5. Ofcom: Ofcom's approach to implementing the Online Safety Act

Miscellaneous Insights & Reports

1. The Information: LinkedIn is News Publishers’ New Best Friend 

Company Announcements

1. YouTube: All in the details: Keep your eyes peeled for these new features coming to YouTube 

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