Facebook Tuned its Algorithm to Hinder Progressive Outlets
In late 2017, Facebook executives were briefed on major changes to the platform’s News Feed—the code that determines which of innumerable posts appear when a user views Facebook. The changes would reduce how much news people saw, and therefore decrease outlets’ revenue. For Mother Jones, the decline in Facebook audience over the following 18 months […]
Antitrust and Amazon
October 9, 2020 The Park Center for Independent Media circulates the Indy Brief, a weekly selection of news stories from journalism outlets operating outside traditional corporate systems and news organizations. The Headlines Our Stories SAVE THE DATE: PCIM To Host the 2020 Izzy Award Ceremony on Oct. 28 (Park Center for Independent Media) U.S. Voting Rights […]
We Can’t Trust Oil Companies to Regulate Themselves
Eight years ago, twenty governments around the world commissioned a report on the potential death toll of climate change if it proceeds unmitigated. The study examined all of the ways that climate change can result in mass fatalities, from hunger to heat and disaster to disease. It projected that by 2030, seven hundred thousand people around the […]
This Amazon Grocery Runner Has Risked Her Job to Fight for Better Safety Measures
Courtenay Brown spends her day making grocery runs for others in a football-field-sized maze of narrow aisles and refrigerated enclaves. At the Amazon Fresh unit in a Newark, New Jersey fulfillment center, she works on the outbound ship dock, helping direct the loading of trucks and send them off on local delivery routes. Brown says that after […]
What Big Business Said in All Those Anti-Racism Statements: Not Much, Says Our Analysis
On May 28, Chris Crane, the president and CEO of Fortune 100 energy provider Exelon sent a message to his employees. “Dear Colleagues,” it began. “During these extraordinary times, when many parts of our lives have changed, it’s more important than ever that we ground ourselves in the fundamental values that define us as a company.” The memo, which was published […]
‘Big Tech Must Be Broken Up’: House Report on Silicon Valley Monopolies Bolsters Call for Far-Reaching Antitrust Measures
House Democrats on Tuesday released a major report calling on Congress to overhaul U.S. antitrust law and take action to curtail the power of tech titans Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust spent 16 months investigating Big Tech, resulting in a 450-page report (pdf) that found the four tech companies wield abusive […]
19 Years After US Invasion, Afghanistan’s Civil War Rages Despite Peace Talks
The United States invaded Afghanistan 19 years ago today, sparking the nation’s longest-running war that has cost tens of thousands of lives and the U.S. about $2 trillion. While the U.S. originally ousted the Taliban as part of a broader anti-terrorism campaign, the Taliban and other militants have waged a bloody and arguably successful insurgency […]
‘Outright Genocidal’: Even as Iran Reels From Covid-19 Pandemic, Trump to Unveil Punishing New Sanctions
In a move that could further restrict Iran’s access to humanitarian goods such as food and medicine at a time when the country is being ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration on Thursday imposed punishing new sanctions on the Iranian financial sector reportedly at the behest of warmongers in the Republican Party, Israeli officials, and hawkish U.S. […]
THE UNPRECEDENTED AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN TO ELIMINATE JULIAN ASSANGE
OVER THE 17 DAYS of Julian Assange’s extradition hearing in London, prosecutors succeeded in proving both crimes and conspiracy. The culprit, however, was not Assange. Instead, the lawbreakers and conspirators turned out to be the British and American governments. Witness after witness detailed illegal measures to violate Assange’s right to a fair trial, destroy his health, […]
As Schools Reopen, Teachers and Staff Aren’t Being Consulted
Pressure is mounting on local and national officials to get kids back into schools, even as the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of abating. In Minnesota, the Republican-controlled state senate has refused to provide enough resources for schools to reopen safely. But they are nonetheless insisting that Tim Walz, the state’s Democratic governor, open them up anyway. This conforms […]