memeorandum: It's Time to Open the Black Box of Social Media (Scientific American)

11:05 AM ET, April 28, 2022

Top Items:

Biden seeks $33 billion for Ukraine, powers to liquidate Russian assets — The White House will call on Congress to authorize such a move as it continues to seek new ways to punish Russia and support Ukraine — The White House on Thursday announced a proposal to allow U.S. authorities …

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Axios, Fox News, Insider, NBC News, Associated Press, The White House, YouTube, Bloomberg, CNN, NPR, Al Jazeera, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, The Guardian, Balloon Juice, WKBN-TV, UPI, Forbes, KyivPost and USA Today

Simon Shuster / TIME:

Inside Zelensky's World — The nights are the hardest, when he lies there on his cot, the whine of the air-raid sirens in his ears and his phone still buzzing beside him. Its screen makes his face look like a ghost in the dark, his eyes scanning messages he didn't have a chance to read during the day.

Abigail Hauslohner / Washington Post:

Biden welcomes Ukrainian refugees, neglects Afghans, critics say — Many human rights advocates hail the administration's response to the exodus triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while others feel deeply frustrated that those left behind in Afghanistan have not received equal attention

Discussion: Associated Press

Rozina Sabur / Sydney Morning Herald:

‘Enormous impact’: US intelligence prevented the fall of Kyiv — Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size — Washington: America helped foil Moscow's efforts to take Kyiv and repelled its advances elsewhere by sharing such detailed intelligence that Ukraine knew exactly …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, Forbes, The Guardian and NPR

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:
Putin Must Be Stopped Once and for All

Discussion: New Republic, Boston.com, Defense News, The American Spectator, The Dispatch, nationalinterest.org, Rixstep NSA, John's Newsletter, HotAir and The Guardian

Edward Luce / Financial Times:
The return of the 20th century's nuclear shadow

Discussion: CNBC

The Economist:
How deep does the rot in the Russian army go?

Discussion: New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Aearnur's Newsletter and WTOP News

USA Today:
Russian forces executed surrendering Ukrainians, US official says; Trevor Reed back in USA: Live Ukraine updates

Discussion: Insider, Washington Examiner, American Thinker, UPI, Raw Story and Responsible Statecraft

Jack Detsch / Foreign Policy:
Drones Have Come of Age in Russia-Ukraine War

Discussion: NPR, Al Jazeera and PBS NewsHour

Reuters:

Trump allies breach U.S. voting systems in search of 2020 fraud ‘evidence’ — Chasing proof of vote-rigging conspiracy theories, Republican officials and activists in eight U.S. locales have plotted to gain illegal access to balloting systems, undermining the security of elections they claim to protect.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Newsletter

Sarah Chaney Cambon / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. GDP Drops 1.4% as Economy Shrinks for First Time Since Early in Pandemic — Supply disruptions weighed on the economy, but consumers and businesses continue to spend — U.S. gross domestic product shrank at a 1.4% annual rate in the first quarter as supply disruptions weighed on the economy …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post, CNBC, Associated Press, The Hill, Washington Examiner, UPI, Washington Times, Liberty & Prosperity Blog, Townhall, MarketWatch, The 21 Hats Morning Report, Twitchy and ABC13

Ben Casselman / New York Times:

G.D.P. Report Shows the U.S. Economy Shrank, Masking a Broader Recovery — Here's what you need to know: — The economy contracted in the first quarter, but underlying measures were solid. — The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of the year, but strong consumer spending …

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:

Gross Domestic Product, First Quarter 2022 (Advance Estimate) — Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2022 (table 1), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 6.9 percent.

Discussion: HotAir, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Burgess Everett / Politico:

It's Trump vs. Cruz in Ohio and Pa. Senate races — As Republican primary voters get closer to the polls, it's beginning to feel like mid-2016 again: Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are on opposing sides. — The former president's late backing of J.D. Vance in Ohio and Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania …

Discussion: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Monmouth University …, Fox News, HotAir and The Daily Caller

Rolling Stone:

Tucker Carlson Pushed Trump to Endorse J.D. Vance With ‘Disgusting’ Sexual Innuendo — Exclusive: In a critical GOP Senate primary in Ohio, Trump's support was swayed in part by a Fox News host spreading rumors about another man's sex habits — In the days before Donald Trump endorsed J.D. Vance …

Discussion: The Bulwark, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, Raw Story and Associated Press

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:

Midterm Memo: Power of Trump endorsement on display in Ohio — For all the valid speculation that this year's Republican primaries are poised to turn into a political disaster for Donald Trump that knocks him down a peg or two in the party, the former president is on track to score a rather consequential victory in Ohio.

Discussion: New York Times and The Dispatch

James D. Walsh / New York Magazine:

'You Can't Pin Him Down' — Kara Swisher knows Elon Musk and says judging him by tweets alone is a mistake. — Elon Musk, the richest human on earth, purchased Twitter for $44 billion this week, promising to refine the product while loosening its guidelines in the name of “free speech.”

Discussion: Insider, The Federalist, Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse, Against the Grain, nationalinterest.org and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:
Breakingviews: Elon Musk probably won't buy Twitter

Discussion: New York Times, Reuters, Quartz, IJR, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, Finance Mark, Insider, Washington Post, Protocol, Bloomberg, Forbes, Human Events, Axios, Daily Kos, New York Post and Cyprus Mail

Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:
This Holocaust Survivor Has a Message for Elon Musk

Discussion: Raw Story

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
Elon Musk Isn't Buying Twitter to Defend Free Speech

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Bangor Daily News, Mercury News, Newsbusters, Bloomberg and 1A

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:

Trump's Garbage Men — McCarthy and McConnell said one thing in private but have kept shoveling Trump's trash on us. — Deny and lie: That was Kevin McCarthy's initial reaction to last week's New York Times reporting about how he had privately blamed former President Donald Trump for inciting …

Discussion: Albany Times Union, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Hill, CNN and Thursday Night Bulwark

Ed Mazza / HuffPost:
Republican Group Taunts ‘Lying’ Kevin McCarthy With Billboards In His Own District

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Sam Brodey / The Daily Beast:
Inside Kevin McCarthy's Tortured Battle to Be House Speaker

Discussion: Insider, Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Scientific American:

It's Time to Open the Black Box of Social Media — Social media companies need to give their data to independent researchers to better understand how to keep users safe — Social media platforms are where billions of people around the world go to connect with others, get information and make sense of the world.

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: Former Manhattan prosecutor blasts Trump and Barr in new book — Geoffrey Berman, who was fired by President Trump as the top Manhattan federal prosecutor, will be out Sept. 13 with a memoir, “Holding the Line,” that charges Trump with trying to undermine the office's integrity.

Discussion: The Hill

Daniel Greenfield / Front Page Magazine:

Dr. Birx is Back With the Worst Timed Memoir in History — “I had to make sure Africa was prepared.” — Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.

Dylan Jackson / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Herschel Walker spent years promoting health products with dubious claims — In SEC filing, Walker's company said that one product's health benefit was “not supported by medical evidence generally accepted by the medical community.” — Senate candidate Herschel Walker has spent years promoting …

Jennifer Maloney / Wall Street Journal:

Biden Administration to Advance Ban on Menthol Cigarettes — FDA expected to publish proposed rules on Thursday, though ban wouldn't take effect until at least 2024; ‘Day of reckoning’ — The Biden administration on Thursday is expected to take a significant step toward a national ban …

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Opinion Amend the Constitution to bar senators from the presidency — To conserve the reverence it needs and deserves, the Constitution should be amended rarely and reluctantly. There is, however, an amendment that would instantly improve the legislative and executive branches.

Discussion: HuffPost, Raw Story and Cafe Hayek

Claudia Grisales / NPR:

Two Democratic progressives plot new ways to fight back against Republican gains — Republicans are threatening to take over the House of Representatives in this year's midterm elections. More than 30 House Democrats are heading for the exits. And progressives have seen several major legislative proposals stall out.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Molly Beck / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

With no evidence, Rebecca Kleefisch, Wisconsin candidate for governor, says 2020 election was ‘rigged’ — MADISON - Republican candidate for governor Rebecca Kleefisch is escalating her criticism of how the last presidential election was carried out in Wisconsin, calling it a “rigged” …

Discussion: Washington Post, Election Law Blog and Political Wire

Ally Mutnick / Politico:

McCarthy-aligned super PAC plans $125M ad buy to win the House — House Republicans' main super PAC is booking $125 million in TV ad reservations in roughly 50 media markets across the country — a massive down payment on the party's bid to wrest back the majority this fall.

Discussion: Decision Desk HQ

Craig Gilbert / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

How Wisconsin's redistricting guarantees a lopsided Republican legislature in a 50/50 state — Craig GilbertSpecial to the Journal Sentinel — One thing I've learned from 35 years of Wisconsin politics is that predicting the outcome of elections in a 50/50 state can be a fool's exercise.

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

Ron DeSantis is Viktor Orbán's true American disciple — The Florida governor isn't doing “competent Trumpism.” He's inventing American Orbánism. — In June of last year, Hungary's far-right government passed a law cracking down on LGBTQ rights, including …

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Opinion CBS News commentator Mick Mulvaney has a new credibility problem — Now that CBS News is paying former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to provide on-air commentary, here's a question its anchors could pose to him: Do you believe the things you write?

Discussion: Common Dreams

Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:

Some boring takes on the French election — Once again, taking popular positions on high-profile issues matters — Using the results of a foreign election to argue that all your domestic political hangups are correct is a huge hack move. — And yet, I really do think the most recent …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Katelyn Caralle / Daily Mail:

Biden sets up ‘Disinformation Board’ headed by Russia expert who called Hunter's laptop a ‘Trump campaign product’ and said she ‘shudders to think’ about Elon Musk taking over Twitter — The Department of Homeland Security set up a new Disinformation Governance Board to tackle misinformation in minority communities