
RECENT ARTICLES

Here’s how Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and 8chan handle white supremacist content
In light of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend, Recode reviewed how these platforms handle content that promotes violence and spreads hateful ideologies.ByUncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.In less than 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday, two mass shootings in , and , have . The back-to-back massacres are raising questions about the role of social media platforms in spreading content that promotes violence and white supremacist ideologies.Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube have been slow to take action against white...…In light of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend, Recode reviewed how these platforms handle content that promotes violence and spreads hateful ideologies.ByUncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.In less than 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday, two mass shootings in , and , have . The back-to-back massacres are raising questions about the role of social media platforms in spreading content that promotes violence and white supremacist ideologies.Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube have been slow to take action against white...WW…

Here’s who owns everything in Big Media today
ByShareThe media landscape used to be straightforward: Content companies — studios — made stuff — TV shows and movies — and sold it to pay TV distributors, who sold it to consumers.Now things are up for grabs: Netflix buys stuff from the studios, but it’s making its own stuff, too, and it’s selling it directly to consumers. That’s one of the reasons older media companies are . And new distributors like Verizon and AT&T are getting in on the action. AT&T, for instance, .Meanwhile, giant tech companies like Google, Amazon and Apple that used to be on the sidelines are getting closer and...…ByShareThe media landscape used to be straightforward: Content companies — studios — made stuff — TV shows and movies — and sold it to pay TV distributors, who sold it to consumers.Now things are up for grabs: Netflix buys stuff from the studios, but it’s making its own stuff, too, and it’s selling it directly to consumers. That’s one of the reasons older media companies are . And new distributors like Verizon and AT&T are getting in on the action. AT&T, for instance, .Meanwhile, giant tech companies like Google, Amazon and Apple that used to be on the sidelines are getting closer and...WW…

A merged T-Mobile and Sprint will still be smaller than AT&T or Verizon
ByShareT-Mobile announced yesterday that it’s Sprint in a long-awaited bid to reshape the U.S. wireless market.And while the $26 billion merger — if approved — brings the combined company closer in size to AT&T and Verizon, it won’t be enough to unseat its rivals as the largest U.S. mobile operator.T-Mobile was the third biggest U.S. carrier by total wireless subscribers as of the end of 2017, and Sprint was the fourth largest. Together they’ll still be in third place, with a combined total of 126 million subscribers, according to data from .Verizon is still in the No. 1 position, with 150...…ByShareT-Mobile announced yesterday that it’s Sprint in a long-awaited bid to reshape the U.S. wireless market.And while the $26 billion merger — if approved — brings the combined company closer in size to AT&T and Verizon, it won’t be enough to unseat its rivals as the largest U.S. mobile operator.T-Mobile was the third biggest U.S. carrier by total wireless subscribers as of the end of 2017, and Sprint was the fourth largest. Together they’ll still be in third place, with a combined total of 126 million subscribers, according to data from .Verizon is still in the No. 1 position, with 150...WW…

Amazon’s tiny profits, explained
Amazon skeptics have long repeated a narrative about the e-commerce behemoth now worth $880 billion: that it doesn’t make money, that its razor-thin margins meant to crush competitors are unsustainable, and that its business model will surely, eventually, fail. And pretty much every financial quarter, I make the same chart for Amazon’s quarterly earnings that seems to reflect this narrative. It compares Amazon’s revenue (gray line) — seasonal peaks and valleys that go up and to the right to the tune of nearly $70 billion last quarter — to profit (pink line), a much more modest line that...…Amazon skeptics have long repeated a narrative about the e-commerce behemoth now worth $880 billion: that it doesn’t make money, that its razor-thin margins meant to crush competitors are unsustainable, and that its business model will surely, eventually, fail. And pretty much every financial quarter, I make the same chart for Amazon’s quarterly earnings that seems to reflect this narrative. It compares Amazon’s revenue (gray line) — seasonal peaks and valleys that go up and to the right to the tune of nearly $70 billion last quarter — to profit (pink line), a much more modest line that...WW…

Social media is making a bad political situation worse
America’s polarization problem is bigger than we thought it would be.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.When Eli Pariser coined the term “filter bubble” , he narrowly defined it to be a situation in which algorithms skew the variety of information we get online in favor of stuff we like. At the time, he worried that might lead to political polarization through less exposure to divergent viewpoints.Ten years later, America is in the aftermath of a hyperpartisan presidential election in which people not only disagree with those on the other side,...…America’s polarization problem is bigger than we thought it would be.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.When Eli Pariser coined the term “filter bubble” , he narrowly defined it to be a situation in which algorithms skew the variety of information we get online in favor of stuff we like. At the time, he worried that might lead to political polarization through less exposure to divergent viewpoints.Ten years later, America is in the aftermath of a hyperpartisan presidential election in which people not only disagree with those on the other side,...WW…

Voter turnout is estimated to be the highest in 120 years
The US Elections Project estimates nearly 67 percent turnout — the highest since 1900.The early voter turnout rate for the 2020 election reached a , and it looks like total turnout may set a record as well — at least for the past 120 years.More than 160 million people may have voted in this presidential election, according to a by University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, who runs the nonpartisan elections data website . That would mean 66.9 percent of the voting-eligible population turned out in this election — the highest rate since 1900, when 73.7 percent of the population turned...…The US Elections Project estimates nearly 67 percent turnout — the highest since 1900.The early voter turnout rate for the 2020 election reached a , and it looks like total turnout may set a record as well — at least for the past 120 years.More than 160 million people may have voted in this presidential election, according to a by University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, who runs the nonpartisan elections data website . That would mean 66.9 percent of the voting-eligible population turned out in this election — the highest rate since 1900, when 73.7 percent of the population turned...WW…

9 questions about 2020’s record-breaking early vote, answered
More than 92 million , an figure that by the time you read this might already be out of date.The has already far surpassed the total . The early vote surge indicates turnout in 2020 could be , at around 65 percent of the voting-eligible population, or about 150 million voters.And 2016 wasn’t exactly shabby in turnout: .“We’re seeing a very energized, interested electorate, and we’re seeing a public, I think, that is responding to a message that you need to cast that ballot early this year,” Paul Gronke, a professor of political science at Reed College who runs the , said.Enthusiasm among...…More than 92 million , an figure that by the time you read this might already be out of date.The has already far surpassed the total . The early vote surge indicates turnout in 2020 could be , at around 65 percent of the voting-eligible population, or about 150 million voters.And 2016 wasn’t exactly shabby in turnout: .“We’re seeing a very energized, interested electorate, and we’re seeing a public, I think, that is responding to a message that you need to cast that ballot early this year,” Paul Gronke, a professor of political science at Reed College who runs the , said.Enthusiasm among...WW…

Why the future of the office has been put on hold
Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.So far, the office of the future looks a lot like the office you left seven months ago — though you probably haven’t seen it. Most of those who have been able to work at home during the pandemic haven’t gone back to the office and don’t want to go back until there’s a vaccine.It’s not clear when, if ever, offices will return to their previous level of activity. As of mid-October, less than 15 percent of office workers have returned in New York City, the largest office market in the United States, according to...…Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.So far, the office of the future looks a lot like the office you left seven months ago — though you probably haven’t seen it. Most of those who have been able to work at home during the pandemic haven’t gone back to the office and don’t want to go back until there’s a vaccine.It’s not clear when, if ever, offices will return to their previous level of activity. As of mid-October, less than 15 percent of office workers have returned in New York City, the largest office market in the United States, according to...WW…

The president, not social media, is largely responsible for disinformation about mail-in voting
A new Harvard study shows that President Trump is the main vector of misinformation about mail-in voting.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.The fake news is coming from inside the White House, and it could influence who lives there next.Earlier this month, Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society released a studying mail-in voting disinformation campaigns. Using a quantitative and qualitative study of millions of tweets and tens of thousands of Facebook posts and news stories about mail-in voter fraud — the persistent but idea that...…A new Harvard study shows that President Trump is the main vector of misinformation about mail-in voting.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.The fake news is coming from inside the White House, and it could influence who lives there next.Earlier this month, Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society released a studying mail-in voting disinformation campaigns. Using a quantitative and qualitative study of millions of tweets and tens of thousands of Facebook posts and news stories about mail-in voter fraud — the persistent but idea that...WW…

Netflix shows off the numbers behind its global growth story for the first time
Disney is coming for Netflix. Netflix is coming for the world. Disney is chasing Netflix. So is Apple. AT&T and Comcast are about to start. Have fun, says Netflix: We’re busy chasing the entire world — and we’re doing pretty well. That’s a two-sentence takeaway of an investor document Netflix filed yesterday, which details the company’s pursuit of streaming video customers around the globe, and its very rapid growth. The fact that Netflix has been expanding around the world isn’t a secret. The company takes great pains to underscore its global ambitions every time it talks to investors...…Disney is coming for Netflix. Netflix is coming for the world. Disney is chasing Netflix. So is Apple. AT&T and Comcast are about to start. Have fun, says Netflix: We’re busy chasing the entire world — and we’re doing pretty well. That’s a two-sentence takeaway of an investor document Netflix filed yesterday, which details the company’s pursuit of streaming video customers around the globe, and its very rapid growth. The fact that Netflix has been expanding around the world isn’t a secret. The company takes great pains to underscore its global ambitions every time it talks to investors...WW…
