News Note: Facebook rolls
out a news section, aggregating “high quality” information from “trustworthy”
news sources. These include mainstream outlets like CNN, NYTimes, WaPost, etc.,
and (wait for it) . . . Breitbart.
“For those in need of a
reminder, Breitbart is a far-right website with a history of publishing
misleading stories about Democrats and critics of President Trump. The site
also has close ties to the Trump administration, and many of its employees have
gone on to work in the White House. . . .
“Columbia Journalism School’s Todd Gitlin . . . asked, ‘If
Breitbart.com, which under Steve Bannon’s tutelage devoted itself to fraudulent
inflammatory immigrant-hating claims, is ‘high quality,’ what's
low? Including Breitbart on [Facebook’s] ‘news tab’ disgraces the name of
news.’
“[C]onservative commentator . . . Charlie
Sykes [said], ‘Facebook’s choice is worse than embarrassing; it’s inexplicable.
Breitbart is a poster child for disinformation and hackery.’”
—Oliver Darcy,
journalist, “Point/Counterpoint,”
Reliable Sources, CNN Business, Oct. 26, 2019
•
Editorial Comment: Hey, I never heard any of those stories.
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