Michelle Manafy

Opinion | Whatever Happened to the TikTok Ban?

An outlawed app remains in the Google and Apple app stores, and almost one in two Americans continues using an app so risky that it’s banned on military, federal and most state government workers’ phones. Huh.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/o...

Senate passes $9 billion in spending cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid requested by Trump The Senate has passed Donald Trump’s request to cancel about $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting spending, moving forward on one of the president’s top priorities despite concerns from s...

Senate passes $9 billion in spending cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid requested by Trump. The bill must be signed into law by midnight Friday for the proposed rescissions to kick in. If Congress doesn’t act by then, the spending stands.
apnews.com/article/trum...

YouTube video by Imaginize World Democracy Depends on the Media — But Is It Failing?

Love these shorts @netjmc.bsky.social produces for her podcast! Here's a snippet of our wide-ranging conversation lnkd.in/exTRQ655). In it, we focus on how people consume information today and touch on press freedom. Hope you'll find it of interest! www.youtube.com/shorts/Z8nrH...

Women’s sports are hot. Media: don’t miss your shot July 31, 2022 is a historic date for soccer fans in England. It’s the date on which they saw their women’s team win the Euros on home soil, becoming the

My latest for @dcnorg.bsky.social is about why media needs to get involved in women's sports. Now. So grateful to @michellemanafy.bsky.social or letting me write about a subject I'm so passionate about and a pleasure to talk to François Godard, Danni Moore and Megan Feringa and get their insights.

Personally, I adore it when some teen or 20-something explains technology to me as if they are spoon feeding me tepid porridge
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...

Jane and I had such an interesting conversation! Really pleased to be part of her podcast series which is focused on being an active participant in shaping the future we want. Here, we focus on the need for the media to shape the way in which AI evolves.

Fearing Trump action, US nonprofits seek shelter in the UK Several American nonprofits are exploring setting up legal entities in Britain, in part as a precautionary measure against feared executive orders.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, the US-based press freedom charity, has directed a British law firm to set up a legal entity in the UK, in part as a precautionary measure against potential executive orders targeting American nonprofits. www.semafor.com/article/06/1...

Los Angeles Protests Amplified by Influencers and Online Creators Creators such as Cam Higby, who is conservative, have sometimes outnumbered traditional media outlets at the immigration protests. Their posts have gone viral.

As the LA protests stretched into their fifth day on Tuesday, social media creators have at times outnumbered the traditional press corps at rallies and played an outsize role in sharing media about what has happened on the ground -- blurring the line between reporting and advocacy.

Opinion | Anthropic C.E.O.: Don’t Let A.I. Companies off the Hook

So much this 👉 "to fully realize A.I.’s benefits, we need to find and fix the dangers before they find us...Without a clear plan for a federal response, a moratorium would give us the worst of both worlds — no ability for states to act, and no national policy as a backstop."

If AI can personalize ads, why not news? A future where AI can create content on the fly will upend news and the news industry.

If ads can be personalized, how long before we get completely personalized news, created in the moment, based on what we know and what we care about - and is that a good thing or a bad thing? Some thoughts @semafor.com : www.semafor.com/article/06/0...

This is such a good read

"I imagine that if we weren’t on display all the time, our friendships and interactions could be less commodified." (and less performative)
"I assume that before the social internet people behaved in more authentic and idiosyncratic ways."

#goals

I'm not sure the kids would disagree bsky.app/profile/mich...

Nor, one presumes, a fan of baths or a friend of birds 😂

Europe’s effort to block kids from social media gathers pace Document obtained by POLITICO shows countries pushing for EU-wide controls to protect kids online.

"The European Union would become a world leader in stopping kids from using social media under a new proposal gaining traction in Brussels."

Almost half of young people would prefer a world without internet, UK study finds Half of 16- to 21-year-olds support ‘digital curfew’ and nearly 70% feel worse after using social media

I'm with them on this one:
Almost half of young people would prefer a world without internet, UK study finds
Half of 16- to 21-year-olds support ‘digital curfew’ and nearly 70% feel worse after using social media www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

PR pros have discovered how to influence the chatbots: Talk to a journalist The public relations business is poised for a resurgence in the AI age. It just needs someone to write the stories.

👀 PR pros have discovered how to influence the chatbots: Talk to a journalist
www.semafor.com/article/05/1...

Is This the ‘Manosphere’ for Women?

Men dominate the top of the podcasting charts. But there has been a surge of podcasts made by women, for women, too. And a company called Dear Media is at the center of much of it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/b...

So EXCITING!!!

Google Plans to Roll Out Its A.I. Chatbot to Children Under 13 The tech giant said it would make its Gemini chatbot available to children next week, and warned families in an email about the changes.

WhAt cOuLd pOsSiBlY Go wRoNg?!?!
Google Plans to Roll Out Its A.I. Chatbot to Children Under 13
The tech giant said it would make its Gemini chatbot available to children next week, and warned families in an email about the changes. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/t...

Un immense livre en train d’être brûlé par des petits personnages avec marqué « I hope everyone realizes that scrubbing historical references from web sites is no different than burning books »

Good Night World

Misinformation Monday:
White House Edition

😠

Everytime I see one tossed out of a car window I fume "who do you think should clean that up for you"?!

Facebook allows scam ads stealing journalists' identities to proliferate Meta has allowed scam investment sites purporting to be run by high-profile journalists to proliferate on Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp.

Facebook allows scam ads that steal journalists’ identities to proliferate. The US tech giant profits from fraudulent adverts that steal the identities of high-profile individuals, such as reputable financial journalists, to exploit their reputations for honesty and financial expertise.

White House to Ask Congress to Rescind $1.1 Billion From NPR and PBS Trump administration officials want legislators to rescind $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides some support for public media.

Public media defenders say rural audiences would be hit the hardest if funding was cut from NPR and PBS stations. In very remote areas without broadband access, public radio and TV are among the few sources of news and entertainment. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/b...

What happens to health research when 'women' is a banned word? Trump's federal funding cuts are shutting down studies on Alzheimer’s care, uterine fibroids and pregnancy risks — all because they focus on gender.

What happens to health research when ‘women’ is a banned word?

Federal funding cuts are shutting down studies on Alzheimer’s care, uterine fibroids and pregnancy risks — all because they "focus on gender." 19thnews.org/2025/03/wome...

As AI Takes His Readers, A Leading History Publisher Wonders What’s Next World History Encyclopedia CEO Jan van der Crabben saw his site show up in Google's AI Overviews and ChatGPT. Then traffic dropped 25%.

World History Encyclopedia CEO Jan van der Crabben saw his site show up in Google's AI Overviews and ChatGPT. Then traffic dropped 25%.
www.bigtechnology.com/p/as-ai-take...

The President asked for input on the formulation of its AI Action Plan. You guessed it: We have thoughts

I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped I was stuck in a freezing cell without explanation despite eventually having lawyers and media attention. Yet, compared with others, I was lucky

The story of a Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. The brutal truth: Ice detention isn’t just a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s a business. These facilities are privately owned and run for profit and thus incentivized to keep people trapped in a nightmare limbo