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social media

Multiple sources including those on Twitter pose challenges for journalists

donal brown May 19, 2011

As one journalist described it, he has “a personalized wire service” of over 2,000 sources on Twitter who provide him with tips and on-location news reports. While this sort of access is of inestimable value, it present immense difficulties as well. Writing in GigaOM, Mathew Ingram says that with gathering so much information on the fly, reporters have to work harder than ever to separate fact from rumor and verify the credibility of sources, some

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Legislator seeks to set privacy rules for Facebook

FAC May 16, 2011

A state senator from San Leandro has introduced legislation that would require Facebook and other social networking sites to let new users establish privacy settings at the same time they register. State Sen. Ellen Corbett, a Democrat, argues that users shouldn’t have to give up their private information by default. Opponents object to government imposition of privacy rules and assert that the bill could have unintended consequences that actually reduce privacy The billed, SB242, passed

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WikiLeaks founder says social media operate as tools for U.S. intelligence

donal brown May 3, 2011

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange called Facebook the “most appalling spy machine that has ever been invented.” Assange pointed out that a trove of information about people, their relationships, conversations and locations exists on the social media and that U.S. intelligence agencies could bring pressure on Facebook, Yahoo, Google and others to extract that information. -db From NextWeb, May 2, 2011, by Matt Brian. Full story

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Exiles use Internet to promote Syrian revolt

donal brown April 25, 2011

Anti-government activists living in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. are taking a leading role in using the Internet to defy the autocratic Syrian government in providing news of the uprising to the world. Writing in The New York Times, Anthony Shadid described the work of one man, “Gaunt and with bloodshot blue-green eyes, Mr. Nakhle navigated a cascade of information Friday — a frenetic conversation on Skype with 15 people in Syria, a

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Free speech: Police officer gets desk duty over indiscreet posting on Facebook

donal brown April 8, 2011

Free speech rights of police officers in the social media are clashing with their law enforcement responsibilities as illustrated by a recent case in Albuquerque where a police officer listed his occupation on Facebook as “human waste disposal.” A TV station discovered the gaffe after the officer was involved in a fatal off-duty shooting in February. In response to this and other instances across the country, police departments are developing social media policies. The courts have supported

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