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Thursday, March 23, 2023

The end of the week is within reach. Ray Epps demands Tucker Carlson and Fox News retract their "lies," NPR cuts hit the outlet hard, Hearst employees walk out, Twitter announces the final days of the legacy checkmark, attempts to ban books surge, Apple readies $1 billion to produce movies for the theaters, Jason Sudeikis speaks to Jake Tapper, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Clock Ticks on TikTok

CNN Photo Illustration/Olivier Souliery/AFP/Getty Images

Is TikTok's time up?

That's the question coursing through the halls of Congress, Wall Street, and the public writ large after the social media company's chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, waffled for hours before U.S. lawmakers on Thursday.

"TikTok's fate in the US is on shakier ground than ever following lawmakers' grueling questioning of Chew," Insider Intelligence principal analyst Jasmine Enberg said.

The 40-year-old Harvard-educated Chew was never going to get a warm welcome from U.S. lawmakers. That much had been telegraphed ahead of Thursday's hearing in the clearest possible manner. And Chew was well aware he would likely be greeted with a cold reception, which is why he spent hours and hours preparing over the last week for his first sworn testimony before U.S. lawmakers.

But it was striking how the TikTok chief flailed under aggressive questioning from both Republicans and Democrats, uniting the parties in a way that is rarely ever seen in American politics anymore. "Mr. Chew, welcome to the most bipartisan committee in Congress," Republican Rep. Buddy Carter said. Democratic Rep. Tony Cárdenas echoed, "You have been one of the few members to unite this committee."

To be clear, quite a few members of Congress were simply not interested in the facts. They were never going to be moved by anything Chew said. They had their talking points and were going to deploy them during their allotted time as cameras were rolling. They couldn't care less about technical talk related to routing server traffic through Oracle. It was never going to matter or impact how they behaved.

"Shou came prepared to answer questions from Congress, but, unfortunately, the day was dominated by political grandstanding that failed to acknowledge the real solutions already underway through Project Texas or productively address industry-wide issues of youth safety," a TikTok spokesperson said after the hearing.

That said, Chew needed to provide clear, direct answers to questions posed by lawmakers, particularly those regarding fears of potential Chinese authority over the company. Instead, his murky answers on questions pertaining to the Communist Party of China led to added confusion at times.

Even if everything TikTok claims about firewalling U.S. data from Chinese actors via Oracle's Texas-based servers is true, it was evident from Thursday's hearing that lawmakers simply don't buy it. And that poses a serious problem for the company as it faces mounting calls for it to be outright banned.

As Kara Swisher told me, "While the politicians on both sides were posing for the cameras and should have been scrutinizing US social media sites for years and passing laws to protect US consumers, TikTok is going to get the brunt of it and will now have only two choices, a spin or a ban."

THE SIDEBAR

"A US TikTok ban would benefit YouTube, Instagram and Snap, likely resulting in higher revenue share of the total advertising wallet," Moody's Investors Service Vice President Emile El Nems noted. "Given the revenue scale of YouTube and Instagram, the TikTok ban creates a smaller revenue opportunity, but it could be materially positive for Snap."
Shares for TikTok's competitor ended the day up on Thursday, with Snap ⬆️ 3%, Meta ⬆️ 2%, and Google ⬆️ 2%.
Where is Oracle? As TikTok faces immense scrutiny, the company that is supposed to be safeguarding the platform's U.S. data is noticeably MIA. In 2020, when they signed the deal, Oracle said that it was "100% confident" in its ability to "ensure data privacy to TikTok's American users." But today, the company is mum. I reached out to Oracle spokespeople multiple times on Thursday, but never heard back.
TikTok COO Vanessa Pappas says the hearing "felt rooted in xenophobia." (Twitter)
In Chinese state media, the People's Daily and CGTN used the day to promote stories suggesting a ban on TikTok was opposed by users and could ultimately backfire. (People's Daily/CGTN)
As Chew was testifying, the UK Parliament announced TikTok will be blocked from "all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network" over security concerns. (Sky News)
TikTok paid for the travel of some of its influencers so that they could be at the pro-TikTok rally in Washington, D.C., Matt Laslo reports. (WIRED)
Madison Malone Kircher embedded with the TikTok stars "turned temporary lobbyists," describing the day as having "field trip vibes" amplified by the fact that TikTok reps "took on the role of de facto chaperones" as the creators made their way to Capitol Hill. (NYT)
"Despite lacking evidence for their belief that TikTok is a spying tool for the Chinese Communist Party, US lawmakers from both parties on Thursday carried out an ugly political theater to advance that narrative," Allison Morrow writes. (CNN)
"Chew fruitlessly tried to broaden the conversation to be about all social media companies — not just TikTok," Alex Barinka and Anna Edgerton note. (Bloomberg)
Security concerns over TikTok "are bigger than one company, and the Biden administration is missing an opportunity to lead the free world in addressing the big picture," Alex Stamos writes. (CNN)
The WaPo's big picture headline: "TikTok faces uncertain future after 5-hour congressional thrashing." (WaPo)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Firing Back at Fox: Ray Epps wants an apology from Tucker Carlson and Fox News. An attorney representing the Arizona man, who January 6 conspiracy theorists falsely claim led an FBI plot to orchestrate the insurrection, made the demand in a letter sent to the network Thursday, warning the right-wing channel had made "false and defamatory" statements about his client. "The fanciful notions that Mr. Carlson advances on his show regarding Mr. Epps's involvement in the January 6th insurrection are demonstrably (and already proven to be) false," the attorney wrote. "And yet, Mr. Carlson persists with his assault on the truth." Spokespeople for Fox News did not respond to requests for comment, but Carlson needled Epps again Thursday night. CNN's Marshall Cohen and I have all the details here.

🔎 Zooming in: Of course, the legal notice comes as Fox is already battling Dominion Voting Systems over the voting tech company's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit. "I realize that you are becoming quite familiar with the elements of defamation," Epps' lawyer wrote in his letter to Fox News, not so subtly referring to the case. The lawyer added, "Recent revelations from the Dominion Voting lawsuit may help explain why Fox News has allowed the falsehoods about Mr. Epps to continue to spread, and be amplified, through its network. But fear of losing viewers by telling them the truth is not a defense to defamation and false light, nor will it absolve you of liability related to claims for infliction of emotional distress."

IN THE FOXHOLE

"As Fox News faces a lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems over its lies about the 2020 election, the network has also had a notable presence in another legal arena: the criminal proceedings against January 6 insurrectionists," Eric Hananoki reports. (MMFA)
Bill Barr comes to Fox News' defense: "Emotions seem to have gotten the better of the mainstream media's judgment. The theory advanced by Dominion is profoundly dangerous to the media industry as whole." (WSJ)
Meanwhile, Sam Levine argues that Dominion "is already the winner" in its case against Fox News. (Guardian)
Important reminder from RonNell Andersen Jones and Lyrissa Lidsky on the case: "The 'big lie' is not on trial in this case. Instead, perhaps frustratingly, this case addresses a very specific claim of very specific harm to a very specific entity." (Slate)

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Charles Dharapak/AP

Pain at NPR: It's a tough time to be at NPR. The outlet on Thursday continued to notify staffers impacted by its 10% workforce reduction that they will lose their jobs. The cuts resulted in the cancelation of the podcasts "Invisibilia," "Louder Than a Riot," "Everyone & Their Mom," and "Rough Translation," NPR's David Folkenflik and Mary Yang reported. In addition, according to Folkenflik and Yang, "a number of long-time NPR staffers" have "chosen to leave." That includes senior European correspondent Sylvia Poggioli, the outlet's longest serving international reporter who announced her retirement after 41 years. "The layoffs also affect people who work behind the scenes to produce the shows and podcasts, design visual elements for the web, conduct audience research, and do the myriad other functions required of a major news network," Folkenflik and Yang wrote. Here is their full story.

Hamstringing Hearst: Hundreds of Hearst Magazine employees on Thursday afternoon walked off the job, demonstrating as they try to pressure management during contract negotiations. The WGA East union held walkouts and rallies in multiple cities as the talks come down to the wire after two years, with the final negotiating day slated for March 28. "Today we're walking out because we'd like to remind Hearst what they are without our labor; nothing but a name," Delish's Zach Lennon-Simon said. Deadline's David Robb has more here.

IN THE INDUSTRY

✂️ Cuts, cuts, cuts: The CW underwent another round of layoffs on Thursday, Nellie Andreeva and Dade Hayes reported. (Deadline)
The NYT ended its Covid data gathering operation after three years of daily reports. (NYT)
CNN announced that Anderson Cooper will host the network's newsmagazine program, "The Whole Story." The new show premieres April 16. (Variety)
Semafor announced its inaugural media summit, featuring Chris Licht, Jen Psaki, Barry Diller, and others. (THR)
Law&Crime acquired the YouTube channel The Disturbing Truth, expanding its presence on the social video platform. (Law&Crime)

MEDIA MOVES

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named Leroy Chapman Jr. editor-in-chief, the paper's first Black top editor in its 155-year history. (AJC)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/STR/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Vanquishing the Verified : The time is nigh! Elon Musk's Twitter, which is desperate for new avenues of revenue, announced on Thursday that it will start to remove legacy verified account badges starting April 1. Those who want the blue check will be forced to fork over $8 a month to Musk. And organizations will be forced to pay $1,000 a month, plus $50 a month for affiliated accounts. This move will, without question, make it much more difficult to sort fact from fiction on the platform, leading to a decline in user experience. But since Musk took over the platform last year, he has been hellbent on making it happen, despite significant problems along the way.

► Will news organizations pay the $1,000 a month to stay verified? I've asked reps for all the major outlets and will update when I hear back.

Parenting the Platforms: The governor of Utah on Thursday signed a contentious bill that requires children to obtain the consent of their parents before joining social media platforms. The new law also makes the sites off limits for minors between the hours of 10:30pm and 6:30am. The legislation, which is designed to protect kids, is likely to prompt protest and legal challenges from social media companies and other groups. The Electronic Frontier Foundation described the Utah rules as "dangerous" and said it will "incalculably harm the ability of young people to protect their privacy." CNN's Samantha Murphy Kelly has more here.

TOO MANY TABS

Kara Swisher talks to OpenAI chief Sam Altman, who says — among many other things – he's "most excited" for A.I. to help humanity "expand our scientific knowledge." (NY Mag)
OpenAI is continuing to give ChatGPT more capabilities, now working to let it browse the internet. (The Verge)
OpenAI said a bug in its code allowed some users of its ChatGPT bot to see the titles of other users' conversations. (CNBC)
So far, early testers are not too impressed with Google's Bard. (Insider)
Shivon Zilis, an executive at Elon Musk's Neuralink who gave birth to twins with the billionaire, has left the board of OpenAI. (The Info)
Snap unveiled its AR Enterprise Services, a suite of artificial reality shopping tools that will let people try on clothes virtually. (TechCrunch)
Shares of Jack Dorsey's Block dropped 19% after a short-seller alleged the company facilitated fraud. (CNN)

THE INFO WARS

Book Banning Boom: An alarming trend is picking up the pace. Attempts to ban books nearly doubled in 2022, according to new data from the American Library Association, with the organization reporting more than 1,200 "demands to censor library books and resources" last year. Per the group, that figure represents "the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago." The NYT's Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris have more here.

🔎 Zooming in: "Of the 2,571 unique titles that drew complaints in 2022 — up from 1,858 books in 2021 — a vast majority were books by or about L.G.B.T.Q. people, or books by or about people of color," Alter and Harris note.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

After dismissing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "territorial dispute" to Tucker Carlson, Ron DeSantis tries to clean up his comments: "I think it's been mischaracterized," he told Piers Morgan. "Obviously, Russia invaded — that was wrong." (Associated Press)
DeSantis is "building a state where media criticism of him is no longer allowed," writes Tori Otten. (New Republic)
DeSantis appeared on Newsmax Thursday evening for an interview with Eric Bolling, responding to criticism from Trump supporters that he is a supposed RINO: "Other than laughing at it?" DeSantis said, adding, "All people have to do is just open their eyes." (Newsmax)
Meanwhile, after a lengthy exodus from the network, Donald Trump will return to Fox News' airwaves on Monday with a sit-down interview with Sean Hannity, per Maggie Haberman. (Twitter)

CURTAIN CALL

Apple's Appetite: Apple "plans to spend $1 billion a year to produce movies that will be released in theaters," Bloomberg's Thomas Buckley and Lucas Shaw reported Thursday. The duo reported that the tech titan has "approached movie studios about partnering to release a few titles in theaters this year and a slate of more films in the future." The list of movies include projects from Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott, per Buckley and Shaw. Read their full report here.

►The Bloomberg report sent stocks in theaters surging.

CNN Photo Illustration/CNN

Sudeikis Speaks: How would Jason Sudeikis describe what Apple TV+'s Emmy award-winning show "Ted Lasso" is about? "I think it is about teamwork," Sudeikis told Jake Tapper for an upcoming "CNN Primetime" special. "I think it is about empathy. I think it is about listening ... it's about how we are all a lot more similar than we are led to believe." In the wide-ranging interview, Sudeikis will also talk with Tapper about his career and mental health. The special airs Friday at 9pm.

OFF STAGE

Disney and unions at Disney World have struck a tentative deal, with most workers getting a 37% increase in pay by 2026. (CNN)
"SNL" editors have ratified their first-ever contract. (Deadline)
Popular San Francisco radio host Jeffrey Vandergrift, widely known as "JV," has been found dead after going missing last month. (KTVU)
HBO boss Casey Bloys said he would have OK'ed more seasons of "Succession" if creator Jesse Armstrong had wanted. (THR)
Meanwhile, Bloys said that a meeting about Mike White's vision for season three of "The White Lotus" went well. (Variety)
Ahmed Best, known for his portrayal of Jar Jar Binks in the "Star Wars" franchise's prequels, will return to the franchise as a Jedi in "The Mandalorian." (LAT)
The first "Power Rangers" will return in Netflix's "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always," set 30 years after the original show's debut. (THR)
Netflix is in talks with several actors — including Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, and Dakota Fanning — for its upcoming limited series, "The Perfect Couple." (Deadline)
Netflix's "Outer Banks" and "Murdaugh Murders" are the two top shows on Nielsen's streaming list this week. (Variety)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will see you back in your inbox next week.