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In today’s email:
- Top story: Violent imagery and misinformation about the war between Israel and Hamas spreads on social media
- In other news: The Washington Post to cut 240 jobs
- Looking ahead: A new legislative effort to allow the Department of Commerce to ban TikTok
- Chart of the week: Journalists’ views on the financial state of their industry
🔥 Top story
A new war in Israel and Gaza has prompted a flood of violent imagery and false information on social media, including X (formerly known as Twitter) and other platforms. Since taking over X, Elon Musk has scaled back restrictions on content.
About two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) support tech companies taking steps to restrict false information online, even if it limits freedom of information, according to a recent survey from Pew Research Center. And 71% of U.S. adults say tech companies should take steps to restrict extremely violent content online.
📌 In other news
- The Washington Post to cut 240 jobs through voluntary buyouts
- Florida news site accused of selling coverage to politicians
- Is the internet still fun? The rise of algorithms, influencers and passive consumption on social media
- Virginia high school students launch new local news podcast
- Vietnam linked to spyware targeting phones of U.S. lawmakers and journalists
- Crowdfunding saves Europe’s oldest student newspaper from closure
📅 Looking ahead
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo recently announced her support for a new bill known as the Guard Act, which would grant the department more authority to ban TikTok and other foreign-based apps.
About six-in-ten Americans (59%) said in a spring 2023 Center survey that they see TikTok as at least a minor threat to national security. While just 13% of adults ages 18 to 29 say TikTok is a major threat, this share climbs steadily across age groups, reaching 46% among Americans 65 and older.
📊 Chart of the week
This week, The Washington Post announced that it is seeking to cut over 200 positions through voluntary buyouts. In 2022, the Center asked U.S. journalists a few questions to get a sense of the financial standing of journalists and the economics of the organizations they work for. At that time, 22% of journalists said their organization was mostly cutting back these days, while a slightly larger share (30%) said their employer was mostly expanding.
👋 That’s all for this week.
The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Katerina Eva Matsa, Michael Lipka and Mark Jurkowitz, and copy edited by Rebecca Leppert.
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