Feb. 13: Sports news void

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Top Story of the week

Sports journalism is more than just game coverage and stats — it also plays a watchdog role in holding the array of powerful interests in the sports world accountable. Though sports content — including sports-focused social media accounts, commentary and entertainment shows — has never been more plentiful, there’s substantially less sports-accountability journalism today. This pullback coincides with the rise of legalized gambling and new rules that allow college athletes to be paid, both of which are trends with impact far beyond the sports world. Experts also worry that without sports reporters on the ground, scandals and corruption will go undetected and important stories untold.

Related:?

• “The Sports Illustrated Cover, a Faded Canvas That Once Defined Sports” (Kevin Draper and Benjamin Mullin, The New York Times).
• Opinion: “In defense of Sports Illustrated on Super Bowl Sunday” (Jon Wertheim, CBS News).

RumorGuard post of the week

NLP created RumorGuard to fact-check viral rumors and help you build news literacy skills. Sign up to push back against misinformation HERE.

No, Microsoft has no plans to disable computers that share ‘non-mainstream’ content

? NO: Microsoft is not planning to disable the computers of people who share “non-mainstream content” online.

?? YES: This claim originated with a story published by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), an infamous publisher of falsehoods designed to look like news and go viral.

?? YES: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told NBC the company was working on detecting and watermarking AI-generated content to help curb the spread of mis- and disinformation, including about the 2024 election.

NewsLit takeaway:?Purveyors of misinformation often rely on people to accept claims at face value and not investigate flimsy evidence, like a screenshot from an unnamed source, or a supposed fact-check. In this case, tracking down the pictured article reveals that it was published by The People’s Voice, a notorious junk news website with a long history of publishing falsehoods, and misleadingly cites an NBC News interview. But the interview video shows Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella never announced any plans to disable computers of users who shared “non-mainstream content.” Examining the source material and comparing claims against credible news outlets are key tactics to avoid getting duped by these misleading reports.

Kickers of the week

• Pakistan’s former prime minister is in jail this election season, but his team used generative AI technology to continue campaigning for candidates backed by his party — and many of those candidates won.
• Since November 2020, at least 33 bomb threats or violent intimidations have been directed at people or organizations featured in critical posts from Libs of TikTok, an anti-LGBTQ+ account that has over 2 million followers on X.
• The Black Lens, an independent, nonprofit Black newspaper in Spokane, Washington, celebrated its relaunch after a two-year hiatus — coinciding with Black History Month.

One last thing...

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