Twitter to label tweets that get downranked for violating its hate speech policyTwitter announced today a new policy that it claims will offer more transparency around which hateful tweets on its platform have been subject to enforcement action. Typically, when tweets violate Twitter’s policies, one of the actions the company can take is to limit the reach of those tweets — or something it calls “visibility filtering.” In these scenarios, the tweets remain online but become less discoverable, as they’re excluded from areas like search results, trends, recommended notifications, For You and Following timelines, and more.
Instead, if users want to see the tweet, they have to visit the author’s profile directly.
The tweet may also be downranked in replies when such enforcement takes place and ads won’t run against the content, Twitter’s guidelines state.
Historically, the wider public would not necessarily know if a tweet had been moderated in this way. Now Twitter says that will change.
The company plans to “soon” begin adding visible labels on tweets that have been identified as potentially violating its policies, which has impacted their visibility. It did not say when exactly the system would be fully rolled out across its network.
Image Credits: Twitter
In addition, not all tweets that have had their visibility reduced will be labeled, the company noted.
It’s starting only with tweets that violate its Hateful Conduct policy and says it will expand the feature to other policy areas in the “coming months.”
“This change is designed to result in enforcement actions that are more proportional and transparent for everyone on our platform,” a blog post authored by “Twitter Safety” stated. The post additionally touted Twitter’s enforcement philosophy, calling it “Freedom of Speech, not Freedom of Reach.”
If a tweet is labeled, the user themselves won’t be shadowbanned or removed from the network — the company notes the policy actions will occur at “a tweet level only and will not affect a user’s account.”
Twitter also explains that users whose tweets were labeled will be able to submit feedback if they think their tweet was incorrectly flagged, but says they may not get a response to that feedback, nor will it guarantee the tweet’s reach will be restored.
Likely, this has to do with the vast cuts Twitter made to its Trust & Safety teams and the company as a whole. And it may be relying heavily on automation to make its decisions over labeling, though it’s unclear to what extent this system will be automated. (Twitter no longer replies to press inquiries, so blog posts and tweets made by the company or its new owner, Elon Musk, are the only official word on things like this.) Automation, of course, could mean Twitter will get things wrong — something it admits in a Twitter thread about the changes. Here, the company also says it plans to allow authors to appeal its decision at some point “in the future.”
Again, no hard deadline or a ballpark time frame was provided.

We will continue to remove illegal content and suspend bad actors from our platform. We’re committed to increasing transparency around our moderation actions, and we’ll continue to share updates on our progress. You can learn more about our various enforcement actions here:…
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) April 17, 2023

The launch of the new policy follows Twitter’s earlier decisions under Musk to allow controversial figures, including Trump and neo-Nazis to rejoin the network. In one incident, Musk brought the artist formerly known as Kanye West back to Twitter, who then tweeted a swastika and was resuspended.
The new policy announced today may be one that reflects Twitter’s attempt to balance two opposing forces. On the one hand, Musk is a free-speech proponent who railed against Twitter’s allegedly less-than-transparent moderation policies in the years before he took control of the company. He even went so far as to publicly share internal documents and communications, aka the Twitter Files, in an attempt to expose how Twitter’s moderation decisions had been made in the past.
The results weren’t as astounding as he hoped. What was largely found was a company having to make complex and nuanced decisions, often in real time, around borderline content and high-profile figures.
Visibility filtering was one of the topics the Twitter Files had covered, in fact.
Musk aimed to show that Twitter had previously been politically biased in its past filtering of tweets, but the report didn’t include any information about how many accounts or tweets were de-amplified or the politics of those who were impacted, so no conclusions could be made.
But Musk’s personal beliefs are bumping up against the need to maintain a functioning business. That’s why, on the other side of things, Twitter could be attempting to make things right with advertisers.
Since Musk’s takeover, advertisers have been fleeing the network. Major brands, including Mars, AT&T, VW and Stellantis have all gone — and all the brand safety measures haven’t been able to restore their trust. The company may hope that labeling tweets that have been de-ranked will help marketers feel more comfortable that their ads aren’t running directly alongside hate speech. But advertisers have plenty of other reasons to be concerned over Twitter.
Since Musk’s acquisition, the network has been chaotic, with constantly changing policies and features, including a now pay-for-reach version of Twitter Blue and, over the past few days, changes to how news outlets are labeled, leading to generally reliable newsrooms like PBS, NPR, CBC, and others to leave the platform entirely. 

Twitter adds more ‘government-funded’ labels to global news outlets

This Week in Apps: Newsrooms leave Twitter, Reels expands, Android 14 arrives

Twitter to label tweets that get downranked for violating its hate speech policy by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

Apple Music, Deezer, TIDAL pull down viral AI ‘fake Drake and The Weeknd’ trackGhostwriter's heart on my sleeve has now surpassed 625,000 plays on Spotify
Source

Mojave'S MA-37 RECOGNIZED AT NAMM TECH AWARDSMojave Audio was recognized for their outstanding Technical Excellence and Creativity during the 38th Annual NAMM TEC Experience, held last Thursday night at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. Mojave’s MA-37 captured a TEC Award in the category of Microphones-Recording.

Started in 1985 by MIX Magazine, the TEC Awards are widely regarded as the highest honor dedicated to the pro audio and sound recording industry, recognizing outstanding performance by the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind the sound of recordings, live performances, films, television, video games and multimedia.

Mojave’s MA-37, winner of the Microphone-Recording category, is a modern take on the iconic Sony C-37a – a workhorse from the Golden Age of Hollywood recording. The MA-37 is a high headroom large-diaphragm tube condenser that updates the original design with modern components and workmanship for a rich, natural sound that imparts a smooth musicality on any instrument or voice. As with all Mojave Audio microphones, the MA-37 is hand-built with the same detailed craftsmanship that have made them essential in studios around the world.  

"This is Mojave’s fourth TEC Award nomination and we are honored to have been recognized this year by NAMM for the MA-37," commented Dusty Wakeman, President of Mojave. "We’re privileged to work alongside the creative genius David Royer and we’d like to thank our families and loyal customers for their continued support.”

For more information and detailed specifications, please visit: https://mojaveaudio.com/ma-37

About Mojave Audio

Mojave Audio was founded by Technical Grammy Award winning David Royer, widely known for his ribbon microphone designs with Royer Labs. Mojave Audio makes world-class microphones for Artists and Engineers who are passionate about their sound.

Photo ID: Mojave Audio President Dusty Wakeman (left) and Mojave Audio Partner Colin Liebich

Lake People announce MC100 monitor controller Lake People build on their expertise in converters and headphone amplifiers, announcing the MC100 monitor controller.

ModeAudio First Light: Vital Ambient Presets First Light - Vital Ambient Presets from ModeAudio beams over the ocean to warm your body like the first rays of the new dawn. Feel a deep sense of calm fill up your being as the airy sounds... Read More

37% of fans shut out by festival ticket prices, 19% will do more drugs, says surveyFestival ticket prices have hit new highs on both sides of the Atlantic, and a new EU survey reveals some surprising consequences. 37% percent of young festival-goers say they will. Continue reading
The post 37% of fans shut out by festival ticket prices, 19% will do more drugs, says survey appeared first on Hypebot.

Roswell Aztec flagship tube mic launched Roswell Audio have announced the release of the Aztec, the boutique manufacturer’s new flagship tube microphone.

We obsess over artist performance stats, but where are the label stats?“While all the artist’s statistics are on the table, visible to all,” writes Keith Jopling of MIDiA Research. “how can the artist assess the label’s track record of success in. Continue reading
The post We obsess over artist performance stats, but where are the label stats? appeared first on Hypebot.

4 Social Media Hacks that increase engagementYou’ve probably seen countless social media-related tips and tricks. However, these four simple hacks may surprise you… by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0 Social media keeps evolving so that what. Continue reading
The post 4 Social Media Hacks that increase engagement appeared first on Hypebot.

NAMM 2023: Audio Modeling SWAM Flutes Audio Modeling's SWAM range of virtual instruments model a variety of instruments without using any sample libraries.

New Loops Organic Lofi Melodies (Wav and Reason ReFill) Organic Lofi Melodies (WAV & Reason) New Loops presents Organic Lofi Melodies, a new collection of 50 lofi melodies ready to drop straight into any project. These musical loops have... Read More

Audiolatry Updates FREE FunkBass Virtual Instrument Plugin
Audiolatry releases FunkBass, a FREE virtual instrument for Windows and macOS. Bass, along with your drums, is the backbone of any track. If you’re looking for a hint of inspiration or just a different set of sounds, then Audiolatry has you covered. The plugin developer has released FunkBass, a sample-based virtual instrument meant to bring [...]
View post: Audiolatry Updates FREE FunkBass Virtual Instrument Plugin

Hundred Finance loses $7 million in Optimism hackThe attacker reportedly manipulated the exchange rate between ERC-20 tokens and hTOKENS to steal over $7 million from the protocol.

Hear ClassDojo and SignalFire unpack edtech’s opportunity ahead on TechCrunch LiveSam Chaudhary takes his time. The founder of ClassDojo, an edtech consumer app that focuses on student classrooms, spent eight years building the company before introducing a formal revenue model. All while raising over tens of millions in venture capital from elite Silicon Valley investors and eyeing a big mission: become the brand families can turn to when they think about a child’s education.
Today, ClassDojo has raised over $200 million in venture capital and has its eyes on its next target, to hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue and reach over 100 million families. On this episode of TechCrunch Live taking place on April 26 at 12 pm PDT, we’ll get into how Chaudhary played the long-game in edtech and what he’d do differently if he was starting all over again. We’ll talk about opportunity in the sector in a post-pandemic landscape — and how he landed investor patience. Chaudhary will speak about his entrepreneurial journey with his investor Chris Farmer, the founder and CEO of SignalFire.
Register Here for Free
Farmer leads SignalFire, a seed-stage venture firm that recently raised $900 million across four new funds. He describes SignalFire as “the only venture firm with a true ML system where it’s a closed loop.” Before SignalFire, Farmer led General Catalyst’s seed program, helping land deals in Coinbase, Discord, and Stripe. He will talk about investing in companies that aren’t rushing to monetize, market competition and the next generation of entrepreneurs.
TechCrunch Live is free. Come join us virtually at 12:00 p.m. today and add your questions right in the chat! Register here. Got a startup? We’d love to have you participate in Pitch Practice, where you’ll have 2 minutes to pitch the show’s guests and get 4 minutes of feedback. It’s fun and helpful.
Hear ClassDojo and SignalFire unpack edtech’s opportunity ahead on TechCrunch Live by Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on TechCrunch

AI Music Copyright: Do NOT Pay For Copyright Until You Have Read This
As AI music generators get more sophisticated, the issue of copyright ownership is becoming increasingly complex. With AI tools becoming capable of creating entire songs without human input, questions arise about who owns the rights to these creations and how they should be licensed and monetized. AI-Generated Music Music created by artificial intelligence (AI for [...]
View post: AI Music Copyright: Do NOT Pay For Copyright Until You Have Read This