Wednesday 1st July: The purge - is this the end of legitimised hate speech?

July 01, 2020

Good morning! Today's Media Roundup is brought to you by Chris.

Apologies for putting that face in front of you before breakfast. The past day has seen something of a purge of The Donald-related content across a number of platforms, for reasons related to hate speech. Livestreaming platform Twitch has banned Trump's channel for “hateful conduct” aired on stream, and Twitch says the offending content has now been removed.

Twitch joins reddit in removing Trump-related excisions, as the 'front page of the internet' banned a supporter group's subreddit, following months of pressure. It's been pointed out that reddit finally took this step once all r/the_donald's users had already left, but the trend is clear. Platforms have seen the backlash against hate speech that is ostensibly the reason for ad spend being pulled, and they're scrambling to ensure they're not next.

Of course, the screams from the right wing that these editorial decisions amount to censorship won't go away, and if the wind were blowing due Trump it might well be a different story. For now, this is a case of a much needed purge finally happening - even if it is for the wrong reasons.

Covid-19 has, for the most part, only accelerated ongoing trends. However, as Ken Doctor reports, something new might finally arise from the crisis - namely the first big nonprofit newspaper chain in the United States: "Leaders in the field of nonprofit journalism are deciding over these 48 hours whether or not to make a bid for all of McClatchy, sources tell me." Watch this space.

Speaking of space LabBible - like BuzzFeed before it - has a way to come before it can shed its reputation. But as John McCarthy explains for The Drum, it's putting its fate in the hands of an advertising executive to do so.

As though the magazine industry needed any more bad luck, doctors and airlines are pulling print from their shared spaces - despite there being very little chance that print is a vector for the virus.

This week's episode:

This week Ed Needham, founder, editor and sole staffer of book review magazine Strong Words, explains how tech is enabling him to do what he does, and how digital makes it a challenge to capture and keep people’s attention.

We love each and every one of our supporters! We've honestly been taken aback by the response so far, but we're going to announce our next goal for any financial support over the next few days. Thank you again!