Gun control isn't the only issue being thrust into the spotlight in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. The concept of "trending" news is facing criticism after conspiracies about some of the students seeped into the top stories sections of leading online content platforms. New York Magazine's Brian Feldman joins Cheddar to explain why he thinks it's time to put all things trending to an end.
Feldman describes what he sees as the problematic nature of content curation. He says sites base their story suggestions based on the quantity of clicks, with no eye towards editorial quality or accuracy. This allowed a video accusing a Parkland survivor of being a crisis actor to rise to the top of YouTube's trending section.
The associate editor says part of the problem is the lack of consistency in how different platforms define "trending." He points to Twitter as an example of a better way to approach story curation. The social media giant uses actual people instead of algorithms to assemble its "Moments."
U.S. health officials are cutting isolation restrictions for Americans who test positive for the coronavirus and shortening the time that close contacts have to quarantine.
New Year celebrations are approaching and across the world there is an urge to party. But the desire to let loose is being countered by the highly transmissible omicron variant.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, remaining at a historically low level that reflects the job market’s strong recovery from the coronavirus recession last year.
The Biden administration is extending a student loan moratorium that has allowed tens of millions of Americans to put off debt payments during the pandemic.
President Joe Biden plans to deliver 500 million free COVID-19 tests to Americans, increase support for hospitals and expand the availability of vaccines to confront a winter surge of coronavirus cases driven by the fast-spreading omicron variant.
Former deputy assistant U.S. Secretary of State Joel Rubin joined Cheddar to break down the latest dispute between G7 nations and Russia as its increased military buildup along the Ukrainian border drew stern warnings of "massive consequences" should an invasion occur. "If Putin wants to keep on going further, there will be many tools that the financial system can use against him, and the United States, now, is gathering our allies in a way that is really unprecedented," he said.
