Speaking of Meta's 'More Speech, Fewer Mistakes' campaign
Cause who are they kidding?
Hi there! I’m a news producer and editorial consultant turned independent media strategist, and this newsletter is my take on the future of journalism—a future where creators, not conglomerates, drive the narrative. If you’re reading this, I’ve likely booked you for an interview, collaborated with you on a story, or you just stumbled in out of curiosity—either way, welcome aboard.
Let’s start with some media highlights:
Creators are hedging their contracts faster than you can say “TikTok ban” – because nothing screams job security like wondering if the app that made your career might vanish overnight. (Digiday)
Apple News boasts 125 million monthly users– which sounds impressive until you realize nobody really knows what “influence” means in this context. But hey, that’s a lot of thumbs swiping through headlines. (FT)
YouTube has handed out over $70 billion to creators in the last three years, averaging $23 billion a year. Meanwhile, Netflix spends around $13 billion annually on its content library, meaning YouTube isn’t just funding creators—it’s practically minting them. And when you add sponsorships, merch, subscriptions, and a few well-timed ad reads, YouTube revenue makes streaming look like cable’s frugal cousin.(FT)
According to a shiny new press release with a video of Zuck himself, Meta has launched a new More Speech, Fewer Mistakes campaign where they claim to be champions of free speech armed with an AI moderation system that supposedly balances 'liberty' and 'safety' with the wisdom of Solomon. Bold move for a company that’s spent years fumbling content moderation like George Pickens when the Steelers played the Bengals. ( I had to do it, I can’t believe he couldn’t catch a single ball)
In Meta speak, "fewer mistakes” just means “fewer high-profile screw-ups.” Sure, they might juke the stats and tout the removal of fewer “problematic” posts as a win, instead of measuring the impact of the harmful content they undoubtedly plan to leave up. This is the same company that ignored countless red flags while hate speech on its platform incited real-world violence in Myanmar and Ethiopia. The same company that shadowbanned sex educators and LGBTQ+ creators with zero explanation. This is the same platform where Black and Indigenous activists repeatedly had their accounts suspended for so-called “community guidelines violations” after simply calling out racism. “Free speech” never seems to apply to them. To be clear, Meta’s moderation system isn’t every going to be about safeguarding public discourse, no matter how many times they are dragged in front of Congress (who has dropped the ball repeatedly). They are safeguarding ad revenue. That's it and that's all.
And now they want to parade about Beyonce's internet as if some digital defender of free speech bravely navigating the complexities of content moderation? That's rich. I'm not saying they don't have the room and space to do better, I'll just believe it when I see it. Fewer mistakes? From my perch, they are tech behemoth doing the bare minimum to dodge regulatory heat while courting advertisers and spinning a narrative of moral superiority it hasn't earned.
ONEwatch: YouTube creator MegaLag dropped an exposé on Honey, that handy coupon toolbar. Turns out, “handy” meant handy for Honey but shady for creators, advertisers, and anyone who dared to expect fair play. Allegedly.
ONEread: Eddie Huang has written a scathing, hilarious, and surprisingly insightful take on the current state of politics. Pro tip: read it if you haven’t already, and before you doom-scroll your news feed.
ONElisten: A friend recommended the Founders podcast series and I am been hooked. This episode on Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung? Absolute gold. Who knew building an empire involved this much grit, guts, and occasional chaos? (Apple Podcasts)
At Press One (in development), I’m focused on uniting creators into a decentralized media powerhouse. Think of it as the blueprint for a new mainstream, where journalists, storytellers, and independent newsrooms unite to amplify their work on and earn sustainably. Beyond that, I’m still in the trenches, producing interviews for broadcast news and documentaries, while helping independent voices grow their audiences with authenticity and impact.