digital portal, HBCU
by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

August 17, 2023

The Associated Press Releases Updated Standards For AI Usage In Newsrooms

The Associated Press has a new style tip as it now includes guidelines for “Generative AI” in its updated writing standards for journalists. The rise of AI-generated content, including ChatGPT, has led the platform to release new regulations on its multimedia usage, including audio and video.

AP announced the news on the technological inclusion via its blog and social media pages, as it has expanded upon its artificial intelligence chapter for 2023 in its widely used stylebook. Through this announcement, they assured journalists they cannot be replicated with the new tool.

“We do not see AI as a replacement of journalists in any way,” shared Amanda Barrett, its vice president for Standards and Inclusion. “It is the responsibility of AP journalists to be accountable for the accuracy and fairness of the information we share.”

The rest of the guidelines state how and when AI platforms like ChatGPT can be utilized while drafting articles. However, it explicitly stated that AP writers are prohibited from using the tool to curate “publishable” content. Despite this, writers are allowed to explore, “with caution,” ChatGPT’s abilities given their licensing agreement with its parent company, OpenAI.

ChatGPT must be monitored as it is beginning to be used in more professional capacities, as AP still does not consider its “outputs” as confirmed sources. However, a major concern within and beyond the journalistic field is the spread of artificially-generated or altered images. Many online platforms, mainly social media websites such as X, have had to make disclaimers whenever a popular image is revealed to have been digitally manufactured.

While the public and AP are still uncovering the full capacity of generative AI, the included guidelines imply the growth of its influence in all media spheres.

RELATED CONTENT: Vice President Harris To Meet With CEOs About Artificial Intelligence Risks

Black business month
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 17, 2023

Texas Business Owner Rallies For Community Support To Stay Afloat

August is the celebration of Black Business Month. But from the looks and woes of some businesses, there is little to celebrate when it’s not flowing as well as anticipated.

According to KRIS 6 News, being a Black business owner has its ups and downs. Some Black businesses are not being supported in a way that can help them thrive,.

Take, for example, LaToya Rodriguez, who owns Rose Soiree in Corpus Christi, Texas. Rodriguez told KRIS 6 she is still in the process of trying to make her flower shop successful.

“It is honestly rather tough being a business owner in the Coastal Bend in general, not just as a minority,” Rodriguez said. “There is a lot of preconceived notions about someone owning a business is rich or they have it all.”

That lack of support can have a lasting effect not just on the business but the community as well.

“When you call 1-800 companies for flowers, they’re not here. They’re not in our community,” Rodriguez explained. “They’re not going to your son’s baseball game or supporting your daughter’s dance team. The small businesses like mine are.”

Small business attorney Phil Dennis agrees and says funds are the first and worst problem for Black entrepreneurs.

“They don’t have the finance. That’s the first thing,” Dennis said. “They don’t have the real finance. They come out of pocket. So, that means that they don’t have the backup when things like COVID happens, or when the downtimes do come, they don’t have the finance to keep running.”

Running Backs
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 17, 2023

NFL Running Backs Are Being Squeezed Financially And Facing Football Extinction

In nearly every sports league, players’ roles change over the years. These days, professional football teams are devaluing running backs, and it does not look good for the men who are actual stars at that position.

Andscape reported that the recent contract negotiations for three of the top running backs in the NFL, Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants, Tony Pollard of the Dallas Cowboys, and Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders, were not favorable for the players. Each, rightfully so, is looking for a long-term robust contract that will pay them a substantial salary based on their past and future performances. Yet all three teams assigned each player a one-year franchise tag.

According to Sporting News, an NFL team can give one player each year a franchise tag, which locks them in for that year. The team can pay the player a salary predetermined by the average contract of what’s paid at that position. A franchise tag also prevents a player from becoming an unrestricted free agent. This way, for the next contract year, the team holds on to the exclusive negotiating rights or matching rights over the player.

N. Jeremi Duru, a professor of sports law at American University, shared his thoughts on the NFL devaluing the running back position.

“What is happening with running backs is extraordinary,” Duru said in an email to Andscape. “Running back was a premier and valued position just a few years ago, and now the bottom is falling out.”

While football has shifted to favor the passing game, the running game is still vital to the league. But the teams are not paying like that is the case.

“The fact that elite backs in the league are calling for change and having organizational Zoom calls shows that this is a serious issue,” Duru wrote. “If they feel their particular needs are not being met by the NFLPA [the players’ union], which currently represents them as their union, labor law actually provides a path forward. But it is a narrow path.”

Running backs can resort to legal matters and try to settle it through forming their own union, but Duru said that not only would the NFL oppose the move, so would the NFLPA. So, for now, running backs may have to just deal with it unless the game changes to where it values the running back position once again.

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, gangs, couple, adopted children
by Iman Milner

August 17, 2023

‘All The Smoke’: Haitian Gang Leader Vows To Defend Country Against ‘Abusive’ Foreign Armed Forces

Jimmy Chérizier, who was once a Haitian police officer, is considered by many to be the most powerful gang leader in the country. On Wednesday, Aug. 16, he called on the citizens of Haiti to fight back against the deployment of foreign armed forces.

“We are asking the population to rise up,” Chérizier said. “We will fight against them until our last breath. It will be a fight of the Haitian people to save the dignity of our country.” Prime Minister Ariel Henry has discussed plans to ask for foreign assistance to help combat an increase in gang violence throughout the country. According to the Associated Press, 80% of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, is said to be under gang control. The history of the United Nations in Haiti is one marred by allegations of sexual assault as well as accidental poisoning of the country’s water supply. Therefore, many residents sneer at the idea of more foreigners coming in the name of peace unless the focus is on corrupt government officials who have long terrorized their citizens. “If the foreign force comes to help and provide security for life to start over again, we will also applaud,” Chérizier said.

Violence in the country has displaced more than 200,000 Haitians who have had to seek refuge as warring gangs flood the streets with bullets.

Chérizier is one of the many gang leaders accused of inciting several massacres in recent years. According to the Associated Press, the former police officer is under U.N sanctions following claims that he “has engaged in acts that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Haiti and has planned, directed, or committed acts that constitute serious human rights abuses.” Though he has called a truce with an opposing gang, G-Pep, there are still mounting concerns for civilian safety and the future of Haiti, which has long been depleted of necessary resources and fallen under tyrannical rule.

YouTube, AI, fake news, Black celebrities
by Sidnee Michelle Douyon

August 17, 2023

YouTube Defeats Racial Bias Lawsuit By Black, Hispanic Content Creators

A U.S. federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit accusing YouTube of restricting or removing videos from Black and Hispanic content creators because of their race.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said that although the idea that YouTube’s algorithm could discriminate based on race is plausible, the plaintiffs “do not come close” to suggesting they suffered any discrimination.

The proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of non-white YouTubers was originally filed in June 2020, less than one month after a Minneapolis police officer’s murder of George Floyd sparked a nationwide focus on racial injustice.

Nine plaintiffs said YouTube, owned by Google, subjected their videos to more restrictions than similar videos from white contributors, violating a contractual obligation under its terms of service to provide race-neutral content moderation.

But the judge said YouTube promised only that its algorithm would not treat people differently based on their identities, not that the algorithm was infallible.

He also said the plaintiffs relied on too small a sample of videos, and some actually hurt their case.

In an example, he said YouTube’s restriction of one plaintiff’s “makeup tutorial” on how to create Donald Trump’s “distinctive look” could reflect the plaintiff’s mentioning the Ku Klux Klan and describing lighter makeup colors as white supremacy colors.

The plaintiff “certainly appears to be joking around, likely in an effort to mock white supremacists, but this would readily explain the differential treatment by the algorithm,” Chhabria wrote.

Chhabria also said some claims predated a recent update to YouTube’s community guidelines, and that YouTube “cannot be liable for breaching a promise it had not yet made.”

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. YouTube and its lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.

Chhabria dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again, after the complaint had been amended five times.

Joe Mixon
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 17, 2023

Cincinnatti Bengals Player Joe Mixon Found Not Guilty In Road Rage Case

NFL player Joe Mixon was recently found not guilty of aggravated menacing charges after being accused of pointing a weapon at a woman earlier this year in Cincinnati.

According to WFMZ, a Hamilton County Municipal Court judge found the Cincinnati Bengals running back not guilty of aggravated menacing charges on Thursday. He was arrested and charged after a road rage incident on Jan. 21, 2023.

“After a careful review of all of the evidence presented at trial, including the stipulations and the testimony presented today, I cannot say the city sustained its burden,” Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Gwen Bender said.

Police authorities stated the road rage incident occurred shortly before the running back was supposed to be at Bengals’ Paycor Stadium that day. He was going there to meet the rest of his team and head out for a road playoff game against the Buffalo Bills.

The Cincinnati Police Department refiled charges against Mixon on April 7 after an initial charge was dismissed in early February.

Local 12 reported that the Bengals released a statement regarding the verdict.

“Since he joined the organization in 2017, Joe Mixon has been a valuable part of the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe has been a top-level running back with multiple 1000-yard rushing seasons, and he has been an even better teammate enjoying real popularity among his peers. During the past seven years, Joe has been active with the community, and his constant smile and energy have made him a favorite among thousands of fans. The organization is pleased that this matter is now behind everyone, and we look forward to an exciting season with Joe being an important part of the football team.”

Last season, Mixon rushed for 5,378 yards and 40 touchdowns while adding 231 catches for 1,763 yards and 10 scores.

by KJ Edwards

August 17, 2023

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New Orleans Man Contemplates Life After Spending 40 Years Behind Bars For A Crime He Did Not Commit
by Iman Milner

August 17, 2023

New Orleans Man Contemplates Life After Spending 40 Years Behind Bars For A Crime He Did Not Commit

In 1984, New Orleans local Jerry Davis was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Forty years later, a judge deemed his trial unconstitutional, citing misconduct on behalf of the prosecution, freeing the 64-year-old father of two and clearing his name.

Now, home with his family for the first time in four decades, Davis has had time to reflect on the years he missed while being grateful for a second chance. During the time he spent wrongfully imprisoned, his greatest battle was one of the mind. “[It’s] kind of miserable, but you try to block everything out, don’t think about it…. find other things that occupy my mind. You know, just to keep my mind off of where I’m at,” he said. According to WWL News, Davis’ conviction was especially heinous as he was not even at the scene of the crime. Innocence Project New Orleans Legal Director Richard Davis has been working to help prove the newly exonerated man’s innocence. “A couple were visiting New Orleans; they were setting up a camper van in a trailer park off Chef Menteur in New Orleans East. They were approached by two men who robbed them and shot them,” he said.

“A police informant facing a 24-year sentence for an unrelated crime approached the police and gave them information about this case. He named a second individual. The police then went to that second individual and said, we know you were there,” he continued. “The judge recently found that both the prosecution witnesses gave false testimony, the prosecutors hid testimony that should have been handed over to Jerry, and they did not correct their witnesses when they gave false testimony and, in fact, amplified those lies that convicted Jerry.” Still, Davis says he’s ready to move forward and put the last 40 years behind him while he reconnects with his children and grandchildren.

james harden
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 17, 2023

James Harden Signature Wine Sells 10K Bottles In Seconds On Chinese Livestream

While a dispute between the Philadelphia 76ers and one of its star players works itself out, it may be time for the team to rethink its strategy for dealing with him. In less than the time it took for you to read this, fans in China bought 10,000 bottles of wine from NBA player James Harden. His response included a cartwheel and a surprised reaction when finding out.

According to the South China Morning Post, the signature wine, J-Harden, owned by the future NBA Hall of Famer, sold 10,000 bottles within 10 seconds of announcing that it could be purchased during a live stream. The feat shocked the 76ers basketball player, causing him to do a cartwheel after confirming the sales amount on a nearby computer.

Less than one week after declaring that he would never play for a team that 76ers’ president Daryl Morey is a part of and calling him a liar, this was great news for the NBA All-Star.

Harden is in China promoting his sneakers with Adidas and selling his wine.

In 2019, Morey created a big controversy when he tweeted his support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong when he was general manager of the Houston Rockets at the time. Coincidentally, Harden was a member of the Rockets when this took place. The Rockets were in China at the time for a preseason basketball exhibition.

Due to Morey’s comment, Chinese officials suspended the annual NBA China Games and coverage of NBA games in China for the 2019-20 season. Although Morey eventually apologized for the Tweet, the damage had already been done.

There is speculation that consumers in China still remember the comments Morey made and, due to Harden’s recent remarks about Morey, could have fueled the massive sales.

Recently retired Golden State Warriors player Andre Iguodala also commented on Harden’s recent statement regarding Morey on “Gil’s Arena” basketball podcast.

“Harden can say something, and there may not be any backlash because there is a history there with Daryl Morey and China, so it was a great move out of leverage by James,” Iguadola said.

BET, TYLER PERRY
by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

August 17, 2023

Paramount Halts BET Sale And Puts An End To Tyler Perry Buyout Rumor

Paramount has announced it is officially stopping the sale of its subsidiary, BET Media Group. The highly coveted purchase of a majority stake in the company would have included VH1 and BET cable networks alongside the BET+ streaming service.

However, this latest update makes the rumors of Black media moguls taking over the brand now void. Tyler Perry was a prominent name being circulated in the talks. According to the Wall Street Journal, Paramount decided to end talks of the sale due to the current numbers for it lacking “meaningful deleveraging of its balance sheet.”

Although the movie producer and studio owner never publicly commented on the matter, multiple sources confirmed he was one of many strong contenders. Other high-profile figures allegedly in discussions to buy out the media entity were Sean “Diddy” Combs, 50 Cent, Byron Allen, and Shaquille O’Neal. The private bidding war’s offers ranged from $2 to $3 billion, yet none of the assumed bidders have openly disclosed their price point.

Perry already owns a minority stake in BET, but could not cross the finish line to be the primary owner of the multimedia company. The WSJ also revealed that his bid was financially backed by Ariel Alternatives, a private equity branch of the asset management group Ariel Investments.

Despite being unable to own BET outright for now, Perry still hosts his own original programming on its streaming service, including All The Queen’s Men and Ruthless. While it is doubtful that the 53-year-old will make a statement on the failed acquisition, his work on the platform remains popular among viewers.

However, what is to come next for BET is still unclear, as Paramount has not stated whether or not it will revisit offers in the future for the brand. Those who were in favor of the media company being Black-owned again will now have to wait longer to see if that ever comes to fruition.

RELATED CONTENT: Tyler Perry Doubles Down on Interest in BET: ‘I’m Very, Very Interested in Taking as Much of it as I Can’

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