Straight Line of the Day: I’ve gotten my cynicism dialed in almost perfectly: I no longer believe…

Joe Biden Insists the U.S. Is Doing Better Than When Trump Was in Office
townhall.com | 10/22/2022 | Sarah Arnold

President Joe Biden is confident that after two years in the White House, the U.S. is still in better than shape when he was handed the keys.

During an interview with MSNBC, Biden claimed that most of what the Democrats have passed and what they’ve done has not “kicked in yet,” in response to polling data showing people trust Republicans more when it comes to the economy.

MSNBC host Jonathon Capehart asked “here’s a problem, I think, for you and Democrats, despite all the good economic news, low unemployment, record job creation, wage increases, Social Security cost of living adjustment to 8.7%, the highest in 40 years. And yet, poll after poll shows that the American people trust Republicans on the economy and think that Republicans should control Congress. How do you break through that?”

Straight Line of the Day: Unbiased MSNBC host asks Biden: How can we convince voters we have a booming economy?

White House Reporter Rails Against Trump in New Book: ‘Drove Me To Drink,’ ‘Terrorized’ Country
Fox News via MSN | 10/23/22 | Kristine Parks

On “The View” Thursday, White House correspondent April Ryan advised young journalists to not make themselves the focus of their reporting. “Please understand it’s not about you. It’s about the story,” she told the audience.

However, in Ryan’s new book, she seemed to relish making herself part of the story.

In her book, “Black Women Will Save the World: An Anthem,” Ryan touted how her fight to preserve “democracy” and “the vote” from Donald Trump and his allies, “made her a target.”

At one point, she even embraced her role as an activist.

“Our activism is rooted in serving the underserved, the forgotten, the marginalized. I used to push against the description of my work as ‘activism’ because that adjective was lobbied to delegitimize my work. But in time, I have come to accept and embrace the description,” Ryan wrote. She quotes The New York Times’ 1619 Project’s Nikole Hannah-Jones saying “all journalism is activism.”

Straight Shot of the Day: Trump caused a reporter to drink. Other terrible things he’s done to reporters: …

From Camping To Cheese Pizza, ‘Algospeak’ Is Taking Over Social Media
Forbes | September 19, 2022 | Alexandra S. Levine

If you’ve seen people posting about “camping” on social media, there’s a chance they’re not talking about how to pitch a tent or which National Parks to visit. The term recently became “algospeak” for something entirely different: discussing abortion-related issues in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Social media users are increasingly using codewords, emojis and deliberate typos—so-called “algospeak”—to avoid detection by apps’ moderation AI when posting content that is sensitive or might break their rules.

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Almost a third of Americans on social media and gaming sites say they’ve “used emojis or alternative phrases to circumvent banned terms,” like those that are racist, sexual or related to self-harm, according to the data. Algospeak is most commonly being used to sidestep rules prohibiting hate speech, including harassment and bullying.

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We’ve come a long way since “pr0n” and the eggplant emoji. These ever-evolving workarounds present a growing challenge for tech companies and the third-party contractors they hire to help them police content.

Oblique Line of the Day: Here’s your chance to get in on the ground floor! What ‘algo’ euphemism would you like to create?