• FIR #238: Deepfakes and Other Weapons of War

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine tops the coverage in the March edition of The Hobson and Holtz Report, the long-form monthly “For Immediate Release” podcast, with a look at the motivations for companies to cease their operations in Russia, the use of an AI deepfake as an element of Russian disinformation, and the White House’s appeal to TikTok creators to help offset propaganda; Dan York shares his thoughts on the internet in Ukraine and Russia. Also in this episode: an update on the UK’s Online Safety bill; why the revelations about Ronn Torossian’s ethical misdeeds should lead the PR industry to finally take steps to clean its own house; the top technology trends of 2022, according to Accenture, and why Clubhouse may have launched the social audio movement but may not be around long enough to reap the rewards. In his Tech Report, Dan York shares news from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and looks at proposed web usability guidance from the U.S. Justice Department.

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, April 18, 2022. FIR “shorts”—episodes under 15 minutes—will be available several times each week.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s link blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from this episode:

• Two-thirds of the public say brands should take a stance on Ukraine
• https://brandsolidarity.org/”>What is motivating companies to ditch Russia?
• Global Soft Power Summit
• Global Soft Power Summit video (via Twitter)
• Marketing Society CEO Sophie Devonshire LinkedIn post on how brands can show support for Ukraine
• A Zelensky Deepfake Was Quickly Defeated. The Next One Might Not Be
• The White House is briefing TikTok stars about the war in Ukraine
• The Social Media Report #31: Will UK’s ‘world first’ Online Safety Bill send ripples or a tsunami?
• World-first online safety laws introduced in Parliament
• Online Safety Bill: Has the government botched its attempt to stop the spread of hateful content online?
• Online Safety Made Dangerous
• Online Safety Bill: senior managers to be criminally liable for offences within two months of Bill becoming law
• High-powered PR firm secretly bought an industry news site to tout itself, bash rivals
• Read the resignation letter of Ronn Torossian, who stepped down as 5WPR CEO after he used a secret news site to bash rivals
• PR Industry Group Calls Out 5WPR’s Torossian for Staining the Profession
• ‘Toxic’ PR Guru Ronn Torossian Steps Down After Daily Beast Exposé
• Richard Edelman ‘stunned’ about 5WPR CEO Ronn Torossian’s hidden ownership of Everything-PR
• Richard Edelman’s blog post
• Ronn Torossian Admits To “Ethical Lapses” Amid News Site Controversy
• Hey, Business Leaders, Let’s Tackle Bad PR Behavior Together
• Worlds of pure re-imagination—Tech Trends in 2022: Meet Me in the Metaverse
• Clubhouse’s Fall from Grace

Links from Dan York’s Report

• Twitter Spaces hosts will be able to share clips from recordings in new test
• Twitter rolls back its decision to force you into the out-of-order timeline
• Twitter Wants to Reinvent Itself, by Merging the Old With the New
• Facebook is locking out people who didn’t activate Facebook Protect
• Instagram’s promised parental controls arrive in the US
• Mark Zuckerberg Confirms NFTs are Coming to Instagram
• Justice Department Issues Web Accessibility Guidance Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA