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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2016 Mark Zuckerberg: ‘Pretty Crazy ‘People v. O.J.’ Idea’ that Facebook fake news director to helm Biggie Tupac drama pilot he director behind FX’s acclaimed “People vs. O.J. Simpson” helped Donald Trump win miniseries is set to tackle another true crime drama, this one based on the unsolved deaths of rappers Tupac Shakur and ark Zuckerberg dismissed critics who have blamed T The Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls. hoaxes and false news stories that spread across The Hollywood Reporter says USA Network has ordered a pilot Facebook as somehow contributing to Donald Trump’s M for “Unsolved,” which will be directed by Anthony Hemingway. election as the 45th president of the US “Personally I think the The Reporter says the story will revolve around the experiences idea that fake news on Facebook, of which it’s a very small of former Los Angeles police detective Greg Kading, who is con- amount of the content, influenced the election in any way is a sulting on the show. Kading has investigated the killings and pretty crazy idea,” said Zuckerberg, speaking Thursday night at wrote a book about the crimes. the Techonomy conference in Half Moon Bay, Calif. In this Dec. 6, 1995, file photo, The Notorious B.I.G., who won Shakur and B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, Facebook, which has 1.79 billion monthly users worldwide, is rap artist and rap single of the year, clutches his awards at were involved in a bitter feud when Shakur was gunned down in in a powerful position as a media company (even though the podium during the annual Billboard Music Awards in New Las Vegas in 1996. Wallace was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Zuckberberg keeps insisting that it’s a tech platform, not a media York. — AP Angeles six months later. — AP company). About 44% of US adults get their news from Facebook-and 66% of US Facebook users consume news on the social-media platform, per a Pew Research Center study in May. Fake news disseminated on Facebook leading up to the elec- tion included a story insinuating that Hillary Clinton was involved in the murder of an FBI agent investigating WikiLeaks emails, as PBS series delves into well as hoaxes claiming that Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta was a satanist, that the Clintons bought a $200 million Maldives estate and that Hillary Clinton bought $137 million worth of illegal guns and ammunition. history of recorded music To Zuckerberg, “there is a certain profound lack of empathy in asserting that the only reason someone could have voted the way they did is because they saw some fake news.” “If you t one point in the “Soundbreaking” documentary series, Feelin’” doesn’t sound like a breakup, “it sounds like the end of believe that,” he said, “I don’t think you have internalized the producer Paul Epworth describes a freshly heartbroken the world,” Dupre said. message that Trump supporters are trying to send in this elec- AAdele singing him her new song, “Rolling in the Deep,” Fortunately, the series doesn’t stay stuck in a bygone era. tion.” pounding out the beat - and her frustrations - with her foot on a There are artists you wish you’d heard from - Prince and Bruce slab of wood. Springsteen come to mind - but “Soundbreaking” keeps up with He shows how her foot-stomping was incorporated into the changing styles and the diversity of creators. In the first episode, Mark Zuckerberg rhythm track of the recording, which became one of this century’s Dr. Dre explains that “it’s very easy to make a hip-hop record. It’s biggest hits. It’s one of several insights packed into the eight-hour not easy to make a good hip-hop record.” series that begins Monday at 10 p.m. EST on most PBS stations. The series was the brainchild of Beatles producer George Martin, who died March 8. The sprawling overview was wrestled into shape by American producer Jeff Dupre, who made sure it was something other than a technology wonk’s paradise. “You want it to not be a history lesson but an experience for the audi- ence,” Dupre said. “They’ll hear a few new things, but also enjoy hearing it.” The series is divided into several topics, including the role of a producer, the use of sampling and how the recording studio became an instrument. Each episode is packed with songs and personal stories. Tom Petty describes how Jeff Lynne stopped him upon first hearing the chord progression that became “Free Improving quality Fallin’,” and Questlove talks about being entranced by the sound Facebook has taken some steps to try to improve the quality of “Rapper’s Delight.” of news users see in their News Feed. In August, it announced a Giles Martin was a partner in the project, becoming more new policy to begin penalizing stories with “clickbait” headlines. active with his father’s illness. “His life was dedicated to making Earlier this year the social giant was accused of political bias in people happy through sound,” he said. “If you think about it, it its Trending Topics section to downgrade conservative-leaning was really as simple as that. He tried to push boundaries all the stories. In response, Zuckerberg and other Facebook execs met time within that. The innovation, not just with himself but with a with conservative commentators to discuss the issue. Facebook lot of people, he thought was quite an interesting story to tell.” After the Beatles left the road, they partnered with Martin This undated image released by PBS shows Beatles producer subsequently laid off the team of freelancers that managed George Martin, one of more than 100 artists featured in the Trends Topics, and replaced them with an algorithm-based auto- using the studio as a palette. “Soundbreaking” discusses the mak- ing of “Tomorrow Never Knows,” where Martin was charged with documentary series, “Soundbreaking,” beginning Monday mated system. on PBS. — AP But despite all of Facebook’s efforts, fake news stories have bringing some of John Lennon’s offbeat ideas to life. continued to pop up on the site, including a hoax that Fox News was going to fire Megyn Kelly for backing Clinton. Zuckerberg The goal of recording technology Although it’s not something that Giles Martin wanted to spend said on Thursday that the information people get through social For much of the 1900s, the goal of recording technology was much time on, the series doesn’t avoid the masking power of media platforms like Facebook today is “inherently more to make a listener experience being in a room as music was made, recording technology: auto-tune’s ability to make someone diverse” than what Americans received decades ago when the said Giles Martin, who went into the family business. In the 1960s sound much better than they actually are. “This is more a celebra- major media outlets were three TV broadcasters and newspa- and beyond with the constant introduction of new technology, tion of what is great about music,” he said. “Since pop music has pers. That’s a good thing, he suggested-but the unfiltered tor- that changed. begun, there are people who have sold records who can’t sing. rent of news on the internet, real or made up, also makes it more Before being assigned to a young Liverpool band no one had It’s not a new thing.” difficult for people to figure out what’s true. heard of, George Martin produced comedy records, where he was Mostly, “Soundbreaking” tells stories about how artists as fans While Silicon Valley billionaire and Facebook board member accustomed to incorporating sound effects into recordings. With were excited by certain sounds they heard on records and how Peter Thiel openly advocated for Trump-and spoke at the GOP his background, he would have never gotten the job as Beatles they aspired to create something new themselves. “If you watch convention this summer-other Facebook execs supported producer in today’s world, “which is kind of an interesting lesson all the episodes, you will hear music in a new way, because you Clinton. Zuckerberg earlier this year appeared to criticize that hasn’t been learned since,” Martin said. will have a greater understanding of how it was created,” Dupre Trump’s immigration and trade policies, saying in his keynote at The surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, both said. — AP the company’s F8 developers conference, “Instead of building participate in “Soundbreaking.” More than 150 artists and produc- walls, we can build bridges.” In response, a rep for Trump called ers are interviewed. Zuckerberg “self-righteous” and out of touch.—Reuters Besides George Martin and the Beatles, “Soundbreaking” talks about the 1960s work of Brian Wilson and Phil Spector. Because of Spector piling on the instruments, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’.

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