Algorithms

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

Colorado’s governor vetoes landmark ban on rent-setting algorithms

R.j. Rico, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Colorado’s governor vetoes landmark ban on rent-setting algorithms

R.j. Rico, The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis has vetoed a bill that would have made Colorado the first state to ban landlords from using rent-setting algorithms, which many advocates have blamed for driving up housing costs across the country.

RealPage is the target of a federal lawsuit filed last year that accuses the real estate software company of facilitating an illegal scheme to help landlords coordinate to hike rental prices. Eight other states, including Colorado, have joined the Department of Justice's lawsuit, though RealPage has vehemently denied any claims of collusion and has fought to have the lawsuit dismissed.

Critics say RealPage software combines confidential information from each real estate management company in ways that enable landlords to align prices and avoid competition that would otherwise push down rents. RealPage’s clients include huge landlords who collectively oversee millions of units across the U.S.

The Colorado bill, which recently passed the Democratic-led Legislature along party lines, would have prevented the use of such algorithms.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

FILE - Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Increase in sextortion cases prompts call for legislation to combat predators

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Preview

Increase in sextortion cases prompts call for legislation to combat predators

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Thursday, May. 8, 2025

The spike in online sextortion cases in Winnipeg has alarmed police and augmented advocates’ calls for Canada to begin regulating social media platforms to help protect children from predators.

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Thursday, May. 8, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Jacques Marcoux, with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, says the Winnipeg Police Service’s online exploitation stats are not surprising, as this type of crime is rampant.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Jacques Marcoux, with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, says the Winnipeg Police Service’s online exploitation stats are not surprising, as this type of crime is rampant.

Global extremism, as close as your keyboard

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Global extremism, as close as your keyboard

Editorial 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 31, 2025

An arrest in Winnipeg has provided yet another reminder of just how much extremist attitudes have spread across the world.

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Monday, Mar. 31, 2025

File

The internet is bringing hate into homes.

File
                                The internet is bringing hate into homes.

Conservative MPs beat Liberals, NDP on online engagement, study finds

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Conservative MPs beat Liberals, NDP on online engagement, study finds

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

OTTAWA - A new study from McGill University says Conservative MPs far outpace their Liberal and NDP counterparts in online engagement, partly due to the their voices being amplified on X.

The report from McGill’s Media Ecosystem Observatory found in 2024, online posts from federal Conservative MPs garnered 61 per cent more engagement — likes, shares and comments — than those from Liberal and NDP MPs combined.

It found that engagement with Conservative politicians on X has increased 52 per cent since Elon Musk, a key ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, took over the platform previously known as Twitter in 2022.

The report looked at online posts from all members of Parliament on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok between January 2022 and November 2024.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The opening page of X is displayed on a computer and phone in Sydney, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Rick Rycroft

The opening page of X is displayed on a computer and phone in Sydney, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Rick Rycroft

Cellphones have messages about learning

Ken Clark 4 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024

Distractions. I recall, decades ago, two high school lads riveted by the random outcomes of a surreptitious, they thought, game of cards, rather than attuned to my teaching of the Canada Food Guide. Message received — think about how I teach the Canada Food Guide.

Independent thought challenges the echo chamber

Rebecca Chambers 5 minute read Preview

Independent thought challenges the echo chamber

Rebecca Chambers 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023

By sustaining a daily independent paper, Winnipeg declares our lives and stories worthy of broader conversation and validates the importance of this city and the people who live here.

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Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023

Papers from days gone by hang on the wall in the newsroom. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Papers from days gone by hang on the wall in the newsroom. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
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Study shows ‘striking’ number who believe news misinforms

David Bauder, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview
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Study shows ‘striking’ number who believe news misinforms

David Bauder, The Associated Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Half of Americans in a recent survey indicated they believe national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public to adopt a particular point of view through their reporting.

The survey, released Wednesday by Gallup and the Knight Foundation, goes beyond others that have shown a low level of trust in the media to the startling point where many believe there is an intent to deceive.

Asked whether they agreed with the statement that national news organizations do not intend to mislead, 50% said they disagreed. Only 25% agreed, the study found.

Similarly, 52% disagreed with a statement that disseminators of national news “care about the best interests of their readers, viewers and listeners,” the study found. It said 23% of respondents believed the journalists were acting in the public's best interests.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

FILE - An electronic ticker displays news Wednesday, March 11, 2020, in New York's Times Square. A new survey released Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, shows fully half of Americans indicate they believe national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public to adopt a point of view. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

FILE - An electronic ticker displays news Wednesday, March 11, 2020, in New York's Times Square. A new survey released Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, shows fully half of Americans indicate they believe national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public to adopt a point of view. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
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The joke’s on us as social media capitalizes on our base impulses in race to the bottom

Melissa Martin 7 minute read Preview
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The joke’s on us as social media capitalizes on our base impulses in race to the bottom

Melissa Martin 7 minute read Friday, Dec. 16, 2022

The most important thing we can teach ourselves, and our children, about how to navigate social media is this: the algorithms want you to be angry. They want you to be angry, because it is good for business.

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Friday, Dec. 16, 2022

Even if games go on, MLB lockout could alienate Gen Z

Jake Seiner, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Even if games go on, MLB lockout could alienate Gen Z

Jake Seiner, The Associated Press 7 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Max Scherzer stars in the last video posted to Major League Baseball’s TikTok account before the league locked out the players Thursday morning.

The clip, viewed over 400,000 times, shows the final out from Scherzer's first no-hitter in 2015 with Washington, followed by teammates dousing the three-time Cy Young Award winner with chocolate syrup. Hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd's “Swang” plays in the background.

“Max Scherzer is ... officially a New York Met!!!” the caption reads, celebrating Scherzer's $130 million deal to pitch in Queens.

It could be the last post featuring a big league player sent to the account’s 4.8 million followers for months, a curveball with real consequences for a sport already concerned about courting young fans.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Scherzer pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning of Game 5 of a baseball National League Division Series Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, in San Francisco. Eight-time All-Star Max Scherzer is nearing a $130 million, three-year contract with the New York Mets, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday, Nov. 29, because the agreement was still being worked on and would be subject to a successful physical.(AP Photo/John Hefti, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Scherzer pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning of Game 5 of a baseball National League Division Series Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, in San Francisco. Eight-time All-Star Max Scherzer is nearing a $130 million, three-year contract with the New York Mets, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday, Nov. 29, because the agreement was still being worked on and would be subject to a successful physical.(AP Photo/John Hefti, File)