Media News Daily: Top Stories for 05/17/2026

This page hosts daily news stories about the media, social media, and the journalism industry. Get the latest Hirings and Firings, Media Transactions, Controversies, Censorship Issues, and more.

Thousands of FiveThirtyEight Articles Disappear as Archived Site Redirects to ABC News

Thousands of articles from the influential polling and data journalism outlet FiveThirtyEight appear to have vanished from public access after the archived version of the site, fivethirtyeight.com, began redirecting users to ABC News. The publication, founded by Nate Silver in 2008, was shut down by ABC in 2025, though its standalone archive had remained accessible until recently. Former staff editor Nathaniel Rakich said much of the site’s reporting and election analysis is now inaccessible online, raising concerns about digital preservation and media archiving. ABC News declined requests for comment regarding the disappearance of the content. Read More (New York Times Rating)

Fox News Digital Leads Major News Publishers in April Audience Metrics

Fox News Digital ranked first among major news publishers in April for total digital multiplatform unique visitors, according to Comscore data reported by TheDesk.net. Fox drew 191.1 million unique visitors, surpassing CBS News, NBC News, CNN, The New York Times, and ABC News. The company also led in total multiplatform views, minutes, YouTube video views, and social media interactions. Fox News Media said it generated 112.3 million social interactions during the month and nearly 1.9 billion social video views across platforms, while its TikTok engagement rose significantly year over year. Read More (TheDesk.net Rating)

OpenAI Sued Over Alleged Sharing of ChatGPT Query Data With Meta and Google

OpenAI is facing a privacy lawsuit alleging that queries from ChatGPT users were disclosed to Meta and Google via embedded tracking technologies on ChatGPT.com. The complaint, filed in federal court in California, claims that users’ sensitive information, including health and financial information, may have been transmitted through the Meta Pixel and Google Analytics tools. The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of violating federal and California wiretap laws and committing privacy violations by unauthorizedly sharing user activity data. OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment regarding the allegations. Read More (MediaPost Rating)