{"id":2014,"date":"2024-03-29T16:02:46","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T16:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/?p=2014"},"modified":"2024-03-29T16:06:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T16:06:42","slug":"the-new-york-times-simulator-release-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/the-new-york-times-simulator-release-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"The New York Times Simulator &#8211; Release Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" style=\"width:853px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe hidef\" id=\"WYL_uC175qW8NXU\"><div id=\"lyte_uC175qW8NXU\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/uC175qW8NXU\/maxresdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/uC175qW8NXU\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/uC175qW8NXU\/0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:853px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/molleindustria.itch.io\/the-new-york-times-simulator\">The New York Times Simulator is out now<\/a>, free to play from any browser. It works decently on mobile too.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s a meta <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Newsgame\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">news game<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0about how corporate media manufacture consent for genocide, minimize police misconduct, and serve the ruling class.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The content of the game is literally \u201cripped from the headlines\u201d in that it uses mostly real headlines (and even actual edits) from the NYT, the Wall Street Journal, and other \u201cliberal\u201d mainstream media. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I originally wanted to make parody headlines but I just couldn\u2019t come up with anything more shameless and contrived than what\u2019s already out there.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2018\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2018\" style=\"width: 964px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2018\" src=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/headlines.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"964\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/headlines.png 964w, https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/headlines-300x138.png 300w, https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/headlines-768x352.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 964px) 100vw, 964px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2018\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The New York Times&#8217;s use of its signature lyrical style to avoid incriminating Israel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The indie connoisseurs will immediately recognize the similarities with Lucas Pope\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dukope.com\/trt\/play.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Republia Times<\/a>. The NYT Simulator is basically a modern remake that replaces totalitarian censorship with the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/chomsky.info\/consent01\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">propaganda model<\/a>\u201d of Western corporate media, as described by Chomsky and Herman in Manufacturing Consent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2019 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/republia.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1238\" height=\"732\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/republia.png 1238w, https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/republia-300x177.png 300w, https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/republia-768x454.png 768w, https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/republia-1024x605.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1238px) 100vw, 1238px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of a turn-based narrative puzzle, you have a real-time gameplay more reflective of online publishing in the 24 hour news cycle. Instead of one power to propagandize, you have three interest groups you are trying to not piss off. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like in The Republia Times, Reigns, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/demsocsim\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Democratic Socialism Simulator<\/a>, the effects of your actions aren\u2019t explicit. The variables affecting the approval are hidden, so you have to make educated guesses &#8211; meaning you have to interpret the headlines in relation to the interests of the police, Israel, and the capitalist class.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2020\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2020\" style=\"width: 594px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2020 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/amazon-workers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"594\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/amazon-workers.png 594w, https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/amazon-workers-300x197.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2020\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An actual post-publication edit from the New York Times reframing Amazon&#8217;s union busting as a workers&#8217; victory.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you play the game \u201ccynically\u201d or try to do your best without getting fired, I\u2019m hoping The New York Times Simulator can train players to quickly identify common spinning and framing techniques like the infamous passive voice (children \u201cfound dead\u201d in Gaza), weasel words, or biased euphemisms (\u201cofficer-involved shooting\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2021\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2021\" style=\"width: 1496px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2021\" src=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/expands-beating-up.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1496\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/expands-beating-up.png 1496w, https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/expands-beating-up-300x80.png 300w, https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/expands-beating-up-768x205.png 768w, https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/expands-beating-up-1024x274.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1496px) 100vw, 1496px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2021\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beating up protesters is presented as &#8220;strong police response&#8221;. The ethnic cleansing of an entire region is presented as &#8220;letting civilians flee&#8221;.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Headlines are important. Notoriously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-fix\/wp\/2014\/03\/19\/americans-read-headlines-and-not-much-else\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most people only read the headlines<\/a>, and things only got worse with social media becoming the primary way to get news. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It turns out that even when the full article is read, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/science\/maria-konnikova\/headlines-change-way-think\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">headline dramatically condition how the information is interpreted and retained<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to know if a headline in the game is real or made up, or what was the reasoning behind its inclusion, you can check out the links next to each news item in the game data.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1EbjiK3ieLst0sSntexxv-3LNvFCblYNvo_okXAV8rtE\/edit?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public game data<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I managed to put together this spreadsheet very quickly thanks to media watchdogs like <a href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FAIR.org<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/newsdiffs.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NYT diffs<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, (which tracks post-publication edits of major outlets). I\u2019m also thankful to the thousands of individuals holding media into account every day on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, the danger of relying on mainstream Western media is to reproduce the same omissions. For example The New York Times has devoted almost zero coverage to Palestine Action which accomplished newsworthy results including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.palestineaction.org\/tamworth-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">permanent shutdown of entire weapon factories<\/a>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You also won\u2019t hear more graphic details like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www-journalisten-se.translate.goog\/fordjupning\/journalisterna-som-bevakar-gaza-pa-plats-det-liknar-inget-annat-krig\/?_x_tr_sl=sv&amp;_x_tr_tl=en&amp;_x_tr_hl=en&amp;_x_tr_pto=wapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">story of the Palestinian child carrying the body of his 5 year old brother in a blood-soaked backpack<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As I final note, I realize how the media\u2019s role in cheerleading a genocide may not be the most urgent aspect of the conflict, but it&#8217;s the only the aspect I felt I could turn into a game. It\u2019s hard to do satire and moral role-play in the face of unspeakable horrors. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I hope a ceasefire will make this game dated very soon, but until then, I\u2019ll try to update the news database to keep the game timely.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch this video on YouTube The New York Times Simulator is out now, free to play from any browser. It works decently on mobile too. It\u2019s a meta news game\u00a0about how corporate media manufacture consent for genocide, minimize police misconduct, and serve the ruling class. The content of the game is literally \u201cripped from the &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/the-new-york-times-simulator-release-notes\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The New York Times Simulator &#8211; Release Notes&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-games","category-politics","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2014"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2028,"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014\/revisions\/2028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.molleindustria.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}