As a mock interview show host, Zach Galifianakis is accruing awards at the rate of a “60 Minutes” correspondent.
Galifianakis led the 15th annual Webby Awards on Tuesday with four awards for his Web series “Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis.” He won best Web personality/host, best comedy short and best online variety show. He won the latter in both the voter-chosen “People’s Voice” category and the proper Webby Award category.
The Webbys, which celebrate Internet achievement, are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a group of 750 Web experts as well as other Internet professionals.
Galifianakis’ irreverent, sporadically released show, which appears on FunnyOrDie.com, is done in the style of a cable access show. Galifianakis, who was honored last year by the Webbys as best actor, belligerently and absurdly interviews celebrity guests.
Lisa Kudrow won two awards for her “Web Therapy” series. Arcade Fire’s innovative “The Wilderness Downtown” music video also won two awards, as did the interactive “Johnny Cash Project.” Both Web-based music videos were directed by Chris Milk (of @radical.media).
Justin Bieber took the People’s Voice award for best comedy video for his April Fool’s takeover of FunnyOrDie.com as “Bieber or Die.” The site’s home page was remade with clips featuring Bieber in famous viral videos.
The comedy site, co-founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, earned a total of nine awards. That included the Webby for best humor site and a People’s Voice award for Jim Carrey’s performance as Ronald Reagan in the site’s star-packed “Presidential Reunion” video.
The app sensation “Angry Birds” was chosen for best game, for both the Webby and the People’s Voice award. The New Yorker’s website won the Webby for best magazine site and for best copy/writing. PBS’s iPad app was picked for best entertainment for a tablet. Conan O’Brien’s TeamCoco.com won the Webby for best celebrity or fan website.
The New York Times, which recently began charging readers for access to its site, won three awards in how-to, travel and mobile. NPR won for best news site and for best radio/podcasts. Pandora won for best music site.
A full list of winners is available here. Special recognition awards will be announced later.
The awards will be handed out in a ceremony in New York City on June 13. The Webbys are famous for their trademark brevity, with acceptance speeches limited to just five words.
Supreme Court Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Meta
The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.
The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.
Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.
Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.
Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.
The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More