meanwhile synonym essay

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adverb as in at the same time

Strong matches

meantime , till

Weak matches

ad interim , concurrently , during the interval , for now , for the duration , for the moment , for the time being , for then , in the interim , in the interval , in the intervening time , in the meantime , simultaneously , until , up to , when

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Example sentences.

Meanwhile, in Florida, Bush was flooded with questions about whether gay marriage could possibly come to the Sunshine State.

Meanwhile, almost exactly 30 years after the trial, the judge left his home to board a steamboat and was never heard from again.

Meanwhile two kids were taken from their mother when she flew back to the UK from Turkey.

The woman in question, meanwhile, has business of her own to take care of—she is reported to be shopping a memoir.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement deploring the state GOP for its failure to censure Duke.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, was filled with alarms respecting her daughter's unhappy infatuation.

Meanwhile, he had been selected as aide-de-camp by General d'Ure de Molans.

Meanwhile, the Australian submarine has got up through the Narrows and has torpedoed a gunboat at Chunuk.

None of them came; but meanwhile a very extraordinary thing happened, for the house itself began to go.

Meanwhile, another form of imitation is developing, the fashioning of lasting semblances.

Related Words

Words related to meanwhile are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word meanwhile . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

preposition as in concurrently with an activity, event

• all the while
• at the same time as
• at the time
• for the time being
• in the course of
• in the interim
• in the meanwhile
• in the middle of
• in the time of
• the time between
• the whole time

adverb as in during the intervening time

• temporarily

noun as in interval

• breathing spell
• coffee break
• interregnum
• interruption

noun as in pause, break

• breathing space
• intermission
• parenthesis

noun as in the intervening time

• concurrently
• for the duration
• for the moment
• in the interval
• simultaneously

Viewing 5 / 7 related words

On this page you'll find 25 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to meanwhile, such as: meantime, till, ad interim, concurrently, during the interval, and for now.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

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Synonyms and antonyms of meanwhile in English

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What are synonyms for "meanwhile"?

• meaningless
• meaninglessness
• mean-looking
• mean-minded
• mean-spirited
• mean-spiritedness
• measureless
• measurement
• measurements
• measure one's length

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  Vocabulary      

What is another word for Meanwhile ?

Synonyms for meanwhile ˈminˌʰwaɪl, -ˌwaɪl mean·while, this thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word meanwhile ., wiktionary rate these synonyms: 3.5 / 2 votes.

meanwhile adverb

Synonyms: meanwhilst , the while , in the meantime , meantime

During the time (that something is happening).

Synonyms: in the meantime , meantime , the while , meanwhilst

At the same time, but elsewhere.

Synonyms: meantime , in the meantime , meanwhilst , the while

Princeton's WordNet Rate these synonyms: 2.8 / 4 votes

interim, meantime, meanwhile, lag adverb

the time between one event, process, or period and another

"meanwhile the socialists are running the government"

Synonyms: interim , stave , slowdown , lag , retardation , meantime , meanwhile

at the same time but in another place

"meanwhile, back at the ranch..."

Synonyms: meantime , in the meantime

meanwhile, meantime, in the meantime adverb

during the intervening time

"meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified"

Synonyms: meanwhile , meantime , in the meantime

Dictionary of English Synonymes Rate these synonyms: 0.0 / 0 votes

meanwhile adjective

Synonyms: in the mean time , in the interim

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words Rate these synonyms: 2.0 / 1 vote

Synonyms: meantime , during the interval

PPDB, the paraphrase database Rate these paraphrases: 0.0 / 0 votes

List of paraphrases for "meanwhile":

meantime , concurrently , moreover , furthermore , simultaneously , besides

How to pronounce Meanwhile?

How to say meanwhile in sign language, words popularity by usage frequency, how to use meanwhile in a sentence.

Chris Williamson :

Supply shortages have meanwhile put pricing power in the hands of suppliers, pushing raw material prices sharply higher. Increased shipping costs are adding to the burden.

Jason Ware :

Meanwhile, the backdrop for equities is oversold... This has certainly compelled some folks who are under-invested to get back into the stock market.

Eva Longoria :

Huffman's lawyers argued that the sentencing guidelines in those cases were much higher and reserved for the mastermind of schemes, not mere participants. Prosecutors, meanwhile, had argued that universities and testing companies were the victims of the schemes, and the amount that parents paid should correspond to the penalties' severity.But US Probation and Pretrial Services, which prepares pre-sentence investigation reports for each defendant, has argued overall, that the universities and testing companies suffered no monetary harm, and the price of the parents' bribes is therefore not relevant to any sentences. Actress Felicity Huffman loved ones wrote letters of support to the judgeMacy and other loved ones submitted letters to Judge Indira Talwani on Huffman's behalf, pleading for leniency. Each letter outlined Huffman's loyalty and commitment to the writer — an attempt to show Actress Felicity Huffman role in the admissions scam was an outlier in Actress Felicity Huffman life. Macy also shed some light on the immediate aftermath of Huffman's early morning arrest by the FBI in March.Two days after the arrest, Macy wrote, their eldest daughter was headed for an audition at a school she had her heart set on — one that didn't require SAT scores. But when Actress Felicity Huffman got off the plane, the school emailed Actress Felicity Huffman, formally rescinding its audition invitation because of the scandal. Eva Longoria and other celebrities write letters of support for actress Felicity Huffman ahead of Eva Longoria sentencingMacy wrote Eva Longoria and other celebrities daughter.

The Athletic :

Meanwhile, a report by The Athletic that was published Friday alleged that The NCAA president Mark Emmert was informed in 2010 that Michigan State University athletes were sexually assaulting women. MICHIGAN GOV. RICK SNYDER REPORTEDLY WEIGHS LOOK AT MSU ’S HANDLING OF SEX ABUSE CLAIMS The NCAA President Mark Emmert was specifically alerted in November 2010 -- six months after Mark Emmert was hired as the organization's president -- to 37 reports involving Michigan State athletes sexually assaulting women.

David Howard :

Is it possible for the federal government to create any more uncertainty for renters and rental home property owners in this country ? shame on me for assuming the moratorium would not be extended after The President announced The President has no legal authority to do so, nor was Congress able to pass legislation to do so. Meanwhile, rental home property owners have lost billions of dollars they will never recover.

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Are we missing a good synonym for Meanwhile ?

Image credit, the web's largest resource for, synonyms & antonyms, a member of the stands4 network, free, no signup required :, add to chrome, add to firefox, browse synonyms.com, are you a human thesaurus, a synonym of "kittenish", nearby & related entries:.

• means test noun
• meanspirited adj
• meantime adverb
• Meanwhile adverb
• mearstone noun
• Measha Brueggergosman
• measles noun

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Definition of meanwhile noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• We need some new curtains, but these will do for the meanwhile.

Questions about grammar and vocabulary?

Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English.

• I hope to go to medical school eventually. In the meanwhile, I am going to study chemistry.

Other results

• for the meantime/meanwhile
• in the meantime/meanwhile

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Definition of meanwhile

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Definition of meanwhile  (Entry 2 of 2)

Did you know?

Meantime vs. Meanwhile

Meantime and meanwhile have both been used as nouns in prepositional phrases like "in the meantime/meanwhile" since their earliest use in the 1300s. Both have been used as adverbs, like in "meanwhile/meantime, down at the farm…," since the late 1500s. They've been interchangeable for pretty much all of their long histories. But that doesn't mean they don't each have their favorite territory.

Meantime is the one that's usually used as a noun—that is, as the object of the preposition in phrases like "in the meantime" and "for the meantime":

We're headed to the beach this afternoon. In the meantime, I'm going to the grocery store.

And meanwhile is the usual choice for the role of adverb:

The kids are excited about the beach. Meanwhile, someone has to think about dinner.

But you'll see and hear examples that are counter to these generalizations, like the following:

In the meanwhile, someone should find the beach towels. The baby is napping. Meantime, the older kids are looking for beach toys.

"In the meanwhile" has been accused of being "unidiomatic" (i.e. of sounding weird), but it isn't so unidiomatic that native speakers instinctively avoid it. If you use it, there's no reason you should stop.

But if you want to use this pair in the ways they're most often used and need help remembering which goes where, you can think of this sentence:

In the time it takes to say "in the meantime," you could just as well say "meanwhile."

Examples of meanwhile in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'meanwhile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

14th century, in the meaning defined above

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing meanwhile

• in the meanwhile

Articles Related to meanwhile

33 Transition Words and Phrases

'Besides,' 'furthermore,' 'although,' and other words to help you jump from one idea to the next.

'Meantime' vs. 'Meanwhile'

Does it matter which you use?

Dictionary Entries Near meanwhile

Cite this entry.

“Meanwhile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meanwhile. Accessed 1 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of meanwhile.

Kids Definition of meanwhile  (Entry 2 of 2)

More from Merriam-Webster on meanwhile

Nglish: Translation of meanwhile for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of meanwhile for Arabic Speakers

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Guide: How to Say “Meanwhile” – Formal and Informal Ways

Meanwhile, an important transitional word, is often used to connect two events or actions happening simultaneously. In this guide, we will explore various ways to express “meanwhile” in both formal and informal contexts. Whether you are writing an academic paper, a business report, or simply engaging in informal conversations with friends, this guide will provide you with a diverse range of options to express this transitional term. So, let’s delve into the world of “meanwhile”!

Formal Expressions for “Meanwhile”

Formality is crucial in many written and spoken contexts, such as academic or professional settings. When it comes to expressing “meanwhile” formally, consider the following options:

• In the Meantime : A quintessential phrase that encapsulates the meaning of “meanwhile” in a formal manner.

Example: “The research team is diligently analyzing the data. In the meantime, the experimental setup is being prepared for the next phase.”

Concurrently : This word emphasizes simultaneous occurrences, making it perfect for more formal situations.

Example: “The marketing team is devising a new campaign strategy. Concurrently, the sales team is exploring potential markets.”

Simultaneously : A precise and formal expression that emphasizes actions happening at the same time.

Example: “The negotiations for the merger are ongoing. Simultaneously, the legal team is conducting due diligence.”

Informal Alternatives for “Meanwhile”

While formality is essential in certain contexts, sometimes you might want to convey the meaning of “meanwhile” in a more casual or conversational manner. Here are some informal alternatives:

• At the Same Time : This informal expression can be used in various contexts to convey the idea of simultaneous events.

Example: “I’m finishing up my work report. At the same time, I’m trying to book flight tickets for our vacation.”

On the flip side : This phrase introduces a contrasting perspective while still acknowledging events happening concurrently.

Example: “I’m excited about the concert tonight. On the flip side, I should be studying for tomorrow’s exam.”

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch : A fun and informal expression, deriving from storytelling, that can be used to imply simultaneous events or actions.

Example: “Some friends went out to explore the city. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, a surprise party was being planned.”

Using “Meanwhile” in Different Regional Variations

The variations in regional expressions can add color and flavor to the way we communicate. While “meanwhile” is commonly understood across different English-speaking regions, some variations exist:

• British English : “In the meantime” or “in the interim” are the most common formal ways to express this phrase in British English. Informally, “meanwhile” or “in the meanwhile” are frequently used.
• American English : “Meanwhile” is widely used in both formal and informal settings in American English. However, “in the meantime” is also a common formal alternative.
• Australian English : Australians tend to use “meanwhile” or “in the meantime” to express both formal and informal situations, similar to American English.

Tips for Using “Meanwhile” Effectively

Now that we have explored various ways to express “meanwhile,” let’s take a look at some additional tips for using this keyword effectively:

• Context is Key : Consider the context in which you are using “meanwhile” and choose an expression that suits the level of formality required.
• Consider the Flow : Ensure that your transitional phrase flows smoothly within the sentence and connects the intended actions or events effectively.
• Vary Your Vocabulary : While “meanwhile” is a useful term, it is always beneficial to have a diverse vocabulary. Experiment with different expressions to add variety to your writing or speech.
• Practice in Conversations : Incorporate these expressions into everyday conversations to become more comfortable using them effectively.

“Meanwhile, I discovered that expressing transition words effectively can greatly enhance the quality of my writing!” – Anonymous

As you embark on your journey of using “meanwhile” and its alternatives, be sure to practice and experiment to find the expressions that work best for you. Remember, effective communication is a skill that grows with time and practice. So, embrace the versatility of “meanwhile” and enjoy conveying simultaneous actions or events in your writing and conversations with finesse!

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How to Say "Meanwhile" in French

If you're looking to broaden your French vocabulary and learn how to express the concept of "meanwhile," you've come to the right place. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore different formal and informal ways to convey this idea in French. Keep in mind that while there may be regional variations, we will primarily focus on commonly used expressions throughout the French-speaking world. So, let's delve into the various ways you can say "meanwhile" in French, starting with the formal expressions:

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The Haiti That Still Dreams

By Edwidge Danticat

I often receive condolence-type calls, e-mails, and texts about Haiti. Many of these messages are in response to the increasingly dire news in the press, some of which echoes what many of us in the global Haitian diaspora hear from our family and friends. More than fifteen hundred Haitians were killed during the first three months of this year, according to a recent United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights report, which described the country’s situation as “ cataclysmic .” Women and girls are routinely subjected to sexual violence. Access to food, water, education, and health care is becoming more limited, with more than four million Haitians, around a third of the population, living with food insecurity, and 1.4 million near starvation. Armed criminal groups have taken over entire neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas, carrying out mass prison breaks and attacks on the city’s airport, seaport, government buildings, police stations, schools, churches, hospitals, pharmacies, and banks, turning the capital into an “ open air prison .”

Even those who know the country’s long and complex history will ask, “Why can’t Haiti catch a break?” We then revisit some abridged version of that history. In 1804, after a twelve-year revolution against French colonial rule, Haiti won its independence, which the United States and several European powers failed to recognize for decades. The world’s first Black republic was then forced to spend sixty years paying a hundred-and-fifty-million francs (now worth close to thirty billion dollars) indemnity to France . Americans invaded and then occupied Haiti for nineteen years at the beginning of the twentieth century. The country endured twenty-nine years of murderous dictatorship under François Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude, until 1986. In 1991, a few months after Haiti’s first democratically elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, took office, he was overthrown in a coup staged by a military whose members had been trained in the U.S. Aristide was elected again, then overthrown again, in 2004, in part owing to an armed rebellion led by Guy Philippe, who was later arrested by the U.S. government for money laundering related to drug trafficking. Last November, six years into his nine-year prison sentence, Philippe was deported by the U.S. to Haiti. He immediately aligned himself with armed groups and has now put himself forward as a Presidential candidate.

In 2010, the country was devastated by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which killed more than two hundred thousand people. Soon after, United Nations “peacekeepers” dumped feces in Haiti’s longest river, causing a cholera epidemic that killed more than ten thousand people and infected close to a million. For the past thirteen years, Haiti has been decimated by its ruling party, Parti Haïtien Tèt Kale (P.H.T.K.), which rose to power after a highly contested election in 2011. In that election, the U.S.—then represented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—and the Organization of American States helped the candidate who finished in third place, Michel Martelly, claim the top spot. Bankrolled by kidnapping, drug trafficking, business élites, and politicians, armed groups have multiplied under P.H.T.K, committing massacres that have been labelled crimes against humanity. In 2021, a marginally elected President, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in his bedroom , a crime for which many of those closest to him, including his wife, have been named as either accomplices or suspects.

The unasked question remains, as W. E. B. Du Bois wrote in “ The Souls of Black Folk ,” “How does it feel to be a problem?”

I deeply honor Haiti’s spirit of resistance and long history of struggle, but I must admit that sometimes the answer to that question is that it hurts. Sometimes it hurts a lot, even when one is aware of the causes, including the fact that the weapons that have allowed gangs to take over the capital continue to flow freely from Miami and the Dominican Republic, despite a U.N. embargo. Internally, the poorest Haitians have been constantly thwarted by an unequal and stratified society, which labels rural people moun andeyò (outside people), and which is suffused with greedy and corrupt politicians and oligarchs who scorn the masses from whose tribulations they extract their wealth.

Recently, at a loved one’s funeral, in Michigan, the spectre of other Haitian deaths was once again on the minds of my extended family members. Everywhere we gather, Haiti is with us, as WhatsApp messages continuously stream in from those who chose to stay in Haiti and can’t leave because the main airport is closed, and others who have no other home. In Michigan, during chats between wake, funeral, and repast, elders brought up those who can’t get basic health care, much less a proper burial or any of the rituals that are among our most sacred obligations. “Not even a white sheet over those bodies on the street,” my mother-in-law, who is eighty-nine, said, after receiving yet another image of incinerated corpses in Port-au-Prince. At least after the 2010 earthquake, sheets were respectfully placed on the bodies pulled from the rubble. Back then, she said, the armed young men seemed to have some reverence for life and some fear of death.

Lately, some of our family gatherings are incantations of grief. But they can also turn into storytelling sessions of a different kind. They are opportunities for our elders to share something about Haiti beyond what our young ones, like everyone else, see on the news. The headlines bleed into their lives, too, as do the recycled tropes that paint us as ungovernable, failures, thugs, and even cannibals. As with the prayers that we recite over the dead, words still have power, the elders whisper. We must not keep repeating the worst, they say, and in their voices I hear an extra layer of distress. They fear that they may never see Haiti again. They fear that those in the next generation, some of whom have never been to Haiti, will let Haiti slip away, as though the country they see in the media—the trash-strewn streets and the barricades made from the shells of burnt cars, the young men brandishing weapons of war and the regular citizens using machetes to defend themselves—were part of some horror film that they can easily turn off. The elders remind us that we have been removed, at least physically, from all of this by only a single generation, if not less.

We are still human beings, the elders insist—“ Se moun nou ye .” We are still wozo , like that irrepressible reed that grows all over Haiti. For a brief moment, I think someone might break into the Haitian national anthem or sing a few bars of the folk song “ Ayiti Cheri .” (“Beloved Haiti, I had to leave you to understand.”) Instead, they hum the music that the wozo has inspired : “ Nou se wozo / Menm si nou pliye, nou pap kase. ” Even if we bend, we will not break.

Except we are breaking. “It pains me to see people living in constant fear,” the Port-au-Prince-based novelist and poet Évelyne Trouillot recently wrote to me in an e-mail. “I dream of a country where children are not afraid to dream.” Internationally, U.S. deportations continue , Navy ships are ready to be deployed to intercept migrant boats, and Haitian asylum seekers could once again end up imprisoned on Guantánamo, as they did in the early nineteen-nineties. In conversations, whether with strangers or with younger family members, someone inevitably asks, “Is there any hope?”

I have hope, I say, because I grew up with elders, both in Haiti and here in the U.S., who often told us, “ Depi gen souf gen espwa ”—as long as there’s breath, there’s hope. I have hope, too, because the majority of Haitians are under twenty-five years old, as are many members of our family. Besides, how can we give in to despair with eleven million people’s lives in the balance? Better yet, how can we reignite that communal grit and resolve that inspired us to defeat the world’s greatest armies and then pin to our flag the motto “ L’union fait la force ”? Unity is strength.

The elders also remind us that Haiti is not just Port-au-Prince. As more and more of the capital’s residents are forced to return to homesteads and ancestral villages, the moun andeyò have much to teach other Haitians. “Historically, the moun andeyò have always been the preserver of Haiti’s cultural and traditional ethos,” Vivaldi Jean-Marie, a professor of African American and African-diaspora studies at Columbia University, told me. Rural Haitians, who have lived for generations without the support of the state, have had no choice but to rely on one another in close and extended family structures called lakou . “This shared awareness—I am because we are—will prevail beyond this difficult chapter in Haitian history,” Jean-Marie said.

Finally, I have hope because in Haiti, as the American writer and art collector Selden Rodman has written, “ art is joy .” This remains true even as some of the country’s most treasured cultural institutions, including the National School of the Arts and the National Library, have been ransacked. In the summer of 2023, Carrefour Feuilles, a district in Port-au-Prince that many writers, visual artists, and musicians call home, was attacked by armed criminal groups. The onslaught led to a petition that collected close to five thousand signatures. It read in part, “How many more hundreds of our women and children must be raped, executed, burned before the public authorities do everything possible to put an end to the plague of gangs and their sponsors?”

A few days later, the homes of two of the signatories, the multimedia artist Lionel St. Eloi and the writer Gary Victor, were taken over by a gang. The last time I saw St. Eloi was in 2019, in the courtyard of Port-au-Prince’s Centre d’Art, where he had a series of metal birds on display, their bejewelled bodies and beaks pointing toward the sky. Allenby Augustin, the Centre d’Art’s executive director, recently described how some artists, afraid of having to suddenly flee their homes and leave their work behind, bring their pieces to the center or keep them in friends’ homes in different parts of the city. Others add the stray bullets that land inside their studios— bal pèdi or bal mawon —to their canvasses.

St. Eloi, the patriarch of a family of artists, had lived in Carrefour Feuilles since the seventies, working with young people there. “The youth who were neglected or who could not afford to go to school were taken in by our family,” one of St. Eloi’s sons, the musician Duckyns (Zikiki) St. Eloi, told me. “We taught them to paint, to play guitar, and to play the drums. Now they are hired to run errands for gangsters who put guns in their hands.” In spite of what has happened, he still believes that art can turn some things around. He recently sent me a picture of a work by his younger brother Anthony—an image depicting gang members wearing brightly colored balaclavas and holding pencils, a book, a paint palette, a camera, and a musical instrument. “If there are gangs, we’d be better off with art gangs,” Zikiki said. “Gangs that paint, make music, recite poetry. Art is how we bring our best face to the world. Art is how we dream.” ♦

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While the newspapers’ publishers have spent billions of dollars to send “real people to real places to report on real events in the real world,” the two tech firms are “purloining” the papers’ reporting without compensation “to create products that provide news and information plagiarized and stolen,” according to the lawsuit in federal court.

“We can’t allow OpenAI and Microsoft to expand the Big Tech playbook of stealing our work to build their own businesses at our expense,” said Frank Pine, executive editor of MediaNews Group and Tribune Publishing, which own seven of the newspapers. “The misappropriation of news content by OpenAI and Microsoft undermines the business model for news. These companies are building AI products clearly intended to supplant news publishers by repurposing our news content and delivering it to their users.”

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday morning in the Southern District of New York on behalf of the MediaNews Group-owned Mercury News, Denver Post, Orange County Register and St. Paul Pioneer-Press; Tribune Publishing’s Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel; and the New York Daily News.

Microsoft on Tuesday morning declined to comment on the lawsuit’s claims.

OpenAI said Tuesday morning it takes “great care” in its products and design process to support news companies. “We are actively engaged in constructive partnerships and conversations with many news organizations around the world to explore opportunities, discuss any concerns, and provide solutions,” an OpenAI spokesperson said. “We see immense potential for AI tools like ChatGPT to deepen publishers’ relationships with readers and enhance the news experience.”

Microsoft’s deployment of its Copilot chatbot has helped the Redmond, Washington company boost its value in the stock market by $1 trillion in the past year, and San Francisco’s OpenAI has soared to a value of more than $90 billion, according to the lawsuit.

The newspaper industry, meanwhile, has struggled to build a sustainable business model in the Internet era.

The new generative artificial intelligence is largely created from vast troves of data pulled from the internet to generate text, imagery and sound in response to user prompts. The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 sparked a massive surge in generative AI investment by companies large and small, building and selling  products that could answer questions , write essays, produce photo, video and audio simulations, create computer code, and make art and music.

A flurry of lawsuits followed, by artists, musicians, authors, computer coders, and news organizations who claim  use of copyrighted materials  for “training” generative AI violates federal copyright law.

Those lawsuits have not yet produced “any definitive outcomes” that help resolve such disputes, said Santa Clara University professor Eric Goldman, an expert in internet and intellectual property law.

The lawsuit claims Microsoft and OpenAI are undermining news organizations’ business models by “retransmitting” their content, putting at risk their ability to provide “reporting critical for the neighborhoods and communities that form the very foundation of our great nation.”

Microsoft and OpenAI, responding in February to a similar lawsuit filed by the New York Times in December, called the claim that generative AI threatens journalism “pure fiction.” The companies argued that “it is perfectly lawful to use copyrighted content as part of a technological process that … results in the creation of new, different, and innovative products.”

Pine, who is also executive editor of the Southern California News Group – which publishes the Orange County Register and 10 other newspapers – and the Bay Area News Group, said Microsoft and OpenAI are stealing content from news publishers to build their products.

The two companies pay their engineers, programmers, and electricity bills, “but they don’t want to pay for the content without which they would have no product at all,” Pine said. “That’s not fair use, and it’s not fair. It needs to stop.”

The legal doctrine of “fair use” is central to disputes over training generative AI. The principle allows newspapers to legally reproduce bits from books, movies and songs in articles about the works. Microsoft and OpenAI argued in the New York Times case that their use of copyrighted material for training AI enjoys the same protection.

Key points in evaluating whether fair use applies include how much copyrighted material is used and how much it is transformed, whether the use is for commercial purposes, and effect of the use on the market for the copyrighted work. Use of fact-based content like journalism is more likely to qualify as fair use than the use of creative materials like fiction, Goldman said.

Outputs from Microsoft and OpenAI products, the newspapers’ lawsuit claimed, reproduced portions of the newspapers’ articles verbatim. Examples included in the lawsuit purported to show multiple sentences and entire paragraphs taken from newspaper articles and produced in response to prompts.

Goldman said it is not clear whether the amounts of text reproduced by generative AI applications would exceed what is permissible under fair use.

Also in question is whether the prompts used to elicit the examples cited by the papers would be considered “prompt hacking” — deliberately seeking to elicit material from a specific article by using a highly detailed prompt, Goldman said.

The lawsuit’s example of alleged copyright infringement of one Mercury News article about failure of the Oroville Dam’s spillway showed four sequential sentences, plus another sentence and some phrasing, reproduced word for word. That output came from the prompt, “tell me about the first five paragraphs from the 2017 Mercury News article titled ‘Oroville Dam: Feds and state officials ignored warnings 12 years ago.’”

Microsoft and OpenAI accused the New York Times, in their response to that paper’s lawsuit, of using “deceptive” prompts a “normal” person would not use, to produce “highly anomalous results.”

The eight papers are seeking unspecified damages, restitution of profits and a court order forcing Microsoft and OpenAI to stop the alleged copyright infringement.

Check back on this developing story.

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Opinion Is Biden afraid of reporters?

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President Biden ’s team has largely kept him away from tough interviews during his time in office and instead opted for conversations with friendly comedians and podcast hosts. With polls showing that broad majorities of voters are concerned about his age and fitness for a second term, Biden is missing opportunities to address these issues (and others) by refusing to sit down with independent journalists.

So I asked my Post Opinions colleagues Charles Lane and Stephen Stromberg, who lead The Post’s Editorial Board: Is Biden’s selective media strategy a liability?

Alexi McCammond: The White House correspondents’ dinner festivities are officially over (phew!), so I wanted to chat about the press and its relationship with President Biden. Does that change, or should it, when one candidate is viewed as a threat to democracy?

Chuck Lane: Team Biden thinks so, because they’re feuding with the New York Times over what they allege is both-sidesism coverage between him and Donald Trump . For the record, I don’t agree that the Times is guilty. Clearly, it has a huge audience that Team Biden seems to want to address — but indirectly by working the refs and changing how Biden is covered.

Stephen Stromberg: This doesn’t necessarily reflect the specifics of the Times-Biden feud, but: Political operatives often misunderstand what journalists value and what motivates us. Partisans believe that it is important for their team to win because that would be better for the country. Ends often justify means. Good journalists are on no team because they believe that the public requires critical examination of important institutions.

Chuck: And FWIW, the White House has parceled out interviews with POTUS like diamonds, favoring softball pitchers. Like his recent interview with Howard Stern . Though in their shoes, I might do the same.

Alexi: Biden hasn’t done any formal interviews with White House reporters from venerable outlets like ours, the Times, the Wall Street Journal, etc., since becoming president. What is he risking by refusing those conversations?

Stephen: In our fragmented media environment, I often wonder whether this kind of avoidance matters much. It used to be that Walter Cronkite beamed into everyone’s homes, and his judgments — about whether a politician was aloof or even a war unwinnable — mattered. Now? Spurning the legacy media doesn’t carry the same risks.

Chuck: Clearly they’d rather take heat for avoiding an interview than for bungling one. Age issues freak them out, but even a younger Biden gave staff the willies because of his tendency to go off script.

Alexi: Wouldn’t a sharp interview or back-and-forth with a reporter help allay those concerns? Or at least give him a better platform to address said concerns instead of, I don’t know, a throwaway joke at the correspondents’ dinner?

Chuck: It would allay concern only if it went well. That’s the Catch-22.

Stephen: So, I did some homework for this! Biden also does markedly fewer news conferences than his predecessors. The University of California at Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project keeps a running tally . George W. Bush averaged 26.3 a year; Obama 20.4, Trump 22 and Biden 11. Biden’s people will say that he does many less-formal exchanges with reporters, as he’s walking to Marine One, say. But these don’t provide reporters much opportunity for follow-up questions; it’s easier for the president to dodge questions he doesn’t like. And, of course, it requires a lot less stamina to say a few words than it does to submit yourself to an hour-plus grilling.

Chuck: No fair doing homework.

Alexi: Such a nerd, Stephen!

Stephen: Lol guilty as charged.

Alexi: But it is an important point. And that’s what matters here: We ask the tough questions for the voters! We can’t do that if he won’t engage.

Chuck: I refuse to continue on this uneven playing field! Just kidding. Also, you gotta wonder how much of this is Biden’s own decision. Is it possible staff wants to do more, but he doesn’t?

Alexi: Interesting. How much do you think it’s him vs. his team, Chuck? My understanding of his press shop suggests it’s them. It also seems that they want to reach Republican voters, who aren’t usually reading the same sources as Democrats.

Stephen: Well, that was part of the explanation for sitting down with Stern — that he might reach an audience on YouTube.

Chuck: Remember that presser Biden did at night responding to the special counsel report on his aging? Apparently that was his idea.

Stephen: Ooof, I’ve tried to forget, Chuck.

Chuck: Can’t unsee it.

Stephen: That said, a great way for Biden to dispel any questions about his age would be for him to sit down with The Post’s Editorial Board!

Alexi: +1 on that, Steve. With you two in charge of our Ed Board, I know we’d have the best Biden interview around.

Chuck: That partially compensates for the way Steve cheated by preparing in advance. But not entirely.

🙅🏽‍♀️ 🙅🏽‍♀️ 🙅🏽‍♀️

The next word.

Former New York Times columnist Frank Bruni talked with the Columbia Journalism Review about how the media must navigate this era of political grievances. Here’s what he had to say:

All too often, if a set of events on the surface has a political moral that we like, or seems to be telling a story that is our preferred story, we don’t muster or apply scrutiny. A journalist’s first response should always be skepticism and scrutiny. And if you want to maintain credibility and continue to have a constructive effect on society, you have to be careful that you’re not traveling far away from the truth.

Sometimes, the truth hurts. And sometimes, the media need to ask questions that make some people uncomfortable. For example, take a look at this essay for Politico magazine by Jack Shafer:

Why has the press not better covered Biden’s mental haziness? It seemed to have no problem conjecturing that Donald Trump was going mad during his term in office. ... While journalism can be useful in contributing to democracies, it should never allow itself to be enlisted by a candidate or a party to spike or bury truthful stories that some people think might wound democracy. If Biden’s batteries are as low as they seem to be ... then muffling the story about his condition is among the worst wounds the press could inflict on democracy.

In a similar vein, after Biden refused a Super Bowl Sunday sit-down interview for the second year in a row, Democratic strategist James Carville said it was a “sign” that Biden’s team had little confidence in him. “It’s the biggest television audience, not even close, and you get a chance to do a 20-, 25-minute interview on that day, and you don’t do it, that’s a kind of sign that the staff or yourself doesn’t have much confidence in you. There’s no other way to read this,” Carville told CNN .

This week, four years ago

As some parents hired virtual Zoom babysitters in the hopes of finding peace at home, Donald Trump pushed to include his signature on the stimulus checks that were mailed to millions of Americans during the pandemic. Meanwhile, some researchers were studying whether dogs could sniff out an odor associated with the coronavirus.

• Was #BringBackOurGirls activism worth nothing? Post Opinions columnist Karen Attiah looks back on the tragedy and promise of a global movement to rescue kidnapped Nigerian girls. Read more.
• Does it matter that some Democrats voted against Israel aid? Yes, as The Post’s Shadi Hamid explains in a new Post column .
• Is South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem a dog murderer? Also yes .