The Brief – Monday 23 February – A new bidding consortium for The Telegraph, Dentus and WPP walk and more

❗Axel Springer has agreed to back a new bidding consortium aiming to acquire The Telegraph as part of a rival bid against the previously agreed deal from DMGT. New York Sun owner Dovid Efune, who previously bid for The Telegraph, is leading the consortium, which has submitted a £500m offer. (FT)

🗣️ The US State Department is developing an online portal to allow Europeans to see content banned by their governments, including alleged hate speech and terrorist propaganda. Billed as a way to “counter censorship”, the site will be hosted at “freedom.gov”. (Reuters)

🚶Dentsu and WPP have quietly left The Trade Desk’s OpenPath initiative, citing concerns over a lack of transparency in where their ads are running, as well as potential hidden fees on the platform. (Adweek)

💴 OpenAI is reportedly nearing a deal to raise more than $100bn at a valuation that could exceed $850bn. The deal comes as pressure mounts for the company to become profitable. (Techcrunch)

❗Snap‘s SVP of Specs, Scott Myers, has left the company over a reported “blow-up” with CEO Evan Spiegel. It comes ahead of the release of Snap’s consumer Specs AR glasses later this year. (TechCrunch)

🤖 US cinema chain AMC has refused to screen an AI short film content winner, titled Thanksgiving Day. The initiative, run by American cinema ad sales house Screenvision, sought to bring AI generated films to the big screen. (The Hollywood Reporter)