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glinden.bsky.social
Greg Linden
@glinden.bsky.social
1.5K followers 290 following 1.1K posts

an internet relic, linkedin.com/in/glinden

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Economics 33%
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Reposted by Greg Linden

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 13h
“.. This is X in 2025: Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are — a Russian nesting doll of bullshit.”

@cwarzel.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Jason Mittell, Jed A. Fuhrman , and 6 more

punkrockscience.bsky.social
Dr. Stephanie @punkrockscience.bsky.social · 15h
Today’s xkcd made me cry.

In a good way.

xkcd.com/3172/

Reposted by Stacy D. VanDeveer, John Hogan, Greg Linden

followtheh.bsky.social
Tom Hearden @followtheh.bsky.social · 16h
Dude who just got the SV Bank bailout two years ago is back banging the cup. It’s a tell.

Reposted by Greg Linden

xkcd-bot.bsky.social
xkcd Bot @xkcd-bot.bsky.social · 17h
Fifteen Years
https://xkcd.com/3172/

"Want to feel old?" "Yes."

Explain xkcd: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3172

"Want to feel old?" "Yes."

Reposted by Greg Linden

annamerlan.bsky.social
Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 18h
I talked to Joan Donovan about Twitter's very old foreign influence problem, which was unmasked in the funniest possible way over the weekend: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Twitter's foreign influence problem is nothing new
The platform's just-debuted geolocation tool illuminates a disturbing and persistent issue.
www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Greg Linden

matthewfacciani.bsky.social
Matthew Facciani @matthewfacciani.bsky.social · 19h
Remember the online outrage over Cracker Barrel on Twitter? Research indicates much of it was amplified by bots. Fake accounts fueling outrage isn’t new, but most people don’t realize how often it happens.
gizmodo.com/cracker-barr...
Cracker Barrel Outrage Was Almost Certainly Driven by Bots, Researchers Say
Doesn't that make more sense than lots of people caring about Cracker Barrel?
gizmodo.com

Reposted by Greg Linden

joemenn.bsky.social
Joseph Menn @joemenn.bsky.social · 22h
Cybersecurity is bad enough without the clout-chasers and marketers trying to scare everyone. Very glad to see a concerted effort to kill the myths and focus people on what can actually make you safer. www.hacklore.org/letter
The Letter — Stop Hacklore!
www.hacklore.org

Reposted by Greg Linden

ryanlcooper.com
ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 22h
"Poetically, the X handle @American is based in Pakistan, according to the feature." www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Greg Linden

robb.stankey.me
Robb Stankey 👨‍🔬 @robb.stankey.me · 22h
As @mcopelov.bsky.social repeatedly points out, at any time they could just caucus with Democrats and vote for impeachment
carlquintanilla.bsky.social Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 23h
PUNCHBOWL: “.. GOP members messaged us over the weekend saying that they, too, are considering retiring in the middle of the term. Here’s one particularly exercised senior House Republican:

@punchbowlnews.bsky.social

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Brendan Nyhan , and 9 more

cwarzel.bsky.social
Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 22h
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by James Goodwin, Greg Linden

karaswisher.bsky.social
Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · 1d
“Artificial intelligence, meet artificial accounting.” The guy who first pointed out Enron’s sketchy accounting is now scrutinizing AI accounting and it’s the same nonsense: www.wsj.com/tech/meta-ai...
AI Meets Aggressive Accounting at Meta’s Gigantic New Data Center
Favorable treatment off the balance sheet hinges on some convenient assumptions.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by John Hogan, Greg Linden, Brooke Harrington

bungdan.bsky.social
Dan Murphy @bungdan.bsky.social · 1d
This is as close as the lawyers at the Journal allow reporters to get to "fraudulent fraudsters sighted wearing fraud pants and doing a fraud." www.wsj.com/tech/meta-ai...
AI Meets Aggressive Accounting at Meta’s Gigantic New Data Center
Favorable treatment off the balance sheet hinges on some convenient assumptions.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Greg Linden

techpolicypress.bsky.social
Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 1d
Mark MacCarthy says there is little doubt that the AI investment boom is a bubble. The real questions, he says, are when will the bubble burst, how severe will the consequences be, and what should policymakers do now to prepare for the inevitable downturn.
Policymakers Have to Prepare Now for When the AI Bubble Bursts | TechPolicy.Press
Mark MacCarthy says the fear of making a mistake in industrial policy should not paralyze policymakers.
www.techpolicy.press

Reposted by Greg Linden

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d
Meta’s data-center accounting gets the Jon Weil treatment:

It’s “financed with debt, and neither the data center nor the debt will be on its own balance sheet. That outcome looks too good to be true, and it probably is.”

@wsj.com $META
www.wsj.com/tech/meta-ai...

Reposted by Greg Linden

mollymckew.bsky.social
Molly McKew @mollymckew.bsky.social · 1d
A reminder that this pattern of activity including the stupid handles and bio lines and emojis was catalogued in the Senate reports on Russia’s election interference in 2016 — a thing which actually happened!

Pretend Americans 🦅🇺🇸⭐️2A has been the game all along

www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com

Reposted by Ann Bartow, Greg Linden

sltrib.com
The Salt Lake Tribune @sltrib.com · 1d
Remember last year when we said we would drop The Tribune's paywall if we raised enough money to support the transition to free? About that… 😁
The Salt Lake Tribune will drop its paywall next year, CEO tells donors at NewsMakers gala
After years of requiring people to pay for online news content, The Tribune announced an upcoming change during its 2025 annual NewsMakers Gala.
www.sltrib.com

Reposted by Joe R. Feagin, Will Jennings, David Brady , and 6 more

kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 1d
If you’re a journalist who’s still on Twitter, from now on in your writing you have to replace “the American people want” with “troll bots in Eastern Europe demand”

Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Greg Linden

techmeme.com
Techmeme @techmeme.com · 1d
X's new About This Account feature reveals that some top accounts, including many MAGA influencers, are based in countries like Russia, India, and Nigeria (Jack Revell/The Daily Beast)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Edward Witten, Richard S.J. Tol , and 5 more

micahloewinger.bsky.social
Micah Loewinger @micahloewinger.bsky.social · 1d
It’s hilarious and revelatory that a bunch of giant MAGA/America First X accounts are actually based in Eastern Europe and Nigeria.
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Axel Bruns , and 12 more

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2d
Bye bye, “DOGE”.

It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Nina Jankowicz, Mark A. Lemley , and 13 more

bendobrown.bsky.social
Benjamin Strick @bendobrown.bsky.social · 2d
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.

The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers , and 22 more

dieworkwear.bsky.social
derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.

My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
A Twitter account called Ivanka News tweets an AI image of a young woman wearing Muslim garb. The woman is holding a sign that says "I came here illegally. Should I be deported?" Ivanka News writes: What is your response to this person ?? In the "About this account" tab, it appears the account is based in Nigeria An account called MAGA scope writes: Who, in your view is the great enemy of the United States? Communism, Islam, Democratic Party, or Satan? The account is based in Nigeria. An account called MAGA Nadine writes: You go to work and find this. What would you do? The attached pic is an AI image that shows a microwave. The microwave has a sign that says "For religious reasons, this microwave is now making halal food only." The account is based in Morocco. An account called America First posts an AI image of Tulsi Gabbard. They wrote: How would you rate your trust in Tulsi Gabbard on a scale of 1-10?

Reposted by Greg Linden, Brooke Harrington

noupside.bsky.social
Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 2d
I see a lot of Paidchecks on X didn’t realize that a whole lot of people on social media lie about their location to grift off the naïveté of the rage-addled American right.

Turns out this problem is real and it’s a thing those of us who worked on “disinformation” pointed out.

Reposted by Greg Linden

jeffhorwitz.bsky.social
Jeff Horwitz @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social · 2d
I’ve spent almost seven years covering Meta and have had a good deal of exposure to internal work product on teen well-being. But a Friday filing in the school district social media litigation breaks some ground on Meta’s causal findings regarding social media harm.

www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Greg Linden

smbccomics.bsky.social
SMBC Comics @smbccomics.bsky.social · 2d
Apparently this used to actually happen, according to the book "The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren", which Tomer Ullman recommended to me.

COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/santa-2
PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm...
STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com
1-panel SMBC comic update where a little girl is putting out smokes and whiskey for Santa. The caption reads : Once I found out Santa was just grandpa in a costume, I decided to play to win.

Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, Norbert Schwarz, Richard F. Catalano , and 6 more

maxberger.bsky.social
Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 2d
It’s crazy to think about the crimes we’re going to learn about after this regime ends.

We’re already hearing about Watergate level crimes every week. Imagine what will come out after it’s over.

We’re going to need a full accounting of all that’s been done in violation of the constitution.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Rebecca Tushnet , and 5 more

carnage4life.bsky.social
Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 2d
Grand opening, grand closing.

X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.

Reposted by Greg Linden

techmeme.com
Techmeme @techmeme.com · 2d
While the AI bubble feels like the internet bubble of 1999, it may actually be larger and scarier with an unstable US economy and greater exposure for Big Tech (Fred Vogelstein/Crazy Stupid Tech)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Jesse H. Kroll, Alan Richardson , and 4 more

nicholasgrossman.bsky.social
Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 2d
America putting most of its eggs in the generative AI basket, China going hard into green tech. When history looks back on this period, someone is going to look awfully stupid.

Reposted by John Horgan, Aaron Sojourner, Greg Linden

rawstory.com
Raw Story @rawstory.com · 2d
Current and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers are growing increasingly concerned that the work they did slashing government programs and eliminating jobs will come back to haunt them with the possibility of criminal prosecutions.
'Suddenly exposed' DOGE employees fear prosecution after Musk abandoned them: report
Current and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers are growing increasingly concerned that the work they did slashing government programs and eliminating jobs will come back to haunt them with the possibility of criminal prosecutions.Worse still is their growing belief that the b...
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