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sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 4h

I have a theory www.theverge.com/policy/79849...

American politics has devolved into shitposting and aura farming

The Frog is owning the president.

www.theverge.com

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Dara Kerr @darakerr.bsky.social · 1h

Lots of attention on this Marc Benioff article, which is excellent and full of jaw-dropping quotes.

It reminds me of how he was when I did a story for NPR about him secretly buying hundreds of acres of land in rural Hawaii. Things got weird.

www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1...

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Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 3h

Our weekly newsletter drops tomorrow! Subscribe to stay updated on all things tech policy!

Newsletter | TechPolicy.Press

Tech Policy Press is a nonprofit media and community venture intended to provoke new ideas, debate and discussion at the intersection of technology and democracy. We publish opinion and analysis.

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Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 7h

A DHS camera man calmly films this kavanaugh stop.

Eventually the public will see some (though not all) of this recorded footage, and it will reveal human rights violations beyond what we thought we knew.

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 7h

“YOU hit HER.”

CHICAGO - Trump’s ICE goons ram into a passing car after snatching someone, then brutally drag the female driver of the car they hit out of her car with guns drawn and arrest her too. (Her brother says she’s a citizen)

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Robin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 7h

If you're looking for some rock solid techno-geopolitical analysis, get the good stuff from @leevisaari.bsky.social.

Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 7h

China last month banned companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, signaling a breakdown of a corporate strategy designed to navigate complex geostrategic tensions, Leevi Saari writes.

The Rise and Fall of Nvidia’s Geopolitical Strategy | TechPolicy.Press

Nvidia's geopolitical balancing act between the US and China flopped after an arduous lobbying campaign, Leevi Saari writes.

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 8h

"Most companies can’t use Robin Williams’s likeness for commercial gain without permission from his family. But on Sora, strangers have rendered Williams, who died in 2014, as they choose."

Fake videos of dead celebrities are going viral. Many of their families are horrified.

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI’s new tool lets users make realistic AI videos of dead public figures like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jackson. Many have responded with crude and racist memes.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 8h

The policy discourse around information integrity has a disconnect between democratic rhetoric and action, writes Research ICT Africa’s Scott Timcke. The dirty work of democracy online requires bringing ideological critique to bear on information integrity, he says.

Fighting Disinformation Demands Confronting Social and Economic Drivers | TechPolicy.Press

The dirty work of democracy online requires bringing ideological critique to bear on information integrity, writes Scott Timcke.

www.techpolicy.press

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 8h

Trump & MAGA "have capitalized on the killing of rightwing influencer Charlie Kirk to expand attacks on liberal groups, donors, Democrats, and others by tarring many critics as the 'enemy within' and 'radical left' in a move that legal scholars and historians call authoritarian and anti-democratic."

‘Page one of the authoritarian playbook’: how Trump and allies are exploiting Kirk’s killing

The president and his Maga allies have used the rightwing influencer’s killing to justify attacks on critics, experts say

www.theguardian.com

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 9h

"But because its work has been obscured by crude accounting and White House maneuvers, it’s impossible to know how much DOGE and its allies actually did cut from the budget — or even what happened to that money."

Seems like we can have a democracy or we can have DOGE, but not both.

Not Even Congress Knows How Much Money DOGE Cut

www.nytimes.com

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 10h

This is a perilous moment for democracy in the United States, but I couldn’t be prouder of the Knight Institute’s work right now, and I don’t take for granted that we have the freedom and resources to do it. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

This free speech group at Columbia is taking on Trump when the university won’t – and winning

The Knight Institute is defending free speech at a school now synonymous with compromising on it

www.theguardian.com

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 10h

The administration “is currently pressuring OpenAI and other AI companies to make their models more conservative-friendly.”

OpenAI is trying to clamp down on ‘bias’ in ChatGPT

GPT-5 is better at resisting liberal ‘pressure,’ the company says.

www.theverge.com

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 1d

For all the scaremongering about the 'threat' from China no one in this administration seems to recognize how this mercurial behavior likely makes Chinese 'stability' seem like a pretty good deal. But then I suppose we don't believe in diplomacy or alliances or trust amymore, really.

Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 1d

Here's the reality: On any given day the President might impose an effective embargo on trade with China. This is the second time he's done it *this year*. They may patch it up again, but the pattern has been set, and it will shape expectations for the rest of his term.

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Committee to Protect Journalists @pressfreedom.bsky.social · 1d

The targeted Oct. 13, 2023 Israeli attack that killed @reuters.com journalist Issam Abdallah and wounded 6 others in south Lebanon was a war crime, a United Nations rapporteur said Friday.

Journalists are civilians under international humanitarian law — they are #NotATarget.

tinyurl.com/y6e42uhb

UN: Deadly 2023 Israel attack on Reuters, AFP journalists in Lebanon was war crime

A United Nations rapporteur on Friday said an Israeli attack on south Lebanon on Oct. 13, 2023, that killed a Reuters journalist and wounded others, including two from AFP, was a war crime.Morris...

tinyurl.com

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Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai @lorenzofb.bsky.social · 1d

SCOOP: Spyware maker NSO Group confirmed to us that the company has been acquired by a U.S. investment group.

NSO's spokesperson said the group "has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership," but declined to say who is behind the investment.

Spyware maker NSO Group confirms acquisition by US investors | TechCrunch

NSO Group confirmed to TechCrunch that an unnamed group of American investors has taken “controlling ownership” of the surveillance tech maker.

techcrunch.com

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 1d

MIT's response to the Trump admin's proposed "compact" is excellent and should be a model for other universities. orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 1d

Washington and Brussels are taking opposite paths to contest social media power. The US is moving to strip TikTok from China’s grasp, while the EU digs into corporate accountability. One fights geopolitics, the other governance — with Washington having more immediate impact, writes Mark Scott.

In the Social Media Wars, Washington, Not Brussels, is the Victor | TechPolicy.Press

US aims are primarily focused on national security, while those of the EU are centered on transparency and accountability, writes Mark Scott.

www.techpolicy.press

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 1d

Greta Byrum reports back from the Global Gathering, a conference of digital rights and internet freedom advocates and technologists. Amid rising authoritarianism, those who value free expression are ever more dependent on the work of this group, which is increasingly under threat, writes Byrum.

Amid Threats, Global Gathering Seeks to Reseed Digital Rights Ecosystem | TechPolicy.Press

Greta Byrum reflects on her experience attending the Digital Rights Defenders Global Gathering in Portugal.

www.techpolicy.press

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 1d

a close up of a fox 's face with the words chaos reigns above it

ALT: a close up of a fox 's face with the words chaos reigns above it

media.tenor.com

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 1d

Okay he has a point here

Thiel also talked about other powerful figures in technology. He accused fellow tech investor Marc Andreessen of “pure Silicon Valley gobbledygook propaganda,” according to the recordings, in Andreessen’s 2023 essay titled “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto” that predicted AI would rapidly transform society in many positive ways.

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 1d

Uh-huh

Thiel’s comments about Trump were more complex, according to the recordings. “If you, in a sincere, rational, well-reasoned way are willing to make the argument that Trump is the Antichrist, I will give you a hearing,” he said. “If you’re not willing to make that argument maybe you have to be open to possibility that he’s at least relatively good.”

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 1d

All these anxious billionaires....

“It’s become quite difficult to hide one’s money,” Thiel said, according to the recordings. “An incredible machinery of tax treaties, financial surveillance, and sanctions architecture has been constructed.” Wealth gives the “illusion of power and autonomy,” Thiel added, according to the recordings, “but you have this sense it could be taken away at any moment.”

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 1d

Thiel "argued that those who propose limits on technology development not only hinder business but threaten to usher in the destruction of the United States and an era of global totalitarian rule, according to the recordings."