Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mark Loundy @markloundy.bsky.social · 7d

I have always contended that it’s dangerous to characterize journalism as a profession rather than an activity. Even outside of journalism, photographing something in a public place is inherently protected by the First Amendment. No actual journalism is required. @nppa.org @nppalawyer.bsky.social

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 7d

The hate crime charge against Alexa Wilkinson for photographing vandalism of the New York Times building is a dangerous precedent, no matter what you think of Wilkinson.

Journalist or not, photography isn’t a hate crime

Gatekeeping over hate crime charges misses the forest for the trees

freedom.press

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The Verge @theverge.com · 13d

YouTube caves to Trump with $24.5 million settlement

YouTube follows Meta and X in settling with the president.

buff.ly

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Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 13d

This is one reason why @fsc.bsky.social has been so active in fighting these laws, and what groups like @fightforthefuture.org @eff.org @aclu.org @woodhullfreedom.bsky.social @thefireorg.bsky.social and others have warned about.

Sex is the canary in the coal mine of free speech.

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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 14d

Missouri's Governor just signed the GOP's illegal map. It will now be sued.

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Aaron Ross Powell ☸️ @aaronrosspowell.com · 15d

A moral society would make guys like this absolute pariahs, basically excommunicated from all sources of social belonging and support. There's no excusing beliefs like this. They're products of an entirely malformed being.

David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 15d

Border Patrol agent talks about how he knows that the people he's arresting at this nutrition bar factory in NY are "literal street rats" who would "eat our kids"

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David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 15d

The agent admits he treats immigrants like "they're animals" and that he tells his kids that they are animals "all the time"

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Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 16d

Also, Reagan amnestied millions of illegal aliens (something that seems to vanish from these discussions), eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons, appointed the first woman to SCOTUS, among other things that Trumpists would today howl are the marks of a RINO cuck

h-seldon.bsky.social @h-seldon.bsky.social · 16d

Trump is the opposite of Reagan in every meaningful way.

Reagan would never mock a disabled person, insult POWs, or try and overthrow an election he lost. Reagan wouldn't dare make soldiers kneel before Putin or pardon lunatics that stormed the Capital. All that shit was unthinkable prior to Trump.

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Mark Loundy @markloundy.bsky.social · 21d

With this person of another faith, I’m terrified that they’re going to use it as a way to justify violence against anybody who is not an extremist Christian nationalist.

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Craig R. Brittain @craigbrittain.com · 21d

If you're not familiar with QAnon conspiracy dogwhistles, then you won't know that Stephen Miller just rattled off a bunch of them in a row, including "I am the storm" and "Light out of darkness." While these sound like dumb cliches on the surface, they're coded messages to Q cult adherents.

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Mark Loundy @markloundy.bsky.social · 21d

(Too long to post text) #EduSky
www.linkedin.com/posts/emolli...

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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 22d

Alt: WSJ article with the headline: TRump Administration cancels annual hunger survey

Subhed: the government has been measuring food insecurity since the mid-1990s, but now says the report has become overly political

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 22d

“Stop the Count”: food-insecurity version. 🤡

@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/economy/trum...

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Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 22d

Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down.

The FBI and Justice officials closed the investigation, which a Justice Department appointee had called a “deep state” probe in early 2025.
www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/t...

Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down.

The FBI and Justice officials closed the investigation, which a Justice Department appointee had called a “deep state” probe in early 2025.

www.msnbc.com

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Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 23d

NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com

Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is imposing strict new rules that would severely limit the ability of journalists to report on the Pentagon.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 23d

I like this. Since under RFK Jr, Covid shots are now for people with underlying conditions that put them at risk, Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian states that not having the most recent Covid shot constitutes such an underlying condition.

www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...

In her recommendation, Bagdasarian stated,
"Any person over the age of six months without contraindication who has not received a dose of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved or-authorized 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine may be considered to have an underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19 and is thus eligible to receive an age-appropriate dose."

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Ken Vogel @kenvogel.bsky.social · 23d

NEW: The SEC quietly dismissed complaints against 3 people who were granted clemency by Trump for frauds that collectively bilked victims out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now, Devon Archer, Trevor Milton & Carlos Watson won't have to pay any money that could be used to make victims whole.

The S.E.C. Drops Efforts to Recoup Funds From Trump Clemency Recipients

www.nytimes.com

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onion person @junlper.beer · 23d

the hysteria has gone off the rails so far that the average american thinks 1 in 5 people are transgender. pure absolute insanity that is driving the current lavender scare

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Mark Loundy @markloundy.bsky.social · 23d

If you can’t bring yourself to boycott Disney, at least don’t post about your trips on social media. You no longer have the choice of being apolitical. Being neutral in the face of fascism is collaboration. I’m sorry that it was ruined for you, but it was ruined.

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Damon Kiesow @damon.kiesow.net · 26d

So many bad ideas here. But transparency = trust so lying to readers tops the list of wrongs.

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 26d

Scoop: Business Insider informed its staff this week that they are allowed to use ChatGPT to generate first drafts of their stories, while also indicating the newsroom will not disclose such A.I. use to readers.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/business-i...

Business Insider and the Bots

The Axel Springer-owned newsroom is buzzing over new ChatGPT writing guidelines—part of an aggressive A.I. strategy pushed by its German parentco and detailed in a memo obtained by Status.

www.status.news

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 25d

One of Ben & Jerry’s founders, Jerry Greenfield, has resigned from the ice cream company, saying that its independence had been lost and its social activism “silenced” under the control of its parent company, Unilever. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/b...

Ben Cohen, wearing a blue and white shirt, with Jerry Greenfield, wearing a grey baseball hat and a brown shirt. Both are holding cups with ice cream. A headline reads: "Jerry of Ben & Jerry’s Resigns, Saying Company’s Activism Has Been ‘Silenced’"

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Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 26d

This bill could move very soon. Use our action center to tell your senator if you don't want it to.

Its protections for lawmaker safety are full of loopholes. The only part of the bill that would work is the censorship part.

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 27d

Tell Congress not to grant itself the power to censor information about its members on the internet.

Use our new, easy action center tool to stop lawmakers from sacrificing transparency for a false sense of security.

Protect Journalism Online

Efforts to undermine First Amendment rights on the internet and to censor online content are a fundamental threat to the free press.

freedom.press

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Mark Loundy @markloundy.bsky.social · 25d

It’s the real-life equivalent of an elementary school kid saying something like, “You owe me eleventy bazillion dollars!“ Anybody can sue anyone for any amount.

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Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 27d

Perform politeness to power, yes.

The Opinion page clean out was about installing pro-Trump voices and removing critics. Same with Will Lewis as boss, same with pushing out Attiah.

Rightwingers‘ ideas are just flimsy and can’t survive scrutiny.

Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 27d

Firing a Black woman for quoting Kirk’s horrific statements about Black women is insane. It seems the Washington Post would rather perform politeness (and demand that the people Kirk harmed do it too) that tell the truth: karenattiah.substack.com/p/the-washin...

The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.

I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.

karenattiah.substack.com

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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 27d

It is going to soon become necessary for everyone to post a fairly consistent set of critiques of Charlie Kirk, because they’re trying to come after everyone who does, and the only answer is to make them come after us all. We need to pick standardized language, and then get loud with it.

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Mark Loundy @markloundy.bsky.social · 27d

“AI didn't break higher education — it revealed how rigid lectures, static syllabi and and compliance-heavy assessments were misaligned with student needs and workforce realities.” #EduSky
www.entrepreneur.com/science-tech...

How Generative AI Is Completely Reshaping Education | Entrepreneur

From dorm-room startups to faculty-built chatbots, the future of learning is being rewritten right now.

www.entrepreneur.com

Mark Loundy @markloundy.bsky.social · 28d

I don’t recall people getting their undies in a wad when Jerry Lewis died and he was almost universally called out for being an awful person.