Bex Sander
@chefboibex.bsky.social
Data and Graphics reporter at @theobserveruk.bsky.social. They/them
Message tips on signal @ bexsander.32
https://rj-sander.github.io/
Message tips on signal @ bexsander.32
https://rj-sander.github.io/
Pinned
Bex Sander
@chefboibex.bsky.social
· Apr 21
Here’s a quick roundup of actions you can do to support trans and nonbinary people. If you have cis guilt I gotchu 🧵
Just remembered there very much was a non-binary kid present at that scene: me.
At a primary school overnight trip we all watched a cis girl squat and pee in a communal shower but sure having a trans kid there would have been the troubling part of that story
February 13, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Just remembered there very much was a non-binary kid present at that scene: me.
This isn’t the dumbest take on Ozempic that I’ve heard. But it’s close
www.ft.com/content/f1ec...
www.ft.com/content/f1ec...
Magnum ice cream sales slide ‘reignites’ fears over weight-loss drugs
Shares in Unilever spin-off tumble after 3% fall in fourth-quarter volumes
www.ft.com
February 12, 2026 at 8:58 PM
This isn’t the dumbest take on Ozempic that I’ve heard. But it’s close
www.ft.com/content/f1ec...
www.ft.com/content/f1ec...
Genuine question because I feel very confused: what is the crisis part of the “student loan crisis”? The papers are going absolutely nuts on it, and I have a plan 2 loan, but just… am not that mad about it? And it seems like the people that are… make more money than me anyway?
February 12, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Genuine question because I feel very confused: what is the crisis part of the “student loan crisis”? The papers are going absolutely nuts on it, and I have a plan 2 loan, but just… am not that mad about it? And it seems like the people that are… make more money than me anyway?
I haven’t read the guidance yet but the idea of a trans kid being banned from school trips is just heartbreaking
New School Guidance announces:
Full bathroom ban.
Full PE ban.
Full school trip accommodation ban.
Trans kids will not go to the bathroom, do PE or go on any school trips. 1/
Full bathroom ban.
Full PE ban.
Full school trip accommodation ban.
Trans kids will not go to the bathroom, do PE or go on any school trips. 1/
February 12, 2026 at 6:52 PM
I haven’t read the guidance yet but the idea of a trans kid being banned from school trips is just heartbreaking
So excited to watch Wuthering Heights after all the reviewers having palpitations over how horny it is and inevitably witness the mildest most vanilla version of lust and kink, go on girl give us nothing
February 11, 2026 at 9:13 AM
So excited to watch Wuthering Heights after all the reviewers having palpitations over how horny it is and inevitably witness the mildest most vanilla version of lust and kink, go on girl give us nothing
Reposted by Bex Sander
Look, I’m a giant, MASSIVE nerd who wants to live in Iain Banks’ Culture as much as the next post-scarcity guy, but our current fill in the blank machines bear about as much relationship to intelligence as a duck does to a stealth bomber.
All of this is so incredibly stupid.
All of this is so incredibly stupid.
Researchers working with the A.I. system Claude have come to understand that the model’s selfhood, like our own, is a matter of both neurons and narratives. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/kEX1vV
February 11, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Look, I’m a giant, MASSIVE nerd who wants to live in Iain Banks’ Culture as much as the next post-scarcity guy, but our current fill in the blank machines bear about as much relationship to intelligence as a duck does to a stealth bomber.
All of this is so incredibly stupid.
All of this is so incredibly stupid.
I did a podcast ep about the itch de-indexing last year, exactly this (it has not gotten better since) open.spotify.com/episode/6Nam...
February 10, 2026 at 9:20 PM
I did a podcast ep about the itch de-indexing last year, exactly this (it has not gotten better since) open.spotify.com/episode/6Nam...
We’re watching in real time how quickly “pornography” can become “that thing that I don’t like”
When a sitting representative refers to the Super Bowl halftime show as “pornography,” people should use that to reflect on how they and other representatives are simultaneously working to ban, censor, and restrict “pornography” and what that actually means
February 10, 2026 at 9:09 PM
We’re watching in real time how quickly “pornography” can become “that thing that I don’t like”
Reposted by Bex Sander
no, babe, it’s okay that you’re not stacy’s mom. i still think you’ve got it going on.
February 10, 2026 at 4:30 PM
no, babe, it’s okay that you’re not stacy’s mom. i still think you’ve got it going on.
Not sure how I feel about my proximity to the Archers community...
February 10, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Not sure how I feel about my proximity to the Archers community...
I had a neighbour install a ring doorbell on our shared front door without consulting us, basically tracking us coming and going from our own house. OH and we still got burgled lol
Ring is a wildly dangerous company. Always has been. But it has sort of flown under the radar the last couple years as it tried to soften its image. Make no mistake that this is an extremely dangerous surveillance dragnet:
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet
Ring's 'Search Party' is dystopian surveillance accelerationism.
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 4:26 PM
I had a neighbour install a ring doorbell on our shared front door without consulting us, basically tracking us coming and going from our own house. OH and we still got burgled lol
Immaculate journalism no notes
February 10, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Immaculate journalism no notes
Reposted by Bex Sander
STOP GIVING IT KNIVES
When AI was added to a tool for sinus surgery: “Cerebrospinal fluid leaked from one patient’s nose. In another… a surgeon mistakenly punctured the base of a patient’s skull. In two other cases, patients suffered strokes after a major artery was accidentally injured”
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
As AI enters the operating room, reports arise of botched surgeries and misidentified body parts
Medical device makers have been rushing to add AI to their products. While proponents say the new technology will revolutionize medicine, regulators are receiving a rising number of claims of patient ...
www.reuters.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:14 AM
STOP GIVING IT KNIVES
Reposted by Bex Sander
They are doing this because witchcraft IS REAL and you CAN use it to kill your political opponents
Etsy just kicked witches off their platform.
What could possibly go wrong.
www.vice.com/en/article/e...
What could possibly go wrong.
www.vice.com/en/article/e...
Etsy Witches Say Spell Casting Is No Longer Welcome on the Platform
For years, you could hire someone on Etsy to curse an evil ex, protect your home, or manifest better luck. Well, until now.
www.vice.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:43 AM
They are doing this because witchcraft IS REAL and you CAN use it to kill your political opponents
Previously unknown levels of rakes stepped on
February 6, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Previously unknown levels of rakes stepped on
Reposted by Bex Sander
Babe, you look great. I can barely tell.
February 6, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Babe, you look great. I can barely tell.
Reposted by Bex Sander
As a UK resident who has paid for two degrees, five visas, and more than 10 years of the NHS surcharge since I moved here at 19, this is infuriating.
As a journalist, it's alarming that the Home Sec clearly does not understand the system she says needs to be reformed.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
As a journalist, it's alarming that the Home Sec clearly does not understand the system she says needs to be reformed.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Shabana Mahmood defends immigration reforms amid Labour opposition
Around 40 Labour MPs have raised concerns about the impact of the government's proposals.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 12:49 PM
As a UK resident who has paid for two degrees, five visas, and more than 10 years of the NHS surcharge since I moved here at 19, this is infuriating.
As a journalist, it's alarming that the Home Sec clearly does not understand the system she says needs to be reformed.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
As a journalist, it's alarming that the Home Sec clearly does not understand the system she says needs to be reformed.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Bex Sander
Jeffrey Epstein took more photos of people he only hung out with once than I have of my best friends of 15 years
February 4, 2026 at 9:10 AM
Jeffrey Epstein took more photos of people he only hung out with once than I have of my best friends of 15 years
Reposted by Bex Sander
New fuck/marry/kill list just dropped
February 4, 2026 at 6:05 AM
New fuck/marry/kill list just dropped
Be a Tina Brown
February 3, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Be a Tina Brown
Reposted by Bex Sander
New: Together with colleagues I’ve been testing Grok.
The chatbot still produces sexualized images —
even when told the subjects don’t consent.
even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation.
even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse.
www.reuters.com/business/des...
The chatbot still produces sexualized images —
even when told the subjects don’t consent.
even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation.
even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse.
www.reuters.com/business/des...
Exclusive: Despite new curbs, Elon Musk’s Grok at times produces sexualized images - even when told subjects didn’t consent
Elon Musk’s flagship artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, continues to generate sexualized images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent, Reuters has found.
www.reuters.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:37 AM
New: Together with colleagues I’ve been testing Grok.
The chatbot still produces sexualized images —
even when told the subjects don’t consent.
even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation.
even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse.
www.reuters.com/business/des...
The chatbot still produces sexualized images —
even when told the subjects don’t consent.
even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation.
even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse.
www.reuters.com/business/des...
Reposted by Bex Sander
British_political_decision_making_V3(FINAL)_USETHISONE.png
September 11, 2025 at 1:38 PM
British_political_decision_making_V3(FINAL)_USETHISONE.png
Reposted by Bex Sander
I'd like to report a y-axis crime…
February 2, 2026 at 8:45 PM
I'd like to report a y-axis crime…
If you just can't get enough of me talking about PornHub you can get another fix on the latest episode of The News Meeting with @catneilan.bsky.social and @serenacesareo.bsky.social @theobserveruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/listen/the-n...
February 3, 2026 at 10:21 AM
If you just can't get enough of me talking about PornHub you can get another fix on the latest episode of The News Meeting with @catneilan.bsky.social and @serenacesareo.bsky.social @theobserveruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/listen/the-n...
Reposted by Bex Sander
It’s a pretty weird situation when Pornhub is making better arguments about how to keep children safe online than the UK gov, but here we are I suppose
In today’s @theobserveruk.bsky.social why Pornhub is pulling out of the UK (pun intended) and why they’re fighting age verification
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Pornhub blocks access for new UK users | The Observer
Age verification rules force move, but experts fear users are being pushed to more extreme, unregulated sites
observer.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 2:28 PM
It’s a pretty weird situation when Pornhub is making better arguments about how to keep children safe online than the UK gov, but here we are I suppose