Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Apr 29

An all-time favorite. Also thanks to Eddie for making the map. ❤️

1 1

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Apr 28

yes pls do!

1 1

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Apr 28

LOL. Accurate. Y me da mucha alegría ver la directora de GV usando terminos como "comemierdería" en la internet pública :D

1 3

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 20

Good reminder here: Immigration authorities in the U.S. have been collecting social media data since Trump 1.0. Now they're using it to justify their "catch and revoke" scheme.

Important reporting and analysis by @tekendra-parmar.bsky.social

www.compiler.news/mahmoud-khal...

The chilling effects of using A.I. to hunt ‘pro-Hamas’ activists

The State Department is attempting to use artificial intelligence to target visa holders in the United States who express views counter to U.S. foreign policy. Is the real goal legitimizing a politica...

www.compiler.news

3 1

Reposted by Ellery Roberts Biddle

makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · Mar 18

SCOOP: More than 300 FTC blogs published under FTC Chair Lina Khan disappeared this morning. They included posts critical of Amazon, Microsoft, and generative AI.

www.wired.com/story/federa...

FTC Removes Posts Critical of Amazon, Microsoft, and AI Companies

Business-guidance content published during the Biden administration has been removed from the Federal Trade Commission website.

www.wired.com

40 990 1.7K

Reposted by Ellery Roberts Biddle

talia jane ❤️‍🔥 @taliajane.bsky.social · Mar 13

BREAKING: Hundreds of Jews and allies have taken over Trump Tower chanting “We want justice, you say how. Bring Mahmoud home now!” and “Fight Nazis, not students.”

The civil disobedience is spawned by the ICE arrest of Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil.

5 7.2K 24K

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 13

Universities are doing Trump's bidding, purging voices of dissent from their halls. Among them is Swarthmore, a college with a foundation in Quaker values of peaceful resistance and civil disobedience. We must hold them to account -- sign & share if you agree. actionnetwork.org/petitions/de...

Demand Swarthmore College Reverse the Suspension of a Peaceful Protestor

SWARTHMORE COLLEGE ISSUES ITS FIRST SUSPENSION FOR PEACEFUL PROTEST On Thursday, March 6th 2025, Swarthmore college SUSPENDED a student for peaceful protest activities in the Fall of 2023. The studen...

actionnetwork.org

1 5

Reposted by Ellery Roberts Biddle

The New Republic @newrepublic.com · Mar 12

It’s economic independence—not the lofty and abstract ideas of academic freedom, but the indispensable fact that colleges become the sole economic engines in their regions—that Trump and his acolytes want to curtail.

Trump Is Cracking Down on the Colleges That Cave to Him

Columbia University complied with the demand to aid in Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest. It didn’t save it from the president’s wrath.

newrepublic.com

3 42 130

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 13

Good read on gov't bureaucracy, the current limitations of tech, and the coming human toll of Musk's AI-driven slash-and-burn strategy, via @benzevgreen.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/doge-plan-to...

1

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 12

What Yale, Columbia and other universities are doing has precious little to do with anti-semitism. The GOP is exploiting a crack in academia that divides people focused on scholarship and truth-telling from those with political and economic capital. Rich people with values, please come forward.

1 1

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 12

"The decision came three days after a news site, *powered at least in part by artificial intelligence,* published a story about Dr. Doutaghi....The news site called her a member of a terrorist group."

Shame on Yale. Cowardice will end free thought in this country.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/u...

Yale Scholar Banned After A.I. News Site Accuses Her of Terrorist Link

The deputy director of a liberal project at Yale Law School was put on leave over allegations that she is linked to Samidoun, a group the U.S. government has said funds terrorists.

www.nytimes.com

3 3

Reposted by Ellery Roberts Biddle

Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · Mar 12

New: we've obtained a leaked list of the more than 200 sites, services, apps an ICE surveillance contractor monitors. Bluesky, OnlyFans, many more. Used to track targets. Highly relevant with the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil by ICE. We've published the full list here: www.404media.co/the-200-site...

The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring

404 Media has obtained the list of sites and services that ICE contractor ShadowDragon pulls data from. ShadowDragon sources data from all over the web and lets government analysts easily search it an...

www.404media.co

140 2.9K 4.3K

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 12

There is extraordinary, if quiet, power in this. The partnership also means you're not alone. It can lead to really beautiful kinds of learning and solidarity, for years to come. I know because I've been the "safe" journalist many times.

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 12

Fear of retribution has rapidly become a feature of working as a journalist in the U.S. Here's a tip from working with journos in Cuba and China: Partner up with a journalist in a safer jurisdiction. Work together on the reporting, but put the story out under their byline.

1 1

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 7

I have often grumbled about the cyberlibertarian bent at TechDirt, while regularly agreeing with their arguments and always learning from their reporting and analysis. This has those things, and makes me miss my precious grumbling days really badly.

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 7

"...when WaPo’s opinion pages are being gutted and tech CEOs are seeking pre-approval from authoritarians, the line between 'tech coverage' and 'saving democracy' has basically disappeared. It’s all the same thing."

1

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 7

"One of the craziest bits about covering the systematic dismantling of democracy is this: the people doing the dismantling frequently tell you exactly what they’re going to do. They’re almost proud of it. They just wrap it in language that makes it sound like the opposite."

1

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 7

"When you've spent years watching how some tech bros break the rules in pursuit of personal and economic power at the expense of safety and user protections, all while wrapping themselves in the flag of 'innovation,' you get pretty good at spotting the pattern."

1

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Mar 7

EVERYONE ought to read this piece from @mmasnick.bsky.social. If I were an editor at @niemanreports.org or @columjournreview.bsky.social I would be begging to republish a version. www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w...

Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not)

While political reporters are still doing their view-from-nowhere “Democrats say this, Republicans say that” dance, tech and legal journalists have been watching an unfortunately recogn…

www.techdirt.com

1 1

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Jan 15

If you're in the weeds of Meta's policy change blitz, this is a good thread 👇🏻

Dave Willner @dwillner.bsky.social · Jan 9

Folks are mostly missing the forest for the trees re: the recent Meta announcement. Specifically, the focus on the move from fact checking to community notes. There two different changes that are a much bigger deal that have received less focus. 🧵 1/11

3

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Jan 10

Here's the full response from @factchecknet.bsky.social, the network of fact-checkers from around the world who Meta partnered with and routinely praised for their work. www.poynter.org/ifcn/2025/an...

An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg from the world’s fact-checkers, nine years later - Poynter

From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their car...

www.poynter.org

2

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Jan 10

When censorship happens on Meta's platforms, Meta must be held accountable. Fact-checkers, contrary to what Zuckerberg insinuated, never censored anything. True to form, @factchecknet.bsky.social has set the record straight 👇🏻

1 4

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Jan 10

Some very nice coverage of a very dark turn at Meta, with a quote from me. Thanks @inafried.bsky.social for reaching out and reporting with such care! www.axios.com/2025/01/09/m...

Meta's new content policies will let many groups be targeted

Changes in moderation will release a flood of hate speech and could even fuel real-world violence, experts say.

www.axios.com

1 2

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Jan 3

Helpful context & comprehensive reporting on this and related AI bot misadventures at Meta from @404media.co: www.404media.co/metas-ai-pro...

Meta's AI Profiles Are Indistinguishable From Terrible Spam That Took Over Facebook

The Meta AI profiles everyone is mad about are old, were a colossal failure, and many are already dead.

www.404media.co

Ellery Roberts Biddle @elleryrb.bsky.social · Jan 3

If it isn't already out there, I'm sure it won't be long before Meta rolls out an AI bot that "represents" one of these identities, while still leaving actual *authentic* users out in the cold. Meanwhile, users on the platform will keep losing touch with actual people and the world around them.

1