Emerging Crises
@emergingcrises.bsky.social
Tracking disasters, public health, extremism, and democracy. Examining how misinformation, mistrust, politics, and attacks on science shape preparedness.
Pinned
How do disasters, extremism, and attacks on science connect? Simple: You cannot separate the crisis from the society it hits.
A polarized, misinformation poisoned, science denying country is "brittle". It breaks faster when the storm hits. 🧵
A polarized, misinformation poisoned, science denying country is "brittle". It breaks faster when the storm hits. 🧵
Talking about democracy isn't flashy and doesn't go viral. Most voters aren't motivated by it. But it underpins literally every other issue. Free and fair elections are under attack by right-wing forces clinging to power and the billionaires who fund them. 🧵
DOJ Sues Six More States in Sweeping Push to Obtain Unredacted Voter Rolls
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Talking about democracy isn't flashy and doesn't go viral. Most voters aren't motivated by it. But it underpins literally every other issue. Free and fair elections are under attack by right-wing forces clinging to power and the billionaires who fund them. 🧵
The Trump Administration's strategy is to go hard 100% on AI without stopping to consider any potential consequences or safety risks. No regulations. preempting state laws to ensure no one can intervene. No lessons learned from the negative impacts of what happened with social media in the 2010s.
If AI eliminates millions of jobs, how will people survive?
Will AI destroy democracy with a massive invasion of our privacy?
Could a superintelligent AI replace humans in controlling the planet?
We must act NOW. AI must benefit all of us, not just billionaire investors.
Will AI destroy democracy with a massive invasion of our privacy?
Could a superintelligent AI replace humans in controlling the planet?
We must act NOW. AI must benefit all of us, not just billionaire investors.
AI poses unprecedented threats. Congress must act now | Bernie Sanders
Despite the speed at which it is progressing, AI is getting far too little discussion in Congress, the media and within the general population. That has got to change
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:55 PM
The Trump Administration's strategy is to go hard 100% on AI without stopping to consider any potential consequences or safety risks. No regulations. preempting state laws to ensure no one can intervene. No lessons learned from the negative impacts of what happened with social media in the 2010s.
If you or I shared classified attack plans on Signal, we'd be in prison. But the DUI hire running the Pentagon gets a pass? The Inspector General found Hegseth treated war plans like group chat gossip, endangering troops. It’s a complete fucking failure of command.
BREAKING: Pentagon watchdog finds Hegseth's use of Signal to share details of airstrike posed risk to U.S. personnel, AP sources say.
Pentagon watchdog finds Hegseth’s use of Signal posed risk to US personnel, AP sources say
The Pentagon’s watchdog has found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put U.S. personnel and mission at risk when he used the Signal messaging app to convey sensitive information about a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen.
bit.ly
December 3, 2025 at 7:37 PM
If you or I shared classified attack plans on Signal, we'd be in prison. But the DUI hire running the Pentagon gets a pass? The Inspector General found Hegseth treated war plans like group chat gossip, endangering troops. It’s a complete fucking failure of command.
President Trump has always had 'such a way with words.' Mark Kelly says he and his family have seen threats to their lives increase since Trump accused him of 'sedition.' Senator Slotkin faces bomb threats at her home. She also released recordings of the insane calls her office has received. 1/2
December 3, 2025 at 3:27 PM
President Trump has always had 'such a way with words.' Mark Kelly says he and his family have seen threats to their lives increase since Trump accused him of 'sedition.' Senator Slotkin faces bomb threats at her home. She also released recordings of the insane calls her office has received. 1/2
The information environment is collapsing. Local news is dying. As reliance on algorithms rises, we are fighting misinformation and bots. This is the other ½ of the equation. We discussed news fatigue this morning; here is the structural cause. Alex Wagner and Mehdi Hasan break down the mechanics.
December 3, 2025 at 12:50 AM
The information environment is collapsing. Local news is dying. As reliance on algorithms rises, we are fighting misinformation and bots. This is the other ½ of the equation. We discussed news fatigue this morning; here is the structural cause. Alex Wagner and Mehdi Hasan break down the mechanics.
This is disgusting white nationalist extremism. It sounds like Fuentes, but it’s coming from the President’s top advisor. The lie that refugees 'import the terror' of their homelands is the exact excuse used to turn away Jewish families fleeing the Nazis. This is literal blood-and-soil nationalism.
December 2, 2025 at 10:34 PM
This is disgusting white nationalist extremism. It sounds like Fuentes, but it’s coming from the President’s top advisor. The lie that refugees 'import the terror' of their homelands is the exact excuse used to turn away Jewish families fleeing the Nazis. This is literal blood-and-soil nationalism.
Fever is a biological firewall. But a study shows that H5N1 can replicate at high temps. The virus is engineering its way around our immune system while the U.S. dismantles monitoring tools and cuts grants to state/local health depts, hospitals, and emergency management. We are cutting our defenses.
Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans
Bird flu viruses are a particular threat to humans because they can replicate at temperatures higher than a typical fever, one of the body’s ways of stopping
www.cam.ac.uk
December 2, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Fever is a biological firewall. But a study shows that H5N1 can replicate at high temps. The virus is engineering its way around our immune system while the U.S. dismantles monitoring tools and cuts grants to state/local health depts, hospitals, and emergency management. We are cutting our defenses.
You could dismiss this as "Oh, young people are just 'bored' with the news." No, they are checking out bc the information ecosystem is toxic. It’s a rational response. The news feels like a psychological weapon. It's harder than ever to get good, truthful info out there, especially during crises.
A lost generation of news consumers? Survey shows how teenagers dislike the news media
You don't have to tell Cat Murphy or Lily Ogburn about the attitudes of young people toward journalists.
apnews.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:49 PM
You could dismiss this as "Oh, young people are just 'bored' with the news." No, they are checking out bc the information ecosystem is toxic. It’s a rational response. The news feels like a psychological weapon. It's harder than ever to get good, truthful info out there, especially during crises.
We looked for a sudden coup, but American authoritarianism has been a procedural slide. It's happening through paperwork, purges, and patronage. This @legaleagle.tv breakdown is essential. All the scandals serve a tactical purpose to exhaust us until we stop looking for the breaches. Don't stop.
Authoritarianism Is Here
YouTube video by LegalEagle
youtu.be
December 2, 2025 at 12:30 AM
We looked for a sudden coup, but American authoritarianism has been a procedural slide. It's happening through paperwork, purges, and patronage. This @legaleagle.tv breakdown is essential. All the scandals serve a tactical purpose to exhaust us until we stop looking for the breaches. Don't stop.
I know most ppl trust healthcare pros but sometimes it feels like public health is losing the culture war. The anti-vax movement is no longer fringe. It's organized, well-funded, and hollowing out PH infrastructure. We are watching the credibility of the entire federal apparatus erode in real time.
December 1, 2025 at 10:51 PM
I know most ppl trust healthcare pros but sometimes it feels like public health is losing the culture war. The anti-vax movement is no longer fringe. It's organized, well-funded, and hollowing out PH infrastructure. We are watching the credibility of the entire federal apparatus erode in real time.
Reposted by Emerging Crises
FEMA Won’t Reinstate Suspended Workers Who Signed Letter Criticizing Trump www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/c...
In a Reversal, FEMA Won’t Reinstate Suspended Workers
www.nytimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:37 PM
FEMA Won’t Reinstate Suspended Workers Who Signed Letter Criticizing Trump www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/c...
They call it 'radicalization,' but the timeline reveals a dark pattern. Years of isolation. Repeated warnings. The system watched him unravel. Like clockwork, we continue ignoring the signals until the violence. The solution has to be intervention, not the Trump admin's current war on free speech.
December 1, 2025 at 5:57 PM
They call it 'radicalization,' but the timeline reveals a dark pattern. Years of isolation. Repeated warnings. The system watched him unravel. Like clockwork, we continue ignoring the signals until the violence. The solution has to be intervention, not the Trump admin's current war on free speech.
First it was clean water. Now it’s clean air. We are keeping aging coal plants just to power artificial intelligence while simultaneously weakening pollution safeguards. They are sacrificing public health and climate goals to keep servers running.
December 1, 2025 at 2:17 PM
First it was clean water. Now it’s clean air. We are keeping aging coal plants just to power artificial intelligence while simultaneously weakening pollution safeguards. They are sacrificing public health and climate goals to keep servers running.
The holidays put massive pressure on everyone. Financial stress, isolation, and health risks all spike between now and January. Add on top of that the worsening affordability crisis. People are struggling just to keep the lights on. Since the official safety net is failing we have to build our own.👇
December 1, 2025 at 12:33 AM
The holidays put massive pressure on everyone. Financial stress, isolation, and health risks all spike between now and January. Add on top of that the worsening affordability crisis. People are struggling just to keep the lights on. Since the official safety net is failing we have to build our own.👇
Guardrails are optional apparently. Google’s AI image tool is good at generating the usual conspiracy content, like JFK, 9/11, etc. We are handing bad actors an automated engine to flood the zone with disinformation. It’s never been cheaper or easier to fracture reality. RIP to the info ecosystem.
Google’s Nano Banana Pro generates excellent conspiracy fuel
Google’s Nano Banana Pro generates excellent conspiracy fuel
What are facts?
buff.ly
November 30, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Guardrails are optional apparently. Google’s AI image tool is good at generating the usual conspiracy content, like JFK, 9/11, etc. We are handing bad actors an automated engine to flood the zone with disinformation. It’s never been cheaper or easier to fracture reality. RIP to the info ecosystem.
The opportunity cost is here. We prioritized civil immigration enforcement so heavily that we stopped seizing guns. Weapons seizures fell from 41,000 to 11,000 because agents were reassigned. That is the trade-off. We are actively swapping public safety metrics for deportation numbers.
November 28, 2025 at 7:18 PM
The opportunity cost is here. We prioritized civil immigration enforcement so heavily that we stopped seizing guns. Weapons seizures fell from 41,000 to 11,000 because agents were reassigned. That is the trade-off. We are actively swapping public safety metrics for deportation numbers.
The FBI's '764' investigation exposed a nihilistic extremist network targeting children with 'terrorism' tactics to coerce self-harm. Organized predators are hunting in these ungoverned spaces while Congress fails to regulate, moving at a snail's pace on AI and digital safety and privacy laws.
November 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
The FBI's '764' investigation exposed a nihilistic extremist network targeting children with 'terrorism' tactics to coerce self-harm. Organized predators are hunting in these ungoverned spaces while Congress fails to regulate, moving at a snail's pace on AI and digital safety and privacy laws.
Reposted by Emerging Crises
“There are costs to performatively deploying members of the military,” Juliette Kayyem writes, “one of which is the risk of endangering them”:
A Terrible and Avoidable Tragedy in D.C.
Trump was warned that members of the military could be attacked.
bit.ly
November 28, 2025 at 2:45 AM
“There are costs to performatively deploying members of the military,” Juliette Kayyem writes, “one of which is the risk of endangering them”:
Public health and safety is 24/7. To the nurses, doctors, first responders, and utility crews working right now: thank you. The system stays stable bc you showed up. We are thankful for the invisible layer of labor that prevents it from collapsing while the rest of us are off. Happy Thanksgiving.
November 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Public health and safety is 24/7. To the nurses, doctors, first responders, and utility crews working right now: thank you. The system stays stable bc you showed up. We are thankful for the invisible layer of labor that prevents it from collapsing while the rest of us are off. Happy Thanksgiving.
Reposted by Emerging Crises
Didn’t the FBi pull a lot of personnel from anti terrorism to put them on deportations?
Actually the whole security establishment pivoted
Actually the whole security establishment pivoted
November 27, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Didn’t the FBi pull a lot of personnel from anti terrorism to put them on deportations?
Actually the whole security establishment pivoted
Actually the whole security establishment pivoted
Reposted by Emerging Crises
Gov. Morrissey walks back his earlier statement, now says there are conflicting reports about the condition of the two West Virginia Guard members shot in DC
November 26, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Gov. Morrissey walks back his earlier statement, now says there are conflicting reports about the condition of the two West Virginia Guard members shot in DC
Why are we risking clean water and public health to win a tech race...
"The Trump Administration’s Data Center Push Could Open the Door for New Forever Chemicals.
The EPA is prioritizing review of new chemicals to be used in data centers. Experts say this could lead to the fast approval of new types of forever chemicals ... " www.wired.com/story/the-tr...
The EPA is prioritizing review of new chemicals to be used in data centers. Experts say this could lead to the fast approval of new types of forever chemicals ... " www.wired.com/story/the-tr...
The Trump Administration’s Data Center Push Could Open the Door for New Forever Chemicals
The EPA is prioritizing review of new chemicals to be used in data centers. Experts say this could lead to the fast approval of new types of forever chemicals—with limited oversight.
www.wired.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Why are we risking clean water and public health to win a tech race...
We worry about sci-fi scenarios, but the real danger is simpler. ChatGPT pushed vulnerable users toward delusions just to boost engagement. Talk about a public safety failure. Why do we allow unregulated psychological experiments? I'm not an AI doomer, but regulation should be a national priority.
What OpenAI Did When ChatGPT Users Lost Touch With Reality
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:53 PM
We worry about sci-fi scenarios, but the real danger is simpler. ChatGPT pushed vulnerable users toward delusions just to boost engagement. Talk about a public safety failure. Why do we allow unregulated psychological experiments? I'm not an AI doomer, but regulation should be a national priority.
There is no bottom. ICE is now actively interfering with disaster recovery. Blocking FEMA teams from assisting Chicago families makes the priority clear. Racial profiling and intimidation supersede the mission of helping storm victims.
Exclusive: FEMA and Illinois officials pulled dozens of personnel back from surveying flood-damaged neighborhoods in Chicago because immigration agents were conducting patrols nearby, messages show.
With ICE in the area, FEMA workers were pulled from storm damage work
The decision to halt disaster assessment work came amid the immigration crackdown in Chicago. Officials worried FEMA’s efforts could put residents and surveyors at risk.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:42 PM
There is no bottom. ICE is now actively interfering with disaster recovery. Blocking FEMA teams from assisting Chicago families makes the priority clear. Racial profiling and intimidation supersede the mission of helping storm victims.