Ry Terran
@hereticmasked.bsky.social
Exvangelical, atheist, DiY religious studies, cult studies, failed-apocalypse cringe-posting, weird shit, counter-extremism
School of Making Poor Life Choices
Only Slightly Doomed
She/They/bad at gender
My apologies for continuing to be relevant
School of Making Poor Life Choices
Only Slightly Doomed
She/They/bad at gender
My apologies for continuing to be relevant
Pinned
Ry Terran
@hereticmasked.bsky.social
· Feb 9
Phoebe did an absolutely incredible job understanding and communicating our research, even as the latest tragic events were unfolding. Give her article a read for a better understanding of the online subcultures that can drive children to violence.
I’d been speaking w/ these researchers since the night of the Madison attack. That day, they quickly located the shooter in the online network they were tracking. We were writing THAT story this week. Then Nashville happened, and the researchers realized: another one.
Thread here with articles about my personal work tracking hybrid threat networks that blend occult aesthetics with mass casualty violence
Reposted by Ry Terran
NEW: When Propecy Fails is one of the most famous social psychology books of all time, a look at a small group of UFO believers when the “spacemen” failed to land. I wrote about a new study from an independent researcher who says the book is not what it seems. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
It’s one of the most influential social psychology studies ever. Was it all a lie?
A classic book on UFO believers and their "cognitive dissonance" after aliens failed to land is called into question.
www.motherjones.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:36 PM
NEW: When Propecy Fails is one of the most famous social psychology books of all time, a look at a small group of UFO believers when the “spacemen” failed to land. I wrote about a new study from an independent researcher who says the book is not what it seems. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Ry Terran
Grandparents are experiencing their own kids using boundaries that they weren't allowed to have when they were living under their thumb. I mean roof.
November 26, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Grandparents are experiencing their own kids using boundaries that they weren't allowed to have when they were living under their thumb. I mean roof.
Reposted by Ry Terran
“Some parents have ‘gone wild with boundaries’” is a completely unhinged thing to say about children not wanting an adult to touch them
Yep this sounds like someone who would speak to a representative sample of grandparents
November 26, 2025 at 5:21 PM
“Some parents have ‘gone wild with boundaries’” is a completely unhinged thing to say about children not wanting an adult to touch them
Reposted by Ry Terran
"A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts."
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
![REVERE, Mass. —
A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts.
The woman, Bruna Ferreira, has an 11-year-old son with Michael Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt's brother.
Ferreira migrated with her family to the United States from Brazil as a child and is currently in custody at an ICE facility in southern Louisiana.
Michael Leavitt released a statement, saying that his "only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of [his] son."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:x4qyokjtdzgl7gmqhsw4ajqj/bafkreiacyzixchgacpjse7wyra342opgjsvdxzqdrkxq55zzqah65zyeae@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 4:07 AM
"A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts."
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
Reposted by Ry Terran
X's location "transparency" feature showing many MAGA accounts are based internationally reveals what we already knew: The world is using American social media and American politics as a slot machine and social media companies are directly incentivizing this:
www.404media.co/americas-pol...
www.404media.co/americas-pol...
America’s Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle
The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
www.404media.co
November 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
X's location "transparency" feature showing many MAGA accounts are based internationally reveals what we already knew: The world is using American social media and American politics as a slot machine and social media companies are directly incentivizing this:
www.404media.co/americas-pol...
www.404media.co/americas-pol...
Reposted by Ry Terran
I'm looking to talk to Tea users who were impacted by the hack we covered a few months ago. If you're one of those people please email me at [email protected] or hit me up on signal at @emanuel.404 www.404media.co/how-teas-fou...
How Tea’s Founder Convinced Millions of Women to Spill Their Secrets, Then Exposed Them to the World
A 404 Media investigation reveals how the man who started Tea, the ‘women dating safety’ app, tried to hire a female ‘face’ for the company and then hijack her grassroots community.
www.404media.co
November 24, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I'm looking to talk to Tea users who were impacted by the hack we covered a few months ago. If you're one of those people please email me at [email protected] or hit me up on signal at @emanuel.404 www.404media.co/how-teas-fou...
Reposted by Ry Terran
A new study finds that about half of the physical variation seen in modern dogs existed during the Stone Age. n.pr/3MmIfM2
The origins of your dog's unique look may be older than you think
A new study finds that about half of the physical variation seen in modern dogs existed during the Stone Age.
n.pr
November 26, 2025 at 11:12 AM
A new study finds that about half of the physical variation seen in modern dogs existed during the Stone Age. n.pr/3MmIfM2
Reposted by Ry Terran
shortly after a cargo plane crashed in Louisville earlier this month, someone called JWoods86 joined wikipedia to upload this very eerie pic of it!
November 26, 2025 at 11:19 AM
shortly after a cargo plane crashed in Louisville earlier this month, someone called JWoods86 joined wikipedia to upload this very eerie pic of it!
Reposted by Ry Terran
Aside from all the very obvious problems with the idea that consumers are to blame for not wanting or needing your product, there's a reasonable chance I would buy a new phone if it wasn't stuffed to the gills with un-turnoffable AI bloat
stupid young people, stop buying a new phone every year if you don't want to be broke. wait no, not like that.
November 26, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Aside from all the very obvious problems with the idea that consumers are to blame for not wanting or needing your product, there's a reasonable chance I would buy a new phone if it wasn't stuffed to the gills with un-turnoffable AI bloat
Reposted by Ry Terran
The CDC has turned off its vaccine search tool.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
November 26, 2025 at 5:50 AM
The CDC has turned off its vaccine search tool.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
Reposted by Ry Terran
Manisha doing God's work here to show just how desperate Musk is to be seen as funny....
Elon Musk claims Grok's "epic vulgar roasts" can "make people really laugh at a party" so I took him up on it and used my coworkers as guinea pigs: www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
Elon Musk Said Grok’s Roasts Would Be ‘Epic’ at Parties—So I Tried It on My Coworkers
It went about as well as you’d expect.
www.wired.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Manisha doing God's work here to show just how desperate Musk is to be seen as funny....
Reposted by Ry Terran
“Within hours of CT announcing that longtime pastor and scholar Nicole Massie Martin had been elected its next president and CEO, a familiar chorus of online racist and patriarchal critics declared the flagship evangelical magazine is no longer really ‘Christian.’”
baptistnews.com/article/chri...
baptistnews.com/article/chri...
Christianity Today hires a Black woman and the right goes nuts
Nicole Massie Martin’s appointment comes during a season of turnover and turmoil at the flagship evangelical magazine.
baptistnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:29 PM
“Within hours of CT announcing that longtime pastor and scholar Nicole Massie Martin had been elected its next president and CEO, a familiar chorus of online racist and patriarchal critics declared the flagship evangelical magazine is no longer really ‘Christian.’”
baptistnews.com/article/chri...
baptistnews.com/article/chri...
Lots of good advice and resources in this thread for parents and teachers.
It's not reasonable or practical to ban kids from the internet until adulthood, but keeping an open dialogue can go a long way in mitigating harms and teaching skills that will be beneficial for a lifetime.
It's not reasonable or practical to ban kids from the internet until adulthood, but keeping an open dialogue can go a long way in mitigating harms and teaching skills that will be beneficial for a lifetime.
Steps parents can take now:
1) Check whether your child is using a school-issued computer or device for online gaming or chats.
2) Talk with your child about how they use the device: games, apps, chat features, who they’re talking to, how long they’re online.
5/
1) Check whether your child is using a school-issued computer or device for online gaming or chats.
2) Talk with your child about how they use the device: games, apps, chat features, who they’re talking to, how long they’re online.
5/
November 25, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Lots of good advice and resources in this thread for parents and teachers.
It's not reasonable or practical to ban kids from the internet until adulthood, but keeping an open dialogue can go a long way in mitigating harms and teaching skills that will be beneficial for a lifetime.
It's not reasonable or practical to ban kids from the internet until adulthood, but keeping an open dialogue can go a long way in mitigating harms and teaching skills that will be beneficial for a lifetime.
Reposted by Ry Terran
(A) stop feeling pressure to be perfect;
(B) normalize asking questions, because that is normalizing learning;
(C) do not ask AI if your turkey is done; ask a meat thermometer
(B) normalize asking questions, because that is normalizing learning;
(C) do not ask AI if your turkey is done; ask a meat thermometer
This is so soulless, I can't stand it. We have BRAINS. We can USE THEM.
November 25, 2025 at 5:56 PM
(A) stop feeling pressure to be perfect;
(B) normalize asking questions, because that is normalizing learning;
(C) do not ask AI if your turkey is done; ask a meat thermometer
(B) normalize asking questions, because that is normalizing learning;
(C) do not ask AI if your turkey is done; ask a meat thermometer
Reposted by Ry Terran
In 1924, Calvin Coolidge's 16-yr-old son played tennis on the White House grounds w/o wearing socks. He got a blister and was dead from infection a week later.
This is unthinkable today—which is why I wrote this series. Cuz the systems that save us from this kind of fate are in urgent need of care.
This is unthinkable today—which is why I wrote this series. Cuz the systems that save us from this kind of fate are in urgent need of care.
For a yr, I've been working on a series for The New Atlantis about the vast systems that underlie our lives. Our ancestors built them up over decades to fend off hunger, thirst, darkness and disease. But too few of us know about them—and they're all at risk. The conclusion is now available online:
Why We Are Better Off Than a Century Ago
Our ancestors built grand public systems to conquer hunger, thirst, darkness, and squalor. That progress can be lost if we forget it.
www.thenewatlantis.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:03 PM
In 1924, Calvin Coolidge's 16-yr-old son played tennis on the White House grounds w/o wearing socks. He got a blister and was dead from infection a week later.
This is unthinkable today—which is why I wrote this series. Cuz the systems that save us from this kind of fate are in urgent need of care.
This is unthinkable today—which is why I wrote this series. Cuz the systems that save us from this kind of fate are in urgent need of care.
Reposted by Ry Terran
A parent in Nova Scotia discovered that her child had been targeted by online predators while using a school-issued Chromebook. The device, provided by the school board, gave access to apps and games including Roblox. 1/
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
N.S. mom alarmed after teen targeted by predators on school-issued laptop | CBC News
Timestamps on the computer showed that messages were accessed both at home and at school.
www.cbc.ca
November 25, 2025 at 4:02 PM
A parent in Nova Scotia discovered that her child had been targeted by online predators while using a school-issued Chromebook. The device, provided by the school board, gave access to apps and games including Roblox. 1/
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Ry Terran
I’ve gotta get this book by @aaronfountainjr.bsky.social (go IU!) about what he found in FOIA requests: white parents alerting the COINTELPRO-era FBI to their kids’ “radicalism.” Their language that their kids got sucked in by outside agitators and were too young to understand remains today.
The US parents who grassed on their anti-Vietnam war kids in the 60s
Aaron G. Fountain Jr. - Author, High School Students Unite! Teen Activism, Education Reform and FBI Surveillance in Postwar America
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/newl...
Aaron G. Fountain Jr. - Author, High School Students Unite! Teen Activism, Education Reform and FBI Surveillance in Postwar America
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/newl...
Newly Declassified Records Suggest Parents Collaborated With the FBI to Spy on Their Rebellious Teens During the 1960s
As high school students across the U.S. embraced political activism, adults turned to the authorities to shield their sons and daughters from radical influences
www.smithsonianmag.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I’ve gotta get this book by @aaronfountainjr.bsky.social (go IU!) about what he found in FOIA requests: white parents alerting the COINTELPRO-era FBI to their kids’ “radicalism.” Their language that their kids got sucked in by outside agitators and were too young to understand remains today.
Reposted by Ry Terran
The only thing better than dinner-party fun fact pedantry is being able to out-pedant someone else.
November 25, 2025 at 2:09 PM
The only thing better than dinner-party fun fact pedantry is being able to out-pedant someone else.
Reposted by Ry Terran
So Hegseth did Awana, eh? Funny thing is, Awana actually does what Hegseth is bitching about with the Scouts, and all of the activities that they cribbed from scouting are gender inclusive.
November 25, 2025 at 2:22 PM
So Hegseth did Awana, eh? Funny thing is, Awana actually does what Hegseth is bitching about with the Scouts, and all of the activities that they cribbed from scouting are gender inclusive.
Did a survey recently about points rewards programs and my general response was "I do not have the mental energy to keep track of things like that in the year 2025"
November 24, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Did a survey recently about points rewards programs and my general response was "I do not have the mental energy to keep track of things like that in the year 2025"
Reposted by Ry Terran
Unfortunately regularly necessary reminder that End-to-End Encryption does not protect you against needing to thoroughly and routinely vet your comms.
“The FBI gained access to conversations in a ‘courtwatch’ Signal group that helps coordinate volunteer activists who monitor public proceedings at three New York federal immigration courts. The US government has repeatedly been accused of violating immigrants’ due process rights at those courts.”
The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal
Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Unfortunately regularly necessary reminder that End-to-End Encryption does not protect you against needing to thoroughly and routinely vet your comms.
Reposted by Ry Terran
Top Meta staff allegedly compared Instagram to a drug and worked for years to obscure the social media platform’s potential dangers from parents and children, even as they appeared to acknowledge their technology was harmful. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
‘We’re basically pushers’: Court filing alleges staff at social media giants compared their platforms to drugs
Meta said the allegations “rely on cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions” to present a misleading narrative.
www.politico.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Top Meta staff allegedly compared Instagram to a drug and worked for years to obscure the social media platform’s potential dangers from parents and children, even as they appeared to acknowledge their technology was harmful. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Ry Terran
And the reality is just so, so much more complicated than that, and the simplistic framing misleads people into thinking they'll notice it happening to the people around them because the groups who do it are very obvious. They aren't, and it only takes the right cause/framing to hook almost anyone.
November 23, 2025 at 4:34 PM
And the reality is just so, so much more complicated than that, and the simplistic framing misleads people into thinking they'll notice it happening to the people around them because the groups who do it are very obvious. They aren't, and it only takes the right cause/framing to hook almost anyone.
My perspective from seeing this happen to someone that I cared about lines up with this. Maybe they were always a sociopath in some way, it's hard to say and I'll probably never fully make sense of it. But before that happened, life seemed relatively normal. Nothing remotely like what happened after
And the reality of much online abuse, especially dedicated group threat actors, is: people get into performing it through multiple methods of desensitization and social connections, you don't have to be Wrong to fall prey to the people who recruit, you don't need to be a sociopath or have history
November 24, 2025 at 6:33 AM
My perspective from seeing this happen to someone that I cared about lines up with this. Maybe they were always a sociopath in some way, it's hard to say and I'll probably never fully make sense of it. But before that happened, life seemed relatively normal. Nothing remotely like what happened after
Reposted by Ry Terran
And the reality of much online abuse, especially dedicated group threat actors, is: people get into performing it through multiple methods of desensitization and social connections, you don't have to be Wrong to fall prey to the people who recruit, you don't need to be a sociopath or have history
November 23, 2025 at 4:24 PM
And the reality of much online abuse, especially dedicated group threat actors, is: people get into performing it through multiple methods of desensitization and social connections, you don't have to be Wrong to fall prey to the people who recruit, you don't need to be a sociopath or have history