Jasper Jackson
@jasperjackson.bsky.social
Managing editor at Transformer. Ex-tech editor at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, also previously Guardian and New Statesman. Sometime media columnist. Signal: jasperjackson.01
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Welcome to Transformer 2.0
We're now a team of reporters and editors dedicated to covering the power and politics of AI
www.transformernews.ai
Delighted to unveil Transformer 2.0! Building on @shakeelhashim.com's amazing newsletter, we're taking our coverage of the power and politics of AI up a level. We'll be publishing throughout each week with work from a star list of contributors and our own team: www.transformernews.ai/p/welcome-to...
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
Elon Musk calling accountability for nonconsensual sexual images an "excuse of for censorship" perfectly exposes the lie at the heart of his "censorship industrial complex" crusade. When addressing abusive material of women and children is labeled "censorship," the term has lost all meaning.
Preventing the sharing of sexualised images of children is “censorship” according to Elon Musk.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Musk says X outcry is 'excuse for censorship'
The government is urging Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 10, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Elon Musk calling accountability for nonconsensual sexual images an "excuse of for censorship" perfectly exposes the lie at the heart of his "censorship industrial complex" crusade. When addressing abusive material of women and children is labeled "censorship," the term has lost all meaning.
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
for contrast bsky.app/profile/noup...
January 8, 2026 at 4:20 PM
for contrast bsky.app/profile/noup...
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
January 8, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
When the obits for Bluesky are written – and that day probably got closer lately – a trans writer getting hounded off the site amid a row over modding video games to give characters bigger boobs (but wokely, apparently?) is definitely gonna be in there.
January 6, 2026 at 12:30 PM
When the obits for Bluesky are written – and that day probably got closer lately – a trans writer getting hounded off the site amid a row over modding video games to give characters bigger boobs (but wokely, apparently?) is definitely gonna be in there.
So much interesting in this (and good work on @caseynewton.bsky.social documenting it). One thing to note though, Google's watermarking identified the image of the badge as created by its AI tool. Other image generators haven't bothered implementing anything similar, why? (Looking at you, Sora.)
Great work from @caseynewton.bsky.social and an illuminating case study in how journalists authenticate allegations/sources in an age of generative AI
www.platformer.news/fake-uber-ea...
www.platformer.news/fake-uber-ea...
Debunking the AI food delivery hoax that fooled Reddit
A “whistleblower” tried to corroborate his viral post with AI-generated evidence. This is how I caught him. PLUS: Grok's image-generation crisis, and the rapture over Claude Opus 4.5
www.platformer.news
January 6, 2026 at 8:51 AM
So much interesting in this (and good work on @caseynewton.bsky.social documenting it). One thing to note though, Google's watermarking identified the image of the badge as created by its AI tool. Other image generators haven't bothered implementing anything similar, why? (Looking at you, Sora.)
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
that's a lot of power users gone because of dogpiling. christ
January 6, 2026 at 6:37 AM
that's a lot of power users gone because of dogpiling. christ
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
If the government genuinely believes this stat then boy am I confused about what they think the next election is going to look like for them
If there is an argument then this is the argument. But lol I can’t find where this obviously false stat is coming from. And if the government does believe more than half the families in the UK are using it as their primary news source then woah maybe time to up the scrutiny of it!
January 5, 2026 at 8:09 PM
If the government genuinely believes this stat then boy am I confused about what they think the next election is going to look like for them
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
If there is an argument then this is the argument. But lol I can’t find where this obviously false stat is coming from. And if the government does believe more than half the families in the UK are using it as their primary news source then woah maybe time to up the scrutiny of it!
January 5, 2026 at 8:00 PM
If there is an argument then this is the argument. But lol I can’t find where this obviously false stat is coming from. And if the government does believe more than half the families in the UK are using it as their primary news source then woah maybe time to up the scrutiny of it!
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
oh noes, urgent contact to establish steps they have taken, they must be quaking in their boots, this will put a stop to it at once
Ofcom, which enforces the UK's Online Safety Act, says it is aware of "serious concerns" about Grok undressing people including children on X
“We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK," it says
“We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK," it says
January 5, 2026 at 3:04 PM
oh noes, urgent contact to establish steps they have taken, they must be quaking in their boots, this will put a stop to it at once
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
And over to you @ofcom.bsky.social We have the regulatory tools. You would not tolerate this with any other medium, why not act now? Shut it down. Imagine if any other company did this, their owner would be in court/jail
Grok is producing sexualised content designed to harass women and girls on an industrial scale. Not to mention out and out CSAM. The story is only just starting to break in the mainstream.
It will go well beyond just X and Musk. The other companies *absolutely* should get ahead of it.
It will go well beyond just X and Musk. The other companies *absolutely* should get ahead of it.
January 5, 2026 at 11:52 AM
And over to you @ofcom.bsky.social We have the regulatory tools. You would not tolerate this with any other medium, why not act now? Shut it down. Imagine if any other company did this, their owner would be in court/jail
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
Facebook slow to act on posts celebrating murder of Jews, anti-hate group says
Facebook slow to act on posts celebrating murder of Jews, anti-hate group says
Exclusive: CST highlights volume of IS-supporting accounts and says social media firms ‘putting all of us in danger’
Facebook hosted terrorist propaganda that celebrated the murder of Jews and praised Islamic State, a leading anti-hate group has alleged.
The posts included celebrations of the Bondi beach massacre that the Community Security Trust says Facebook has been too slow to take down. The posts were still on Facebook on 16 December, two days after the attack, and received shares and likes. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Facebook slow to act on posts celebrating murder of Jews, anti-hate group says
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
gotta love online business models like this from CityMapper - we will serve you fake news ads, or you can pay to remove them
December 29, 2025 at 1:31 PM
gotta love online business models like this from CityMapper - we will serve you fake news ads, or you can pay to remove them
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
Just watched the new Knives Out and I think it's really important you know that the scene in the Seminary's Gym is filmed in the same place Rick Astley filmed the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up.
I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.
I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.
December 29, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Just watched the new Knives Out and I think it's really important you know that the scene in the Seminary's Gym is filmed in the same place Rick Astley filmed the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up.
I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.
I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
No one in government seems to want to invest in a comprehensive programme to understand the prevalence and impact of notionally bad content online. Until they do that, so much policy is vibes.
December 29, 2025 at 10:40 AM
No one in government seems to want to invest in a comprehensive programme to understand the prevalence and impact of notionally bad content online. Until they do that, so much policy is vibes.
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
And guess what?
The FCC immediately changed the website to state that the agency is not independent right after Carr's comments!
The FCC immediately changed the website to state that the agency is not independent right after Carr's comments!
December 17, 2025 at 5:21 PM
And guess what?
The FCC immediately changed the website to state that the agency is not independent right after Carr's comments!
The FCC immediately changed the website to state that the agency is not independent right after Carr's comments!
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
Ars Technica is hiring a Tech Reporter
We're seeking an expert in one or more of these fields: software development, DIY tech, cybersecurity, free and open-source software (FOSS). Come join the team!
condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CondeC...
We're seeking an expert in one or more of these fields: software development, DIY tech, cybersecurity, free and open-source software (FOSS). Come join the team!
condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CondeC...
December 17, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Ars Technica is hiring a Tech Reporter
We're seeking an expert in one or more of these fields: software development, DIY tech, cybersecurity, free and open-source software (FOSS). Come join the team!
condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CondeC...
We're seeking an expert in one or more of these fields: software development, DIY tech, cybersecurity, free and open-source software (FOSS). Come join the team!
condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CondeC...
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
This week on the newsletter, it's the long-awaited HS2 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
The HS2 Christmas Special
Some Christmas song lyrics that hit differently when imagined in the trailer for a film about a stalker. But first, I’m off to Buckinghamshire to find out how you build a new railway.
jonn.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:02 PM
This week on the newsletter, it's the long-awaited HS2 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
In late 2020 a Chinese man called Guan Heng travelled to Xinjiang with our BuzzFeed map of detention facilities to provide ground truth for our work - he provided the first corroborating evidence for many sites.
He escaped to the US - then ICE detained him.
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
He escaped to the US - then ICE detained him.
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
ICE Holding Chinese Man Who Documented Uyghur Camps
Heng Guan is awaiting an immigration hearing on Monday that could lead to his removal from the U.S. and ultimately land him back in China, according to his lawyer and a New York-based activist group.
www.wsj.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:17 PM
In late 2020 a Chinese man called Guan Heng travelled to Xinjiang with our BuzzFeed map of detention facilities to provide ground truth for our work - he provided the first corroborating evidence for many sites.
He escaped to the US - then ICE detained him.
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
He escaped to the US - then ICE detained him.
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
It only took a year but we did it, thanks Bluesky people! www.yorkmix.com/pictures-yor...
I now know more about the UK artificial tree market than I'd ever expected.
I now know more about the UK artificial tree market than I'd ever expected.
OK, fairly deranged question really, but does anyone know how you’d go about getting a giant indoor artificial tree like this built in a primary school library as a reading hub? I’ve raised some funds for this and don’t know if you go off the shelf, get a set designer (do you know one?) or whatever.
December 14, 2025 at 8:57 AM
It only took a year but we did it, thanks Bluesky people! www.yorkmix.com/pictures-yor...
I now know more about the UK artificial tree market than I'd ever expected.
I now know more about the UK artificial tree market than I'd ever expected.
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
apart from the sheer inconceivable horror of the El Fasher massacre and its attendant horrors itself, the thing I'm feeling depressed about is that it probably won't matter.
these were people already on the utmost margins of the global system, who the world has already decided it doesn't care about
these were people already on the utmost margins of the global system, who the world has already decided it doesn't care about
60,000 is the *low end* estimate.
So, El Fasher looks like one of the worst single event atrocities to happen this century so far, but the evidence has come in such a trickle it seems to only now be getting verified
December 13, 2025 at 6:34 AM
apart from the sheer inconceivable horror of the El Fasher massacre and its attendant horrors itself, the thing I'm feeling depressed about is that it probably won't matter.
these were people already on the utmost margins of the global system, who the world has already decided it doesn't care about
these were people already on the utmost margins of the global system, who the world has already decided it doesn't care about
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
I've been investigating digital deception for ~15yrs and 2025 was the worst year.
VC-backed bot farms, endless AI slop, industrial level scams, abusive AI nudifiers, Meta paying $ for hoaxes... Deception was legitimized, monetized & shoved down the public’s throat:
indicator.media/p/2025-the-y...
VC-backed bot farms, endless AI slop, industrial level scams, abusive AI nudifiers, Meta paying $ for hoaxes... Deception was legitimized, monetized & shoved down the public’s throat:
indicator.media/p/2025-the-y...
2025: The year tech embraced fakeness
This year, powerful people, companies, and institutions welcomed digital deception like never before. The rest of us faced the consequences.
indicator.media
December 9, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I've been investigating digital deception for ~15yrs and 2025 was the worst year.
VC-backed bot farms, endless AI slop, industrial level scams, abusive AI nudifiers, Meta paying $ for hoaxes... Deception was legitimized, monetized & shoved down the public’s throat:
indicator.media/p/2025-the-y...
VC-backed bot farms, endless AI slop, industrial level scams, abusive AI nudifiers, Meta paying $ for hoaxes... Deception was legitimized, monetized & shoved down the public’s throat:
indicator.media/p/2025-the-y...
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
It would be sad, if almost amusingly ironic, if the ways we express our fears about AI were the very thing that ended up making them come true.
Why AI reading science fiction could be a problem
The theory that we’re accidentally teaching AI to turn against us
www.transformernews.ai
December 9, 2025 at 6:26 PM
It would be sad, if almost amusingly ironic, if the ways we express our fears about AI were the very thing that ended up making them come true.
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
Probably the most shocking example of early 1980s racist bullying by Nigel Farage so far.
As a 17-year-old, Farage routinely used to wait by the Dulwich College gates for 9-year-old Yinka Bankole to arrive. Farage would then point into the distance and tell Bankole ”that’s the way back to Africa”.
As a 17-year-old, Farage routinely used to wait by the Dulwich College gates for 9-year-old Yinka Bankole to arrive. Farage would then point into the distance and tell Bankole ”that’s the way back to Africa”.
Yinke Bankola says he was 9 when the sixth form Dulwich school prefect Nigel Farage, aged 17, asked him where he was from, then told him "that's the way back to Africa".
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Former Dulwich pupil says Farage told him: ‘That’s the way back to Africa’
Exclusive: Yinka Bankole says he felt compelled to speak out after Reform leader’s attempts to ‘dismiss’ hurt of alleged targets
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Probably the most shocking example of early 1980s racist bullying by Nigel Farage so far.
As a 17-year-old, Farage routinely used to wait by the Dulwich College gates for 9-year-old Yinka Bankole to arrive. Farage would then point into the distance and tell Bankole ”that’s the way back to Africa”.
As a 17-year-old, Farage routinely used to wait by the Dulwich College gates for 9-year-old Yinka Bankole to arrive. Farage would then point into the distance and tell Bankole ”that’s the way back to Africa”.
Reposted by Jasper Jackson
Have dug into what’s going on with whistleblowers and AI companies for @transformernews.ai.
Featuring: some crackdowns, some transparency, some new laws, and one deeply bizarre cease-and-desist notice.
www.transformernews.ai/p/can-ai-emb...
Featuring: some crackdowns, some transparency, some new laws, and one deeply bizarre cease-and-desist notice.
www.transformernews.ai/p/can-ai-emb...
Can AI embrace whistleblowing?
As Anthropic prepares to publish its whistleblowing policy, can the industry make the most of protecting those who speak out?
www.transformernews.ai
December 2, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Have dug into what’s going on with whistleblowers and AI companies for @transformernews.ai.
Featuring: some crackdowns, some transparency, some new laws, and one deeply bizarre cease-and-desist notice.
www.transformernews.ai/p/can-ai-emb...
Featuring: some crackdowns, some transparency, some new laws, and one deeply bizarre cease-and-desist notice.
www.transformernews.ai/p/can-ai-emb...