Kat Tenbarge
@kattenbarge.bsky.social
Independent journalist covering internet culture, politics, and media @spitfirenews.com. Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/kattenbarge
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Kat Tenbarge
@kattenbarge.bsky.social
· Feb 5
Spitfire News
A newsletter from Kat Tenbarge about internet culture, politics, and media.
spitfirenews.com
Almost two weeks ago, I found out I was one of 40 people getting laid off from NBC News.
Those who know me know I’ve wanted to go independent for a long time. Later this month, I’m launching @spitfirenews.com. We need journalism that is louder than ever.
spitfirenews.com/p/an-introdu...
Those who know me know I’ve wanted to go independent for a long time. Later this month, I’m launching @spitfirenews.com. We need journalism that is louder than ever.
spitfirenews.com/p/an-introdu...
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
pedophilic behavior
December 16, 2025 at 10:22 PM
pedophilic behavior
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
Some Dems have told themselves only ~1% of the population is trans so they can dip their toe in the anti-trans filth and come out clean.
I don't have any trans family members—but it still makes me irate. I see it as a huge red flag, a sign you are unprincipled and untrustworthy. And I'm not alone.
I don't have any trans family members—but it still makes me irate. I see it as a huge red flag, a sign you are unprincipled and untrustworthy. And I'm not alone.
We are parents of a trans kid and our family takes this very, very personally. If you intentionally make life harder for our beloved daughter, it’s EXTREMELY hard to think of you as an ally, to say the least. @amyklobuchar.com - you still send us requests for money, while hurting our kid. Disgusted.
Here are the 28 Dem Senators who voted to advance the first federal ban on trans athletes & a federal definition of sex that would make trans & intersex people non-existent: Angela Alsobrooks (MD), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE), Chris Coons (DE), ->
December 16, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Some Dems have told themselves only ~1% of the population is trans so they can dip their toe in the anti-trans filth and come out clean.
I don't have any trans family members—but it still makes me irate. I see it as a huge red flag, a sign you are unprincipled and untrustworthy. And I'm not alone.
I don't have any trans family members—but it still makes me irate. I see it as a huge red flag, a sign you are unprincipled and untrustworthy. And I'm not alone.
I've seen it over and over again but it's always really disturbing to me when someone's first response to a murder is to try and triangulate how it was the murder victim's fault
December 16, 2025 at 4:55 PM
I've seen it over and over again but it's always really disturbing to me when someone's first response to a murder is to try and triangulate how it was the murder victim's fault
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
i have said this before but if you are actually interested in influencing people beyond a narrow circle of too-online journalists you will be making direct to camera videos on tiktok, instagram and youtube. if you primarily post on text-based social media then you're just dicking around.
December 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM
i have said this before but if you are actually interested in influencing people beyond a narrow circle of too-online journalists you will be making direct to camera videos on tiktok, instagram and youtube. if you primarily post on text-based social media then you're just dicking around.
If people really believed that you needed to engage on conservative-dominated platforms to be effective they’d be active on Truth Social, Rumble, and Kick. They are not. They just don’t like X as much anymore and they want it to be your fault
December 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM
If people really believed that you needed to engage on conservative-dominated platforms to be effective they’d be active on Truth Social, Rumble, and Kick. They are not. They just don’t like X as much anymore and they want it to be your fault
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
INCREDIBLE STORY: Rural Ohio trans candidate nearly drops out of race after being targeted online, wins seat in Republican stronghold.
thebuckeyeflame.com/2025/12/15/a...
thebuckeyeflame.com/2025/12/15/a...
Rural Ohio trans candidate nearly drops out of race after being targeted online, wins seat in Republican stronghold
Amy Heutmaker pledges to heal political divide in her rural Ohio township
thebuckeyeflame.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:34 PM
INCREDIBLE STORY: Rural Ohio trans candidate nearly drops out of race after being targeted online, wins seat in Republican stronghold.
thebuckeyeflame.com/2025/12/15/a...
thebuckeyeflame.com/2025/12/15/a...
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
most of the people fired actually made factual posts about Kirk.
December 15, 2025 at 3:07 PM
most of the people fired actually made factual posts about Kirk.
“Trump Derangement Syndrome” has always been a way to smear people for having a logical, rational response to Trump having power. The real TDS is normalizing Trump’s power and the way he abuses it
December 15, 2025 at 5:45 PM
“Trump Derangement Syndrome” has always been a way to smear people for having a logical, rational response to Trump having power. The real TDS is normalizing Trump’s power and the way he abuses it
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
My biggest problem as an artist has never been lack of ideas. It’s always been exploitation in regards to wages and citation and general abuse endured for making art or writing while being Black, a woman or specifically a Black woman.
No billionaire dummy could ever understand any of this…
No billionaire dummy could ever understand any of this…
December 15, 2025 at 4:19 PM
My biggest problem as an artist has never been lack of ideas. It’s always been exploitation in regards to wages and citation and general abuse endured for making art or writing while being Black, a woman or specifically a Black woman.
No billionaire dummy could ever understand any of this…
No billionaire dummy could ever understand any of this…
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
fuck right off with this too please.
Chomsky has been quite clear that he doesn’t think his relationship with Epstein is anyone else’s business and we can and should draw adverse inferences from that.
sorry he wrote some things you liked; bold thinkers can be monsters too.
Chomsky has been quite clear that he doesn’t think his relationship with Epstein is anyone else’s business and we can and should draw adverse inferences from that.
sorry he wrote some things you liked; bold thinkers can be monsters too.
Noam Chomsky’s emails to Jeffrey Epstein display none of the fawning chatter found from, say, Larry Summers. And he does not appear to have been co-opted by whatever access Epstein provided.
https://bit.ly/4s3vx5A
https://bit.ly/4s3vx5A
What the Noam Chomsky–Jeffrey Epstein E-mails Tell Us
Chomsky has often suffered fools, knaves, and criminals too lightly. Epstein was one of them. But that doesn’t mean Chomsky was part of the “Epstein class.”
bit.ly
December 15, 2025 at 4:28 PM
fuck right off with this too please.
Chomsky has been quite clear that he doesn’t think his relationship with Epstein is anyone else’s business and we can and should draw adverse inferences from that.
sorry he wrote some things you liked; bold thinkers can be monsters too.
Chomsky has been quite clear that he doesn’t think his relationship with Epstein is anyone else’s business and we can and should draw adverse inferences from that.
sorry he wrote some things you liked; bold thinkers can be monsters too.
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
New from me!
After we reached out to the owner of these deepfake porn sites, they were removed offline and he deleted his socials.
Each time a site goes down, it's a win for me. Hopefully this guy never tries to get them up and running again.
Check out our investigation!
After we reached out to the owner of these deepfake porn sites, they were removed offline and he deleted his socials.
Each time a site goes down, it's a win for me. Hopefully this guy never tries to get them up and running again.
Check out our investigation!
Bellingcat’s @koltai.bsky.social uncovers the Hungarian national behind two deepfake porn websites. The key figure rakes in profits and vacations in luxury hotels in Dubai and Bali, whilst website visitors create sexually explicit images and videos.
www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...
www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...
How We Found the Man Behind Two Deepfake Porn Sites
Business documents, website code and leaked data all led us back to one person profiting off non-consensual sexual imagery of women.
www.bellingcat.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:32 PM
New from me!
After we reached out to the owner of these deepfake porn sites, they were removed offline and he deleted his socials.
Each time a site goes down, it's a win for me. Hopefully this guy never tries to get them up and running again.
Check out our investigation!
After we reached out to the owner of these deepfake porn sites, they were removed offline and he deleted his socials.
Each time a site goes down, it's a win for me. Hopefully this guy never tries to get them up and running again.
Check out our investigation!
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
I simply could not and would not respond on social media last night about Rob and Michele. I am beyond devastated at the loss of two dear friends. There will be lots of mentions of his brilliant as an actor and director. He was just a wonderful person, as was she. Generous, a true Mensch.
December 15, 2025 at 4:47 PM
I simply could not and would not respond on social media last night about Rob and Michele. I am beyond devastated at the loss of two dear friends. There will be lots of mentions of his brilliant as an actor and director. He was just a wonderful person, as was she. Generous, a true Mensch.
Here are a few reasons off the top of my head why creators don’t LOVE AI:
1. It has been used to create videos of them saying inappropriate things
2. It has been used to sexually harass them
3. It has been used to scam their fans
4. It directly competes with their business and devalues their work
1. It has been used to create videos of them saying inappropriate things
2. It has been used to sexually harass them
3. It has been used to scam their fans
4. It directly competes with their business and devalues their work
December 15, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Here are a few reasons off the top of my head why creators don’t LOVE AI:
1. It has been used to create videos of them saying inappropriate things
2. It has been used to sexually harass them
3. It has been used to scam their fans
4. It directly competes with their business and devalues their work
1. It has been used to create videos of them saying inappropriate things
2. It has been used to sexually harass them
3. It has been used to scam their fans
4. It directly competes with their business and devalues their work
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
Elon's little serfs are quite literally begging journalists to come back because every publicly available source of data shows people have fled the platform and young people won't use it.
They are literally begging regular people to come back. Don't do it! It is a website by and for actual Nazis!
They are literally begging regular people to come back. Don't do it! It is a website by and for actual Nazis!
December 15, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Elon's little serfs are quite literally begging journalists to come back because every publicly available source of data shows people have fled the platform and young people won't use it.
They are literally begging regular people to come back. Don't do it! It is a website by and for actual Nazis!
They are literally begging regular people to come back. Don't do it! It is a website by and for actual Nazis!
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
O, horrible, O, horrible, most horrible!
December 15, 2025 at 3:48 AM
O, horrible, O, horrible, most horrible!
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
notice how this happens at almost every high profile school shooting now.
so far tonight msnbc has interviewed two students from brown university that are also survivors of separate high school shootings.
insanity.
insanity.
December 14, 2025 at 4:02 AM
notice how this happens at almost every high profile school shooting now.
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
Remember, when someone says they blame “porn” for something, what they mean by that is they blame the WOMEN doing the porn. It’s somehow women’s FAULT that men are behave badly.
Scott Galloway is a raging misogynist and gender essentialist, he’s Jordan Peterson without the benzo addiction
Scott Galloway is a raging misogynist and gender essentialist, he’s Jordan Peterson without the benzo addiction
The link between sexual repression and militarism is becoming clearer by the day.
Galloway blames OnlyFans for loneliness, depression, small business closures, extremism, tyranny and *checks notes* impending societal extinction.
His solution? Mandatory national service.
Galloway blames OnlyFans for loneliness, depression, small business closures, extremism, tyranny and *checks notes* impending societal extinction.
His solution? Mandatory national service.
Scott Galloway: OnlyFans is the billion-dollar symptom of a loneliness pandemic
The most unstable, violent societies have one thing in common: lonely young men. We are producing millions of them, writes Scott Galloway
www.standard.co.uk
December 13, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Remember, when someone says they blame “porn” for something, what they mean by that is they blame the WOMEN doing the porn. It’s somehow women’s FAULT that men are behave badly.
Scott Galloway is a raging misogynist and gender essentialist, he’s Jordan Peterson without the benzo addiction
Scott Galloway is a raging misogynist and gender essentialist, he’s Jordan Peterson without the benzo addiction
When men say things like “if you have a womb, you’re a woman,” I just assume they are the same type of guy as Jeffrey Epstein. This never fails me
December 13, 2025 at 9:19 PM
When men say things like “if you have a womb, you’re a woman,” I just assume they are the same type of guy as Jeffrey Epstein. This never fails me
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
“…these influencers are not that different from the people in the White House. And political access journalism is not that different from inserting yourself into YouTube drama.”
Everything on the margins makes it way to the center.
Everything on the margins makes it way to the center.
I, too, am sick of hearing about Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza. But that's a side effect of one of the little-examined parts of this story: the medium itself. The incentive structure of newsletters has helped propel journalism into its YouTube drama channel era.
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
Nuzzigate is journalism's ‘Bye Sister’
This never-ending media saga mirrors the implosion of beauty YouTube.
spitfirenews.com
December 13, 2025 at 8:35 PM
“…these influencers are not that different from the people in the White House. And political access journalism is not that different from inserting yourself into YouTube drama.”
Everything on the margins makes it way to the center.
Everything on the margins makes it way to the center.
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
Increasingly certain that the big problems in our society are not just that everyone is twelve but also that everything is fandom.
I, too, am sick of hearing about Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza. But that's a side effect of one of the little-examined parts of this story: the medium itself. The incentive structure of newsletters has helped propel journalism into its YouTube drama channel era.
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
Nuzzigate is journalism's ‘Bye Sister’
This never-ending media saga mirrors the implosion of beauty YouTube.
spitfirenews.com
December 13, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Increasingly certain that the big problems in our society are not just that everyone is twelve but also that everything is fandom.
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
Perfection. The best way to explain this mess and the attention economy that made it possible.
I, too, am sick of hearing about Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza. But that's a side effect of one of the little-examined parts of this story: the medium itself. The incentive structure of newsletters has helped propel journalism into its YouTube drama channel era.
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
Nuzzigate is journalism's ‘Bye Sister’
This never-ending media saga mirrors the implosion of beauty YouTube.
spitfirenews.com
December 13, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Perfection. The best way to explain this mess and the attention economy that made it possible.
I, too, am sick of hearing about Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza. But that's a side effect of one of the little-examined parts of this story: the medium itself. The incentive structure of newsletters has helped propel journalism into its YouTube drama channel era.
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
Nuzzigate is journalism's ‘Bye Sister’
This never-ending media saga mirrors the implosion of beauty YouTube.
spitfirenews.com
December 13, 2025 at 7:21 PM
I, too, am sick of hearing about Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza. But that's a side effect of one of the little-examined parts of this story: the medium itself. The incentive structure of newsletters has helped propel journalism into its YouTube drama channel era.
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
spitfirenews.com/p/olivia-nuz...
“I’m not understanding the anti-big tech subtext in a show I’m literally not watching because I now have the attention span of an iPad kid”
I was asked what I thought now that #pluribus has reached seven episodes.
I’m not seeing any of the liberal subtext some folks are seeing. But I’ve learned to watch the show by fast forwarding through the long, artsy stretches where no one speaks.
There were exactly 2 lines of interesting dialogue.
I’m not seeing any of the liberal subtext some folks are seeing. But I’ve learned to watch the show by fast forwarding through the long, artsy stretches where no one speaks.
There were exactly 2 lines of interesting dialogue.
December 13, 2025 at 5:17 PM
“I’m not understanding the anti-big tech subtext in a show I’m literally not watching because I now have the attention span of an iPad kid”
Reposted by Kat Tenbarge
'AI is coming' I tell the museum stakeholders as I proudly cut the ribbon of our new Artificial Insemination exhibition
December 12, 2025 at 11:03 AM
'AI is coming' I tell the museum stakeholders as I proudly cut the ribbon of our new Artificial Insemination exhibition
Victim-blaming knows no bounds. I just saw someone blame a 70-year-old pedestrian for getting fatally struck by a car because he “should have been paying attention”
December 12, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Victim-blaming knows no bounds. I just saw someone blame a 70-year-old pedestrian for getting fatally struck by a car because he “should have been paying attention”