Andrew Perfors
@perfors.net
Prof at UniMelb. I'm a computational cognitive scientist studying human inference, learning, information systems, culture, and (mis/dis)info. Nerd & opinionated loudmouth in Oz, originally from America, citizen of both. Parent of two. 🏳️⚧️ perfors.net
Pinned
Andrew Perfors
@perfors.net
· Apr 29
Anti-trans attitudes have existed for years, but organised disinformation campaigns are increasingly driving them
Disinformation exists across all parts of the political spectrum, but it goes far beyond simple lying when it comes to the campaign against the transgender community, says a University of Melbourne ex...
pursuit.unimelb.edu.au
I wrote an article about the psychology by which disinformation campaigns work, with examples from anti-trans propaganda. It's not just about individual beliefs, but also the way our institutions and norms are manipulated.
Please read and share!
pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/Ant...?
Please read and share!
pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/Ant...?
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
Some quick takeaways from this session on my experience editing sociology journals, what drives decisions, what reviewers actually do, and what authors should know.
November 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Some quick takeaways from this session on my experience editing sociology journals, what drives decisions, what reviewers actually do, and what authors should know.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
People will die, and are currently dying, because RFK was granted one of the most powerful megaphones in the country. Two people who could have thrown barriers in front of his climb decided not to; there's a sex scandal here but it is not the biggest scandal.
November 26, 2025 at 11:30 PM
People will die, and are currently dying, because RFK was granted one of the most powerful megaphones in the country. Two people who could have thrown barriers in front of his climb decided not to; there's a sex scandal here but it is not the biggest scandal.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
New — I wrote about the myriad ways journalism’s moral rot manifests, and how our crumbling institutions have created the conditions for it to fester:
Moral rot in elite journalism is killing the whole field
The Nuzzi/RFK Jr. mess and the revelation of Esptein's journo pals lay bare a profound moral absence at the heart of our free press.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 18, 2025 at 10:03 PM
New — I wrote about the myriad ways journalism’s moral rot manifests, and how our crumbling institutions have created the conditions for it to fester:
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
1) genuine life changing moment of my early 20s was realizing I actually didn't have to do this at all. tell the youths
2) I feel like there's a class discussion to be had around the stakes of this kind of decision though
2) I feel like there's a class discussion to be had around the stakes of this kind of decision though
So many men go through life like that. You can play poker because it's right-coded, you can't enjoy fruity alcoholic drinks because they're women-coded, you can't lick an ice cream cone because it's gay-coded. All day, every day, choosing and judging things based on coding for narrow norms.
November 26, 2025 at 3:43 PM
1) genuine life changing moment of my early 20s was realizing I actually didn't have to do this at all. tell the youths
2) I feel like there's a class discussion to be had around the stakes of this kind of decision though
2) I feel like there's a class discussion to be had around the stakes of this kind of decision though
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
James Bond supervillains threaten to blow up the world with their big laser unless you pay them a trillion dollars.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
November 26, 2025 at 7:25 PM
James Bond supervillains threaten to blow up the world with their big laser unless you pay them a trillion dollars.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
OpenAI needs to raise at least $207bn by 2030 so it can continue to lose money, HSBC estimates on.ft.com/4ij0yh8
OpenAI needs to raise at least $207bn by 2030 so it can continue to lose money, HSBC estimates
A burning platform
on.ft.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:42 PM
OpenAI needs to raise at least $207bn by 2030 so it can continue to lose money, HSBC estimates on.ft.com/4ij0yh8
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
NEW: AI “recipe slop” is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Google’s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes — collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner
Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
1. A landmark study was just published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
Study In The Journal Of Pediatrics Finds Trans Youth Care Lowers Suicidality, Few Detransition
The groundbreaking study found that suicidality dropped for transgender youth receiving hormone therapy by nearly 70%, with only 7 patients of 432 discontinuing treatment.
www.erininthemorning.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:01 PM
1. A landmark study was just published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
Science is a collective effort, but @simine.com is a singular force. She is an exemplary model for all of us to follow in her commitment and action to improving science, on every dimension.
She is so deserving of the award. The only uncertainty is whether the award deserves her!
She is so deserving of the award. The only uncertainty is whether the award deserves her!
Congratulations to @simine.com well deserved winner of the Einstein Foundation Individual Award for Promoting Quality in Research 2025 🎉 www.einsteinfoundation.de/en/media/pre...
November 24, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Science is a collective effort, but @simine.com is a singular force. She is an exemplary model for all of us to follow in her commitment and action to improving science, on every dimension.
She is so deserving of the award. The only uncertainty is whether the award deserves her!
She is so deserving of the award. The only uncertainty is whether the award deserves her!
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
Seeing how much of the right-wing on Twitter is just bot farms, kinda lays bare how much hate and hatred is a project that needs to be constantly maintained, a fire that needs to be fed all the time lest it go out for a moment, so much time, effort, and resources to keep people angry and hateful.
November 24, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Seeing how much of the right-wing on Twitter is just bot farms, kinda lays bare how much hate and hatred is a project that needs to be constantly maintained, a fire that needs to be fed all the time lest it go out for a moment, so much time, effort, and resources to keep people angry and hateful.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
Isn't it so weird to deeply know in your bones something obvious with no equivocation, for years and years, and then to one day see articles about people wondering if maybe the incredibly obvious thing you've known this whole time might be happening, as if the media is discovering it now??
“This is total armageddon for the online right. It’s looking like half of their large accounts were foreigners posing as Americans all along.”
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Isn't it so weird to deeply know in your bones something obvious with no equivocation, for years and years, and then to one day see articles about people wondering if maybe the incredibly obvious thing you've known this whole time might be happening, as if the media is discovering it now??
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
In an era filled with tech dipshits who never developed emotionally past the age of 13 & use their wealth to become odious monsters ...
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
November 21, 2025 at 7:41 PM
In an era filled with tech dipshits who never developed emotionally past the age of 13 & use their wealth to become odious monsters ...
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 19, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
Today is the day to repost this meme about International Men's Day, one of the most unironically wholesome memes that has ever been made.
Shoutout to all my fellow champs, chiefs, and kings. ✊
Shoutout to all my fellow champs, chiefs, and kings. ✊
November 19, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Today is the day to repost this meme about International Men's Day, one of the most unironically wholesome memes that has ever been made.
Shoutout to all my fellow champs, chiefs, and kings. ✊
Shoutout to all my fellow champs, chiefs, and kings. ✊
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
I would like to share something.
A year ago, Trump won and I was furious and scared so I sent a text to a few of local women I knew and asked them to join me at a meeting and invite like-minded women they knew. A few showed up, then a few more. We became a group called The Salon and we meet monthly
A year ago, Trump won and I was furious and scared so I sent a text to a few of local women I knew and asked them to join me at a meeting and invite like-minded women they knew. A few showed up, then a few more. We became a group called The Salon and we meet monthly
November 19, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I would like to share something.
A year ago, Trump won and I was furious and scared so I sent a text to a few of local women I knew and asked them to join me at a meeting and invite like-minded women they knew. A few showed up, then a few more. We became a group called The Salon and we meet monthly
A year ago, Trump won and I was furious and scared so I sent a text to a few of local women I knew and asked them to join me at a meeting and invite like-minded women they knew. A few showed up, then a few more. We became a group called The Salon and we meet monthly
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
The CSIRO is to cut 350 research jobs. Important @grogsgamut.bsky.social piece. Read his report. Then I encourage you to contact your local Albo Govt MP. This is insane. #auspol #CSIRO #science #research thepoint.com.au/off-the-char...
November 19, 2025 at 3:43 AM
The CSIRO is to cut 350 research jobs. Important @grogsgamut.bsky.social piece. Read his report. Then I encourage you to contact your local Albo Govt MP. This is insane. #auspol #CSIRO #science #research thepoint.com.au/off-the-char...
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
I quit the former Twitter two years ago this week, and I am here to tell you that my online life got a lot better for having left it. In two years I've not been tempted to go back, and I haven't felt any penalty in either career or community for not being there. It's nice to be here and not there.
November 19, 2025 at 12:06 AM
I quit the former Twitter two years ago this week, and I am here to tell you that my online life got a lot better for having left it. In two years I've not been tempted to go back, and I haven't felt any penalty in either career or community for not being there. It's nice to be here and not there.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
Is it a threat to free speech when the President of the United States threatens to yank the broadcast license of a channel whose reporters are asking him challenging questions?
I ask because I feel like there used to be tons of pundits worried about free speech. Where'd they go?
I ask because I feel like there used to be tons of pundits worried about free speech. Where'd they go?
Trump in response to an Epstein question: "ABC, your company, your crappy company is one of the perpetrators. I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, a chairman, who should take a look at that."
November 18, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Is it a threat to free speech when the President of the United States threatens to yank the broadcast license of a channel whose reporters are asking him challenging questions?
I ask because I feel like there used to be tons of pundits worried about free speech. Where'd they go?
I ask because I feel like there used to be tons of pundits worried about free speech. Where'd they go?
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
Precisely why AI companies have been working so hard to shove it down our throats, whether we want it or not. They’ve been building themselves a tax-payer-guaranteed safety net.
I say let them fail! AI hasn’t been around long enough or working well enough, to be that system-critical yet.
I say let them fail! AI hasn’t been around long enough or working well enough, to be that system-critical yet.
Google boss Sundar Pichai warns 'no company immune' if AI bubble bursts
The AI boom has been an
www.bbc.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Precisely why AI companies have been working so hard to shove it down our throats, whether we want it or not. They’ve been building themselves a tax-payer-guaranteed safety net.
I say let them fail! AI hasn’t been around long enough or working well enough, to be that system-critical yet.
I say let them fail! AI hasn’t been around long enough or working well enough, to be that system-critical yet.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
Men are not inherently violent; some men have learned they can get away with anything because of permissive power structures, and they proceed to do so.
The issue is with permissive power structures.
The issue is with permissive power structures.
November 17, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Men are not inherently violent; some men have learned they can get away with anything because of permissive power structures, and they proceed to do so.
The issue is with permissive power structures.
The issue is with permissive power structures.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
This really needs to be stressed, as it seems obvious Trump is going to let them vote to release it and then pretend his hands are tied.
He’s had the power to release them all along, and still does. It’s just his excuses that are changing.
He’s had the power to release them all along, and still does. It’s just his excuses that are changing.
The second paragraph of every article about Trump freeing House Republicans to vote to release the Epstein files should make it clear that he could order them released himself and chooses not to.
November 17, 2025 at 3:50 PM
This really needs to be stressed, as it seems obvious Trump is going to let them vote to release it and then pretend his hands are tied.
He’s had the power to release them all along, and still does. It’s just his excuses that are changing.
He’s had the power to release them all along, and still does. It’s just his excuses that are changing.
Reposted by Andrew Perfors
This piece was greenlit and then killed by a British newspaper, so I’ve decided to publish myself instead.
Trans People Deserve Better.
"Gender critical" feminism doesn't help women but it does help the far right
open.substack.com/pub/wellread...
Trans People Deserve Better.
"Gender critical" feminism doesn't help women but it does help the far right
open.substack.com/pub/wellread...
Trans People Deserve Better
"Gender critical" feminism doesn't help women but it does help the far right
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:36 AM
This piece was greenlit and then killed by a British newspaper, so I’ve decided to publish myself instead.
Trans People Deserve Better.
"Gender critical" feminism doesn't help women but it does help the far right
open.substack.com/pub/wellread...
Trans People Deserve Better.
"Gender critical" feminism doesn't help women but it does help the far right
open.substack.com/pub/wellread...