Riley MacLeod
rcmacleod.bsky.social
Riley MacLeod
@rcmacleod.bsky.social
Co-founder of Aftermath, a worker-owned site about video games, the internet, and everything that comes after. riley [at] aftermath [dot] site. Previously: Kotaku, Washington Post. Trans; he/him
https://aftermath.site/
During my online Irish class tonight some drunks got in some kind of fight in the backyard of the bar under my house, and I don't want to truck in stereotypes but what the hell lol
I went to an Irish language meetup and I didn't chicken out and turn around, and I said all the little sentences I'd practiced and people mostly understood them, and also there was trad music, and also a bar fight, and I have had a very exciting but mostly successful night
February 10, 2026 at 2:10 AM
At the height of his popularity Ricky Martin was incredibly kind to a teen a friend was working with who was dealing with both AIDS and cancer, so I eternally think he rules

(and also how does he still look so good, jfc)
They said If you screamed “Ricky!” during the halftime show, your AARP welcome packet is in the mail. 🤣🤣
Some people said they screamed “Menudo!”, which means your wheelchair 🦽 is on the way! 😩
February 9, 2026 at 11:52 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
my favorite part of this story is about Markiplier's younger fans finding ways to get into the R-rated movie www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/a...
February 9, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
The New York State Nurses Association reached a tentative agreement with Montefiore and Mount Sinai to end its strike.

www.thecity.nyc/2026/02/09/m...
Nurses’ Union, Mount Sinai and Montefiore Reach Tentative Agreement to End Strike
The deal is still pending a vote by the union membership and includes modest raises for nurses through 2028 and preserves their healthcare and retirement benefits.
www.thecity.nyc
February 9, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
From the @semafor.com media newsletter: The Washington Post was set to debut a big marketing campaign with a new slogan, "We The People," but had to scrap the whole thing after MS Now launched a $20 million brand relaunch with the slogan "We The People."

www.semafor.com/article/02/0...
Exclusive: Washington Post suffers marketing mishap with new slogan
The paper had prepared a new brand campaign, with a new tagline meant to convey its connection to America: “We The People.”
www.semafor.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
Please take the time to read what the children detained in Dilley wrote me in their own words: www.propublica.org/article/ice-... 10/
“I Have Been Here Too Long”: Read Letters from the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility
Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end...
www.propublica.org
February 9, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
404 Media just had an ad during the #SuperBowl! We Googled "smallest TV markets in the United States" and bought an ad for $2,550 that only ran in Ottumwa, Iowa, population 25,000. That still counts

www.404media.co/watch-404-me...
Watch 404 Media’s Super Bowl Ad
WE BOUGHT A SUPER BOWL AD.
www.404media.co
February 9, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
WE BOUGHT A SUPER BOWL AD
February 9, 2026 at 2:33 AM
Can someone explain to me why this is? Isn't it... their show?
going great already lmfaoo
February 8, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
Kara Swisher at www.threads.com says Will Lewis was fired.

Below that is his letter to the Post staff.
February 8, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
Will Lewis’s exit is long overdue. His legacy will be the attempted destruction of a great American journalism institution. But it's not too late to save The Post. Jeff Bezos must immediately rescind these layoffs or sell the paper to someone willing to invest in its future.
February 8, 2026 at 12:09 AM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
go to the Super Bowl and lose a job you hate at the same time… will Lewis you are a work life balance legend
February 8, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
The Post must now reverse course on violating the rights of their workers with illegal layoffs. CTO Vineet Khosla and Arc XP President Matt Monahan need to also be held accountable for their lack of courage and bad faith.
February 8, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
February 7, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
Acecdotally, when we called him on Thursday as part of a union action, the number was disconnected
Breaking — Will Lewis out at the Washington Post. He just sent this email to staff (shared with me by staffer):
February 7, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
Katie Mettler, a former chair of the Washington Post guild, said: “I’m glad Will Lewis has been fired. I wish it had happened before he fired all my friends.”
Washington Post C.E.O. Will Lewis Steps Down After Stormy Tenure
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
Jeff Bezos' statement, his first since last week's layoffs: "The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity. Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus."
February 7, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
Will Lewis is resigning as WaPo CEO, former Tumblr CEO Jeff D’Onofrio is the paper’s new acting CEO and publisher, per memos to staff
February 7, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Got unreasonably upset when the commentators in the ice dancing were like "ooh, a little stumble," life is so fucking hard right now can't you guys just be cool for a minute
February 7, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
Here's a lil' thing I wrote.
February 6, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Feel like I should stop watching rugby and watch the Olympics instead, because I have decided to root for all the wrong teams and it is simply exhausting
February 7, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
Some news: Ahead of this week’s devastating layoffs at The Post, a group of deep-pocketed locals approached publisher Will Lewis about acquiring the paper’s local news and sports teams. He ignored them.

More in @status.news www.status.news/p/washington...
Conflict of Disinterest
Jeff Bezos was once hailed as the ideal billionaire steward of a newspaper—but his recent actions have made clear that it’s time for him to sell The Washington Post.
www.status.news
February 7, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Riley MacLeod
“To suggest that compassion, dignity, and respect for the stranger are merely personal virtues rather than obligations of society betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of Christian ethics.”

Jesus did not teach that spirituality was only interior or individualist; he founded a community.
Santa Fe’s Archbishop Wester: “In recent days, we have witnessed Speaker of the House Mike Johnson publicly criticizing Pope Leo XIV’s position of welcoming the stranger”
February 7, 2026 at 1:56 AM
Cannot stress enough how true this is. 80% of my workday today, which started at 7am, was not editing, my literal career. You can learn to run a business! It's worth it! But it will probably be very different than the job you had before.
February 6, 2026 at 11:25 PM