Bryn Nelson
@seattlebryn.bsky.social
Freelance science, medical + environmental writer and author of “Flush: The Remarkable Science of an Unlikely Treasure.” PhD in microbiology; also post about misinfo, journalism, oddities, good dogs, bad puns, and Seattle. He/him
✍🏻 💩🧪🧫🦠🔬🌲🏳️🌈
✍🏻 💩🧪🧫🦠🔬🌲🏳️🌈
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
Trump’s Project 2025 administration cancels World AIDS Day.
The State Department has warned employees not to use government funds to mark Dec. 1 as World AIDS Day and to “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels.” nyti.ms/3KhPDrA
Trump Administration Will No Longer Commemorate World AIDS Day
The State Department warned employees not to use government funds for the occasion and to “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels.”
nyti.ms
November 26, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Trump’s Project 2025 administration cancels World AIDS Day.
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
Good Fast Times article on New York Times headlines. I was interviewed. One thing I should have noted: the rage-bait comes increasingly from the opinions section.
www.fastcompany.com/91450316/nyt...
www.fastcompany.com/91450316/nyt...
Annoyed by a 'New York Times' headline? It seems like that's increasingly the Gray Lady's goal
Several ‘New York Times’ headlines in 2025 have earned severe social media backlash. Is it happening on purpose?
www.fastcompany.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Good Fast Times article on New York Times headlines. I was interviewed. One thing I should have noted: the rage-bait comes increasingly from the opinions section.
www.fastcompany.com/91450316/nyt...
www.fastcompany.com/91450316/nyt...
World AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day!
The administration doesn’t want to acknowledge the fact that millions of people are still impacted by this disease because of the involvement of WHO.
World AIDS Day! Seriously? This is very, very not normal.
World AIDS Day!
The administration doesn’t want to acknowledge the fact that millions of people are still impacted by this disease because of the involvement of WHO.
World AIDS Day! Seriously? This is very, very not normal.
SCOOP: The Trump administration has instructed employees and grantees not to use U.S. funds to commemorate World AIDS Day — because the observance was started by the World Health Organization.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
Trump Administration Cancels U.S. Observance of World AIDS Day
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:41 PM
World AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day!
The administration doesn’t want to acknowledge the fact that millions of people are still impacted by this disease because of the involvement of WHO.
World AIDS Day! Seriously? This is very, very not normal.
World AIDS Day!
The administration doesn’t want to acknowledge the fact that millions of people are still impacted by this disease because of the involvement of WHO.
World AIDS Day! Seriously? This is very, very not normal.
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
Frikkin amazing stuff.
November 26, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Frikkin amazing stuff.
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.
November 25, 2025 at 4:40 PM
ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
Quick reminder: www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
November 25, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Quick reminder: www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
"Justice Department guidelines require investigative steps against sitting members of Congress to go through an approval process within the Justice Department to ensure that federal law enforcement power isn’t being used for political purposes..." www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
FBI seeks interviews with six Democrats Trump accused of 'seditious behavior'
The lawmakers, who had released a video urging members of the military and intelligence community not to follow illegal orders, accused Trump of trying to intimidate them.
www.nbcnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
"Justice Department guidelines require investigative steps against sitting members of Congress to go through an approval process within the Justice Department to ensure that federal law enforcement power isn’t being used for political purposes..." www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, and the agents who led a series of aggressive raids across Chicago, falsely depicted ordinary Chicagoans as professional agitators determined to mount a violent resistance, a federal judge determined. news.wttw.com/2025/11/24/b...
Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, Federal Agents Repeatedly Lied About What They Did During Aggressive Immigration Raids: Judge
U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis used a blistering 233-page ruling to painstakingly detail how agents falsely asserted in court and in official reports that they had been confronted with unrelenti...
news.wttw.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, and the agents who led a series of aggressive raids across Chicago, falsely depicted ordinary Chicagoans as professional agitators determined to mount a violent resistance, a federal judge determined. news.wttw.com/2025/11/24/b...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
The teenager told officers he was a U.S. citizen, but an officer broke the car’s driver’s side window and detained him. In a video, the boy can be heard telling an officer that he is a citizen, to which the officer replies, “Get out of the car” and “I don’t care.”
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
High school senior, a U.S. citizen, detained by ICE in Oregon
The 17-year-old was held more than five hours Friday in an ICE facility, his brother said.
www.oregonlive.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The teenager told officers he was a U.S. citizen, but an officer broke the car’s driver’s side window and detained him. In a video, the boy can be heard telling an officer that he is a citizen, to which the officer replies, “Get out of the car” and “I don’t care.”
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
👀
Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...
Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges
Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.
www.cnbc.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:15 AM
👀
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
It’s blowing my mind that schools, universities, public services would run headlong into this. We spent 15 years documenting black boxes. This is a black box in a black hole!
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
November 23, 2025 at 11:16 PM
It’s blowing my mind that schools, universities, public services would run headlong into this. We spent 15 years documenting black boxes. This is a black box in a black hole!
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
DHS claims that an accused murderer was released from a Charlotte jail and was “back onto North Carolina’s streets because of sanctuary policies.”
The local paper reported that was false.
So DHS quietly removed that statement—and never admitted they lied. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
The local paper reported that was false.
So DHS quietly removed that statement—and never admitted they lied. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
DHS quietly corrects inaccurate information after Charlotte Observer report
As Border Patrol arrived in Charlotte, DHS falsely said a Honduran man charged with murder was released under NC’s “sanctuary policies.”
www.charlotteobserver.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM
DHS claims that an accused murderer was released from a Charlotte jail and was “back onto North Carolina’s streets because of sanctuary policies.”
The local paper reported that was false.
So DHS quietly removed that statement—and never admitted they lied. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
The local paper reported that was false.
So DHS quietly removed that statement—and never admitted they lied. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
17 strikes and you’re out. 💀
November 23, 2025 at 4:48 PM
17 strikes and you’re out. 💀
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
“Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health, according to unredacted filings in a lawsuit by U.S. school districts against Meta and other social media platforms.”
Meta buried 'causal' evidence of social media harm, US court filings allege - The Economic Times
Meta reportedly halted internal research into the mental health impacts of Facebook and Instagram after finding causal evidence of harm. Internal documents revealed users reported lower depression and...
m.economictimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:46 PM
“Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health, according to unredacted filings in a lawsuit by U.S. school districts against Meta and other social media platforms.”
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
The skinny on this is that *any* grant can be terminated at *any* time for *any* reason, making planning impossible.
For more background on this, see my thread from a few months ago: bsky.app/profile/kgan...
For more background on this, see my thread from a few months ago: bsky.app/profile/kgan...
November 23, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The skinny on this is that *any* grant can be terminated at *any* time for *any* reason, making planning impossible.
For more background on this, see my thread from a few months ago: bsky.app/profile/kgan...
For more background on this, see my thread from a few months ago: bsky.app/profile/kgan...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
EXCLUSIVE: CDC to end all monkey studies. Decision handed down by recent college grad and former DOGE employee who is now deputy chief of staff at the agency. Animals were being used in studies of HIV prevention. Some may be euthanized. My latest for @science.org
Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
Studies related to HIV and other infectious diseases will be phased out, sources say; fate of the agency's animals remains unclear
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:16 PM
EXCLUSIVE: CDC to end all monkey studies. Decision handed down by recent college grad and former DOGE employee who is now deputy chief of staff at the agency. Animals were being used in studies of HIV prevention. Some may be euthanized. My latest for @science.org
Oops!
Grand opening, grand closing.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
November 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Oops!
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
In this tough and moving essay, Caroline Kennedy's 35-year-old daughter Tatiana Schlossberg reveals that she is terminally ill with leukemia. She has some choice words about how her cousin Bobby has made the limited time she has left worse. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
www.newyorker.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:31 PM
In this tough and moving essay, Caroline Kennedy's 35-year-old daughter Tatiana Schlossberg reveals that she is terminally ill with leukemia. She has some choice words about how her cousin Bobby has made the limited time she has left worse. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, according to multiple current and former officials familiar with the debates.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:37 PM
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, according to multiple current and former officials familiar with the debates.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
Google defaulting all Gmail users to a setting that enables Google to harvest all your emails into chatbot training is straight-up evil and invasive.
www.huffpost.com/entry/opt-ou...
www.huffpost.com/entry/opt-ou...
If You Use Gmail, You're Going To Want To Turn Off This 1 Automatic Setting ASAP
Plus: a quick guide to the two-step process for opting out.
www.huffpost.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:16 AM
Google defaulting all Gmail users to a setting that enables Google to harvest all your emails into chatbot training is straight-up evil and invasive.
www.huffpost.com/entry/opt-ou...
www.huffpost.com/entry/opt-ou...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
This perfectly encapsulates the "performative neutrality" of which @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social and I accuse the New York Times--with respect to both climate and vaccines--in #ScienceUnderSiege. In fact, it goes beyond that, engaging in outright antiscience pandering:
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 22, 2025 at 4:41 PM
This perfectly encapsulates the "performative neutrality" of which @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social and I accuse the New York Times--with respect to both climate and vaccines--in #ScienceUnderSiege. In fact, it goes beyond that, engaging in outright antiscience pandering:
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
November 22, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Reposted by Bryn Nelson
On the patently unlawful boat strikes
It's hard for USGs to claim ‘mistake of law’ or ‘advice of counsel’ – when they’re firing lawyers who wouldn't sign off on the strikes.
WaPo's new revelations on firings or removals:
1) CIA General Counsel
2) NSC Legal Adviser
3) CIA Mission Center’s lawyer
🧵
It's hard for USGs to claim ‘mistake of law’ or ‘advice of counsel’ – when they’re firing lawyers who wouldn't sign off on the strikes.
WaPo's new revelations on firings or removals:
1) CIA General Counsel
2) NSC Legal Adviser
3) CIA Mission Center’s lawyer
🧵
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:10 PM
On the patently unlawful boat strikes
It's hard for USGs to claim ‘mistake of law’ or ‘advice of counsel’ – when they’re firing lawyers who wouldn't sign off on the strikes.
WaPo's new revelations on firings or removals:
1) CIA General Counsel
2) NSC Legal Adviser
3) CIA Mission Center’s lawyer
🧵
It's hard for USGs to claim ‘mistake of law’ or ‘advice of counsel’ – when they’re firing lawyers who wouldn't sign off on the strikes.
WaPo's new revelations on firings or removals:
1) CIA General Counsel
2) NSC Legal Adviser
3) CIA Mission Center’s lawyer
🧵