Ben Werdmuller
@werd.io
Senior Director of Technology at ProPublica. I write speculative fiction and think about the future of news and technology at https://werd.io.
Pinned
Ben Werdmuller
@werd.io
· Mar 22
There is no such thing as neutral technology.
Are you in media or open tech? Interested in exploring the future together? Based in the UK or Europe, or willing to travel there? @protocolsforpublishers.com in London next month should be awesome - and the conversations are ever more important. I’d love to see you there.
Protocols for Publishers ✨ London
Join us in London on Feb 4-5, 2026
protocolsforpublishers.com
January 10, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Are you in media or open tech? Interested in exploring the future together? Based in the UK or Europe, or willing to travel there? @protocolsforpublishers.com in London next month should be awesome - and the conversations are ever more important. I’d love to see you there.
Best part about coming back after a week away is getting to hang out with my buddy. Hugs all round.
January 10, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Best part about coming back after a week away is getting to hang out with my buddy. Hugs all round.
Flying over the Delaware as we descend on the way home, thinking to myself, “spread, spread, Delaware.” Brad Neely’s George Washington lives in my head rent free and I’ve been very online for a very long time.
January 9, 2026 at 3:58 AM
Flying over the Delaware as we descend on the way home, thinking to myself, “spread, spread, Delaware.” Brad Neely’s George Washington lives in my head rent free and I’ve been very online for a very long time.
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
Have updated an old post from my site that is based on an original story by @werd.io
billbennett.co.nz/journalism-t...
billbennett.co.nz/journalism-t...
Saving Journalism needs tools, skills & new business models
How journalists can save news media: audience engagement, sustainable business models, social media strategy and journalism fundamentals.
billbennett.co.nz
January 8, 2026 at 11:43 PM
Have updated an old post from my site that is based on an original story by @werd.io
billbennett.co.nz/journalism-t...
billbennett.co.nz/journalism-t...
Hmm. Incoming flight was struck by lightning. Twice. It damaged the plane. They inspected it and say they’ll fly it anyway (after a repair). As a nervous flyer, it’s not the *best* news I’ve ever heard.
January 8, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Hmm. Incoming flight was struck by lightning. Twice. It damaged the plane. They inspected it and say they’ll fly it anyway (after a repair). As a nervous flyer, it’s not the *best* news I’ve ever heard.
"A social media and phone surveillance system ICE bought access to is designed to monitor a city neighborhood or block for mobile phones, track the movements of those devices and their owners over time, and follow them from their places of work to home or other locations."
Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods
404 Media has obtained material that explains how Tangles and Webloc, two surveillance systems ICE recently purchased, work. Webloc can track phones without a warrant and follow their owners home or t...
www.404media.co
January 8, 2026 at 2:42 PM
"A social media and phone surveillance system ICE bought access to is designed to monitor a city neighborhood or block for mobile phones, track the movements of those devices and their owners over time, and follow them from their places of work to home or other locations."
It seems to me that the people with guns are always the tyranny.
January 8, 2026 at 2:39 PM
It seems to me that the people with guns are always the tyranny.
This, by the way, is why newsletters are not a sustainable strategy by themselves for newsrooms that want to make first-party connections with their readers / audiences / communities. Inboxes are next to be intermediated.
Google is forcing more generative AI on Gmail users. I couldn’t think of a better moment to finally drop Gmail (and other Google services)!
I have a guide to do just that here: disconnect.blog/getting-off-...
I have a guide to do just that here: disconnect.blog/getting-off-...
January 8, 2026 at 1:27 PM
This, by the way, is why newsletters are not a sustainable strategy by themselves for newsrooms that want to make first-party connections with their readers / audiences / communities. Inboxes are next to be intermediated.
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
im sorry i know it sucks but journalists are going to have to be willing to get fired for simply describing what they see happening with their own eyes, you look like fucking morons
"Was the officer struck by the vehicle, as President Trump insists, or did the car pass by or around him?"
If we only had some trusted institution that could adjudicate between competing claims by relying on facts.
If we only had some trusted institution that could adjudicate between competing claims by relying on facts.
January 8, 2026 at 2:53 AM
im sorry i know it sucks but journalists are going to have to be willing to get fired for simply describing what they see happening with their own eyes, you look like fucking morons
Every year I gather my thoughts and share some reflections. This year, I collected lessons I’ve learned about work, life, and being human at the intersection between them. werd.io/47-lessons/
47 lessons
Things I've learned.
werd.io
January 8, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Every year I gather my thoughts and share some reflections. This year, I collected lessons I’ve learned about work, life, and being human at the intersection between them. werd.io/47-lessons/
Every software company and every media company reinforces a power dynamic. The question is which one.
January 7, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Every software company and every media company reinforces a power dynamic. The question is which one.
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
Abolish and prosecute ICE. They did a murder in broad daylight today. Imagine what they're doing in the closed facilities we're somehow not even allowed to see.
January 7, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Abolish and prosecute ICE. They did a murder in broad daylight today. Imagine what they're doing in the closed facilities we're somehow not even allowed to see.
I've known too many wonderful people who have struggled with mental health issues alone, in silence, and have found they couldn't keep going. Please don't feel like you have to mask for the people around you. Reach out: I promise they care. And if you're in crisis, help is available. You matter.
January 7, 2026 at 3:06 PM
I've known too many wonderful people who have struggled with mental health issues alone, in silence, and have found they couldn't keep going. Please don't feel like you have to mask for the people around you. Reach out: I promise they care. And if you're in crisis, help is available. You matter.
Millions upon millions ofAmericans voted for, and still support, this man. Even when this regime is the stuff of bad memories - and it will be - something is fundamentally broken in this country. I don’t know how it possibly gets fixed. It’s bleak.
European allies including France and Germany are coordinating a response in case the United States moves to take control of Greenland, Reuters reports.
January 7, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Millions upon millions ofAmericans voted for, and still support, this man. Even when this regime is the stuff of bad memories - and it will be - something is fundamentally broken in this country. I don’t know how it possibly gets fixed. It’s bleak.
Each year, on my birthday, I gather my thoughts. This year: 47 things I’ve learned - about work, about life, and about the intersections between the two. werd.io/47-lessons/
47 lessons
Things I've learned.
werd.io
January 7, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Each year, on my birthday, I gather my thoughts. This year: 47 things I’ve learned - about work, about life, and about the intersections between the two. werd.io/47-lessons/
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
If you're on the Death Star, nobody cares that you only did it for the college money
January 7, 2026 at 1:38 AM
If you're on the Death Star, nobody cares that you only did it for the college money
Further, might I suggest: bang a pot
my hot take is that I don't think it's this website specifically that's toxic. the Circumstances are toxic and nobody really knows what to do about it so they come online and scream. and if I may offer an alternative: actually going outside and screaming feels better.
January 6, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Further, might I suggest: bang a pot
One of the most exciting ways AI is changing the world is accelerating the velocity of absolute horseshit
January 6, 2026 at 9:30 PM
One of the most exciting ways AI is changing the world is accelerating the velocity of absolute horseshit
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
Our Local Reporting Network is open again for proposals! We're looking for accountability journalism projects from around the country. We cover your salary (up to $80k plus a stipend for benefits) plus provide editing and other support. Apply here:
Local Reporting Network Fellow
Remote, United States
job-boards.greenhouse.io
January 6, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Our Local Reporting Network is open again for proposals! We're looking for accountability journalism projects from around the country. We cover your salary (up to $80k plus a stipend for benefits) plus provide editing and other support. Apply here:
I wrote up how I hire engineers: building a team means building a community, which means looking beyond live coding tests to find empathetic collaborators who care about a mission. (PS: I'm hiring!) werd.io/how-i-hire-e...
How I hire engineers
Building a community means looking beyond coding tests.
werd.io
January 6, 2026 at 2:12 PM
I wrote up how I hire engineers: building a team means building a community, which means looking beyond live coding tests to find empathetic collaborators who care about a mission. (PS: I'm hiring!) werd.io/how-i-hire-e...
Discovering, once again, that if I want to type on a laptop in an economy seat, I need to hold my arms like a T-Rex and hope for the best. One of those situations where being 6'4" does not work for me. But hey, I'll be able to reach my bag when we land.
January 5, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Discovering, once again, that if I want to type on a laptop in an economy seat, I need to hold my arms like a T-Rex and hope for the best. One of those situations where being 6'4" does not work for me. But hey, I'll be able to reach my bag when we land.
Time for my favorite activity on earth: getting on a plane. ✈️
January 5, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Time for my favorite activity on earth: getting on a plane. ✈️
Following this has meaningfully improved my first few days of the year. So far, so good. werd.io/a-2026-check...
A 2026 checklist
A way to build a habit out of what's important.
werd.io
January 4, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Following this has meaningfully improved my first few days of the year. So far, so good. werd.io/a-2026-check...