Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

John Sands @iohn.bsky.social · 1d

DOLLY PARTON :: AppleJack

YouTube video by Dean Hammons

youtu.be

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CBS News @cbsnews.com · 1d

Thirty paintings created by the bushy-haired, soft-spoken Bob Ross will soon be up for auction to defray the costs of programming for small and rural public television stations suffering under cuts in federal funding.

Bob Ross paintings to be auctioned to raise money for public TV stations after funding cuts

Thirty paintings by Bob Ross are set to be auctioned to support public television stations after federal funding cuts.

cbsn.ws

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 3d

For this week's podcast, I spoke to John Wihbey, an associate professor at Northeastern University and the author of a new book titled Governing Babel: The Debate Over Social Media Platforms and Free Speech—And What Comes Next. Listen here:

Governing Babel: John Wihbey on Platforms, Power, and the Future of Free Expression | TechPolicy.Press

Wihbey is the author of Governing Babel: The Debate over Social Media Platforms and Free Speech—and What Comes Next, a book from MIT Press.

www.techpolicy.press

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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 3d

An absurdly simple trick for choosing between “who” and “whom.”

The Comma Queen’s Lesson on “Who” Versus “Whom”

Does civilization depend on the proper use of “who” and “whom”?

www.newyorker.com

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 4d

"This new ratchet enhances the Signal Protocol’s resilience against future quantum computing threats while maintaining our existing security guarantees of forward secrecy and post-compromise security." Fascinating @meredithmeredith.bsky.social!

Signal Protocol and Post-Quantum Ratchets

We are excited to announce a significant advancement in the security of the Signal Protocol: the introduction of the Sparse Post Quantum Ratchet (SPQR). This new ratchet enhances the Signal Protocol’s...

signal.org

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alice e marwick @alicetiara.bsky.social · 5d

This was such a great convo and thrilled to be part of a whole series on scams and schemes. Thanks @alixdunn.com !

Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · 5d

How is AI changing the nature of scams? @lanalanalana.bsky.social & @alicetiara.bsky.social spoke to @alixdunn.com on @themaybe.org to explain how AI automates & scales the work already being done in massive, exploitative “cybercrime compounds” around the world. www.themaybe.org/podcast/gotc...

The Maybe

www.themaybe.org

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 7d

Bravo 👏 to @jay.bsky.team, @pfrazee.com and the other folks behind @bsky.app!

They just released the Bluesky software SDKs and reference implementations under open source licenses and are also making a patent non-aggression pledge. bsky.social/about/blog/1...

Bluesky's Patent Non-Aggression Pledge - Bluesky

Bluesky develops open protocols. We're taking a short and simple patent non-aggression pledge to ensure that everybody feels confident building on them.

bsky.social

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 10d

online style accounts that try to look rich vs actual rich people

A small fluffy dog sits outside at a European cafe. They are surrounded by classical architecture. In front of them is a small cup of coffee, designer sunglasses, and a designer purse.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett walking with each other. Gates is wearing a peach colored short sleeve button-up shirt with tan chinos. Buffett is wearing a bright green, short sleeved shirt with geckos all over it. He also has stone colored pants.

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Inga Saffron @ingasaffron.bsky.social · 12d

Can we install updated versions of this on all of Philly’s surface parking lots?

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Zander Arnao @zanderarnao.bsky.social · 13d

Tune in as I live tweet @stanfordcyber.bsky.social’s Trust and Safety Research Conference!! #TSRConf

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Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 15d

I loved talking to Signal's @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, who is such a consistent, clear voice of sanity (and always a great interview).

We talked about (of course) SignalGate, what AI means for Signal, why tech bros continue to be such a disappointment, and much more. Read, listen, etc!

How Signal’s Meredith Whittaker Remembers SignalGate: ‘No Fucking Way’

The Signal Foundation president recalls where she was when she heard Trump cabinet officials had added a journalist to a highly sensitive group chat.

www.wired.com

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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 15d

Appreciate these insights from @emollick.bsky.social.

But the "wizard problem" isn't that AI is too opaque. It's that we're designing systems that hide their processes. We could build AI that shows its work, explains, and lets us intervene. Instead we're choosing black boxes and calling it magic.

Miles Riven @rivenbydesign.bsky.social · 22d

Mollick argues we are drifting from co-intelligence to wizards. Strong results, opaque steps. I try to ask for receipts and name what must stay in my hands. Worth reading for #AI practice.
www.oneusefulthing.org/p/on-working... #Writing

On Working with Wizards

Verifying magic on the jagged frontier

www.oneusefulthing.org

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Robin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 16d

The internet's in a bad place. We're not winning. How can we turn things around? We need money.

What parts of the internet 1) are still under democratic control and 2) are in a position to produce significant revenue? It's mostly down to Wikipedia.

But there's more… 🧵

How Wikipedia Can Save the Internet With Advertising | TechPolicy.Press

Robin Berjon explores how principled advertising on Wikipedia could fund a democratic digital future.

www.techpolicy.press

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 21d

In a kinder, gentler time, Marilyn Hagerty’s very earnest review of the Olive Garden was an internet sensation. The internet used to bring us joy.

RIP to one of the greats: www.grandforksherald.com/news/marilyi...

Marilyn Hagerty, Herald reporter and columnist for nearly 70 years, dies at age 99

She wrote for the Herald for more than 60 years and became nationally famous for her work as a food critic.

www.grandforksherald.com

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Bradford Pearson @bradfordpearson.bsky.social · 23d

The city of Philadelphia spends only $104 per resident annually on parks and recreation, a paltry amount when compared to other major cities: New York: $226; Chicago: $262; Seattle: $412?!

We must invest more in them before it's too late, writes Kyle Bagenstose for @phillymag.com.

The High Cost of Underfunding Philly’s Parks

Philly’s parks are huge, historic, and woefully underfunded. The future of the city depends on fixing them.

www.phillymag.com

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Emily Chamlee-Wright @emilychamleewright.bsky.social · 22d

Grateful to @rstreet.bsky.social for the chance to share my perspective on how we can “fireproof” the foundations of a free society.

These are challenging times, but I believe resilience is built when we stay true to the liberal principles that underlie those foundations.

Link in the replies👇

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John Sands @iohn.bsky.social · 22d

facts and skyscrapers glint in the tide

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John Sands @iohn.bsky.social · 22d

Curious whether any publishers have updates on data points like this…

Matt Karolian @mkarolian.bsky.social · Feb 23

BlueSky generated 33% more subscriptions than Threads for the Globe in January.

Matt Karolian @mkarolian.bsky.social · Nov 26

Traffic from Bluesky to @bostonglobe.com is already 3x that of Threads, and we are seeing 4.5x the conversions to paying digital subscribers.

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A. Feder Cooper @afedercooper.bsky.social · 28d

After 2 years in press, it's published!

"Talkin' 'Bout AI Generation: Copyright and the Generative-AI Supply Chain," is out in the 72nd volume of the Journal of the Copyright Society

copyrightsociety.org/journal-entr...

written with @katherinelee.bsky.social & @jtlg.bsky.social (2023)

TALKIN' 'BOUT AI GENERATION: COPYRIGHT AND THE GENERATIVE-AI SUPPLY CHAIN | The Copyright Society

We know copyright

copyrightsociety.org

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Andres Guadamuz @technollama.bsky.social · Sep 8

I found this explanation of the Bartz v Anthropic settlement quite useful. www.authorsalliance.org/2025/09/07/t...

The Anthropic Settlement – what it is and isn’t (and who could get paid)

www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com EDIT: On Sunday evening, Judge Alsup granted the motion for a hearing on Monday, September 8th, but expressed disappointment over lack of details, mostly on the…

www.authorsalliance.org

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · Sep 8

"The report is part of a trove of documents from inside Meta that was recently disclosed to Congress by two current and two former employees who allege that Meta suppressed research that might have illuminated potential safety risks to children and teens on the company’s [VR] devices and apps..."

Meta suppressed research on child safety, employees say

The company’s lawyers intervened to shape research that might have shed light on risks in virtual reality, four current and former staffers have told Congress. Meta denies the allegations.

www.washingtonpost.com

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John Sands @iohn.bsky.social · Sep 7

The vaccine panel in Diego Rivera’s spectacular mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts

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PBS News @pbsnews.org · Sep 1

More than 1.2 million immigrants disappeared from the labor force from January through the end of July, according to preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center.

That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents. https://to.pbs.org/46d1uiJ

1.2 million immigrants are gone from the U.S. workforce under Trump, preliminary data shows

As parades and other events celebrating the contributions of workers in the U.S. are being held for the Labor Day holiday, experts say President Donald Trump’s stepped-up immigration policies are impa...

to.pbs.org

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John Sands @iohn.bsky.social · Sep 1

Some light reading for Labor Day

(Cc @lageneralista.ca)

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Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · Aug 30

New work by @brendannyhan.bsky.social & @jasonreifler.bsky.social shows further evidence of positive impact of prebunking

This is why EIP wrote What to Expect rumor guides for certain periods in elections! And it’s why election deniers reframe this as “brainwashing”

www.science.org/content/arti...

Trust in elections rises after ‘inoculations’ meant to preempt false fraud claims

New U.S.-Brazil study points to ways of countering election misinformation, political scientists say

www.science.org

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