Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 13h

So grateful to the news engineers, researchers, lawyers and technicians who helped guide us in the proper way to handle folks' personal data. It was a TREMENDOUS lift to deal with this much (15 million unique videos watched 50-some million times!) and to make sure no personal info was compromised

Aram Zucker-Scharff @chronotope.aramzs.xyz · 14h

I very rarely have direct contact on newsroom projects anymore, but this is cool because I did work with folks to help with the original collection protocol to make sure this information was handled and stored privately and wouldn't leave us with a re-identifiable dataset.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 14h

How does TikTok keep its millions of users scrolling, swiping and staring at their phones?

With readers' help, we collected data from more than 1,000 TikTok users to find out: https://wapo.st/4nC6Nyr

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Reposted by Meghan Hoyer

Caitlin Gilbert @caitlingilbert.bsky.social · 1d

🤳EXCLUSIVE: We analyzed real data from over 800 U.S. TikTok users to reveal how the app transforms casual users into power users.

Extremely proud of this one, over a year in the making w/ @richardsima.bsky.social Leslie Shapiro @asteckelberg.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social

wapo.st/4obueib

Here’s how TikTok ‘power users’ end up scrolling 4 hours a day or more

Washington Post reporters analyzed data from over 800 TikTok users to learn how the app turns people into power users, some of whom spend hours per day scrolling.

wapo.st

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 22h

When we hatched a crazy plan asking our TikTok audience to send us their app data, we weren't sure anyone would respond. But 1,100 people, who watched 15 million unique videos, did. Now we've published our first (but not last!) analysis of how TikTok's algorithm pulls people in and keeps them there:

How TikTok keeps its users scrolling for hours a day

Washington Post reporters analyzed data from over 800 TikTok users to learn how the app turns people into power users, some of whom spend hours per day scrolling.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 1d

Taxpayers will spend $193 billion this year to compensate 6.9 million disabled veterans on the presumption that their ability to work is impaired. Yet we found many claims are for minor afflictions like hair loss, acne + varicose veins. By Craig Whitlock, Lisa Rein & @caitlingilbert.bsky.social:

How some veterans exploit $193 billion VA program, due to lax controls

The Department of Veterans Affairs spends billions on dubious and even fraudulent disabilities benefits. Meanwhile, some deserving cases wait.

wapo.st

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 1d

Who could've predicted.

Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 1d

The Sora AI disinfo nightmare is here

For more like this:
tiktok.com/@drewharwell
instagram.com/bydrewharwell

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 12d

Mike is the king of shutting down the shutdowns

Mike Madden @mikemadden.bsky.social · 12d

Good news: We had a shutdown coverage planning meeting at @washingtonpost.com this morning, and so far, every shutdown we've planned for in the last few years has been averted.

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 13d

It's one of the most unsettling medical puzzles of our time: Why are so many young people getting cancer?
The complexity of modern life makes it hard to pinpoint - but here's what researchers suspect, by @arianaec.bsky.social, @alvarovalino.bsky.social & @dtkeating.bsky.social:

What researchers suspect may be fueling cancer among millennials

Studies suggest modern life may be fueling the rise of cancer in younger adults, with factors like ultra-processed foods and chemicals under scrutiny.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 15d

After Trump began his policing surge in DC, @abtran.bsky.social started tracking helicopter flights and found the Park Police had increased their hovering sevenfold, at hundreds of feet lower than other agencies. With @imogenpiper.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

In Trump’s D.C. surge, helicopters hovered and surveilled day and night

Park Police helicopters circled more often than they did in the same time period last year and at lower altitudes than other law enforcement helicopters in D.C. this August.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · 17d

During Trump's federal law enforcement surge in DC, Park Police helicopters increased their hovering time over city neighborhoods sevenfold -- and flew hundreds of feet lower than other helicopters. From @abtran.bsky.social and @imogenpiper.bsky.social : www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

In Trump’s D.C. surge, helicopters hovered and surveilled day and night

Park Police helicopters circled more often than they did in the same time period last year and at lower altitudes than other law enforcement helicopters in D.C. this August.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Meghan Hoyer

Aaron Mendelson @amendelson.bsky.social · 19d

Older Americans have the highest rates of gun suicide of any age group. Not by a little — by a lot.

Why? I spent months exploring this question through data, field reporting, and interviews with experts. Our story is up today on @thetrace.org

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/gun-...

The Quiet Crisis: What’s Driving Gun Suicides Among Older Americans?

More and more older Americans are dying by firearm suicide, a new analysis from The Trace and GQ reveals. Older white men and those in rural areas experience alarmingly high rates.

www.thetrace.org

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Reposted by Meghan Hoyer

Emily Guskin @emgusk.bsky.social · 27d

Gerrymander Invitational is back for 2025!!!! www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

Play mini golf to see how politicians tilt elections using maps

Can you beat par in our Gerrymander Invitational?

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Meghan Hoyer

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · Aug 27

SCOOP BREAKING: CDC director being ousted weeks into job. Me @ddiamond @LaurenWeberHP

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

CDC director being ousted weeks into job

Susan Monarez, a longtime federal government scientist, was confirmed by the Senate in late July to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · Aug 27

Students! It's already that time again ... the Post is seeking interns for summer '26. We have a slot on @wpdatateam.bsky.social for a savvy data reporter who wants to tackle everything from breaking news to major projects. Applications here: www.washingtonpost.com/pr/2024/wash...

Newsroom Summer Internship Program

Applications will close at noon on Friday, Oct. 5, 2025.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · Aug 21

Big week for throwing things

Reposted by Meghan Hoyer

Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · Aug 21

Trump calls DC “the most unsafe place anywhere,” but 78% of residents feel safe in their neighborhoods and only 17% support the federal takeover per @washingtonpost.com @scharschool.bsky.social poll. @joeheim.bsky.social @sfcpoll.bsky.social @emgusk.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

We asked 604 D.C. residents about Trump’s takeover. Here’s what they said.

Though crime continues to be a concern, most residents strongly oppose Trump’s actions and don’t think they’ll make D.C. safer, a Washington Post-Schar School poll found.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Meghan Hoyer

Richard Tofel @dicktofel.bsky.social · Aug 15

Congress has provided rent-free housing for precisely two federal civilian officials, the elected President and VP.
Now the experienced grifter serving as DHS Sec’y has fired the Commandant of the Coast Guard and moved into her home, without reimbursing taxpayers.

wapo.st/4mike5W

Kristi Noem is living rent free in home used by Coast Guard commandant

A DHS spokesman said Noem must live on the military base because she had been “so horribly doxxed and targeted that she is no longer able to safely live in her own apartment.”

wapo.st

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Reposted by Meghan Hoyer

Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · Aug 15

ICE Documents Reveal Plan to Double Immigrant Detention Space This Year

By @douglasmac.bsky.social, N. Kirkpatrick, and Lydia Sidhom

Billions will be spent to reach more than 107,000 beds, including in mega-facilities, tents and at least two new family detention centers. Gift link!

ICE documents reveal plan to double immigrant detention space this year

Internal documents reveal ICE’s plans to double immigrant detention to more than 100,000 beds, including new detention centers for families.

wapo.st

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · Aug 15

We got ICE documents revealing their initial plans to expand detention centers across the US. From @douglasmac.bsky.social, N Kirkpatrick & the data team's Lydia Sidhom: www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

ICE documents reveal plan to double immigrant detention space this year

Internal documents reveal ICE’s plans to double immigrant detention to more than 100,000 beds, including new detention centers for families.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · Aug 15

Earlier this year, a team at the @washingtonpost.com investigated the issue of youth crime in DC. Here's the real story, from Lauren Lumpkin: www.washingtonpost.com/video/nation...

The real story behind D.C.'s youth crime

Since President Trump deployed federal law enforcement across D.C., there has been a lot of discussion about youth crime. A recent Post investigation found that several of the city's systems designed ...

www.washingtonpost.com

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · Aug 11

Last week, Trump described crime in D.C. as “out of control,” with young “thugs” ... “randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent Citizens.”
The reality: Violent crime in D.C. has been on the decline since 2023. By @jdharden.bsky.social, @oliviacgeorge.bsky.social & Jenny Gathright:

Trump says crime in D.C. is out of control. Here’s what the data shows.

Crime in D.C. and nationwide is declining from pandemic-era spikes. But individual incidents can shake residents and capture the president’s attention.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Meghan Hoyer

ence morse @ence.bsky.social · Aug 6

The right-wing internet couldn't stop talking about Epstein after Bondi said there was no client list... until the admin accused Obama of planning "essentially a years-long coup" against Trump. Immediately, attention flipped. my latest, w/ Cleve Wootson: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · Aug 4

D.C.’s economic picture is getting darker: Amid signs of a broader economic slowdown, unemployment is up, spending is slowing and signs of strain are emerging across key sectors that once helped prop up the national capital region. By @federicacocco.bsky.social & @oliviacgeorge.bsky.social:

D.C. area is feeling toll of federal spending cuts. These charts show how.

The economic ripple effect of federal spending cuts — across employment, consumer spending, housing and more — captured in six charts.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Meghan Hoyer

ence morse @ence.bsky.social · Jul 31

Happy FEC filing day, everyone. In the first half of the year, Elon Musk put another $45 million into his America PAC. docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...

FEC Disclosure Form 3X for America PAC

docquery.fec.gov

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · Jul 28

I didn't mention it for the story but: @maryjowebster.bsky.social was a superhero in helping rescue me/cut me out of the carpet at a conference hotel!

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Meghan Hoyer @meghanhoyer.bsky.social · Jul 28

Flipping the script and becoming the subject of the story in telling @ddiamond.bsky.social about my last year, when a dumb parenting injury (stubbed toe) escalated into ... uh, something else:
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Guest column | You’re becoming a parent? Prepare to get injured.

Every parent I know has a tale of orthopedic woe — like tweaking her back when trying to carry toddlers or breaking his foot while rushing to a crying child in the night.

www.washingtonpost.com

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