Raphael Satter
@raphae.li
6.5K followers 1.9K following 880 posts
Writer. Contact me here: https://raphae.li
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raphae.li
For those wondering if it’s really AI, watch the second timer on the “surveillance footage” go from :07 to :98 to :59.

Those telltale mistakes are still there, but they’re subtle and I doubt they’ll linger too much longer.
raphae.li
I realize these videos might seem trivial but absurdist cat photos helped internet culture go mainstream; we’re still reckoning with the consequences.

Now we’ve got the ability to generate footage of hilarious animal mishaps basically at will.

Not sure what this means for the attention economy.
Reposted by Raphael Satter
blanksslate.bsky.social
A German academic recounted this after the war, recorded in Milton Meyer’s “They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45”
If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately come after the first and smallest, thousands—yes, millions—would have been sufficiently shocked if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews in ’43 had come immediately after the “German firm” stickers on the windows of the non-Jewish shops in ’33. But of course, this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next. Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and if you did not make a stand at Step B, why should you at Step C, and so on to Step D. And one day, too late, your principles—if you were ever sensible of them—all rush in upon you. The burden of self-deception has grown too heavy, and some minor incident—in my case, my little boy, hardly more than a baby, saying “Jew swine!”—collapses as it all at once, and you see that everything, everything has changed, and changed completely under your nose. The world you live in, your nation, your people, is not the world you were born in at all. The forms are all there: all untouched, all reassuring: the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now, you live in a world of hate and fear. And the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves. When everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you live in a system that rules without responsibility even to God. The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself, it was compelled to go all the way.
raphae.li
Here’s the full post:
One Month After Charlie Kirk Assassination, X Grapples with Legacy and Misinformation
Last updated 23 minutes ago
Nearly a month after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot by suspect Elias Robinson at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025, X users continue debating his enduring impact through Turning Point USA and the rapid spread of false narratives. Supporters share tributes praising Kirk's mentorship and activism, while critics question claims of his quick fade from public memory based on misleading search graphs. Debunked Al-generated images of celebrity endorsements, like one featuring Justin Bieber, and discussions of political divides, including alleged celebrations by some leftists, highlight the platform's role in shaping perceptions amid the ongoing investigation.
This story is a summary of posts on X and may evolve over time. Grok can make mistakes, verity its outputs.
raphae.li
Pretty meta.

X’s AI-generated news summary says the platform is grappling with Charlie Kirk-related misinformation — while misidentifying Kirk’s alleged killer.
Screenshot from X shows the "News" section saying:
 
One Month After Charlie Kirk Assassination, X Grapples with Legacy and Misinformation
 
Nearly a month after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot by suspect Elias Robinson at Utah Valley University in Orem, ...
raphae.li
More great work here from Brad on the impact of the National Guard’s deployment to DC:

bsky.app/profile/brad...
bradheath.bsky.social
NEW: Reuters took a closer look at violent crime in D.C. after President Trump began a show of force here. Despite the big investment of federal resources, it's really hard at this point to see any dramatic changes.

www.reuters.com/world/us/did...
Reposted by Raphael Satter
jsweetli.bsky.social
SCOOP: PA prosecutors were alerted to possible voting irregularities by one of MAGA's leading voices. A long paper trail shows Jack Posobiec has been living in Maryland but voting using his parent's address in Pennsylvania for years. Me with @marisakabas.bsky.social

slate.com/news-and-pol...
MAGA’s “Voter Fraud” Watchdog Votes in a Swing State. He Doesn’t Live There.
A long paper trail shows that Jack Posobiec casts a ballot in one state and lives in another.
slate.com
Reposted by Raphael Satter
startribune.com
The messages show high-level officials in the Trump administration discussing the possible deployment of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, an infantry force that has dropped into combat zones in both World Wars, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
Trump officials discussed sending elite Army division to Portland, text messages show
A high-ranking White House official was indiscreetly texting about the Portland, Ore., planning last weekend, according to messages shared with the Minnesota Star Tribune.
bit.ly
raphae.li
Cl0p has sent me their comment on this week’s news.
We not prepared to discuss details at this time. Soon all will become
obvious that Oracle bugged up their core product and once again, the
task is on clop to save the day. We do not damage to systems and only
expect payment for services we provide to protect hundreds of biggest companies in world.
raphae.li
Clever, AI-supported analysis by @bradheath.bsky.social shows that high-level US drug prosecutions are falling sharply as agents focus on quick hit immigration raids and photo ops.

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Those deployments have come with another request from his bosses: photos. A former ATF agent who supervised some of the immigration details said he was ordered to get pictures showcasing jackets or body armor with the agency’s logo because managers thought the White House wanted them for social media. And the agencies themselves have posted scores of photos showing their agents participating in immigration raids.

The effect, the former ATF agent said, is "a lot of good cases are just going stagnant for some photo-op bullshit."
Reposted by Raphael Satter
beijingpalmer.bsky.social
I've always loved the opening of Bleak House.
Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill. For ever since the Return, London had been under the cruel rule of the Dino-Riders and their ferocious mounts.
Reposted by Raphael Satter
kashhill.bsky.social
Not the point of this piece exactly but a great example of how chatbot validation could increase polarization

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/w...
Reposted by Raphael Satter
joeuchill.bsky.social
The Daily Caller sending some mixed messages.
...and explicitly rejects any incitement to violence. Is this a call for violence? Yes. Explicitly it is.
Reposted by Raphael Satter
jeffhorwitz.bsky.social
If you accept $50,000 in a Cava takeout bag from some FBI agents who are posing as businessmen and then the investigation gets called off, does that just mean you’re just up $50k?

This is not political commentary. I would like to know the answer to the hypothetical here.
Reposted by Raphael Satter
bradheath.bsky.social
A federal judge has thrown out President Trump's lawsuit against The New York Times.

The suit, he says, "stands unmistakably and inexcusably athwart the requirements" of federal court rules.

It is "decidedly improper and impermissible."

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Raphael Satter
volts.wtf
Some killings you're allowed to joke about.
atrupar.com
Vance on Trump's strikes on boats: "I wouldn't go fishing right now in that area of the world."
Reposted by Raphael Satter
ericjgeller.com
Great work by Reuters revealing how easy it is to overcome AI chatbots' protections against phishing email generation. "All went to work crafting deceptions after mild cajoling or being fed simple ruses." www.reuters.com/investigates...
raphae.li
The mystique: Trench-coats, dimly lit parking garages, and furtive handoffs

The reality: Lots of spreadsheets and cold calls to people who hate you
kevincollier.bsky.social
I've said this take before, but All the President's Men is the most accurate journalism movie in large part because there are long stretches where no good source will talk to them and it's not clear they're going to get the story even if they stay really dogged at it and it's really boring to watch
Reposted by Raphael Satter
jim.londoncentric.media
The Times appears to have interviewed an 'ex Buckingham Palace cleaner' who supposedly divulges royal stain removal secrets but doesn't seem to exist, is possibly AI, and probably placed by a PR agency to boost SEO for a tiling brand.

pressgazette.co.uk/news/royal-c...
Royal cleaner stories removed by Times and Sun after authenticity questions
Stories featuring a ‘royal cleaner’ who claimed to have worked for the Royals have been withdrawn over questions about their authenticity.
pressgazette.co.uk