Sasha Margolis
@sashamargolis.bsky.social
Violinist, author of The Tsimbalist, fiddler/singer/talker of Big Galut(e)
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
Bari Weiss has “a curiously narrow definition of free speech”—one in which free speech means whatever conservatives want to say, Adam Serwer argues.
December 23, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Bari Weiss has “a curiously narrow definition of free speech”—one in which free speech means whatever conservatives want to say, Adam Serwer argues.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
Former head of trust and safety at Twitter, Yoel Roth, demonstrating the intellectual dishonesty of “In Covid’s Wake” by showing how they distorted his own words to make them say the opposite of what he was arguing.
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
December 24, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Former head of trust and safety at Twitter, Yoel Roth, demonstrating the intellectual dishonesty of “In Covid’s Wake” by showing how they distorted his own words to make them say the opposite of what he was arguing.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
This book is egregiously dishonest. It sticks the outcome of Murthy in a footnote while lying about our work as well.
December 24, 2025 at 9:18 PM
This book is egregiously dishonest. It sticks the outcome of Murthy in a footnote while lying about our work as well.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
There’s a lesson here about writing in the age of weaponized lies: Always precede false claims with giant red text, ideally wrapped in a <blink> tag, that says “THIS IS A LIE I AM REFUTING!!”
But also, why is a book that makes this kind of lazy, bad-faith argumentation getting any accolades at all?
But also, why is a book that makes this kind of lazy, bad-faith argumentation getting any accolades at all?
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
There’s a lesson here about writing in the age of weaponized lies: Always precede false claims with giant red text, ideally wrapped in a <blink> tag, that says “THIS IS A LIE I AM REFUTING!!”
But also, why is a book that makes this kind of lazy, bad-faith argumentation getting any accolades at all?
But also, why is a book that makes this kind of lazy, bad-faith argumentation getting any accolades at all?
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
One such refutation appears in my paper under the heading “The FBI went beyond strategic information sharing and made direct moderation demands.” I spend several hundred words explaining that that didn’t happen.
![Receiving and acting on external reports is a core function of plattorm content moderation teams, and the essential nature of this work is an independent evaluation of reported content under the platform's own policies. The fact, cited in Missouri v. Biden, that platforms only acted on approximately half of reports from the FBI shows clearly that the standards platforms applied were not wholly, or even mostly, the government's.
Finally, it does not withstand factual scrutiny that platforms were so petrified of adverse consequences from the FBI that they uncritically accepted and acted on information sent to them by the government. The Twitter Files themselves document clearly at least two instances in which, presented with low-quality information or questionable demands, Twitter pushed back on the FBI's requests. In one case, the FBI passes on a request-seemingly from the NSA-that Twitter "revis[e] its terms of service" to allow an open-source intelligence vendor to collect data from the Twitter APIs to inform the NSA's activities. This request is arguably as close to jawboning as any interaction between Twitter and the FBI gets; yet, in response, I summarily dismissed not only the request for a meeting to discuss the topic, but the entire premise of the request, writing, "The best path for NSA, or any part of government, to request information about Twitter users or their content is in accordance with valid legal process." The question was not raised again.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ka6qwlgc2fec7gkz6cfuuxgx/bafkreibhs7piz367lbv4dfkgv3zw27p2wys2cqsuyn53oecxdnzusu5goq@jpeg)
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
One such refutation appears in my paper under the heading “The FBI went beyond strategic information sharing and made direct moderation demands.” I spend several hundred words explaining that that didn’t happen.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
The authors quote from an article I wrote in 2023, refuting false claims about government jawboning of social media platforms. One of the claims I directly push back against is the persistent lie that the FBI demanded Twitter censor online speech.
knightcolumbia.org/blog/getting...
knightcolumbia.org/blog/getting...
Getting the Facts Straight: Some Observations on the Fifth Circuit Ruling in Missouri v. Biden
knightcolumbia.org
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The authors quote from an article I wrote in 2023, refuting false claims about government jawboning of social media platforms. One of the claims I directly push back against is the persistent lie that the FBI demanded Twitter censor online speech.
knightcolumbia.org/blog/getting...
knightcolumbia.org/blog/getting...
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
And yet, In Covid’s Wake quotes me as saying that “the FBI went beyond strategic information sharing and made direct moderation demands” — literally the opposite of what I argue — to buttress their claim that the government was too busy censoring speech to adequately deal with the pandemic.
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
And yet, In Covid’s Wake quotes me as saying that “the FBI went beyond strategic information sharing and made direct moderation demands” — literally the opposite of what I argue — to buttress their claim that the government was too busy censoring speech to adequately deal with the pandemic.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
The people who profited most from the cancel culture/free speech panic were less interested in actual freedom of speech than establishing their own control over public discourse. You don't even have to take my word for it. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
December 23, 2025 at 6:17 PM
The people who profited most from the cancel culture/free speech panic were less interested in actual freedom of speech than establishing their own control over public discourse. You don't even have to take my word for it. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
I wish Graeme Wood shut the fuck up
The Atlantic suggesting, without evidence, that Canada's Global TV broadcasting the '60 Minutes' segment on CECOT that CBS distributed to it may have been an act of "treachery."
🔗: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
🔗: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
December 23, 2025 at 10:53 PM
I wish Graeme Wood shut the fuck up
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
The hyperscale data centers that enable GenAI are destroying marginalized and rural communities. These companies are suing municipalities that fight back. Our students, teachers, families are all poorer -in health, environment, imagination- for it. This is an embarrassment.
We know students, like the rest of the world, are using AI. Teachers need to be equipped to deal w/all the issues AI creates. Our approach starts with maximizing safety & privacy and empowering educators to make educational decisions, so AI tools can benefit not harm www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
AI has become the norm for students. Teachers are playing catch-up.
At a New York City training session, educators explored how artificial intelligence could support teaching while also discussing their concerns around the technology.
www.nbcnews.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:56 AM
The hyperscale data centers that enable GenAI are destroying marginalized and rural communities. These companies are suing municipalities that fight back. Our students, teachers, families are all poorer -in health, environment, imagination- for it. This is an embarrassment.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
Everyone involved in the publication and promotion of this book should be embarrassed. It's not a "harsh truth" that COVID mitigation was a mistake, it's ghoulish and false.
"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lyin… - If Books Could Kill - Apple Podcasts
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 06/17/2025 · 58m
podcasts.apple.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Everyone involved in the publication and promotion of this book should be embarrassed. It's not a "harsh truth" that COVID mitigation was a mistake, it's ghoulish and false.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
This, apparently, is the late quote the WH gave 60 Minutes. Prob would've been fine to include, and introduce it with, "The administration did not address the main issues our report raises, and instead issued this statement."
Unless all 252 men sent to CECOT were murderers. Which no one is saying
Unless all 252 men sent to CECOT were murderers. Which no one is saying
WH spokesperson Abigail Jackson said "60 Minutes should spend their time and energy amplifying the stories of Angel Parents, whose innocent American children have tragically been murdered by vicious illegal aliens that President Trump are removing from the country."
December 23, 2025 at 8:14 PM
This, apparently, is the late quote the WH gave 60 Minutes. Prob would've been fine to include, and introduce it with, "The administration did not address the main issues our report raises, and instead issued this statement."
Unless all 252 men sent to CECOT were murderers. Which no one is saying
Unless all 252 men sent to CECOT were murderers. Which no one is saying
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
👀
Some parts of South Florida are forecast to drop below freezing this weekend.
And the winner for the coldest spot in southern Florida this weekend will be …
South Florida is in for the coldest weather of the season, especially in a certain area.
www.sun-sentinel.com
January 24, 2025 at 4:03 AM
👀
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
The “free speech” and “cancel culture” panics have led to overt state censorship because that was always their purpose. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
December 23, 2025 at 4:54 PM
The “free speech” and “cancel culture” panics have led to overt state censorship because that was always their purpose. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
I don't think Trump speaks Polish.
December 23, 2025 at 2:33 AM
I don't think Trump speaks Polish.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
Americans having to bootleg broadcast news about our government’s offshored concentration camp is a level of fascism that immediately precedes democratic societies dropping leaflets on us from weather balloons.
And now someone has uploaded a version that wasn't filmed off a TV.
There's also the torrent link there, which is probably the fastest way to download the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT if you want to save the file locally to your computer.
There's also the torrent link there, which is probably the fastest way to download the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT if you want to save the file locally to your computer.
Pulled 60 Minutes segment on CECOT : CBS : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
This is a screen recording of a 60 Minutes segment about the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison in El Salvador, which was intended to be...
archive.org
December 23, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Americans having to bootleg broadcast news about our government’s offshored concentration camp is a level of fascism that immediately precedes democratic societies dropping leaflets on us from weather balloons.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
bari weiss saw this and decided that she had to hide it from the american public
Guards began beating him. Beat him until he bled. Knocked his face into the wall, broke all his teeth. No access to outdoors, no contact with relatives.
Now describing US knowledge of CECOT's torture practices, followed by footage of Trump praising those practices.
Now describing US knowledge of CECOT's torture practices, followed by footage of Trump praising those practices.
December 22, 2025 at 10:53 PM
bari weiss saw this and decided that she had to hide it from the american public
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
Anyway, watch for yourself and see what you think of Weiss's defense. To me, it's demonstrably full of shit
December 22, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Anyway, watch for yourself and see what you think of Weiss's defense. To me, it's demonstrably full of shit
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
For those of us warning about democracy's potential disintegration, the decision by CBS to pull an exhaustively researched 60 Minutes piece, critical of Trump, is another red alert moment.
When truth disappears as the media gets coopted by the regime, there's little left.
When truth disappears as the media gets coopted by the regime, there's little left.
December 22, 2025 at 9:45 PM
For those of us warning about democracy's potential disintegration, the decision by CBS to pull an exhaustively researched 60 Minutes piece, critical of Trump, is another red alert moment.
When truth disappears as the media gets coopted by the regime, there's little left.
When truth disappears as the media gets coopted by the regime, there's little left.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
Reporter: We have 3 videos, 2 breathalyzers, 4 bartenders, and a minivan full of nuns attesting to how the driver was drunk and reckless when he hit the school bus.
Weiss; What did the driver say.
Reporter: He and his lawyer won’t talk. We asked them 5 times.
Weiss: I’m killing your story.
Weiss; What did the driver say.
Reporter: He and his lawyer won’t talk. We asked them 5 times.
Weiss: I’m killing your story.
December 22, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reporter: We have 3 videos, 2 breathalyzers, 4 bartenders, and a minivan full of nuns attesting to how the driver was drunk and reckless when he hit the school bus.
Weiss; What did the driver say.
Reporter: He and his lawyer won’t talk. We asked them 5 times.
Weiss: I’m killing your story.
Weiss; What did the driver say.
Reporter: He and his lawyer won’t talk. We asked them 5 times.
Weiss: I’m killing your story.
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
In 2022, Bari Weiss ran this viral first-person piece by a top Levi’s executive. She claimed she was hounded out of the company because of her vocal stance on COVID restrictions.
There are no quotes from the company. Or her colleagues.
Not even a “no comment.”
www.thefp.com/p/yesterday-...
There are no quotes from the company. Or her colleagues.
Not even a “no comment.”
www.thefp.com/p/yesterday-...
Yesterday I Was Levi’s Brand President. I Quit So I Could Be Free.
I turned down $1 million severance in exchange for my voice.
www.thefp.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:30 PM
In 2022, Bari Weiss ran this viral first-person piece by a top Levi’s executive. She claimed she was hounded out of the company because of her vocal stance on COVID restrictions.
There are no quotes from the company. Or her colleagues.
Not even a “no comment.”
www.thefp.com/p/yesterday-...
There are no quotes from the company. Or her colleagues.
Not even a “no comment.”
www.thefp.com/p/yesterday-...
Reposted by Sasha Margolis
Happy Giacomo Puccini's birthday!
December 22, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Happy Giacomo Puccini's birthday!