TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
@tracingvrl.bsky.social
The software-journalism project tracing the COVID infodemic going ViRaL. Local and international. Reposts are not endorsements.
By programmer-journalist A.J. Fish. Bylines @EastBayExpress @muckrack.
TracingVRL.substack.com
By programmer-journalist A.J. Fish. Bylines @EastBayExpress @muckrack.
TracingVRL.substack.com
Pinned
The U.S. government remains under antivaxx occupation, which started in mid-June
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... #antivaxx #publichealth #vaccine
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... #antivaxx #publichealth #vaccine
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
As Brian Deer documented in his book on the antivaxx movement, "The Doctor Who Fooled the World" antivaxxers proliferated in Facebook groups.
It's gotten worse. Now Zuckerberg's ad system charges a premium to user-flagged "scammer" merchants, instead of banning them:
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
It's gotten worse. Now Zuckerberg's ad system charges a premium to user-flagged "scammer" merchants, instead of banning them:
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
Meta is making billions from scammy ads, leaks to Reuters show
One document reportedly said Meta serves 15 billion ads a day that show signs of fraud.
www.sfgate.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:42 PM
As Brian Deer documented in his book on the antivaxx movement, "The Doctor Who Fooled the World" antivaxxers proliferated in Facebook groups.
It's gotten worse. Now Zuckerberg's ad system charges a premium to user-flagged "scammer" merchants, instead of banning them:
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
It's gotten worse. Now Zuckerberg's ad system charges a premium to user-flagged "scammer" merchants, instead of banning them:
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
As Brian Deer documented in his book on the antivaxx movement, "The Doctor Who Fooled the World" antivaxxers proliferated in Facebook groups.
It's gotten worse. Now Zuckerberg's ad system charges a premium to user-flagged "scammer" merchants, instead of banning them:
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
It's gotten worse. Now Zuckerberg's ad system charges a premium to user-flagged "scammer" merchants, instead of banning them:
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
Meta is making billions from scammy ads, leaks to Reuters show
One document reportedly said Meta serves 15 billion ads a day that show signs of fraud.
www.sfgate.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:42 PM
As Brian Deer documented in his book on the antivaxx movement, "The Doctor Who Fooled the World" antivaxxers proliferated in Facebook groups.
It's gotten worse. Now Zuckerberg's ad system charges a premium to user-flagged "scammer" merchants, instead of banning them:
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
It's gotten worse. Now Zuckerberg's ad system charges a premium to user-flagged "scammer" merchants, instead of banning them:
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
A week after the arXiv was forced to tighten down on submissions because of overwhelming volumes of AI slop, bioRxiv is throwing the doors wide open.
disappointed that @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social is implicitly endorsing the use of LLMs to replace scientific thought
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
IT'S HAPPENING! 💥 I'm psyched to launch the collaboration between @qedscience.bsky.social & @openrxiv.bsky.social @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social! Preprint + q.e.d = your science is out there, and anyone can appreciate it. Let's care about making discoveries, and not on “getting published” (1/3) 👇
November 7, 2025 at 1:59 PM
A week after the arXiv was forced to tighten down on submissions because of overwhelming volumes of AI slop, bioRxiv is throwing the doors wide open.
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
I’m with Sailor Mike. WTF.
Man, this shit is out of hand and someone need tell us why in the fuck we are blowing up fucking boats? This ain't the shit we are fucking supposed to be doing. Someone please explain why in the entire fuck we are just blowing up fucking people? It needs to happen now
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/p...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/p...
US military strikes another boat in the Caribbean, killing 3 | CNN Politics
The US military conducted a strike against a vessel in the Caribbean on Thursday, killing three people, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
www.cnn.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:22 AM
I’m with Sailor Mike. WTF.
The fossil fuel-Silicon Valley alliance is official:
Norway suspends $2.1tn oil fund's ethics rules to avoid selling Big Tech stakes
Finance minister Jens Stoltenberg says #NBIM move will avoid forced sale of shares in Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet over their work for Israel:
Finance minister Jens Stoltenberg says #NBIM move will avoid forced sale of shares in Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet over their work for Israel:
November 7, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The fossil fuel-Silicon Valley alliance is official:
I've been thinking along these lines wrt literacy, democracy, culture. But she's applying it to #climate . Great 🧵:
Something I’ve noticed is there seems to be a sort of pervasive assumption that the status quo has gravity. That there’s a natural, comfortable way things should be and that deviations from the normal state of the world will correct themselves in time.
But as a paleontologist, I know this is false.
But as a paleontologist, I know this is false.
November 7, 2025 at 2:42 AM
I've been thinking along these lines wrt literacy, democracy, culture. But she's applying it to #climate . Great 🧵:
CA Governor Gavin Newsom just vetoed the "No AI Bosses" act. The legislature passed this, and the gov vetoed it. news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
November 6, 2025 at 11:55 PM
CA Governor Gavin Newsom just vetoed the "No AI Bosses" act. The legislature passed this, and the gov vetoed it. news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
I like to think that I personally ruined the workplace.
November 6, 2025 at 1:27 PM
I like to think that I personally ruined the workplace.
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
Celebrating tonight’s results by going out and getting really vaxxed
November 5, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Celebrating tonight’s results by going out and getting really vaxxed
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
You ever get the feeling sometimes people intentionally use neurodivergent status to be terrible people to other neurodivergent people and operate under the understanding that only they can actually have autism , adhd or other brain stuff going on
November 4, 2025 at 11:27 PM
You ever get the feeling sometimes people intentionally use neurodivergent status to be terrible people to other neurodivergent people and operate under the understanding that only they can actually have autism , adhd or other brain stuff going on
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
i am not against machine-learning technologies as such, but i will always be opposed to the use of such technologies to generate simulations of the products of human thought and creativity. i will never willingly interact with a counterfeit human.
November 4, 2025 at 5:54 PM
i am not against machine-learning technologies as such, but i will always be opposed to the use of such technologies to generate simulations of the products of human thought and creativity. i will never willingly interact with a counterfeit human.
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
🎙️ON AIR:
We're talking to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales about the site’s history and why right wing figures like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson are attacking it.
❓ Has Wikipedia earned your trust? How is it a part of your life?
📻 Listen:
We're talking to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales about the site’s history and why right wing figures like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson are attacking it.
❓ Has Wikipedia earned your trust? How is it a part of your life?
📻 Listen:
Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales on How to Build Trust | KQED
Wikipedia, the crowdsourced encyclopedia, is one of the world’s most visited websites, with 11 billion page views each month. Its founder, Jimmy Wales, credits its success to one thing — trust —…
buff.ly
November 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
🎙️ON AIR:
We're talking to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales about the site’s history and why right wing figures like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson are attacking it.
❓ Has Wikipedia earned your trust? How is it a part of your life?
📻 Listen:
We're talking to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales about the site’s history and why right wing figures like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson are attacking it.
❓ Has Wikipedia earned your trust? How is it a part of your life?
📻 Listen:
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
Other countries are not coming to save scientific research & academia. Maybe to poach a few high-profile scholars. But no one is going to do things at scale to replace 🇺🇸, & most every other rich country is also doing educational austerity.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
We are in an era of deadweight loss - this stuff just won't happen. Even a country committed to filling the gap cannot possibly do it by an order of magnitude overnight - they would need to do something like double every year for a decade. And we'd need a lot of countries to do the same.
The US funds the bulk of biomedical research globally by far. It's not like other countries can simply take up the slack. The more likely: people leave research, new people don't become researchers. There is no happy ending. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
November 1, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Other countries are not coming to save scientific research & academia. Maybe to poach a few high-profile scholars. But no one is going to do things at scale to replace 🇺🇸, & most every other rich country is also doing educational austerity.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
A lot of it’s not laying off people for AI. It’s laying people off, hiring contractors in cheaper countries, and *claiming* they were replaced with AI.
October 29, 2025 at 3:37 PM
A lot of it’s not laying off people for AI. It’s laying people off, hiring contractors in cheaper countries, and *claiming* they were replaced with AI.
Given the demolition of the first lady's wing, the "East Wing," given Dr. Oz said this week American families are "underbabied" it's now a requirement you all know about @juliaioffe.bsky.social 's reporting in her new book about her native Russia, "Motherland" www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMvu...
Book Talk: Julia Ioffe — Motherland - with Sabrina Tavernise
YouTube video by Politics and Prose
www.youtube.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Given the demolition of the first lady's wing, the "East Wing," given Dr. Oz said this week American families are "underbabied" it's now a requirement you all know about @juliaioffe.bsky.social 's reporting in her new book about her native Russia, "Motherland" www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMvu...
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
I am an infectious disease Dr and I would gladly find something else to do with my life if we were able to eliminate all infections through vaccination and public health measures.That's how strongly I feel about infection prevention & the positive impact of vaccines. I am ok with being out of a job.
October 27, 2025 at 10:11 PM
I am an infectious disease Dr and I would gladly find something else to do with my life if we were able to eliminate all infections through vaccination and public health measures.That's how strongly I feel about infection prevention & the positive impact of vaccines. I am ok with being out of a job.
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
Until SNAP is funded, here’s an ongoing list of Bay Area restaurants where SNAP recipients can receive free food. Just bring your EBT card!
While the feds continue to play stupid games, SNAP recipients are set to lose food aid for the next month. In the Bay Area, a growing number of restaurants are stepping up to help, and we're maintaining the list. Share with anyone who needs it. www.coyotemedia.org/these-bay-ar...
These Bay Area Restaurants Are Offering Free Food to SNAP Recipients
Amid a government shutdown that will cut off aid for 42 million Americans, local food scene folks plan to pick up the slack.
www.coyotemedia.org
October 28, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Until SNAP is funded, here’s an ongoing list of Bay Area restaurants where SNAP recipients can receive free food. Just bring your EBT card!
This is why the AI "bubble" will not "pop" anytime soon. Also, the antivaxx-fossilfuel axis lives. #alberta #antivaxx #AI
guess i left alberta just before it became one big data center to prop up its fossil fuel industry etc www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Alberta’s new tech mandate set to come to life as Red Deer County approves data centre | CBC News
Alberta’s technology minister has been directed to push forward with attracting data centres and pursuing digital innovation as part of the province’s strategy to boost new investment and revenue.
www.cbc.ca
October 27, 2025 at 3:29 PM
My newsletter addresses infected media about infectious diseases.
I care about mass media because it raised me!
This series at @talkingpointsmemo.com is so special & important, I am re-reading each installment. Thank you for producing it. Happy 25th Anniversary!
talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25
I care about mass media because it raised me!
This series at @talkingpointsmemo.com is so special & important, I am re-reading each installment. Thank you for producing it. Happy 25th Anniversary!
talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25
Pivots, Trolls, and Blog Rolls
Reflections on 25 years of digital media.
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:18 PM
My newsletter addresses infected media about infectious diseases.
I care about mass media because it raised me!
This series at @talkingpointsmemo.com is so special & important, I am re-reading each installment. Thank you for producing it. Happy 25th Anniversary!
talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25
I care about mass media because it raised me!
This series at @talkingpointsmemo.com is so special & important, I am re-reading each installment. Thank you for producing it. Happy 25th Anniversary!
talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25
I expect a lot more of this "action for action's sake". When you can't surrender or submit for true connection, provocation & fighting are sufficient substitutes
www.nybooks.com/articles/199...
www.nybooks.com/articles/199...
October 21, 2025 at 11:15 PM
I expect a lot more of this "action for action's sake". When you can't surrender or submit for true connection, provocation & fighting are sufficient substitutes
www.nybooks.com/articles/199...
www.nybooks.com/articles/199...
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
If you want a deep dive into the background and operations of the Alt National Park Service, I highly recommend this banger of a video by @adenng.com.
And Aden did what I couldn't: he found AltNPS's likely t-shirt distributor, and got us a much better idea of how much money the account is making.
And Aden did what I couldn't: he found AltNPS's likely t-shirt distributor, and got us a much better idea of how much money the account is making.
The True Story of AltNPS
YouTube video by Aden Ng
youtu.be
October 20, 2025 at 4:53 PM
If you want a deep dive into the background and operations of the Alt National Park Service, I highly recommend this banger of a video by @adenng.com.
And Aden did what I couldn't: he found AltNPS's likely t-shirt distributor, and got us a much better idea of how much money the account is making.
And Aden did what I couldn't: he found AltNPS's likely t-shirt distributor, and got us a much better idea of how much money the account is making.
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
The kids are alright, y’all.
October 18, 2025 at 7:10 PM
The kids are alright, y’all.
It's also because antivaxxers are now running government departments.
October 17, 2025 at 4:18 PM
It's also because antivaxxers are now running government departments.
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
Because Facebook is a place of despair that I spend as little time interacting with as possible, it's easy for me to lose sight of the sheer size of AltNPS's audience there.
Their "standing by at waypoint" post from last week has 657 likes here on Bluesky.
On Facebook? 24,000.
Their "standing by at waypoint" post from last week has 657 likes here on Bluesky.
On Facebook? 24,000.
![AltNPS on Bluesky: Standing by at waypoint. Not lost. Just holding the line.
[The post has 657 likes]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7f5fdeb4ci3lefmt4zr3m3wg/bafkreibnyy6l4irkpuqkgqftwk4tfui734nygufg4l5cakztcuz6o5tzpy@jpeg)
![AltNPS on Facebook: Standing by at waypoint. Not lost. Just holding the line.
[The post has 24,000 likes.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7f5fdeb4ci3lefmt4zr3m3wg/bafkreia2mg6kltclhujfznzqsrpbkabsri6yfzvwbhijmxkdnkdtdcague@jpeg)
October 16, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Because Facebook is a place of despair that I spend as little time interacting with as possible, it's easy for me to lose sight of the sheer size of AltNPS's audience there.
Their "standing by at waypoint" post from last week has 657 likes here on Bluesky.
On Facebook? 24,000.
Their "standing by at waypoint" post from last week has 657 likes here on Bluesky.
On Facebook? 24,000.
Reposted by TracingVRL by A.J. Fish
We need to talk about how social media algorithms push moms down a slippery slope of distrust.
From "Are my kids getting enough support in school?" To "Maybe I should homeschool." To "Maybe modern medicine is bad."
I've seen this first-hand in research I'm doing on parenting apps. 1/🧵
From "Are my kids getting enough support in school?" To "Maybe I should homeschool." To "Maybe modern medicine is bad."
I've seen this first-hand in research I'm doing on parenting apps. 1/🧵
October 15, 2025 at 12:25 PM
We need to talk about how social media algorithms push moms down a slippery slope of distrust.
From "Are my kids getting enough support in school?" To "Maybe I should homeschool." To "Maybe modern medicine is bad."
I've seen this first-hand in research I'm doing on parenting apps. 1/🧵
From "Are my kids getting enough support in school?" To "Maybe I should homeschool." To "Maybe modern medicine is bad."
I've seen this first-hand in research I'm doing on parenting apps. 1/🧵