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Aaron Sankin

@asankin

Data Editor w/ The Marshall Project. More skeets about buildings and food. He/him. Signal: Sank.182

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09.05.2023
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Latest posts by Aaron Sankin @asankin

12.03.2026 18:35 πŸ‘ 2074 πŸ” 531 πŸ’¬ 20 πŸ“Œ 11
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This is Nathan Cavanaugh, another DOGE staffer explaining how he flagged grants at NEH for "DEI" which would be reviewed for termination. 404 Media has reviewed hours of this footage and we'll have more soon.

Part of a lawsuit by @acls1919.bsky.social, @modernlanguage.bsky.social + @historians.org

12.03.2026 15:33 πŸ‘ 5993 πŸ” 2320 πŸ’¬ 898 πŸ“Œ 1470

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

12.03.2026 03:51 πŸ‘ 558 πŸ” 80 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 2

If you have not read How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr I highly recommend it. Incredible how much Americans just don’t get taught about American history

11.03.2026 16:00 πŸ‘ 838 πŸ” 142 πŸ’¬ 33 πŸ“Œ 14
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The Marshall Project Hires Reem Akkad as Managing Editor Akkad, veteran of The Washington Post, becomes key leader of investigative newsroom.

@reemakkad.bsky.social, formerly a top editor at The Washington Post, has been named managing editor of The Marshall Project, the Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit newsroom that covers the U.S. criminal justice system.

11.03.2026 13:26 πŸ‘ 27 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 4

worth remembering, David Lynch directed β€œfix your hearts or die” specifically at transphobes. it wasn’t a generic β€œno mean people allowed” statement, it was said by his Twin Peaks character in defense of a trans woman he cared for and deeply respected.

10.03.2026 15:40 πŸ‘ 11577 πŸ” 4749 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

umm actually, neutrality means you're choosing the side of the milk hotel

10.03.2026 18:45 πŸ‘ 755 πŸ” 157 πŸ’¬ 20 πŸ“Œ 4
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New: A Houston woman is suing Tesla in Harris County, alleging that her Cybertruck, while using Tesla's "Full Self-Driving mode" tried to drive the car off of a bridge. Here is the dashcam footage provided by her lawyers: www.chron.com/culture/arti...

09.03.2026 19:06 πŸ‘ 1397 πŸ” 480 πŸ’¬ 109 πŸ“Œ 286
Signage for "Excel Church"

Signage for "Excel Church"

"You know who else pivoted a table?"

09.03.2026 16:32 πŸ‘ 1000 πŸ” 237 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 28
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Redemption Songs: A Limited-Run Newsletter The story of mass incarceration, one song at a time.

From artists rapping over prison phones to those starting labels and nonprofits to release their work, prison music speaks to the resilience of people behind bars.

Our limited-run newsletter Redemption Songs will send a new song by incarcerated artists to your inbox each Sunday β€” sign up now:

09.03.2026 19:51 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Just another normal morning where the President of the United States shares completely false claims from a conspiracy theory site. I’ve confirmed with election officials in Maricopa County that this is 100% BS.

09.03.2026 14:17 πŸ‘ 2221 πŸ” 819 πŸ’¬ 95 πŸ“Œ 49

We are aware of recent reports regarding targeted phishing attacks that have resulted in account takeovers of some Signal users, including government officials and journalists. We take this very seriously. 1/7

09.03.2026 16:12 πŸ‘ 1893 πŸ” 989 πŸ’¬ 26 πŸ“Œ 114
My name is Marisa Kabas, and I'm an independent journalist who publishes The Handbasket. I'm reaching out about a matter that involves your team and that continues to trouble me.

In June of last year, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and I filed a FOIA lawsuit against the DC Metropolitan Police Department to compel them to release body camera footage from the March 17, 2025 DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace. What followed was months of back and forth with their lawyers, arguing why it was in the public interest to release the un-redacted footage in its entirety. Though tiny segments were handed over, that wasn't enough: We wanted all of it.Β 

On February 18, 2026, a DC judge ruled in our favor, and your reporter Mark Segraves sent a kind note of congratulations that day. Then on Monday, March 2nd, the footage was handed over to me and excitedly announced I'd received it and would be reviewing it in the coming days and sharing what I learned. When Segraves emailed me this past Thursday asking for my phone number, I didn't think much of it. But when he called me just before 2pm on Friday to let me know NBC4 Washington would be airing a segment at 5pm, I grew concerned.Β 

Segraves said he'd obtained some of the footage via a FOIA request that week after he heard the footage had been released to me. He said he'd credit the work of RCFP and me, but it was little comfort. I asked if he'd known the day before when he emailed me for my number, why didn't he tell me then? He didn't have a good answer for that. He acknowledged all the hard work I'd done getting this footage released. I asked him if he could hold the story until Monday, to which he replied that he's "not just a blogger" (implying that that's all I am, presumably) and that he'd have to check with his editor. I said fine. Nearly an hour later he called back to say his editor refused to hold the story, but that they were happy to interview me via Zoom to add to the package, and I said I would.

My name is Marisa Kabas, and I'm an independent journalist who publishes The Handbasket. I'm reaching out about a matter that involves your team and that continues to trouble me. In June of last year, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and I filed a FOIA lawsuit against the DC Metropolitan Police Department to compel them to release body camera footage from the March 17, 2025 DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace. What followed was months of back and forth with their lawyers, arguing why it was in the public interest to release the un-redacted footage in its entirety. Though tiny segments were handed over, that wasn't enough: We wanted all of it.Β  On February 18, 2026, a DC judge ruled in our favor, and your reporter Mark Segraves sent a kind note of congratulations that day. Then on Monday, March 2nd, the footage was handed over to me and excitedly announced I'd received it and would be reviewing it in the coming days and sharing what I learned. When Segraves emailed me this past Thursday asking for my phone number, I didn't think much of it. But when he called me just before 2pm on Friday to let me know NBC4 Washington would be airing a segment at 5pm, I grew concerned.Β  Segraves said he'd obtained some of the footage via a FOIA request that week after he heard the footage had been released to me. He said he'd credit the work of RCFP and me, but it was little comfort. I asked if he'd known the day before when he emailed me for my number, why didn't he tell me then? He didn't have a good answer for that. He acknowledged all the hard work I'd done getting this footage released. I asked him if he could hold the story until Monday, to which he replied that he's "not just a blogger" (implying that that's all I am, presumably) and that he'd have to check with his editor. I said fine. Nearly an hour later he called back to say his editor refused to hold the story, but that they were happy to interview me via Zoom to add to the package, and I said I would.

What followed was two hours of furiously writing and posting clips of the footage to Youtube so I could get something published before the 5pm broadcast, and in the midst of that, recording a quick Zoom interview with a person who was about to take credit for my work. At 4:59pm ET, The Handbasket published a piece titled "Police body cam footage shows DOGE knew Institute of Peace was private property during raid." Then I tuned into NBC4 Washington via your website to catch the broadcast, and my instinct to rush to get something out first was proven right.Β 

"It's a story you're seeing first on News4," your newscast began. "For the first time we're getting an inside look at what happened the day the Trump administration took over the US Institute of Peace. News4 obtained more than four hours of police body camera video from that day." What followed was more than six minutes of clips and commentary from Segraves, but it's not until six minutes and 21 seconds into the piece that he mentions my name (mispronounced though he asked for the correct pronunciation on Zoom), "The Handbasket blog," and the RCFP's foundational role in bringing this footage to light. I was angry, but didn't feel there was much I could do.

Then I saw the version NBC4 posted to Instagram and TikTokβ€”the video itself made ZERO mention of the RCFP or my work, only briefly acknowledging it in the written caption on Instagram, and not even bothering to do that on TikTok. An average viewer with no background on the case is lead to believe that this footage was released because of your efforts. When I saw that, I decided I couldn't let this go.

It's difficult to explain what it's like to spend nearly a year working on a story only to have another reporter and outlet surreptitiously take credit for it; months of work and personal risk only to have another reporter lying in wait to swoop in. What NBC4 did was immoral, unethical, and to be frank, just truly sucked.

What followed was two hours of furiously writing and posting clips of the footage to Youtube so I could get something published before the 5pm broadcast, and in the midst of that, recording a quick Zoom interview with a person who was about to take credit for my work. At 4:59pm ET, The Handbasket published a piece titled "Police body cam footage shows DOGE knew Institute of Peace was private property during raid." Then I tuned into NBC4 Washington via your website to catch the broadcast, and my instinct to rush to get something out first was proven right.Β  "It's a story you're seeing first on News4," your newscast began. "For the first time we're getting an inside look at what happened the day the Trump administration took over the US Institute of Peace. News4 obtained more than four hours of police body camera video from that day." What followed was more than six minutes of clips and commentary from Segraves, but it's not until six minutes and 21 seconds into the piece that he mentions my name (mispronounced though he asked for the correct pronunciation on Zoom), "The Handbasket blog," and the RCFP's foundational role in bringing this footage to light. I was angry, but didn't feel there was much I could do. Then I saw the version NBC4 posted to Instagram and TikTokβ€”the video itself made ZERO mention of the RCFP or my work, only briefly acknowledging it in the written caption on Instagram, and not even bothering to do that on TikTok. An average viewer with no background on the case is lead to believe that this footage was released because of your efforts. When I saw that, I decided I couldn't let this go. It's difficult to explain what it's like to spend nearly a year working on a story only to have another reporter and outlet surreptitiously take credit for it; months of work and personal risk only to have another reporter lying in wait to swoop in. What NBC4 did was immoral, unethical, and to be frank, just truly sucked.

I just sent this email to the news director at NBC4 Washington about the unprofessional and disrespectful way they handled publishing the body camera footage of the DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace that was obtained via my FOIA lawsuit:

09.03.2026 14:55 πŸ‘ 4800 πŸ” 996 πŸ’¬ 112 πŸ“Œ 91
A SKELATEN IN GROCEY STORE "LOL IF YOUR USING TWITTER IN 2026, IF I WANTED TO BEYELLED AT BY A BOT I WOULD MOVE ITEMS TO THE BAGGING AREA WITHOUT SCANNING THEM " DONT KNOW IF YOU SAW IT LATELY BUT ITS SOMEHOW EVEN WORSE THAN IT WAS IN 2025, AND THAT WAS WORSE THEN 2024, AND THAT WAS WORSE THEN 2023, ETC, BY THE TIME THE SHIT GOT SOLD TO ELLON IT WAS ALREADY ALMOST DEAD, THE LAST HANDFUL OF HUMAN USERS WANDERING IN ALGORITHM HELL WHILE BOTS RESPONT TO THEM IN GPT SPEAK, THE AGING SNARKY COMMENTERS REFUSING TO MOVE TO BSKY OR THREADS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ONE NOTCH DUMMER THEN THEM ARE STILL ON TWITTER AND THEY HAVE TO DUNK THEM BECAUSE WITHOUT THAT THEY HAVE NOTHING TO SAY AND NO WAY TO PROVE THERE SELF WORTH, AND THE PEPE NAZI'S FEEL EMBOLDENED TO START NEW SLURS AND SMACK THEM SELF IN THE FACE WITH OBJECTS TO INCREASE THEIR JAW LINE, BUT EVEN THEY DONT LIKE IT BECAUSE "THE LIBS" ARE NO LONGER THERE TO GET MAD AT THEM, AN APP FOR NO ONE WITH A SOUL, OWNED BY DEVIL, STILL FULL OF YOUR DEAD FRIENDS POSTS FROM YEARS PAST, AN ENTIRE ERA OF YOUR LIFE ONLINE NOW ONLY EVIDENCED BY OLD WORDS CARVED INTO THE CLIFFS OF HELL,,,,, BUT WHAT DO I KNOW IM JUST A SKELETIN - DASHARE.ZONE ADMIN

A SKELATEN IN GROCEY STORE "LOL IF YOUR USING TWITTER IN 2026, IF I WANTED TO BEYELLED AT BY A BOT I WOULD MOVE ITEMS TO THE BAGGING AREA WITHOUT SCANNING THEM " DONT KNOW IF YOU SAW IT LATELY BUT ITS SOMEHOW EVEN WORSE THAN IT WAS IN 2025, AND THAT WAS WORSE THEN 2024, AND THAT WAS WORSE THEN 2023, ETC, BY THE TIME THE SHIT GOT SOLD TO ELLON IT WAS ALREADY ALMOST DEAD, THE LAST HANDFUL OF HUMAN USERS WANDERING IN ALGORITHM HELL WHILE BOTS RESPONT TO THEM IN GPT SPEAK, THE AGING SNARKY COMMENTERS REFUSING TO MOVE TO BSKY OR THREADS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ONE NOTCH DUMMER THEN THEM ARE STILL ON TWITTER AND THEY HAVE TO DUNK THEM BECAUSE WITHOUT THAT THEY HAVE NOTHING TO SAY AND NO WAY TO PROVE THERE SELF WORTH, AND THE PEPE NAZI'S FEEL EMBOLDENED TO START NEW SLURS AND SMACK THEM SELF IN THE FACE WITH OBJECTS TO INCREASE THEIR JAW LINE, BUT EVEN THEY DONT LIKE IT BECAUSE "THE LIBS" ARE NO LONGER THERE TO GET MAD AT THEM, AN APP FOR NO ONE WITH A SOUL, OWNED BY DEVIL, STILL FULL OF YOUR DEAD FRIENDS POSTS FROM YEARS PAST, AN ENTIRE ERA OF YOUR LIFE ONLINE NOW ONLY EVIDENCED BY OLD WORDS CARVED INTO THE CLIFFS OF HELL,,,,, BUT WHAT DO I KNOW IM JUST A SKELETIN - DASHARE.ZONE ADMIN

LOL - dashare.zone ADMIN

08.03.2026 19:49 πŸ‘ 1967 πŸ” 632 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 9
Selena Larson, staff threat researcher at Proofpoint who provided a formal declaration in support of the court order, said Tycoon 2FA was responsible for the highest volume of adversary-in-the-middle phishing attacks observed by Proofpoint. 

β€œTycoon was the biggest MFA phishing threat in our data, and we anticipate seeing a significant decrease after this operation,” she told CyberScoop.

β€œMany customers will find their hacking tool is no longer working, and even if Tycoon 2FA is able to create new domains and infrastructure, the brand will be significantly harmed, with customers either purchasing less effective phishing kit, or potentially rethinking their life choices and getting out of the game,” Larson added.

Selena Larson, staff threat researcher at Proofpoint who provided a formal declaration in support of the court order, said Tycoon 2FA was responsible for the highest volume of adversary-in-the-middle phishing attacks observed by Proofpoint. β€œTycoon was the biggest MFA phishing threat in our data, and we anticipate seeing a significant decrease after this operation,” she told CyberScoop. β€œMany customers will find their hacking tool is no longer working, and even if Tycoon 2FA is able to create new domains and infrastructure, the brand will be significantly harmed, with customers either purchasing less effective phishing kit, or potentially rethinking their life choices and getting out of the game,” Larson added.

I'm catching up on news and see none other than @selenalarson.bsky.social.

Fantastic work Selena!
cyberscoop.com/tycoon-2fa-p...

08.03.2026 18:53 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Evidence Grows That Google's AI Overviews Have Eviscerated the Media Industry Google's AI overviews have eviscerated the media landscape, with some top publications losing up to 97 percent of their web traffic.

Welp. The internet had a nice run.

Some outlets have lost over 90% of their traffic since the "AI" summaries rolled out.

"...the four worst-hit publications [now] get less monthly web traffic combined than the r/ChatGPT subreddit gets on its own."

07.03.2026 13:59 πŸ‘ 1572 πŸ” 493 πŸ’¬ 32 πŸ“Œ 104
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Tesla sued after Austin shooting suspect allegedly assaulted co-worker A 65-year-old woman says the automaker ignored warning signs before Ndiaga Diagne, the suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting, assaulted her. She sued Thursday.

the Austin mass shooter was a Tesla employee who assaulted a coworker during a company-allowed prayer break late last year

the company refused to give the victim her assailant's name so she could press charges, and he went on to become a mass shooter

www.statesman.com/business/art...

06.03.2026 17:07 πŸ‘ 5312 πŸ” 1903 πŸ’¬ 70 πŸ“Œ 138
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Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous β€˜Stop Cop City’ Protestor A court record reviewed by 404 Media shows privacy-focused email provider Proton Mail handed over payment data related to a Stop Cop City email account to the Swiss government, which handed it to the ...

New from 404 Media: Proton Mail, the privacy-focused email service, gave authorities data that let the FBI unmask an anonymous 'Stop Cop City' protester. It was payment data linked to the anonymous email account. From that, FBI ID'd them, then tracked their movements www.404media.co/proton-mail-...

05.03.2026 20:39 πŸ‘ 2489 πŸ” 1410 πŸ’¬ 91 πŸ“Œ 339

NOEM TAKING QUESTIONS - DOES NOT APPEAR TO KNOW SHE WAS FIRED

05.03.2026 19:17 πŸ‘ 12388 πŸ” 1574 πŸ’¬ 512 πŸ“Œ 884
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Florence ICE detainee dead after untreated tooth infection, official says An ICE detainee, who had been at a Florence detention center for four months, died Monday following an untreated tooth infection.

An ICE detainee in Arizona has died of a TOOTH INFECTION after it went untreated for weeks, a local official says. He was a Haitian asylum seeker imprisoned in Florence, Arizona. @emilybregel.bsky.social reports.
tucson.com/news/local/b...

04.03.2026 16:24 πŸ‘ 2937 πŸ” 1781 πŸ’¬ 168 πŸ“Œ 342
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β€œThe Alabama Solution,” The Oaklandside, and Mississippi Today/New York Times/Reveal Honored for Outstanding Contributions to Free Speech and Open Government The First Amendment Coalition announced the winners of its 2025 Free Speech and Open Government Awards.

The First Amendment Coalition honored Robert Earl Council, Melvin Ray, and Ricardo β€œRaoul” Poole from "The Alabama Solution." The incarcerated whistleblowers risked their lives to take viewers inside Alabama’s prisons using cellphones they purchased through the prison’s black market:

04.03.2026 17:42 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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As Texas Restricts Cashless Bail, More People Will Be Jailed for Months Based on an Accusation Despite evidence that cashless bail doesn’t increase crime, several states are moving to restrict it.

Taken together, SB 9 and Proposition 3 illuminate a two-pronged effort to stiffen pretrial detention: They simultaneously tighten the money-bail pathway for some offenses, while widening the menu of cases where people can be held without bail at all.

03.03.2026 16:29 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

All data falls into two categories: spreadsheet or PDF.

03.03.2026 20:56 πŸ‘ 238 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 13 πŸ“Œ 7

Children getting an early opportunity to experience what it feels like to be an Oracle client

03.03.2026 22:52 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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They're telling me - listen to this - they're telling me to not... to not, to never get involved in a land war in Asia! I don't know. That's what they say but I don't know. Should I do it? They're telling me it's one of the "classic blunders" but I might do it. Should I do it?... I'm going to do it

03.03.2026 03:01 πŸ‘ 597 πŸ” 99 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 2

Hello! I am a trans journalist looking to speak with trans kids and parents of trans kids across the US who have been impacted by the clinic closures---please get in touch or share!

02.03.2026 18:12 πŸ‘ 803 πŸ” 560 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 10

Important story from @themarshallproject.org on what happens when families are released from DHS detention:

β€œIt boggles the mind why we're disrupting people from their immigration proceedings only to abduct them, incarcerate them at Dilley, and then just recycle them out the back door”

02.03.2026 16:19 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 28 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 3
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After Detention, Families Stranded in Border Town Face Harrowing Journey Home Parents and children from a detention center in Texas found themselves dropped at a border town shelter with few means to leave.

After detaining children and parents for weeks, or months, inside Dilley detention center, ICE is dumping them at a shelter in Laredo, TX. They are often thousands of miles away from where they were arrested, with no money to get back home. THREAD (1/)
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/03/02/i...

02.03.2026 14:49 πŸ‘ 568 πŸ” 363 πŸ’¬ 16 πŸ“Œ 32

Reminder that Donald Trump Jr. sits on Polymarket's advisory board and his firm invested double-digit millions into the platform last year.

The DOJ and CFTC both had active investigations into Polymarket that were dropped after Trump took office.

01.03.2026 04:55 πŸ‘ 492 πŸ” 163 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 4