@give-a-damn
Activist working for peace, democracy and justice. A less corrupt government would be nice, too. Trustee: Metropolitan College of NY http://MCNY.edu Organizer for http://MediaAndDemocracyProject.Org Avatar: Liberty crying Header: Hubble telescope photo
Today, our hat is not merely tipped, but fully doffed in honor of our friends at New York Focus for finding yet another flaw in Gov. Hochul's effort to lower car insurance premiums. buff.ly/VAq0bFa
February roundup on tech litigation from Tech Justice Law Project’s Madeline Batt. This month covers an Arizona jury holding Uber liable for a passenger’s sexual assault and New Mexico’s Attorney General taking Meta to trial, alleging its platforms are enabling child sexual exploitation.
ICE abductions of noncitizen journalists like Estefany Rodríguez "take the reporters best equipped to cover immigration enforcement off the beat," we told @the-independent.com.
I think this story is a really good example for people to look at when it comes to understanding bias at NYT. It's not that the reporter, Dana Rubinstein, says anything outright false. But the framing, word choices, etc., add up to an unprofessional and biased account.
ICE has detained yet another journalist, Estefany Rodríguez.
If you're a journalist reporting on ICE and want more information about how to protect against potential retaliation against you or your sources, listen back to our event from last year with leading journalists on the immigration beat.
Glad you voted that way and sorry so few of your colleagues joined you.
If Congress wants to regain our trust, it has to start earning it.
But, why are you quoting Polymarket?
If you want to read voices of young artists in Iran, please support the comics anthology "Young in Iran" published with @comicsworkshop.bsky.social It's 264 pages, 6x9 inches, and was censored by Kickstarter. Take a look: www.sequentialartistsworkshop.org/saw-shop/p/y...
#Trump got played.
Cartoonists put it so succinctly ... 🤌
#Iran
An example of a local community and a local news outlet holding those who run for-profit prisons to account.
#ICE #GEO
h/t @sentinelcolorado.com
Seems like the media should at least express some curiosity about this.
open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...
Judge rules in favor of Iowa teacher fired for Charlie Kirk comments
www.kcrg.com/2026/03/02/j...
We strongly recommend that news organizations prioritize their journalistic integrity and credibility over their drive to increase profits & show respect for their audiences and formulate policies that prohibit or—at the very least—constrain the integration of prediction market data in journalism.
As the fictional character Billy Ray Valentine in the movie Trading Places famously said to the Duke futures brokers:
“Sounds to me like you guys are a couple of bookies.”
#PredictionMarkets
Kalshi
Polymarket
4/
youtu.be/04KKWEOwgnM?...
A🧵
Our latest:
News orgs integrating Kalshi & Polymarket etc. are “Engaging what many consider “a couple of bookies” (at least metaphorically) to predict world events for natl news orgs—whose mission is to inform the public … —is a recipe for disaster.”
1/n
open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
Another terrific thread and article by the Media and Democracy Project. 🧵🧵🧵
Gambling as Journalism—Shall We Gamify the News?
open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
It is particularly grotesque when the betting is on matters of life and death, but any use of these markets central to reporting damages the news outlet. Disturbing to see #WSJ and others using them.
#Journalism
We’re proud to join this call today. Ashraf’s case shames Egypt and must not be forgotten.
In a cartoon by Niels Bo Bojesen, a cartoonist in checked shirt and jeans stands with a pen clasped behind they back, in front of a large target; the red bullseye at the centre is labelled “You are here.”
OUT NOW: UNDER PRESSURE, new report on threats to cartoonists’ freedom of expression around the world with @cartooningforpeace.bsky.social, @freedomcartoonists.bsky.social et al. Download in ENG or FRA.
cartoonistsrights.org/under-pressu...
Image: Niels Bo Bojesen (Denmark) - Cartooning for Peace
Trump Invites Victims Of Jeffrey Epstein Investigation As SOTU Guests
Trump Invites Victims Of Jeffrey Epstein Investigation As SOTU Guests
I was stunned by Elizabeth Bruenig's @theatlantic.com essay, "This Is How a Child Dies of Measles." Then I was struck by the disclaimer at the bottom: "This story is based on extensive reporting and interviews with physicians, including those who have cared directly for patients with measles."
During her 11 months as the de facto leader of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Kari Lake has wasted millions of dollars and done profound damage to America’s foreign broadcasters, and to America’s ability to communicate with the world
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
I have spent the past several months studying the cutting-edge research on modern democracies that have defeated authoritarian leaders.
I've learned that the conventional wisdom on the topic is wrong — in ways that have clear implications for the US going forward
THREAD www.vox.com/politics/479...
This is not a hypothetical fear. My piece focused on three countries — Brazil, South Korea, and Poland — where elected authoritarians were too blatant and their opponents did a good job persuading key audiences that the democratic threat was real.
The result, in each case, was authoritarian defeat.
This is why smart authoritarians, like Viktor Orbán or Benjamin Netanyahu, go to great lengths to hide their intentions behind a democratic veneer.
They know that, if they are too blatantly authoritarian, they risk generate a level of social resistance they cannot overcome.
This is true in electoral politics. But it's also true, perhaps more importantly, in between elections.
During that time, elected authoritarians are constantly pushing to consolidate power and undermine the opposition. Whether they get away with it depends on what others in society do.
I found that this is wrong. Democracy actually is a powerful motivating force for a critical slice of the population *if they perceive a real threat*.
I call this the "legibility" theory of democratic backsliding: the more legible the threat, the more likely it is to prompt effective pushback.
The conventional wisdom says that "democracy" is too abstract a cause to rally resistance. Elites typically act to defend their own power and prerogatives; voters tend to care more about pocketbook issues and "normal" politics.
Therefore, oppositions should deprioritize it in their rhetoric.
Excellent thread
Thanks to @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social for
How to stop a dictator www.vox.com/politics/479... @vox.com
#Democracy #Authoritarian
MAGA justices faced a tough call for their tariff decision:
Trump’s ego or billionaire bottom lines?
Guess who they protected.
(Hint: not you.)