🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'People are arguing in court that real images are deepfakes : NPR'

- kudos:

Very interesting look at some of the less obvious implications of generative AI. link to ‘People are arguing in court that real images are deepfakes : NPR’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon Musk threatens to re-assign @NPR on Twitter to 'another company' : NPR'

- kudos:

I feel like I say this whenever I post a link to a Twitter story, but I honestly can’t believe how dumb this stuff gets sometimes. Also, is Musk going to give someone else control of @ldschurch? link to ‘Elon Musk threatens to re-assign @NPR on Twitter to ‘another company’ : NPR’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter Suspends Reporter For Reporting On Twitter Hack, Using Same Policy Old Twitter Used To Block NY Post Hunter Biden Story | Techdirt'

- kudos:

I’m tired of reading Twitter news, but I’m professionally obligated to do so, no matter how dumb it gets. link to ‘Twitter Suspends Reporter For Reporting On Twitter Hack, Using Same Policy Old Twitter Used To Block NY Post Hunter Biden Story | Techdirt’

- kudos:

Starting to get notices about my Twitter API access being suspended. So long, Twitter research: You were an important part of my career, and I’ll miss you.

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon Musk tweets, then deletes DMs from Matt Taibbi over his Substack snit - The Verge'

- kudos:

To paraphrase Mike Masnick, the defining motto of the Musk era seems to be ‘it can always get more stupid.’ link to ‘Elon Musk tweets, then deletes DMs from Matt Taibbi over his Substack snit - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Substack writers say Twitter’s newsletter ban is bad for business — and worse for Twitter - The Verge'

- kudos:

How does this acquisition continue to get dumber and dumber? link to ‘Substack writers say Twitter’s newsletter ban is bad for business — and worse for Twitter - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'The dumb reason Twitter won’t allow retweeting tweets linking to Substack | Ars Technica'

- kudos:

The pettiness continues. link to ‘The dumb reason Twitter won’t allow retweeting tweets linking to Substack | Ars Technica’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter’s Open Source Algorithm Is a Red Herring | WIRED'

- kudos:

Some good commentary here. Musk loves certain buzzwords and flashy stunts, but they’re often in tension with the other decisions he makes. link to ‘Twitter’s Open Source Algorithm Is a Red Herring | WIRED’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'The poop emoji: a legal history - The Verge'

- kudos:

Fascinating read—and one that reminds me that academic journal software doesn’t always render emoji either, which is a problem for social media research. link to ‘The poop emoji: a legal history - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'NPR Was Twitter’s Example Of What Should NOT Be Labeled ‘State-Affiliated Media.’ Then Musk Added The Label And Retconned The Policy | Techdirt'

- kudos:

This is another dumb move by Musk. Masnick is excellent at calling him out on hypocrisy. link to ‘NPR Was Twitter’s Example Of What Should NOT Be Labeled ‘State-Affiliated Media.’ Then Musk Added The Label And Retconned The Policy | Techdirt’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter’s $42,000-per-Month API Prices Out Nearly Everyone | WIRED'

- kudos:

RIP my Twitter research. Glad I have other irons in the fire… link to ‘Twitter’s $42,000-per-Month API Prices Out Nearly Everyone | WIRED’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Musk apologizes for mocking and firing Twitter exec with muscular dystrophy | Ars Technica'

- kudos:

Twitter just gets worse and worse. What a joke. link to ‘Musk apologizes for mocking and firing Twitter exec with muscular dystrophy | Ars Technica’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon Musk Is Reportedly Building 'Based AI' Because ChatGPT Is Too Woke'

- kudos:

This is dumb and worrying. The CEO of Gab has been promising to develop “based AI,” but he’s a bit player. Musk has the resources and influence to make this a bigger problem. link to ‘Elon Musk Is Reportedly Building ‘Based AI’ Because ChatGPT Is Too Woke’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first - The Verge'

- kudos:

This is just so petty. I don’t know how his leadership at Twitter is defensible anymore. link to ‘Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon Musk’s reach on Twitter is dropping — he just fired a top engineer over it - The Verge'

- kudos:

Every time I think this acquisition can’t get dumber, it does. link to ‘Elon Musk’s reach on Twitter is dropping — he just fired a top engineer over it - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Conservatives Are Obsessed With Getting ChatGPT to Say the N-Word'

- kudos:

Of all the dumb responses to perfectly legitimate content moderation, this is perhaps the dumbest. link to ‘Conservatives Are Obsessed With Getting ChatGPT to Say the N-Word’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter to remove free API access in latest money making quest - The Verge'

- kudos:

I presume this decisuon also cuts off academics; this is going to have a huge impact on research, and not in a good way. I’m glad I’ve pivoted to other platforms, but this is still infuriating. link to ‘Twitter to remove free API access in latest money making quest - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter says it’s intentionally blocking apps like Tweetbot - The Verge'

- kudos:

Ah, the kind of answer that only raises more questions. link to ‘Twitter says it’s intentionally blocking apps like Tweetbot - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'As Elon Fires More Trust & Safety Staff, Twitter’s Moderation Efforts Fall Apart | Techdirt'

- kudos:

Repeat after me: Content moderation is a good thing. link to ‘As Elon Fires More Trust & Safety Staff, Twitter’s Moderation Efforts Fall Apart | Techdirt’

quitting scrolling, not just Twitter

- kudos:

Although it’s been a real delight to see so many people joining Mastodon over the past few weeks, I’ve found that there’s also a disadvantage that I hadn’t expected: I’m spending a lot more time scrolling through Mastodon these days than I ever have since setting up my Mastodon accounts. When I began setting up Mastodon accounts and shifting away from Twitter back in April, I felt like I had made a big leap forward in terms of my online consumption.

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Musk asks in poll if he should step down as Twitter CEO, users vote yes : NPR'

- kudos:

What a weird week it has been in Twitterland. link to ‘Musk asks in poll if he should step down as Twitter CEO, users vote yes : NPR’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter abruptly bans all links to Instagram, Mastodon, and other competitors - The Verge'

- kudos:

Just when you thought this couldn’t get any worse. Will be really interested to see if Dorsey gets banned. link to ‘Twitter abruptly bans all links to Instagram, Mastodon, and other competitors - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Mastodon users embrace columnist's funny error about a fictitious John Mastodon | Boing Boing'

- kudos:

This has been one of the most delightful moments I’ve experienced in my relatively short time on Mastodon. This week has been a good one for Mastodon: Musk’s continued missteps have brought more people, and a meme like this one helps give the fediverse more of a shared culture. link to ‘Mastodon users embrace columnist’s funny error about a fictitious “John Mastodon” | Boing Boing’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon Tries (Badly) To Defend The Banning Of Journalists As Twitter Starts Blocking Links & Mentions Of Mastodon | Techdirt'

- kudos:

I’ve posted a bunch of articles about this already, but Masnick’s take is super helpful. link to ‘Elon Tries (Badly) To Defend The Banning Of Journalists As Twitter Starts Blocking Links & Mentions Of Mastodon | Techdirt’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon Musk Is Taking Aim at Journalists. I’m One of Them.'

- kudos:

Free speech is genuinely important, but it’s hard to take the ideal seriously when its advocates twist it to mean something specific and self-serving. link to ‘Elon Musk Is Taking Aim at Journalists. I’m One of Them.’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter is blocking links to Mastodon - The Verge'

- kudos:

I’ve been trying to avoid dire predictions for Twitter since Musk took over, but this seems more and more like a turning point in the identity and reputation of the platform. link to ‘Twitter is blocking links to Mastodon - The Verge’

- kudos:

I got my job largely because I can work with Twitter data, and my tenure application is built on the premise that I do good Twitter research. I probably shouldn’t take as much pleasure as I do from watching the platform fall apart right now, but I was ready to move on anyway.

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon Musk starts banning critical journalists from Twitter - The Verge'

- kudos:

I mean, I’m willing to wait a bit and see what Twitter and Musk have to say about this, but this sure doesn’t seem like the approach that a free speech absolutist would take. link to ‘Elon Musk starts banning critical journalists from Twitter - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon’s Commitment To Free Speech Rapidly Replaced By His Commitment To Blatant Hypocrisy: Bans The JoinMastodon Account | Techdirt'

- kudos:

Musk is getting pettier and more self-centered. link to ‘Elon’s Commitment To Free Speech Rapidly Replaced By His Commitment To Blatant Hypocrisy: Bans The JoinMastodon Account | Techdirt’

- kudos:

Streisand Effect must be real, because I’ve never cared this much about a single plane in my whole life.

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon’s Promise Not To Ban Account Tracking His Jet Didn’t Last Very Long At All; Also Bans Guy’s Personal Account | Techdirt'

- kudos:

How does such an already bad story get so much worse over the course of a single day? link to ‘Elon’s Promise Not To Ban Account Tracking His Jet Didn’t Last Very Long At All; Also Bans Guy’s Personal Account | Techdirt’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter Bans Elon Musk Flight Tracking Account After He Said It Wouldn’t, for Free Speech'

- kudos:

Twitter left up other flight tracking accounts but took down Musk’s? link to ‘Twitter Bans Elon Musk Flight Tracking Account After He Said It Wouldn’t, for Free Speech’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter suspends @ElonJet after Musk promises not to ban it - The Verge'

- kudos:

This is petty and concerning. link to ‘Twitter suspends @ElonJet after Musk promises not to ban it - The Verge’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter ditches Trust and Safety Council as Musk tweets fuel harassment | Ars Technica'

- kudos:

I think this headline captures one of the worst parts of all of this: Musk isn’t just dismissing concerns about behavior, he’s fueling that behavior. link to ‘Twitter ditches Trust and Safety Council as Musk tweets fuel harassment | Ars Technica’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Goodbye, Twitter - by Ken White - The Popehat Report'

- kudos:

I haven’t been following Ken White as much as I used to, but this reminds me why I appreciate his perspective. This is someone who knows what free speech is and advocates for it, not someone who uses it as a buzzword justification for reprehensible behavior, à la Musk. link to ‘Goodbye, Twitter - by Ken White - The Popehat Report’

🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Before Musk Riled Everyone Up With Misleading Twitter Files About ‘Shadowbanning,’ Musk Used The Tool To Hide Account Tracking His Plane | Techdirt'

- kudos:

If I could pick one story to demonstrate that Musk’s Twitter tenure has been blundering and inconsistent… link to ‘Before Musk Riled Everyone Up With Misleading Twitter Files About ‘Shadowbanning,’ Musk Used The Tool To Hide Account Tracking His Plane | Techdirt’