@NatureMC @aaronmccollum @laxsill @_elena

oof

thanks for the info

we need nonprofit alternatives to journalism, badly

@NatureMC @aaronmccollum @laxsill @_elena

my mother was a reporter and editor. she got me a part time job in high school at her newspaper

i've watched her work since i was in diapers and so i understand through her time pressure in journalism

but that is no defense for shoddy work

nor do people just forget

in fact the lies, intentional or unintentional, that appear in the press have debilitating effects on the common perception of truth

Thankful that crypto and metaverse bubbles ran back to back before the AI hype one, because otherwise I would be going mad second guessing myself as legit looking people keep posting the shoddiest slop yoked with breathless declarations about this being the future.

@stuartb @_elena @Gargron

i remember that

for anyone not familiar with The Guardian's betrayal of trans rights:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/02/guardian-editorial-response-transgender-rights-uk

all i have to say in return is that with nonprofit media there is a chance for correction. while for-profit news media, they take over the managing editor positions with right wing venture capital and so trans rights will never be honored, will be always attacked

my point is in general about for-profit vs nonprofit, not a specific defense of The Guardian

@benroyce perfectly said Ben!!! 🙌

I just found a video of the CEO of W Social at Davos literally going: "10 years ago we were saying that data is the new oil, but right now we say HIGH QUALITY data is the new oil."

To me it kind of reads like a confession / motivating force behind (1) creating W Social (2) using AT Proto for their "European alternative to X." Ouf.

> "concernant le réseau décentralisé Mastodon, développé par un informaticien allemand, Eugen Rochko, ce dernier a déclaré quitter son propre réseau, fatigué entre autres par le comportement de certains utilisateurs."

https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/un-monde-connecte/le-reseau-europeen-w-social-pense-comme-un-anti-x-a-t-il-une-chance-d-exister-4110325

Ça ressemble à une incompréhension de la part du journaliste. Eugen a quitté Bluesky (!).

Quelqu'un·e pour écrire à François Saltiel ? @Mastodon @Gargron @renchap

@_elena @Gargron

yup

#corporate "#journalism"

we are on #mastodon/ #fediverse because the profit motive in corporate #socialMedia means privacy defilement, free reign for bigotry/ ignorance, and #algorithm manipulation by #plutocracy agendas

the same applies to the #news #media:

#ventureCapital takes over dying traditional media outlets and puts right wing goons in the managing editor positions

we have nonprofit news (#NPR, #ProPublica, #TheGuardian, etc)

trust them

all else: beware

@_elena @Gargron

yup

#corporate "#journalism"

we are on #mastodon/ #fediverse because the profit motive in corporate #socialMedia means privacy defilement, free reign for bigotry/ ignorance, and #algorithm manipulation by #plutocracy agendas

the same applies to the #news #media:

#ventureCapital takes over dying traditional media outlets and puts right wing goons in the managing editor positions

we have nonprofit news (#NPR, #ProPublica, #TheGuardian, etc)

trust them

all else: beware

RE: https://mamot.fr/@imacrea/115977976198245094

Current status: fuming with rage at the SHEER INEPTITUDE of the French press in covering W Social and Mastodon.

In the article linked below "journalist" François Saltiel wrote that @Gargron "quit his own network [Mastodon] because he was fed up with the behavior of certain users."

Eugen referred to deleting his bridge to Bluesky, not quitting Mastodon FFS.

You should know Mr. Saltier simply rehashed W Social's press release and failed to mention it is a fork of Bluesky...

"Journalism" today

Amazon have reported "hundreds of thousands" of pictures of child sexual abuse material found in shared AI training data... but is refusing to tell regulators which data sets.

If you're using generative AI tools, there's a pretty good chance you're generating imagery with child porn training data behind the scenes.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-01-29/amazon-found-child-sex-abuse-in-ai-training-data

@janantos @DocAtCDI

i thought you were asking a riddle. i didn't know the answer so i just pulled that out of my ass. i don't even think it fits. there is a condition where your vision seems sunken and distant, as if viewing things, right in front of you, as if they were very far away like through a tunnel. and i don't think it's Alice in Wonderland syndrome exactly

@truls46 @DocAtCDI

true for optimists and pessimists

the common problem is pessimists criticizing optimists when they are equally delusional. only a realist has the right (to criticize both)

then there is the second order problem of the pessimist who fancies themselves a realist when they aren't

don't get me wrong, i'm no optimist

but an optimist is easily spotted and dismissed

rooting out the very annoying pessimists who don't understand they are also delusional is a very annoying chore

@truls46 @DocAtCDI

true for optimists and pessimists

the common problem is pessimists criticizing optimists when they are equally delusional. only a realist has the right (to criticize both)

then there is the second order problem of the pessimist who fancies themselves a realist when they aren't

don't get me wrong, i'm no optimist

but an optimist is easily spotted and dismissed

rooting out the very annoying pessimists who don't understand they are also delusional is a very annoying chore

@janantos @DocAtCDI

someone with the rare neurological condition Alice in Wonderland syndrome

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_syndrome

@DocAtCDI

the epistemology of railroad accidents

A pessimist sees a dark tunnel.
An optimist sees light at the end of the tunnel.
A realist sees a freight train.
The train driver sees three idiots standing on the track.

‘Abolish ICE’ Submitted 9,200 Times For Chicago Snowplow Naming Contest, Records Show
#Chicago #Politics #ICE

https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/01/28/abolish-ice-submitted-9200-times-for-chicago-snowplow-naming-contest-records-show/

Chuck Schumer is working towards some waffle bullshit “compromise” where ICE pinky promises to be less nazi-ish, and taxpayers cough up another $10 billion to fund the guys beating the fuck out of people and shooting people on the street.

Chuck Schumer is a fucking coward, a collaborator, and an accomplice.

The Onion has reached its logical destination in this political era: just running facts as headlines

https://theonion.com/kristi-noem-calls-on-minneapolis-residents-to-stop-obstructing-murders/

“WA Senate passes bill barring masked law enforcement” https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wa-senate-passes-bill-barring-masked-law-enforcement/

The feds will sue if/when state enforces a law like this against them. But every state should pass such a law. The American Civil War II demands legislation like this from every state committed to fighting Republican Fascism.