Claire Atkin
@catthekin.checkmyads.org
Co-founder of Check My Ads, the adtech watchdog
Reposted by Claire Atkin
Another similarity of LLMs to humans: if you expose them to a lot of disinformation, they will believe it. Which you can exploit, apparently called "LLM grooming". So LLMs fail at three levels: /1 www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Hundreds of English-language websites link to pro-Kremlin propaganda
Thinktank says internet flooded with disinformation by Russia-aligned Pravda network, which many websites treat as credible
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Another similarity of LLMs to humans: if you expose them to a lot of disinformation, they will believe it. Which you can exploit, apparently called "LLM grooming". So LLMs fail at three levels: /1 www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by Claire Atkin
Sales of AI-enabled teddy bear suspended after it gave advice on BDSM sex and where to find knives
Sales of AI-enabled teddy bear suspended after it gave advice on BDSM sex and where to find knives | CNN Business
Sales of an artificial intelligence-enabled plush toy have been suspended after it was found that it engaged in conversation around sexually explicit topics and offered potentially dangerous advice.
www.cnn.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Sales of AI-enabled teddy bear suspended after it gave advice on BDSM sex and where to find knives
Prove to me this isn’t the single most critical comment on media this year
whole thing here, I also talk about media complicity and our frothin' murderous president
Fireside Chat with Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion
YouTube video by Boston Globe Events
www.youtube.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Prove to me this isn’t the single most critical comment on media this year
Reposted by Claire Atkin
talkin' about the AI bubble
November 20, 2025 at 6:56 PM
talkin' about the AI bubble
Reposted by Claire Atkin
So this ad revenue metric is indicative of such a fascinating and weird set of business decisions by Google to inexplicably kill of SEO-- and I honestly don't get how they think this is going to pay off for them in the long run.
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Stereogum says Google's switch to AI Overviews reduced its ad revenue by *70 percent* www.theverge.com/entertainmen...
Stereogum soldiers on in the era of streaming and AI
Stereogum Founder Scott Lapatine on the importance of independent media in the age of AI slop and algorithms.
www.theverge.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:42 PM
So this ad revenue metric is indicative of such a fascinating and weird set of business decisions by Google to inexplicably kill of SEO-- and I honestly don't get how they think this is going to pay off for them in the long run.
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Reposted by Claire Atkin
BREAKING: Following Tucker Carlson's friendly interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, Rocket Money has ended its sponsorship of Carlson's podcast.
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UPDATE: Rocket Money ends Tucker Carlson sponsorship
Last month, Tucker Carlson hosted Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist, antisemite, and misogynist, on his popular podcast.
popular.info
November 12, 2025 at 1:42 PM
BREAKING: Following Tucker Carlson's friendly interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, Rocket Money has ended its sponsorship of Carlson's podcast.
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Reposted by Claire Atkin
In an email to customers, Rocket Money has confirmed that they stopped advertising on the Tucker Carlson show following his interview with Nick Fuentes and are working “to ensure our partnerships reflect our values.”
popular.info/p/update-roc...
popular.info/p/update-roc...
November 13, 2025 at 4:08 PM
In an email to customers, Rocket Money has confirmed that they stopped advertising on the Tucker Carlson show following his interview with Nick Fuentes and are working “to ensure our partnerships reflect our values.”
popular.info/p/update-roc...
popular.info/p/update-roc...
Reposted by Claire Atkin
⚖️ A judge just forced OpenAI to hand over deleted records about its stolen training data. They called it privileged — but it looks a lot more like obstruction.
We wrote about it this week in The Dispatch: dispatch.techoversight.org/big-tech-ac...
We wrote about it this week in The Dispatch: dispatch.techoversight.org/big-tech-ac...
Big Tech Accountability Wins Elections, OpenAI Deletes Evidence
This week in The Dispatch we're covering how candidates who ran on Big Tech accountability swept key races, a federal judge orders OpenAI to hand over deleted evidence in copyright trial, and New York enacts new safety laws for AI chatbots.
dispatch.techoversight.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:04 PM
⚖️ A judge just forced OpenAI to hand over deleted records about its stolen training data. They called it privileged — but it looks a lot more like obstruction.
We wrote about it this week in The Dispatch: dispatch.techoversight.org/big-tech-ac...
We wrote about it this week in The Dispatch: dispatch.techoversight.org/big-tech-ac...
Reposted by Claire Atkin
Incredible- Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by Reuters show. And the social media giant internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day."
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Incredible- Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by Reuters show. And the social media giant internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day."
This is so needed. Very happy someone is tackling this in a systematic manner.
Rob Leathern and Rob Goldman, who both worked at Meta, are launching a new nonprofit that aims to bring transparency to an increasingly opaque, scam-filled social media ecosystem. www.wired.com/story/scam-a...
Scam Ads Are Flooding Social Media. These Former Meta Staffers Have a Plan
Rob Leathern and Rob Goldman, who both worked at Meta, are launching a new nonprofit that aims to bring transparency to an increasingly opaque, scam-filled social media ecosystem.
www.wired.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:36 PM
This is so needed. Very happy someone is tackling this in a systematic manner.
Reposted by Claire Atkin
For @techpolicypress.bsky.social I laid out a tech agenda for Mayor-elect zohrankmamdani.bsky.social that resists surveillance and extraction while advancing his goals for affordability, dignity, and justice.
Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social)
Mayor-Elect of New York City
zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 7:01 PM
For @techpolicypress.bsky.social I laid out a tech agenda for Mayor-elect zohrankmamdani.bsky.social that resists surveillance and extraction while advancing his goals for affordability, dignity, and justice.
Reposted by Claire Atkin
YouTube publicly decries Biden pressuring it to censor, then quietly does this at Trump's behest: theintercept.com/2025/11/04/y...
YouTube Quietly Erased More Than 700 Videos Documenting Israeli Human Rights Violations
The tech giant deleted the accounts of three prominent Palestinian human rights groups — a capitulation to Trump sanctions.
theintercept.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:26 PM
YouTube publicly decries Biden pressuring it to censor, then quietly does this at Trump's behest: theintercept.com/2025/11/04/y...
Reposted by Claire Atkin
"Artificial intelligentsia." — @ruha9.bsky.social 🔥🔥🔥
November 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
"Artificial intelligentsia." — @ruha9.bsky.social 🔥🔥🔥
Reposted by Claire Atkin
Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly pausing its fund to support founders who lack access to traditional venture networks
Many of its participants were women and minorities who, overall, receive very little venture capital funding
Many of its participants were women and minorities who, overall, receive very little venture capital funding
a16z pauses its famed TxO Fund for underserved founders, lays off staff | TechCrunch
Andreessen Horowitz is pausing its Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund and program, according to multiple sources.
techcrunch.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly pausing its fund to support founders who lack access to traditional venture networks
Many of its participants were women and minorities who, overall, receive very little venture capital funding
Many of its participants were women and minorities who, overall, receive very little venture capital funding
Reposted by Claire Atkin
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).
It’s also concerning. 1/
It’s also concerning. 1/
PSA: we're aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.
October 27, 2025 at 10:38 AM
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).
It’s also concerning. 1/
It’s also concerning. 1/
Reposted by Claire Atkin
Almost every major news story this week is about how the entire economy is now gambling, scams, bribes and theft.
October 24, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Almost every major news story this week is about how the entire economy is now gambling, scams, bribes and theft.
Reposted by Claire Atkin
I very rarely have direct contact on newsroom projects anymore, but this is cool because I did work with folks to help with the original collection protocol to make sure this information was handled and stored privately and wouldn't leave us with a re-identifiable dataset.
How does TikTok keep its millions of users scrolling, swiping and staring at their phones?
With readers' help, we collected data from more than 1,000 TikTok users to find out: https://wapo.st/4nC6Nyr
With readers' help, we collected data from more than 1,000 TikTok users to find out: https://wapo.st/4nC6Nyr
How TikTok keeps its users scrolling for hours a day
Washington Post reporters analyzed data from over 800 TikTok users to learn how the app turns people into power users, some of whom spend hours per day scrolling.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 7, 2025 at 11:46 PM
I very rarely have direct contact on newsroom projects anymore, but this is cool because I did work with folks to help with the original collection protocol to make sure this information was handled and stored privately and wouldn't leave us with a re-identifiable dataset.
Reposted by Claire Atkin
Everyone keeps saying that an individual's user data just isn't worth that much. Well now we know it's worth at least as much as a 3GB/mo cell phone plan.
September 27, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Everyone keeps saying that an individual's user data just isn't worth that much. Well now we know it's worth at least as much as a 3GB/mo cell phone plan.
Reposted by Claire Atkin
I’ve long been a fan of the Check My Ads people. Now they’re launching a really ambitious-looking “Policy Platform” aimed at cleaning up the online-advertising business. My belief is that anyone who’s had much exposure to that business or to “AdTech” probably agrees that cleanup is called for […]
Original post on cosocial.ca
cosocial.ca
June 12, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I’ve long been a fan of the Check My Ads people. Now they’re launching a really ambitious-looking “Policy Platform” aimed at cleaning up the online-advertising business. My belief is that anyone who’s had much exposure to that business or to “AdTech” probably agrees that cleanup is called for […]
Reposted by Claire Atkin
We cooperated with RTE PrimeTime over the last year on this very significant story about RTB data exposing the movements of Irish people, including military and political personnel.
Link to this morning's preview piece is here --> www.rte.ie/news/primeti...
Link to this morning's preview piece is here --> www.rte.ie/news/primeti...
September 18, 2025 at 5:49 AM
We cooperated with RTE PrimeTime over the last year on this very significant story about RTB data exposing the movements of Irish people, including military and political personnel.
Link to this morning's preview piece is here --> www.rte.ie/news/primeti...
Link to this morning's preview piece is here --> www.rte.ie/news/primeti...
Reposted by Claire Atkin
There's so much talent, audience, attention, interest, and money up in the air right now. The co-ops coalescing right now are just one example of this. Hopefully a sign that it'll be a million sustainable blooms and not one enormous overbalanced one.
There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people to build on the rubble of what’s being destroyed before our eyes. Private corporations bending over to forcefeed everyone government-approved speech is evil and amoral, but more than anything this creates boring, inauthentic, unwatchable shit.
September 18, 2025 at 2:13 AM
There's so much talent, audience, attention, interest, and money up in the air right now. The co-ops coalescing right now are just one example of this. Hopefully a sign that it'll be a million sustainable blooms and not one enormous overbalanced one.
Reposted by Claire Atkin
The amount of shit I got for this segment at the time was astronomical, and it was all from people who now stalk CVS employees to get them fired for insufficient online sadness.
Cheering on political violence is both evil and not new, an outgrowth of an internet intentionally dismantled years ago.
Cheering on political violence is both evil and not new, an outgrowth of an internet intentionally dismantled years ago.
September 16, 2025 at 12:56 AM
The amount of shit I got for this segment at the time was astronomical, and it was all from people who now stalk CVS employees to get them fired for insufficient online sadness.
Cheering on political violence is both evil and not new, an outgrowth of an internet intentionally dismantled years ago.
Cheering on political violence is both evil and not new, an outgrowth of an internet intentionally dismantled years ago.
Reposted by Claire Atkin
Every major publication in this country needs to have dedicated staffers or correspondents reporting on gaming, streamers, podcasts, and TikTok. Not as a once in a while thing. As standard beats. These are massive segments of American culture. No excuses for it anymore.
basically a generational cohort split here where certain younger people intuitively grasp the irony poisoned context, and if you aren't already up to speed, very hard to explain
Watching the cable news commentary on the bullet engravings is wild because none of these people seem to realize that the content of the engravings are indicative of extremely online meme brain rot
September 12, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Every major publication in this country needs to have dedicated staffers or correspondents reporting on gaming, streamers, podcasts, and TikTok. Not as a once in a while thing. As standard beats. These are massive segments of American culture. No excuses for it anymore.
Reposted by Claire Atkin
If you do want to hurt Google’s power, start moving off its services and push your politicians so they realize this is an issue they should be working on.
Move to Proton, Qwant/Ecosia, and Vivaldi to start. More options here: disconnect.blog/getting-off-...
Move to Proton, Qwant/Ecosia, and Vivaldi to start. More options here: disconnect.blog/getting-off-...
September 4, 2025 at 10:32 PM
If you do want to hurt Google’s power, start moving off its services and push your politicians so they realize this is an issue they should be working on.
Move to Proton, Qwant/Ecosia, and Vivaldi to start. More options here: disconnect.blog/getting-off-...
Move to Proton, Qwant/Ecosia, and Vivaldi to start. More options here: disconnect.blog/getting-off-...
Reposted by Claire Atkin
Tech Policy Press is now accepting applications for our 2026 fellowship cohort. We're looking for journalists, researchers, and policy professionals to pursue independent reporting or analysis on urgent questions at the intersection of technology and democracy.
Learn more below!
Learn more below!
Call for Applications: 2026 Tech Policy Press Fellowship Program | TechPolicy.Press
The deadline for applications is October 15th, 2025.
www.techpolicy.press
September 3, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Tech Policy Press is now accepting applications for our 2026 fellowship cohort. We're looking for journalists, researchers, and policy professionals to pursue independent reporting or analysis on urgent questions at the intersection of technology and democracy.
Learn more below!
Learn more below!