Damon Kiesow
@damon.kiesow.net
Knight Chair in Journalism at Mizzou. Authored first textbook for News Product Management. Previously: Director of Product at McClatchy. Big @newsproduct.org fan.
Pinned
Damon Kiesow
@damon.kiesow.net
· Nov 12
Who am I following here?
People who create, develop and protect knowledge.
Who study history and democracy.
Who take a critical eye to technology.
Who monitor public health, labor, supply chains.
People who create, develop and protect knowledge.
Who study history and democracy.
Who take a critical eye to technology.
Who monitor public health, labor, supply chains.
The Stasi would be proud of this level of ruthless efficiency.
A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account.
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
February 3, 2026 at 6:14 PM
The Stasi would be proud of this level of ruthless efficiency.
Unsourced/uncredited news is rumor.
Periodic reminder: When someone shares news with "BREAKING" and they aren't a journalist and don't link to a news story, it's probably not the best source for people to be resharing. It might be trying to get rage reposts, even! Better to find a news article that is accurately describing facts.
February 3, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Unsourced/uncredited news is rumor.
I wonder how racist a prominent CEO would need to be to deter national media from headlining his explicitly racist complaints.
February 3, 2026 at 3:17 AM
I wonder how racist a prominent CEO would need to be to deter national media from headlining his explicitly racist complaints.
With apologies, I was prepared to believe this was an overly-alarmist take.
But they make a measured argument.
But they make a measured argument.
February 3, 2026 at 3:06 AM
With apologies, I was prepared to believe this was an overly-alarmist take.
But they make a measured argument.
But they make a measured argument.
Posted this previously:
Big tech sells digital goods that for consumers frictionlessly cross political boundaries. But for the business - each regulatory regime imposes costs and constraints.
Their internally rational and grievously immoral response is to prefer authoritarianism and force.
Big tech sells digital goods that for consumers frictionlessly cross political boundaries. But for the business - each regulatory regime imposes costs and constraints.
Their internally rational and grievously immoral response is to prefer authoritarianism and force.
Peter Thiel has been open about this for a long time. Trump is a way to break the republic, which can then be replaced by “free economic zones” with oligarchs as dictators and tech as a taskmaster for helpless humans without any rights. (1/2)
Definitely seems like they destroyed the country on purpose.
February 3, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Posted this previously:
Big tech sells digital goods that for consumers frictionlessly cross political boundaries. But for the business - each regulatory regime imposes costs and constraints.
Their internally rational and grievously immoral response is to prefer authoritarianism and force.
Big tech sells digital goods that for consumers frictionlessly cross political boundaries. But for the business - each regulatory regime imposes costs and constraints.
Their internally rational and grievously immoral response is to prefer authoritarianism and force.
I saw the dullest minds of my generation destroyed by hate, hungry for grievance, hysterical for grift, dragging themselves through the gutters of the Internet looking for their angry fix of outrage and ignorance, supplicating to the incompetent idols of a failing state.
February 3, 2026 at 1:44 AM
I saw the dullest minds of my generation destroyed by hate, hungry for grievance, hysterical for grift, dragging themselves through the gutters of the Internet looking for their angry fix of outrage and ignorance, supplicating to the incompetent idols of a failing state.
Reposted by Damon Kiesow
Love it when this administration's obscene tweets become evidence against them in court
February 3, 2026 at 12:56 AM
Love it when this administration's obscene tweets become evidence against them in court
From a friend in MPLS: “People are struggling to maintain a manageable war / life balance.”
February 2, 2026 at 11:02 PM
From a friend in MPLS: “People are struggling to maintain a manageable war / life balance.”
I will start to believe AI is actually good for uses like this when it is not marketed as "AI."
“The company is trialling an AI-powered chatbot, which can help match drinks with customer moods, and is introducing the ability to schedule orders in a bid to reduce customer waits.”
Starbucks bets on robots to brew a turnaround and win customers
Chief executive Brian Niccol explains why he thinks AI will help the coffee giant regain its buzz.
www.bbc.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:50 PM
I will start to believe AI is actually good for uses like this when it is not marketed as "AI."
The Minneapolis media has been practicing resistance journalism for the past few weeks and I have not seen anyone writing about this yet?
February 2, 2026 at 4:08 PM
The Minneapolis media has been practicing resistance journalism for the past few weeks and I have not seen anyone writing about this yet?
Reposted by Damon Kiesow
There are reasons why you put an editor who's actually done reporting and editing in charge of a large news organization, and CBS News has turned into a daily reminder of that.
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
CBS News Expected to Cut Ties With Contributor Peter Attia Over Epstein Links | Exclusive
Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss announced Peter Attia’s hiring last week as part of her new vision for the network, but since then he appeared in the Epstein files.
www.thewrap.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:52 PM
There are reasons why you put an editor who's actually done reporting and editing in charge of a large news organization, and CBS News has turned into a daily reminder of that.
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
If we are going to anthropomorphize (we should not) then genAI actually has Dunning-Kruger. Very good at a few things and then entirely and incorrectly confident about everything else.
February 2, 2026 at 1:43 AM
If we are going to anthropomorphize (we should not) then genAI actually has Dunning-Kruger. Very good at a few things and then entirely and incorrectly confident about everything else.
This seems like more than 'contempt.'
And here's a text-heavy order from Judge Sorokin on Friday saying ICE failed to heed his orders to ensure a detained woman was receiving epilepsy medication. He threatened contempt if the meds were not provided. www.courtlistener.com/docket/72181...
February 1, 2026 at 7:58 PM
This seems like more than 'contempt.'
I believe in this strategy, it also is also one that is less viable the smaller the outlet. In a general market failure we also need to figure different solutions for different newsrooms.
chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...
chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...
Paywall-free news coverage of ICE raids, deportation campaign aids those who need it most
Paywalls create a two-tiered citizenry — one that can afford to be informed, and one that cannot, actor and political activist John Cusack writes.
chicago.suntimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:19 PM
I believe in this strategy, it also is also one that is less viable the smaller the outlet. In a general market failure we also need to figure different solutions for different newsrooms.
chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...
chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...
Reposted by Damon Kiesow
"That we have not (yet) set up an Auschwitz-Birkenau, replete with crematoria, is not evidence to the contrary. After all, the German Nazis didn’t just suddenly start killing millions in the 1940s; their crimes against humanity began years earlier, in the 1930s." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/29/s...
Speak Its Name: Yes, This Is Naziism
History never repeats exactly the same, which is how it can be hard to recognize when it is indeed repeating—too many little things may be different the second time around for subsequent events to …
www.techdirt.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:08 PM
"That we have not (yet) set up an Auschwitz-Birkenau, replete with crematoria, is not evidence to the contrary. After all, the German Nazis didn’t just suddenly start killing millions in the 1940s; their crimes against humanity began years earlier, in the 1930s." www.techdirt.com/2026/01/29/s...
Reposted by Damon Kiesow
In Springfield, Ohio, people are preparing in advance of a “large deportation” promised by the president. To all appearances, the city is two or three days from a federal ethnic cleansing, grounded in a hate campaign organized by the vice-president and American Nazis.
February 1, 2026 at 5:21 PM
In Springfield, Ohio, people are preparing in advance of a “large deportation” promised by the president. To all appearances, the city is two or three days from a federal ethnic cleansing, grounded in a hate campaign organized by the vice-president and American Nazis.
Amazing how often the Onion's old headlines are relevant to newer events. The famous "No blood for Oil" vs "How much Oil are we talking about" = "No donations from sex traffickers" vs "How much money are we talking about?"
theonion.com/no-blood-for...
theonion.com/no-blood-for...
February 1, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Amazing how often the Onion's old headlines are relevant to newer events. The famous "No blood for Oil" vs "How much Oil are we talking about" = "No donations from sex traffickers" vs "How much money are we talking about?"
theonion.com/no-blood-for...
theonion.com/no-blood-for...
I would propose a “six degrees of separation” but for empathy in relation to public policy choices.
Almost everyone regrets when they or their spouse/children are harmed by a candidate or policy they all voted for. That is a zero degree of empathy.
Almost everyone regrets when they or their spouse/children are harmed by a candidate or policy they all voted for. That is a zero degree of empathy.
February 1, 2026 at 1:19 AM
I would propose a “six degrees of separation” but for empathy in relation to public policy choices.
Almost everyone regrets when they or their spouse/children are harmed by a candidate or policy they all voted for. That is a zero degree of empathy.
Almost everyone regrets when they or their spouse/children are harmed by a candidate or policy they all voted for. That is a zero degree of empathy.
Reposted by Damon Kiesow
The Marshall Project used alternative story forms to directly connect with the people at the center of the story rjionline.org/news/how-we-...
How we created resources for families of victims of unsolved homicides in St. Louis
The Marshall Project used alternative story forms to directly connect with the people at the center of the story.
rjionline.org
January 31, 2026 at 11:04 PM
The Marshall Project used alternative story forms to directly connect with the people at the center of the story rjionline.org/news/how-we-...
Reposted by Damon Kiesow
It should not take a court order to get a toddler out of a prison.
January 31, 2026 at 9:22 PM
It should not take a court order to get a toddler out of a prison.
My overly-confident assertion is that GenAI will only ever be reliable for critical (risk to humans) autonomous uses in very rules-based contexts and as a convenient UI in other cases.
www.reddit.com/r/antiai/s/7...
www.reddit.com/r/antiai/s/7...
From the antiai community on Reddit: AI Agents Are Mathematically Incapable of Doing Functional Work, Paper Finds
Explore this post and more from the antiai community
www.reddit.com
January 31, 2026 at 9:15 PM
My overly-confident assertion is that GenAI will only ever be reliable for critical (risk to humans) autonomous uses in very rules-based contexts and as a convenient UI in other cases.
www.reddit.com/r/antiai/s/7...
www.reddit.com/r/antiai/s/7...
Reposted by Damon Kiesow
“You cannot be neutral about the dismantling of our democracy and still expect to be protected by it,” Fort told CJR days before her arrest. “If the Constitution fails to protect US citizens, it will fail to protect the media, the free press." www.cjr.org/news/astonis...
The astonishing arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort.
In an interview, Fort described a challenge in her work documenting news in the Twin Cities: “Every independent journalist is kind of every person for themselves.” Two days later, officers came to her...
www.cjr.org
January 31, 2026 at 4:04 AM
“You cannot be neutral about the dismantling of our democracy and still expect to be protected by it,” Fort told CJR days before her arrest. “If the Constitution fails to protect US citizens, it will fail to protect the media, the free press." www.cjr.org/news/astonis...
We are in an AI bubble, and big tech's stated goals and ethics are reprehensible. But many critiques are distorted by elite bias: experts anxious about displacement, ignoring the crowd of outsiders quietly using the tools to level up skills.
January 31, 2026 at 2:31 PM
We are in an AI bubble, and big tech's stated goals and ethics are reprehensible. But many critiques are distorted by elite bias: experts anxious about displacement, ignoring the crowd of outsiders quietly using the tools to level up skills.
Back of the envelope:
Silicon Valley spent more on AI last year than the entire space program leading up to the first Moon landing. Something more than $400 billion in 2025 dollars.
Silicon Valley spent more on AI last year than the entire space program leading up to the first Moon landing. Something more than $400 billion in 2025 dollars.
January 30, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Back of the envelope:
Silicon Valley spent more on AI last year than the entire space program leading up to the first Moon landing. Something more than $400 billion in 2025 dollars.
Silicon Valley spent more on AI last year than the entire space program leading up to the first Moon landing. Something more than $400 billion in 2025 dollars.