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Joe Murphy

@joemurph.bsky.social

4.7K followers 1.9K following 490 posts

Data editor @NBCNews.com, @NBCguild.bsky.social strong, Oregonian born & raised, lives in NYC (Gowanus, Brooklyn). Formerly: New York Daily News, Denver Post, Medill. Into dataviz, spreadsheets, accessibility, coding. joemurph.76 on signal joemurph.com

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · Mar 1

Very proud of the bio I wrote for the #NICAR2025 / #NICAR session I'm part of, wherein I shoutout the best text editor on the planet (vim).

Joe Murphy is a technically skilled editor at NBC News who loves figuring things out, getting people on the phone, unusual spreadsheets and making order from chaos. Also a fan of accessibility, Python, CSS, vim and the command line.

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 5h

This is now the fifth-longest U.S. government shutdown. www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

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Reposted by Joe Murphy

Meredith Martin @mmvty.bsky.social · 1d

📣 New preprint! We know humans are biased against AI-creativity. But what about LLMs, now often judging creativity in various contexts? Do they replicate, transform, or amplify this bias? We tested it. Turns out: AI is 2.5X more biased against its own work than humans. arxiv.org/pdf/2510.08831 🧵

arxiv.org

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Reposted by Joe Murphy

Kevin Collier @kevincollier.bsky.social · 4d

New: We jailbroke four versions of ChatGPT to get instructions on how to create viruses and chemical weapons.

The instructions were all flawed, and the it didn't work on GPT-5. But 4 of the 5 big AI companies have internally found their top models are close to being able to tutor bioterrorists.

ChatGPT safety systems can be bypassed to get weapons instructions

NBC News found that OpenAI’s models repeatedly provided answers on making chemical and biological weapons.

www.nbcnews.com

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Reposted by Joe Murphy

David Ingram @davidingram.bsky.social · 5d

ANOTHER update on my earlier reporting: NHTSA said today they're investigating Tesla over how FSD handles rail crossings. www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-mu...

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 7d

“Nvidia plans to invest in OpenAI, which is buying cloud computing from Oracle, which is buying chips from Nvidia, which has a stake in CoreWeave, which is providing artificial intelligence infrastructure to OpenAI.” #dataViz www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

This chart shows which tech and AI companies are funding each other – many fund one company, which then funds another, which then funds the first one. Companies include OpenAi, Nvidia, Oracle, Meta.

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 9d

A digital drawing of squares, mostly, grey white black blue and red, some textured, some overlapping, some just skinny lil' rectangles. Two larger red rectangles are top and center, overlapping (or are they) shapes surround.

Reposted by Joe Murphy

Megan Lebowitz @megan-lebowitz.bsky.social · 11d

Shutdown Day 3. Here’s where we’re at.

W/ @joemurph.bsky.social & the @nbcnews.com data/graphics team

www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 12d

I saw that! Some of our team’s work was featured near the top of it!

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 12d

Not all #dataviz has to be in chart form – this presentation of what's happened during the government shutdown and what's to come is mostly HTML & CSS, with a little bit of SVG.

www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

Day 1
Oct. 1
The federal government shuts down.
National park visitor centers close.
Department of Veterans Affairs regional offices close.
Social Security benefit verifications are suspended.
Certain small-business loan approvals are now paused.
Bureau of Labor Statistics ceases to release economic and employment data.
Day 3
Oct. 3
By the end of the day, the current shutdown will have lasted longer than seven previous government shutdowns.
The Senate will revote on stopgap funding measures that have previously failed.

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 12d

New from @megan-lebowitz.bsky.social and the @NBCNews.com Data / Graphics team: A day-by-day ticker of what to expect (and what has happened) from the federal government shutdown

www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

Government shutdown key dates: What could happen, day by day

Museums may close by Day 7, and WIC funds could lapse by Day 15.

www.nbcnews.com

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 16d

“Right-wing terror attacks plunged in 2025, while left-wing attacks ticked up: study
From 2011 through 2024, an average of 20 right-wing terror incidents took place each year, compared to an average of nearly three left-wing incidents annually.”

www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

Right-wing terror attacks plunged in 2025, while left-wing attacks ticked up: study

From 2011 through 2024, an average of 20 right-wing terror incidents took place each year, compared to an average of nearly three left-wing incidents annually.

www.nbcnews.com

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Reposted by Joe Murphy

Shannon Pettypiece @spettypi.bsky.social · 21d

RVs are becoming the housing of last resort for a growing number of Americans.
Nearly 500,000 Americans are living full time in an RV, around double the number four years ago.
I spent time with a few of them. Here are their stories.

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Priced out of traditional housing, more Americans are living in RVs

Moving into an RV may seem like a way to save money, but it can come with unexpected costs and trap families in a cycle of debt.

www.nbcnews.com

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 21d

There’s a measles outbreak growing now in a pocket of vaccine resistance in Utah and Arizona:

www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Measles outbreak growing in parts of Arizona and Utah, health officials say

Measles vaccination rates have plummeted in the neighboring communities over the last 10 years.

www.nbcnews.com

Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 22d

"About 486,000 people live full-time in an RV, which appears to be more than twice as many as in 2021," industry figures show — U.S. Census Bureau data also show a smaller, but substantial surge in this type of housing.

@spettypi.bsky.social for @NBCNews.com

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Priced out of traditional housing, more Americans are living in RVs

Moving into an RV may seem like a way to save money, but it can come with unexpected costs and trap families in a cycle of debt.

www.nbcnews.com

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 24d

CYNICAL, JENNY HOLZER

Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 24d

NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk talks about the Vaccine Divide investigation for the @NBCNews.com podcast Here’s the Scoop: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-X-...

The Vaccine Divide: An Exclusive NBC News investigation

YouTube video by NBC News

www.youtube.com

Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 25d

We have a new intern on the @NBCNews.com Data / Graphics team, and Melinda earned her first byline today with this story and quiz on the changes to the U.S. citizenship test. www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

There's a new, longer U.S. citizenship test with more history questions. Can you answer some?

Citizenship applicants will be asked up to 20 randomly selected questions out of 128 as part of the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test; you can test your knowledge with our modified quiz.

www.nbcnews.com

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Reposted by Joe Murphy

Tyler Kingkade @tktk.bsky.social · 26d

NEW: I tracked three dozen teachers, professors and other school staff who've been forced from their job or stepped away due to their comments on Charlie Kirk and his killing

Republican lawmakers are increasingly getting involved, pushing for firings

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Teachers' punishment for social media posts on Charlie Kirk's death prompts free speech debate

More than three dozen professors, teachers and school staffers have left or been removed over allegations they made disparaging or mocking comments about Charlie Kirk.

www.nbcnews.com

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 27d

... and more VACCINE DIVIDE coverage:

Boise www.ktvb.com/article/news...

Arizona www.12news.com/article/news...

Orlando www.wesh.com/article/vacc...

Philadelphia www.nbcphiladelphia.com/investigatio...

Vaccination rates for measles, mumps dropping across Arizona. One parent explains why they don't want the shot.

Nearly every county in Arizona has reported a drop in MMR vaccinations since 2019.

www.12news.com

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 27d

New from @EvanBush.bsky.social for @NBCNews.com:
Senate Democrats want to revive a NOAA database that tracked billion-dollar natural disasters
www.nbcnews.com/science/scie...

Senate Democrats want to revive a NOAA database that tracked billion-dollar natural disasters

NOAA kept a database of disasters that exceeded $1 billion in damage since 1980, but the agency halted the project amid funding cuts by the Trump administration.

www.nbcnews.com

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 27d

VACCINE DIVIDE coverage:

Houston www.click2houston.com/topic/Vaccin...

Washington, D.C. www.nbcwashington.com/news/health/...

Bay Area www.nbcbayarea.com/investigatio...

Salt Lake City ksltv.com/local-news/v...

San Diego www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investi...

Austin www.kxan.com/investigatio...

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 27d

VACCINE DIVIDE: A dozen NBC News stations across the U.S. pursued their own coverage based on the @NBCNews.com and Stanford University data and analysis. Here are their stories:

Chicago www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/t...

Hartford, Connecticut www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/c...

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 28d

Part two of the Vaccine Divide project just published:

”According to an exclusive NBC News and Stanford University analysis, 53% of U.S. counties saw vaccine exemption rates more than double from the first year of available data to the most recent”

www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

In West Virginia, a legal battle over school vaccine mandates reflects national tension

A showdown over vaccine exemptions between the state’s Republican governor and school board could be settled by two competing lawsuits.

www.nbcnews.com

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 28d

This investigation into childhood vaccination rates, done in collaboration with Stanford University, continues today.

Here’s part one:
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Data investigation: Childhood vaccination rates are backsliding across the U.S.

A monthslong NBC News data investigation finds that much of the U.S. doesn't have the protection needed to stop the spread of deadly diseases. St. Louis is a window into the problem communities face n...

www.nbcnews.com

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Joe Murphy @joemurph.bsky.social · 28d

We say so much in the notes for New Mexico and in the caveats on the methodology, fwiw.