Alexios Mantzarlis
@mantzarlis.com
Tech, facts, and carbonara.
mantzarlis.com
mantzarlis.com
Pinned
Grokipedia cites a Nazi forum and fringe conspiracy websites
A site-wide comparison with Wikipedia sheds light on what Elon Musk is trying to do
indicator.media
NEW on @indicator.media: A first *full-scale* comparison of Grokipedia v Wikipedia.
Last week the awesome @harold.bsky.social rocked up to my desk bearing gifts.
Hal had collected almost all 900K Grokipedia entries and compared them to their Wikipedia equivalents for text and citation similarity.
Last week the awesome @harold.bsky.social rocked up to my desk bearing gifts.
Hal had collected almost all 900K Grokipedia entries and compared them to their Wikipedia equivalents for text and citation similarity.
self-reported, but interesting -- the share of Australians who say they saw an AI label on misinformation they came across on social media doubled in 2025 compared to the year before
www.acma.gov.au/publications...
www.acma.gov.au/publications...
November 26, 2025 at 6:57 PM
self-reported, but interesting -- the share of Australians who say they saw an AI label on misinformation they came across on social media doubled in 2025 compared to the year before
www.acma.gov.au/publications...
www.acma.gov.au/publications...
I can't get over how quickly the window shifted at Google over what is acceptable from its image generator.
Photorealistic 'evidence' of sensitive events was once a red line.
No longer. "Show the White House on fire with emergency crews responding" returns the desired image with no jailbreak.
Photorealistic 'evidence' of sensitive events was once a red line.
No longer. "Show the White House on fire with emergency crews responding" returns the desired image with no jailbreak.
Google’s Nano Banana Pro generates excellent conspiracy fuel
What are facts?
www.theverge.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I can't get over how quickly the window shifted at Google over what is acceptable from its image generator.
Photorealistic 'evidence' of sensitive events was once a red line.
No longer. "Show the White House on fire with emergency crews responding" returns the desired image with no jailbreak.
Photorealistic 'evidence' of sensitive events was once a red line.
No longer. "Show the White House on fire with emergency crews responding" returns the desired image with no jailbreak.
Sigh, some of my students have recorded their video at 1.25x speed to meet the 10-minute maximum. This happened last term as well and is 100% on me for not putting this rule explicitly in the assignment; it is a Trust & Safety course after all.
November 26, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Sigh, some of my students have recorded their video at 1.25x speed to meet the 10-minute maximum. This happened last term as well and is 100% on me for not putting this rule explicitly in the assignment; it is a Trust & Safety course after all.
thank you, @mmasnick.bsky.social
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety te…
www.techdirt.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:25 PM
thank you, @mmasnick.bsky.social
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
Dutch public broadcaster NOS quits X over disinformation reut.rs/3KpybRU
Dutch public broadcaster NOS quits X over disinformation
Dutch public broadcaster NOS on Tuesday said it had stopped posting on Elon Musk's social media platform X, as it said it did not want to facilitate the spreading of disinformation.
reut.rs
November 25, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Dutch public broadcaster NOS quits X over disinformation reut.rs/3KpybRU
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
Timeline.
🔴13 Nov - Ronaldo gets red card in Portugal’s game v ireland. (Should miss opening 2 games of World Cup.)
🟠18 Nov - Ronaldo meets Donald Trump at White House.
🟢25 Nov - FIFA clears Ronaldo to play in World Cup from start.
🔴13 Nov - Ronaldo gets red card in Portugal’s game v ireland. (Should miss opening 2 games of World Cup.)
🟠18 Nov - Ronaldo meets Donald Trump at White House.
🟢25 Nov - FIFA clears Ronaldo to play in World Cup from start.
November 25, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Timeline.
🔴13 Nov - Ronaldo gets red card in Portugal’s game v ireland. (Should miss opening 2 games of World Cup.)
🟠18 Nov - Ronaldo meets Donald Trump at White House.
🟢25 Nov - FIFA clears Ronaldo to play in World Cup from start.
🔴13 Nov - Ronaldo gets red card in Portugal’s game v ireland. (Should miss opening 2 games of World Cup.)
🟠18 Nov - Ronaldo meets Donald Trump at White House.
🟢25 Nov - FIFA clears Ronaldo to play in World Cup from start.
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Trump’s Fury at BBC Gets Unnerving Results with Pro-MAGA Edit Stunner
First, British Broadcasting Corporation execs resigned after Trump complained about a segment. Now the BBC edited out a line from a historian that was critical of Trump. Where does this end?
newrepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:10 PM
NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
Would love to think it was a passive-aggressive swipe at a conservative structure which never really embraced him. Or maybe a wayward employee who snuck one past the boss.
I'd love to know why Musk thought this was a good idea. I mean, it was for us, not so much for him.
November 24, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Would love to think it was a passive-aggressive swipe at a conservative structure which never really embraced him. Or maybe a wayward employee who snuck one past the boss.
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
A major perk for @indicator.media members is our monthly workshop. This Friday, @craigsilverman.bsky.social will walk folks through how to look for valuable documents hiding in open air, the topic of our latest guide. Upgrade to paid now to attend the workshop!
The Indicator Guide to hunting for documents and files in open buckets, servers, and directories
How to find interesting and potentially confidential documents sitting on a publicly-accessible server or website
indicator.media
November 24, 2025 at 12:47 PM
A major perk for @indicator.media members is our monthly workshop. This Friday, @craigsilverman.bsky.social will walk folks through how to look for valuable documents hiding in open air, the topic of our latest guide. Upgrade to paid now to attend the workshop!
There really is only one Rose Lavelle
November 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
There really is only one Rose Lavelle
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
Remember all those promises to Cassidy about vaccines??
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Remember all those promises to Cassidy about vaccines??
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
He just tweeted it out
An X user asks Elon Musk why they’re seeing tweets from left-wing lawmakers.
Musk: “Because we are failing very badly with the recommendations algorithm. Doing my best to address this.”
Musk: “Because we are failing very badly with the recommendations algorithm. Doing my best to address this.”
November 21, 2025 at 12:50 PM
He just tweeted it out
Today on @indicator.media's (free) Briefing: A twinkle of optimism on the AI slop front as TikTok and Google roll out tools to filter and detect AI content.
I remain bearish about generative AI and info quality. But I’ll celebrate developments that increase user agency and platform transparency.
I remain bearish about generative AI and info quality. But I’ll celebrate developments that increase user agency and platform transparency.
Briefing: Good news on the AI slop front. No, really!
Plus: detecting AI-generated images with SynthID, and advanced archival OSINT
indicator.media
November 21, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Today on @indicator.media's (free) Briefing: A twinkle of optimism on the AI slop front as TikTok and Google roll out tools to filter and detect AI content.
I remain bearish about generative AI and info quality. But I’ll celebrate developments that increase user agency and platform transparency.
I remain bearish about generative AI and info quality. But I’ll celebrate developments that increase user agency and platform transparency.
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
Over on X today, Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok is having another normal one www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot ranks him as world history’s greatest human
Users on X shared examples of the “truth-seeking” AI chatbot praising its owner as “strikingly handsome,” a “genius,” and fitter than LeBron James.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Over on X today, Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok is having another normal one www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
why is every day in 2025 a worse and worse game of madlibs?
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 10:41 PM
why is every day in 2025 a worse and worse game of madlibs?
plus ça change...
How racist AI Facebook posts made one Sri Lankan influencer rich
The content creator made his fortune from racist Facebook groups aimed at Brits; now he’s sharing his formula
www.thebureauinvestigates.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:31 PM
plus ça change...
Grok is making stuff up about the Bataclan attacks.
13 Novembre : les rescapés du Bataclan face aux fake news de l’extrême droite, relayées par l’intelligence artificielle de X
Recyclant une rumeur déjà apparue en 2016, le collectif Némésis clame que les victimes de l’attentat ont subi des actes de tortures. Des aff
www.leparisien.fr
November 20, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Grok is making stuff up about the Bataclan attacks.
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
NEW: Elon Musk's Grokipedia cites a neo-Nazi website 42 times, researchers say www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-mu...
Elon Musk’s Grokipedia cites Stormfront — a neo-Nazi forum — dozens of times, study finds
An analysis by researchers at Cornell University is the first comprehensive look at Grokipedia since Musk launched his project last month.
www.nbcnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:22 PM
NEW: Elon Musk's Grokipedia cites a neo-Nazi website 42 times, researchers say www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-mu...
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
TikTok & Instagram have been deluged by thousands of videos from female students that praise Jenni, an AI study app. They say it's better than ChatGPT. They say it can improve your grades.
What don't they say? That they were paid to promote Jenni.
What don't they say? That they were paid to promote Jenni.
Thousands of undisclosed ads flooded TikTok to sell AI study apps
Maryland-based Mindgrasp used an army of student creators (and actors) to promote its study tools, without disclosing that they were paid.
indicator.media
November 20, 2025 at 1:58 PM
TikTok & Instagram have been deluged by thousands of videos from female students that praise Jenni, an AI study app. They say it's better than ChatGPT. They say it can improve your grades.
What don't they say? That they were paid to promote Jenni.
What don't they say? That they were paid to promote Jenni.
Dishonest advertising meets AI grift in @craigsilverman.bsky.social's latest on @indicator.media:
Thousands of undisclosed ads flooded TikTok to sell AI study apps
Maryland-based Mindgrasp used an army of student creators (and actors) to promote its study tools, without disclosing that they were paid.
indicator.media
November 20, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Dishonest advertising meets AI grift in @craigsilverman.bsky.social's latest on @indicator.media:
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
Trump says he’s meeting with “communist” Mamdani at the White House on Friday
November 20, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Trump says he’s meeting with “communist” Mamdani at the White House on Friday
Reposted by Alexios Mantzarlis
@davidingram.bsky.social covered @mantzarlis.com and my work on Grokipedia citations for NBC! much more to analyze here
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Elon Musk’s Grokipedia cites neo-Nazi website 42 times: study
An analysis by researchers at Cornell University is the first comprehensive look at Grokipedia since Musk launched his project last month.
www.nbcnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:26 PM
@davidingram.bsky.social covered @mantzarlis.com and my work on Grokipedia citations for NBC! much more to analyze here
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...