Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · 5d

Nice to see that the woman who's trying to bring democracy back to Venezuela won the Peace Prize and not the guy who's bombing its ships.

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · 12d

Dear tech billionaires: please put ChatGPT behind a really expensive paywall.

Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Aug 20

The International Labour Organization is spelled with a U and a Z. So is it secretly Canadian?

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Reposted by Matt Robertshaw

Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Aug 12

• Benito Sylvain tackles racism in the press 👊
• Mormons abolish polygamy 💍
• A plea for the Dutch king to join the antislavery effort 🇳🇱
• An exposé on spiritism and hypnotism 🔮
• Fingerprinting technology in China 🇨🇳
• A French musician sued by an American promoter 🎻
• What's on in the theatre?🎭

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Reposted by Matt Robertshaw

Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Aug 12

The 8th issue of La Fraternité (🇭🇹🗞️🇫🇷) is now available. Peruse the news from 14 October 1890.

See highlights below.

#HaitianSky #FrenchHistory #Paris1890 #YesterdaysNews

Black Republic of Letters: Year 1, Issue 8 – 14 October 1890

scalar.library.yorku.ca

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Aug 12

• Benito Sylvain tackles racism in the press 👊
• Mormons abolish polygamy 💍
• A plea for the Dutch king to join the antislavery effort 🇳🇱
• An exposé on spiritism and hypnotism 🔮
• Fingerprinting technology in China 🇨🇳
• A French musician sued by an American promoter 🎻
• What's on in the theatre?🎭

2

Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Aug 12

The 8th issue of La Fraternité (🇭🇹🗞️🇫🇷) is now available. Peruse the news from 14 October 1890.

See highlights below.

#HaitianSky #FrenchHistory #Paris1890 #YesterdaysNews

Black Republic of Letters: Year 1, Issue 8 – 14 October 1890

scalar.library.yorku.ca

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Aug 1

"Colour prejudice—the most ferocious and inept of all—is an error that the past generation was fed as mother's milk... The new generation... is getting rid of it little by little and without effort. And one can hope that by the end of this century, racial prejudice will be a thing of the past."

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Aug 1

A Haitian in Paris in 1890, Benito Sylvain, tackles racism in the press.

#HaitianSky #History #Paris #YesterdaysNews

Black Republic of Letters: Negrophobia

Benito Sylvain tackles racism in the press

scalar.library.yorku.ca

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jul 31

"Vegetarians, as their name implies, eat nothing but vegetables. They claim that, on the day when the entire universe stops eating meat, perfect happiness will reign on the earth—so much will manners be softened by the unique consumption of easily digestible foods!"

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jul 29

Highlights:
• Editorial regarding Vodou in Haiti 🇭🇹
• War and peace in Dahomey 🇧🇯
• Thoughts on vegetarians 🥗
• Dumas fils plays a prank 🎭
• Electric lighting 💡
• More thoughts on the anti-slavery congress ⛓️
• A pianist with a broken leg 🦵
• US tariff fears 💰
• US imperialism in Haiti 🇺🇸

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jul 29

The 7th issue of La Fraternité (🇭🇹🗞️🇫🇷) is now available. Peruse the news from 7 October 1890.

See highlights below.

#HaitianSky #FrenchHistory #Paris1890 #YesterdaysNews

Black Republic of Letters: Year 1, Issue 7 – 7 October 1890

scalar.library.yorku.ca

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Reposted by Matt Robertshaw

Jonathan M. Katz @katz.theracket.news · Jul 7

This is shattering. The Oloffson wasn't just a hotel. Not even just a landmark or historic site. It was a spiritual home for thousands of people over the years, Haitian and foreigner, including me.

susana ferreira @susanaferreira.com · Jul 6

Hotel Oloffson is gone. The iconic Port-au-Prince gingerbread was set alight and burned to ash last night. #Haiti

Drone image of the Hotel Oloffson, Port-au-Prince, with the entirety of the wooden building burned, only the brick skeleton remains, surrounded by trees.

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Reposted by Matt Robertshaw

Tina Loo @lootina.bsky.social · Jun 25

Wow. It really does make you more stupid. arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872

Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task

This study explores the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing. Participants were divided into three groups: LLM, Search Engine, and Brain-only (no tools). Each completed thr...

arxiv.org

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jun 20

I have two words for you (since 2008).

Reposted by Matt Robertshaw

Dr. Natalie Mendoza @drmendozan.bsky.social · Jun 16

🗃️ I read the article and agree with @kawulf.bsky.social. I would add a few points in support:

This article is premised on a basic misunderstanding of the historical research process. It’s important to note that, as far as I can tell, the author of the article is not a professional historian, i.e.

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · Jun 16

This piece is worth reading/ wrestling with. imho.
1. AI can't do original research and thinking; it recombines (often badly) so may be most potent for digestible popular history. That's worth worrying about separately. 1/ www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/m...

A.I. Is Poised to Rewrite History. Literally.

www.nytimes.com

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jun 15

#NoKings!*

*in the US; we don't mind having a constitutional monarch here.

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jun 12

You know people or follow them online for years and then suddenly one day it's all they want to talk about.

Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jun 12

*white people.

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jun 12

It makes a few people really rich.

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jun 12

The whole thing relies on the unfaltering confidence of its adherents.

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · Jun 12

Is crypto a cult? It seems a bit culty.

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Reposted by Matt Robertshaw

Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · May 30

I couldn't find a list of countries that were members of the League of Nations Council so I spent three hours in the LON digital archive and made this.

(I used the modern flags because they exist as emojis)

#leagueofnations #multilateralism #unitednations

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Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · May 30

Maybe it should have air quotes around "permanent" members.

Matt Robertshaw @mattjrobertshaw.bsky.social · May 30

I couldn't find a list of countries that were members of the League of Nations Council so I spent three hours in the LON digital archive and made this.

(I used the modern flags because they exist as emojis)

#leagueofnations #multilateralism #unitednations

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