Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
@nathaliemarechal.net
Fighting for democracy and human rights in the age of networked authoritarianism. She/her. Opinions personal, etc. ❌👑
Pinned
Next week, I start a new adventure as Managing Policy Director at Northeastern University’s Institute for Information, the Internet, and Democracy (IIID).
Before you ask, no I am not moving to Boston, and yes I will be there frequently and would love to see you 😉
Before you ask, no I am not moving to Boston, and yes I will be there frequently and would love to see you 😉
LOVE THIS
February 9, 2026 at 2:39 AM
LOVE THIS
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
BRING IT. This lawsuit -- or at least the part about FTC's unconstitutional abuse of antitrust authority -- is long overdue.
They literally *conditioned a merger* on advertisers' agreement to spend money in accordance with the administration's preferences about speech.
They literally *conditioned a merger* on advertisers' agreement to spend money in accordance with the administration's preferences about speech.
February 6, 2026 at 6:15 PM
BRING IT. This lawsuit -- or at least the part about FTC's unconstitutional abuse of antitrust authority -- is long overdue.
They literally *conditioned a merger* on advertisers' agreement to spend money in accordance with the administration's preferences about speech.
They literally *conditioned a merger* on advertisers' agreement to spend money in accordance with the administration's preferences about speech.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
It's a story of magical thinking in assuming we could ever rely on benevolent billionaires to save journalism. It's also a story of oligarchs turning their backs on democracy and exploiting their media assets to advance class interests. Above all, it's a tragedy for news workers and for all of us.
February 4, 2026 at 8:26 PM
It's a story of magical thinking in assuming we could ever rely on benevolent billionaires to save journalism. It's also a story of oligarchs turning their backs on democracy and exploiting their media assets to advance class interests. Above all, it's a tragedy for news workers and for all of us.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
With the awful WaPo layoffs and the state of journalism more broadly, if it's useful for any writers and reporters considering going indy, @molly.wiki, @xoxogossipgita.bsky.social of Aftermath, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social of 404 Media, @edzitron.com and me will do a little workshop next week.
February 5, 2026 at 12:09 AM
With the awful WaPo layoffs and the state of journalism more broadly, if it's useful for any writers and reporters considering going indy, @molly.wiki, @xoxogossipgita.bsky.social of Aftermath, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social of 404 Media, @edzitron.com and me will do a little workshop next week.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff.
Democracy dies in oligarchy.
Democracy dies in oligarchy.
February 5, 2026 at 12:16 AM
If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff.
Democracy dies in oligarchy.
Democracy dies in oligarchy.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
I think it's best for everyone to understand that the unified class project of billionaires right now is to do to white collar workers what globalization and neoliberalism did to blue collar workers.
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 PM
I think it's best for everyone to understand that the unified class project of billionaires right now is to do to white collar workers what globalization and neoliberalism did to blue collar workers.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
I keep saying to people in my life that the problem with writing in these days is that you sound absolutely off your nut for simply saying what is happening.
February 4, 2026 at 2:29 AM
I keep saying to people in my life that the problem with writing in these days is that you sound absolutely off your nut for simply saying what is happening.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
…Also also, I'm frankly disappointed that the idea of "human-like/-level intelligence" is still being used or taken seriously as a metric At All. It's a meaningless cipher that Looks like it should mean something but which adds up to nothing, the more we examine it. Its roots are eugenic and racist…
February 4, 2026 at 1:44 AM
…Also also, I'm frankly disappointed that the idea of "human-like/-level intelligence" is still being used or taken seriously as a metric At All. It's a meaningless cipher that Looks like it should mean something but which adds up to nothing, the more we examine it. Its roots are eugenic and racist…
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
put another way, platforms that collected and arranged communities in order to monetize them with targeted ads are now entirely *ordered* by the logic of an ad network. a wild thing to watch happen over the last decade.
February 3, 2026 at 4:44 PM
put another way, platforms that collected and arranged communities in order to monetize them with targeted ads are now entirely *ordered* by the logic of an ad network. a wild thing to watch happen over the last decade.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
Complicit finds that top media companies caved after Trump issued anti-DEI EOs on Jan. 20 and 21, 2025.
"Trump's anti-DEI executive orders form the foundation of his regime's efforts to dismantle our democracy. Outside of Trump and his enablers, no one is safe from attack." - @rlivier.bsky.social
"Trump's anti-DEI executive orders form the foundation of his regime's efforts to dismantle our democracy. Outside of Trump and his enablers, no one is safe from attack." - @rlivier.bsky.social
Report Blasts Major Media Companies as `Complicit’ in Attacks on Civil Rights
In a detailed analysis of the 35 most dominant U.S. media companies, Free Press' report reveals a disturbing reversal on prior civil-rights commitments
www.tvtechnology.com
January 30, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Complicit finds that top media companies caved after Trump issued anti-DEI EOs on Jan. 20 and 21, 2025.
"Trump's anti-DEI executive orders form the foundation of his regime's efforts to dismantle our democracy. Outside of Trump and his enablers, no one is safe from attack." - @rlivier.bsky.social
"Trump's anti-DEI executive orders form the foundation of his regime's efforts to dismantle our democracy. Outside of Trump and his enablers, no one is safe from attack." - @rlivier.bsky.social
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
“Constitutional rights and democratic norms don’t disappear all at once; they erode slowly. The next three years of this presidency will require Americans to vigilantly defend free speech and open debate.” - @attorneynora.bsky.social + @nytimes.com
Read: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/o...
Read: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/o...
January 31, 2026 at 1:54 PM
“Constitutional rights and democratic norms don’t disappear all at once; they erode slowly. The next three years of this presidency will require Americans to vigilantly defend free speech and open debate.” - @attorneynora.bsky.social + @nytimes.com
Read: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/o...
Read: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/o...
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
A reminder that the Kennedy Center is the literal and legal and congressional designated presidential memorial to JFK. This would be like Trump tearing down the Lincoln Memorial to build something “better.”
February 2, 2026 at 1:28 AM
A reminder that the Kennedy Center is the literal and legal and congressional designated presidential memorial to JFK. This would be like Trump tearing down the Lincoln Memorial to build something “better.”
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
We've been saying this for nearly a year - since over 1,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grants were summarily terminated in April 2025, affecting every cultural corner of the United States (and then the same for most of our jobs as civil servants). #NEH
Unreal. He’s shutting down the Kennedy Center, after his flunkies caused mass defections of artists?
Everything the man touches turns to ash. Our cultural heritage; destroyed. Our national treasures; plundered.
Everything the man touches turns to ash. Our cultural heritage; destroyed. Our national treasures; plundered.
Trump: "I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything."
February 2, 2026 at 2:52 AM
We've been saying this for nearly a year - since over 1,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grants were summarily terminated in April 2025, affecting every cultural corner of the United States (and then the same for most of our jobs as civil servants). #NEH
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
He also basically quoted MLK, saying hate can’t drive out hate; only love can do that. Bad Bunny is brave and he has given the world so much beauty. Respect to this man.
Bad Bunny condemns ICE during his #GRAMMYs speech for Best Música Urbana Album:
“Before I say thanks to god, I’m going to say, ICE out. We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we are humans and we are Americans.”
“Before I say thanks to god, I’m going to say, ICE out. We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we are humans and we are Americans.”
February 2, 2026 at 2:32 AM
He also basically quoted MLK, saying hate can’t drive out hate; only love can do that. Bad Bunny is brave and he has given the world so much beauty. Respect to this man.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
Data protection, as a concept, grew out of post-war legal scholarship in Germany which reflected on the use of data about people by the Nazi Govt, and formulated a set of limits on data use which recognised that to collect and use data about people was to impact the people’s lives.
If anyone doubts how prescient and important the German Constitutional Court‘s 1983 decision on self-determination regarding information was - the US offers a powerful example of how things can go wrong
A manual for ICE's immigrant-targeting computer system, Palantir ELITE, was leaked today.
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
February 1, 2026 at 8:45 AM
Data protection, as a concept, grew out of post-war legal scholarship in Germany which reflected on the use of data about people by the Nazi Govt, and formulated a set of limits on data use which recognised that to collect and use data about people was to impact the people’s lives.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
Takeaway:
Any time the Trump administration says "AI" or anything about software or data, what you should hear is "repression as a service"
This has 2 parts:
1. AI as an excuse to consolidate data
2. AI to execute orders that humans would refuse
Any time the Trump administration says "AI" or anything about software or data, what you should hear is "repression as a service"
This has 2 parts:
1. AI as an excuse to consolidate data
2. AI to execute orders that humans would refuse
January 31, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Takeaway:
Any time the Trump administration says "AI" or anything about software or data, what you should hear is "repression as a service"
This has 2 parts:
1. AI as an excuse to consolidate data
2. AI to execute orders that humans would refuse
Any time the Trump administration says "AI" or anything about software or data, what you should hear is "repression as a service"
This has 2 parts:
1. AI as an excuse to consolidate data
2. AI to execute orders that humans would refuse
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
The violent occupation of Minneapolis started with a vlog. I've wanted to find a framework to describe Nick Shirley & others like him: "Influencer" is too quaint. "Journalist" is obviously wrong.
I landed on "slopagandist."
Gift link (open in a web browser) www.theverge.com/news/869824/...
I landed on "slopagandist."
Gift link (open in a web browser) www.theverge.com/news/869824/...
What is Nick Shirley?
Slop doesn’t need to be AI-generated
www.theverge.com
January 29, 2026 at 4:11 PM
The violent occupation of Minneapolis started with a vlog. I've wanted to find a framework to describe Nick Shirley & others like him: "Influencer" is too quaint. "Journalist" is obviously wrong.
I landed on "slopagandist."
Gift link (open in a web browser) www.theverge.com/news/869824/...
I landed on "slopagandist."
Gift link (open in a web browser) www.theverge.com/news/869824/...
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
my son is five, same age as Liam Ramos. you don't need to have a child the same age to be fucking horrified by the violence we are doing (and HAVE BEEN doing) upon immigrant children in this nation. but that he keeps asking for his spidey backpack is the kind of detail that rips my heart in two.
January 29, 2026 at 8:32 PM
my son is five, same age as Liam Ramos. you don't need to have a child the same age to be fucking horrified by the violence we are doing (and HAVE BEEN doing) upon immigrant children in this nation. but that he keeps asking for his spidey backpack is the kind of detail that rips my heart in two.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
This is your regular reminder that the data broker industry must be destroyed.
2. ICE is buying your private location data from sleazy data brokers through a legal loophole. I've had a bill to stop this since 2021. I'm renewing my push to get it passed into black letter law as soon as possible.
Wyden, Paul and Bipartisan Senators Reintroduce the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
www.wyden.senate.gov
January 27, 2026 at 10:28 PM
This is your regular reminder that the data broker industry must be destroyed.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
They’re akshuallying Anne Frank.
To avoid the possibility Holocaust remembrance might lead to empathy for migrants, Trump's antisemitism envoy claims Anne Frank "was in Amsterdam legally."
In reality, Margot Frank received a summons to go to a labor camp on July 5, 1942. After ignoring this call, they were in Amsterdam illegally.
In reality, Margot Frank received a summons to go to a labor camp on July 5, 1942. After ignoring this call, they were in Amsterdam illegally.
January 27, 2026 at 4:37 PM
They’re akshuallying Anne Frank.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
With the execution of Alex Pretti, the lines have been clearly drawn. Defenders of the killing will be defenders of state terror, through and through. Benefactors and enablers of the state carrying out this killing—particularly those in Silicon Valley—must decide which side they are on
The lines have been drawn
Silicon Valley must decide which side it's on
www.bloodinthemachine.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:55 PM
With the execution of Alex Pretti, the lines have been clearly drawn. Defenders of the killing will be defenders of state terror, through and through. Benefactors and enablers of the state carrying out this killing—particularly those in Silicon Valley—must decide which side they are on
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
it is remarkable that these employees somehow do not know that their company literally engineers the mass deportation machine for ICE. Literally "ImmigrationOS." And a targeting app. Incredible.
SCOOP: Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti
WIRED obtained Slack conversations + an updated internal Palantir wiki defending the company's work for ICE to outraged workers.
More here:
www.wired.com/story/palant...
WIRED obtained Slack conversations + an updated internal Palantir wiki defending the company's work for ICE to outraged workers.
More here:
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti
“In my opinion ICE are the bad guys. I am not proud that the company I enjoy so much working for is part of this,” one worker wrote on Slack.
www.wired.com
January 26, 2026 at 11:22 PM
it is remarkable that these employees somehow do not know that their company literally engineers the mass deportation machine for ICE. Literally "ImmigrationOS." And a targeting app. Incredible.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
Adtech is almost everything you do online. They’re using Adtech to track and investigate. Every little thing you do — shopping, browsing, checking health information, connecting on social, ChatGPT — is on Adtech.
New: Amid the escalating situation in Minneapolis, ICE posted in the Federal Register asking companies to provide info about “commercial Big Data and Ad Tech” products that would “directly support investigations activities”
www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
ICE Asks Companies About ‘Ad Tech and Big Data’ Tools It Could Use in Investigations
A new federal filing from ICE demonstrates how commercial tools are increasingly being considered by the government for law enforcement and surveillance.
www.wired.com
January 25, 2026 at 3:01 AM
Adtech is almost everything you do online. They’re using Adtech to track and investigate. Every little thing you do — shopping, browsing, checking health information, connecting on social, ChatGPT — is on Adtech.
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
This is a good speech for someone to make. Not holding my breath though
I wrote the speech I *wish* Chuck Schumer would give tonight - as an actual opposition leader. Here it is:
"My fellow Americans: At this hour, an unrestrained force of militarized and violent federal officers is carrying out a project of ethnic cleansing in the streets of American cities."
1/14
"My fellow Americans: At this hour, an unrestrained force of militarized and violent federal officers is carrying out a project of ethnic cleansing in the streets of American cities."
1/14
Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.
January 25, 2026 at 2:20 AM
This is a good speech for someone to make. Not holding my breath though
Reposted by Nathalie Maréchal, PhD
Also, may I say that I don’t agree with people saying ICE and CBP need “more training.” They’re doing exactly what this administration has trained them to—impose a reign of fear in blue cities. They don’t need more training. They need to be ripped up root and branch.
January 24, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Also, may I say that I don’t agree with people saying ICE and CBP need “more training.” They’re doing exactly what this administration has trained them to—impose a reign of fear in blue cities. They don’t need more training. They need to be ripped up root and branch.