Noam Cohen
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noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen
@noamcohen.bsky.social
200 followers 250 following 29 posts
Journalist who’s interested in what’s true on the Internet and who decides, which means I like to write stories about @Wikipedia. Author of The Know-It-Alls, on Silicon Valley's libertarian politics: http://thenewpress.com/books/know-it-alls.
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sambiddle.com
Sam Biddle @sambiddle.com · 14h
I think the belief by the powerful that "people will put up with many things if you are excellent at math" is incredibly revealing in terms of understanding How We Got Here
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noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 14d
does seems counter-intuitive, no?
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noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 14d
Just as The Free Press journalist Olivia Reingold was getting noticed for her John Oliver impression, her Wikipedia article was deleted for not being “notable.” A reverse Streisand effect … you briefly get public's attention, only to be told, "Why should we care?" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Olivia Reingold - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
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Reposted by Noam Cohen
anildash.com
Anil Dash @anildash.com · 25d
The heroes of the day are Richard Knipel, chair of @wikimedianyc.bsky.social, and @fuzheado.bsky.social, who stepped up and saved lives at Civic Hall. They were already anchors in the community, now their work in trust and safety extends to the physical realm. They deserve all our care and support.
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frankconniff.bsky.social
Frank Conniff @frankconniff.bsky.social · Oct 10
Now Trump is hoping to at least get a Daytime Nobel Peace Prize.
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noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Oct 9
Bias wasn't why, he said. “We don’t have to assume that Fox is acting in good or bad faith—we simply need to assess if we can trust the information being provided.... a lot of users suggested using our policies that it couldn’t be trusted enough to be ‘reliable’..." 2/2 www.wired.com/story/why-wi...
Why Wikipedia Decided to Stop Calling Fox a ‘Reliable’ Source
The move offered a new model for moderation. Maybe other platforms will take note.
www.wired.com
noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Oct 9
Before Sen. Ted Cruz accused Wikipedia of bias for labeling Fox News unreliable about politics and science, I wrote @wired.com about how Fox News earned that designation. The process was guided by an apolitical British editor is mainly interested in snooker arstechnica.com/tech-policy/... 1/2
Category: Policy
Civilization &
arstechnica.com
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archive.org
Internet Archive @archive.org · Oct 8
In 1996, Brewster Kahle wrote "Preserving the Internet" for Scientific American. Nearly 30 years later, it’s striking how many of his predictions about digital preservation came true—and how many challenges remain.

Let’s compare 1996 vs 2025 🧵
Page from March 1997 Scientific American featuring Brewster Kahle’s article 'Preserving the Internet.' Text describes the Internet Archive’s mission to save digital information. Includes a photo of a Smithsonian exhibit with 1996 U.S. election web memorabilia.
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noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Oct 6
As Peter Thiel turns loopier and loopier — meditating on the anti-Christ — Marc Andreessen has emerged to reveal Silicon Valley’s dark heart, as per this BI article:
* only engineers matter
* use lawsuits to intimidate critics
* build cults of personality
www.businessinsider.com/marc-andrees...
noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Oct 2
Elon Musk’s rage toward Wikipedia — and dreams of replacing it with an encyclopedia of his own — is in line with autocrats around the world, in China, Russia, Turkey and lately India. As I argued in this piece for The Globe and Mail a little while back. archive.ph/yoByG
archive.ph
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noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 30
Much unintentional humor in the Guardian piece on performers' explanations for taking the money to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
From Guardian article, "US comedians defend decision to play in Saudi Arabia: ‘They’re paying me enough to look the other way’" Comedians performing at the festival’s headliners do not seem particularly concerned about the criticism – or the alleged wrongdoing. “One reporter was killed by the government – unfortunate, but not a fucking hill that I’m gonna die on,” Jim Jefferies said on Theo Von’s podcast in August, arguing it is for the greater good that “freedom-of-speech machines” such as himself bestow their “edgy” material on the kingdom and its subjects. (Since making the comments, Jefferies has since disappeared from the festival’s lineup; his representatives did not respond to inquiries about this.)
noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 29
The article briefly cited an article from Catholic New Agency — “Report: Charlie Kirk was ‘this close’ to becoming Catholic just prior to his death.” The material was removed, however, while Wikipedians debate the relevance and reliability of the account. www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266671/...
Report: Charlie Kirk was ‘this close’ to becoming Catholic prior to his death
Slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk was reportedly strongly considering becoming Catholic just prior to his assassination, according to a bishop.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 29
Charlie Kirk article's single-day traffic was highest in Wikipedia history - 15 mil views the day he died. It pulls no punches. Kirk was “a right-wing political activist" advocating Christian nationalism and Great Replacement conspiracy theory. New discussion topic: Was Kirk becoming Catholic? 1/2
Talk:Charlie Kirk - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
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jbf1755.bsky.social
Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · Sep 29
My “America at 250” class—taught with David Blight and Beverly Gage — can be found here.

New lectures and podcasts put up every week.

m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
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noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 27
with a chosen few on top. The gig economy, but for everyone, no exceptions. No safety net. Seem familiar? 7/7 www.oreilly.com/library/view...
Hackers
This 25th anniversary edition of Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers -- those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late... - Selection from H...
www.oreilly.com
noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 27
One line from Levy’s essay reveals what he hasn’t seen: “Why did the Ayn Rand–loving heroes of tech become Donald Trump’s bootlickers?” Levy asks. An answer:
These Randian characters became Trump’s bootlickers because it offers the best path to a Randian world of cutthroat competition .... 6/7
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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 27
This seems way off. Trump and tech leaders are closely aligned ideologically: opposition to regulation; belief that the rich should rule; contempt for democracy and the public’s right to steer the ship of state. No surprise far-right libertarians make common cause with an autocrat like Trump … 5/7
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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 27
Levy says he no longer is in thrall to the “wizards” he thought were “changing the world with tools designed to uplift us.” Still, he insists the tech community “overwhelmingly leans left.” Silicon Valley’s alliance with Trump? That’s about making deals and getting things done, apparently. ... 4/7
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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 27
of ever trusting them with power: the contempt for the “idiots” who can't program computers; the belief that computers will save the world; the casual misogyny and racism; the distrust of institutions and regulations in the public interest; the hyper-individualism. ... 3/7
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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 27
To start, huge respect for Levy. 40 years ago, his book “Hackers” brought to life the cohort of computer obsessives who, improbably, dominate our economy, our politics, our social interactions. While deeply flattering toward these characters, "Hackers" couldn’t help but reveal the dangers ... 2/7
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noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 27
The tech journalist stevenlevy.bsky.social wrote an apologia @wired.com after decades of largely flattering coverage of Silicon Valley. This feels like a vital moment -- a case for dismantling tech giants from an unlikely voice -- even if the essay pulls punches. 🧵 1/7 www.wired.com/story/silico...
I Thought I Knew Silicon Valley. I Was Wrong
Tech got what it wanted by electing Trump. A year later, it looks more like a suicide pact.
www.wired.com
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davidjroth.bsky.social
David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · Sep 26
I don't want to speculate, but you have to think that the hours that Peter Thiel and Jeffrey Epstein spent over lunch in 2017 almost certainly featured one of the most normal conversations of all time.
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noamcohen.bsky.social
Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · Sep 26
The Mark Zuckerberg image makeover continues … Zuck’s Wikipedia article now features a fresh, Meta-produced photo (left), replacing a 2020 shot (right).
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ericlinuskaplan.bsky.social
Eric Linus Kaplan @ericlinuskaplan.bsky.social · Sep 24
It's helpful information how much the support of Kimmel is a sign of moral revulsion and how much it is a pure political calculation that Trumpism is weakening & a bluff. So it'd be good to have an instrument that has no capacity for morality and only detects political interest. Thank you, Ted Cruz!
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kimmasters.bsky.social
Kim Masters @kimmasters.bsky.social · Sep 19
This is airing on 60 Minutes this Sunday. The operation to fluff Bari Weiss is underway.
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