Philip Mai
@philipmai.com
🇨🇦🇺🇸Co-Dir. SocialMediaLab.ca | M.S., J.D. | Developer of social media analysis tools for research in the publ. interest | PoliDashboard.org, Communalytic.org, DeepfakesTracker.org, ConflictMisinfo.org, NoteTracker.socialmediadata.org, & KM.socialmedialab.ca
Reposted by Philip Mai
A collective action problem can't be solved with side deals. When individual universities make isolated side deals with the Trump administration, it weakens the collective bargaining position of higher-education institutions as a whole. dailynorthwestern.com/2025/11/28/c...
Northwestern strikes $75 million funding deal with Trump admin
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available. Last updated on Nov. 28 at 8:25 p.m. Northwestern reached a deal with the Trump administration to restore at least...
dailynorthwestern.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:12 PM
A collective action problem can't be solved with side deals. When individual universities make isolated side deals with the Trump administration, it weakens the collective bargaining position of higher-education institutions as a whole. dailynorthwestern.com/2025/11/28/c...
I hate that my first instinct was to wonder whether this picture of the Pope holding a baseball bat on a plane was generated by AI. #newnornal #sensemaking
November 29, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I hate that my first instinct was to wonder whether this picture of the Pope holding a baseball bat on a plane was generated by AI. #newnornal #sensemaking
Reposted by Philip Mai
If the US wants people around the world to stand with them in future conflicts, it must stand with those who stood with them in past ones. Honour isn’t optional; it’s strategic. Abandoning your partners doesn’t just tarnish your moral standing; it creates a credibility gap & harms future security.
November 27, 2025 at 5:17 AM
If the US wants people around the world to stand with them in future conflicts, it must stand with those who stood with them in past ones. Honour isn’t optional; it’s strategic. Abandoning your partners doesn’t just tarnish your moral standing; it creates a credibility gap & harms future security.
Reposted by Philip Mai
Here's a peek at our lab's first #OSINT tool, an all-in-one URL search tool. Perfect for journalists & researchers looking to surface in-depth technical, historical, and contextual information on any new or unfamiliar website. If you are a journalist and would like early access, 📨 us. ETA Feb.2026.
November 24, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Here's a peek at our lab's first #OSINT tool, an all-in-one URL search tool. Perfect for journalists & researchers looking to surface in-depth technical, historical, and contextual information on any new or unfamiliar website. If you are a journalist and would like early access, 📨 us. ETA Feb.2026.
Reposted by Philip Mai
"Ukraine Deal Turns an Arsonist Into a Fire Marshal" www.newsweek.com/uncommon-kno...
Uncommon Knowledge: Ukraine deal turns an arsonist into a fire marshal
The proposed deal envisions Russia as a security guarantor, going further than the 1994 Budapest deal.
www.newsweek.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:07 PM
"Ukraine Deal Turns an Arsonist Into a Fire Marshal" www.newsweek.com/uncommon-kno...
Reposted by Philip Mai
"Why Andriy Yermak’s ouster is a political earthquake for Ukraine.
The top aide’s firing will fuel opposition calls for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to bring in a national unity government in Kyiv." www.politico.eu/article/andr...
The top aide’s firing will fuel opposition calls for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to bring in a national unity government in Kyiv." www.politico.eu/article/andr...
November 29, 2025 at 12:09 PM
"Why Andriy Yermak’s ouster is a political earthquake for Ukraine.
The top aide’s firing will fuel opposition calls for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to bring in a national unity government in Kyiv." www.politico.eu/article/andr...
The top aide’s firing will fuel opposition calls for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to bring in a national unity government in Kyiv." www.politico.eu/article/andr...
"Socialists push for formal inquiry into enforcement of EU digital rules. Parliament committee would investigate whether EU has done enough to rein in Big Tech." www.politico.eu/article/soci...
Socialists push for formal inquiry into enforcement of EU digital rules
Parliament committee would investigate whether EU has done enough to rein in Big Tech.
www.politico.eu
November 29, 2025 at 12:14 PM
"Socialists push for formal inquiry into enforcement of EU digital rules. Parliament committee would investigate whether EU has done enough to rein in Big Tech." www.politico.eu/article/soci...
Reposted by Philip Mai
X's new “About this account is less accurate because it uses aggregated IP addresses, at least [that's] what they’re saying they’re doing, to share with the public where your account is based,” says @philipmai.com www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
New location feature on X sheds light on accounts — but also has errors | CBC News
Canadian researchers who track online misinformation and foreign interference are welcoming a new feature that reveals the location of an X account but warn that it still has glitches and its results ...
www.cbc.ca
November 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
X's new “About this account is less accurate because it uses aggregated IP addresses, at least [that's] what they’re saying they’re doing, to share with the public where your account is based,” says @philipmai.com www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Reposted by Philip Mai
Wow, USCIS didn't even wait a hot minute. The U.S. Constitution guarantees individualized guilt and due process. Collective punishment (the harming or penalizing of people for actions they didn’t commit) violates these principles.
November 27, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Wow, USCIS didn't even wait a hot minute. The U.S. Constitution guarantees individualized guilt and due process. Collective punishment (the harming or penalizing of people for actions they didn’t commit) violates these principles.
Reposted by Philip Mai
If you keep twisting the truth, you can’t be shocked when people stop trusting you. #XLocationTransparency
November 24, 2025 at 5:53 PM
If you keep twisting the truth, you can’t be shocked when people stop trusting you. #XLocationTransparency
Reposted by Philip Mai
Not surprisingly, according to data from X, some major MAGA accounts are not based in the US. Here are a couple of examples. Let's see how this pans out in the weeks to come, as there are still many questions about the accuracy of the location data from X.
November 23, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Not surprisingly, according to data from X, some major MAGA accounts are not based in the US. Here are a couple of examples. Let's see how this pans out in the weeks to come, as there are still many questions about the accuracy of the location data from X.
Reposted by Philip Mai
Here's how to change your exact country on X to a broader region. (And yes, we know most of you don’t use X, so feel free to skip this.)
1) Go to your account,
2) Click on Settings and Privacy, 3) Select Privacy and Safety, 4) Click on About Your Account and then select “Use Region/Continent.”
1) Go to your account,
2) Click on Settings and Privacy, 3) Select Privacy and Safety, 4) Click on About Your Account and then select “Use Region/Continent.”
November 25, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Here's how to change your exact country on X to a broader region. (And yes, we know most of you don’t use X, so feel free to skip this.)
1) Go to your account,
2) Click on Settings and Privacy, 3) Select Privacy and Safety, 4) Click on About Your Account and then select “Use Region/Continent.”
1) Go to your account,
2) Click on Settings and Privacy, 3) Select Privacy and Safety, 4) Click on About Your Account and then select “Use Region/Continent.”
Reposted by Philip Mai
The Globe and Mail
November 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
The Globe and Mail
Being first and being right is the goal. However, it appears that Axios didn't receive the second part of the memo.
Russia laundering its Ukraine "wish list" through Axios and getting the Trump regime to claim it as a "U.S. peace plan" should have been on all of our bingo cards.
November 23, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Being first and being right is the goal. However, it appears that Axios didn't receive the second part of the memo.
Marco Rubio has gone in circles on the origin story of the US peace proposal so many times that he’s starting to look like a malfunctioning Roomba. This is what you get when the world’s most powerful nation is down to a skeleton crew: nobody’s left to handle even the basic details like authorship.
November 23, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Marco Rubio has gone in circles on the origin story of the US peace proposal so many times that he’s starting to look like a malfunctioning Roomba. This is what you get when the world’s most powerful nation is down to a skeleton crew: nobody’s left to handle even the basic details like authorship.
Reposted by Philip Mai
The forensic audio analysis by Rob C. Maher of the 2024 Trump assassination attempt has been peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. This is great news for visual and audio investigations! aes2.org/publications...
November 22, 2025 at 7:11 PM
The forensic audio analysis by Rob C. Maher of the 2024 Trump assassination attempt has been peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. This is great news for visual and audio investigations! aes2.org/publications...
Reposted by Philip Mai
We came to LA as refugees from the USSR in 1991. Life wasn’t easy, but we persevered and, I dare say, came to contribute something of worth to this nation.
Had I experienced the following when I was a boy, I don’t know what would have become of me.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Had I experienced the following when I was a boy, I don’t know what would have become of me.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
November 14, 2025 at 5:34 PM
We came to LA as refugees from the USSR in 1991. Life wasn’t easy, but we persevered and, I dare say, came to contribute something of worth to this nation.
Had I experienced the following when I was a boy, I don’t know what would have become of me.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Had I experienced the following when I was a boy, I don’t know what would have become of me.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Reposted by Philip Mai
🇨🇦 Canada doesn’t need to copy the politics of division coming from the U.S. Some blame diversity because they have nothing constructive to offer.
Canada can choose differently and has. ✌️
Canada can choose differently and has. ✌️
November 22, 2025 at 1:27 AM
🇨🇦 Canada doesn’t need to copy the politics of division coming from the U.S. Some blame diversity because they have nothing constructive to offer.
Canada can choose differently and has. ✌️
Canada can choose differently and has. ✌️
Reposted by Philip Mai
🇨🇦 If JD Vance thinks Canada’s challenges come from “too many foreign-born people,” that says more about his worldview than it does about Canada.
Canada’s ability, imperfect but real, to make “diversity is our strength” work isn’t a weakness. It’s an achievement worth celebrating! 🎉👏 #cdnpoli
Canada’s ability, imperfect but real, to make “diversity is our strength” work isn’t a weakness. It’s an achievement worth celebrating! 🎉👏 #cdnpoli
"U.S. Vice-President JD Vance made a series of posts criticizing Canada’s political leadership, public broadcaster and immigration system, saying our living standards are “stagnating” because of all the “foreign-born” people living here." www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
JD Vance blames immigration for Canada's 'stagnating' living standards | CBC News
U.S. Vice-President JD Vance made a series of posts criticizing Canada’s political leadership, public broadcaster and immigration system, saying our living standards are “stagnating” because of all th...
www.cbc.ca
November 22, 2025 at 1:24 AM
🇨🇦 If JD Vance thinks Canada’s challenges come from “too many foreign-born people,” that says more about his worldview than it does about Canada.
Canada’s ability, imperfect but real, to make “diversity is our strength” work isn’t a weakness. It’s an achievement worth celebrating! 🎉👏 #cdnpoli
Canada’s ability, imperfect but real, to make “diversity is our strength” work isn’t a weakness. It’s an achievement worth celebrating! 🎉👏 #cdnpoli
Everyone is overanalyzing the Trump and Mamdani bromance. But it's actually pretty simple ...
November 22, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Everyone is overanalyzing the Trump and Mamdani bromance. But it's actually pretty simple ...
Reposted by Philip Mai
Allowing this so-called "peace" plan to move forward would simply postpone the danger. It would be the children growing up right now, eight-year-olds who will be eighteen by then, who would be exposed to the next wave of Russian violence, suffering the consequences of choices made today.
Trump's 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace plan includes items that could be painful for Ukraine to accept.
Clause #26 will make all of the rapes, kidnappings, torture and murders disappear with a few signatures. However, the killings will also cease... for a time. abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
Clause #26 will make all of the rapes, kidnappings, torture and murders disappear with a few signatures. However, the killings will also cease... for a time. abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
November 22, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Allowing this so-called "peace" plan to move forward would simply postpone the danger. It would be the children growing up right now, eight-year-olds who will be eighteen by then, who would be exposed to the next wave of Russian violence, suffering the consequences of choices made today.
It’s great to be back in Halifax, NS, a place that truly feels like my second home in Canada. Dalhousie is where my academic career first began.
November 22, 2025 at 8:12 PM
It’s great to be back in Halifax, NS, a place that truly feels like my second home in Canada. Dalhousie is where my academic career first began.
Reposted by Philip Mai
Having a pluralistic democracy beside a superpower where Christian nationalist politics are rising only underscores why Canada’s path matters.
It’s not about being perfect; it’s about proving an inclusive, diverse society isn’t a liability. It’s a safeguard.
It’s not about being perfect; it’s about proving an inclusive, diverse society isn’t a liability. It’s a safeguard.
November 22, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Having a pluralistic democracy beside a superpower where Christian nationalist politics are rising only underscores why Canada’s path matters.
It’s not about being perfect; it’s about proving an inclusive, diverse society isn’t a liability. It’s a safeguard.
It’s not about being perfect; it’s about proving an inclusive, diverse society isn’t a liability. It’s a safeguard.
Reposted by Philip Mai
But Canada’s identity isn’t shaped by that worldview. Newcomers don’t weaken our living standards; they help sustain and improve them.
What truly threatens living standards anywhere is letting authoritarian, exclusionary ideologies take hold.
What truly threatens living standards anywhere is letting authoritarian, exclusionary ideologies take hold.
November 22, 2025 at 1:24 AM
But Canada’s identity isn’t shaped by that worldview. Newcomers don’t weaken our living standards; they help sustain and improve them.
What truly threatens living standards anywhere is letting authoritarian, exclusionary ideologies take hold.
What truly threatens living standards anywhere is letting authoritarian, exclusionary ideologies take hold.