Simon Frankel Pratt
@simonpratt.bsky.social
Political scientist at the University of Melbourne. Formerly of other places. Research: war, intelligence, innovation, and normative change in international politics. Cat paparazzo. He/Him 🇨🇦🏳️🌈✡️
Pinned
Well, I was in Istanbul recently and I photographed many cats. By popular demand, here are some of them.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
I found this terribly sad. A young woman with her life ahead of her, and she becomes one of the last American victims of the Long War.
November 28, 2025 at 2:07 AM
I found this terribly sad. A young woman with her life ahead of her, and she becomes one of the last American victims of the Long War.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Dear foreign nationals in war-torn countries, terrorism hot-spots, and amidst our enemies:
If you help the United States, we’ll fuck you over and abandon you. Not the individual servicepeople or intelligence officers — they’ll fight for you. I mean the depraved, soulless leadership of the nation.
If you help the United States, we’ll fuck you over and abandon you. Not the individual servicepeople or intelligence officers — they’ll fight for you. I mean the depraved, soulless leadership of the nation.
So now they’re going to be doing individualized re-review of tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees’ cases on TOP of the re-review of 200,000+ refugees who entered under Biden?
November 27, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Dear foreign nationals in war-torn countries, terrorism hot-spots, and amidst our enemies:
If you help the United States, we’ll fuck you over and abandon you. Not the individual servicepeople or intelligence officers — they’ll fight for you. I mean the depraved, soulless leadership of the nation.
If you help the United States, we’ll fuck you over and abandon you. Not the individual servicepeople or intelligence officers — they’ll fight for you. I mean the depraved, soulless leadership of the nation.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
I hate that this is necessary, but it is. So it’s good that things are moving.
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Europe thinks the unthinkable: Retaliating against Russia
Countries are looking at joint offensive cyber operations and surprise military drills as Moscow steps up its campaign to destabilize NATO allies.
www.politico.eu
November 27, 2025 at 9:25 AM
I hate that this is necessary, but it is. So it’s good that things are moving.
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
This is good for no one.
European academic boycotts of Israel have intensified despite the Gaza cease-fire, with a new report warning they risk sending Israeli academia into "dangerous isolation
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
European academic boycotts of Israel have intensified despite the Gaza cease-fire, with a new report warning they risk sending Israeli academia into "dangerous isolation
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Academic boycott of Israel persists despite Gaza cease-fire, report finds
A Report by Israel's Association of University Heads Found That European Academic Institutions That Cut Ties With Israel After October 7, 2023, Have Yet to Restore Them, With a Quarter of the Boycotts...
www.haaretz.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:02 AM
This is good for no one.
European academic boycotts of Israel have intensified despite the Gaza cease-fire, with a new report warning they risk sending Israeli academia into "dangerous isolation
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
European academic boycotts of Israel have intensified despite the Gaza cease-fire, with a new report warning they risk sending Israeli academia into "dangerous isolation
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
'There is no peace process. This is not negotiations over peace: it is the transmission of surrender demands from Russia with the active facilitation of the United States.'
Read @keirgiles.bsky.social analysis on the Trump administration's proposed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine⤵️
Read @keirgiles.bsky.social analysis on the Trump administration's proposed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine⤵️
Trump pressures Ukraine to accept peace deal: Early analysis from Chatham House experts
Chatham House analysts give their initial analysis after Zelenskyy was pressured by Trump to accept a White House plan to end the war with Russia.
www.chathamhouse.org
November 26, 2025 at 7:00 AM
'There is no peace process. This is not negotiations over peace: it is the transmission of surrender demands from Russia with the active facilitation of the United States.'
Read @keirgiles.bsky.social analysis on the Trump administration's proposed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine⤵️
Read @keirgiles.bsky.social analysis on the Trump administration's proposed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine⤵️
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
‘Drone operators are hunted. You feel it from your first day’: the female pilots on Ukraine’s frontline
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘Drone operators are hunted. You feel it from your first day’: the female pilots on Ukraine’s frontline
As casualties mount, recruitment is expanding. Three women talk about life in a male-dominated combat environment
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:21 AM
‘Drone operators are hunted. You feel it from your first day’: the female pilots on Ukraine’s frontline
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
jesus christ, is this the style standard at the BBC now? That's fucking vile, and the entire organization should be ashamed down to its bones.
It looks like that BBC page has been updated in the last few minutes, so that's no longer the last sentence. I think part of it has been moved to this paragraph in the middle of the article, and the age is no longer mentioned:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 25, 2025 at 6:52 PM
jesus christ, is this the style standard at the BBC now? That's fucking vile, and the entire organization should be ashamed down to its bones.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
“These revelations appear to confirm what researchers and close observers have long known: that foreign actors (whether bots or humans) are posing as Americans and piping political-engagement bait, mis- and disinformation, and spam into people’s timeline.”
November 25, 2025 at 4:27 AM
“These revelations appear to confirm what researchers and close observers have long known: that foreign actors (whether bots or humans) are posing as Americans and piping political-engagement bait, mis- and disinformation, and spam into people’s timeline.”
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
A new kind of rapid Chotining. Please appreciate the alt-text.
November 25, 2025 at 1:09 AM
A new kind of rapid Chotining. Please appreciate the alt-text.
anthropology as a field is really good at inculcating a strong mistrust of militarism and imperialism amongst its members, so it's little surprise that the human terrain systems program was mainly filled with well-meaning but poorly trained 'experts' from other fields
in theory, this is what the "human terrain" project was. In practice, it sent people *without experience or knowledge of Afghan kinship structures* into Afghanistan.
My infantry Bn had a really hard time parsing the gender and sexuality issues of Southern Helmand.
When people say, "you wouldn't want a 'purple haired gender studies major' in the Marines" I reply "YES we desperately needed them!" We had teams of anthropologists who published studies for us.
When people say, "you wouldn't want a 'purple haired gender studies major' in the Marines" I reply "YES we desperately needed them!" We had teams of anthropologists who published studies for us.
November 24, 2025 at 10:38 PM
anthropology as a field is really good at inculcating a strong mistrust of militarism and imperialism amongst its members, so it's little surprise that the human terrain systems program was mainly filled with well-meaning but poorly trained 'experts' from other fields
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
My friends and I were featured in Wired magazine today! (cc @tacticoolgf.bsky.social @picatinnyrailed.bsky.social @inrange.tv etc etc)
www.wired.com/story/the-ha...
www.wired.com/story/the-ha...
November 24, 2025 at 6:53 PM
My friends and I were featured in Wired magazine today! (cc @tacticoolgf.bsky.social @picatinnyrailed.bsky.social @inrange.tv etc etc)
www.wired.com/story/the-ha...
www.wired.com/story/the-ha...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
November 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
A new paper shows how social media accelerates extremism by flooding users with emotionally charged, divisive content that algorithms naturally amplify, making extremist narratives far more visible, engaging, and persuasive than they would be otherwise.
November 24, 2025 at 8:00 PM
A new paper shows how social media accelerates extremism by flooding users with emotionally charged, divisive content that algorithms naturally amplify, making extremist narratives far more visible, engaging, and persuasive than they would be otherwise.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Political Scientist Vahid Abedini detained boarding flight as he traveled to the annual MESA conference
November 24, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Political Scientist Vahid Abedini detained boarding flight as he traveled to the annual MESA conference
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
🚨 New Publication in International Organization! 🚨
Happy to share our latest paper with @jeremymoulton.bsky.social:“The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order”, part of SI #IOFoGG on the Future of Global Governance. doi.org/10.1017/S002...
@iojournal.bsky.social
Happy to share our latest paper with @jeremymoulton.bsky.social:“The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order”, part of SI #IOFoGG on the Future of Global Governance. doi.org/10.1017/S002...
@iojournal.bsky.social
The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order | International Organization | Cambridge Core
The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order - Volume 79 Issue S1
doi.org
November 20, 2025 at 12:31 PM
🚨 New Publication in International Organization! 🚨
Happy to share our latest paper with @jeremymoulton.bsky.social:“The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order”, part of SI #IOFoGG on the Future of Global Governance. doi.org/10.1017/S002...
@iojournal.bsky.social
Happy to share our latest paper with @jeremymoulton.bsky.social:“The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order”, part of SI #IOFoGG on the Future of Global Governance. doi.org/10.1017/S002...
@iojournal.bsky.social
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
This. To say nothing of the destroyed careers and livelihoods, the abandoned research, and the probably irreparable trust defect for anyone who *might* have been contemplating a career in public service. Please, stop with the DOGE failure narratives.
DOGE did everything they were supposed to do and have already killed almost 700,000 people including 430,000 children, as intended. DOGE is one of the most successful anti-democracy, mass-murder campaigns we've ever seen, and we will be dealing with the consequences of their success for generations.
Difficult to overstate how profound a failure DOGE was. Spending in FY2025 was not only than in FY2024 – but higher than it was projected to be when Trump first took office.*
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
November 23, 2025 at 6:16 PM
This. To say nothing of the destroyed careers and livelihoods, the abandoned research, and the probably irreparable trust defect for anyone who *might* have been contemplating a career in public service. Please, stop with the DOGE failure narratives.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
“Insurers increasingly view AI models’ outputs as too unpredictable and opaque to insure, said Dennis Bertram, head of cyber insurance for Europe at Mosaic. “It’s too much of a black box.”
www.ft.com/content/abfe...
www.ft.com/content/abfe...
Insurers retreat from AI cover as risk of multibillion-dollar claims mounts
AIG, Great American and WR Berkley seek permission to limit liability from AI agents and chatbots
www.ft.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:20 AM
“Insurers increasingly view AI models’ outputs as too unpredictable and opaque to insure, said Dennis Bertram, head of cyber insurance for Europe at Mosaic. “It’s too much of a black box.”
www.ft.com/content/abfe...
www.ft.com/content/abfe...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Although the scale of this is still to be assessed, this is the inevitable outcome of the monetization of the algorithm. Rage-bait becomes a personal revenue model. Nothing about this should be a surprise.
NEWS: I spent the past 24 hours going through major MAGA accounts on Twitter, and a bombshell development has become clear: most of the right-wing ecosphere is being fed propaganda from foreign actors.
This impacts elections. This impacts discourse. This is major. Subscribe to support my work:
This impacts elections. This impacts discourse. This is major. Subscribe to support my work:
NEWS: Major MAGA Accounts on Twitter Exposed as Foreign Actors
A stunning development over the past 24 hours.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Although the scale of this is still to be assessed, this is the inevitable outcome of the monetization of the algorithm. Rage-bait becomes a personal revenue model. Nothing about this should be a surprise.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
I was very glad to write this article and I hope people pay attention to it. It’s very important.
“Uttering, promoting, and in some cases even tolerating anti-Israel rhetoric that crosses the line into anti-Semitism does double damage,” @ibishblog.bsky.social argues: both fueling violent attacks and tarring the pro-Palestinian movement.
Anti-Semitism Is Poison for the Palestinian Cause
No good will come to the pro-Palestinian movement from any association with violent attacks.
bit.ly
October 10, 2025 at 10:11 PM
I was very glad to write this article and I hope people pay attention to it. It’s very important.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
In newly unsealed court doc, plaintiffs allege Meta lied to Congress and the public about its internal research as it dragged its feet on child safety:
@charlottealter.bsky.social
time.com/7336204/meta...
@charlottealter.bsky.social
time.com/7336204/meta...
7 Explosive Allegations Against Meta in Newly Unsealed Filings
Court filings allege Meta tolerated sex trafficking, hid harms to teens, and prioritized growth over user safety for years.
time.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:55 AM
In newly unsealed court doc, plaintiffs allege Meta lied to Congress and the public about its internal research as it dragged its feet on child safety:
@charlottealter.bsky.social
time.com/7336204/meta...
@charlottealter.bsky.social
time.com/7336204/meta...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
“A year ago, it would have been inconceivable to imagine where this country is today.”
Syria is holding its first public trial since Assad’s fall, for those accused of violence during the March uprising, Anagha Nair reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
Syria is holding its first public trial since Assad’s fall, for those accused of violence during the March uprising, Anagha Nair reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
Syria Begins Its Coastal Massacre Trial
In a moment long demanded by victims’ families, a live-broadcast reckoning has brought alleged perpetrators of violence on both sides of the uprising in March before the same judge
newlinesmag.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:00 AM
“A year ago, it would have been inconceivable to imagine where this country is today.”
Syria is holding its first public trial since Assad’s fall, for those accused of violence during the March uprising, Anagha Nair reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
Syria is holding its first public trial since Assad’s fall, for those accused of violence during the March uprising, Anagha Nair reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
How does war reshape ecosystems? What gets damaged, lost, or overlooked? Yesterday we went into a deep dive with the Conflict and Environment Observatory @ceobs.org . Listen back by searching 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat': rss.com/podcasts/bel...
"Studying Conflict’s Impact on the Environment" with the Conflict and Environment Observatory | Podcast Episode on RSS.com
This week, we discussed a more hidden impact of war... the toll it takes on the environment. Can we estimate the scale of damage conflict can have on our natural spaces? Do we know how harmful polluti...
rss.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:53 PM
How does war reshape ecosystems? What gets damaged, lost, or overlooked? Yesterday we went into a deep dive with the Conflict and Environment Observatory @ceobs.org . Listen back by searching 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat': rss.com/podcasts/bel...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
The new neo-royalist world order. Stacie Goddard and
@abenewman.bsky.social explain how cliques are ruling the world. A new @goodauth.bsky.social podcast interview with yours truly based on the new @iojournal.bsky.social open access article that came out today!
goodauthority.org/news/the-new...
@abenewman.bsky.social explain how cliques are ruling the world. A new @goodauth.bsky.social podcast interview with yours truly based on the new @iojournal.bsky.social open access article that came out today!
goodauthority.org/news/the-new...
The new neo-royalist world order
Stacie Goddard and Abe Newman explain how cliques are ruling the world.
goodauthority.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:24 PM
The new neo-royalist world order. Stacie Goddard and
@abenewman.bsky.social explain how cliques are ruling the world. A new @goodauth.bsky.social podcast interview with yours truly based on the new @iojournal.bsky.social open access article that came out today!
goodauthority.org/news/the-new...
@abenewman.bsky.social explain how cliques are ruling the world. A new @goodauth.bsky.social podcast interview with yours truly based on the new @iojournal.bsky.social open access article that came out today!
goodauthority.org/news/the-new...