Greg Linden
@glinden.bsky.social
an internet relic, linkedin.com/in/glinden
Reposted by Greg Linden
A reminder that this pattern of activity including the stupid handles and bio lines and emojis was catalogued in the Senate reports on Russia’s election interference in 2016 — a thing which actually happened!
Pretend Americans 🦅🇺🇸⭐️2A has been the game all along
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
Pretend Americans 🦅🇺🇸⭐️2A has been the game all along
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:18 AM
A reminder that this pattern of activity including the stupid handles and bio lines and emojis was catalogued in the Senate reports on Russia’s election interference in 2016 — a thing which actually happened!
Pretend Americans 🦅🇺🇸⭐️2A has been the game all along
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
Pretend Americans 🦅🇺🇸⭐️2A has been the game all along
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
Reposted by Greg Linden
I’ve spent almost seven years covering Meta and have had a good deal of exposure to internal work product on teen well-being. But a Friday filing in the school district social media litigation breaks some ground on Meta’s causal findings regarding social media harm.
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
www.reuters.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:48 AM
I’ve spent almost seven years covering Meta and have had a good deal of exposure to internal work product on teen well-being. But a Friday filing in the school district social media litigation breaks some ground on Meta’s causal findings regarding social media harm.
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Reposted by Greg Linden
Remember last year when we said we would drop The Tribune's paywall if we raised enough money to support the transition to free? About that… 😁
The Salt Lake Tribune will drop its paywall next year, CEO tells donors at NewsMakers gala
After years of requiring people to pay for online news content, The Tribune announced an upcoming change during its 2025 annual NewsMakers Gala.
www.sltrib.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Remember last year when we said we would drop The Tribune's paywall if we raised enough money to support the transition to free? About that… 😁
Reposted by Greg Linden
The biggest source for any DSA investigation into addictive design features might not be platforms' risk assessments, but the more than 6 million documents that are part of the pretrial discovery process in the US www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
‘Massive Legal Siege’ Against Social Media Companies Looms
Thousands of plaintiffs’ complaints, millions of pages of internal documents and transcripts of countless hours of depositions are about to land in US courtrooms, threatening the future of the biggest...
www.bloomberg.com
October 21, 2025 at 7:24 AM
The biggest source for any DSA investigation into addictive design features might not be platforms' risk assessments, but the more than 6 million documents that are part of the pretrial discovery process in the US www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Greg Linden
This. The journalists who spend every day soaking themselves on Twitter are marinating in the muck.
If you’re a journalist who’s still on Twitter, from now on in your writing you have to replace “the American people want” with “troll bots in Eastern Europe demand”
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
November 23, 2025 at 6:07 PM
This. The journalists who spend every day soaking themselves on Twitter are marinating in the muck.
Reposted by Greg Linden
These accounts are likely “digital marketing” assets (common business in countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines) but someone else is paying for those accounts. It’s nearly impossible to trace.
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
November 23, 2025 at 5:35 PM
These accounts are likely “digital marketing” assets (common business in countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines) but someone else is paying for those accounts. It’s nearly impossible to trace.
Reposted by Greg Linden
The reason this is happening is a combination of 1) incentives and 2) supply meeting demand.
There is no more consistent result in studies of monetized propaganda than that the MAGA right is a particularly receptive niche.
There is no more consistent result in studies of monetized propaganda than that the MAGA right is a particularly receptive niche.
I see a lot of Paidchecks on X didn’t realize that a whole lot of people on social media lie about their location to grift off the naïveté of the rage-addled American right.
Turns out this problem is real and it’s a thing those of us who worked on “disinformation” pointed out.
Turns out this problem is real and it’s a thing those of us who worked on “disinformation” pointed out.
November 23, 2025 at 5:23 PM
The reason this is happening is a combination of 1) incentives and 2) supply meeting demand.
There is no more consistent result in studies of monetized propaganda than that the MAGA right is a particularly receptive niche.
There is no more consistent result in studies of monetized propaganda than that the MAGA right is a particularly receptive niche.
Reposted by Greg Linden
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
November 23, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
Reposted by Greg Linden
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
November 23, 2025 at 12:55 PM
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
Reposted by Greg Linden
Congrats to everyone who covered the obviously bad faith, unprecedentedly illegal, & wildly unconstitutional data theft & dismantling of the federal government by a billionaire criminal Nazi & his henchmen as a legitimate process of “government efficiency.” Truly, well done.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Congrats to everyone who covered the obviously bad faith, unprecedentedly illegal, & wildly unconstitutional data theft & dismantling of the federal government by a billionaire criminal Nazi & his henchmen as a legitimate process of “government efficiency.” Truly, well done.
Reposted by Greg Linden
X's new About This Account feature reveals that some top accounts, including many MAGA influencers, are based in countries like Russia, India, and Nigeria (Jack Revell/The Daily Beast)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
November 23, 2025 at 3:50 PM
X's new About This Account feature reveals that some top accounts, including many MAGA influencers, are based in countries like Russia, India, and Nigeria (Jack Revell/The Daily Beast)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Reposted by Greg Linden
“The account MAGANationX—with nearly 400,000 followers and a bio reading ‘Patriot Voice for We The People’—is actually based in Eastern Europe.”
X's new About This Account feature reveals that some top accounts, including many MAGA influencers, are based in countries like Russia, India, and Nigeria (Jack Revell/The Daily Beast)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
November 23, 2025 at 4:02 PM
“The account MAGANationX—with nearly 400,000 followers and a bio reading ‘Patriot Voice for We The People’—is actually based in Eastern Europe.”
Reposted by Greg Linden
It’s hilarious and revelatory that a bunch of giant MAGA/America First X accounts are actually based in Eastern Europe and Nigeria.
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:07 PM
It’s hilarious and revelatory that a bunch of giant MAGA/America First X accounts are actually based in Eastern Europe and Nigeria.
Reposted by Greg Linden
Let’s see if one single pundit who said there was some great realignment of American sentiment with this last election, based on what they saw on the Nazi-owned platform overrun by foreign actors, offers any retractions or corrections for their gullibility.
It’s hilarious and revelatory that a bunch of giant MAGA/America First X accounts are actually based in Eastern Europe and Nigeria.
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Let’s see if one single pundit who said there was some great realignment of American sentiment with this last election, based on what they saw on the Nazi-owned platform overrun by foreign actors, offers any retractions or corrections for their gullibility.
Reposted by Greg Linden
If you’re a journalist who’s still on Twitter, from now on in your writing you have to replace “the American people want” with “troll bots in Eastern Europe demand”
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
November 23, 2025 at 4:27 PM
If you’re a journalist who’s still on Twitter, from now on in your writing you have to replace “the American people want” with “troll bots in Eastern Europe demand”
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Reposted by Greg Linden
I see a lot of Paidchecks on X didn’t realize that a whole lot of people on social media lie about their location to grift off the naïveté of the rage-addled American right.
Turns out this problem is real and it’s a thing those of us who worked on “disinformation” pointed out.
Turns out this problem is real and it’s a thing those of us who worked on “disinformation” pointed out.
November 23, 2025 at 5:11 AM
I see a lot of Paidchecks on X didn’t realize that a whole lot of people on social media lie about their location to grift off the naïveté of the rage-addled American right.
Turns out this problem is real and it’s a thing those of us who worked on “disinformation” pointed out.
Turns out this problem is real and it’s a thing those of us who worked on “disinformation” pointed out.
Reposted by Greg Linden
Apparently this used to actually happen, according to the book "The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren", which Tomer Ullman recommended to me.
COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/santa-2
PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm...
STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com
COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/santa-2
PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm...
STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Apparently this used to actually happen, according to the book "The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren", which Tomer Ullman recommended to me.
COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/santa-2
PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm...
STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com
COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/santa-2
PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm...
STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com
Reposted by Greg Linden
In 2015, @jheer.org and #UWAllen @idl.uw.edu colleagues unveiled Voyager, a tool that automatically recommends visualizations to aid users exploring datasets. They received the @ieeevis.bsky.social InfoVis 10-Year Test of Time Award for that work. #UWInnovates news.cs.washington.edu/2025/11/19/a...
Allen School professor Jeffrey Heer receives InfoVis Test of Time Award for creating Voyager visualization tool for more efficient data exploration - Allen School News
To help make datasets easier to understand and examine, in 2015, a team of researchers led by Allen School professor Jeffrey Heer introduced Voyager, a system that automatically generates and recommen...
news.cs.washington.edu
November 21, 2025 at 8:20 PM
In 2015, @jheer.org and #UWAllen @idl.uw.edu colleagues unveiled Voyager, a tool that automatically recommends visualizations to aid users exploring datasets. They received the @ieeevis.bsky.social InfoVis 10-Year Test of Time Award for that work. #UWInnovates news.cs.washington.edu/2025/11/19/a...
Reposted by Greg Linden
Grand opening, grand closing.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
November 22, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Grand opening, grand closing.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
Reposted by Greg Linden
And again (& again), this time many people are going to have to go to jail for many years, or it’s all going to happen again.
It’s crazy to think about the crimes we’re going to learn about after this regime ends.
We’re already hearing about Watergate level crimes every week. Imagine what will come out after it’s over.
We’re going to need a full accounting of all that’s been done in violation of the constitution.
We’re already hearing about Watergate level crimes every week. Imagine what will come out after it’s over.
We’re going to need a full accounting of all that’s been done in violation of the constitution.
November 22, 2025 at 10:25 PM
And again (& again), this time many people are going to have to go to jail for many years, or it’s all going to happen again.
Reposted by Greg Linden
“AI workers said they distrust the models they work on because of a consistent emphasis on rapid turnaround time at the expense of quality.”
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
“AI workers said they distrust the models they work on because of a consistent emphasis on rapid turnaround time at the expense of quality.”
Reposted by Greg Linden
America putting most of its eggs in the generative AI basket, China going hard into green tech. When history looks back on this period, someone is going to look awfully stupid.
November 22, 2025 at 7:18 PM
America putting most of its eggs in the generative AI basket, China going hard into green tech. When history looks back on this period, someone is going to look awfully stupid.
Reposted by Greg Linden
While the AI bubble feels like the internet bubble of 1999, it may actually be larger and scarier with an unstable US economy and greater exposure for Big Tech (Fred Vogelstein/Crazy Stupid Tech)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
November 22, 2025 at 7:20 PM
While the AI bubble feels like the internet bubble of 1999, it may actually be larger and scarier with an unstable US economy and greater exposure for Big Tech (Fred Vogelstein/Crazy Stupid Tech)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Reposted by Greg Linden
The most obvious development of all time.
Current and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers are growing increasingly concerned that the work they did slashing government programs and eliminating jobs will come back to haunt them with the possibility of criminal prosecutions.
'Suddenly exposed' DOGE employees fear prosecution after Musk abandoned them: report
Current and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers are growing increasingly concerned that the work they did slashing government programs and eliminating jobs will come back to haunt them with the possibility of criminal prosecutions.Worse still is their growing belief that the b...
bit.ly
November 22, 2025 at 7:53 PM
The most obvious development of all time.
Reposted by Greg Linden
Researchers say Russia-aligned Pravda network is engaging in "LLM grooming", flooding the internet with disinformation to influence chatbots like ChatGPT (Aisha Down/The Guardian)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
November 22, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Researchers say Russia-aligned Pravda network is engaging in "LLM grooming", flooding the internet with disinformation to influence chatbots like ChatGPT (Aisha Down/The Guardian)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink