@volts.wtf? Have I got a palette cleanser for you.
"Noise is the new censorship."
Words by @antelava.bsky.social on the subject of how authortarians dominate open media and shovel sewage through the information water pipes until nothing is trusted and no conversation can be had.
Interview with former Google executive Richard Gingras by @antelava.bsky.social at the International Press Institute is worth your time. Many interesting segments.
As Google's news czar Richard Gingras was a hugely influential presence in the conversation over journalism and big tech for 15 years, but he seldom faced more than mildly skeptical questioning. In Vienna last month @antelava.bsky.social flipped the script www.codastory.com/authoritaria...
Friday 29 Aug at @debalie.bsky.social. Christopher Wylie & @antelava.bsky.social about algorithms & authoritarianism:
debalie.nl/programma/ze...
“Can I do one more Lebedev?”
Paul Caruana Galizia, @edcaesar.bsky.social & @oliverbullough.bsky.social trade anecdotes on Lord of Siberia Evgeny Lebedev: his diets, hobbies, bugbears. Stories of oligarchy must reach a wide audience, says Galizia. To draw people in, start with the absurd. #ZEG2025
“We relied so heavily on USAID — but every protein bar distributed had to have a US flag? Unshackle us. We’re done. Maybe it’s cleansing time. Either way, now we diversify. And bring in people who are actually interested in the aid, not the PR.”
Seema Jilani on the future of aid at #ZEG2025
Giorgi Gigashvili took us through how classical music is a powerful voice of resilience and defiance for Georgia’s future — where art meets activism. #ZEG2025 #KeysOfDefiance #MusicAsResistance
“Discomfort can be productive.”
Dr. Erzsébet Barát on why true solidarity means resisting the urge for easy answers and instead learning to live with the discomfort of ambiguity, vulnerability, and difference in the fight against the patriarchy. #ZEG2025
“Truth is the friction, the gravity, that allows you to stand up. When there is no truth, the best spectacle wins.”
Yale historian @timothysnyder.bsky.social, joining #ZEG2025 online, on why truth is democracy’s foundation.
“Not all minds are captured in this country.”
@irmadimitradze.bsky.social on the fight for press freedom in Georgia and why it matters far beyond its borders, in conversation with @mariaressa.bsky.social, @caoilfhionn.bsky.social, and @jodieginsberg.bsky.social at #ZEG2025.
“Privacy is the foundation of your ability to craft who you are,” Christopher Wylie on why you should think twice before handing over your data. From "The Elephant in the Algorithm" convo with @aiannucci.bsky.social, Adam Pincus & @alixdunn.com. #ZEG2025
“In Haiti, people are looking for ‘glory days’ — and the glory days [back then] was a dictatorship.”
Garry Pierre-Pierre on how authoritarian nostalgia is weaponized at a #ZEG2025 panel alongside @antelava.bsky.social and Jillian Green, moderated by @julieposetti.bsky.social .
Excellent piece by @antelava.bsky.social
"And so, when friends ask me 'what do we do,' I tell them: Look to those who’ve been there before. Democracy isn’t saved through grand gestures, but through thousands of small acts of courage."
www.codastory.com/rewriting-hi...
"Empires collapse from the margins—but they're also built from them. No one knows this better than Putin,” writes @antelava.bsky.social This 2024 piece on Georgia’s elections is key to understanding today’s political crisis. Read for context:
Looking for something to do this weekend ? Join us for this conversation. I can’t wait! www.eventbrite.com/e/coda-conve...
Can you guess which Kremlin-linked oligarch is trying to buy RFE/RL? Sign up to our weekly @codastory.bsky.social newsletter to find out
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It’s like a dream dinner party but on zoom
Don’t miss this conversation, register now before we run out of space
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In Oligarchy this week, the number of registered UK companies is down. A baby step towards corporate transparency, given how many shell companies litter the registry, writes @OliverBullough.bsky.social
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"The path from democracy to autocracy isn't marked by tanks in the streets but by the slow erosion of norms." A powerful perspective from Andrey Babitskiy who's seen this movie before — and knows how it ends.
That’s right. NYT suggesting that this was accidental is ridiculous
More class in his pinky than Trump has shown his entire life.
While Western governments spent billions on fact-checking, they missed the bigger picture. Putin tapped into genuine grievances about Western hypocrisy. @antelava.bsky.social on how the West lost a war it thought it had won decades ago.
Must read, and a big look in the mirror, by Coda Story’s @antelava.bsky.social
Every headline has a history, every crisis has a pattern. Our Sunday Read newsletter from @codastory.bsky.social (and me) doesn't just tell you what happened this week - it connects it to the stories and patterns we've been tracking for years. Join us: www.codastory.com/newsletters/
Mr. Zuckerberg was amenable. He signaled to Mr. Miller and his colleagues, including other senior Trump advisers, that he would do nothing to obstruct the Trump agenda, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting, who asked for anonymity to discuss a private conversation. Mr. Zuckerberg said he would instead focus solely on building tech products. Mr. Zuckerberg blamed his former chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, for Facebook’s culture, according to one of the people with knowledge of the meeting. He said new guidelines and a series of layoffs amounted to a reset and that more changes were coming.
It really is such masculine energy to blame things on a woman who no longer works at the company www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/u...
"It's not admitting defeat in the war on disinformation. I think he's declaring victory." The great @antelava.bsky.social is my guest The Kicker, talking about Meta's fact-checking change, Trump, and what journalism can hope to achieve in the year ahead podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Silicon Valley has designed a world in which truth is optional, equity is expendable, and facts are toxic waste. Our Editor-in-Chief @antelava.bsky.social on Meta's latest moves and what they reveal about Big Tech's real mission
NEW: "The Death of Truth Was By Design"
Meta kills fact-checking and DEI initiatives in the same week. @antelava.bsky.social on why this isn't just about Trump's return - it's about tech's successful power grab 🧵
