This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men A med student says he’s made thousands of dollars selling photos and videos of a young conservative woman he created using generative tools. He’s not alone.

Gemini even suggested it as one of the best ways to make money from content due the population’s characteristics
www.wired.com/story/ai-gen...
#polisky #econsky

BREAKING: A federal appeals court has upheld a Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom.

Students' right to be free from religious indoctrination is protected by the Constitution. We won't stop fighting.

Inside the Collapse of Trump’s Scandal-Plagued Labor Secretary Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer was kept out of the spotlight for months, resigning just days before she was thrust before lawmakers.

Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer was kept out of the spotlight for months, resigning just days before she was thrust before lawmakers.

Gaza reconstruction to cost over $71 billion, EU-UN report says Gaza would need over $71 billion for recovery after two years of war, EU and UN warned Monday, as damage to homes, hospitals, and schools leaves most people displaced.

Gaza would need over $71 billion for recovery after two years of war, EU and UN warned Monday, as damage to homes, hospitals, and schools leaves most people displaced.

Boat Strike Survivors Say They Were Captured, Tortured by US Forces Survivors of alleged US boat bombings accuse American forces of abduction and torture.

Boat Strike Survivors Say They Were Captured, Tortured by US Forces

MAGAcademy: How Corporatism Paved the Way for the Hostile Takeover of Higher Ed How corporatism paved the way for the hostile takeover of higher education

Just as previous administrations used federal funding as a carrot to enforce identity policies, Trump used it as a stick to dismantle them.

Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media

This strategy—using fake AI profiles to boost political causes—was tested during the 2022 recalls in San Francisco.
We called them the "Wencils" and they disappeared after being mapped and exposed. And now:

Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/b...

Gil Duran tweet: TLDR: Fascism in response to Palantir's long fascists screed on X.

"Your Account is Suspended" Message on X

The CEO of Palantir posted a fascist manifesto on X.

I pointed out that it was fascist—which resulted in a permanent suspension from X (my second time!).

So, when you hear the tweeters complaining that BlueSky is intolerant, remember why many of us came here in the first place.

In happy news, looks like @theonion.com will finally have full control over the far-right conspiracy platform Alex Jones founded, and will be turning it into a parody of itself
www.npr.org/2026/04/20/n...

A new paper questions the quality of many authoritarianism scales (eg RWA) as they are confounded with cultural.

"Political Intolerance" is the best measure of authoritarianism, suggesting that the disapproval of belief diversity might be a core aspect of authoritarianism.
osf.io/preprints/ps...

A small fraction of online actors exerts outsized influence over what the public sees, believes, and discusses. In a new paper, we trace how social media influencers turn fringe claims into viral narratives by exploiting a feedback loop between influencers, algorithms & crowds
osf.io/preprints/ps...

After the fall: PDFs seek unity following resistance shakeup The defection of Burma National Revolutionary Army leader Bo Nagar to the junta sent shockwaves through the resistance, which is now striving to minimise internal schisms and continue its fight agains...

The defection of Burma National Revolutionary Army leader Bo Nagar to the Myanmar junta sent shockwaves through the resistance, which is now striving to minimise internal schisms and continue its fight against the regime.

Order Without Law A Research Consortium on the Illicit Network Undermining Democracy Across the World

"Understanding Bukele is essential not only to grasp the singular nature of El Salvador’s transformation but also to recognize the contours of a 21st-century reactionary model."

Read more on the Reactionary International.

A report from Greenpeace found that 48 percent of the pesticides used in food production in South Africa, Ghana and Kenya are highly-hazardous pesticides and are currently banned in the EU.

A year after his death, a mobile health clinic in Pope Francis's Popemobile is barred from Gaza Months before his passing, Pope Francis gave his blessing for a popemobile to be turned into a mobile health clinic for Gazan children.

In his final months, Pope Francis gave his blessing for a Popemobile used for a papal journey to the Middle East to be converted into a mobile health clinic for the children of Gaza.

It lies parked a few miles from Gaza, awaiting permission to enter despite repeated pleas.
jrnl.ie/7013271

Retirement Plan AI Spurs Evolving Risks for Employer Sponsors The growing use of artificial intelligence tools in retirement investing is creating new pitfalls for employers that sponsor plans and the fiduciaries that manage those assets, requiring them to meet their legal duties while navigating the changing technological landscape.

The growing use of artificial intelligence tools in retirement investing is creating new pitfalls for employers that sponsor plans and the fiduciaries that manage those assets, requiring them to meet their legal duties while navigating the changing technological landscape.

Mysticism of the group Horizons (EN) - In brief

You don’t need to be in church to have a mystical experience🔮🧿😇. Researchers in Geneva have found that it can also happen in everyday life. 👇
@floriancova.bsky.social

EU ministers to consider suspension of trade with Israel EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg this morning will assess a fresh call for a suspension of trade relations with Israel in light of escalating attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank as well...

EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg this morning will assess a fresh call for a suspension of trade relations with Israel in light of escalating attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank as well as its intervention in Lebanon

WATCH: Researchers at Stanford University modeled how many people could die or be disabled in 25 years if vaccines for polio, measles, rubella or diphtheria were no longer available.

💾 Beyond Floppy Disk Economics

Capitalism needs a new operating system. IIPP Director @mazzucatom.bsky.social's latest @foreignpolicy.com article outlines how to rewrite the global economic framework for a progressive multilateralism.

🔗 Read more here: buff.ly/dqZOY4k

NEW: Italy’s TB3 drone deal signals turn toward Turkey amid US-NATO tensions

Italy’s expected TB3 drone purchase highlights a rapidly deepening, interest-driven alignment with Turkey on defense and geopolitics. www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

April 18, 2026 And, just like that, President Donald J.

April 18, 2026

The Magic Bullet Delusion - Truthdig Neither impeachment nor the 25th Amendment offers remedies for removing a mad president leading the nation to disaster.

Neither impeachment nor the 25th Amendment offers remedies for removing a mad president leading the nation to disaster.

Turkmenistan, China Launch Expansion of Giant Gas Field Turkmenistan and China broke ground Friday on works to expand production at the giant Galkynysh gas field, strengthening Beijing's already dominant position in the secretive Central Asian nation's ene...

Turkmenistan and China broke ground Friday on works to expand production at the giant Galkynysh gas field, strengthening Beijing’s already dominant position in the secretive Central Asian nation’s energy sector.

The US and China Need to Talk About Unmanned Nukes “Human-in-the-loop” is not enough.

China and the U.S. desperately need to start talking about the dangerous combination of AI and nuclear weapons.

How to Drive a Stake Through the Heart of Trumpism Victory is only the beginning.

A democracy that can be turned into an authoritarian regime with the use of strictly, narrowly legal mechanisms is not enough. After Trump, legal and even maybe constitutional reforms become the big question:

India’s Worrying Plans for Dams on Transboundary Rivers Shared with Bangladesh At least seven hydroelectric projects on two transboundary river systems are in the pipeline in the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya.

If the Indian state of Meghalayas’s hydropower development plan materializes as envisaged, there will be at least seven hydropower projects on two rivers shared with Bangladesh.

Trump’s new budget turns the FBI into the gender police The plan casts opposition to “traditional values” as terrorism and raises fears of political targeting.

@advocate.com

www.advocate.com/politics/nat...

Trump’s Orders Targeting Anti-Fascism Aim to Criminalize Opposition Purporting to go after “domestic terrorism,” the president presents an imagined left-wing conspiracy and authorizes punishments for even tenuous connections to speech the administration doesn’t like.

@brennancenter.org

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...