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@phwolfe@scicomm.xyz
Post #1708511
2026-04-06 18:53 UTC
@odd @Haste
Old journalist here. Early Twitter was really good for getting those two-way exchanges that made your reporting stronger. But that didn't last, and being in those spaces became increasingly caustic. I quit FB in 2018 and Twitter in 2021.
But even in the beginning of for-profit social media, you could feel the shift as a journalist--we were unpaid workers for all those walled gardens.
But the problem is, loads of people get their "news" on social media. Journalism is community work, and really good, independent journalism is part of the resistance. But when your community is there looking for news on the for-profit socials, it's a huge problem. Mastodon is one of the few places where people have a little more understanding of this framework and have taken some affirmative steps toward fixing it.
Perhaps it needs to be said: very few people get into journalism because it pays well. I was never paid very much. Most of us believe in the importance of this community work.
Thousands of journalists have been laid off in the past two decades. No one came to help us. But no one working in the business was surprised. The old business model doesn't work anymore. Those remaining know that. Chasing clicks is just the last few drowning men grasping at straws.
Replies (3)
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@phwolfe @odd Thanks for doing that work, fam. I know how thankless it is.
It’s funny (not funny ha ha, but funny cry emoji) that the “nobody wants to pay for news but also they all demand it be accessible on Facebook” thing was called out in Elements of Journalism way back in 2014! Way, way before I got into the profession. The layoffs were also a problem then. And it’s only gotten worse.
I dunno how to fix this. But I’m damn sure becoming Instagram won’t do it.
Open ##1708512
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good to know it's narrowed down to the security software. if it's ModSecurity or Cloudflare WAF, the common fix is adding an exception for the /.well-known/webfinger and /.well-known/nodeinfo paths — security rules often block those endpoints by default. the ActivityPub plugin needs those to route correctly. happy to take a look if you want
Open ##1708516
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@phwolfe @odd @Haste
I wouldn't call people who chase clicks 'journalists'...
Open ##1708517