Will Oremus

I wrote about the push to "billionaire-proof" social media, including plans for a new nonprofit to oversee Mastodon and a separate plan to launch a nonprofit to build out an ecosystem of apps running on Bluesky's protocol. Gift link to today's Tech Brief: https://wapo.st/40fTk4X

Wrote about why Bluesky has the juice at the moment https://wapo.st/40RwPp7

One of the wilder developments in the battle over social media censorship is that RFK Jr. is now a top contender to lead the same agency he's also suing for allegedly pressuring tech firms to suppress his antivaxx posts — making him potentially both plaintiff and defendant. https://wapo.st/3CjMbbt

New: Federal, state and local officials leading the Hurricane Helene relief efforts are fearing for their safety amid vicious antisemitic online hate and threats, fueled on Elon Musk's X, where anti-Jewish conspiracy posts are going unmoderated and racking up tens of millions of views. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/10/08/hurricane-helene-antisemitic-misinformation-x/

Trump supporters aren't imagining it—they really do get their posts taken down and accounts suspended more on social media than liberals, a new analysis published in Nature finds.

But! That doesn't mean content moderation is biased. It turns out the discrepancy is better explained by the fact that they share way more low-quality information. That's true even when "low-quality" is defined by Republicans. My latest on the findings: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/03/nature-study-social-media-liberal-bias-censorship/

@frozencanuck@mas.to i will admit the idealism has gotten buried under a dump truck load of cynicism over the years, but it's still down there somewhere

I wrote about why Meta is integrating Threads with Mastodon and the fediverse -- and why advocates for an open social web are both cautiously intrigued and wary. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/02/meta-threads-fediverse-mosseri-mastodon-rochko/

Admiration for Hitler was once confined to the internet's seamiest corners.

Now it's reaching millions on the largest platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and X, as the far right uses AI voice cloning tools to reanimate the führer's words and ideas for a new generation.

Gift link to our story on the alarming trend, featuring new research from ISD and SITE Intelligence: https://wapo.st/4eCxkH4

Telegram's Pavel Durov has become an overnight free-speech icon for many on the right. But critics, including a Telegram co-founder who has since left the company, told us Durov is using free speech as a smokescreen to profit from the worst the internet has to offer. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/08/29/telegram-app-durov-free-speech-child-sexual-abuse-images/

Mark Zuckerberg criticizes Biden admin for pressuring Meta to moderate misinfo, in letter responding to GOP leader who is pressuring Meta not to. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/08/27/meta-zuckerberg-covid-misinformation-jordan-white-house/

New: We finally have an official list of the major investors in Elon Musk's X, after a judge ordered it unsealed.

They include Jack Dorsey, a16z, a Saudi prince, and of course Sean "Diddy" Combs. Story by Trisha Thadani, w/ assists from me and @aaronjschaffer@mastodon.social. Gift link: https://wapo.st/3WYQaB5

A week after falsely accusing Harris of posting AI fakes, Trump himself did just that.

I wrote about the AI images of Harris and Swift, what purpose they serve for Trump, and why “deepfakes” is too narrow a lens for the role of AI in political propaganda in 2024. Gift link: https://wapo.st/3XdHkAU

Artists' class-action lawsuit against AI image generators quietly cleared a significant hurdle this week. I wrote about what it means for the broader battle over AI and digital rights: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/14/ai-copyright-lawsuit-artists-stability-midjourney/

SCOTUS' ruling on social media was a bigger deal than it first seemed. Content moderation and ranking algorithms are now First Amendment-protected speech, and that has major implications for the internet. My newsletter today: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/02/netchoice-scotus-content-moderation-speech/

A new Stanford report finds the vast majority of online child sexual abuse material goes unprosecuted due in part to a clunky and overwhelmed reporting system -- and a flood AI-generated child porn "indistinguishable" from the real thing is about to make the problem much worse.

My story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/22/ai-csam-ncmec-cybertipline-stanford-report/

A senator who claims to have been pushing for an online-privacy bill for 24 years has actually been the biggest obstacle to it, numerous aides and insiders say.

Fascinating, question-raising profile of Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), whose Commerce Committee is "where tech legislation goes to die." https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/13/congress-maria-cantwell-online-privacy/ by @cristianolima@mastodon.social

I'm far from the first to point this out, but it continues to be revealing to look at what kinds of "free speech" Elon Musk's X defends and what kinds it suppresses.

My newsletter today on Musk standing up for Bolsonaristas in Brazil, but not dissidents in Modi's India or Erdogan's Turkey: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/10/elon-musk-picks-his-speech-battle/

Asked for examples of sexual harassment at law schools, ChatGPT named a GW law prof accused of touching a student on a class trip to Alaska, citing a 2018 Washington Post story.

The law prof is real. The rest was made up.

We wrote about what happens when AIs lie about you: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/05/chatgpt-lies/

Elon Musk claimed he fixed Twitter's verification system to stop verifying impostors.

So our columnist @geoffreyfowler@federated.press tested it again--and again was able to get a blue checkmark (and go viral) impersonating a U.S. Senator. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/05/twitter-blue-verification/