so much of news now is terrified to call a spade a spade, and thinks “digging tool” is enough. it’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of journalism and it’s killing democracy in the United States.

Elizabeth Spiers@espiers.bsky.social · yesterday

Also, people who talk about reporting stories "down the middle" do not understand (willfully in Ellison's case) what journalism exists to do. It's not to tell everyone's side of the story; it's to tell the truth--even if that pisses some people off.

I know I rail against op-ed pages a lot (and I'm not going to stop) but a reminder that today's opinion sections voice a paper's most powerful friends. Not the public it claims to serve. The voice of the poor is in the streets. The voice of the rich is, especially today, the opinion section.

Josh Sternberg@joshsternberg.com · yesterday

Really interesting how lies are allowed to be printed in the newspaper. One example: Ellison writes "I believe" 4x, but also writes: "Unfortunately, I can’t give anyone a view into my heart and mind, but I can share this" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...

Microsoft offers more details about how a state-sponsored hacking group is tricking travelers into installing malware via 'doppelganger domains mimicking Microsoft online services.'

Microsoft: Suspected Russian Hackers Are Targeting Logins Via Hotel Wi-Fi

The company is responding after cybersecurity vendor ReliaQuest discovered Wi-Fi gateways at hotels and conference centers in multiple US cities and abroad had been tampered with to redirect users to secretly malicious websites to steal logins for Microsoft 365 portals.

bit.ly

Cheeky little repost of the books I'm curled up with this summer:

Alan Henry@halophoenix.bsky.social · 2w ago

This went out to all subs on Friday! If you missed it, or just want to know what I'm reading this summer (and fall, since some are pre-orders), head here: buttondown.com/alanhenry/ar... Or shop this list at Bookshop! It helps the authors, indie bookstores, and me: bookshop.org/lists/summer...

Another day, another discovery that it took me less than an hour to do something I'd been putting off for Y E A R S . Fam, just do the thing. I promise you, whatever it is, it's not as big as you're making it out to be in your head. Just get started. You'll be surprised how far you go.

I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful

This week's infosec column is here and it's a great time! (quietly sobbing at my keyboard)

@pcmag.com · 5d ago

Your apps are abusing permissions, hackers are hijacking Windows desktops, and AI copycats are rampant. Welcome to the busiest—and scariest—week in cybersecurity ahead of Black Hat.

Before the briefings even begin, we're digging into the most shocking cybersecurity discoveries and threats we'll be tracking on the ground next week.

Black Hat 2026: From Rogue AI to Roblox Privacy, the Most Terrifying Warnings Coming to Vegas

PCMag's security team will be on the ground in Vegas to attend the sessions that look the most critical, chilling, or...maybe just fun. We'll be reporting on everything we see throughout the week on our Black Hat page, so set your bookmarks accordingly! Until then, here’s a look at some of the highlights we're anticipating.

bit.ly

tfw the damage phase ends and the boss's health bar looks like this: (yes, we all groaned, most of us cursed)

Recently chatted with @tonyweaverjr.bsky.social about his jump from education advocate and content creator to voice acting and finding space as a Black performer in anime: gizmodo.com/tony-weaver-...

'Ghost in the Shell' Actor Tony Weaver, Jr. Is Happy to Be Here

The advocate and content creator talks community and using 'The Ghost in the Shell' to help achieve his voice acting dreams.

gizmodo.com

extremely accurate take

Daniel Dockery@dandock.bsky.social · last wk.

Whenever someone asks for an anime recommendation, the most important thing to consider is not accessibility or critical ratings, but what series is going to take over and potentially ruin that person's life.

Did you know I have a new book coming out about a graduate student who is a slime mold from beyond the galaxy? Who comes to Earth to do fieldwork and meets a badass sex worker in ancient Pompeii? It's called "A Wall Is Also a Road." You should pre-order it now! torpublishinggroup.com/a-wall-is-al...

A Wall Is Also a Road

torpublishinggroup.com

Natalie Weiner@natalieweiner.bsky.social · last wk.

everybody's talking about the odyssey, but america has a meaty epic poem with countless interpretations all its own: john henry www.dontrocktheinbox.com/on-john-henr...

Sometimes I think about friends I've made on this site and others who just vanished and stopped posting - not just here, but everywhere - and hope that means they're offline living their best life or thriving in another space, and not the other thing that I worry about.

Without saying your age, what is your favorite movie from the year you turned 18?

Alt: Will Smith, playing Agent K in the movie Men In Black, walks up to the camera, puts on his sunglasses, gives a knowing nod, and uses the memory wiper on the viewer, ending in a bright white flash.

static.klipy.com

Rae 🧡💙🏆🗽🖖@raedical.bsky.social · last wk.

Without saying your age, what is your favorite movie from the year you turned 18?

Everyone loses when there are fewer people from diverse backgrounds doing quality control and asking questions like, "how can bad actors use this new tech?" Or "how does this policy affect Black Americans?" or "Should we really lay off all the sports reporters right before the Olympics?"

I keep thinking about how often the mass layoffs in media, government and big companies, especially women and people of color, will lead to poorer outcomes for years because the people who would point out potential problems or blind spots were deemed non-essential, a "bad fit", and/or too expensive.

Years ago I gave a talk at my alma mater. I was asked why trust in journalism was declining. I replied that, in attempts to curry favor with power and avoid irritating people who deserve critique, we trade evidence-based fact for intellectual laziness. That sentiment continues to prove out.

Walker Bragman@walkerbragman.bsky.social · 2w ago

Absolutely fucking not

In this week's @pcmag.com infosec roundup, we're talking OpenAI/Hugging Face, with an important reminder that language like "went rogue" also serves to obfuscate the human responsibility of OpenAI for what happened: www.pcmag.com/news/hugging...

Hugging Face Was the Biggest Hack by Far This Week, But It Wasn't the Only One

It's been another busy week in cybersecurity: AIs are autonomously attacking each other. A Gemini exploit lets anyone bypass your Android lock screen. And healthcare gets hit again.

pcmag.com

This is sick? What a cool way to animate

Eva Navratilova@evanavratilova.bsky.social · 2w ago

This is deeply emotional for us.🥹 Scarlet Deer Inn, our dark medieval folk tale with physical embroidery, is OUT NOW on Steam! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us on this journey. ❤️ Steam: store.steampowered.com/app1553260

I'd like to tell you all a story about Elmer.

I have awful news. Youman Wilder, the Harlem baseball coach who courageously protected his kids from an ICE raid and said he was "willing to die" for them, very tragically, passed away this week Wilder's sister started a fundraiser set up to help with his burial: www.gofundme.com/f/honoring-y...

Something I will never stop shouting about is that privileged people (and this absolutely scales up with privilege) seem to think that saying "i'm sorry" erases responsibility for their actions, or any accountability for the harm they cause. It doesn't. (Yes, I cover this in my book.)

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2w ago

‘I got carried away’: Elon Musk expresses regret about Doge and wading into Trump’s orbit

ICYMI - The layoffs at Microsoft didn't just affect developers. It also gutted layers of accessibility that Xbox spent years cultivating. These layoffs aren't going to impact just accessibility in games, but even legal requirements like website accessibility. Read my first @aftermath.site report:

Aftermath@aftermath.site · 2w ago

Layoffs leave the future of Xbox's award-winning accessibility efforts in doubt aftermath.site/xbox-layoffs-a...

more people need to read this and take heed of @halophoenix.bsky.social's words

The Right Way to Give and Receive Feedback

First of all, stop using vague adjectives and start giving people actionable advice and suggestions.

buttondown.com

Beautiful story perfectly told in 3. 11/10, no notes

Suyi@suyidavies.com · 2w ago

Lemme tell y'all an AI story: Yesterday, I was at Costco, selecting those big ass watermelons. An elderly gentleman spotted me & stopped. "The sweet ones," he said, "have some green & some yellow. All green--no sweet. All yellow, nah. You want half-half." Then he proceeded to select one for me.

every security expert: don't put your financial data into ChatGPT U.S. federal government: puts 74.3 million people's financial data into ChatGPT

Jed Brown@jedbrown.org · 2w ago

Important context to the Medicaid hostage-taking: on May 21, HHS announced a new program to use ChatGPT to scan financial compliance reports. It violated normal rulemaking procedure and did not publish error rates or validation, nor did it create an appeals process.

Also, if you're out there, you see these posts and are all, "But Black Dynamite, *I* host *my* blog/newsletter on Substack!" We know. We're wishing you'd stop. We can't make you. Only you can. "Be that as it may, if I catch you, I will not consider you a Brother or a friend. Now can you dig it?"

Black Dynamite I Sell Drugs To The Community

Alt: From the movie "Black Dynamite", a pimp is saying "But Black Dynamite, I sell drugs to the community!"

static.klipy.com

Brian G. aka urbanbohemian 🪩🥂💖@urbanbohemian.com · 2w ago

*reposts* *sees it's Substack link* *removes repost* 😑

The year is 2006 and I need to buy a bottle of Brasso for literally one thing. The year is 2026 and I need to buy a bottle of Brasso for literally one thing (not the same thing.)

🌕 Today marks the 57th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. If you have a small telescope, head outside tonight. By a remarkable coincidence, the Moon is almost exactly the same phase it was when the Eagle landed. We'll show you how to find Tranquility Base at capitalweather.com