Bio and disclosures: dangillmor.com/about/ Boosts mean I think you should see this -- usually but not always an endorsement. California, Nara, Arizona etc. · dangillmor.com
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2023-11-24T09:48:25+01:00 Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor @npub19yu…k4fq Yes, 22.04.4 -- I usually do a fresh install but contemplating an actual upgrade of existing system...I'm on an Intel system in any case. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor It bothers me as a longtime journalist that Harris-Walz are not doing press conferences, which -- when all the parties are acting with integrity -- serve a genuinely useful purpose. But political journalists have so thoroughly discredited themselves when these spectacles do occur that I can't argue with the candidates' decision to say no thanks. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor I am at an age where wonderful people I've known for decades are leaving us. If you are fortunate to have this much time, may I suggest that you get in touch with those who've helped and befriended you along the way, and say thanks before it is too late. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor I don't point to articles that are blatant rewrites of other people's work -- even when the original is paywalled. I dislike paywalls but I dislike clickbait ripoffs even more. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Latest reminder that it's all corruption, all the time in Trump world. https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/23/politics/trump-businesses-campaign-spending-invs/index.html This kind of reporting is important. But journalism always treats the scandals as one-offs. And there are surely countless more to uncover. The press can't be bothered to pull it all together -- to show the staggering breadth and depth of the sleaze. Journalists notice brush fires. But they never, ever explain that the entire forest is ablaze. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Topics in the latest edition of my "Cornerstone of democracy" newsletter -- a compendium of the best of political reporting/commentary (and more) -- include: -- case for optimism -- political judo -- Harris tax test -- editor's bad news for his readers -- Dems vs Nimbys I curate to save you time. Please subscribe (it's free), and let other folks know about it. Let me know about great work I've missed. https://cornerstone.ghost.io/essentials-august-24-25-2024/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Also not the Onion, this one from the Verge: "Samsung will soon let you create AI wallpapers on its touchscreen refrigerators" https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/029/519/293/432/837/original/586a1def50ba5dcb.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Not the Onion -- but it could be. NY Times op-ed headline: "Trump Can Win on Character" Screenshot is to prove I'm not making this up. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/029/496/661/271/652/original/1a8704b3e25560ad.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor RFKjr story seems even sadder than it looked before: https://www.gregpalast.com/i-was-on-the-phone-with-rfk-jr-when-he-lost-his-mind/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The New York Times is trying to turn its reporters into video personalities, featuring them doing what is plainly commentary about the stories they've written. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Harris' (apparent) proposal to make a crime out of grocery "price gouging" could be a major unforced error. The details will tell us, but we haven't seen an actual plan yet. What we need is to break up the monopolies and cartels that run pretty much every sector of our economy and restore true competition. Granular interference with markets won't cut it. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Not the Onion: Wall Street Journal headline: "Tim Walz Isn’t Very Rich. Americans Disagree on Whether That’s a Good Thing." https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/958/298/087/945/394/original/4bef25132aac36e2.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor If you have an Apple device and have installed the Patreon app, delete it now. Use the mobile web or desktop version. Why? Because Apple is forcing Patreon to force the creators on the platform to give an additional 30% to Apple. This is unconscionable, but then again we're talking about Apple. https://news.patreon.com/articles/understanding-apple-requirements-for-patreon npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor In the annals of whiny, why-don't-presidential-candidates-talk-to-us-more journalism, this commentary at the New Yorker stands out. https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/how-generic-can-kamala-harris-be npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The Hitler with subtitles bunker scene is back, and this time it's about JD Vance (among other things). https://www.threads.net/@sundaedivine/post/C-bBdHvCJ9F npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Apple again demonstrates its endless contempt for developers -- and especially for the EU's attempts at making the company operate in a fair way. https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/9/24216181/apple-eu-app-store-services-fee-external-links npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Just when you thought the New York Times and Washington Post couldn't be more contemptible in their stenography for the Trump propagandists, they show they learned absolutely nothing from the bad-faith "Swift Boating" 20 years ago. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/times-and-wapo-jump-on-board-trump-camp-swift-boating-of-walz/sharetoken/9f3c1ce4-b595-4563-9cd9-e4b33ceeebdb npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor I've started a free newsletter to showcase the best political journalism. No horse-race or both-sides BS. No poll stories, either. It's journalism that illuminates what's at stake, what the candidates say they'll do, and who they are beyond the superficial gloss. Here's yesterday's edition: https://cornerstone.ghost.io/essentials-august-7-2024/ I need your help: Send me links to journalism -- specific articles/videos etc -- that you think are right for this. Please DM or use the Contact Me link in my bio here. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Musk is suing advertisers for having the temerity to avoid his toxic platform. The best response is for the remaining advertisers to stop supporting his extremism. (Hey, journalists, why the hell are you still there?) npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Walz is a great choice. How quickly will the New York Times try to beat the crap out of him? npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Google is disabling the most effective web spyware blocker. That tells you everything about the motives of a company that once promised to not be evil. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/google/google-chrome-warns-ublock-origin-may-soon-be-disabled/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor A reminder that it's all corruption, all the time in Trump world. https://wapo.st/3SxAkvO Big Journalism treats the serial scandals as one-offs. This piece from the Washington Post is an example of brilliant reporting with insufficient context. It's baffling that journalists can't be bothered to pull it all together -- to show the breadth and depth of the Trump world sleaze. They notice some of the brush fires. But they never notice (or tell the rest of us) that the entire forest is ablaze. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor You just knew that Trump's racist attack on Harris today would become, in the eyes of our political media, a test of her rather than what it was: a demonstration of what a rancid piece of garbage he is. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/884/798/377/157/025/original/612910bbd70bbb0f.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor A reminder that, once it was completely clear that Harris would be the nominee, the NY Times weighed in with an all-hands slam at her candidacy. This stuff isn't coincidental. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/22/opinion/best-worst-candidates-to-replace-biden.html npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor With bipartisan, craven contempt for free speech, the Kids Online Censorship Act sailed through the U.S. Senate today. The House is the next stop. If this becomes law, it will do huge damage to the open Internet -- and to your own right to speak what you believe, and read what you want. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Earnest liberals like Tom Friedman are clutching their pearls because some Democrats have finally stopped bringing handshakes to knife fights. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/872/587/072/464/916/original/67d1f385f081f44d.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The New York Times descends into self-parody with this editorial. You won't be surprised to know that, in the Times' Olympian view, Harris is the one who has to step up first to fix this. America deserves better journalism, that much is certain. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/852/574/022/981/987/original/ec8f845589d4fd99.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Every time Musk opens his mouth or posts anything on his deadbird site, he shows what a horrible -- and dangerous -- person he is. The disgusting attack on his child is only the latest example. What is also disgusting is the fact that big-time journalists and commentators are still DIRECTLY SUPPORTING this guy, who is not just a terrible person but a clear and present danger to democracy, and by extension freedom of expression. Decency, if nothing else, should lead them to stop. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor This is pure cartel behavior: Reddit and Google have cut a deal that freezes out all other search engines from indexing Reddit, where volunteers do essentially all the work. This should not be legal. It is VITAL to replace Reddit, and it will take a global village to do it. If we don't, the cartel wins. https://www.404media.co/google-is-the-only-search-engine-that-works-on-reddit-now-thanks-to-ai-deal/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Micah Sifry, one of our finest political commentators, has words of wisdom in the Biden-out-Harris-in situation, including a caution or two that ecstatic Dems should ponder. But he asks a question that no one has even begun to answer in the detail we need. "Who pulls the strings that can unravel a sitting president?" https://theconnector.substack.com/p/and-you-may-ask-yourself-how-did npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor So was Trump's ear hit by a bullet or a riccochet shard from something the bullet hit first? Surely there are people who know for sure. But there's not a hint of disclosure one way or the other, and Big Journalism has made it clear that it doesn't care to find out. It was a bad scene either way, a close call. That isn't the issue. The issue is whether this withholding of basic facts is the norm. In Trump world, it is. Why are journalists so meek with Trump, so demanding of others? npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Google insisted it was going to ban third-party cookies in Chrome based browsers, triggering all kinds of uproar and changes around the Internet. It was hypocrisy, of course, as Google's plan was to give itself a spy-on-users monopoly with other technology it controlled. The latest move -- to lift the ban (opt-in only) -- will Google a pedestal at the Bait and Switch Hall of Fame. https://privacysandbox.com/intl/en_us/news/privacy-sandbox-update/ In any case, don't use Chrome and do use a robust ad/tracker blocker. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The most obvious takeaway from the "Attaboy Joe" editorials and commentaries from the political press is not that they're offering sincere thanks for a fine president's selfless act. They're not thanking Biden. They're congratulating themselves. Keep that in mind, because they'll try again -- but only with Democrats since Republicans hold journalism in pure contempt. God I want journalism that respects the people it claims to serve. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Casting doubt on the people who are trying to save democracy while normalizing extremists is how the New York Times rolls these days. It is what they do. Stop imagining that they will ever change. If you subscribe, cancel and tell them why. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/833/214/613/584/778/original/2fe6f4ddcb7066c8.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Down in the headline weeds on the WashPost's home page is this spit-out-your-coffee howler: "Trump’s age and health under renewed scrutiny" As if Trump's age and health have EVER been under serious scrutiny from the Post or anyone else in Big Journalism. This story is unintended self-mockery. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/832/805/498/481/696/original/c0babfe1ea0f5ba9.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Venture capitalists come out for the fascist. https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/16/andreessen-horowitz-co-founders-explain-why-theyre-supporting-trump/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Musk says he'll spend about $180 million to elect Trump. They are the nation's two most powerful enemies of democracy and, by extension, freedom of expression. Everyone who buys a Tesla is supporting them. Everyone who uses the deadbird site -- notably the journalists, who all know what they're doing -- is supporting them. Don't pretend otherwise. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Longtime newspaper editor Jim O'Shea has valuable thoughts on the NY Times' campaign to oust Biden from the Democratic ticket. https://jeoshea.com/blog/the-news-crusaders npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Really not great the way Windows restarts without permission and what you were doing is gone... npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor As Russian iphone customers lose their ability to use VPNs to get around the Putin regime's censorship, it's essential to remember that Apple shares the responsibility for this repression. The company's "use the app store or do without" policy is a choke point that dictatorships happily leverage against their citizens. Putin is a monster, but he counts on the control freakery in Cupertino. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/technology/russia-forces-apple-to-remove-dozens-of-vpn-apps-from-app-store/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The New York Times' new standard of integrity is, in effect, this: Unless you can prove otherwise about our Parkinson's piece, you must believe our innuendo. The bar doesn't get a lot lower than that. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor It makes me sick to my stomach to say this, but Big Journalism's relentless campaign to oust Biden from the Democratic ticket now seems likely to succeed. Even Krugman has now joined the NY Times' all-encompassing foray into journalistic activism. How many minutes will pass after Biden withdraws before widespread attacks on Harris commence? npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Another day in the New York Times' all-hands-on-deck campaign to get Biden off the Democratic ticket. Also another day when the nation's most important news organization demonstrates a profound lack of integrity, by refusing to acknowledge its activism or explain who's behind it and why. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/743/734/894/028/535/original/c4541399a76b5544.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor It will be ironic, in the most tragic way for the rest of us, if Big Journalism's last few months of freedom are consumed by beyond-arrogant and willfully incompetent demonstrations of journalistic malpractice. The obsession with Biden's age, and pile on to remove him: that's the arrogant part. The yeah-so-what shrugs at Trump's escalating derangement and fascist intentions are the willful incompetence. I'm looking for journalism that recognizes the danger we're in, and explains. Send links. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor I sometimes encounter great writing that I want to support, but it's published on on the Substack plaform. I send an email to the author saying I would subscribe in a heartbeat if he/she moved it elsewhere. I realize it's futile in almost every case, but it's better than saying nothing. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Will Bunch, consistently one of the finest commentators around, asks a rhetorical question here: "Do newspaper columnists know that democracy’s closer to death than Biden?" https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/attytood/biden-trump-presidential-debate-supreme-court-immunity-chevron-clarence-thomas-20240702.html npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Meanwhile, the Times continues its full-court press to force Biden off the Democratic ticket. Home page is dominated, once again, by the paper's campaign to decide for all of us who gets to run. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/722/671/873/762/536/original/f32769c9b46398fa.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The New York Times normalizes extremism again, this time finding a "both sides" way to ponder the corrupt Supreme Court's overturning of the rule of law, by giving presidents (well, Trump anyway) total immunity from prosecution for crimes they commits in office. This may be a new low in the Times' democracy-who-cares era. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/722/659/658/252/888/original/e7a54e9ed0d0fd00.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor My new post: "At its moment of peril, democracy needs journalists to be activists" "Dear journalists: This is your moment, your opportunity. "It’s your chance, maybe your final one, to stand proudly for reality and democracy, for freedom of expression, for human rights. Stand up as journalism’s best — think Ida B. Wells and Edward R. Murrow, among so many others — did in earlier times as they challenged a tide of political evil and helped America change its course." https://dangillmor.medium.com/8776aa9c99c3 npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor A reminder that the NY Times' campaign to oust Biden continues unabated. Remember, this screenshot is from the purported "news" pages, not the editorial page, which is increasingly shrill on the topic. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/714/011/299/832/704/original/6794e3ad11093466.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor It's tempting to say that the second most significant outcome of the debate was its confirmation that Big Journalism's political coverage -- with a few honorable individual exceptions -- has learned almost nothing from its horrendous failures of the past. It's worse than that, though. When the top story remains Biden's terrible fumbling, with broad indifference to the torrent of sewage that came out of Trump's mouth, let's face it. Journalism is failing again, but on purpose this time. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor So it turns out that the "rule" disallowing CNN's hapless debate stooges from challenging even the most blatant lies was a directive from the bosses. What they did was the antithesis of journalism. Journalists don't just serve up their questions and then offer oh-so-polite thanks to the person whose answers are lie-filled sewage. CNN didn't want to be a target, understandably. But its pathetic performance, Biden's ineptness aside, was DESIGNED to help Trump. I loathe CNN for this. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Democrats who are panicking are jumping the gun, but there is no denying that Biden's performance was anything but awful. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor When CNN decided to let Trump lie with zero fact checking, it gave Trump its biggest gift to date. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor I hope Biden improves his performance... npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor CNN has decided, based on its pre-debate "coverage", that the two major-party candidates are very much equivalent. The network's correspondents surely know that they are pushing the worst kind of false balance, but it is what they do routinely. Business as usual in Big Journalism will be seen by honest historians as one of the most effective enablers of fascism in America. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor @npub1qa8…859j Transcripts would be a great addition to this series... npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor If journalists did even a tiny bit of self-reflection, this headline "Trump trusted more than Biden on democracy among key swing-state voters" would be understood as proof that Big Journalism has utterly failed to do its job. But if you read the story, there's not a hint of that recognition. https://wapo.st/3KYyorV (free link) Journalists aren't the only reason for this public ignorance of reality. But they are a major factor, and they absolutely refuse to grasp that, much less do better. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Paramount wiped out MTV News archives, and is now taking down old TV clips from the Internet. Big Media (and small sites, for that matter) won't preserve the archives, so the rest of us will have to do it. We need to get organized, and create a system that preserves the past. The Copyright Cartel will go nuts, so we need a safe way around them. I hope smart people are working on this, right now. Because media companies don't give a damn about history. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Supreme Court just legalized bribery of public officials. A perfect and grotesque endorsement of the kind of corruption that Trump world stands for. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/26/supreme-court-bribes-gratuities-corruption-mayor/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Your daily reminder that in Big Journalism, the word "conservative" is synonymous with "right wing extremist" -- but the journalists will never say it that way. https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-president-project-2025-33d3fc2999a74f4aa424f1128dca2d16 npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Anyone who creates media that third parties publish should always, always make a back-up of what appeared online. I learned this the hard way when a former employer disappeared years worth of my blog from a major news organization's website. It still sucks when companies take down archives, as Paramount has done with MTV News, but at least there's the possibility of resurrecting some of it if individuals save it. https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/mtv-news-website-archives-pulled-offline-1236047163/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor A friend who says he/she's expressing displeasure with Biden by voting for RFKjr, Jill Stein, Cornell West, or any other third-party candidate in this year's presidential election will no longer be a friend. They'll have all kinds of twisted logic explaining that they're doing something honorable. But the reality is pretty simple: Those votes for spoilers are votes for Trump. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor If you are imprisoned and "work for free" you are a slave. All over the U.S. that's the way things are. Florida, as always, is an especially disgusting example of modern legal slavery. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/21/florida-unpaid-prison-labor?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Pathetic, Google: On Gemini "AI" chat, my question is "Did Trump win the 2020 presidential election? Answer: I'm still learning how to answer this question. In the meantime, try Google Search. Truly pathetic, and it's obvious what's going on. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor I asked Perplexity if it was ignoring robots.txt instructions when crawling the web, and the response was quite detailed -- and revealing. It basically confessed. https://www.perplexity.ai/page/Does-Perplexity-Ignore-v4ZEwKKCRme6wOo6PvEuzg npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor It's pretty clear at the "AI" cartel has ignored the robots.txt instructions in wholesale ways. This lack of respect for an industry norm is a lot like Trump's disrespect for political and legal norms. It comes from a mindset that assumes what's acceptable is what you can get away with. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor @npub18y7…m5np It's not Hacker News, which is the ycombinator discussion board. It's ripped off the name, adding "The" in front of the rest. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Why is Google News serving up articles from a site that blatantly rips off other people's work? Example: Original -- https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/17/stop-playing-games-with-online-security-signal-president-warns-eu-lawmakers/ Ripped off -- https://thehackernews.com/2024/06/signal-foundation-warns-against-eus.html npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Microsoft "AI" won't answer the question, "Who won the 2020 presidential election?" and it won't explain why it won't answer the question? https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/646/236/509/948/882/original/afe08b588903ba3b.png npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor EU officials, who know nothing about how technology works but know what they want, are on the verge of ordering technology companies to make everyone much less safe by destroying strong encryption and eviscerating personal privacy. https://netzpolitik.org/2024/client-side-scanning-chat-control-is-pure-surveillance-state/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor This is very good: https://www.threads.net/@beereinstein/post/C8UWOE6plrm npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor While I supported it for obvious reasons, I hadn't fully understood the rationale behind the Ghost newsletter platform's adoption of ActivityPub. It's about discoverability, and could be a serious boost for newsletter writers. See why: https://www.augment.ink/ghost-substack-discoverability/ h/t @dwiner npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Liberals who think protesters are the enemy are actively encouraging the police state that Trump world wants to impose on America. They should understand this, but they are either willfully dense, or myopic. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/liberal-police-state-campus-protests/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The Supreme Court legalized weapons used to massacre people. https://www.theguardian.com/law/ng-interactive/2024/jun/14/supreme-court-bump-stock-ban-decision npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The massively bad-faith Republican "investigations" -- persecutions to deter truth-telling -- into vital research on right-wing extremism have paid off for the extremists. In a cowardly but understandable move, Stanford University is dismantling its Internet Observatory, which has been a focus of the Republican lies and attacks. It's understandable in the way capitulation to Joe McCarthy was understandable in the 1050s before enough people grew spines to stop him. https://www.platformer.news/stanford-internet-observatory-shutdown-stamos-diresta-sio/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Right wing extremists (I know, redundant at this point) are pushing people to drink raw milk. If a bird flu pandemic erupts, millions will probably die. And those vile know-nothings will have helped kill them. https://www.mediamatters.org/turning-point-usa/turning-point-usa-promoting-drinking-raw-milk-amid-bird-flu-outbreak npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Musk's deadbird site has made "likes" private. This means fascists, racists, and misogynists -- and sympathizers of fascists, racists, and misogynists -- are now free to cheer on other fascists, racists, and misogynists out of the public eye. https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/606/267/347/915/649/original/2f379d7b2189e00d.jpeg npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor I thought I was unsubscribing from the relentless unwanted emails from the Democratic National Committee, but it turned out I was unsubscribing to only one of the many, many permutations... npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor For God's sake, journalists (and everyone else), stop calling right-wing extremists "conservative" -- they are radicals who are trying to wipe out democracy, human rights, a livable environment, and so much more. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor You have to read a long way into this Axios piece on the rise of "partisan-backed outlets designed to look like impartial news outlets" to learn what should have been shouted right at the top: The overwhelming majority of these "pink slime" sites are engineered by right-wingers. With that context firmly in your mind, do read it. https://www.axios.com/2024/06/11/partisan-news-websites-dark-money npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Academics are still on Twitter, unfortunately. Many of the ones who tried the fediverse gave up fairly quickly (exactly what happened with journalists). Here's a study worth reading, for lessons that Mastodon advocates should heed: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.04005 npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The way you can understand the federal proceedings against Trump for his theft of classified documents is a simple matter of context: Assume that the judge -- a blatantly unqualified right-wing apparatchik appointed by Trump -- is a member of the defense team. If you do that, everything makes sense. Latest: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/us/politics/trump-documents-charges-cannon.html?unlocked_article_code=1.y00.ZLXl.0R0squaYWTAc&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor When I'm czar of journalism, using the expression "lean into" (and its derivatives) will be forbidden. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor I'm working on an experiment to create a fediverse outpost for my small town, as a possible approach to supplementing or (ideally) replacing the Facebook group that currently is the source of news in the community. Advice on next steps? Looking at various things now e.g. -- Find a hosting service specialilzing in Mastodon? -- Install myself at the hosting company I use for my blog? -- Any good guides for a project like this? npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor It is an ongoing disgrace that journalists continue to support Musk's evil business. If you know a reporter who's using Twitter, please tell him/her to stop disrespecting the audience, and the craft. https://www.notus.org/media/elon-musk-x-politics-addicted-twitter npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Facebook bots invading forums where people are trying to have conversations with other people is a genuinely evil development. https://theconversation.com/ai-chatbots-are-intruding-into-online-communities-where-people-are-trying-to-connect-with-other-humans-229473 npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Really hate to see Google give into the extortion from the Canadian government, but Google's ethical stances are totally transactional at this point. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/google-canadian-news-companies-1.7228190 npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor And this, from the Washington Post, describes Trump apparatchiks' plans to withhold federal funding from anything they don't like -- blatantly illegal, which as usual is part of their assault on, well, everything other than extremist policies. https://wapo.st/3XekhX4 npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor If you use Adobe, you really should stop. https://9to5mac.com/2024/06/06/change-to-adobe-terms-amp-conditions/ npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor 1. Washington Post CEO came from the Murdoch empire. 2. He has been implicated in the (still not fully unraveled) UK "phone hacking" scandal that exemplified the sleaziness of the Murdoch empire. 3. He told Post editor not to publish a story containing references to his alleged involvement. 4. She published the story. 5. She's gone. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/05/business/media/washington-post-buzbee-lewis.html npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Corporate landlords routinely rip off tenants, with the help of sleazy software and market concentration. Finally, the feds are going after one of worst offenders, it seems: https://popular.info/p/feds-raid-corporate-landlord-escalating npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor "Open"AI's Altman is doing all kinds of self-dealing with startups he's invested in and/or controls. Silicon Valley has always been a cesspool of conflicts of interest. This is a major-league example. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/the-opaque-investment-empire-making-openai-s-sam-altman-rich/ar-BB1nvyp2 npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor NBC-Universal (Comcast) is an advertising company, as its streaming video prices demonstrate. $20 for a year of ad-infested streaming, 6 times that much for a year of ad-free streaming. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Private equity / hedge fund financial engineers are systematically taking over and wrecking industry after industry -- making everything worse except for the people at the top who rake in vast fortunes they've looted from their prey. Now they've come for bowling alleys, and the results are completely predictable -- and infuriating. https://www.levernews.com/meet-the-new-kingpin/ If Democrats truly cared about winning back blue collar voters, they would take loud note of this. But they'd have to wake up first. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor So Threads on Mastodon is read-only. If that doesn't change, there will be little point in allowing those posts to show up in my timeline. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Correct me if I'm wrong, but replies to Threads posts here don't get reflected back to the original post (on Threads), correct? npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor I've been using the Chromium browser for certain websites, and that's about to end. Google's greed-fueled moves -- this time to disable vital extensions that provide better privacy and security -- are unacceptable to me. The stakes here are quite high. If Google succeeds what it's attempting to do -- forcing users to use only Google-approved privacy and security choices -- we're in trouble. Firefox looks like the best way forward at this point. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor Journalism keeps looking for a daddy. Exhibit 45,993: the Atlantic's stupid deal with "Open"AI. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/05/a-devils-bargain-with-openai/678537/ You would imagine that at some point journalists would realize that they have to create and promote their own platforms, but you would be foolishly naive to do so. Sad to say. npub1qyhnuy0ac92x497z0ytx95dwd2c6p5lv8l36uv0gv8jeel0pu0ks9yayrq Dan Gillmor The Google Search API leak is almost certainly the real thing -- and it reveals new depths of dishonesty and contempt for Internet users' privacy. https://sparktoro.com/blog/an-anonymous-source-shared-thousands-of-leaked-google-search-api-documents-with-me-everyone-in-seo-should-see-them/