iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Katie Paul

jon christian @jonchristian.net · 09/09/2026

Anyway, I shared my concerns with Meta that they seemed to be tolerating AI videos of violent child abuse, and this was their response: > "Not all the links you sent violate our policies. Can you please avoid suggesting in your reporting that they do?"

When we presented that line of thinking to Meta, the final abhorrent videos we’d flagged to the company’s press team finally disappeared from Facebook — though untold thousands remain on its platforms.

The company also provided a brief final statement.

“Not all the links you sent violate our policies,” it read. “Can you please avoid suggesting in your reporting that they do?”

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jon christian @jonchristian.net · 09/09/2026

It felt to me like the big question facing Meta is: does this content have any place on its platform? But the general sentiment I got from the company boiled down to "please stop bothering us"

from futurism:

> Some of the cruelties in the videos are astonishing in their specificity, seemingly generated at scale using repeated prompts. Some involve withholding an inhaler from a child who needs it, while others show allergic children forced to eat shellfish. Others show adults pouring snakes and cockroaches on weeping kids. Many more involve young Black children being whipped or beaten by white adults as they perform manual labor in what looks like a colonial African setting.

> The videos aren’t quite photorealistic, but they are clearly being generated with cutting-edge technology, and the effect is distressing. Many commenters on the videos, which often attract thousands or even tens of thousands of reactions on Facebook, seem unaware that they’re synthetic, with many reacting in horror — or begging for a follow-up video that continues the disturbing narrative.

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Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

SF City Attorney's office says Meta's response is "astonishing"

Statement from SF City Attorney's Office:

“We find Meta’s response astonishing. Meta appears less concerned about whether they’re guilty of exploiting children than whether San Francisco should say anything about it. Meta has bigger problems to solve here than determining our jurisdiction.

"To be clear, San Francisco consumers can access the unlawful ads through Meta online spaces. In that way, Meta is serving California consumers, including San Franciscans, with advertisements that contain unlawful, sexually explicit material.

"The San Francisco City Attorney is empowered under state law to act in the name of the People of the State of California to address unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent business practices across the State. Our letter to Meta simply asks that the company stop violating the law.”

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Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

To add, in yesterday's story we reported that the Michigan and Florida's Attorney Generals are looking into this. Also Australia's internet regulator has already started a probe, asking Meta to provide it with more info.

wired.com

Meta Failed to Catch Hundreds of AI Child Abuse Ads. Some Included Images of Real Kids

Images of real children—including a member of a European royal family—were used to create some of the 350 ads containing child sexual abuse. Lawmakers say they plan to investigate.

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🦇🎃💀 Riana-mator 💀🎃🦇 @riana.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

"Meta says there is 'no indication' that the ads were displayed in San Francisco and this means they are 'outside the [San Francisco] city attorney's jurisdiction.'" That's a BS claim and Meta knows it. Under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17204, the SF city attorney is treated just like the statewide AG.

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WIRED @wired.com · 08/09/2026

Images of real children—including a member of a European royal family—were used to create some of the 350 ads containing child sexual abuse. Lawmakers say they plan to investigate. www.wired.com/story/meta-f...

wired.com

Meta Failed to Catch Hundreds of AI Child Abuse Ads. Some Included Images of Real Kids

Images of real children—including a member of a European royal family—were used to create some of the 350 ads containing child sexual abuse. Lawmakers say they plan to investigate.

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 08/09/2026

I just finished reading an article about AI CSAM ads on Meta that pulled pics of real kids off instagram and… yeah ☹️

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AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 02/10/2025

Deepfake political scam ads surge on Meta platforms, watchdog says. The Tech Transparency Project identified 63 scam advertisers that collectively spent $49 million on Facebook and Instagram, often targeting seniors with scams promoting fake stimulus checks and healthcare payments u.afp.com/SWtg

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Peopling The Past @peoplingthepast.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Episode 1: Trafficking through the Metaverse: The Antiquities Trade in the Internet Age with Katie Paul @anthropaulicy.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/peop...

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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

“It's basically turning ideology into influencer culture,” said @anthropaulicy.bsky.social of @ttp-updates.bsky.social. “Instagram is the best platform for that. It’s one of the platforms that influencers have broadly flocked to because they can monetize it easily."

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

GWU is investigating this student for her grad speech— "I cannot celebrate my own graduation without a heavy heart knowing how many students in Palestine have been forced to stop their studies, expelled from their homes, and killed for simply remaining in the country of their ancestors." Excerpt:

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

"Crypto has not just facilitated fraud, money-laundering and other flavours of financial crime on a gargantuan scale. The industry has also developed a grubby relationship with the executive branch of America’s government that outstrips that of Wall Street or any other industry."

economist.com

Crypto has become the ultimate swamp asset

An industry that dreamed of being above politics has become synonymous with self-dealing

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Techmeme @techmeme.com · 16/05/2025

Sources: Facebook and Instagram face scam ad surge from Asia and Meta is reluctant to add hurdles for ad buyers; Meta says it's tackling an "epidemic of scams" (Wall Street Journal) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

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Tech Transparency Project @ttp-updates.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

X’s ongoing dealings with U.S.-sanctioned terrorists are all the more striking given that Musk chastised Treasury lacking “basic controls” to track payments and ensure they don’t end up going to terrorist orgs. Musk said such controls are “in place in any company.” www.c-span.org/clip/white-h...

c-span.org

User Clip: Elon Treasury Controls

Comments on Treasury.

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Tech Transparency Project @ttp-updates.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

NEW: TTP found premium blue checkmark accounts for multiple terrorists and others under OFAC-enforced sanctions. Some of these accounts even had an “ID verified” badge, requested tips, and offered subscriptions. 🧵 www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/u.s...

techtransparencyproject.org

TTP - U.S.-Sanctioned Terrorists Enjoy Premium Boost on X

Accounts for sanctioned terrorists deemed a threat to U.S. national security are getting special service on X.

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Ashley Rattner @ashleyrattner.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

During the defence’s opening statement, Meta displayed a chart showing that the “per cent of time spent viewing content posted by ‘friends’ has declined over the past two years, from 22 per cent to 17 per cent on Facebook and from 11 per cent to 7 per cent on Instagram”.

dazeddigital.com

Social media is no longer social

Everyone is on social media, and yet these apps are less and less about socialising. Is it time to rethink how and why we’re online?

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Roberta Mazza @robertamazza.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

🔥 Powerful talk by Katie Paul on the key role of Facebook as facilitator in antiquities, human remains, drug etc. trafficking and war crimes. I especially agree on policies "just window dressing for PR" @peoplingthepast.bsky.social @atharproject.bsky.social @anthropaulicy.bsky.social

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

"The newest and most powerful technologies — so-called reasoning systems from companies like OpenAI, Google and the Chinese start-up DeepSeek — are generating more errors, not fewer. As their math skills have notably improved, their handle on facts has gotten shakier. It is not entirely clear why."

nytimes.com

A.I. Hallucinations Are Getting Worse, Even as New Systems Become More Powerful

A new wave of “reasoning” systems from companies like OpenAI is producing incorrect information more often. Even the companies don’t know why.

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Peopling The Past @peoplingthepast.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

The #PeoplingPodcast is BACK! Today, to kick off Season 4, we are joined by Katie Paul to discuss the role of Facebook in the illicit antiquities trade, and how the company has been complicit in the sale and destruction of cultural heritage. Listen here: peoplingthepast.com/2025/04/29/p...

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Peopling The Past @peoplingthepast.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

If you loved the episode, make sure to follow Katie @anthropaulicy.bsky.social and the @atharproject.bsky.social!

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Jason Kint @kint.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Bam. As expected, Apple has immediately changed its App Store rules to exclude the US so that only the rest of the world has to pay its ransom after US district Court sanctioned the company and referred it to the US Attorney for criminal contempt investigation. developer.apple.com/app-store/re...

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

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Molly White @molly.wiki · 28/04/2025

"Even if Wikipedia’s content was biased (it isn’t), even if every editor was actively trying to push an anti-Israel narrative (they aren’t), that would still be protected by the First Amendment." www.techdirt.com/2025/04/28/g...

techdirt.com

Government Actually Threatens Wikipedia’s Editorial Freedom; Self-Proclaimed Free Speech Warriors Suddenly Have Other Plans

When Trump officials want to censor speech, they don’t quite say “we want to censor speech” (after all, they pretend to be the party that “brought free speech back.”) Instead, the…

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Zeteo @zeteo.com · 28/04/2025

In today's election, many Canadian voters feel stuck between Trump-lite Conservatives and a Liberal Party complicit in the destruction of Gaza, writes Canadian journalist Ginella Massa. Read the full article: zeteo.com/p/gaza-genoc...

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onion person @junlper.beer · 27/04/2025

this is precisely how twitter would have been in germany in the 1940s

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Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Abolish ICE and arrest its agents. It is irredeemable.

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Saganism @sagan.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Stephen Fry's argument against God and His morals.

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

"Inside Meta... staffers across multiple departments have raised concerns that the company’s rush to popularize these bots may have crossed ethical lines, including by quietly endowing AI personas with the capacity for fantasy sex, according to people who worked on them." - @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social

wsj.com

Meta’s ‘Digital Companions’ Will Talk Sex With Users—Even Children

Chatbots on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp are empowered to engage in ‘romantic role-play’ that can turn explicit. Some people inside the company are concerned.

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Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 25/04/2025

We have another unhinged email to Michigan Law students from FASORP, the anti-racism-against-white-men org that threatened to doxx minority students last month. This one sarcastically urges law review applicants to pretend to be gay or trans to boost their odds. One-joke theory remains undefeated.

From: FASORP <info@fasorp.org>
Date: Fri, Apr 25, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Subject: advice for the Michigan Law Review personal statements
To: FASORP <info@fasorp.org>

To all 1L students at the University of Michigan Law School:

As many of you know, the Michigan Law Review writing competition will begin on May 7, 2025, and the application portal will close at midnight on May 25, 2025.

We are writing to offer advice on how you can use the personal statement to maximize your chances of winning a place on the Law Review, as well as undermine the law-review editors’ efforts to violate the federal- and state-law prohibitions on discriminatory race and sex preferences.

You must always bear in mind that the purpose of the “personal statement” is to enable the corrupt law-review editors to award discriminatory preferences to women, non-Asian racial minorities, and homosexual or transgender students, in violation of Title VI, Title IX, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and state anti-discrimination laws such as Proposal 2. You have a responsibility as future members of the bar to subvert these illegal actions. Here are some of the many ways in which you can do that, while simultaneously boosting your own prospects of winning a place on the Law Review through your personal statement:

(1) Take a DNA test and claim racial-minority status in your personal statement if you have at least the amount of minority ancestry that Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test revealed. See https://www.factcheck.org/2018/10/the-facts-on-elizabeth-warrens-dna-test

(2) Claim that you are “African-American” regardless of what your DNA test reveals. Every member of the human race can truthfully claim African heritage because homo sapiens originated in Africa and later migrated to different continents. See https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/science/humans-neanderthals-out-of-africa.html

Last year, a white law-review applicant at an elite law school (not Michigan) claimed to have African heritage in his personal statement—as we all do—and he made law review. Of course, it is possible that this student earned his place on law review with his grades and writing-competition performance without any need for the diversity bonus that law reviews systematically award to black applicants, so there is no way to know for sure whether his claim about African heritage made the difference. But it certainly didn’t hurt.

(3) If you are Asian-American or Jewish, or a member of any other demographic that is considered “overrepresented” on the Michigan Law Review, do NOT under any circumstance indicate this in your personal statement. Remember that the law-review editors are seeking to award discriminatory preferences to so-called underrepresented groups, so you will hurt your chances rather than help them by indicating your status as an Asian-American or Jewish applicant—even if your personal statement truthfully describes the anti-Asian racism or antisemitism that you have experienced or overcome.

You should instead find a creative way to describe your membership in one of these “overrepresented” groups without indicating or implying that you actually are Asian-American or Jewish. Last year, a Jewish law-review applicant at an elite law school (not Michigan) described himself as a “descendent of refugees from the Middle East” and he made law review. Try to think of similar ways to describe your status in a way that will elicit sympathy rather than resistance from the woke student editors who want to limit rather than increase the presence of “overrepresented” groups on the Law Review.

(4) Begin the process of gender transitioning before the writing competition begins May 7, 2025. If you are male, stop getting haircuts and shave your legs. If you are female, cut your hair short. Buy some clothes for the opposite sex and try them on. Wear them while you work on the writing competition.

Then write about your gender-transitioning experience in your personal statement. Write about how hurt you are by the Trump Administration’s policies and all of the transphobia that you have witnessed since President Trump took office. Write about all of the adversity that you have had to overcome because you can no longer get a passport with an “X” marker to indicate your sex.

After you submit your personal statement, you can always decide to detransition and revert back to living in accordance with your biological sex.

(5) Claim in your personal statement that you are sexually attracted to members of the same sex, regardless of whether you actually are. It is impossible for anyone to verify or falsify a claim of this sort. Use your personal statement to describe the adversity that you have had to face as a closeted homosexual. Complain about all of the homophobia that exists in society.

(6) No matter what, be sure to say in your personal statement that you have overcome adversity and provide anecdotes to this effect. Law-review editors (and university admissions officers) think they can evade the commands of federal and state anti-discrimination laws by claiming that they’re not really awarding discriminatory preferences based on an applicant’s race or sex (or sexual orientation or gender identity). Instead, they claim that they are awarding applicants from preferred demographics bonus points for having overcome “adversity.” So every applicant to the Law Review should talk about how they have overcome adversity in their lives.

Please remember that you must preserve any documents or communications related to your law-review application, as required by the litigation-hold e-mail sent on March 31, 2025.

Sincerely,

FASORP
https://fasorp.org

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

BUT THERE'S MORE: After declaring that both the wife and husband are not in Tren de Aragua and must be released, Judge Briones SPONTANEOUSLY (without being asked) issued an injunction blocking the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport anyone in the Western District of Texas without 21 days notice!

Because of the Executive's unpredictable and inconsistent use of this power, and because of due process and jurisdiction considerations, this Court also issues the following order with respect to individuals in custody within the Western District of Texas pursuant to the TdA Proclamation:
IT IS FINALLY ORDERED Respondents Angel Garite, Mary De-Anda-Ybarra, Todd Lyons, Kristi Noem, and Pam Bondi, or any agency within the Executive Branch of the United States, or their agents, employees, assigns, and all those acting in concert with them, SHALL NOT
REMOVE FROM THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS OR THE UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA any non-citizen detained in, or held, in federal immigration custody in the Western District of Texas who were, are, or will be subject to the March 2025 "Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua", Pres. Proc. No. 10903, 90 FR 13033. Respondents SHALL provide a twenty-one (21) day notice to individuals detained in the Western District of Texas pursuant to the AEA and the TdA Proclamation. Such notice must include the individual's right to seek judicial review, and inform individuals they may consult an attorney, at their own expense, regarding their detention and the Government's intent to remove them. Such notice must be given and written in a language the individual understands.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
간 SIGNED this 25 day of April 2025.
THE HONORABLE DAVID BRIONES SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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Reposted by Katie Paul

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Weirdly I don’t think the evidence suggests Elon Musk prioritizes the value of nuclear families.

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

DHS tells its story of the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, arguing that they didn’t need a warrant because Khalil told them he was going to walk away from them—which they assert amounted to exigent circumstances. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

On March 8, 2025, agents of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began
conducting surveillance within the vicinity of the respondent's suspected address of
New York, New York, with the intentions of establishing a pattern of life.
The terminology "pattern of life" is a term of art utilized by HSI when conducting surveillance
that simply means they are gathering information on the targeted subject regarding his frequent
locations, people he associates with, and various other information essential to law enforcement
activities. During the course of the surveillance, an HSI supervisory agent was notified by ICE
Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) that a charge of removability under section
237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) had been approved and was supported by the Secretary of State's determination that the respondent's presence or activities in
the United States would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.
An individual resembling the respondent was seen near the location. He was first observed
walking on the sidewalk. The HSI supervisory agent radioed an HSI agent who was parked
directly in front of the
address. The agent observed the individual, whom
he also believed to be the respondent approach the building. The respondent was with a female,
later determined to be his wife. The HSI agent exited his vehicle, identified himself as HSI and
police, and asked the respondent if he was Mahmoud Khalil. The respondent confirmed that he
was Mahmoud Khalil. The HSI supervisory agent then approached and asked the respondent for
identification. The respondent produced a foreign driver's license. His wife interjected and

indicated that the respondent had lawful residence status. The supervisory agent exercised
discretion and gave the respondent's wife an opportunity to obtain the respondent's conditional
residence card which was located in their apartment, in lieu of arresting him for violating section
264(e) of the INA.' The respondent and the HSI agents remained in the foyer.
The supervisory agent asked the respondent to cooperate while they attempted to verify
his identify, but the respondent stated that he would not cooperate and that he was going to leave
the scene. The HSI supervisory agent believed there was a flight risk and arrest was necessary.
At that time, the respondent's wife had returned to the scene. The supervisory agent verbally
informed the respondent that he was under arrest. To note, the respondent's wife recorded this part of the encounter.? Her video clearly shows that the arrest occurred in the foyer of the
building.
The respondent was placed under arrest and transported to the ICE Enforcement and
Removal Operations New York office for processing and booking into immigration custody. At
that time, HSI officers also executed and served the respondent with a warrant of arrest (Form I-
200), a Notice to Appear (Form I-862), and a Notice of Custody determination (Form I-286).
ARGUMENT
Here, officers had exigent circumstances to conduct the warrantless arrest, it is the pattern
and practice of DHS to fully process a respondent once in custody with an I-200 as part of that
intake processing. In fact, 8 C.F.R. 236.1(b)(1), states that at the time of the notice to appear or
any time thereafter and up to the time of removal proceedings are completed, the respondent may
' Under INA section 264(e) every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him. When an alien fails to comply with INA 246(e) he shall be guilty of a misd…

Uploaded@ase 42252025@19655MEP«MApptral Barishierm 21032se Cited 04/24/25 Page 4 of 6 PagelD:
1676
be arrested and taken into custody under the authority of Form I-200. Thus, DHS can issue an I-
200 at any point, although in this case the arrest was under the exigent circumstance.
Contrary to the respondent's argument, DHS was not required to obtain a judicial warrant
of arrest prior to arresting the respondent on March 8, 2025. Per the regulations, immigration
officers have the right to ask questions of anyone if they do not restrain the individual's freedom
to walk away. 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(b)(1). Immigration officers also have the right to briefly detain
an individual for questioning where there is a reasonable suspicion based on specific articulable
facts that the individual engaged in an offense against the United States or is an alien illegally in
the United States. 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(b)(2). As to arrest, an immigration officer may effectuate an
arrest where he has reason to believe that the individual has committed an offense against the
United States or is an alien illegally in the United States. 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(c)(2)(i). Generally, a
warrant of arrest must be obtained. 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(c)(2)(ii). However, an exception to the
warrant requirement exists where the immigration officer has reason to believe that the
individual is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained. Id.
In this case, HSI agents arrived at the address of
New York, New
York, to conduct surveillance with the intentions of establishing a pattern of life. Upon receiving
notification that there was a legally sufficient removability charge under section 237(a)(4)(C) of
INA after a determination by the Secretary of State that the respondent's presence or activities in
the United States would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States,
the HSI agents lawfully proceeded to question the respondent and asked for confirmation of his
identity. Per the regulations, the HSI…

to carry his alien registration receipt card on his person, which is a misdemeanor under section
264(e) of the INA.
As to arrest, the HSI agents were not required to obtain a warrant of arrest because the
arrest was effectuated upon the respondent's statements and actions that gave the agents reasons
to believe that it was likely he would escape before they could obtain a warrant. The respondent,
though required, was not carrying his alien registration receipt card on his person. He refused to
cooperate with the agents, even though they exercised discretion and decided not to arrest him on
a misdemeanor charge for failure to possess his green card, which is punishable by a fine or
imprisonment. He verbally informed the agents that he was going to leave the scene, even though
his wife had not yet returned with his conditional residence card. Given the agents' interaction
with the respondent and the information received regarding removability and the Secretary of State's determination, the agents had reason to believe that the respondent was likely to escape
before a warrant could be obtained. Thus, the exception to the warrant requirement applied and
the agents were within lawful authority to arrest the respondent on March 8, 2025, at that time.
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, there is no basis for termination of the removal proceedings.
DHS requests that the respondent's motion to terminate be denied.
Respectfully submitted on April 21, 2025,
NUMA V
Digitally signed by NUMA V METOYER I
METOYER III
Date: 2025.04.21 16:50:18
0500
uma Metoy eputy Chief Coun epartment of Homeland Securi
S. Immigration and Customs Enforceme

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Satellite and fiber broadband are not equal, and any policy that treats them as such will widen the very divide policymakers should be trying to bridge, writes Christopher Ali. www.techpolicy.press/when-you-wis...

techpolicy.press

When You Wish Upon a Star(link) | TechPolicy.Press

Satellite and fiber broadband are not equal, and any policy that treats them as such will widen the very divide we're trying to bridge, writes Christopher Ali.

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Raul Pacheco-Vega @raulpachecovega.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Maybe unpopular opinion, but every academic writer should learn storytelling techniques. How we communicate our research is very important. And some of the best papers I've read tell a story (with data, theory and empirics, but a story nonetheless). NOT A TALE, A STORY (just in case).

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

"Tech and crypto companies also played a prominent role in Trump’s inauguration, contributing tens of millions of dollars to the committee after years of regulatory challenges during the Biden administration and Trump’s first term." www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

washingtonpost.com

Meet the top donors to Trump’s $239 million inauguration fund

The donors who gave at least $1 million to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund include crypto companies and people appointed to his administration.

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Shiv Ramdas Mens Rice Activist @nameshiv.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

ppl keep mistaking Jurassic Park for a survival film against dinosaurs when it's actually a survival film against startup culture

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Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

Somewhere out there, a Judge Xinis clerk just updated the draft order finding probable cause to hold the government in contempt.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Abuses of the tax code was one of the items in the original impeachment case against Nixon. Using the tax code to selectively target enemies - and decimate civil society - is the next step in the authoritarian agenda.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Your friendly reminder that it is literally a federal felony punishable by up to five years in prison for the President, Vice President, or any employee of the White House to directly or indirectly ask the IRS to open an investigation into any specific taxpayer.

26 U.S. Code § 7217 - Prohibition on executive branch influence over taxpayer audits and other investigations
U.S. Code
Notes
prey | next
(a) PROMIsITION
It shall be unlawful for any applicable person to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer.
(b) REPORTING REQUIREmeNT
Any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service receiving any request prohibited by subsection (a) shall report the receipt of such request to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

…

(d) PENALTY
Any person who willfully violates subsection (a) or fails to report under subsection (b) shall be punished upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.
(e) APPLICABLE PERSON
For purposes of this section, the term "applicable person" means—
(1) the President, the Vice President, any employee of the executive office of the President, and any employee of the executive office of the Vice President; and
(2) any individual (other than the Attorney General of the United States) serving in a position specified in section 5312 of title 5, United States Code.

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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 19/04/2025

ICE officers are now reportedly required to meet arrest quotas each day, from a few hundred to between 1,200 and 1,500 nationwide. Jonathan Blitzer reports on the mystery of the agency’s unidentifiable arrests.

nyer.cm

The Mystery of ICE’s Unidentifiable Arrests

In early March, the agency announced that it had arrested forty-eight people in New Mexico—a month later, their identities and whereabouts remain unknown.

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Reposted by Katie Paul

Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

"...Torabi’s posts have been seen hundreds of millions more times in the last 30 days than news giants like MSNBC and CNN. Ranked by views, or 'total impressions,' he is the only nonconservative voice in the top 10..."

washingtonpost.com

The 40-something single dad shaping liberal media from his laptop

Acyn Torabi dominates social media with fast-cut clips of political mayhem. Are they news, or something else?

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Reposted by Katie Paul

wes(is no longer)injapan @wesinjapan.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

FEMA has wiped their website of a bunch of courses- one of which is: IS-368.a—Including People With Disabilities in Disaster Operations If it wasn't clear yet- these people aren't just ideological, they are barbaric.

Course cannot be found. This course may be retired.

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Reposted by Katie Paul

Sean Carroll @seanmcarroll.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is terminating a bunch of research funding. Much of this is in line with the goal of making sure nothing gets in the way of systemic racism and sexism, but they also explicitly target research on "misinformation/disinformation." www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...

nsf.gov

Updates on NSF Priorities

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Reposted by Katie Paul

Your Internet Friend Tom Tomorrow @tomtomorrow.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

I am old enough to remember when a movie character said "PAPERS PLEASE" it was a universally understood signifier of an evil regime

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Reposted by Katie Paul

Brandon Walsh @walshbr.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Federal grants are direct investments in work that is deemed useful for the public interest. Advancements in science, medicine, the humanities all take work. That work has costs. The government for decades deemed it strategic to advance the public good by underwriting such expenses.

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Reposted by Katie Paul

Ethan Stark-Miller @estarkmiller.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Mayor Adams is wearing his “in god we trust” American flag shirt once again. But this time it’s written in Italian. He says it’s Spanish to honor the victims of a nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican republic last week.

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