Sign in

masnick.com

@masnick.com
1 followers 0 following 1K posts
PostsRepliesMedia
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 16h
*sigh*
Everyone responding to my post about "Silly Love Songs" with "what's wrong with that?"
150
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 29/09/2026
Soooooooo. As expected, the guy in that story about Muse doing FB Marketplace deals *had* in fact clicked the permission to "always allow" Muse to do things for him. Still very, very poor design by Meta such that the user didn't understand what permission he was giving...
matt.j.robb
14m
Update on letting Muse run Facebook Marketplace for me.
So I’ve spoken to 
@davidsingleton
 and the Muse team tonight and we went through the log to figure out what went wrong. Regarding the address leak. The first thing that popped up from Muse when asking it to handle my Facebook marketplace was an option with ‘Allow One Time’ or ‘Allow Always’. I clicked the latter thinking it would still send approvals to accept offers later down the line (it didn’t so be careful). 
1
/
4
matt.j.robb
14m
By doing that it granted Muse permission to send messages on my behalf going forwards using a template it put together using information it asked from me. Which also included the pickup address that I did give to Muse (again I didn’t think it would send it out to everyone that gave me an offer so it’s worth checking). I mentioned to the meta team it could be easily overlooked as it was with me and they said they will be making this more clear moving forwards. 
2
/
4
matt.j.robb
14m
Regarding the lowball offer situation. It accepted an offer of $600 and sent out my address to a buyer to come collect the item after I strictly set a minimum of $700 with Muse. The Meta team informed me this was an error on their end which caused a display issue removing the ‘7’ from the output to the buyer. And with it stating “Sounds good, 00 it is!” after the buyer asked for $600 it made it look to the buyer like his offer was accepted. 
3
/
4
matt.j.robb
14m
I suggested to Meta that each message sent by Muse should have a little “Sent By Muse” badge underneath so everyone knows it wasn’t sent by a human as there was really no way of knowing who sent what in the chat which is very concerning.
As for the buyer, we made up and he even came by tonight to buy something else. All ended well.
2427367
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 28/09/2026
Pupdate: foster pups are still very shy and timid, but they're *slowly* warming up more. Getting better at playing with each other, and today were happy to just chill on the couch with humans... really timid one is finally just *starting* to explore on her own.
Puppies running around playingTwo puppies curled up next to each other and next to me on the couch.
831714
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 28/09/2026
I am still curious what settings the guy had put for his Muse, since the *claim* (no, I don't fully trust them either, but it does make me wonder) is that Muse explicitly is set up not to do something like this without permission. So wondering if the guy gave Muse permission to do stuff...
Is Muse safe?
Yes. Muse is built with automated protections, agentic AI security standards, and user controls designed to prevent harmful content and unauthorized actions. It also uses a protective layer to stop your information from being shared without your approval. You can review your agent's activity, manage permissions, and report issues at any time.Does Muse ask before it acts on my behalf?
Yes. Muse is designed to ask your permission before taking certain actions, like sending messages, making purchases, or sharing information with a connected app. You can choose to allow an action once, always allow it, or deny it. You can manage your default permission settings for every connection at any time.
1211612
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 27/09/2026
... I don't remember all of the old articles. So now I have a tool built into my editor that, along with everything else, looks to see if there are other relevant older Techdirt articles. And so far, it's turned up a bunch of useful old links.
You've written about this before

Both Things Can Be True: Meta Can Be Evil AND It's Unlikely That The Company Deliberately Blocked A Mildly Negative Article About It · 2024-04-08
Meta's Plans To Downplay Political Content Is, Itself, A Political Decision · 2024-02-29
Content Moderation Case Study: Google's Ad Policies Inadvertently Block Religious Organizations From Advertising On YouTube (2019) · 2021-03-12
1480
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 26/09/2026
That last one, from Sean Davis of TheFederalist is particularly stupid. After Google *temporarily* removed TheFederalist from its ad program BECAUSE THE FEDERALIST VIOLATED GOOGLE'S RULES, he ran to the media and to Congress about how it was "CENSORSHIP"
TESTIMONY OF
THE FEDERALIST CEO AND CO-FOUNDER SEAN DAVIS
For the
UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND
TRANSPORTATION
OCTOBER 8, 2025
SHUT YOUR APP: HOW UNCLE SAM JAWBONED BIG TECH INTO SILENCING
AMERICANS
Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Cantwell, and members of the committee, thank you for
inviting me to testify on behalf of First Amendment speech and press rights and against
authoritarian censorship designed to shut down the free speech rights of American citizens.
My name is Sean Davis, and I am the CEO and co-founder of The Federalist, a conservative
digital media company focused on politics, culture, and religion. I am a Christian, a conservative,
and a political commentator and reporter. I am also the victim of illegal and unconstitutional
censorship by my government which was targeted at my publication, my publication, and me
personally.
The First Amendment affirms and protects five God-given rights: free speech, religion, press,
assembly, and petition. In my capacity as the publisher of a major national media outlet which
produces news and opinion, an infringement on or abridgement of any one of those five rights
can be cataclysmic.
Unfortunately, my publication, our writers, and I were all directly targeted for destruction by my
own government, using my tax dollars. Even worse, much of the targeting was done in secret, by
individuals and institutions who were desperate to hide their illegal and unconstitutional actions
against us. This long-running conspiracy to deprive us of our God-given First Amendment rights
is illegal, unconstitutional, and unconscionable. Sadly, many senators who sit on this committee
either refused to condemn and fight these censorship efforts, or outright supported them.
In the summer of 2020, at the behest of foreign government-connected organizations, Google
attempted to demonetize The Federalist for the apparent crime of criticizing American
government response to and media coverage of COVID-19 and the violent B…
913829
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 24/09/2026
Can I ask what search you did? I just tried to replicate and it came up as the top article. Trying to figure out what things it suppresses vs. what it promotes, because it would be useful to know.
Showing a Google search for "susan collins corruption case" and showing ProPublica as top result in the info box, along with MS Now, The Guardian, NYT, and Civil Discourse.
210
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 20/09/2026
So many ways to interpret. Am I a Nazi who moderates? Someone who "moderates" Nazis? A moderate Nazi? Who can tell?
[REDACTED] has added you to the "nаzi mоderаtоrs" moderation list
152277
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 20/09/2026
Pupdate: puppies continue to warm up. One is super curious. The other is still very wary of humans and shy. But has *finally* started to run and play with the other. She does fine being pet, but if you approach her she'll go hide in the corner.
Two puppies chilling. One has a rawhide, the other some chewed up paper that it swiped from a tableAction shot of puppies running. One is leaping, the other is chasingAction shot of puppies chasing each otherAction shot of puppies playing
1533020
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 18/09/2026
When you know *something* has gone wrong...
List of email "alerts" four in a row, the top two showing 15 alerts in the thread, and the bottom two showing 16...
3643
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 17/09/2026
Also, you see how the bit at the bottom of each AI-generated story on Sentient blogs says "Produced with AI assistance. Reviewed by the Sentient Blogs editorial team before publication. See our about page." The "about page" says fuck all about AI. It actually says there's no AI.
Sentient Blogs; By Humans, for HumansA PLATFORM DEDICATED TO
SUPPORTING AND PROMOTING
THE WORK OF HUMAN BLOGGERS THAT CREATE HUMAN GENERATED CONTENT, NOT AI
1331
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 17/09/2026
Looking at the "Sentient Blogs" website, they say they work with @iamhuman-art.bsky.social, which appears to be a site that claims it aggregates "proven" human created, non-AI works. The "I Am Human" website has a "pinned" story about partnering with Sentient Blogs (though it's unclickable)
"As we journey through the rise and development of AI, I believe people will begin to crave real, authentic human-made content"

Sentient Blogs Founder

Proudly Powering
Sentient Sites
Sentient Sites Logo
Proudly Partnered With
I Am HumanNews & Updates: Latest announcements and updates from the I Am Human team: "I Am Human Partners with Sentient Blogs!"
2201
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 17/09/2026
Fascinating story with plenty of deep research. But the kicker at the end, is these dipshits recently started promoting a site that promises all human content... which appears to be fully AI generated. I went and looked and... yup. But also...
In any case, BBM's zombie content mill flounders onward. It recently started promoting a new site called Sentient Blogs, which positions itself as a publication dedicated to human authorship in an era of shoddy Al content.
"A platform dedicated to supporting and promoting the work of human bloggers that create human generated content, not Al," reads its about page, with its FAQ further promising that "we are confident that between our amazing authors who are writing on this platform because they share the same initiative and our [quality assurance] measures, the likelihood of Al content is very very low."
To kick it off, Lachlan bylined a piece about his touchingly human experiences with fatherhood, writing that a "thousand dinners become a family culture. Repeated school runs become the background of a child's childhood. Years of quiet effort become a marriage, a friendship, a body of work or a sense of being useful to other people."
A disclaimer at the bottom, dissonantly, says it was "produced with Al assistance." According to Pangram, it was 100 percent Al-generated.Logo showing "by humans, for humans""As we journey through the rise and development of AI, I believe people will begin to crave real, authentic human-made content"

Sentient Blogs FounderProduced with AI assistance. Reviewed by the Sentient Blogs editorial team before publication. See our about page.
114640
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 16/09/2026
So, if I'm reading this correctly, the Yankees just got through the 12th inning on... two pitches. Inning started with the Manfred Man on 2nd, then there was an intentional walk. So 2 men on base, no pitches. Then a pitch and a pickoff catching the guy on 2nd base. Then next pitch is hit into a DP.
Bottom 12th
Luke Keaschall headshot
Grounded Into DP
Luke Keaschall grounds into a double play, shortstop George Lombard Jr. to second baseman Anthony Volpe to first baseman Cody Bellinger. Brooks Lee out at 2nd. Luke Keaschall out at 1st. 3 Outs
Lee on 1st
Pickoff 2B
Pitcher John Schreiber picks off Ryan Kreidler at 2nd on throw to shortstop George Lombard Jr. 1 Out
Lee on 1st, Kreidler on 2nd
Brooks Lee headshot
Intent Walk
John Schreiber intentionally walks Brooks Lee.
Runner Placed On Base
Ryan Kreidler starts inning at 2nd base.
12755
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 15/09/2026
Spam phone call, which I ignored, but left a voicemail which is apparently just "prompt matrix" and now I'm wondering what I missed out on.
Voicemail (suspected spam) with the entire transcription of 4 seconds saying "prompt Matrix."
9461
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 15/09/2026
So uh, yes, Macklemore did that antisemitic costume thing over a decade ago so it's understandable to look at him skeptically, but how can Kraft say that his speech at MetLife was antisemitic when he explicitly made the same point Kraft is saying here? Kraft is just lying.
"I said, Free Palestine.

“I want those words to be loud and clear, so the people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank, know that we have not forgotten them.

"And this next song was inspired by the bravery of Columbia University students who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world; open up hearts, myself included, so thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said, no. CUAD students, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voices for Peace. Thank you, guys.

“To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.

“So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in fear of this terrorist organization, ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free."
519933
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 13/09/2026
Both the parents had some level of expertise in both AI and medical science. They focused on primary data and primary sources (and made it quite clear to the tools that they wanted clear links to sources for them to check themselves). Importantly, they worked WITH medical professionals...
Since the couple knew chatbots were prone to hallucinations and errors, they took steps to train the model. They explained their backgrounds in science, told the chatbot how they wanted it to interact with them, and instructed it to provide research citations for information. They emphasized that they would review the journal articles themselves.
1630
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 13/09/2026
Have to say, getting added to a one of the big blocklists really did wonders for decreasing drive-by nonsense. Fun little tool: blockcurve.bisks.net
A chart showing that my cumulative blocks is around 13,600, with most of that being from blocklists, with a massive jump at the beginning of this year.
2231826
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 13/09/2026
Read this yesterday and was almost a little disappointed I hadn't been hit up by an iLands bot. Guess what I got today?
Email from a bot at ilands pitching me garbage.
36815
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 12/09/2026
Two new rescue pups we're fostering. Have had them since Wednesday when they were rescued from a hoarding situation. They're very shy and timid, but are starting to warm up a little. They're both super curious though. Just not yet sure about people.
Two light colored puppies cuddling with each other.
2236313
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 11/09/2026
I mean, would this be the @nytimes.com coverage if a Democratic politician had told people to pledge allegiance to them personally and said they had to commit election fraud to seem the Democrats win in the fall?
NY Times "Midterm Elections" section showing a bunch of bland headlines, none of which mention trump's pledge and exhortation to voter fraud.
11623113
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 04/09/2026
👀 Court says it appears that Elon Musk has abandoned the trademark for "tweet" (but not "twitter"). storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... So tweet freely on other platforms.
Because Bluebird is likely to succeed in proving both that X Corp.
discontinued the bona fide use of the Tweet mark and Bird logo and that it intends
not to resume the use of the marks, it is likely to strictly prove abandonment of those marks. It follows that X Corp. is not likely to succeed on the merits of its
trademark infringement and dilution claims with respect to those marks. That
conclusion ends the inquiry with respect to those marks, and I will deny X Corp.' s
motion insofar as it seeks an order enjoining Bluebird from using those marks. See
Nichino Am., 44 F .4th at 185 ("If a court finds no likelihood of success on the
merits, the inquiry ends and the injunction will be denied.").
1537690
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 04/09/2026
Took the "extended" quiz and some of the questions seem odd (also one is repeated multiple times, but with different answers available). But anyway... yeah.
Dialect map showing that I'm likely from New York.
7281
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 03/09/2026
I love how in this article about a graffiti artist spray painting anti-AI messages on AI billboards in SF, the reporter reaches out to some of the CEOs of the companies and they're all like "you know what? fair point, we probably should be hated" sfstandard.com/2026/09/02/a...
The ad from AI customer-service company Pylon (opens in new tab)in Dogpatch is likely unintelligible to many San Franciscans. But a graffitied message that recently appeared at the bottom was unambiguous: “Fuck your AI billboard.”

“Honestly, fair,” said Marty Kausas, CEO and founder of Pylon. The 29-year-old chuckled when he learned about the graffiti from The Standard. Some of the tech founders behind the ads understand why people are upset. Since the AI boom has taken over, San Francisco has been covered with billboards that sometimes veer into rage-baiting. 

“I think the backlash is earned,” said Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, CEO of Artisan. He said many of the ads, including his company’s own viral “Stop hiring humans” campaign, are meant to provoke.
411230
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 03/09/2026
Oh Claude Code, never change.
And the honest note on this session: I told you three separate things were broken — Bluesky, the calendar, and by implication your Google connection — and all three were fine. Each time I passed along an error string as a diagnosis instead of spending the sixty seconds it took to check the actual state. Your pushback on the Bluesky and calendar claims is what caught them; the two real fixes that came out of it exist only because you didn't take my word for it.
191197
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 30/08/2026
A reminder that Google Maps allows you to alert it to mistakes it made and suggest fixes.
The "Fix an address" screen in Google Maps showing a "pin" on "Lake America"The form to fill out a false address, with me typing in "Lake Ontario"
21476131
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 30/08/2026
Lack of transparency is definitely a problem here, but many of the examples are people saying shit they would have said anyway. But THIS example looks like someone changing his tune on Steyer right after Steyer gave him a bunch of money...
In February, Mr. Greene said that Mr. Steyer “isn’t the progressive champion you might think” because of his investments in detention facilities.

In May, around the same time that he received $21,500 from Mr. Steyer’s campaign, Mr. Greene shifted his support to Mr. Steyer. He called Mr. Steyer “the most progressive viable candidate in the race,” adding that it was “my opinion.”
110218
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 29/08/2026
Got to see @joshjohnsoncomedy.bsky.social in SF tonight. Fantastic show
Comedian Josh Johnson on stage with a microphone, arm outstretched
923410
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 28/08/2026
If you back CtlAltSpeech on Patreon, this was already in your feed yesterday, but in the episode that is about to come out for free backers as well... I go on a bit of a rant on our latest episode about how the Meta settlement is regulatory capture for Meta through judicial settlement...
12810
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 27/08/2026
The NY Times is just straight up trolling me now, right?
headline of NY Times article: A $17.1 Billion Vote of Confidence That Jonathan Haidt Was Right
In “The Anxious Generation,” he laid out the evils of social media for kids. The landmark Meta settlement seems to agree.
1028824
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 26/08/2026
Not in this case. I have the whole clip. There was plenty of room and he didn't swing left at all (a couple cars 3 or 4 in front of this car did, but this one didn't). He's right alongside the bike lane as he passes, and then swerves in.
Another shot of the car in the road and me in the bike lane. Car is in his lane, with just a bit of space to the bike lane.
140
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 26/08/2026
... it feels like an accomplishment. I just need to keep it up. Oh, also, passing me and then immediately swerving into the bike lane is shitty behavior. Please don't do this.
Photo of a car halfway into a bike lane
111344
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 25/08/2026
Did you listen to Ctrl-Alt-Speech last week? We had on guest host @chrismessina.me and had some really interesting discussions about how adults who are scared of tech are doing a pretty bad job of teaching kids how to use tech & just trying to ban it all podcast.ctrlaltspeech.com/2315966/epis...
1184
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 24/08/2026
Right. They lost on the pirate library part. NOT on the training part. The *training* was deemed to be fair use. Did you read it?
After the four factors and any others deemed relevant are “explored, [ ] the results [are]
weighed together, in light of the purposes of copyright.” Campbell, 510 U.S. at 578.
The copies used to train specific LLMs were justified as a fair use. Every factor but the
nature of the copyrighted work favors this result. The technology at issue was among the most
transformative many of us will see in our lifetimes.
The copies used to convert purchased print library copies into digital library copies were
justified, too, though for a different fair use. The first factor strongly favors this result, and the
third favors it, too. The fourth is neutral. Only the second slightly disfavors it. On balance, as
050
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 22/08/2026
This is even funnier than Jared's clips because it involves the conspiracy theorist claiming that a high level Trump political appointee is "the deep state" for leaking a doc to her. It's clowns all the way down.
Tweets from "DataRepublican" who has a long history of posting nonsense:

It’s not okay when the Deep State sets you up to commit a crime. 

I have never been more angry in my life.

I walked in with good faith. Ready to collaborate on Cuba. 

Got shoved a bunch of hardcopy documents to “leak”. Didn’t check them before accepting. Gave a noncommittal answer. 

Yep. Markings that would have gotten me in big big trouble.


The markings weren’t crossed out. I consulted people and if this were a sanctioned leak - they would have just sent over email. They tried to entrap me.

The actual documents were nothingburgers that did not benefit them at all to release in public. And just so there’s no doubt, I’ve screenshotted everything:
415033
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 15/08/2026
Had missed this, but yikes. www.middleeasteye.net/features/sui...
The spectre of artificial intelligence
This curious new book is addressed not to an academic audience but to those Goodwin calls ordinary people (though presumably not Green voters).

Academic rigour is entirely absent from this addition to the doctor's oeuvre. There are only 12 footnotes in the whole book, two of which have ChatGPT source code embedded in their links, and five of which are to his own Substack posts. 

The spectre of artificial intelligence looms over other parts of the book, too. Goodwin has said online that he used AI only to obtain datasets and that he cross-checked them. 

But the writer Andy Twelves has pointed out that several quotes Goodwin attributes to great writers like Cicero, Friedrich Hayek, Sir Roger Scruton and Noah Webster are fake.

For instance, there is no evidence that the economist Hayek ever said: “The most dangerous experiments are those conducted on entire societies”.
121056
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 13/08/2026
Y-I-K-E-S.
A full list of organizations is here. The researchers had high confidence that these organizations had their credentials exposed:

Nvidia Corporation
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Samsung Electronics
samsung.com
Salesforce, Inc.
Cisco Systems, Inc.
F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG
ServiceNow
Siemens AG
S&P Global
Airbus US Space & Defense
John Deere
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
Thomson Reuters
FedEx
Munich Remunichre.com
MediaTek Inc.
Volkswagen AG
Deloitte
The Kroger Co.
Siemens Energy
Thales Group
X Corp (Twitter)
Zscaler, Inc.
Epic Games
Orange S.A.
HP Inc.
Philips
Fortum Oyj
Vodafone Group Plc
Carl Zeiss AG
Deutsche Bahn AG
NGINX, Inc.
BT Group
Liebherr
Krungthai Bank Public Company Limited
Roku, Inc.
14230103
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 12/08/2026
Yeah, saw the same ones. Here's a photo from 2024.
Photo of a full solar eclipse, where you can just see the corona around the darkened moon.
050
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 12/08/2026
I had no idea... Mariano Rivera is a Jr.
Early life

Mariano Rivera was born on November 29, 1969,[4] in Panama City, Panama, to Mariano Rivera Palacios and Delia Jiron.[5] Rivera has one older sister, Delia, and two younger brothers, Alvaro and Giraldo.[6] Supported by Mariano Sr.'s job as captain of a fishing boat,[7] the family lived in Puerto Caimito, a Panamanian fishing village that Rivera
130
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 12/08/2026
Lol. And we all forget... Babe Ruth was a Jr.
George Herman Ruth Jr. was born on February 6, 1895, at 216 Emory Street in the Pigtown neighborhood of Baltimore, in a house which belonged to his maternal grandfather Pius Schamberger, a German immigrant and trade unionist. Ruth's parents, Katherine (née Schamberger) and George Herman Ruth Sr., were both of German ancestry. Ruth Sr. worked a series of jobs that included lightning rod salesman and streetcar operator. The elder Ruth then became a counterman in a family-owned combination grocery and saloon business.[1][2] Only one of Ruth's seven siblings, his younger sister Mamie, survived infancy.[3]
130
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 11/08/2026
A few days ago I was so happy I had gotten my tab count down around 100 tabs. Look up today as I'm working on a couple stories... and it's already back over 600.
Tab counter showing 601
231022
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 10/08/2026
I assume it has to do with each individual's personal settings... If you can't add them, I am guessing it's because they have their settings as one of the bottom two options.
Showing the group chat invite setting box showing options of "everyone" "people I follow" "no one."
051
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 04/08/2026
Today in least shocking news ever. Of course Griffin was never leaving NYC. www.curbed.com/article/ken-...
Curbed article: After All That, Ken Griffin Is Not Leaving New York

By Matthew Sedacca, a Curbed writer who covers New York City

Would he stay or would he go?

During Vornado’s highly anticipated second-quarter earnings call Tuesday morning, its CEO, Steven Roth, revealed the company’s next steps for 350 Park Avenue, a 62-story supertall that’s one of the biggest office bets underway in the city. A question likely at the top of everyone’s minds was whether Ken Griffin, the Citadel CEO who had clashed with Mayor Mamdani over the rollout of his pied-à-terre tax announcement, would continue on as a major partner in the $4.5 billion project. Roth signaled it was, in fact, business as usual. “We intend to shortly exercise our investment option to participate in this deal at our maximum ownership percentage of 36 percent,” Roth said, “alongside Ken Griffin as our 60 percent partner and Citadel as our 1-million-square-foot anchor tenant.” In other words, the hedge-fund billionaire’s majority stake announced back in February stands.
319128
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 04/08/2026
The funny thing is that even Grok is like "yo, this is bullshit." But then the replies to that are "you can't trust Grok, it's too woke." Being on X melts your brain.
Jeffrey Tucker's nonsense disinfo: It was terrible; they planned something even worse. 

The CDC Planned Quarantine Camps Nationwide

Some rando asks: "Grok is this true." 

Grok responds: The linked claim overstates a real July 2020 CDC document. That paper reviewed "shielding" considerations only for humanitarian settings such as refugee camps and displaced populations—creating limited "green zones" for high-risk people. It did not propose or plan nationwide quarantine camps for the U.S. population, raised multiple practical and ethical problems, and noted the approach was not meant to be coercive. Fact-checks have repeatedly flagged similar characterizations as misleading.
1850095
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 04/08/2026
Guess which foster pup got a haircut... still super sweet. Now just more cleaned up. (Also up for adoption this weekend...)
A little happy terrier with nicely groomed fur and a bandana around its neck.Same puppy all neat and clean, same bandana, now lying comfortably on the carpet.
51862
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 02/08/2026
Debated a long list of potential albums, but I'd have to go with this one. Got it when it came out, got to know the band for a while, and still listen to this album regularly, even though it's somehow still not on the major streaming platforms (something that should be fixed...)
Cover of The Scofflaws first (self-titled) album...
6331
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 31/07/2026
Incredible. In normal circumstances this whole thing would be a massive embarrassment to the DOJ and the US Attorney in charge of the case.
Government’s Motion to Dismiss the Indictment
‘The United States of America, by and through its attorney, the United States Attomey for
the District of Columbia, respectfully moves to dismiss the indictment inthis case, For the reasons
set forth herein, this case should be dismissed without prejudice pursuant to Rule 48 of the Superior
Court Rules of Criminal Procedure. In support of this motion, the United States submits as follows:
Based upon the initial reports provided by the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) and the
USS. Park Police (“USPP”), the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia
(“USAO-DC’) presented the grand jury with evidence that damage to the Reflecting Pool was
caused by vandals, including the defendant in this case, David Hearn, However, it was not until
after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents to the USAO-DC
indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of
flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (“AIC”), and the rush to
complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks
surrounding Independence Day 2026. It was not until after these documents were produced that
USAO-DC first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result ofa botched
installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI. Indeed, USAO-DC could only rely
(on the information provided by DOI that the damage was entirely caused by vandals, including the
defendant in this case, David Hearn, Because these recently-produced materials significantly
35576145
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 30/07/2026
The most predictable progression in the world... Tip to reporters who don't want to look like absolute tools: don't report on what Musk *says* as if it means anything at all.
May 2025 story in the AP: Elon Musk says he will cut back on political spending after heavily backing Trump in 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and a key financial supporter of President Donald Trump, said Tuesday that he’ll be spending “a lot less” on political campaigns, a reversal that could be a setback for Republicans ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
NPR story: Musk to slow down political spending: 'I think I've done enough'Elon Musk says he ‘got carried away’ in politics, defends DOGEExclusive: Musk plans massive push for GOP in midterms

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is jumping into the midterms with a huge investment in a plan to boost Republican voter turnout, Axios has learned.

Driving the news: Musk is resuscitating his dormant super PAC, America PAC, which spent more than $260 million to help get President Trump elected in 2024.
212338452
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 30/07/2026
When even the Discovery Institute (!!!) is like "yo this dude is full of shit" you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_B...
Barton's official biography describes him as "an expert in historical and constitutional issues".[57] Barton holds no formal credentials in history or law, and scholars dispute the accuracy and integrity of his assertions about history, accusing him of practicing misleading historical revisionism, and spreading "outright falsehoods".[58][10] According to the New York Times, "Many professional historians dismiss Mr. Barton, whose academic degree is in Christian Education from Oral Roberts University, as a biased amateur who cherry-picks quotes from history and the Bible."[9]

Jay W. Richards, senior fellow at the Christian conservative Discovery Institute, said in 2012 that Barton's books and videos are full of "embarrassing factual errors, suspiciously selective quotes, and highly misleading claims".[59] The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Barton's work as "anti-gay" "historical revisionism", noting that Barton has no formal training in history.[15] A number of credentialed historians have called Barton's work "pseudohistory".[44][60][43][56]
533984
Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 29/07/2026
I dislike the whole "let them fight" meme... but... you know... sometimes it's just really appropriate. FL's AG threatening to abuse his power to investigate Chris Rufo for criticizing Desantis' choice to de-wokify the University of Florida is popcorn-worthy www.chronicle.com/article/flor...
The criticism struck a nerve in an unlikely place: DeSantisworld. James Uthmeier, Florida’s attorney general and one of the governor’s closest lieutenants, publicly warned Rufo that debating Bell’s candidacy was fair game — but “if you want to defame and smear a good man’s name,” referring to Hosseini, “you’re going to have a real problem with me.”
Behind the scenes, according to a previously unreported text message described to The Chronicle by four people who had seen it, Uthmeier went further. Referencing Rufo’s assertions that Hosseini had filed incomplete financial disclosures, Uthmeier warned the conservative activist that it would be just as easy for the attorney general to investigate him on similar grounds.
The exchange marked a startling rupture in one of the Republican Party’s most fruitful and symbiotic political partnerships. For years, Rufo had helped shape the intellectual and political framework of DeSantis’ higher-education revolution while Florida served as a laboratory for many of his ideas. Now, the administration was treating one of its chief architects as an adversary.
510416