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megan farokhmanesh

@megannicolett.bsky.social
32K followers 830 following 917 posts

freelance journalist | previously wired, axios, the verge | seen in nyt, 404 media | nyc | signal meganfarokhmanesh.76 | face god and walk backwards into hell

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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 6h
once purchased an anne carson book + a bunch of boring household things, and someone ripped open the box in my building lobby and took everything except the anne carson book. I’m still sort of offended they didn’t just steal everything
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 06/10/2026
I LOVE how @propublica.org dealt with official comment here, editorially and stylistically.
The Trump administration says none of this is happening. 

"DHS is NOT arresting U.S. citizens by mistake." "There are no 'indiscriminate' stops." Allegations of "racial profiling are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE." "The pattern is NOT of law enforcement using force." "ICE does not zip tie or restrain children." 

But that is precisely what is happening, and at a far larger scale than previously reported.
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gwen howerton @kissphoria.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
New: As gay bars across the country say that Meta is flagging and deactivating their accounts without warning, I spoke to an Austin queer bar that says Meta nearly destroyed their ability to advertise events: www.chron.com/culture/arti...
chron.com
How Meta's new content moderation upended a Texas gay bar
At least one LGBTQ establishment in Texas says the social media giant has incorrectly disabled its social media account, potentially hurting business.
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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 05/10/2026
Sam Altman: Bad things will have to happen to other people for us to succeed www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
“I think there’s a lot of daylight,” Altman told Decoded co-author and POLITICO senior tech reporter Brendan Bordelon. Asked specifically where he diverges from Anthropic and its CEO Dario Amodei, Altman said, “we believe that the world should accept some bad things happening for the benefits of this technology and people having the agency.”
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Cat Manning @catacalypto.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
another day at the machine learning factory. everyone keeps asking me if the machine is intelligent. buddy, they won’t even let me fuck it
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
these people care more about a computer program than the humans their work is actually exploiting
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
they’re gonna freak when they find out what people have been up to in the sims
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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The way the Cornell victim is being publicly disbelieved by a lot of journalists, officials, and online posters is also a warning shot to every other victim not to dare to actually pursue a case against your rapist lest you suffer the same fate. It’s a means of protecting the status quo
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Chris Plante @plante.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
 "You can take away everything else, but if you start taking away our intelligence, our selfness -- that's the horrifying part of what's happening [with A.I.]." ~ @paultremblay.bsky.social
postgame.substack.com
Game Controls Corpse with A.I. from Hell
A new horror novel stars the scariest thing of all: a gamer.
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
*bravely* i think breaking bad is Fine (halt and catch fire amazing show put it higher)
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404 Media @404media.co · 25/09/2026
Meta announced that its new AI agent, Muse could call businesses for you to do things like make reservations. But in reality, Meta is testing having these calls being made by human beings in call centers, 404 Media @jasonkoebler.bsky.social learned. www.404media.co/meta-tests-m...
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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 24/09/2026
This is fantastically reported story, but I really don't know why we're still out here doing this
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Solomon @solomonrmissouri.com · 24/09/2026
lol lol lol lol lol lol lol
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
So excited to pay for one bot to scream at another bot instead of having a system that most other wealthy nations seem to think is pretty okay.
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
every year on bi visibility day i celebrate by texting all my male friends from college to remind them about me making out with their girlfriends "as a joke"
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I've been covering prediction markets intensively for just over six months now and felt like it was the right time to unleash this take... to understand them, you need to understand that they are a type of media company: www.wired.com/story/predic...
wired.com
Polymarket’s Next Bet? It Can Also Be a Media Company
The legal battle over whether prediction markets are a form of gambling has overshadowed something else entirely: They’re already a new form of media.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
this is so fucking crazy. huge huge huge scoop www.404media.co/inside-proje...
In a dashboard available to the workers, human reviewers are able to select which “task” they want to take on. Once they click that, they are presented with the real ChatGPT user’s prompt. 404 Media has seen multiple real prompts but is not quoting any of them for source protection reasons. Some of the prompts indicate the ChatGPT user does not expect that a human may end up reading their conversation, because they ask ChatGPT to keep the content to themselves.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I only want to read @beckyferreira.bsky.social about the fly brain www.404media.co/a-digital-fl...
404media.co
A Digital Fly Brain Has Taken Over the Internet
How to make a fly play Doom, Minecraft, Beat Saber, parallel park, trade bitcoin, cut doner kebab, and more.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
www.welcometohellworld.com/i-do-not-bel...
Just once in my life I would like to see a Democrat being interviewed by right wing media like Fox News or right wing media like every single other outlet treat their questions with the contempt they deserve. I know it's not going to fix everything or maybe even anything but how much coverage and how much groundswell of excitement from the base do you think it would inspire if when asked about "boys in girls sports" or some other stupid fucking culture war distraction one of them finally said "What the fuck are you talking about man? You sound like a dumb asshole right now."

What's the worst that's going to happen the New York Times is gonna work overtime to make sure you don't get elected? They were already doing that buddy.

You simply say "Are you stupid? Do you think I am stupid? And do you think all of the people watching at home are stupid? Everyone sees through what you are doing. Using one group as a scapegoat for the very real problems everyone has – all caused by Republicans by the way – unlike this fake one you have made up. Dumb asshole."

Just go on the attack for once instead of sitting there trying to please your enemy who is in the process of trying to humiliate you.

And if you want to say something else true that almost no Democrat ever says for some reason you can top it off with a “Every single Republican in our lifetime has sought to make our lives worse in every way possible. I’d like to try to stop that.”
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
*for white people. not my middle eastern family or friends, ever
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The Paul of the House of Usher @katamaridumassy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
25 years
cj @futurevictim_ tweet from 1:17 AM • 12 Sep 21

the only lasting 9/11 memory i have is when the budweiser ad with the kneeling clydesdales came on during the super bowl and i said "those horses are praying to mecca" and my friend's uncle got so mad that he had to go in the backyard
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Marlow Stern @marlownyc.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
‘The Matrix’ creator Lilly Wachowski on J.K. Rowling and the new ‘Harry Potter’ series: “She is funding trans genocide. J.K. Rowling funds trans genocide, full stop. So, if you support ‘Harry Potter,’ you’re supporting trans genocide.” variety.com/2026/tv/feat...
variety.com
Lilly Wachowski on Her New Studio Anarchists United, the Black Power Origins of ‘The Matrix’ and How ‘Harry Potter’ Fans Are ‘Supporting Trans Genocide’
‘The Matrix’ filmmaker Lilly Wachowski opens up about her new studio for marginalized voices Anarchists United, J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk.
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I've argued with people who say they separate the art from the artist (not possible while she's using actively her money to hurt the trans community). or that they don't like "not being allowed" to watch something. but I think this really comes down to what you want to stand for
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
i cut my scrolling/screentime massively this year and started reading more books and the amount it's helped my focus, burnout, and mental health has been significant defector.com/what-do-book...
Jazzi McGilbert owns Reparations Club in Los Angeles, which opened shortly before the pandemic and has since become one of the most beloved black-owned bookstores in the country. She identified a number of causes for the reading crisis that you won’t find in the pieces of the post-literate prognosticators. “I agree there is a literacy crisis in this country, and it’s important to acknowledge that plainly," she said. "It's not just ‘brain rot,’ it’s the intentional, predictable result of decades of divestment in public education, libraries, class warfare, attacks on books in general, overworked and under-resourced parents, and an attention economy incentivizing us all to keep consuming without thinking.”
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Anyone else start getting pelted with ads for perimenopause startups recently? (Doesn't help I'm closer to 40 than 30.) I journeyed into this new world of internet hormones and came back with this tale: www.wired.com/story/inside...
wired.com
Inside the Perimenopause Industrial Complex
How an alliance of tech startups, MAHA operatives, and actual medical experts made millennial women the new face of hormone therapy.
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Riley MacLeod @rcmacleod.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Every time outlets publish the chat logs of people who committed violence or suicide after talking to AI I am, like, so consumed with rage and disgust I feel physically sick. The people making these things should never get a good night's sleep again in their lives
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
just watched a child buy a copy of the communist manifesto the dream of mamdanistan is real
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
in honor of tim curry Consider watching his best performance as an uncomfortably hot satan in ridley scott’s 1985 classic Legend
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Emanuel Maiberg @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I talked to one of the people who works at the facility where Amazon destructively scans books for AI training data www.404media.co/inside-the-w...
404media.co
Inside the Warehouse Where Amazon Scans and Destroys Books for AI Training
An interview with one of the Amazon employees at Amazon’s AI training facility VGT3.
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Caroline Haskins @carolinehaskins.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
You've probably heard about the horrifying phenomenon of students making AI-generated nudes + sexual content of their underage peers. Unfortunately, there's a whole other set of victims of this harassment: Teachers. Several of them told me their stories: www.wired.com/story/teache...
wired.com
They Dedicated Their Lives to Teaching. Then the Deepfakes Started
The deepfake epidemic in schools is affecting more than students. Four teachers tell WIRED about becoming targets of sexualized, AI-generated content—and how difficult it was to find accountability.
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
this is the only journalism I care about
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Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 20/08/2026
Who could have predicted that AI would increase inequality? wapo.st/4gqu980
wapo.st
A new force is increasing inequality in America
Evidence is mounting that artificial intelligence is helping the richest people and cities pull further ahead.
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Lex McMenamin (they/them) @lexmcmenamin.com · 19/08/2026
60 yrs ago, sex workers, drag queens and street youth held a landmark riot against police in SF's Tenderloin—the world's 1st Trans District now that space is held by Geo Group. trans people are still arrested at SF Pride—over tagging Flock cams. the trans fight against police in '66 and today:
theguardian.com
The fight to protect a trans landmark in California from ICE’s biggest contractor
Compton’s Cafe is one of the earliest examples of LGBTQ+ resistance. Today, a prison company occupies the site
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
“X’s algorithm learns what you hate and shows you more of it, according to a new study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” www.404media.co/xs-algorithm...
404media.co
X's Algorithm Feeds Off Ragebait and Impacts Democrats More, Study Finds
X is driving engagement by making users fight in the replies.
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
guy on the train with a trick bike blasting the linkin park song from transformers…I just know he’s happier than all of us
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404 Media @404media.co · 17/08/2026
SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:
404media.co
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
unfortunately accursed gender goes hard
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Night School’s Afterparty is still one of the funniest games I’ve ever played. this is a real shame and loss of great creative talent
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I have created several new, permanent wrinkles from the raw power of the faces I made reading this story
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
this is such an interesting topic and I’m very excited to read a deep dive
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Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I have never posted on Nextdoor but it remains my favorite social network because of the out-of-pocket shit people are willing to say under their government names. here's one woman's story of the real-world consequences of pissing off all your neighbors www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/the-villain-...
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
How I became the villain of El Cerrito’s Nextdoor
“I had a panic attack. Then I wrote an apology letter.”
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Jaya Saxena @jayasaxena.com · 07/08/2026
I mean they're being babies about this, but "dodging a loophole" by moving someone into the property/renting it out long term/establishing residency here is kind of the point??
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Hamilton Nolan @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Journalism is a public good. It needs to be publicly funded, for the same reasons that health care needs to be publicly funded. The privatization of public information has created a true crisis. www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/paying-for...
hamiltonnolan.com
Paying for News Is Cheaper Than Not Having It
The consequences of privatizing public information.
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Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
“Unlike KOSA and many of the other age verification laws that have spread across the country, the SCREEN Act does not have bipartisan support. It’s the latest in Lee’s repeated attempts to criminalize content he and his co-sponsors personally consider immoral.”
404media.co
The SCREEN Act is a Christian Nationalist Nightmare
Mike Lee's SCREEN Act, which heads to Senate Commerce Committee for markup on Wednesday, would expand age verification requirements to a nearly limitless scope of websites, and is supported by the arc...
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Caroline Haskins @carolinehaskins.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Steve Eimers, aka The Guardrail Guy, is known for his videos that about faulty guardrails & the risk they pose to drivers He recently began posting about Flock cameras & ALPRs. He’s not anymore. Why? Someone began destroying cameras he’d recently posted about: www.wired.com/story/flock-...
wired.com
He Went Viral for Posting About Flock Cameras. Then Someone Destroyed Them
Steve Elmers, also known as the “Guardrail Guy,” is done calling out license plate readers after two that appeared in his videos were vandalized.
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
ok I’ve been in europe for two weeks is it safe to eat salads yet
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
for Mothership, I talked to @qdork.bsky.social about the link between modern glow-up culture and Consume Me...plus her recent introduction to looksmaxxer Clavicular www.mothership.blog/consume-me-d...
mothership.blog
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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
I really love what Maddy and Zoë have built with Mothership and it was such a pleasure to write for them
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