Sign in

Megan L Zahay

@meganzahay.bsky.social
733 followers 604 following 79 posts

Researching persuasion and trust in online communities | 1st Gen | Fiber and visual arts lover

PostsRepliesMedia
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Yay!
010
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Sadie Hartmann (Mother Horror) @sadiehartmann.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Women are so overqualified to write horror.
1679
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
*Doubling* the odds!
020
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 26/06/2026
Charlton McIlwain makes such a poignant point at #FAccT2026: what has the decades of work that has measured, documented, & evaluated the failure and bias of AI systems done? we have known the negative impact for decades yet very little has changed
39232
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Happy birthday among the stars to the patron saint of us all, the great Octavia Butler.
4769148
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Christopher Hale @christopherjhale.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
NEW: On Memorial Day, Pope Leo XIV releases his first AI encyclical with an Anthropic co-founder. Trump blacklisted Anthropic over Pentagon access. It will lift up the primacy of the human person over technology in moral confrontation with Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman’s Silicon Valley.
substack.com
Confronting Silicon Valley, Pope Leo XIV Drops His AI Encyclical on Memorial Day With Anthropic Onstage
“Magnifica Humanitas,” the first papal encyclical on artificial intelligence, lands Monday in the Vatican’s Synod Hall — alongside an Anthropic co-founder. The pope signed it May 15, the 135th anniver...
714855
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Interesting tensions come up in this piece about the relationship between content creators and campaigns, campaign finances, authenticity, and audience-creator trust. Questions of who pays (or should appear to pay) political content creators and how.
020
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Increasingly it seems like "teach AI literacy" means "encourage kids to adopt certain big tech products." These things should not be synonymous. Tech literacy is good, what this bill is calling literacy is bad!
040
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
alice e marwick @alicetiara.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
🚨NEW DISINFO PAPER🚨 TLDR; disinformation circulates as narratives, not false facts. This paper took five years (!!!) and a rotating cast of collaborators and GRAs. Our case studies include the pee tape, and we have an entire appendix justifying that. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Disinformation as Cultural Narrative: Conceptualizing Disinformation as Cross-Platform, Identity-Affirming, Cathartic Stories
Rather than framing disinformation as false facts which can be countered by true facts, we propose a model of disinformation as narrative by tracing three case studies of successful disinformation ...
16390167
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Dr. Lisa Corrigan @drlisacorrigan.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Social movement scholar here to comment on No King again. a 🧵: These protests are important b/c: 1.) as sustained image events, protests offer evidence of continued disapproval of the direction the country is going and disavowal of the country's leadership.
4235561337
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
You know, honestly whatever at this point. Might as well.
000
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Jeff (Hot Type) Jarvis @jeffjarvis.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
German press on the death of Jürgen Habermas.
1306
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Gavin Mueller @gavinmueller.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
In honor of Habermas, a meme I made
8734155
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 13/03/2026
Breaking: The Trump administration will receive a $10 billion fee for brokering the deal that kept TikTok alive in the U.S. on.wsj.com/3NdA4mh
on.wsj.com
Exclusive | Trump Administration Set to Receive $10 Billion Fee for Brokering TikTok Deal
Investors in the social-media platform’s U.S. business agreed to give the government several multibillion-dollar payments, sources say.
447252
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅 @zeyiyang.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Through Palantir software demos, public documentation, and Pentagon records, @carolinehaskins.bsky.social explains exactly how the US military uses Claude:
wired.com
Palantir Demos Show How the Military Could Use AI Chatbots to Generate War Plans
Software demos and Pentagon records detail how chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude could help the Pentagon analyze intelligence and suggest next steps.
26825
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 10/03/2026
“The indispensability of a liberal education is the freedom from being tied to the zeitgeist of one’s age or situation to love what is true, good, and beautiful, and to be initiated into the world while cultivating a love for it.” www.liberalcurrents.com/upholding-li...
liberalcurrents.com
Upholding Liberal Education
Love of the world, not meaningless tests, must be the heart of liberal education.
5668136
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/02/2026
NEW: Guards have taken away crayons, colored pencils & paper during recent room searches at Dilley, according to detainees and others. After one inspection, the children just “cried and cried and cried,” a mother said. The facility denies the claims. By @mckenziefunk.com @micarosenberg.bsky.social
propublica.org
Seized Art, Eavesdropping Guards: Parents Describe a Clampdown at Dilley Detention Center as Kids Shared Their Stories
Detainees told ProPublica that art supplies have been removed in room searches, immigrants have lost access to Gmail and staff hover within earshot during video calls.
31958003529
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 24/02/2026
when people talk about AI used in moderation of social media posts, you must remember there is always the human-in-the-loop, often a woman, often in the Global South, always dehumanised and forgotten 1/n www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers watching hours of abusive content to train AI
Women in rural communities describe trauma of moderating violent and pornographic content for global tech companies
41049624
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
UW-Madison Bad Bunny connection, On Wisconsin!
001
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
NEW: Records reviewed by WIRED show DHS’s facial recognition app (Mobile Fortify) isn’t designed to actually "verify" identity—despite DHS claims and its agents relying on its matches to support probable cause in the field.
wired.com
ICE and CBP’s Face-Recognition App Can’t Actually Verify Who People Are
ICE has used Mobile Fortify to identify immigrants and citizens alike over 100,000 times, by one estimate. It wasn't built to work like that—and only got approved after DHS abandoned its own privacy r...
6430781453
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
The EU Commission has preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act over its addictive design — infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications & hyper-personalized recommendations. ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
ec.europa.eu
Commission preliminarily finds TikTok\'s addictive design in breach of the Digital Services Act
Today, the European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act for its addictive design.
218799
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Here is a neat scroll that gives you a look into both Lawson's legacy and some history of console gaming: artsandculture.google.com/story/jerry-...
artsandculture.google.com
Jerry Lawson: The Black Engineer and Entrepreneur Who Changed Video Games - Google Arts & Culture
Explore the life of Gerald “Jerry” Lawson, a Black video game engineer who changed the way we play.
000
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I just
media.tenor.com
a bald man wearing glasses is sitting in front of a wall .
Alt: Danny Devito shaking his head and saying nope
111
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
The LYS is a generative place
010
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Glad to see Aphex getting his due, though the term "nostalgiacore" is a no thanks from me
010
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
A few days ago we lost an important hidden figure in the history of 20th century Cold War technology—Gladys West’s work and insights were essential in the creation of GPS: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
213943
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 26/01/2026
As I discuss at much more length here, extremism is an exercise in the social construction of reality. Actions targeting out-groups are intended to strengthen the validity of an in-group's narrative about what is real and which values matter. www.jmberger.com/extremism/th...
jmberger.com
J.M. Berger, Author - The Social Construction of Extremism
The Social Construction of Extremism
13810
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
🧵
000
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
This is morally wrong and everyone can see that it is wrong.
000
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
constitution.congress.gov/constitution...
constitution.congress.gov
000
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Beautiful words about Centralia and the ambivalence of the coal region. As teens we would walk down graffiti highway, look for puffs of steam, and wish there was still more to see.
000
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Dr. Will X. Uly @wellactually.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Hey #teamrhetoric: I'm part of a team submitting a proposal to RSQ for a special issue on conspiracy theories. If you're doing work on conspiracy rhetoric outside of the US or using a feminist/queer/trans or BIPOC lens, I want to know about it! Please reach out or share with a friend!
178
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Rafael Grohmann @grohmannrafael.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
💥 Sovereignty as a service. New article in Media, Culture & Society on how big tech companies are co-opting and redefining digital sovereignty. Co-authored by me and Alexandre Costa Barbosa journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
05416
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Like early QAnon posts, which were often framed as questions and short, decontextualized words and phrases, the recent Epstein emails invite readers to participate in crafting a range of their own meanings.
110
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Essential perspective
020
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Wow (if so)! This has become a kind of received wisdom in humanities fields as well. Looking forward to reading
010
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
There is a difference, by definition, between mainstream and extremist messaging, but in many ways the boundaries are blurring in digital spaces. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Extremists exploit political ‘trigger events’ to recruit people online, says study
NYU report monitored social feeds and found groups call for retaliatory action after politically motivated violent events
020
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Deeply sad for those who now face this, and disgusted that the ones with the least pay the price every time www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
SNAP recipients told to buy shelf-stable food or go to food banks as funding deadline looms
People who rely on the federal food assistance program might not receive their benefits for the month of November because of the ongoing government shutdown.
010
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Jon Martin, Ph.D. @songsthatsaved.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
I think, in our hearts, we all knew this was where things were heading: www.theregister.com/2025/10/24/m...
theregister.com
Clippy rises from the dead in major Copilot update
Hands On: The new Microsoft assistant is a blob named Mico, but you can turn it into everyone’s favorite paper clip.
011
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Yes to this. Public speaking is an important democratic skill!
000
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Martin Paul Eve @eve.gd · 16/10/2025
"The protocol taught us that technology can be based on human values like ethics and morality. It showed that voluntary compliance works when all parties benefit." On robots.txt. www.heise.de/en/backgroun...
heise.de
Obituary: Farewell to robots.txt (1994-2025)
The voluntary compliance protocol that civilized the internet has departed, bids Henning Fries farewell.
08049
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Wow what a blast from the past. This was my favorite movie for years as a kid
010
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
There's still time to submit to the Conspiratorial Economies NCA preconference! We would love to hear about your communication and conspiracy theory research and works-in-progress. You can submit either a 250 word abstract or a 2-3 sentence flash talk proposal (that's not a lot, you can do it!)
120
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Ryan Cordell @ryancordell.org · 01/07/2025
I’m frustrated for many reasons at surface-skimming media history takes on AI like “people opposed the printing press too!” If media history is going to help us navigate the present, we have to reckon with something people often omit from those comparisons—the intersection of power & new media (1/4)
39740
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) @aoir.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
We are delighted to share the publication of Risky Research: An AoIR Guide to Researcher Protection and Safety, the culmination of over two years of collaborative effort by the AoIR Risky Research Working Group. aoir.org/riskyresearc...
Cover Image for:

Risky Research: An AoIR Guide to Researcher Protection and Safety

AoIR Risky Research Working Group

Contributors: Alice Marwick, Dafna Kaufman, Jacob Smith, Patricia Aufderheide, Jessica
Beyer, Emma L. Briant, Coppélie Cocq, Laura Dilley, Sam DiBella, Radhika Gajjala, Kamile
Grusauskaite, Alex D. Ketchum, Zelly Martin, Janice Metzger, Erin McInerney, Rachel Moran,
John McNutt, Suay Melisa Oezkula, Victoria O’Meara, Riccardo Nanni, Carolina Parreiras,
Katy Pearce, Ryan Payne, Meredith Pruden, Christian Sandvig, Caighlan Smith, Sam Srauy,
Zeerak Talat, Leonie Tanczer, Robert Tynes, Antonia Vaughan, Shenja van der Graaf, Courtney
Vowles, Michele White.
5151113
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Yep! Looks like it is indeed nothing more than a rumor and likely to be untrue (planning to delete my prior comment shortly to avoid contributing to the confusion)
000
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Proud night to be a Badger, On Wisconsin!
172
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Today is the last day to submit your paper to ECS for NCA 2025 Denver!
000
Reposted by Megan L Zahay
Megan L Zahay @meganzahay.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Working on comm and economics? Digital or creator economy? Neoliberalism? Circulation or ecologies? Rhetoric, cultural studies, political economy, or org comm? Consider submitting to the Economics, Communication, and Society division for NCA 2025 in Denver! More info and link below:
111