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Dr. Melissa Ocepek

@melissa1776.bsky.social
611 followers 1.1K following 108 posts

Academic LIS Scholar, Foodie, and Friend! Working to form a union at the University of Illinois

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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
EPDiogenes @ericpauldennis.bsky.social · 15h
Here is some really good reporting on problems with taxing data centers. news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...
news.bloombergtax.com
Data Center Boom Fuels Billion-Dollar Dilemma for Tax Assessors
Tax assessors may seem unlikely players in the data center culture wars roiling the country. But as large-scale data centers proliferate, the local assessors tasked with determining how much they are ...
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
So excited to see our hard work getting some much needed press attention!!!
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Everyone, especially those in higher ed should read this!!!
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Any person who has had LLMs forced on their area of expertise is qualified to critique the tech journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
We Reject the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Reflexive Qualitative Research - Tanisha Jowsey, Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Deborah Lupton, Michelle Fine, 2025
Four hundred and nineteen experienced qualitative researchers from 32 countries invite readers of Qualitative Inquiry to consider their position on use of gener...
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Rumors about “rigged elections" are now a fixture of U.S. elections, leading to diminished trust in election results & democracy (broadly). These rumors can sometimes be hard to debunk, esp. in their early stages. Our UW team has identified the 6 common ways that election integrity rumors mislead:
Infographic titled "Six Ways 'Rigged Election' Rumors Mislead." A two-column table pairs six labeled categories with descriptions. The first three categories are:

No Evidence: The rumor is entirely unsubstantiated. There's no evidence to support the rumor.

Fake/False Evidence: The rumor is based on fake or synthetic evidence (e.g. AI-generated content), manipulated evidence, or false witness testimony.

Misinterpreted Evidence: This rumor is based upon real evidence that has been misinterpreted or intentionally mischaracterized to create a false impression.

A black banner then introduces the final three categories: "Real Evidence, Real Voting Issue, False Narrative."

Exaggerated Impact: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but falsely insinuates or exaggerates impact on election results.

Ignored Remedies: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but ignores and/or obscures the remedies that would address this problem

False Blame: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but either falsely attributes intent for an accidental issue or places blame on an innocent party.

Source: UW Center for an Informed Public, September 2026.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026
Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵
Martin Kao, CEO of defense contractor Navatek, poses next to Sen. Susan Collins for a photo. Collins is holding a model of a boat in her hands. Behind them is a large sign with the Navatek logo.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 16/09/2026
I'm just going to keep yelling this louder and louder until it clicks: weird overpaid AI nerds hand-wringing about human extinction are trying to distract you from the extremely deadly and serious harms they are causing yesterday, today and tomorrow www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Headline: "US Data Centers Set to Burn More Natural Gas Than Most Nations" above a photo of natural gas compressor towers, power lines and a crane at an industrial site, illustrating rising gas use tied to data centers.News excerpt reporting that U.S. data centers’ natural gas use is expected to grow by 15 billion cubic feet per day by 2035—amounting to more gas than every country except China, Russia, Iran and the U.S., citing the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
With 24,300 students and 2170 faculty, that token subsidy budget totals $66.1 million *per month* Over $794 million annually
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
What is this life???
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
First, let's ground this in why the pro-science position is anti-chatbot (and anti-AI hype): >>
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Rachel F @bibli0rach.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My library is hiring a Collection Development #Librarian. This is a full time, in person, benefitted position in metro Denver. Please apply or share with your network! 📚 #libraryjobs www.linkedin.com/safety/go/?u...
linkedin.com
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My latest AI hellhole: substack.com/@sarahkendzi...
substack.com
Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior)
There’s an AI-generated “biography” of me that is just my book “The Last American Road Trip” plagiarized near verbatim and sold under the byline of a non-existent person. Today I got an AI-generated e...
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Working to form a union
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
AAUP @aaup.org · 09/09/2026
How are we going to fight back against Trump’s Compact 2.0? Join the AAUP & AFT for a webinar tomorrow: Thursday, September 10, at 7PM ET, to learn how you can help to block the Trump admin’s efforts to assert political control over higher education. Register here: aft.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
STOP TRUMP'S
COMPACT 2.0
ACADEMIC FREEDOM IS NOT
EGOTIABLE
RSVP NOW
September 10, 7 p.m. ET
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Three notes: (1) this is not *just* marketing. These guys really do mean it. They are convinced they’ve built a vengeful digital god. (2) but also they’re a cult. They are not impartial scientific experts. (3) and one of the byproduct of their endless confidence is marketing hype.
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Several months ago I was introduced to the film Bloodsport a supposedly “true story” that was obviously bullshit but cocaine is a hell if a drug and its arguably the best Van Damme flick.
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Real talk how much of this is cocaine???
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
UIUC faculty, the Campus Faculty Association is blitzing this week. It’s a great time to learn more about how unionization can help faculty all throughout our campus and how together we can all fight for the future of higher education!!!
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
New Hampshire Bulletin @newhampshirebulletin.com · 08/09/2026
Labor union membership continues to climb in the United States, though the increase remains sharply divided by the politics of individual states. From Kevin Hardy via @stateline.org
newhampshirebulletin.com
Labor unions are growing, but where depends on state politics • New Hampshire Bulletin
Labor union membership continues to climb in the United States, though the increase remains sharply divided by the politics of individual states.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Kate Clancy @kateclancy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
We are blitzing this week. We talk to every person who signs a card (and the few who don't). If you care about worker power and the organizing efforts that lead to community power, sign a union card. You get to be part of a solution!
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
AAUP Texas A&M-College Station Chapter @tamu-aaup.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Happy Labor Day!
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
We need more worker power throughout the country!!! Unions make things better for workers.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Violet Fox 🦊 @violetbfox.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
📣 Brand new zine published to celebrate Labor Day: "Don’t Cross the Picket Line : Strike Solidarity for Beginners." Free to print or read online at violetbfox.info/dontcross/. This 24-page zine was created for anyone who's *not* part of a union and doesn't know much about unions or strikes.
Cover of a zine
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Pennsylvania Capital-Star @penncapital-star.com · 07/09/2026
Last year, the nation added more than 411,000 union members — the largest annual growth since 2008, according to a study published just ahead of the Labor Day holiday. From @stateline.org
penncapital-star.com
Labor unions are growing, but where depends on state politics • Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Labor union membership continues to climb in the United States.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
If you have a net worth of $1 million, this would be like you spending $110 on the midterms. That’s not a typo. His net worth is unimaginably large and it’s ultimately incompatible with democracy.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Catherine D'Ignazio (she/her/ella) @kanarinka.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Join our open, free learning community 📣 Technofascism, Feminism and Democracy 📣 to explore: the rise of global authoritarianism; Big Tech, AI, & the billionaire class; how feminist & grassroots movements are proposing alternative democratic futures. technofascism.dataplusfeminism.mit.edu
Image depicts a bundle of cables (referencing the origin of the word "fasces" which means bundle in Italian) along with the head of an ax protruding from them. The text reads Technofascism, Feminism, Democracy and a smaller text invites you to join the open learning community with a QR code.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Three Scary Rogue Agents in a Trenchcoat @alexhanna.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Join the @politicaleducation.bsky.social and @dairinstitute.bsky.social at @socialismconference.org 2026! We'll be doing a workshop on the connection of Marxian political economy, AI, and workers' struggles.
Poster for an upcoming event, which has a dark pink background, and Socialism Conference logo at the bottom, a lit lantern next to the word "socialism" in dark blue capital letters. In yellow letters at the top, it says the workshop title, "From Exploitation to Replacement? Workers in the New Political Economy of AI." Underneath are a series of speaker names and their organizations: Alex Hanna from the Distributed AI Research Institute, Nathan Kim from the University of Michigan, and Thomas Mariadason and Chika Okoye from the Center for Political Education.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Jed Brown @jedbrown.org · 27/08/2026
Faculty cannot afford to be so naive. University counsel is an inherently political appointment and their politics are revealed through deference to federal directives, even as those directives fall in the courts due to the courageous efforts of @aaup.org et al. We must build power in every state.
"This summer's actions have proven me naive and now force me to recognize that our leadership bends to the winds of politics," Gonzalez said. "I, too, am culpable because I agreed to be a member of the Core Review Committee used to whitewash these governance changes. ... Today we can see that the outcome was already predetermined since our general counsel's narrow interpretation of SB 37 guaranteed certain narrow decisions."
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Mad Scholar Frights @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
On the other site I would occasionally state my theory that the systematic destruction of the local newspaper ecosystem is not collateral damage from digital "disruption" or the Internet in general but a key part of a long range strategy to end accountability. I was informed that I was being silly.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Matthew Noe @noethematt.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
"Here’s a fun fact for you: More cops have been arrested for stalking women using Flock cameras than there are trans athletes in sports." www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ai-is-maki...
doomsdayscenario.co
AI is making everything worse
The political problem isn't the data centers — it's that AI is a turd mountain looming over daily life.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Almost every single student who has found me this week wants to talk about AI. A couple reflections. One student has taken three AI courses in philosophy, health sciences and comm. They’re basically the same class. As it turns out, it doesn’t take a lot of classes to “learn” ai.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 19/08/2026
I don't think people understand the extent to which this has been a decade plus long billionaire funded campaign (obviously Thiel is involved). We've tried to ring the alarm about these eugenicists but it is too easy for them to get parroted by the mainstream media. bylinetimes.com/2026/08/18/t...
bylinetimes.com
The Peter Thiel-Linked Race Science Network that Penetrated Cambridge University and Targeted Jason Arday
The media's coverage of the academic's life was fuelled by the campaign of an established far-right network
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 19/08/2026
Nah, I can’t be convinced this was death by suicide. Black people do not lynch themselves from trees, and the fact that these cases have been dismissed so quickly without thorough investigation is telling.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Violet Fox 🦊 @violetbfox.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The folks at ACRLog are terrific, and this is a great way for new academic librarians to share their reflections and experiences. Consider applying! 📚
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 29/07/2026
This is a well-produced segment. I encourage you to watch so you can hear the noise for yourself. The professor of environmental health science that they interviewed called it an “unprecedented new noise source.”
wxyz.com
Neighbors say noise from Michigan data center is 24/7 and upending their lives
One Michigan community has been experiencing the reality of a data center next door for a couple of years now, and they say the sound has changed their lives.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Mara Thacker 🏳️‍🌈🦇 @maralina.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Feels appropriate for Juneteenth to allocate some time to union and labor organization activities. Being a part of @cfaillinois.bsky.social is feeding my soul in a moment when things seem pretty tough.
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Three Scary Rogue Agents in a Trenchcoat @alexhanna.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
THIS WEDNESDAY: join @dairinstitute.bsky.social as we launch the Luddite Lab Resource Hub, a resource for workers fighting AI at work. We provide strategies for worker-led governance and oversight of this tech through case studies, primers, and a resource library. www.eventbrite.com/e/launching-...
eventbrite.com
Launching the Luddite Lab Resource Hub
Join DAIR and workers on the front line of resisting AI as we release the Luddite Lab Resource Hub, a new resource for fighting AI at work.
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Reposted by Dr. Melissa Ocepek
Chris Hanlon @chrishanlon.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Meet “ASU Atomic,” a subscription platform that claims to offer customized learning modules for fee-paying users. None of the ASU faculty whose course materials were harvested for the module I generated were aware that their image, lectures, lessons, or other teaching materials are being used.
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
One line has been running through my head the last few days, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
I went all the time while in grad school. The events and themes felt so specific in the best way.
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Everyday this is sounding more and more like Elizabeth Holmes or Sam Bankman Fried.
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
We have good timers already. ChatGPT is a word extruder not a timer or a calculator.
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Jason Concepcion @netw3rk.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
it cant be said enough that all tech smart guys and billionaires thought this guy would be great and now the world economy is fucked we're like a week from gas rationing and their guy is threatening nukes.
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Jose A. Cañada @joseacanada.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
We're hiring! Looking for a #postdoc (3 years) and #PhD (4 years) in #STS and aquatic restoration! Hired researchers will join University of @oulu.fi, the amazing SAFIRE multidisciplinary research programme, and a growing team of researchers interested in water and environment. Deadline 03.05.26.
oulunyliopisto.varbi.com
Postdoctoral Researcher and Doctoral Researcher, Science and Technology Studies (STS) and aquatic restoration in the Nordic and Arctic regions
We are looking to hire highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher and Doctoral Researcher to join the Department of Anthropology, in the History, Culture and Communications Unit at the Faculty of Humani
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
This is what baffles me the thinking is the work. How could a generic summary ever find the weird bits in a work that resonate with me and my perspective based on my years on this earth and decades of study?
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
The world is feeling very terrible and I had terrible anxiety dreams all night last night but this week Ashley I. becomes a Housewife. Hope is a radically act and we need to find joy where we can!!!
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Did it last week
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
All the evidence you need is right in front of you. Just because he fits into a larger narrative you find appealing doesn’t mean it’s real.
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Dr. Melissa Ocepek @melissa1776.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Reading about Sam Altman right now feels like reading about Sam Bankman-Fried right before FTX crashed and he was arrested.
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