Sign in

New_ Public

@newpublic.org
4.3K followers 564 following 1.8K posts

New_ Public is a nonprofit product studio focused on reimagining community, connection, and conversation online. newpublic.org

PostsRepliesMedia
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 15h
What if you had an algorithmically-sorted feed, but YOU chose what to rank and prioritize? @jonathanstray.com and @noupside.bsky.social’s new project, @mysky.social, lets you tune and experiment with your own feed, exactly how you want it. 🎚️https://www.mysky.social/
Recommendation algorithms make choices about whose voices receive attention, which subjects dominate a conversation, what kinds of behavior get rewarded, and what each of us comes to understand as important. In other words, they perform some of the basic functions that shape a public sphere. So what would it mean to give people real control over those algorithms?
021
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 15h
Our latest newsletter takes on one of the most persistent myths in social media: that everything could be fixed w/ a reverse chronological feed. 🔄⌛https://newpublic.substack.com/p/meet-the-algorithm-you-can-actually
Engagement is a key signal for every recommender system used by a Big Tech company today. Systems that relentlessly optimize for engagement can amplify outrage, clickbait, and falsehoods. Yet purely chronological feeds are not an ideal solution either: whoever posts most often gets to be the loudest, it’s difficult to discover interesting people outside of your network, and experiments with Facebook and Instagram actually found that chronological feeds increased the amount of untrustworthy content.
273
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 29/09/2026
We are not a-Mused 😤
appleinsider.com
Meta Muse AI reportedly read Mac Messages without consent
In a completely unsurprising turn of events, Meta's Muse AI is stealing Apple Messages, past and present, and uploading the contents to its cloud, even if explicitly told not to.
0142
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 29/09/2026
What is GIFCT and why does it matter? Here's a primer: newpublic.substack.com/p/-the-terro...
newpublic.substack.com
#️⃣ The terrorism database big platforms rely on
GIFCT and the collective effort to delete terror from social media
012
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 28/09/2026
A surprising stat from Murmuration’s new report, “Life in the Digital Age”: 57% of Americans use social media daily, and more say it usually leaves them feeling drained (18%) than happy (17%). murmuration.org/research/how...
A grouped horizontal bar chart from Murmuration (source: 7,449 Americans surveyed July–August 2026) titled "Social media's hold on people is deeply ambivalent: they keep coming back even though many don't like how it makes them feel." It shows reasons people return to social media, broken out by age group (18–30, 31–45, 46–60, 61+). Top reasons vary by age: entertainment and habit skew younger, while keeping up with friends and family rises sharply with age (54% for 18–45, up to 65% for 61+). Other categories include staying informed, shopping, work, following public figures, and activism.
041
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 25/09/2026
Read more about MySky, from @jonathanstray.com and @noupside.bsky.social: newpublic.substack.com/p/meet-the-a...
newpublic.substack.com
🎛️📲 Meet the algorithm you can actually control and understand
Jonathan Stray and Renée DiResta introduce MySky, a feed that shows its work
0204
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 25/09/2026
New_ Public’s @joshpkramer.bsky.social shows what it looks like to manually control your social media algorithm with @mysky.social, a new experimental feed project. Just like the 🍔👑 says… Have it your way!
16390103
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 24/09/2026
When creating effective, healthy AI-supported community moderation: 💸 Pay your moderators — they’re doing real work! 🤖 Provide crisis training for your mods with AI only assisting. 🧑‍💻 Always keep a human in the loop. (All of these guidelines are part of @roundabout.town’s moderation tools!)
newpublic.substack.com
🤝💫 How Roundabout is helping neighbors show up for each other
Insights from building a local app that’s deliberate and human
030
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 24/09/2026
We often think of AI as fueling online polarization, but new research suggests that — with the right rules in place — AI-powered tools might be able to help build healthier, more thoughtful conversations at scale. Emphasis on having the right rules in place! 👇 dl.acm.org/doi/epdf/10....
A Jigsaw diagram titled "Where AI could improve Deliberations / Collective Dialogue Systems," noting it is illustrative and may not reflect every permutation of a CDS or deliberation. Steps are labeled with "HU" (Human) or "AI" icons to indicate who performs each task. The visible steps in a numbered sequence are: 01 — Train Facilitators: Human trains facilitators on CDS design, recruitment, moderation, results analysis, and communication; AI extends human trainer capacities through LLM Assistants and retrieval augmented generation (RAG). 02 — Recruit Participants: Human decides on best approach and selects participants. 03 — Educate Participants: Human curates educational content and diverse perspectives; AI customizes educational materials based on preexisting knowledge, uses generative social choice to convey diversity of expert opinions, and offers a fine-tuned LLM Assistant for interactive Q&A. Arrows indicate the sequence continues to steps 04 and 05, which are partially visible at the bottom.
191
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 23/09/2026
We saw this in our research on how AI is reshaping the internet. The big social platforms are now: less social, full of slop, and full of bots. newpublic.org/afterthefeed
A slide with the headline "Because of AI, the big social platforms are now: Full of bots." A text box on the right states "Human spaces are filling with AI agents, and it's impossible to tell the difference," citing that 51% of global internet traffic in 2024 was generated by automated AI agents per the Imperva Bad Bot Report, and that an engineer created an agent-only social network, Moltbook, acquired by Facebook. Below, a case study box describes how Cracker Barrel reversed a logo rebrand in response to online outrage later revealed by the Wall Street Journal to have been largely manufactured by AI agents — with stats showing agents made up 49% of boycott-specific posts and 44.5% of all posts in the first 24 hours.
030
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 23/09/2026
@josephcox.bsky.social of @404media.co has had a front row seat to the various ways personal AI agents are being set loose on the internet, including: 🤖 joining video calls for no reason 🤖 releasing albums of AI music 🤖 wasting money 🤖 sending emails and posting online
404media.co
There’s a 100% Chance AI Agents Are Already Ruining the Internet
“AI agents” now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying online.
162
Reposted by New_ Public
Blaine @blaine.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is so exciting. I say that as someone building what would have historically been seen as a "competitive" product. Instead, we're building on shared foundations. Our shared goals are measured in terms of our communities' collective well-being. 💖
19210
Reposted by New_ Public
Roundabout @roundabout.town · 23/09/2026
How did Roundabout go from a well-researched idea to an app piloting in communities across the US? It all starts with @newpublic.org Co-Director @eli.bsky.social sharing how we realized that reliable local info is a real need for many people and communities: newpublic.substack.com/p/your-towns...
newpublic.substack.com
🏘️ 🌐 Your town’s online group matters more than you think
New_ Public Co-Director, Eli Pariser, on our new Local Lab
1112
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 22/09/2026
Quote from @clockwerks.bsky.social, leading @roundabout.town, in @niemanlab.org:
niemanlab.org
Can public media build its own social network? Chicago Public Media teams up with New_ Public to try
"This is a community platform, not a news site — it's very much not a news site."
031
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 22/09/2026
Recipe for a fantastic dinner party vibe: ✉️ send the invites 🎵 curate tunes 🍝🍹provide vittles and libations 💡 set an intention for the evening 🚪 make sure no one overstays their welcome Doing this every day is what separates great online community stewards from simply “moderators”.
Brundrett sees community stewards as more than just moderators — almost like a “really great dinner party host,” he explained, whose role is more proactive than reactive. “It’s somebody who is thinking about, ‘hey, what do I want this to be?’ And they’re inviting people in, they’re setting the tone.”
142
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 21/09/2026
Social media algorithms don't allow us to understand or control what we see online and why... until now! Top scholars @jonathanstray.com and @noupside.bsky.social are sharing @mysky.social, a tool that allows users to adjust their feed’s priorities and explains why certain posts appear over others.
newpublic.substack.com
🎛️📲 Meet the algorithm you can actually control and understand
Jonathan Stray and Renée DiResta introduce MySky, a feed that shows its work
14019
Reposted by New_ Public
Roundabout @roundabout.town · 18/09/2026
An important milestone with Roundabout: Promising signs of civic participation in our North Chattanooga, TN, Roundabout community, where the most-clicked link in a recent newsletter was a local voter lookup tool 🗳️ This is a great example of @newpublic.org’s Civic Signals 👇
newpublic.org
Our Civic Signals research | New_ Public
The Civic Signals are 14 indicators of healthy online spaces, based on years of research into what makes online communities work.
1163
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 18/09/2026
As a rule, calico kittens love public-spirited digital public spaces
090
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 17/09/2026
INCREDIBLE CONTENT ALERT 🚨🚨🚨
020
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 17/09/2026
The toothpaste is out of the tube: the internet is no longer 100% human, but we should lift up the people who are putting in the time, effort, and care to keep our digital spaces alive and meaningful. www.techpolicy.press/millions-of-...
“Why are Reddit and Wikipedia so much more human than LinkedIn? One reason is that they rely on the work of volunteer caretakers, known as moderators, who curate content and protect community members. The launch of ChatGPT and other generative AI models added a new job for moderators: keeping their communities human—a job that’s as grueling as it is fraught.”
092
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 16/09/2026
Social media is often full-scale rhetorical warfare, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be online conflict. Priya Parker says there's another way: “healthy heat: the willingness to hold tension, with care, long enough for it to become clarifying.” theisolationjournals.substack.com/cp/215506446
“In twenty-five years as a conflict dialogue facilitator, I’ve learned something deeply counterintuitive: long-term communities need love, and they also need conflict. The relationships that last aren’t the ones that never fight. They’re the ones that learn how to fight well.

And yet, when disagreement enters the room, many groups reach for one of two options. We ricochet between unhealthy peace: ghosting, avoiding, quiet resentment, smoothing over with a breezy “No worries!” while privately seething. Or unhealthy conflict: humiliation, domination, takedowns, cancellation, sabotage, public shaming.”
0162
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 15/09/2026
@anildash.com warns that “cancer capitalism” is what happens when venture capitalism, meant to only be a small portion of an investment portfolio, grows uncontrollably, to the detriment of the entire economy. www.anildash.com/2026/09/02/c...
“Many of the trends in society and politics that people are most angry about, from data centers being forced down everyone’s throats, to all of our favorite apps and services being enshittified, to politicians being paid to ignore the will of the people, are all being supercharged by these cancer capitalists.”
24918
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 15/09/2026
you should watch the clip! he's talking about the pushback on data centers and the widespread unpopularity of AI, but your point is a good one: people are using these tools
000
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 14/09/2026
We do not need to “accept all cookies” when it comes to tech innovation for the sake of innovation 😤 Atlantic writer @cwarzel.bsky.social and @hasanminhaj.com discuss how people are rejecting AI and pushing back — unlike the initial widespread acceptance of social media. youtu.be/z7lQdkiQfo4?...
"We're not just going to consent — we're not going to accept all cookies on your vision of society and the way that humanity goes."

"Couldn't agree more, brother. Reject all."
1309
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 11/09/2026
⭐ This year’s Tiny Awards finalists are open to public vote (and to explore)! In the running are: a digital moth that wanders Wikipedia, summer camp for your mouse, train-timed jazz, organic fonts, and more. tinyawards.net/vote/?2026
“Vote for your favorite tiny awards finalist!” written in Kash Lingat’s “nature keyboard,” an online font that uses images of nature that mimics letters of the alphabet.
011
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 10/09/2026
Thanks to AI-powered tools, coding is more accessible than ever, but that doesn’t mean builders have decentralized tech know-how. Grey Area is offering an online course called “Beyond Big Tech” for community builders and designers building alternative tech futures! Apply by September 24th
grayarea.org
Beyond Big Tech: Building Alternative Futures for Personal Data and Infrastructure
Explore data sovereignty, self-hosting, and the decentralized web while gaining hands-on experience with tools for building community networks and alternatives to Big Tech.
054
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 09/09/2026
Thanks! we love EFF
010
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 09/09/2026
We love seeing local news organizations playing an active role in building community and conversation 👏 On the 24th, New_ Public Co-Director @eli.bsky.social will be @texastribune.org Festival to discuss the impact of “Democracy in the Age of AI” alongside fellow journalism and tech experts.
festival.texastribune.org
Texas Tribune Festival
The Texas Tribune Festival — three days of politics, policy, and ideas in the heart of Austin.
041
Reposted by New_ Public
Angelica Quicksey @angelquicksey.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The EIR program application deadline is TOMORROW. The details as a reminder👇🏽 Applications due 11:59pm PT on Wed, Sep 9. This is a pilot program! We're selecting two entrepreneurs who want time, space, and mentorship to move from hunch to conviction over three (3) months.
171
Reposted by New_ Public
Roundabout @roundabout.town · 08/09/2026
Imagine if an app was all about getting you to put down your phone and get involved in your community✨ Chicagoans, join us alongside @wbez.org and the @chicago.suntimes.com at chicago.com! Here’s Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell in @niemanlab.org 👀:
This is a digital platform designed to ultimately bring people together at local in-person events. “Our top priority is that people can find what they need and then take that info out into their community,” Bell said. She noted that corporate-owned social media platforms “are typically trying to keep [users] on there as long as possible, in order to show them as many ads as possible. We do not have that incentive for chicago.com.”
072
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 08/09/2026
Less than 36 hours left to submit your application!!📝
166
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 08/09/2026
yes, what Blaine said. Also, there's a lot more context here: newpublic.substack.com/p/what-if-yo...
newpublic.substack.com
📅💡🧪 What if you had three months to test your best idea?
New_ Public is launching a virtual residency for prosocial builders
010
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 04/09/2026
More from Ioana Adriana Teleanu on creative technologists here:
uxdesign.cc
Creative Technologists are moving from the margins to the center
Once an obscure job title, creative technology is becoming a new way of working, and a core capability inside modern product teams. Soon…
040
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 04/09/2026
Where there is emerging technology, there are creative technologists playing in the space between art and tech 🌻💻🧑‍🎨 Turns out play and creativity have a long history in tech — thank you, Ioana Adriana Teleanu, for sharing this timeline on creative technologists!
2132
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 04/09/2026
⏰Get your Entrepreneur in Residence applications in by September 9th! This virtual residency is for anyone who has an impactful tech idea to improve social connection and/or local information environments — but needs the resources, community, and organizational support to make it real!
newpublic.org
Enterpreneur in Residence
A virtual residency for founders with bold ideas for the internet
0127
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 03/09/2026
Big Tech has been lying to us: they CAN make their platforms safer — and these rules can be applied globally. Meta Oversight Board member @nighatdad.bsky.social in @techpolicypress.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/meta-owes-th...
But whatever else the settlement settles, it ends one long argument about feasibility. Those of us who work on these harms outside the US have spent years being told that defaults like these would break the product, that the answer lay in parental supervision and digital literacy, that regulators misunderstood the engineering. Meta has now demonstrated that substantial changes to the product are possible. Which makes the limits of this agreement harder to ignore.
13611
Reposted by New_ Public
Daphne Keller @daphnek.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
But don’t worry, every platform that has to do age verification will do it in a really robust, privacy-protective way.
25729
Reposted by New_ Public
Rude1 Haunted Badness. ⁂ @rude1.blacksky.team · 02/09/2026
@blackskyweb.xyz is building an interconnected suite of products reshaping how people connect, participate, organize, and transact online. We’re looking for a Head of Design to lead and shape how our products and brands look, feel, and work. please circulate widely. blackskyweb.xyz/about/jobs/h...
blackskyweb.xyz
Head of Design
Product, brand, and visual identity About Blacksky Algorithms Blacksky Algorithms is building an interconnected suite of products reshaping how people connect, participate, organize, and transact onli...
5231193
Reposted by New_ Public
Roundabout @roundabout.town · 02/09/2026
For thriving online groups, finding the right community stewards is everything. These aren’t just moderators — they’re unicorns 🦄 Stewards need to be entrepreneurial, emotionally intelligent, and discerning. @clockwerks.bsky.social, leading Roundabout @newpublic.org, lays it out in @niemanlab.org:
 Brundrett sees community stewards as more than just moderators — almost like a “really great dinner party host,” he explained, whose role is more proactive than reactive. “It’s somebody who is thinking about, ‘hey, what do I want this to be?’ And they’re inviting people in, they’re setting the tone.”
143
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 02/09/2026
correction: not 12pm, but 12AM deadline!
000
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 01/09/2026
See also this broader view of the information landscape from @ethanz.bsky.social:
amacad.org
Civic Information Architecture
In the six years since the Our Common Purpose report was released, dramatic shifts to the information ecosystem have transformed the relationship between citizens and the media, providing serious chal...
150
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 01/09/2026
Friend of New_ Public Darryl Holliday argues for civic media stewardship, invoking both New_ Public’s work with Roundabout and suggesting a broader meaning: www.amacad.org/daedalus/civ...
In the digital context, as organizations like New_ Public define it, stewards are volunteers and community leaders working to make online spaces inclusive and public-spirited, setting guidelines, navigating conflict, and deepening social trust. In the civic media context, information stewards are the documenters at public meetings, the community correspondents gathering neighborhood news, the information organizers who help residents access what they need to participate in local decision-making.
161
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 01/09/2026
Our new virtual residency: 💸 Competitive stipend 🤝 Hands-on product and strategy support 📚 Access to 5 years of original research 🌐 A world-class network Application and FAQs at the link below. Deadline: Sept 9, 12pm PST newpublic.org/eir
newpublic.org
Enterpreneur in Residence
A virtual residency for founders with bold ideas for the internet
1195
Reposted by New_ Public
Luis Villa @lu.is · 31/08/2026
This from @newpublic.org does a good job synthesizing some very, very important observations about how we can continue to be human online post-LLM. It deserves a long thread, but I don't have time for that today so just go read it. newpublic.org/afterthefeed
newpublic.org
New_ Public | After the Feed
What happens after the social media feed? A presentation on the future of conversation, community, and social connection, and how AI will affect the everyday lives of billions.
062
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 31/08/2026
Take a deeper look at the research on how AI is shaping the information ecosystem, particularly slides 34-39, to see more of our JTBD analysis: docs.google.com/presentation...
docs.google.com
After the Feed: Trust, connection, and the next era of social technology | New_ Public | May 2026
After the Feed: Trust, connection, and the next era of social technology By Eli Pariser, Co-Director, Angelica Quicksey, Managing Director, Arnobio Morelix, AI Fellow May 2026 Newpublic.org
010
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 31/08/2026
Dead internet theory, the idea that AI will completely replace human internet content and activity, is wrong, or at least incomplete. 👇 Our analysis of why people use social media shows that humans aren’t immediately replaceable, especially in connection, belonging, and storytelling work.
Light blue background with teal "Connection Survives" label. Left side states "The human 'advantage' lies in the areas of connection, belonging, and creative expression." Right side shows chart with gradient bar from "HUMAN ADVANTAGE" to "AI ADVANTAGE." Six categories listed: Connecting & Belonging (26 jobs, LOW AI replacement), Expressing & Creating (17 jobs, LOW), Coordinating (19 jobs, MEDIUM), Influencing & Earning (24 jobs, MEDIUM), Enjoying & Escaping (22 jobs, HIGH), Learning & Deciding (26 jobs, HIGHEST). Each category includes example tasks.
2173
Reposted by New_ Public
Roundabout @roundabout.town · 28/08/2026
For 50 years, we’ve had public media as a non-commercial alternative to what Newton Minow called the “vast wasteland” of for-profit media. Look at social media: slop, lies, fighting. The internet is also a vast wasteland. Once again, we need public media. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHSj...
youtube.com
Newton Minow, who saw television's "vast wasteland"
YouTube video by CBS Sunday Morning
294
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 27/08/2026
thanks for this thoughtful thread! glad this is useful / interesting
020
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 27/08/2026
Thanks Spencer, that means a lot — glad you found it useful / interesting!
000
New_ Public @newpublic.org · 27/08/2026
Do you want three months to bring an idea to life? Managing Director at New_ Public, @angelquicksey.bsky.social, on the ideal candidate for our new Entrepreneur in Residence pilot. Deadline: Sept 9, 11:59pm PST newpublic.org/eir
0102