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renee betterson

@renee-betterson.bsky.social
719 followers 1.2K following 158 posts

sometimes i help smart people break news @ evergreen strategy group. opinions are my own unless they’re cringe

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Reposted by renee betterson
Violet Blue® @violetblue.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
"More than 60 companies, including major tech companies like Google, Amazon and Apple as well as health care giants like UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health, have agreed to share patient data in the system." It will use AI and "monitor wellness": apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
Trump administration is launching a new private health tracking system with Big Tech's help
The Trump administration is pushing for Americans to upload personal health data to new apps run by private tech companies.
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Nina Jankowicz @ninajankowicz.com · 22/05/2025
To me this seems like an attempt evade accountability; it’s much harder to find a quote of the crazy thing the President said when you need to search through a 90 minute madcap press availability rather than just hit ctrl+f
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renee betterson @renee-betterson.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
experiment recreated by wapo’s @geoffreyfowler.bsky.social : www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
washingtonpost.com
Column | Gen Z users and a dad tested Instagram Teen Accounts. Their feeds were shocking.
Meta promised parents it would shield teens from harmful content. Tests by young users and our tech columnist dad find it fails spectacularly in important ways.
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whet moser @whetmoser.com · 07/05/2025
one of the world’s biggest and most powerful tech companies doing a reverse black mirror propaganda arm is very black mirror
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
New: Reddit is pursuing legal action against the researchers who secretly ran a massive AI persuasion experiment on its users: www.404media.co/reddit-issui...
404media.co
Reddit Issuing 'Formal Legal Demands' Against Researchers Who Conducted Secret AI Experiment on Users
Reddit called it an "improper and highly unethical experiment" and said it did not know it was happening.
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L @banalplay.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
it's cool that the rest of the world hates trump so much that he can tip elections against the conservative factions there. great for them. everyone enjoy your center-right liberal dream. we'll be your portrait in the attic
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Leah Feiger @leahfeiger.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
NEW: An unsigned interagency agreement calls for the Dept of Labor to reimburse the US DOGE Service up to **$1.3 million** for work done by four DOGE affiliates over 18 months. Musk has previously stated that DOGE staffers would cost taxpayers nothing. from me and @timmarchman.bsky.social:
wired.com
US DOGE Service Agreement With Department of Labor Shows $1.3 Million Fee—and Details Its Mission
The unsigned agreement between the US DOGE Service and the Department of Labor provides significant insight into DOGE's work with federal agencies.
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Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 08/04/2025
The committee's GOP majority voted down the amendments along party lines, and the committee ultimate voted to advance the TAKE IT DOWN act out of committee with the same language as the version that already passed the Senate. It's now one step from passage, and Trump has pledged to sign it into law.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 01/04/2025
In addition to dropped lawsuits, dozens of ongoing investigations into alleged corporate malfeasance are now frozen at CFPB, potentially denying accountability and financial relief for untold numbers of consumers, ProPublica found.
propub.li
Fend for Yourself: Under Trump, Consumer Protection Bureau’s Probes of Big Tech and Finance Firms Freeze Up
Companies may avoid consequences for alleged wrongdoing as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau drops lawsuits against Capital One and Rocket Homes and pauses investigations into Meta and others…
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Patrick Daugherty @rotopat.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Potentially sick own followed by unnecessary, unsuccessful heat check followed by "oh crap" legal liability follow-up
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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 20/03/2025
When you're gloating about dismantling the Department of Education you should probably not spell the name wrong
Meme of Trump posing with "Departmen of Education" tombstone
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renee betterson @renee-betterson.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
obviously downloading this app to help me stay off apps
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renee betterson @renee-betterson.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
reading the latest on tesla sales and am reminded once again of this evergreen piece by @telliotter.bsky.social wired.com/story/viral-...
wired.com
You Too Can Hire an ‘Etsy Witch’ to Curse Elon Musk
Riley Wenckus used TikTok to tell Elon Musk she paid “an Etsy witch” $7.99 to make his life “a living hell.” A new market has opened up for others looking to follow her lead.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
“I feel like I lost some humanity today when I exposed myself to seeing so many of those types of videos, Gore, deaths and what broke me the most was animal cruelty." www.404media.co/instagram-er...
404media.co
Instagram 'Error' Turned Reels Into Neverending Scroll of Murder, Gore, and Violence
“Today’s algorithm showed me around 70 murders, 100+ accidents, and around 115 violence videos, is anyone on Instagram noticing it?”
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Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
On MSNBC, @maddow.msnbc.com talks about her network’s recent programming decisions, including the cancellation of @joyannreid.bsky.social show, and shares her concerns and deep frustration over how all of it is being handled. Clip is too long to post here..linked below.
bit.ly
Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yasharali) on Threads
On MSNBC, @maddowmaddow talks about her network’s recent programming decisions, including the cancellation of @joyannreid’s show, and shares her concerns and deep frustration over how all of it is bei...
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Craig Silverman @craigsilverman.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
New from me: Meta decided to stop working with U.S. fact-checkers at the same time as it’s revamping a program to pay bonuses to creators with high engagement numbers, potentially pouring accelerant on the kind of false posts the company once policed: www.propublica.org/article/face...
propublica.org
As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It’s Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content
Meta decided to stop working with U.S. fact-checkers at the same time as it’s revamping a program to pay bonuses to creators with high engagement numbers, potentially pouring accelerant on the kind of...
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 19/02/2025
“…TikTok displayed the greatest right-wing skew, per its [Global Witness’] findings -- showing right-leaning content 74% of the time. Although, X was not far behind -- on 72%.”
finance.yahoo.com
Study of TikTok, X 'For You' feeds in Germany finds Far Right political bias ahead of federal elections
Recommendation algorithms operated by social media giants TikTok and X have shown evidence of substantial Far Right political bias in Germany ahead of a federal election that takes place Sunday, accor...
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
The NAACP is re-mixing 1930s-era "don't buy where you can't work" campaigns to confront the neo-segregationists targeting DEI. apnews.com/article/blac...
apnews.com
NAACP lists companies that dump DEI in its tactical spending guide for Black Americans
The NAACP wants Black Americans to steer their buying power toward corporations that haven’t pulled back from diversity programs under conservative pressure.
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Cristiano Lima-Strong @viacristiano.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Personal news: I’m joining Tech Policy Press as an associate editor next month! Excited to join this growing nonprofit media organization and help expand its news reporting and analysis at such a critical time for the beat.
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HuffPost @huffpost.com · 11/02/2025
"It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism," Julie Pace, the executive editor of the AP, said in a statement.
huffpost.com
Associated Press Shut Out of Oval Office For Refusing To Call It Gulf of America
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Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
The big takeaway here is that Reuters won this case against the AI company on grounds they violated fair use—the judge found the AI company was guilty because, in using copyrighted works to generate its output, it “meant to compete... by developing a market substitute.” Huge.
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Natasha Bertrand @natashabertrand.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Associated Press: “Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office.“
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
BREAKING: Federal workers filed a new lawsuit against Elon Musk, DOGE, and OPM, alleging DOGE's data access is an illegal privacy violation: www.wired.com/story/govern...
wired.com
Federal Workers Launch New Lawsuit to Fight DOGE’s Data Access
The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed the complaint on behalf of US federal workers, arguing that DOGE’s data access is illegal and should be cut off.
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Ellen L. Weintraub @ellenlweintraub.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner and Chair of the FEC. There's a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn't it. I've been so fortunate to serve the American people and stir up some good trouble along the way. That's not changing anytime soon.
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dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
troublemakers
The Wrap: Wired Establishes Itself as the Digital Thorn in Elon Musk’s Side. The tech site kick-started a week of media and political arguments by breaking the news of Musk’s young team of DOGE engineers
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dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
NEW: An internal email obtained by WIRED from a threat intelligence team monitoring US Treasury systems advised labeling DOGE operatives an "insider threat," adding that it recommended suspending their access "immediately." | www.wired.com/story/treasu...
Vittoria Elliott Leah Feiger
Feb 7, 2025 2:47 PM
A US Treasury Threat Intelligence Analysis Designates DOGE Staff as ‘Insider Threat’
An internal email reviewed by WIRED calls DOGE staff's access to federal payments systems “the single biggest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
New — The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) was told this week by DOJ that they'd lose their funding if the org didn't remove any mentions of LGBTQIA+ issues from their public materials, I've learned. Staff were told they need to deadname trans kids in their reports to comply.
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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Free gift link: wapo.st/4144prC
wapo.st
Opinion | The assault on DEI? It’s aimed at resegregation.
The GOP leaders attacking inclusion programs want to go back to an era when White men ran everything
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renee betterson @renee-betterson.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
@accountabletech.bsky.social’s @nicolegill.bsky.social: “NetChoice’s continued assault on tech safety makes it abundantly clear that tech companies would sooner pour millions into legal fees than protect young people from the dangers of their profit-driven algorithms.”
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Mekka Okereke @mekka.mekka-tech.com · 02/02/2025
Every election, people try to take away Black people's right to vote. Every. Single. Election. This is not new for us. What's new is that now they might try to do to white people what they always do to Black people. Now it will be called a "constitutional crisis" instead of "GOP campaign strategy"
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
here’s a thing!
apnews.com
The power of independent journalism: From her Brooklyn apartment, she 'scooped' the nation's media
Independent journalists live outside the mainstream and their numbers are growing. They have just had a big moment: a woman working from her kitchen in Brooklyn broke a big story about the Trump admin...
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Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
NEW: WIRED has identified six young men, all between the ages of 19-24, who have negligible experience but are now playing critical roles in Elon Musk's takeover of the U.S. government. From @telliotter.bsky.social @zoeschiffer.bsky.social @timmarchman.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
wired.com
The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover
Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk’s companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.
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Wiley Nickel @wileynickel.com · 02/02/2025
A great congressional Democrats starter pack for those looking for good follows. go.bsky.app/RNKWpRw
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Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
I’m sad to learn that my law school classmate, Kiah Duggins, died in the DC plane crash last night. Kiah was an exceptionally talented civil rights lawyer and aspiring legal scholar. I hope you’ll read about her work and the causes she cared about, some of which I’ll 🧵 below. What an immense loss
A professional headshot of a woman in a navy suit with long black hair.
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The Verge @theverge.com · 30/01/2025
The FCC is investigating NPR and PBS
buff.ly
The FCC is investigating NPR and PBS
Carr said the investigations could lead to defunding NPR and PBS.
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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 29/01/2025
The Brennan Center will continue to do what we do best: defend the Constitution and the rule of law. We will not stop until we have a free, fair, and just democracy — for all.
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Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
I tend to have pretty good timing. For example, I started getting therapy like four weeks ago.
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Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Was literally talking to the union representing federal air traffic controllers earlier today about how there’s already a major shortage of air traffic controllers and the resignation offers they all just got from OPM could seriously endanger public safety.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Yes, this administration is dangerous and cruel, but they are also shockingly dim and incompetent. Opportunities are everywhere. Make everything as hard as possible. Resist every demand. Refuse entry without a warrant. Don’t take the buyout. Their problem solving skills are 📉
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renee betterson @renee-betterson.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
this is the hard hitting research i come to bluesky for
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
If you are a podcaster, influencer, or other content creator who is applying for White House press credentials, I'd love to hear from you. My Signal is makenakelly.32, but there's plenty of other ways to contact me at the link in my bio.
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renee betterson @renee-betterson.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
some of the best reporting i've seen so far www.wsj.com/tech/ai/chin...
wsj.com
How China’s DeepSeek Outsmarted America
The AI startup developed a top system by relying on inexperienced engineers and a loophole in U.S. export controls.
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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 27/01/2025
DeepSeek this DeepSeek that why don't you DeepSeek some therapy
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Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Anyone who's ever worked in coffee knows you don't want to see a coffee drinker insurrection
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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 27/01/2025
One important note: this is not about deepseek making a "better" model. They have created a much much cheaper to run model that performs about as well as OpenAI's o1 model. OpenAI may have to drop pricing to compete on a more expensive to run model. Race to the bottom baby!
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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 27/01/2025
Also: because deepseek's r1 model is open source it is also open with how its chain of thought reasoning works, something that OpenAI has been avoiding so people can't copy their process and thus their model. Sadly that didn't need to happen! Uh oh!
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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 27/01/2025
The AI bubble was inflated based on the idea that we need bigger models that both are trained and run on bigger and even larger GPUs. A company came along that has undermined the narrative - ways both substantive and questionable - and now the market panicked that $200bn got wasted on AI capex
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Eric Champnella @echamp.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
This week's Internet winner goes to...
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Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Never feel bad about reposting your stuff on here because for the first year of this website we had an entirety of 20 daily posts that we all had to share and reheat like a communal soup
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