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Ruth Murai

@ruthmurai.bsky.social
5.4K followers 101 following 11 posts

research editor @motherjones.com + @revealnews.org she/her

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Ruth Murai @ruthmurai.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Was a pleasure to talk to Emily St. John Mandel about her new book, Exit Party, out today. We chatted about clairvoyance, and whether "no country lasts forever" is an ultimately terrifying or hopeful statement in this moment.
motherjones.com
Emily St. John Mandel still has hope
The "Station Eleven" author has a new book out imagining the collapse of the United States.
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Center for Victims of Torture @cvt.org · 11/09/2026
“The system has expanded to new uses, new targets, new opportunities to vilify, to punish, to create division,” said CVT's Yumna Rizvi to @hurwitz.bsky.social at @motherjones.com on how natl security strategies took on new meanings and new uses after 9/11. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
The religion of national security
After 9/11 national security meant everything. Today it means nothing at all.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 22/04/2026
If you haven't read @ruthmurai.bsky.social's Earth Day post, you should 👇🦅
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 21/04/2026
Applications are still open for our Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program! If you're an early-career journalist looking for a launch pad for your journalistic career, apply today! Wednesday at 04:00 PM EST, we're hosting a Q&A to answer any and all questions about the program. Register here 👇️ :
motherjones.zoom.us
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 22/04/2026
It’s Earth Day, so seriously, check out these bald eagles.
motherjones.com
Justin Bieber’s Coachella Livestream Was Fine But Have You Seen These Birds
It's Earth Day, so seriously, check out these bald eagles.
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Ruth Murai @ruthmurai.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Happy Earth Day!! Spend it like I will—totally entranced by these birds.
motherjones.com
Justin Bieber’s Coachella Livestream Was Fine But Have You Seen These Birds
It's Earth Day, so seriously, check out these bald eagles.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 17/04/2026
Interested in applying to our Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program, but don't know where to start? Join us at our Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Q&A, where we can answer your questions directly about the program and application. DATE: Apr 22, 2026 04:00 PM EST Register at the link below:
motherjones.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Q&A. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Join us for a presentation on our editorial fellowship and a Q&A session where we can answer your questions about the program and application. The 2026–2027 fellowship cycle will begin in August 2026,...
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 08/04/2026
America can’t let go of George Washington’s slave-holding history
motherjones.com
America can’t let go of George Washington’s slave-holding history
In his new book, John Garrison Marks explores the nation’s relationship to Washington’s legacy.
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Ruth Murai @ruthmurai.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
We're hiring Editorial Fellows in DC + SF! Applications due April 26.
motherjones.com
The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 21/02/2026
"When you try to introduce this idea that we need to reckon with the history of slavery to understand Washington, there are a lot of people who view that as kind of a personal attack.”
motherjones.com
Trump wants you to forget that George Washington owned slaves
But Philadelphians are standing up for history
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Ruth Murai @ruthmurai.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
The Trump Administration might fight to change the signs at the President's House commemorating slavery, but they can't change what happened at this place, or who it happened to.
motherjones.com
Trump wants you to forget that George Washington owned slaves
But Philadelphians are standing up for history
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Ruth Murai @ruthmurai.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
"I think to heal politically, we really just need to pause and understand that the truth is helpful, even if it might hurt. In the end, it’s going to help to know it." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Alabama's poet laureate reckons with personal and political grief
In her new book, Ashley M. Jones builds a monument for her late father, Alabama, and Black people in America.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 24/09/2025
"I hope people understand that the grieving process is lonely, but that nobody is alone in it." In her new book, Ashley M. Jones, Alabama's poet laureate, builds a monument for the state, her late father, and Black people in America.
motherjones.com
Alabama's poet laureate reckons with personal and political grief
In her new book, Ashley M. Jones builds a monument for her late father, Alabama, and Black people in America.
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Siri Chilukuri @siric.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
New from me: A rightwing influencer did ride along with Ice as they detained four people on Sunday in Chicago www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Rightwing influencer accompanied Ice agents during raids in Chicago
Ben Bergquam was with Ice agents during a raid on Sunday and yelled at protesters that they were ‘the enemy within’
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 24/07/2025
How we've failed the promise of making “genocide” a crime
motherjones.com
How we've failed the promise of making “genocide” a crime
The lawyer Raphael Lemkin hoped to use international law to curb abuses of power. But his efforts were curtailed from the start.
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Noah Lanard @nlanard.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
A sister as well as a friend of Neri Alvarado Borges confirm that he is now back in Venezuela. Neri's wrongful imprisonment attracted international attention. He is the 25-year-old with an autism awareness ribbon tattooed on his leg. This is him leaving the plane.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
CONFIRMED: Arturo Suárez, the musician imprisoned by the Trump admin without due process in El Salvador for 4 months is FREE. A video shows him telling his brother that while they were imprisoned, they were beaten daily by guards. Remember: this is the first ever mass release from CECOT.
Mother Jones
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A relative shared a video from Venezuelan broadcaster teleSUR featuring his brother, Arturo Suárez, on the plane after it landed near Caracas.
"We spent four months
without any contact with the outside world;
"
Suárez said. "We were kidnapped." He went on to say: "We got a beating for breakfast. We got a beating for lunch. We got a beating for dinner.'
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Isabela Dias @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
"The bitterness is still there. The anger about what happened to him is still there.” After four months, more than 200 men sent to El Salvador have been released from CECOT and returned to Venezuela. @nlanard.bsky.social and I spoke with family members and friends waiting to be reunited with them.
motherjones.com
"We were kidnapped"
On Friday, more than 200 Venezuelans disappeared to a megaprison in El Salvador returned home. The horror stories are already emerging.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 19/07/2025
NEW: We spoke with the families of some of the men returned to Venezuela tonight after Trump disappeared to El Salvador in March. Horror stories are already emerging. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
"We were kidnapped"
On Friday, more than 200 Venezuelans disappeared to a megaprison in El Salvador returned home. The horror stories are already emerging.
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Isabela Dias @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Earlier today, the mother of Julio Zambrano, one of the Venezuelans sent to CECOT, was told to go to Caracas for some "good news." She's at the airport in anticipation of her son's arrival after four long months. @nlanard.bsky.social and I are in touch with other families as they wait for more news.
motherjones.com
Her husband is trapped in a Salvadoran prison. She has no idea how to get him back.
Ripped apart by Trump, one Venezuelan family endures another hell: silence.
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Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
To mark the 3-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, I published a guide on all the ways doctors, nonprofits, pilots, and ordinary people are helping people from banned states access reproductive healthcare. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Funder, pilot, survivor, physician: Inside the network assisting abortion journeys
And some women who took them.
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Sarah Szilagy 🌱 @sarahszilagy.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
“What’s the big deal about allowing them to opt out?” Justice Sam Alito asked yesterday about a district not allowing parents to opt their children out of LGBTQ storybooks. The big deal, educators warn, is that today, it’s LGBTQ books. Tomorrow, it’s evolution. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
The parental Rights movement has a big day at the Supreme Court
Conservative justices seem poised to declare that kids' exposure to LGBTQ books can violate a parent's religious expression.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 15/04/2025
Want to apply to our Ben Bagdikian Fellowship program but not sure where to start? Join us on April 17, 1:00 p.m. EST for a virtual Q&A where our editors will talk about what the role looks like, how it can help you grow, and answer any questions you have.
motherjones.com
The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program
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Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
For those interested in the @motherjones.com fellowship, there's a webinar on Thursday to learn more. motherjones.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
motherjones.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Editorial Fellowship Q&A. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Join us for an information session on our Editorial Fellowship. We'll talk about what the role looks like, how it can help you grow, and answer any questions you have. For more information, or to fi...
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Jackie Flynn Mogensen @jackiefmogensen.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
I’m proud to say Mother Jones is reinforcing its fact-checking operations! As part of that, my colleagues are looking for smart and curious early-career journalists to join the newsroom for a yearlong crash course in fact-checking investigative journalism: www.motherjones.com/careers/fell...
motherjones.com
The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program
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Ruth Murai @ruthmurai.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Nothing @sophiemurguia.bsky.social and I like more than talking about the Editorial Fellowship program at Mother Jones/CIR, so we'll be hosting an information session on Thursday at 10AM PT to answer your questions!
motherjones.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Editorial Fellowship Q&A. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Join us for an information session on our Editorial Fellowship. We'll talk about what the role looks like, how it can help you grow, and answer any questions you have. For more information, or to fi...
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Center for Investigative Reporting Union @cir-union.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
A BBC study of AI tools found that "51% of all AI answers to questions about the news were judged to have significant issues of some form" and "13% of the quotes sourced from BBC articles were either altered or didn’t actually exist in that article" www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/...
Screenshotted excerpt from BBC AI study, which reads:

"The answers produced by the AI assistants contained significant inaccuracies and distorted
content from the BBC. In particular:
• 51% of all AI answers to questions about the news were judged to have significant issues of some form.
• 19% of AI answers which cited BBC content introduced factual errors – incorrect factual statements, numbers and dates.
• 13% of the quotes sourced from BBC articles were either altered from the original source or not present in the article cited."
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 07/04/2025
Do some journalism with us! 📰 🧑‍💻📝
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Tim Murphy @timothypmurphy.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Hello, CIR is hiring our next Editorial Fellowship class—we're looking for smart and curious early-career journalists to join us for a yearlong crash course in fact-checking investigative journalism. I did it, it's a great program. And now a union gig w/ benefits motherjones.com/careers/fellowships/
motherjones.com
The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program
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Ruth Murai @ruthmurai.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Fellowship applications are OPEN!! Come work with me on our incredible fact-checking ressearch team 😎 motherjones.com/careers/fellowships/
motherjones.com
The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program
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Sarah Szilagy 🌱 @sarahszilagy.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
I’ve had an incredible experience as a fellow at Mother Jones. It’s a real opportunity to work with some first-class reporters and editors in such a welcoming, supportive environment. I can’t recommend it enough. Happy to answer any q’s in my DMs :))
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 02/03/2025
Research shows Latino-led films sell more tickets. Then why are there so few? @melvisacosta.bsky.social dives into some fascinating numbers about Hollywood ahead of their big night.
youtube.com
Research shows Latino-led films sell more tickets. Then why are there so few? #oscars #latino #film
YouTube video by Mother Jones
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alex nguyen @alexjn.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
For @motherjones.com, I wrote about how Musk and Trump's DOGE is just a Big Tech version of the tired GOP goal of attacking poor folks by blaming an "entitlement" culture. But it wasn't always this way—during the New Deal, Americans earned these "entitlements." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Entitlements originally had a different meaning. When Franklin D. Roosevelt adopted Social Security in 1935, the program was pitched as “social insurance,” one that Americans “earned” and were “entitled” to. But Republicans have flipped that meaning by associating these programs with notions of dependence: lazy people asking for handouts—an “entitled” culture.
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alex nguyen @alexjn.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
For @motherjones.com: Today, the Trump administration put federal DEI workers on leave, asserting that DEI is “discrimination” threatening “American values of hard work.” This argument over merit is everywhere on the right—from DEI to welfare. But the question they need to answer is: Merit for whom?
motherjones.com
Trump shuts down diversity programs across government
The president is demanding that federal workers inform on colleagues who violate his decree.
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Melvis Acosta @melvisacosta.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
For @motherjones.com Latino-led films sell more tickets and win more awards. Why are there so few? www.motherjones.com/media/2025/0...
motherjones.com
More money, better stories: Why Hollywood needs more Latinos
Research shows that Latino-led films sell more tickets. Why are there so few?
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Thrilled to hear that President Biden's record-breaking commutations today included Celeste Blair, who has a truly incredible story, and who I profiled a couple of years ago: www.motherjones.com/criminal-jus...
motherjones.com
The incarcerated woman who wishes MeToo had arrived earlier
Celeste Blair landed in prison after a series of abusive relationships. She hopes the movement saves younger women from a similar fate.
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Melvis Acosta @melvisacosta.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
For @motherjones.com Advocates want the president to grant clemency for non-violent drug crimes in his last four days in office. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Biden has only days left to free drug war victims
Advocates are counting.
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Isabela Dias @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Ahead of Russ Vought's confirmation hearing to lead the Office of Management and Budget (again), here's a profile I wrote of him last year:
motherjones.com
The bureaucrat who could make Trump's authoritarian dreams real
Russ Vought has a plan to take presidential power to new heights.
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Sophie Hurwitz @hurwitz.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
NEW: I followed Aysenur Eygi’s family for 3 days in DC, going from government office to office, looking for accountability for Aysenur’s killing by an IDF soldier. This is a long one, but I hope you spend some time with it: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
The IDF killed an American peace activist. Her husband is still looking for answers.
101 days after Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi’s death in the West Bank, her family finally met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. But it was just another official "saying things that I’ve already heard before...
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Center for Investigative Reporting Union @cir-union.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Our colleague @aurabogado.bsky.social is being laid off from @motherjones.com and @revealnews.org -- right before Christmas. We're fighting to protect her rights. If you're able, please consider helping her out by donating to her here www.gofundme.com/f/community-...
gofundme.com
Donate to Community Support for Aura Bogado, organized by Jonathan Jones
Hi, my name is Jonathan Jones, and I’m a work colleague of Aura Bogado. Aura is an aw… Jonathan Jones needs your support for Community Support for Aura Bogado
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Ruth Murai @ruthmurai.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
This Christmas, like every Christmas, I recommend gifting your loved ones a ridiculous number of cookies. And I also recommend eating many of them yourself. www.motherjones.com/food/2022/12...
motherjones.com
A Jewish girl's guide to Christmas cookie boxes
Crafting the right mix requires strategy. Here are some tips.
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