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Sophie Black

@sophieblackwords.bsky.social
2.9K followers 1.3K following 251 posts

Associate editor, features @ The Guardian. Formerly a superb fairy wren.

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Reposted by Sophie Black
Asher Wolf @asherwolf.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Ok. The Pam The Bird graffitti artist is on top of the Bolte Bridge and refusing to come down. Expect traffic delays www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
theage.com.au
Bolte Bridge traffic delays as police stand off with Pam the Bird vandal
An intruder has refused to come down from the massive structure after spray-painting the infamous tag, triggering a lane closure and morning peak delays.
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Yesterday marked my last day at @crikey.com.au as editor in chief. As a colleague, I've loved working alongside such a talented gang of people who are up for anything. As a reader I can't wait to read what they come up with next. I'm joining The Guardian in a few weeks, but for now, I'm unplugging 🔌
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Crikey @crikey.com.au · 10/06/2026
Opinion | One Nation is excelling at the divisive politics that the Liberals and Nationals spent a generation fostering, writes Rachel Withers. www.crikey.com.au/2026/06/10/c...
crikey.com.au
The Coalition only has itself to blame
From sexist billboards to cries of 'communism', the Liberals and Nationals normalised the kind of politics One Nation excels at.
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Adam Rose @adamrose.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
A day after The Late Show ended, Colbert hosted an episode of public access program Only In Monroe, reviving his 11-year-old gag. How bad is CBS/Paramount taking it? They issued copyright complaints for a show they don't own. 🤣 CBS would hate it if you watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DlF...
Matthew Keys
@MatthewKeysLive
Paramount is apparently trying to suppress copies of "Only in Monroe" from appearing on other social platforms by filing frivolous copyright notices, even though the show was produced by a public access TV channel and doesn't use their intellectual property...
https://x.com/MatthewKeysLive/status/2058567331992023172
Michelle Kinney
@MichelleKinney
Happened to us at The Mayday Network as well — this is insanity.
https://x.com/MichelleKinney/status/2058596263004721436
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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
I die for him
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The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
How One Nation bypassed media and conquered Facebook in its political rise www.crikey.com.au/2026/05/18/o... Thought so. Opponents have no chance of pushing back on an invisible campaign.
crikey.com.au
How One Nation bypassed media and conquered Facebook in its political rise
As an editor based in Griffith, I’m familiar with the rituals of modern campaigning: press releases, media calls and candidates eager for coverage. One Nation’s Farrer strategy broke that pattern enti...
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Crikey @crikey.com.au · 19/05/2026
Exclusive | A long-serving BoM executive is leaving after almost a decade-long tenure — one marked by the widely panned rollout of its new $96 million website. @squigglyrick.bsky.social reports. www.crikey.com.au/2026/05/19/b...
crikey.com.au
Top BoM executive exits six months after $96m website bungle
Peter Stone, linked to the Bureau's Coalition-era CEO, is leaving after a rocky, decade-long tenure that includes the shambolic rollout of BoM's new website and lying to court.
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Crikey @crikey.com.au · 12/05/2026
The Albanese government’s tax reforms are some of the most politically risky changes we’ve seen in a long time. Here's how many Australians will stand to benefit from them. Read Jason Murphy's analysis here: www.crikey.com.au/2026/05/12/b...
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 12/05/2026
The Albanese government is trying to fend off Trump, Netanyahu and its new threat: Pauline Hanson. www.crikey.com.au/2026/05/12/f...
crikey.com.au
This budget, Labor grapples with the politics of pain in a world gone populist
The Albanese government is trying to fend off Trump, Netanyahu and its new threat: Pauline Hanson.
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 12/05/2026
It’s an interesting decision, to say the least.
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
It's one of the better days when you get to read @rachelwithers.bsky.social on Tim Wilson
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 12/05/2026
It’s a gallery-worthy shot… but the caption sucks. www.crikey.com.au/2026/05/12/c...
crikey.com.au
Caption this: Jim Chalmers on budget eve
Working late with a can of Red Bull? Politicians, they're just like us!
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Crikey @crikey.com.au · 11/05/2026
Opinion | Angus Taylor owns the Farrer disaster. The Liberals’ only chance is Andrew Hastie — but the far right hate him, writes Bernard Keane. Read it here: www.crikey.com.au/2026/05/11/l...
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Reposted by Sophie Black
CAMERON WILSON @cameronwilson.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
how's this for an unintended consequence: some research suggests that teens perceive peers who comply with Australia's teen social media ban as less popular. i.e. banning social media for teens made it cool again
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 24/04/2026
Opinion | "Assimilation, at its most desperate, often looks like volunteering to guard the gate that once kept you out," writes Sami Shah. www.crikey.com.au/2026/04/24/a...
crikey.com.au
The migrant dream: arrive, succeed, then explain why everyone arriving after you is a threat to civilisation
There are few images that capture Australian conservatism more perfectly: an immigrant trying to join an anti-immigrant movement, only to be reminded that the movement doesn't have a VIP entrance for…
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Crikey @crikey.com.au · 24/04/2026
Opinion | "Even without tempering military spending, there are plenty of clear, viable solutions to the government’s cash flow problem," writes Grace Tame. www.crikey.com.au/2026/04/24/n...
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Charlie Lewis @theshufflediary.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Fantastic to have @antonnilssonn.bsky.social in Farrar www.crikey.com.au/2026/04/21/f...
crikey.com.au
In the seat of Farrer, candidates are united by their concern for water, and disdain for Labor
Crikey went along to a by-election Q&A at the Exies Sports Club in Griffith alongside 100 voters, and a crowded table of candidates.
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Crikey @crikey.com.au · 15/04/2026
While MAGA is at heart a republican movement, by declaring himself Jesus, Trump is embracing an imperial tradition. Can the two co-exist? www.crikey.com.au/2026/04/15/t...
crikey.com.au
A god in Mar-a-Lago: Trump's transition from prince to deity is more important than it looks
Trump portraying himself as Jesus is a Caligula-like moment — and points to the important role of Roman political thought in understanding where the US is right now.
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Dr Emma Salisbury @salisbot.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
If you're wondering how the blockade is landing, this has been making its way around the naval nerds today
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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
what a cluster, in other words
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Local councils in NSW are sounding the alarm over the rapid expansion of data centres across Sydney. Excellent scoop by @cameronwilson.bsky.social @antonnilssonn.bsky.social
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Lyon and Fox Sports have issued full apologies after Lyon was caught referring to Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek as minister for "bullshit". Cochon has the juiciest of tips today, treat yourself.
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Nick Feik @nickfeik.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Spare a thought for Albanese’s speech writer right now
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 31/03/2026
The ABC's protracted pay dispute with staff is set to end with a new pay offer expected to be accepted by staff. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/31/a...
crikey.com.au
ABC makes new offer to staff following strike, deal expected
The ABC has made a new pay offer to staff, which is expected to bring an end to one of the most protracted media industrial disputes in recent memory.
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
It’s now undeniable. The kids have not left social media. @cameronwilson.bsky.social has the inside story of how the gov is under pressure from all sides as it fights to keep the teen social media ban from going off the rails.
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 30/03/2026
While acknowledging that households will appreciate the move in the short-term, the nation's economists have warned the government's fuel excise cut will raise inflation. Meanwhile, Albanese has called on Trump to explain what he wants out of the war in Iran. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/31/f...
crikey.com.au
'It's comes with a sting in the tail': Economists slam government's fuel excise cut
While acknowledging that households will appreciate the move in the short-term, the nation's economists have warned the government's fuel excise cut will raise inflation. Meanwhile, Albanese has…
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Our economics correspondent Jason Murphy on rising fuel prices, impending grocery pain and inflation rocketing… “We’re battle hardened at this point…”
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Crikey @crikey.com.au · 25/03/2026
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is expected to visit Australia next week, as the AI company looks to expand its global footprint amid bitter fight with the Trump administration. @cameronwilson.bsky.social reports. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/25/a...
crikey.com.au
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei expected to visit Australia next week
The visit to Australia is unusual for one of the world's major tech companies' CEOs, and comes as Anthropic is sparring with the Trump Administration.
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 25/03/2026
Content creators were originally asked to submit a “content pitch” when applying for access to the 2026 federal budget lock up, but after pushback the government has changed its requirements. @crystaljane.bsky.social reports. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/25/c...
crikey.com.au
'Do the Murdoch media have to submit pitches?': Gov criticised for budget lock-up creator call-out
In an email seen by Crikey, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher invite content creators to register for the 2026 budget lock-up with a 'short content proposal'.
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gina rushton @ginarush.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
"If Labor merely manages, does it win the short-term while sacrificing the long term, steering the country through one crisis while steering it into another?" www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
smh.com.au
Only one party can defang One Nation, and it’s not the Libs
The political circumstances for the government are treacherous right now. But that’s why opportunity knocks so loudly for Anthony Albanese.
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Charlie Lewis @theshufflediary.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTJT... I never fail to be staggered by every part of this saga, and there is no better guide through it than @squigglyrick.bsky.social . Great interview by @crystaljane.bsky.social
youtube.com
Rick Morton unpacks the NACC robodebt report
YouTube video by Crikey News
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
funniest thumbnail art
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 16/03/2026
Child exploitation material is easier to find on X than any other mainstream platform, according to eSafety’s investigations. @cameronwilson.bsky.social reports.
crikey.com.au
Elon Musk's X is the worst major social media platform for child sexual abuse material: eSafety
Three years after Musk declared removing child exploitation on X 'priority #1', eSafety says CSEM is more accessible on his platform than any other mainstream service and has launched two investigatio...
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
lol this is kind of the shortcut of the AIwashing with job cuts. www.404media.co/ceo-ignores-...
404media.co
CEO Asks ChatGPT How to Void $250 Million Contract, Ignores His Lawyers, Loses Terribly in Court
The CEO of Krafton used ChatGPT to push out the head of the studio developing Subnautica 2 against the advice of his own legal team and failed miserably.
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 16/03/2026
The Reserve Bank will deliver an interest rate decision today amid the global uncertainty caused by the US and Israel’s war in Iran — a war in which President Donald Trump increasingly appears to be on his own. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/17/r...
crikey.com.au
RBA mulls rate rise today as global economy plunges into chaos
The Reserve Bank will deliver an interest rate decision today amid the global uncertainty caused by the US and Israel's war in Iran — a war in which President Donald Trump increasingly appears to be…
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Reposted by Sophie Black
Mike X. Nichols @mikexnichols.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
apropos of hollywood’s big day
PLAYBOY: Have you ever gone to the Academy ceremonies?

PACINO: I was at the Oscars once, for Serpico. That was the second time I was nominated. I was sitting in the third or fourth row with Diane Keaton. Jeff Bridges was there with his girl. No one expected me to come. I was a little high. Somebody had done something to my hair, blew it or something, and I looked like I had a bird's nest on my head, a real mess. I sat there and tried to look indifferent because I was so nervous. Any time I'm nervous, I try to put on an indifferent or a cold look. At one point, I turned to Jeff Bridges and said, "Hey, looks like there won't be time to get to the Best Actor awards." He gave me a stange look. He said, "Oh, really?" I said, "It's over, the hour is up." He said, "It's three hours long." I thought it was an hour TV show, can you imagine that? And I had to pee—bad. So I popped a valium. Actually, I was eating valium like they were candy. Chewed on them. Finally came the Best Actor. Can you imagine the shape I was in? I couldn't have made it to the stage. I was praying,
"Please don't let it be me. Please." And I hear..."Jack Lemmon." I was just so happy I didn't have to get up, because I never would have made it.
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Rick Morton @squigglyrick.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The NACC report is astonishing for just how many non-sequiturs, excuses and naive assumptions can be packed into 455 pages. The deputy commissioner who authored it is not a judge, unlike Catherine Holmes. And it shows. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/13/n...
crikey.com.au
The NACC robodebt report: A heartbreaking work of staggering incompetence
Rick Morton wrote the book on robodebt. He delivers a damning verdict on the NACC's long-awaited robodebt report, which exonerated Scott Morrison and Kathryn Campbell.
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bill doyle @billjondoyle.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
can confirm. it was so ludicrously easy to get around
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
“I’d rather be difficult than disappointing.” Grace Tame on the D word, and on the very precise timing of people leaping to her defence.
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
“Kilgour displays a naive understanding of the real-life behaviour of senior public servants, wondering aloud in her official report how or why such officials could ever do the wrong thing while at times finding they did just that.” @squigglyrick.bsky.social slams NACC’s “baffling” robodebt report
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Crystal Jane @crystaljane.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Very timely convo with Jo Tarnawsky about the ways that power protects itself in our political system: "You don’t need to become the system, but you certainly need to know the waters that you’re wading in to be able to get any traction." Watch on YouTube, listen on all podcast platforms. #auspol
youtube.com
Does power always corrupt in Australian politics?
YouTube video by Crikey News
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
🚨 scoop alert from @cameronwilson.bsky.social 🚨 -- the Business Council of Australia proposed, then ditched, a plan to amend the Copyright Act so AI training on copyrighted work is no longer considered infringement
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
"i think he bought the wrong size"
Marco Rubio wearing a navy suit and black dress shoes. He's looking down at his feet.
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Join us. We’re a fun time.
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 11/03/2026
There is only one trait that Matt Canavan will need as Nationals leader: his unslakable thirst for drama. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/11/m...
crikey.com.au
There is only one trait Matt Canavan needs as Nationals leader
The leader of the Nats needs just one quality: an unslakable thirst for drama.
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Sophie Black @sophieblackwords.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
"To see NACC now portraying the hard work of so many people to reveal the tragedy of robodebt — often in the face of media hostility — as somehow an inevitable case of “deception soon being discovered” is sickening." Read @keanebernard.bsky.social on NACC's twisted reasoning.
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gina rushton @ginarush.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
"Are we at war? It's a reasonable question for Australians to ask, given the government is sending one of its most sophisticated reconnaissance planes — crewed by dozens of military personnel — to the Middle East." www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...
abc.net.au
Is Australia at war? Legally, the answer is yes
It's a reasonable question for Australians to ask given the government is sending a sophisticated reconnaissance plane — crewed by dozens of military personnel — to the Middle East. And legal experts ...
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Asher Wolf @asherwolf.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
The reality is the Canberra bubble was never going to allow their own to face consequences for Robodebt
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