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C G

@spiragrafik.bsky.social
287 followers 2.5K following 22 posts

culture worker / nature lover

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Reposted by C G
Josh Cowen @joshcowenmi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Not to sound like a broken record but the entire subtitle of my book The Privateers is “how billionaires created a culture war and sold school vouchers.” They say it themselves by the way. Christopher Rufo in particular has been quite clear that the culture war is a strategic choice
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The increasingly close ties between Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and the seven authoritarian members of the United Arab Emirates should concern us all...
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 24/09/2026
At what point do we stop saying the AI has gone rogue and start accepting this is what it's for? Hacking and nudifying and killing the internet and maybe some useful speak-and-spell. And then killing humans obv as.ft.com/r/dc864f30-7...
as.ft.com
OpenAI ‘agent’ hacked an Australian health service website
AI lab took months to spot the problem, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called ‘obviously unacceptable’
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Anonymous @opdeatheaters.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Meta glasses are being used for covert harassment and group stalking. Women and girls are being secretly filmed in streets, schools, restaurants and on dates, then uploaded for millions of strangers. Police inquiries now span worldwide. #OpDeathEaters
yacnews.com
Meta glasses used to film women and girls without consent from Seoul to Barcelona as police cases mount worldwide
Police and prosecutors across France, Spain, South Korea, Japan and the U.S. have opened cases against men accused of secretly filming women and girls with Meta glasses. The only warning victims have ...
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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Climate change isn’t just about heatwaves and emissions targets. When climate and nature loss affect food, migration, economies and geopolitical stability, they become national security issues too. That conversation is long overdue. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer
El Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers
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Hari Kunzru @harikunzru.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
For some years the frame of "disinformation" has been around to explain ragebait content, with the presumption that this material is ideologically motivated. No doubt some of it is, but much of the motivation is purely financial...
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Paul Chambers @paulwchambers1970.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Collodion musings with dying sunflowers.
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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
a powerful case for appointing a secretary of state specialising in media and culture
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Jennie Kermode @jenniekermode.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
We know the cost of this imaginary future. No, the machines will not come for us, but if we buy into these ideas then we will be destroying our physical world in exchange for a poor quality virtual one. We don't have to accept that bargain.
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 18/09/2026
The evidence is clear: Cleaner air = healthier children. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Improved air quality linked to better mental development in toddlers, study finds
Long-term research in New York shows efforts to reduce air pollution associated with higher cognitive test scores
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Natasha Devon @natashadevon.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Am so overwhelmed by how many people showed up at Waterstones gower street last night for interview, reading and Q&A to launch The Nuance Drought. Several lbc listeners came to tell me how much my show means to them - really touched ❤️ Get your copy here - uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
uk.bookshop.org
The Nuance Drought: Reclaiming Truth and Complexity in a Polarised World
The nuance drought is having a devastating impact on every area of our lives. It dictates the way our politics is done and how the media reports, it affects our physical and mental health, and it impa...
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Deva Woodly @devawo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
You’re never going to believe this but human beings are social animals and depriving them of interaction with each other in the name of efficiency turns out to make everybody so cranky that they start thinking about apocalypse all the time.
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Surveying the AI ‘moment,’ Nathalie Maréchal says "the kooks are now in power, and they are using that power to dismantle the institutions designed to keep the rest of us safe, healthy, and free."
techpolicy.press
What Policymakers and the Public Need to Know About the Cult of AI
Nathalie Maréchal asks, why are we betting the economy and the future of democracy on cult-like beliefs?
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Jess Miers 🦝 @jmiers230.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I did a somewhat deep dive into the recent OpenAI and Anthropic "hacks" for an upcoming interview. IMO, the AI companies are better off running with the "rogue AI" story because the real story is actually pretty embarrassing. Like making your Wi-Fi password "wifi" embarrassing. 🧵
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.
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Luke Turner @luketurner.com · 12/09/2026
As Ben Delo's record £36m Reform donation is headline news, I can't emphasise enough that the media ought to be reporting on Delo's heinous funding of antisemitic conspiracy theorists in the High Court – anonymous contributors to the horrifying neo-Nazi account shown below. bsky.app/profile/luke...
A sample of neo-Nazi posts by the @ParallaxOptics account, displaying grotesque antisemitic caricatures and violent Jew hate.The @ParallaxOptics account's banner image depicting Adolf Hitler.Post by @ParallaxOptics of an article anonymously written by Nina Power and Daniel Miller: ON CULTS II "If we're proposing the the Left is a cult, the first question is what do cults want in general?"
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Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Jacob Coxon: ‘I resigned from Anthropic today. I spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both #OpenAI and #Anthropic. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives. More thoughts below.’ 1/
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ve, the ghost of info past @vortexegg.com · 09/09/2026
To 'yes, and' this, it seems to be understating the case to say that exposure to a right-wing algorithm makes you more right-wing. More importantly people who use X are self-propgandizing themselves into an entirely false view of reality *despite the fact that they know the claims aren't true*.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
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Matthew Willis (Naval Air History) @navalairhistory.com · 06/09/2026
Contrast the police statements about the Dover blockade yesterday with the Just Stop Oil protests in 2022
No arrests made during Dover protest, Kent Police says
published at 13:34 5 September
13:34 5 September
Kent Police has issued a statement following the disruption in Dover earlier today.
It says officers "responded to a spontaneous protest" during Saturday morning, adding "no arrests were made".
"Traffic is flowing normally, and all involved had dispersed by midday," it addsThe Met Police said 35 people had been arrested in response to the disruption.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said the action was "criminality", not protest, and pledged to bring those involved to justice as quickly as possible.
"This was a very significant and co-ordinated effort to cause massive disruption to the entirety of the M25," he added.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Nick Robinson on Today is literally talking about ‘legitimate concerns’ after second night of organised men dressed in black - sorry ‘protesters’ - mobilising en masse in another littoral town. This is how street fascism is normalised
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
‘Honest Bob’ Jenrick says he wants to “abolish” Natural England, and at the very least stop funding it, in the first 100 days of a putative Reform government. Reform may appear to be on the rocks currently but their plans are terrifying, mad & must be stopped. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
Jenrick: “Even if you can’t abolish, I don’t know, Natural England within the first 100 days, you can stop funding it, you can turn the tap off and the tap will be turned off a lot of these quangos, and that will drive savings.”
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Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 04/09/2026
With all respect to the BBC, the reason this story "matters" is not about whether it distracts from Reform's conference. It "matters" because it is important our leaders are not conspiring to break the law.
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Our wonderful small grants scheme is open again offering up to £10k to humanities and social sciences researchers. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants
The British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants are available to support primary research in the humanities and social sciences. These awards, up to £10,000 in value and tenable for up to 24 mont...
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Jim Rossignol @rossignol.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Amazing.
theguardian.com
UK government does not know what datacentres are being used for, FoI request shows
Lack of information raises fears over environmental impact of the AI boom
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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
A broader point: Polarisation is costing us time we don’t have. We can argue about culture wars, or get on with tackling what’s coming. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Cross-party talks needed to tackle climate crisis, say Lib Dems
Andy Burnham urged to seek consensus over response to extreme heat and forthcoming ‘super El Niño’
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Alan Jagolinzer @jagolinzer.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Propaganda reinforces a sense of community. Radicalization often supports the powerful human need for social inclusion and identity, even when it’s self-harming or it harms others. @toddhelmus.bsky.social from the 2023 Cambridge Disinformation Summit. youtu.be/GvC2zDDvhUs?...
youtu.be
RAND Corp's Sr Behavioral Scientist Todd Helmus on how propaganda reinforces community, 27 July 2023
YouTube video by Cambridge Disinformation Summit
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William Dalrymple @willdalrymple.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
An essay I've just written for @nytimes on why Big Tech is the 21st Century’s equivalent of the East India Company: "What It Would Take to Dismantle the Most Powerful Companies in the World" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | What It Would Take to Dismantle the Most Powerful Companies in the World
A playbook to curb the growing power of Big Tech.
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Thomas Lecaque @tlecaque.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I would object to LLMs even if they weren't planet destroying plagiarism-based bullshit engines because students need to learn core skills and how to do the work themselves. Also, they are planet destroying plagiarism-based bullshit engines that give answer-shaped nonsense.
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Andrea Junker @strandjunker.com · 30/08/2026
Growing up with the phrase “Wikipedia isn’t a valid source,” only to end up in a daily life where everyone says, “Just ask ChatGPT.”
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Chris Grey @chrisgrey.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
It's easy, and sometimes right, to criticize the BBC but this excellent discussion, featuring heavyweight experts, of our (lack of) preparedness for the threat from Russia, on today's Radio 4 TWTW, is a reminder of just how good it can be: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
The World This Weekend - How prepared is Nato for a Russian attack? - BBC Sounds
The CIA director is reported to have warned Russia against any attack on Nato.
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Sylvia Chi 齊思涵 @sylviachi.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I was a comms intern at NRDC in 2004. I remember writing back then about how climate change was not just gradual warming but was going to cause increasingly frequent and extreme weather events. Yesterday I was writing basically the same thing and realized I've been saying this for over two decades.
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Fabrizio Gilardi @fgilardi.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I'm hiring! Three-year postdoc (80%) in my research group at @ipz.bsky.social, starting January 2027. Digital technology and politics, some teaching. Deadline: 30 September 2026. Questions welcome, and please share! www.ipz.uzh.ch/dam/jcr:bbee... (pdf)
Job ad, postdoc position
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Josephine Quinn @josephinequinn.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I am VERY EXCITED to see the ad come out for post-doc positions associated with my Cambridge Lab for Ancient World Studies: please pass on to anyone who might be interested and works across ancient regions/languages/worlds... www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...
cam.ac.uk
Research Associate (Fixed Term)
Applications are sought for three Research Associates to join the Cambridge Lab for Ancient World Studies (CLAWS), directed by Professor Josephine Quinn. Starting no later than 1 October 2027, you wil...
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Marcus Chown @marcuschown.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Why the f**k do we not classify the social media companies as “publishers”? They would then be subject to the existing law that makes a publisher responsible for what it publishes. It should not make any difference that what the social media companies publish is digital rather than ink on paper
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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 27/08/2026
This is it. They hide behind a shield of "user generated content" but if a social media platform uses an algorithm to selectively put content in front of you, then the platform is making editorial decisions about what to publish and should be treated accordingly. www.commonweal.scot/policies/sav...
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Ben McKennaaaargh @benmckenna.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Yes, media literacy is very important, but media transparency is also very important too, and each and every Reform fanzine and fan channel fails at this. We desperately need some sort of UK regulator for the communications services to regulate media, a sort of Office of Communications, if you will
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Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Megan O’Neill, a lawyer for the state of California, said Meta’s business can be boiled down to four words: hook, hold, harvest, hide. Facebook/Instagram/Threads: - hooks in users - holds them on its platforms for as long as possible - harvests their data - hides the truth from the public
theguardian.com
Hook, hold, harvest and hide: Meta’s alleged strategy laid out in first week of landmark trial
In trial that opened on Tuesday, California and 28 other states accused the company of designing addictive sites and violating laws protecting children’s privacy
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404 Media @404media.co · 17/08/2026
SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:
404media.co
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.
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Richard Sambrook @sambrook.eurosky.social · 16/08/2026
BBC’s coverage of Reform’s welfare plans is frankly bizarre. Headlines in Ten, leading on some radio networks. Reform are not even the official opposition and the plans have less credibility than Count Binface. Will BBC News do the same for Lib Dem and Greens policy two years out from an election?
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Rage Against the Miocene @organiccarbon.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Thirty years ago, when I started research on climate change, we would debate how to communicate the need for both prevention and adaption, the balance between them. Prevention. Adaptation. We needed to do both. We decided to do neither. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
National Rail acknowledges ‘exceptional challenges’ of extreme heat after second train derailment in 24 hours
Incident near Essex town of Wickford happens day after two passengers seriously hurt in East Sussex derailment
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Saganism @sagan.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
41 years ago, Carl Sagan gave a clear and elegant explanation of the science behind global warming.
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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
our entire global financial system is currently leveraged to the hilt on the premise that it was good and right for a small cadre of US companies to steal all of the intellectual work ever produced by humanity and sell its back to us without credit or remuneration to the authors (plagiarism)
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Go Green @ecowarriorss.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
It looks like end of the world, but all Europe does is water down its climate action commitments Skies turn red as wildfires burn across Europe Firefighters in France, Germany, Croatia Greece battling raging fires that threaten to destroy homes and businesses. news.sky.com/story/skies-...
news.sky.com
Skies turn red as wildfires burn across Europe - with thousands of people evacuated
Firefighters in France, Germany, Croatia and Greece are among those battling raging fires that threaten to destroy homes and businesses.
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Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
We need more than govt to acknowledge the cause and severity of current state of #ClimateCrisis, we need honesty and grown-up plans for next summer AND the summers in a generation's time
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
This is a lovely site which helps remind us of much of what we take for granted in material progress ordinaryabundance.com (HT @aveek18.bsky.social)
ordinaryabundance.com
Ordinary Abundance
A walk through a modern apartment, through the eyes of the people for whom everything in it was new.
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Damian Carrington @dpcarrington.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Europe is the world’s fastest warming continent. Why? Explainer, by me #climatecrisis @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Europe is the world’s fastest warming continent. What is to blame?
The climate crisis is hitting Europe hard in 2026, warming twice as fast as any other continent – and the consequences are deadly
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
X is a major national security vulnerability that UK government and politicians continue to prop up.
theguardian.com
Most X accounts posting about Belfast and Southampton unrest were based outside UK
Exclusive: Analysis shows 55% of accounts were overseas – and seven of 12 most-read posts came from US
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
More than half of accounts posting about violence in Belfast & Southampton on X were based overseas. Only 4 of the 12 most-seen posts were from the UK. X is now "“a weapon of choice” for hostile foreign actors seeking to manipulate shocking & divisive content". www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
"Nearly a third of all 43,000 posts on X relating to the two incidents contained racist or anti-immigration comments. Almost one in 10 relating to Belfast contained calls for violence or paramilitary or vigilante action.

Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, said the data demonstrated that X had become “a weapon of choice” for hostile foreign actors seeking to manipulate shocking and divisive content.

Their goal, he added, was “to amplify local tragedies and crises, intensify racist narratives, and incite violence in communities they have never set foot in and to whom they have no real connection.”"
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Dr Paul Dorfman @drpauldorfman.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Broxted Estate solar farm in Suffolk has had a 41% increase in its biodiversity since 2011 - a future where nature and renewables co-exsist. www.energylivenews.com/2026/08/05/s...
energylivenews.com
Solar panel farm has 41% increase in biodiversity - Energy Live News
The Broxted solar farm in Suffolk has generated more than 350GWh of electricity since 2013
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