Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/02/2026@alixdunn.com @doriantaylor.com @davekarpf.bsky.social 010
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/02/2026The confidence makes people dismantle safeguards, so watch out. This Y Combinator thread went on a blast over the weekend (T/H my friend Rohit Khare for flagging it to me.) news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4702... And the actual retraction arstechnica.com/staff/2026/0...news.ycombinator.comEditor's Note: Retraction of article containing fabricated quotations | Hacker News 100
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/02/2026With secondary work, the smooth and confident responses from AI bots is a removal of friction that slips the brain. Worldwide, tons of writers might be quoting people from secondary text and might simply be falling for how the bots respond so confidently.news.ycombinator.comEditor's Note: Retraction of article containing fabricated quotations | Hacker News 100
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/02/2026Primary sourcing with people is usually direct line of communication. You may also feel a greater responsibility to your source, and may send their quotes back to them to double-check. More human investment overall. The risk is higher for secondary sourcing because of how AI works. 100
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/02/2026For primary sources, precisely because you as a reporter found something your source said was worth quoting, your brain (memory) is also likely to give you at least faint warning that the AI tool is producing a “quote” that you did not *actually hear* when you talked to the person. 100
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/02/2026But there is more to this: the risks are not the same for primary and secondary sourcing. When journalists talk to a source directly, it is primary sourcing. Where you pull from a source’s speech already posted elsewhere, in this case a blog, it is secondary sourcing. 100
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/02/2026It is a cardinal lesson. The basic safeguard Edwards said he ought to have followed - simply comparing the generated text with the lines he wanted to pull from the blog post verbatim - would have helped catch the quotes error. The key thing is you have to apply that safeguard all the time. 100
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/02/2026Last weekend, Ars Technica retracted an AI-involved-news story by reporter Benj Edwards because it had fabricated quotes. Edwards has already explained how it happened, taken responsibility, and said that he had asked his boss to pull the piece. bsky.app/profile/benj... 100
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 13/02/2026Yep it is. And this type of inquiry is doable. I don’t know of published datasets that combine source attributions with analysis of language for promotion/PR/framing for tech companies, but that’s a valid hypothesis already.. will check 010
Reposted by Subbu VincentKaren Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 15/09/2025So many people are asking how they can support me.. The best way .. is to support @resistanceschool.bsky.social! I’ll be teaching Race, Media and International Affairs 101 and 102 next month. Sign up for lectures by me and guest speakers! www.resistancesummerschool.com/fall-2025-re...resistancesummerschool.comFall Registration for Race, Media & International Affairs with Karen Attiah — Resistance Study SeriesA virtual, seven week beginner and intermediate course on the history of race, mass media, and the modern world order. 14843373
Reposted by Subbu VincentJeff Stein @jeffstein.bsky.social · 15/09/2025Statement from @postguild.bsky.social on the firing of Karen Attiah: 12369691673
Reposted by Subbu Vincentrasmuskleis.bsky.social @rasmuskleis.bsky.social · 06/08/2025"The executive branch cannot be both the arbiter of legality of media content, and the issuer of takedown notices" @subbuvincent.bsky.social says as @reuters.com documents scope of Indian government crackdown - including on inconvenient news, satire, cartoons, etc. www.reuters.com/business/med...reuters.com 011
Reposted by Subbu VincentDerek Barker @dwmbarker.bsky.social · 21/08/2025All star group on how journalism is failing to respond to authoritarian elites, fake news, and AI--and how it can pivot to meet the moment. @subbuvincent.bsky.social @jayrosen.bsky.social @joelsimonsays.bsky.social and others. www.cjr.org/feature/thir...cjr.orgThirteen Journalists on How They Are Rethinking EthicsWe asked newsroom leaders and ethicists what they’re keeping or changing in an era of Trump, “fake news,” AI, and industry decline. 022
Reposted by Subbu Vincenttoptenusernames.bsky.social @toptenusernames.bsky.social · 21/08/2025Great piece by @subbuvincent.bsky.social on avoiding both-sidesism and ignoring fake controversies! "Once you take somebody else’s framing, and you make it part of your controversy, you’ve legitimized the controversy... A better approach is: Determine whether something is a controversy or not." 011
Reposted by Subbu VincentDerek Barker @dwmbarker.bsky.social · 22/07/2025Subbu's piece builds on the framework he developed in this June 2024 piece on pro-democracy journalism. kettering.org/to-counter-a...kettering.orgTo Counter Authoritarianism, Can Journalism Promote Democratic Culture? 001
Reposted by Subbu VincentDerek Barker @dwmbarker.bsky.social · 22/07/2025New on our blog: How can news media resist authoritarian efforts to control the narrative? Journalism scholar @subbuvincent.bsky.social shows a new model is starting to emerge in recent coverage of the Trump admin. 163
Reposted by Subbu VincentEthics & Journalism Initiative @ NYU @ethical-news.bsky.social · 01/07/2025News headlines are the first and most important interface between readers and journalists, but few news organizations address the mechanics of headline writing in their ethics codes. Read our latest with @subbuvincent.bsky.social on his new guidance for newsrooms balancing ethics and SEO:ethicsandjournalism.orgHow to Write Fairer, More Accurate Headlines - Ethics and JournalismNew guidance from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics lays out three principles for ethical headline writing and offers guidance for newsrooms that want to achieve them. 021
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 08/05/2025Yes Andy, and thank you. I forgot to give Paul and Burt the link to insert into the schedule. I’ll do that today. DM me your email and I’ll send you the deck anyway. 010
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 21/04/2025I’m looking to leading this session and meeting fellow Hacks/Hackers summiteers at Baltimore soon! 120
Reposted by Subbu VincentJohn S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford @jskstanford.bsky.social · 22/02/2025JSK alum Paulette Brown-Hinds and her team at Mapping Black California build data visualization tools that expose systemic inequalities and hold institutions accountable. How they give communities the necessary information to push for real change...buff.lyHow a Black-led journalism project uses technology to address systemic inequalities in CaliforniaBy Nevin Thompson, Hacks/Hackers Marketing & Communications Lead In the years following the 2020 murder of Black American George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, racism was… 011
Reposted by Subbu VincentJulie Cohen ❌👑 @filmmakerjulie.bsky.social · 26/03/2025I've resigned from the jury for the duPont-Columbia Journalism Awards in response to Columbia's capitulation to Trump. www.poynter.org/commentary/2...poynter.orgOscar-nominated filmmaker resigns from duPont-Columbia journalism awards over school’s concessions to Trump - PoynterJulie Cohen, co-director of ‘RGB,’ resigned from the duPont-Columbia Awards committee, saying, ‘In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up.’ 1272612524
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 19/03/2025Great Q. There is no openly and transparently justified value-add, it just isn't in the premise. It seems to come from a misplaced assumption about the worth of journalistic power itself. That reflexive neutrality to describe power is a higher norm than using democratic culture as the yardstick. 020
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 17/03/2025And that unfinished sentence is still there this afternoon, March 17th, 2025. Perhaps they find the sheer acts of documenting executive orders and actions in plain written word too bothersome? 010
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 25/02/2025And I wrote about this very thing here. And I explained why journalistic practice owes democracy every day. kettering.org/to-counter-a... t/h @carlamurphy.bsky.socialkettering.orgTo Counter Authoritarianism, Can Journalism Promote Democratic Culture? 211
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 21/02/2025Hi Surya, would you DM me you email? I saw the CITP article on your work (Feb 14) and liked the rare point you made about giving people agency. Would like to check in with you more, and include your views in stuff I might write. I am an engineer like you who got into journalism and much later ethics 020
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 10/02/2025UT Dallas tried to squelch the students who ran the campus newspaper. They decided to do their own thing and launch an independent counter-news outlet. American muckraking at work? www.texastribune.org/2025/02/07/u... 030
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 10/02/2025This feels like eons ago now, and so much water down the rivers since then! 140
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 07/02/2025Thank you for the reply Eric. This is a chronic editorial ethics issue that plagues journalism. 020
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 31/01/2025Eric, did they allow you to sign off or veto the final edited version of your piece? I.e. did you have the option to say NO to running such a piece with your name on it, given the editing? (I'm considering making this a use case for my work on editorial policy and I wanted to ask you this first!) 100
Reposted by Subbu VincentKettering Foundation @kettering.org · 13/01/2025Neutrality has a role in journalism when the facts are legitimately in dispute. Fact-finding and diverse sourcing need to determine the truths on the ground. 151
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 16/12/2024I see this very vague line at the bottom: "Update 12/16/24 9:15am ET: This article has been updated to clarify language that had been changed in the editing process." @wired.com editors, you need to be more accountable. What (all) did you update? And was it in response to the authors' post here? 220
Reposted by Subbu VincentJulia Angwin @juliaangwin.com · 05/12/2024Second part of our three-part series on the climate impacts of AI just dropped! 👇🏻 1126
Reposted by Subbu VincentDerek Barker @dwmbarker.bsky.social · 03/12/2024What is the role of newspapers when the threats to democracy are not equivalent? New piece on our blog by @subbuvincent.bsky.social. kettering.org/what-jeff-be...kettering.orgWhat Jeff Bezos Missed: Newspapers Cannot Be Neutral About Democracy 031
Reposted by Subbu VincentJarle Hetland @jarlehetland.bsky.social · 26/11/2024Really enjoyed this conversation between @soumayakeynes.bsky.social and @kclausing.bsky.social about what trade and tariffs might look like under Trump 2.0. Lots of great question and lots of great answers. open.spotify.com/episode/0ah9...open.spotify.comWould Trump’s tariffs really be that bad? With Kimberly ClausingThe Economics Show with Soumaya Keynes · Episode 065
Reposted by Subbu VincentMore Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 25/11/2024Thousands of Amazon workers across 20 countries are going to protest or strike this Black Friday. Workers from the US to India to Brazil to Japan and beyond plan to take action to demand workers’ rights and climate action from the corporate giant. www.theguardian.com/business/202...theguardian.comAmazon workers in 20 countries to protest or strike on Black FridayWorkers and their representatives to press US retailer to respect their rights and take action on the climate crisis 18975312
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 25/11/2024The proper academic page with most recent work is here: www.scu.edu/ethics/about...scu.eduSubramaniam Vincent - Markkula Center for Applied EthicsSubramaniam (Subbu) Vincent is the director of the Journalism and Media Ethics program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. 010
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 25/11/2024On how political journalism might promote democratic culture to counter authoritarianism. (Kettering Foundation's "From Many, We" series.) kettering.org/to-counter-a... 4/kettering.orgTo Counter Authoritarianism, Can Journalism Promote Democratic Culture? 110
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 25/11/2024Two pieces on covering the real swing voters of America. Covering Low-Income and Poor Americans as Multifaceted People www.forbes.com/sites/subram... The Missing ‘Swing Voters’ Whose Voices We Need To Hear www.forbes.com/sites/subram... 3/forbes.comElections: Covering Low-Income Voters As Multifaceted, Whole PeopleUS Journalism leaders offer lessons and moral framing to help political reporters better cover low-income and poor Americans as voters. 110
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 25/11/2024I connect journalistic and democratic cultures in my writing, strategizing, training, and consulting. Some recent writing. On Explaining Black Women Voters better www.forbes.com/sites/subram... 2/forbes.comHow Journalists Can Better Explain Why Black Women Vote The Way They DoWhy did the affordability crisis, misinformation, immigration chaos, and endless wars not split the Black women’s vote? Civic duty and protecting hard-won freedoms. 100
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 25/11/2024Hello! This is a brief thread to (re)introduce myself to all of you as BlueSky takes off. My everyday work is building clarity in media ethics, policy, and sourcing standards. I went from internet engineering to civic media entrepreneurship before ethics and policy. bsky.app/profile/scue... 1/bsky.app 131
Reposted by Subbu VincentBen Lennett @benlennett.bsky.social · 21/11/2024Great article on the digital ad marketplace and the DOJ case against Google. As a former marketing executive, Lisa Macpherson has insider perspective and provides a helpful discussion of the tech stack for digital ads and why they are problematic for publishers, the public, and advertisers.techpolicy.pressWhy the DOJ’s Google Ad Tech Case Matters to You | TechPolicy.PressDigital ads erode privacy and hurt publishers. DOJ’s antitrust suit exemplifies Google’s role in creating and sustaining these issues, writes Lisa Macpherson. 031
Reposted by Subbu VincentSubbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/11/2024Black women have consistently voted for the Democratic party for decades. Why did the affordability crisis, misinformation, immigration chaos, and treasury-draining endless wars not split the Black women’s vote? Hear what a range of Black women have to say! www.forbes.com/sites/subram...forbes.comHow Journalists Can Better Explain Why Black Women Vote The Way They DoWhy did the affordability crisis, misinformation, immigration chaos, and endless wars not split the Black women’s vote? Civic duty and protecting hard-won freedoms. 062
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 19/11/2024I would go with the lovely rainbow tie-die like one on the right, if he’s up for the color splash! 010
Subbu Vincent @subbuvincent.bsky.social · 18/11/2024Black women have consistently voted for the Democratic party for decades. Why did the affordability crisis, misinformation, immigration chaos, and treasury-draining endless wars not split the Black women’s vote? Hear what a range of Black women have to say! www.forbes.com/sites/subram...forbes.comHow Journalists Can Better Explain Why Black Women Vote The Way They DoWhy did the affordability crisis, misinformation, immigration chaos, and endless wars not split the Black women’s vote? Civic duty and protecting hard-won freedoms. 062
Reposted by Subbu VincentBloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 21/06/2024It's FOIA Friday from @jasonleopold.bsky.social: Read the FOIA'd text messages from Dr. Fauci's government-issued mobile phone in the early days of the Covid pandemic — but don't expect any bombshellsbloomberg.comAnthony Fauci's Covid Text Messages RevealedDon’t expect any bombshells. Fauci appeared to be aware that his correspondence would be scrutinized and avoided saying anything controversial. 1204
Reposted by Subbu VincentSarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · 19/06/2024Only a tiny portion of Black Americans were granted the land they were owed after the civil war. And then, almost immediately, the government took it back. Here’s where the people, and the land, ended up. Remarkable investigative reporting from the Reveal folks here:motherjones.com40 Acres and a Lie40ACRES AND A LIE A government program gave formerly enslaved people land after the Civil War, only to take nearly all of it back a year and a half later. We used artificial intelligence to track down... 13951454