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Ben Werdmuller

@werd.io
110K followers 4.5K following 5.4K posts

@jskstanford.bsky.social fellow at Stanford. Ex: @propublica.org, @19thnews.org, @medium.com, Matter, Elgg. I write about tech / media / society at werd.io.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 5h
This is turning into a real “living the sandwich generation life” kind of week.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 7h
I made from-scratch Belgian waffles for breakfast and they worked out faster and easier than the scrambled eggs and toast I had been making for everyone. There was no rush to school and everything was calm. Always be prototyping.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22h
"Why does Elon Musk look funny?" Maybe it's all the stress of being the world's richest man who also orchestrated the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people at minimum by bluntly removing their foreign aid
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22h
To make my point clearer: taking Trump to task on the trivial stuff is a way to avoid talking about - and having to take a stand on - the hard stuff. You have to report deeply on what's happening to immigrants, to protesters, to foreign nations, to democracy. Sorry if that's uncomfortable.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 23h
Yes, he's a liar. But he's also so much worse.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 23h
"Trump's new AI website confirms he lost the 2020 election." I just don't care. Children are being deported, alone, without due process. People are being held in terrible conditions. Protesters are being shot. Protections are being eradicated. Wars are being waged. Elections undermined.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 29/09/2026
Snapshot of my morning.
The sun behind a tree on Palm Drive on the Stanford campusThe Stanford oval, as seen from the sideVoyager Coffee in the Stanford Computer and Data Science buildingSitting outside at the Stanford Computer and Data Science building, laptop open
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 29/09/2026
I started to post something (days late, I know) but this thread says it far better than I could, from a point of view that should be platformed more than mine. A lot of the discourse about Last Ditch, the covid cautious lesbian bar, is just about bullying someone outside of the mainstream. It sucks.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 29/09/2026
The Lenfest AI Collaborative lets newsrooms explore a new technology together - but more importantly, it gives them the muscle to open source their work and collaborate. werd.io/the-lenfest-...
werd.io
The Lenfest AI Collaborative has additional funding. That's great for open source in news.
The Lenfest AI Collaborative lets newsrooms explore a new technology together - but more importantly, it gives them the muscle to open source their work and collaborate.
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Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
Graze Social @graze.social · 29/09/2026
Thinking about the US midterms and how feeds could play a part? Join the @graze.social team + community TOMORROW, Tue Sept 29 at 2pm PT for an open call on building election-ready feeds and the product changes we're making to support you. Everyone is welcome! 🗳
meet.google.com
Meet
Real-time meetings by Google. Using your browser, share your video, desktop, and presentations with teammates and customers.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/09/2026
A new life goal enters the chat
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/09/2026
Who had "spill a double espresso all over yourself in one of the world's most prestigious law schools" on your bucket list? Be jealous
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/09/2026
I dig it. I've already got the dodgy accent. Now I just need to find some cartoon penguins ...
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/09/2026
By taking identity resolution to an independent organization, Bluesky is securing the future of its network, and of AT Protocol. werd.io/the-public-l...
werd.io
The Public Ledger of Credentials directory is taking flight
By taking identity resolution to an independent organization, Bluesky is securing the future of its network, and of AT Protocol.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/09/2026
“You can just do things” is not just a startup bro maxim. It’s also a healthy mindset that encourages you to make, to meet, to put yourself out there, and *not worry about it*. What’s the worst that could happen? Why do you care about what they think of you? Most people could use a bit more of this.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/09/2026
Most of the people I consider really successful - professionally, in life, etc; the kind of success that is about more than money - seem to have tapped into an inner confidence or silenced their self-questioning. They don’t waste much time on anxiety. As a very anxious person, I find it inspiring.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/09/2026
I can't imagine ever writing code the same way again and it's allowed me to do a lot of things I otherwise wouldn't have been able to. It's a genuinely transformational technology. The people *behind* it, on the other hand ...
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/09/2026
Tired: Superintelligence Wired: Superduperintelligence Use it in a sentence where you’re insufferably talking about AI to boost the value of your pre-IPO private stock today!
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/09/2026
So sorry to hear this. I hope you're feeling better and discharged and recovering soon.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 27/09/2026
I, too, have not heard it, but they’re right about the cultural cachet: based on the title alone, I’d rather listen to the chicken song non stop for a year.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 25/09/2026
I appreciate this big tech dependency assessment for journalists and newsrooms on a molecular level: journalismrelay.org/static/asses...
journalismrelay.org
Big Tech Dependency Assessment — Journalism Relay Project
A web-based survey tool that evaluates journalism organizations' dependency on Big Tech platforms and services.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 25/09/2026
This is breathtaking and heartbreaking. www.audacy.com/wccoradio/ne...
audacy.com
Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee unveil massive 11,000 patch quilt made in protest against ICE
Demonstrators with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee gathered at the State Capitol Tuesday to unveil a massive 11,000 patch quilt made in protest against ICE: "Unique precious lives are ...
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 24/09/2026
Can't speak for criminals but journalists crossing borders (etc) disable facial recognition and touch ID. They theoretically can't compel you to provide a password, although in practice your mileage may vary.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 23/09/2026
When you connect a Waymo ride with a bus route, Waymo will pay your bus fare. Which is useful for two reasons: it helps them curry favor with city governments that might otherwise be wary of self-driving rideshares, and it gives them data about where to provide more cars to replace buses later.
waymo.com
Introducing transit rewards
Today, Waymo is excited to announce our transit rewards program, which we will initially offer in the San Francisco Bay Area, with future cities to follow. This first-of-its-kind initiative rewards ri...
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 23/09/2026
Absolute meltdown because I won’t give a lollipop before breakfast. I don’t understand why we even have lollipops in the house. Fellow parents of small children, I need reassurance - I should not give him the lollipop, correct? It is the worst thing that’s ever happened to him and I am a traitor.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 23/09/2026
This is what we could be finding solutions to if we weren’t having to re-litigate the absolute basics of representative democracy and international cooperation. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Huge El Niño projected to cause 450,000 deaths in next six months
New report predicts a heavy toll from Nigeria to the US – and comes on top of existing impacts of the climate crisis
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22/09/2026
People are just self-driving meat
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22/09/2026
"In the mega-consumption era of parenthood, the internet tells new moms that products can solve the hardest parts of having a newborn. All they have to do is add to cart." 19thnews.org/2026/09/moth...
19thnews.org
You’ll do anything for your baby. The algorithm knows how to exploit that.
In the mega-consumption era of parenthood, the internet tells new moms that products can solve the hardest parts of having a newborn. All they have to do is add to cart.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22/09/2026
In the same week, the President banned three networks from the White House - and started his own. It's not a coincidence that this happened so close to the midterms. werd.io/trump-tv-is-...
werd.io
Trump TV is the only source of footage of the President. That may be exactly what he wants.
In the same week, the President banned three networks from the White House - and started his own. It's not a coincidence that this happened so close to the midterms.
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Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
dan sinker @dansinker.com · 21/09/2026
The best way to fight back against the Paramount/Warner Brothers merger is to support independent artists, journalists, writers, filmmakers, musicians and everyone else who has been walking a very hard path to putting things out into the world.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22/09/2026
More on why micropayments aren't it: werd.io/why-micropay...
werd.io
Why micropayments can't save news
Why an ephemeral model can't fund relationship-based work
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22/09/2026
I'm truly sorry, but micropayments don't work when it's humans doing the transacting, and it also won't work when it's AI agents. fora-protocol.org
fora-protocol.org
FORA Protocol — Open Transaction Protocol for AI Content Access
The open protocol that turns blocked bots into paying customers. Discover, price, transact, deliver, verify — one protocol for any content.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22/09/2026
First morning of class shopping. Just got my first “are you teaching?” #old
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22/09/2026
I wasn't prepared for the degree that visiting California is like visiting Europe, website-wise. Privacy popups all over the place, as well as notifications that websites are honoring my opt-out requests. Not such a fan of the popups - privacy should be the default - but I like the direction.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 21/09/2026
I've started my JSK Fellowship year at Stanford, rethinking how newsrooms build real relationships with their communities – and putting myself into a more generative space to do it. I'm taking you with me this year, and I'd love to be in conversation as I go. werd.io/seeking-a-ye...
werd.io
Seeking a "yes, and" space
How the JSK Fellowship is putting me in a more generative culture.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 20/09/2026
Getting a bunch of vaccinations today. I’m excited to renew my 5G coverage for another year.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 20/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Weird Al Yankovic in Suit
Alt: Weird Al Yankovic in Suit
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 19/09/2026
I bought a suit for a wedding next week. A rare event! I think it looks good. Hopefully, like the last suit, it will keep me fancy for the next decade at least.
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Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
Surf @surf.social · 18/09/2026
Speaking Truth to Power is @werd.io's feed of independent and non-profit media, including @propublica.org, @boltsmag.org, @motherjones.com and more. 🏄🏻 surf.social/feed/surf%2F... 🦋 bsky.app/profile/werd...
surf.social
Speaking Truth to Power by Ben Werdmuller on Surf
Surf - Independent, non-profit media covering the US
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 18/09/2026
A lot of differences between the Menlo Park parenting groups and the ones in Philly, but in summary, there were precisely zero moms in Philly founding startups to deliver mezze platters to toddlers.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 18/09/2026
It's wild to me that submissions for the next season of Doctor Who are being taken via a web form. I'm not complaining! That seems pretty open to me and I wish I could be a fly on the wall as they sort through the proposals. But also, it's kind of surreal. www.bbc.co.uk/commissionin...
bbc.co.uk
New opportunity: Doctor Who invitation to tender
Deadline for initial submissions: 2 October
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 18/09/2026
“How does democracy change when technologies of power change?” The first lecture I’m attending at Stanford is on topic. Privileged to be here. events.stanford.edu/event/consti...
events.stanford.edu
Constitution Day Lecture: Technology and Constitutional Rot
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Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
FediForum @fediforum.org · 16/09/2026
NEWS! Anil Dash will be keynote speaker at the next FediForum Oct 6-7! Anil is a technologist, writer and activist advocating for ethical, inclusive tech. He'll talk about lessons learned working on open standards, community and what's to come. More details & registration:
fediforum.org
FediForum | Next FediForum: 6–7 October 2026. Keynote by Anil Dash!
Registration is open. Propose sessions. Suggest cool demos.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 17/09/2026
Beginning to think I should update this to read “there is no such thing as neutrality” (because there isn’t).
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Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I don't think people really understand the psychic impact of knowing that multiple times a day every day your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and everyone who could ever have any power over you is being flooded with agitprop designed to make them hate you
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 15/09/2026
When I was first in California, having freshly (and a bit traumatically) ripped up my UK life, I attended a session on news design at the d.School. Boy, was that foreshadowing for the fifteen years that came afterwards. Today I’ll be spending the day there again.
A Foursquare checkin saying I haven’t been to the Stanford d.School since July 2011.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 15/09/2026
I've passed that Chevron every day since I moved here and every single time I've had to stare at it wide-eyed for a moment.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 15/09/2026
I have skin in this game: I want the UK to rejoin the EU. And if today’s move by Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland helps push British leadership in that direction, well, let’s just say I’m not mad about it.
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 13/09/2026
That is exactly what we just did (albeit outside). He’s getting a bit big for it but it sort of works!
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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 13/09/2026
Rented a house where the bathrooms were renovated between photography and renting and no longer have bathtubs. Child refuses to take showers. Now resorting to a hose and a storage box on the back deck. Needs must.
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