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WF Thomas

@wfthomas.bsky.social
1.1K followers 450 following 264 posts

sober, extremism researcher, journalism, looking at political violence, conspiracy narratives, the far right

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Reposted by WF Thomas
Jean Slater @bluebilliejeans.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Don’t publicly post children’s photos & info online. You can share back to school images—set them to friends only. Make your keepsake images w/ grade, height, age, teacher, pet etc But keep those for your scrapbooks & close family. This thread is about why NOT to share the info publicly 1/11
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Bjørn Ihler @bjornih.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Today it is fifteen years since the worst terrorist attack on Norwegian soil, and fifteen years since I survived the massacre on Utøya. A whole generation has grown up in a less innocent Norway, a Norway where terror is a reality.
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Explain your @ WF Thomas
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Bjørn Ihler @bjornih.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
A trial begins Monday at Umeå tingsrätt against an 18-year-old charged in connection with the online network 764. The indictment runs to 77 counts. We've published a short working guide for journalists, editors, and producers covering cases like this: revontulet.co/insights/vpx...
revontulet.co
Reporting on M/NVE without amplifying it — Revontulet
There have now been enough M/NVE-linked prosecutions across enough jurisdictions that working journalists will encounter these cases regularly. The most consequential challenge in covering them is tha...
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Highly recommended reading
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Bjørn Ihler @bjornih.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
What M/NVE is, and just as importantly, what it is not. New piece, first in a public resource series on Misanthropic and Nihilistic Violent Extremism. The phenomenon is moving faster than the language we have to describe it, so we worked through the framing carefully. revontulet.co/insights/53q...
revontulet.co
What M/NVE Is - And What It Isn't — Revontulet
A network of youth, scattered across the globe, communicates through encrypted chat rooms. The price of entry into the inner circles of these communities is to commit a violent or criminal act and to ...
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 08/04/2026
Small drone attacks are killing more civilians around the world than ever before. I made a map about it:
map.faineg.com
Targeted Small Drone Attacks on Civilians: A Global OSINT Picture
A global OSINT map of targeted small drone attacks on civilians since 2022.
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Today is 9 years clean and sober. We do recover, one day at a time. Getting sober is the best thing that ever happened to me and my proudest achievement. My DM's are always open to anyone who has concerns about their drinking/using or that of a loved one and who needs someone to talk to.
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
🧵 On July 19, 2022, police responded to a call at a home in the Atlanta suburbs reporting that someone was being held against their will. What followed marked the end of the Black Hammer Party and the tragic loss of life due to the manipulation of a vulnerable youth by a high control group.
Logo of Black Hammer Party
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
🔗 Jumping Off Platform: How “The Com” Uses Mainstream Platforms to Funnel Users Elsewhere: graphika.com/reports/jump... As I continue my job hunt, I want to highlight some of my previous work I'm proud of. During my time with @graphika.com I led the research and authoring of this report.
graphika.com
Jumping Off Platform
Examining How The Com and Related Networks Spread Content on Mainstream Social Media Platforms and Direct Users to Off-Platform Spaces
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Jean Slater @bluebilliejeans.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Earlier this week @pbaskar.bsky.social quoted me in this excellent piece about how extremists around the world use platforms like Roblox & Minecraft to recruit children. Please read & share—especially with parents of young children. Gift link! ⤵️
nytimes.com
How Hate Groups and Terrorists Use Gaming Platforms to Recruit Young Children
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Hi. I'm an OSINT researcher with experience targeting violent extremism, influence operations, and financial market threats. Most recently, I worked at Graphika turning complex data into actionable intelligence for clients, and before that worked at Spotify removing online harms.
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hampton. @hampton.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
For the other thread of this kirkified Bella Rittenhouse image: Kyle as meme subject. A few years back, @daveforan.bsky.social + @hariprasad.bsky.social and I wrote about Rittenhouse memes after he killed 3 people. You can read it on @terpolv.bsky.social: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
tandfonline.com
Kyle Rittenhouse and the Shared Meme Networks of the Armed American Far-Right: An Analysis of the Content Creation Formula, right-wing Injection of Politics, and Normalization of Violence
This paper analyzes the meaning of iconography that constitute memes by reviewing a collection of memes propagated on social media related to the Kyle Rittenhouse shooting of protestors in Wisconsi...
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hampton. @hampton.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
For the first thread of this kirkified Bella Rittenhouse image: kirkification. Recently, @oloonik.bsky.social and I wrote about a niche within the trend of kirkification (rap albums), which we shared on the WXQT blog last week. You can read it here: wxqt-radio.ghost.io/lil-kirk/
wxqt-radio.ghost.io
The Kirkening Part 1: "Lil Kirk"
Online, Charlie Kirk is immortal; his death likely changing the online landscape forever — albeit probably not in any manner he would’ve expected.
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hampton. @hampton.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Yesterday, Kyle Rittenhouse posted a couple of photos from his wedding this summer, one of which features him and his bride armed with a handgun and rifle (respectively). It took someone like 8 hours to kirkify Kyle's wife lmao.
screenshot of tweet from kyle rittenhouse, now posting under the handle @rittenhouse2a. he writes "I'm back on social media, I'm back in the fight, and i'm here to stay. For a quick update, 6 months ago I made the best decision of my life and married my best friend. @BellRittenhouse, I couldn’t be happier. I love you beautiful. More big announcements coming soon..." two photos are in his post. at the left is the couple holding firearms, kyle in a blue suit with a tan handgun, bella in a white wedding dress holding a tan ar-15-style rifle with a vertical foregrip and optic. at the right is a photo of kyle holding bella with water in the background, either an inlet or estuary, the sun just set moments before. a screenshot of a tweet from @givemebudlight, who has zoomed in on bella rittenhouse in the gun picture of the couple and faceswapped charlie kirk's smiling face over hers
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Lex McMenamin (they/them) @lexmcmenamin.com · 28/10/2025
hello 29k followers, time for my periodic reintro to find lefty friends etc! i'm the 1-person politics section at @teenvogue.com (feat. TV pics 😎) where I cover and edit coverage of youth organizing, abolition, LGBTQ rights + healthcare, student debt, climate, education, electoral politics + more 🫡
Lex McMenamin smiles at someone off camera in front of blue backdropLex McMenamin smiles at camera seated in front of blue backdrop
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Tristan Lee @tristanl.ee · 27/10/2025
Decoherence Media is publishing the first article in our 3 part investigation of the leaked web server for Rope Culture, the in-house magazine of notorious Nazi forum Iron March. There are hundreds of new Nazi email addresses and comments for researchers and journalists to dig through.
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Dead internet theory is one of my extreme pet peeves. It's a conspiracy theory. The tech isn't there. It doesn't make logical sense. It's another way to dehumanize whoever might be on the other side of an account you disagree with.
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Jared Holt @jaredlholt.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
This week’s premium episode is out. Sign up for our Patreon to hear @michaelehayden.bsky.social and I talk Red Scare, read a a bad article about Nick Fuentes, and examine the MAGA-friendly music scene. Plus, the pod debuts its first song “Sorrow / Antifa Reprise” www.patreon.com/posts/141119...
patreon.com
045: Rockin' Out for MAGA Clout | Posting Through It
Get more from Posting Through It on Patreon
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Dr Bethan Juliet Oake @bethanjuliet.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
My new chapter “Save our children from Satanists”: Women, Motherhood, and Satanic Moral Panic” is now out in ‘Satanism and Feminism in Popular Culture’ edited by Dr Miranda Corcoran. SO excited to have been included in this amazing collection & can’t wait to read the other papers!!
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Bluesky y'all should listen to the new album from @friendsinreallife.bsky.social it's very good and put a big smile on my face
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Walking is lowkey goated when the vibe is having spontaneous low stakes conversations with those around you and feeling a potent sense of community
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 21/02/2025
ATLANTA -- The City of Atlanta Department of Law carried out a raid of the once-independent Office of Inspector General (OIG) this week following former-Inspector General Shannon Manigault’s resignation on Monday, according to multiple sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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steven monacelli @stevanzetti.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
REVEALED: we identified the operator of an overtly racist X account, "GlomarResponder," as ICE Assistant Chief Counsel James Rodden, based on an overwhelming number of biographical details matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation.
texasobserver.org
ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account
The Observer has identified the operator of “GlomarResponder,” an overtly racist social media account, as ICE Assistant Chief Counsel James Rodden, based on an overwhelming number of biographical details matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation.
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Did you floss yet today???
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
DID YOU FLOSS YET TODAY
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Daniel Robson @dancollen.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
I started a (free) Substack publication. For its first post, I got a scoop about a Canadian-American Nazi who claims he campaigned with Kash Patel coming out tomorrow. Sign up if you want to read that. As you were. open.substack.com/pub/spineles...
open.substack.com
Spineless and Literal | Dan Collen | Substack
Spineless and Literal is a newsletter about the intersection of violent extremism and culture by Dan Collen. It is written with the belief that hate should be recognized but never normalized. Click to...
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Jean Slater @bluebilliejeans.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
An excellent piece from @phoebepetrovic.bsky.social explaining what can be said right now about the Nashville & Madison shooters' SAVF network interactions that me & @hereticmasked.bsky.social have been working on for months. @alexbnewhouse.bsky.social gives a great description of specific behaviors
propublica.org
Madison and Nashville School Shooters Appear to Have Crossed Paths in Online Extremist Communities
A month after a student opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School, another killed a classmate at Antioch High School. Both were active in an internet subculture that glorifies mass shooters and en...
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Jean Slater @bluebilliejeans.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Me and @hereticmasked.bsky.social have been tracking an international hybrid threat network which we're calling the Soyjak Attacker Video Fandom (SAVF.) 4 people w/in it have committed attacks or attempted to. This is part 1 in our series. Many thanks to @maargentino.com for hosting our work.
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Mia Brett @queenmab.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
The only way to honor Holocaust remembrance is to center historical memory, combat antisemitism & fight contemporary genocides.
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Auschwitz Memorial @auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Auschwitz was at the end of a long process. It did not start from gas chambers. This hatred was gradually developed by humans. From ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder. Auschwitz took time.
A bird's-eye view of a former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp showing a wide dirt pathway flanked by parallel rows of barbed-wire fences. Groups of visitors walk along the path, surrounded by the remnants of brick structures and barracks, now reduced to foundations. Green grass contrasts with the somber history of the site, as the path leads toward a guard tower in the distance.
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
They don't want you to know the secret to ultimate gains is listening Jimmy Buffet while lifting. The relaxing sound of his gulf and western music primes the muscles to get the most out of the workout.
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Neat
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Having religious revelations listening to shape note singing by myself in the Costco food court
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Lyric Rivera | NeuroDivergent Rebel @neurodivergentrebel.substack.com · 24/01/2025
Reports of Navajo people being detained in immigration sweeps sparks concern from tribal leaders The DOJ argued in court that Indigenous people don’t have birthright citizenship, even though they have for 100 years azmirror.com/2025/01/24/r...
azmirror.com
Reports of Navajo people being detained in immigration sweeps sparks concern from tribal leaders
The DOJ argued in court that Indigenous people don't have birthright citizenship, even though they have for 100 years
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Jared Holt @jaredlholt.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
“Did you recognize the Candace Owens shoutout in the Nashville shooter manifesto for what is was” feels like it was a good case test for people who know their shit about extremist movements and people who only sort of know their shit about extremist movements
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Hey it's actually cool and normal to not read a bunch of manifestos if it's bad for your mental health at the moment, especially if it isn't your job to read them
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Most, if not all, songs would be improved by the addition of slide guitar
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Lex McMenamin (they/them) @lexmcmenamin.com · 23/01/2025
hi! @teenvogue.bsky.social has been a reliable outlet for strong political journalism since at min 2016 — which was *9* years ago! you don't need to be surprised each time you're impressed by our work! (maybe other outlets would respect us more if you didn't!) signed, 1/2 of Teen Vogue Politics
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Hey it's actually cool and normal to not read a bunch of manifestos if it's bad for your mental health at the moment, especially if it isn't your job to read them
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
READ THIS BOOK
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
THERE IS SO MUCH PAIN IN THE WORLD BUT THE PAIN ALLOWS FOR A DEEPER LOVE AND CARING WHEN I AM OPEN TO RECIEVE LOVE AND CARE FROM OTHERS IT IS A BLESSING TO BE HELPED AND TO HELP OTHERS I WILL USE THESE EXPERIENCES TO GROW SOFTER AND KINDER NOT HARDER AND MEANER
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
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Graphika @graphika.com · 23/12/2024
Insights and data from Graphika were part of a recent story from CBS News' @60minutes.bsky.social on "nudify" websites and apps creating issues in schools as students learn to use the inexpensive and easily accessible artificial intelligence technology. See below to watch the full story!
graphika.com
60 Minutes: Graphika Cited in Story on AI Nudify Websites and Schools
The rise of generative AI has created a new, troubling problem for students in schools across America and the world.
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Graphika @graphika.com · 20/12/2024
AI technology is being used to continue giving alleged shooter Luigi Mangione a voice through chatbots. Graphika spoke with @forbes.com to share Graphika ATLAS insights on the creation and dissemination of more than a dozen chatbots modeled after him on a popular app for creating AI characters.
graphika.com
Graphika ATLAS Insights on Luigi Mangione AI Chatbots Featured in Forbes
The suspect in the shooting and murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Luigi Mangione, is behind bars. But now, some are using AI technology to continue giving him a voice through chatbots.
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Shan Onlyone Lastname @parasocialmomma.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
There's so much going on in the world, I know this is really inconsequential. Paid over $1000 the past week in car repairs- which was every cent (+2200) I had for my 7 kids & granbebe Christmas. If you have a few bucks and wanna help out , I would be very grateful 🙏🏻 venmo.com/code?user_id...
venmo.com
Venmo | Shannon Martinez
Venmo is a digital wallet that lets you make and share payments with friends. You can easily split the bill, cab fare, or much more. Download the iOS or Android app or sign up on Venmo.com today.
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
DO IT GIVE SHAN MONEY DO IT
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WF Thomas @wfthomas.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Leftists stop sharing GiveSendGo links challenge 2024
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CNN @cnn.com · 05/12/2024
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 occurred off the Northern California coast. A tsunami warning has been issued.
cnn.com
7.0-magnitude earthquake rattles Northern California | CNN
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern California Thursday morning, about 40 miles west of the community of Petrolia, the US Geological Survey said.
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