Story time: Since I left Beijing in the middle of the pandemic, I grieved the what-ifs, and a life I so desperately wanted for myself. Through this, I was unsure of how to make sense of my time in China, and my professional journey that was so closely tied to it.

I feel like OSINT folks out there are munching popcorn as they watch signalgate unfold because this is just another day at work, isn't it? 😂

Question for those of you who also read newsletters excessively. 5 years ago, I started a separate inbox for them and it gets updates from think tanks, media houses, substacks and individuals. None of the new tools (Meco/Mailbrew/newsblur) capture all my sources in a nice enough UX. Any reccos?

I made a short game about trying to find an apartment in Amsterdam, and the horror of architecture in a city that mistakes freedom for abundance. It draws on my own desperate housing crisis in 2022 and 2024. There's a demo, and I'd love to hear what you think: krishraghav.itch.io/dont-get-you...

There are no flights between capital cities yet but apparently Indian and Chinese authorities are discussing flights from Delhi/Lucknow/Kolkata to Lhasa. Not complaining, I'd personally love to be able to fly into Lhasa. www.moneycontrol.com/news/busines...

So new and so late to learn about this but FLN is doing stellar work! If you want to engage with some pretty cool people and support free libraries at the same time, look at their list of artists, writers and others donating time to raise funds. The fundraiser ends on 28 Feb so check it out ASAP!

Adani Green is finally pulling out of the wind farms it was supposed to set up at Mannar and Pooneryn in Northern Sri Lanka. This fairly dramatic deal, saw environmental opposition, allegations of corruption and pressure from the Indian PM himself. www.thehindu.com/business/ada...

Cancel my goals for the rest of December because I'm only now wtarting on the book that I've been waiting for over 2 years! The local indie bookstore is shipping me a physical copy on 14th Dec when it hits the shelves in India but I'm getting a head start now.

A reminder that English is necessary as the majority of #India does not have Hindi as their mother tongue! #SouthAsiaSky www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...

The full text of Jaishankar's statement to Parliament on China from yesterday (03 Dec) makes for interesting mid-week reading.

Great story by the @chinamediaproject.bsky.social on the how Huashang Weekly is a complex intersection of private, commercial, and Chinese state interests in Pakistan chinamediaproject.org/2024/11/22/i...

only thing I'm gonna miss about Twitter is the mid-tier Chinese cities that followed me. Hefei, I salute you! I will miss your posts about the "poetic tranquility" of parks! Photographs of robots manufacturing other robots! Announcements about new Sam's Club franchises! Million mu fields!

"The rules worry Adhikari, who owns the AG Health Industries Private Limited that produces sanitary pads and diapers in Bhairahawa. “India seems intent to halt imports from Nepal,” said Adhikari." Doesnt matter what the intentions are, the optics are just bad.... kathmandupost.com/money/2024/1...

With lots of new people joining Bluesky, we thought it would be a good idea to introduce the projects falling under the umbrella of the Global China Lab, a new non-profit we established this year with the aim of advancing open knowledge about China. 1/

Women VS Disinfo - inspired by @marie-doha.bsky.social dedicated to the Brave, Bright & Brilliant women fighting Disinfo. A huge selection of expert researchers, fact checkers, journalists, debunkers, science communicators, academics, vloggers, etc. of all things Disinfo & CT go.bsky.app/FFCjgks

💡 Tip: You can set your website as your username on Bluesky! This is one form of self-verification, and we especially encourage official organizations and brands to do this! Examples include @npr.org @react.dev @duolingobrasil.com.br. Here's our guide for how to do this:

“Chinese state media has sunk considerable resources into Twitter, via unlabeled state-sponsored influencers, huge bot networks, the famous 50 cent army, … The Twitter bird, they thought, had finally been caged.”Then comes Bluesky. toosimple.substack.com/p/bluesky-ta...

What India and China Agreed and Diverged On When Jaishankar Met Wang Yi - The India China Newsletter indiachina.substack.com/p/what-india...

If you're interested in learning more about academic publishing, please join the @risjnl.bsky.social editorial team in a couple weeks for a webinar sponsored by @mybisa.bsky.social and @ceeisa.bsky.social -- all welcome (registration required)! #polisky www.bisa.ac.uk/events/writi...

The University of Edinburgh is inviting applications for a PhD scholarship in Buddhist Studies, to begin in September 2025. The application deadline is February 2025. For more details, see buddhist-studies.ed.ac.uk/2025-khyents...

Yet another plea to people who are using or following people off follow-farming hashtags like #NoDemUnder1K, #NoDemUnder5K, #BlueCrew, #FBR, etc etc: please do not do that, it's how disinformation operations work. I'm already seeing accounts in those hashtags that are likely disinformation ops. 1/

"The security company will apparently handle the import of weapons and special equipment, including communications devices and restricted tools." Sounds like *someone* is worried about ROI and is looking for ways to have their security personnel in Myanmar. www.irrawaddy.com/news/myanmar...

Hello everyone! Since Bluesky and its starter packs are kicking off I have curated one to bring together scholars working on Indian Foreign Policy. Feel free to suggest other potential members or even yourself! ✨ go.bsky.app/GJaoYpk

Just your friendly reminder that we get as much out of social media as we put in. So if you're finding volumes to be low here compared to the birdsite, the best thing to do is to skeet more. :)

Nothing here is dictated by an algo (except the Discover and What’s Hot feeds). Do explore lists, starter packs, and generally put the social into social media. You know, like in the Before Times.

#TobRegSky #MedSky #PedSky #EpiSky #addictionsci #policysky #polisky 🛟 In China, the state tobacco monopoly company is also the regulator of tobacco products. China’s state-owned tobacco behemoth is booming, defying global trends and anti-smoking efforts www.cnbc.com/2024/11/12/c...

Just a reminder that if 36 people are killed in a public safety incident in China, the mayor has to be fired. It's why the government caps the death toll at 35 people for tragedies like this. www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...

It's interesting that a CRI journalist is taking 2 Indian influencers (with a following of ~434k ppl) around China just after tensions between India & China eased. Ofc correlation does not equal causation, but I will bet good money that we're going to see 'positive' stories from state media soon.

At last, there's a searchable directory of Bluesky starter packs, courtesy of @mubashariqbal.com! Just one more way third-party developers are helping to make this place better. Search starter packs by keyword, and sort by "Uses" to see which ones people are finding the most helpful

Alright Bluesky, I need your help. I am a little away from my book goal for the year - ambitious I know. But a sabbatical means that I can read three books a week! I will commit to ANY suggestions that aren't horror/gore/ have sexual assault. Hit me with your favourite books for the year!

It's been three days in Bangalore. Day before, a woman on the street told me she loved how I carried myself. Today a guy complimented my tattoo when I was sitting in an auto in traffic. God, people in this city are nice.

New work just out with Sameer Lalwani, Niloufer Siddiqui, and Neelanjan Sircar. We wanted to know whether Hindu-Muslim tolerance changed under crisis conditions. We found it improved modestly, contrary to common expectations. It's open access so take a look! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The Balochistan armed movement has often faced internal problems and splits, but will we be seeing a new merger of Baloch militant groups? Kiyya Baloch has more. Southasiasky jamestown.org/program/poss...

China is eager to show the world that it can lead in generative AI technology. But one of its first challenges is chillingly unique — how to make its industry-leading chatbots speak like the Communist Party. chinamediaproject.org/2024/05/24/s...

Macropolo's AI Talent tracker is fantastic. TIL that India is doing better at retaining tech talent. "In 2019, nearly all Indian AI researchers (based on undergraduate degrees) opted to pursue opportunities abroad. But in 2022, one-fifth of Indian AI researchers ended up staying to work in India."

You know what I miss about the birdsite? The Gender Wage Gap bot. So here's your reminder that Indian men made 48% more than women in 2023. So go back to your orgs and ask them the hard questions. Give women more money.

Do we have an #Assam sky? I ask because I'm urgently hiring a young person who is proficient in Assamese and English, with good communication skills & interested in research. If you know anyone, pls reply/ mail Hamsini[dot]h[at]Logically[dot]ai Pls rskeet! jobs.lever.co/logically/d4...

Anyone has a self-care routine for the days when your government decides secularism is outdated?

The price the Solomon Islands pay for their friendship with China: China’s interference and moves to control the media in the Solomon Islands have been exposed in leaked emails

We have released @doublethinklab.bsky.social pre election surveys and exit polls for the 2024 Taiwanese national elections!

World Economic Forum study identifies mis/disinformation as the most severe global risk in the next 2 years. commsky polisky csssky eusky www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The...

I'm on BBC Radio 4! It feels pretty cool to be on a network that I've been listening to for a long time (The Archers for the win). Discussing my work on state-sponsored mis/dis info campaigns, particularly the Chinese response to the Fukushima waste water release last year. Listen in! #polisky

jinpeili.substack.com/p/cctv-folli... CCTV "gets" journalism when a tragedy strikes in the heart of a national rival

Time to update your penal code Belgium. WTF on.ft.com/3v334DE

〝In recent years, the group has evolved. For instance, it adopted artificial intelligence-generated avatars last year to make their profiles seem more realistic and used deepfake news anchors to share bogus articles […]〞 #propaganda #inauthentic #Spamouflage #China #PRC #spam #socialMedia

Yes, it's all well and good to preach about Atmanirbhar Bharat but India is still relying on Chinese tech and know-how for critical infrastructure. Don't get me wrong - I'm not even convinced by arguments of self sufficiency. Just wondering at the dichotomy between rhetoric and policy.

"the entire ordeal, now labeled “The Civil Servant Blood Donation Incident” (公务员献血事件) on Chinese social media, reveals more about public distrust in the transparency of China’s healthcare system than it does about Yu, her family, or the situation in Tibet."