Looking at referrals from Google Search from 2024 (before AI answers but also during the election) and the last quarter. Now I am very depressed #SEO

"Eighty percent of Americans said voters have a responsibility to keep up with the news, but just 8% said they had a responsibility to pay for it." www.semafor.com/newsletter/0...

It should be obvious that criticizing ICE—or any government agency—on social media is protected by the First Amendment. It is not a crime. Tech companies must not comply with sweeping government demands that seek to unmask users simply for expressing their opinions online.

For the fifth month running, @us.theconversation.com is the most-read nonprofit news site in America, according to data compiled by @joshuabenton.com of @niemanlab.org www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/ice-... #journalism

25 'experts' quoted in a sample of 250 stories published in British tabloids do not have a verifiable existence (and that 25 doesn't include 'experts' of dubious qualifications). Someone (I'm looking at you, @niemanlab.org) should replicate the study in the US pressgazette.co.uk/news/faces-o...

In 1979, the “New York Times” asked Isaac Bashevis Singer if he planned to watch the Super Bowl.

Peggy Noonan is brilliant on why all Americans should be worried about the killing off of @washingtonpost.com (h/t @democracyeditor.bsky.social) www.wsj.com/opinion/a-la...

Get one great story from us every afternoon, direct to your inbox, with our new Substack. Subscribe to The Afternoon Story today! theconversationus.substack.com?r=1nuxuf

There’s been a lot of comparisons of ICE tactics to Hitler. But a better historical comparison is the fascist dictatorship of Spain’s Franco, according to a scholar of Spanish culture. buff.ly/Jbo9lA4

Hansen’s disease (leprosy) is treatable today in large part because of the work of Alice Ball, a 23-year-old chemist whose breakthrough turned a toxic folk remedy into the world’s first effective treatment. buff.ly/6su5B6M #BlackHistoryMonth

From Argentina’s dictatorship to today’s ICE raids, mothers have turned grief into resistance. A political scientist who lived through Argentina’s junta draws urgent parallels. A collaboration with @rewirenewsgroup.com #news #politics #ICE #immigration #Argentina #history #democracy #polisky

Was having a nostalgic discussion with a colleague about the days when a link on the Drudge Report meant a tsunami of traffic. One of his retro design features is a pageview counter. He's had 5.8 billion pageviews in the past year. In 2024: 7b 2023: 8b 2021: 9b 2018-2020: 10b #onlinejournalism

A vital correction:

Erratic behavior and unpredictability is having a moment in foreign policy circles. In the White House and elsewhere, it is seemingly being viewed as a strategic asset rather than a weakness. But it is far from a new strategy. A political science professor explains “madman theory” buff.ly/qInO1mM

After this article on PluckyWire was published by @sarahscire.com, we picked up two new republishers from their service. This could be the start of something big wire.pluckyworks.org/onboarding/network-signup/3f29a2c4-a9d2-4516-8221-2397dc1eab24/

‘Water bankruptcy’ is a growing problem worldwide — from Tehran’s depleted reservoirs to the overdrawn Colorado River in the U.S. west. buff.ly/Dz0Ozez

Making this chart about @us.theconversation.com readership gave me joy - 1,447,331,134 pageviews to date (that we can count, plus all those online readers we can't count and print readership and video watchers)

Anyone considering buying a bridge in Brooklyn with Bitcoin? Instead, why not buy preferred stock in @latimes.com? (Notes: the company 'owes' its owner $207 million and he retains 100% voting control after this offering) #journalism join.latimes.com?utm_source=s...

No notes

There has never been a more important time for our work elevating the voices of experts and sharing their knowledge with the public. Please support our work with a tax-deductible donation: donate.theconversation.com/us?utm_campa...

When Americans insist "it can't happen here," they’re wrong. A sociologist who studies collective memory and identity examines how the U.S. forgot its own fascist movements and what that collective amnesia means today. buff.ly/9mzgR3S

Seventy years ago, Jonas Salk and his team worked in a lab between a morgue and a darkroom to develop the world’s first successful polio vaccine. A filmmaker who made a documentary on Salk’s work explains why forgetting life before vaccines has real consequences: buff.ly/VYpqOy4 #vaccineswork

Yes, the government can track your location. ICE and other agencies can track your movements using data gathered by apps and online ads on your phone, and sold by private companies. You probably don't realize how easily you can be found.

33% of hospital workers in California are foreign born. 25% in Florida. 5% in Tennessee. The U.S. faces shortages of health care workers, and #immigration restrictions will make the situation worse. buff.ly/c6i8sAv

In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Pottersville is a dystopian warning about concentrated power, corruption and a community numbed to cruelty. The parallels to today are hard to ignore, writes a film studies professor.

Fuck Times New Roman. Stupid modern shit. We need to return to this: illuminations. We need to return to the first letter on the page being a big picture.

This is a great Jewish American story, and a great #journalism story. They don't make 'em like Jerry Izenberg any more. It's a great feed cleanser: www.esquire.com/entertainmen... (cc @daviddaniel.bsky.social, who I know will appreciate this)

Its been 🔟 years since I started working at @us.theconversation.com! 🎉 That's 3 years longer than I've been any place else in my career. But I still love it! They even got me to make a video: www.youtube.com/shorts/hCcia... It's a #news organization well worth supporting. Here's why I 😍 it: 🧵

Happy Friday! This is my favorite question in this week’s @us.theconversation.com #NewsQuiz theconversation.com/the-conversa...

We’ve got a good palate cleanser for you: a special news #quiz focussed on nice news of the year: theconversation.com/the-conversa... (Yes, there were at least 8 stories we published that qualified)

This comment on a Facebook post I wrote made my day. I am human and unpredictable, whereas ChatGPT is entirely based on the probability of what word comes next www.facebook.com/theconversat...

"The chemtrail theory is ultimately prideful. It’s a way for theorists to feel powerful + smart when they face things beyond their comprehension and control." People cling to ridiculous theories to meet their emotional needs - great explanation by @dratropos.bsky.social for @theconversation.com

Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other. Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq

Florida’s laws allow open carry, permitless carry and “stand your ground” are a potentially deadly combination. A historian points to a 31.6% increase in firearm homicides after the ‘stand your ground’ law passed in 2005. buff.ly/7LPIFNn

My favorite sentence of the day, about the restart of the "Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania", by @walthickey.bsky.social www.numlock.com/p/numlock-ne...

No wonder I'm especially down this week: according to @us.theconversation.com , I've been paying close attention to the news. ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅ theconversation.com/the-conversa...

Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:

So I'm not too worried about ICE monitoring Google+, but the rest of this is scary #privacy theconversation.com/always-watch...

Everything you need to know to understand that joke, in 1:25 🧪

Don’t get tricked by misinformation 🎃 We share serious and spooky stuff all year long with articles written by people who really know their stuff, because they’ve been studying their topic for years or even decades. Some of favorite #Halloween stories include: 🧵

Trump’s military strikes on boats near Venezuela have killed 43 people the administration claims were drug smugglers. A former Pentagon analyst questions whether there’s any real strategy behind the largest Caribbean deployment since the Cuban Missile Crisis. buff.ly/GCxSia2

On the day that the NY Daily News headlined "Ford to City: Drop Dead" the @nytimes.com headline was “Ford, Castigating City, Asserts He’d Veto Federal Bailout; Offers Bankruptcy Bill” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/n...

Last time there was a government shutdown and EPA regulators were furloughed, coal plants nationwide turned off pollutions controls. Pollution went right back doen afterwards 😡 theconversation.com/coal-plants-...

I love this little bit of history - so glad that @katrinaaman.bsky.social thought to recirculate it today

Google News seems to need a remedial course in "Physics"

“Are there partnerships to be had between newsrooms and creators? Yes, there are partnerships to be had. Can the creator class replace the profession? I say no, it cannot, and should not. But there’s an ideal mix between the two that has yet to be found.”

I was off for a day-and-a-half this week and did not edit this week's @us.theconversation.com news quiz, but @fritzholz.bsky.social couldn't fool me! ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅ theconversation.com/the-conversa...

A @bostonglobe.com farewell to the legendary @bostonteresa.bsky.social, a pioneer of online journalism, retiring after 40 years at the Globe. Her speech reminded us of how lucky we are to be journalists, and how important the work we do is.

RIP Jane Goodall, who has died at 91. She was a gentle disrupter who reshaped how we understand our place in nature. Her research with chimpanzees revolutionized science, and her boundless optimism touched the world. buff.ly/5Hwx3Z7 🌎🩺

Good news! Environmental engineers are making progress in a new method to clean up PCBs, a dangerous ‘forever chemical’ that lingers in the water, using bacteria attached to biochar made from corn kernels. buff.ly/Du92X1e