One thing that’s cool about our current system is how it creates things that people don’t want or need, and also those things are bad for us.

Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones. Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.

Looking for alternatives to Gmail and G-Drive? Two years ago I switched to #Posteo for emails and to @nextcloud.bsky.social for personal online storage (via #Hetzner). It costs me the equivalent of a good flat white per month & gives me peace of mind that my personal data isn't scraped or abused.

Really good article by @bronicee.bsky.social on the world's largest data centre to be built in Sydney and its environmental impact. Spoiler: it's massive! But at least we'll have funny videos of dogs dancing while we burn... 😌 stories.theconversation.com/can-australi... @aunz.theconversation.com

“Four of my children just evaporated,” Badran said, holding back tears. “I looked for them a million times. Not a piece was left. Where did they go?” There are no words to adequately describe the evil here.

This is why you're better off getting your news from TikTok. It's not ideal, but better than PR-coded journalism in which politicians solely focus on defending their horrible decisions. Check the footage.

EFF is against age verification mandates, including Discord's new policy requiring face scans or IDs for full access to the platform. Here are some things to consider if you're planning to continue using Discord next month. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

I don't have much to add that other folks haven't said, but as a historian of the queer internet, this doesn't surprise me at all. LGBTQ users are convenient corporate props...until they're not worth protecting.

"[D]o you fundamentally achieve public safety by trying to repress protests, by trying to prevent street processions, by creating a legal regime where there’s no independent arbiter or are in fact those things potentially quite dangerous to community safety?" Good questions. #auslaw #nswpol

Oh man i just realized all of those discord channels that replaced entire websites, forums, and wikis are going to just vanish and internet archive can't archive them

I very genuinely do not think that Australia's media industry can be classified as any other than fully supportive of police violence, because you have to actively, consciously and knowingly work to frame what happened as general "violence mars protests" rather than "police violently attack protest"

So regardless of intentions, @australianlabor.bsky.social and state govs are normalising undemocratic powers that may deepen division rather than resolve it. Democracies are strongest not when they suppress conflict, but when they allow it to be argued, contested, and worked through in the open.

Powerful, incisive, and informed writing here (i.e. something you won't find in the legacy media cited here)

Proud to be a signatory. This open letter is in SMH and Age.

Let's be real, we cannot abolish ICE under this administration. But we can start the process by taking away the tools they’re using to surveil and target our communities. Push to defund them until abolishment is possible. www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...

ID checking for online services has been the dogwhistle for internet censorship for longer THAN I HAVE BEEN ALIVE

PhD scholarship applications are open for a project investigating how public opinion is formed in online spaces, with a focus on the deliberative quality of discussions, social influence dynamics, and platform affordances and governance across major digital platforms. www.qut.edu.au/study/fees-a...

Oxford University Press has lifted the paywall on the entire 40 year archive of @healthpromint.bsky.social as part of our flip to fully open access! Check out the amazing work of our authors - free to read - here: academic.oup.com/heapro

CFP: Transnational Queer and Feminist Archives This collection seeks to publish work demonstrating transnational strategies for preserving queer and feminist activist archives. Abstracts due: 30 March 17:00 PST Learn more: docs.google.com/document/d/1... 🏳️‍⚧️🌈🗃️ (no affiliation)

New paper, led by @jngardiner.bsky.social. We look at queer & trans visibility on social media and negotiations of safety for LGBTQ+ young people - drawing from interviews with young people, service providers and LGBTQ+ creators. Reach out if you'd like a copy www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Louise Adler pulls no punches here and she is absolutely spot on. "The increasingly extreme and repressive efforts of pro-Israel lobbyists to stifle even the mildest criticism has had a chilling effect on free speech and democratic institutions." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Here's @instanterudite.bsky.social . "Why is a Labor Premier silencing a writer?" (In case you're only familiar with her work on The Shot, Jo used to run the AWW.)

Please share this widely. There have been 13 peer-reviewed critiques of the Cass Review, to the extent that academia regards it as pseudoscience, but so far all have been subject to organised censorship by mainstream media. This is the first time one has broken through. Oz Guardian only still.

Colleagues at the Open University of Catalonia are looking for 24(!!!!) doctoral candidates on a range of topics connected to ICT use. Check out the call for applications here: www.uoc.edu/portal/en/es...

Seems like a good time to drop this here www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/a-complete...

New book! "Communities of Care in Migration" is an edited collection of chapters highlighting the often-unrecognised labour of care given and received between migrants in diverse contexts. Edited by @leahmouse.bsky.social & Valerie Francisco-Menchavez: link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

there’s a scene in the new documentary where Elizabeth Taylor is talking about the stigma of AIDS and how she got involved in the movement and it’s fucking everything

The man who inspired Australia's teen social media ban literally did this:

I'm very pleased to be hosting this roundtable discussion about LGBTQ+ Peer Support on December 2, 9-11am AEDT, in-person and online. Featuring wonderful discussants including @shubhakayastha.bsky.social @joel.queercomputer.com @t-odonell.bsky.social and more! events.humanitix.com/lgbtq-peer-s...

Go now and sign this, don't let politicians in Qld override medical advice. equalityaustralia.org.au/our-work/qld...

much look forward to welcoming @sophiebishop.bsky.social to talk about her new book "influencer creep" tomorrow with @zaborowski.bsky.social and Zeena Feldman! 🎊 www.kcl.ac.uk/events/influ...

Have you heard of pictureless dating apps? Yes, dating without pictures 😜. My wonderful undergraduate student Rachel Sin explores why Gen Z opts for this newer type of dating apps and the pathways for relationship development. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Starting a book is not too difficult - Reach out to me! #GenderSexualityPeterLang #GenderSexualityAsia

The Digital Intimacies Conference started yesterday with the presentation of the enriching work done by @jessicaringrose.bsky.social Today @paulibyron.bsky.social is sharing “Rethinking mental health, care and friendship through Tiktok’s resonance”👏🏻 Follow us on Instagram for real-time updates!🩷

wow already received like 40~ suggestions. keep em coming!

What it’s like to be a Middle East Studies Professor in fall 2025 - my new post surveys the field, and my colleagues. Basically it sucks and it’s getting worse. But we haven’t given up. abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/what-its-lik...

🔥 Excited to share some great news 🔥 Our article 'Teletherapy Matters – Mental health and materialities of care in domestic more-than-digital assemblages' co-authored by @dalupton.bsky.social & myself, has just been published in Social Science & Medicine. #OpenAccess link: doi.org/10.1016/j.so...

Columbia just expelled or suspended 80 students for protesting in favor of Palestinian rights. Suspended students can only be readmitted if they "apologize"--otherwise the suspension converts to an expulsion. www.axios.com/2025/07/22/c...

new writing from me about age verification and content moderation beyond social media. with endless thanks to @kgt.bsky.social @drwaus.bsky.social @katha.bsky.social @antmandan.bsky.social Zahra Stardust @lucinda-nelson.bsky.social whose research and advocacy continue to inform my thinking

For any mob interested, please participate.

Pleased to share a new paper from me & Tisha Dejmanee on queer & trans influential peers. Thanks to @jngardiner.bsky.social for research support, @jinlee.bsky.social for encouraging us at ANZCA many moons ago, and our wonderful participants! ❤️ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

"This is a call to health workers: betray your training when it demands cruelty. If it means someone gets what they need to live—betray your bosses, your licensing board, your EMR .. Care is not your credential, it’s your calling." @reallandsend.bsky.social blindarchive.substack.com/p/where-is-t...

This (completely anonymous) form was sent out by HHS for NIH staffers to fill out, asking them to report on any Biden-era DEI practices they felt were discriminatory. Does anyone have thousands and thousands of responses to this request? forms.office.com/g/HXGhXVdGKZ...

CFP is out for the next (11th) Digital Intimacies symposium, hosted by @liksamchan.bsky.social at USyd, Dec 3-5. The theme is The Love of Machines & abstracts are due by Aug 29. I'm very happy to be part of the organising committee. Send us your abstracts! digitalintiamcies11.wordpress.com

My PhD framework is now LIVE! We co-designed 5 recommendations for improving social media health communication to young people, with young people and health orgs📱 🔗: www.sydneyhealthliteracylab.org.au/social-media-comms-for-young-people-framework #AcademicSky #PhDSky #PhDSky #PublicHealth 🦘🎓

Alright everyone, one last push. If you or anyone you know is: - LGBTQ+ - 13-24 years old - In the US Trevor Project is recruiting responses for their survey on LGBTQ+ mental health. It has HUGE impacts on policy, please take it and share widely if you can :) trvr.org/survey2025

First, Israel cut Gaza’s last internet cable—blacking out 2.3 million people. Then it bombed Iran with no UN approval, no imminent threat. As eyes shift to Iran, Israel will escalate its ethnic cleansing in Gaza—and create more regional instability.

Join us for this upcoming virtual panel organized by INQYR! This event features Dr. Shelley Craig, Dr. Lauren McInroy, Dr. Dane Marco Di Cesare, Dr. Ignacio Lozano-Verduzco, Dr. Yael Perry, and Dr. Liam Cahill. Reserve your ticket at mobilizinghope.eventbrite.com (1/6)

African developers make a game where African characters steal back actual artefacts that are actually kept in Western museums and private collections while teaching you about the artefacts. This looks awesome.