So as people, we’re ok tear-gassing children now, is it?

Just in time for Trump's scheduled war crimes, Bellingcat has updated our tool for identifying damaged buildings and structures in satellite imagery, ideally for investigating atrocities in Iran. Full details here: www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...

The latest in Israel's campaign against Palestinian human rights organisations. Four years after six Palestinian civil society groups were designated as "terrorist organisations", Defence for Children International - Palestine has had to shutter its operations. www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

What is utterly shocking is not just a Head of State making a statement like this - but the absence of cohesive global leadership that speaks out against what this war represents; speaking up for hundreds of families inside and outside Iran living in absolute fear and darkness.

📢 Call for creative community builders who want to support local bands and musicians! Use our contact form and put “For A.B.B.” at the start of the message to get in touch: newpublic.org/contact

Bellingcat found 31 posts with AI-generated imagery shared on social media by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam and West Bengal in December that appeared to meet the United Nations’ definition of hate speech. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

NEW | 2025 was a record year for internet shutdowns — 313 times. Authorities imposed shutdowns to control information and restrict access. The #KeepItOn coalition spent last year documenting shutdowns across the world. These are the findings ⬇️ 🧵

I’ve been a journalist for 27 years. I’ve reported major stories about mass surveillance, torture, war, the military-industrial complex, police black sites, etc. But this is the most important story I’ve ever had the horror/honor to work on. For it is a story about the current phase of a genocide.

US jury orders Meta to pay $375m for endangering children https://aje.news/5nmctj

Ahead of a crucial hearing in Anthropic's legal standoff with the Pentagon, outside groups filed briefs largely rebuking the Trump administration's effort to restrict government use of the company's products. Here's a breakdown of what legal experts and advocates had to say.

Age verification puts all users at risk of data breaches, EFF’s Rin Alajaji told @bloomberg.com, and requiring ID for social media could chill speech, particularly from whistleblowers or activists who rely on anonymity. www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...

"For 19 days, the majority of Iran’s 92 million people have been cut off from the outside world, according to watchdog groups that track internet censorship in the country, as the country’s regime has tried to suppress communication and maintain control over its population during wartime."

Thousands face worsening illness after closure of key crossing halts medical evacuations.

🧵 Thread ahead. For over a decade, the evidence shows that social media platforms, especially Meta and Google, have profited financially from spreading misinformation because they sell highly engaging content to advertisers. Below are some examples of how they profit from spreading misinformation.

NEW: updated long-run gap in voting between young men and women in Germany: Gender divide continues to widen, but contrary to what is often assumed, young men continue to vote roughly in line with the overall population, while young women have swung sharply left. www.ft.com/content/29fd...

Extremely Polarized Democracies Often See Democracy Erode Of 52 cases where democracies became severely polarized, half experienced democratic backsliding. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

That point in the history of the world when self proclaimed guardians of free speech and information integrity are the likes of Meta and Delhi police. m.thewire.in/article/gove...

Great perspective from my former colleagues at OGP - the lack of oversight over Low Earth Satellites and AI can do significant (and ongoing) harm, but with the essential safeguards, the potential to tackle corruption

Sen Ted Cruz requests documents from the Dept of Justice on whether "foreign entities are directly or indirectly engaging in political activities in an attempt to influence U.S. AI policy." 😶 The letter makes for an interesting read. www.commerce.senate.gov/services/fil...

Must read! "We highlight three main affordances of ‘open’ AI - transparency, reusability, & extensibility;[...]‘open’ AI allows some forms of oversight & experimentation...openness alone does not perturb the concentration of power in AI." @ainowinstitute.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Great piece on freedom of expression in armed conflict. Proud of my friend Chantal Joris for this deep and valuable contribution to the debate on this topic. www.article19.org/free-express...

In Dec, the UN General Assembly will adopt a new cybercrime convention, a massive blow to digital rights globally. Interestingly, both civil society & companies have criticised it. This great piece by @zaghdoudist.bsky.social highlights how cybercrime laws have been misused (in the Arab region).

"The discrimination perpetuated by UDK and ATP’s algorithms is happening in an environment of pre-existing inequalities...within Danish society,...embedded in the design of ATP’s algorithmic models, facilitating the categorization of individuals & communities based on difference or “othering”"

My sister is on hunger strike to free her son Alaa Abd el-Fattah from jail in Egypt. We don’t want her to die | Ahdaf Soueif

Brief update on our ongoing efforts to allow users to specify consent (or not) for AI training: 🧵

New to bsky! Talk to me about digital policy and open government (I can tell you what not to do when designing policy processes, especially if you're a government official). Always happy to exchange notes on food recommendations, Indian classical dance (or any dance really) and the sunday papers.