David Szakonyi | Lightnews

Unusual Whales @unusualwhales.bsky.social · Oct 11

BREAKING: Look at this.

A new crypto account was opened yesterday morning.

30 minutes BEFORE Trump's announcement of 100% tariffs on China, it added a huge multi-million dollar levered Bitcoin short position, per YF.

The market dumped.

The trader made +$192 million in two hours.

Unusual.

Frederik Obermaier @frederikobermaier.com · Oct 11

🤦‍♂️😈 "Thiel said that international financial bodies, which make it more difficult for people to shelter their wealth in tax havens, are one sign the antichrist may be amassing power & hastening Armageddon,saying: “It’s become quite difficult to hide one’s money.”" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s off-the-record lectures about the antichrist

The political svengali and investor has been giving lectures on ‘an evil king or tyrant … who appears in the end times’

www.theguardian.com

David Szakonyi @szakonyi.bsky.social · Oct 3

Come work with us!

Florian Hollenbach @fhollenbach.org · Oct 1

Are you interested in research on corruption/illicit finance/kleptocracy? We are hiring a Research Fellow at @acdatacollective.bsky.social: acdatacollective.org/wp-content/u...
Please share in your networks, this could be a great gig.

acdatacollective.org

Florian Hollenbach @fhollenbach.org · Oct 1

Are you interested in research on corruption/illicit finance/kleptocracy? We are hiring a Research Fellow at @acdatacollective.bsky.social: acdatacollective.org/wp-content/u...
Please share in your networks, this could be a great gig.

acdatacollective.org

Florian Hollenbach @fhollenbach.org · Sep 17

Academic friends, what is the best place to run representative surveys in the US that is reasonably affordable? Recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Matt Collin @mattcollin.bsky.social · Sep 5

I have given in and started a Substack to write about illicit finance, development and data

In my first post, I explain why we should be careful about citing the $312 billion statistic on the size of Chinese money laundering

datadarkly.substack.com/p/exactly-ho...

Exactly how big is that Chinese money laundering ring?

The difficulty of inferring from suspicious transaction reports

datadarkly.substack.com

Project Syndicate @projectsyndicate.bsky.social · Sep 5

The choice facing Switzerland is clear. It can cling to an outdated model of banking secrecy that represses press freedom, or it can align its laws with democratic standards, write Delphine Halgand-Mishra and @frederikobermaier.com. bit.ly/4p85SHj

Switzerland Must Choose Press Freedom Over Bank Secrecy

Delphine Halgand-Mishra & Frederik Obermaier show how laws criminalizing the disclosure of client data have muzzled journalists and whistleblowers.

bit.ly

David Szakonyi @szakonyi.bsky.social · Sep 4

Happy ERC Announcement Day, everyone!

And huge huge congrats to Jacob. So well deserved.

𝙅𝙖𝙘🍩𝙗 𝙉𝙮𝙧𝙪𝙥 @jacobnyrup.bsky.social · Sep 4

I am honored to have been awarded an ERC Starting Grant towards my project "Governing elites since the dawn of modern democracy" (GETGOV).

It allows me to continue to advance this research agenda; the goal is to build a database on governing elites from 1789 and up to today + much more.

#ERCStG

Jacob Nyrup awarded EU funds to research political elites - Department of Political Science

Jacob Nyrup from the Department of Political Science has been granted a substantial 18 million Norwegian kroner by the EU's research council to examine political elites in countries before and after d...

www.sv.uio.no

𝙅𝙖𝙘🍩𝙗 𝙉𝙮𝙧𝙪𝙥 @jacobnyrup.bsky.social · Sep 4

I am honored to have been awarded an ERC Starting Grant towards my project "Governing elites since the dawn of modern democracy" (GETGOV).

It allows me to continue to advance this research agenda; the goal is to build a database on governing elites from 1789 and up to today + much more.

#ERCStG

Jacob Nyrup awarded EU funds to research political elites - Department of Political Science

Jacob Nyrup from the Department of Political Science has been granted a substantial 18 million Norwegian kroner by the EU's research council to examine political elites in countries before and after d...

www.sv.uio.no

Ina L Kristiansen @inalkristiansen.bsky.social · Sep 2

Great to have @szakonyi.bsky.social present his new book project in the keynote speech at the WhoGov 2025 workshop at @statsvitenskap.bsky.social ! The last two days have been full of exciting presentations on elite research by a great group of researchers!

Corey Frayer @csfrayer.bsky.social · Aug 27

Here's what the third day of elementary school looked like in Mount Pleasant, Washington DC.

Ethan Porter @ethanvporter.bsky.social · Aug 18

Today, @catiebailard.bsky.social and I take the reins at GW's Institute for Data, Democracy + Politics! We'll work to make IDDP a one-stop shop for research on misinfo, platform manipulation, and threats to democratic ideals. To follow our work + learn about opportunities, visit: bit.ly/45GLggi

Sign up

signup.e2ma.net

𝙅𝙖𝙘🍩𝙗 𝙉𝙮𝙧𝙪𝙥 @jacobnyrup.bsky.social · Aug 18

We are really excited to welcome so many excellent scholars to Oslo for our WhoGov workshop/mini conference on political elites on September 1-2.

If you are in or around Oslo and want to join for a session or a day, please reach out. You can find the program here: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wp9m6...

Rick Claypool @rickclaypool.bsky.social · Aug 13

New @publiccitizen.bsky.social report:

The Trump admin is deleting enforcement against Big Tech lawbreaking amidst the industry's BILLION-dollar influence efforts.

Turns out in Trump's techno-swamp, tech insiders are immune & "tough on crime" rhetoric is just for punishing the poor.

Deleting Tech Enforcement - Public Citizen

www.citizen.org

tim frye @timfrye.bsky.social · Jul 30

Very happy to announce the publication of Workplace Politics, with @szakonyi.bsky.social and Ora John Reuter. Drawing on data from 8 countries with a deep-dive on Russia, we examine when, why, and how politicians and employers pressure their workers to vote in elections. academic.oup.com/book/60445

Workplace Politics: How Politicians and Employers Subvert Elections

Abstract. In many countries politicians rely on employers to influence the voting behavior of their employees, but this type of voter mobilization is remar

academic.oup.com

PPLAAF @pplaaf.bsky.social · Jul 18

#DRC🇨🇩: A new @pplaaf.bsky.social investigation reveals construction subcontracts worth $70M were awarded to a company linked to Minister Guy Loando."Fighting against impunity is essential to defend the public services that have been denied to the 🇨🇩 population." said PPLAAF.

🔗 👉: pplaaf.pro/4kQQBr5

Democratic Republic of Congo: Major Road Project Built on Corruption Risk - PPLAAF

Kinshasa-Matadi Road Project Subcontracts Allegedly Inflated by Millions, Connected to Top Official (Dakar, 18 July 2025) – A new investigation by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPL...

pplaaf.pro

Dylan Primakoff @dylanmp.bsky.social · Jul 14

Great article from @szakonyi.bsky.social on what is being lost with the closure of Russian election monitor Golos: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/07/11/w...

David Szakonyi @szakonyi.bsky.social · Jul 11

It was painful to write an obituary, from an academic's perspective, for one of Russia's most important civil society organizations

@themoscowtimes.com

www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/07/11/w...

Why Russia's Last Independent Election Monitor Mattered to the World - The Moscow Times

Opinion | After 25 years of work, Russia’s only independent election monitoring organization, Golos, is sadly no more.

www.themoscowtimes.com

David Szakonyi @szakonyi.bsky.social · Jul 10

Our new report is out today!

Anti-Corruption Data Collective @acdatacollective.bsky.social · Jul 10

🔴 How can a captured bank become an engine of grand corruption❓

Our new briefing dives deep into the Congo Hold-Up investigation to reveal the tactics used to embezzle and launder funds through BGFIBank in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

acdatacollective.org/work/inside-...

Inside the Congo Hold-Up – ACDC

acdatacollective.org

Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) @giace.bsky.social · Jul 10

Financial institutions are the arteries of modern economies—but when captured, they become pipelines for illicit wealth.
@acdatacollective.bsky.social's new brief "Inside the Congo Hold-Up" shows how BGFIBank DRC was hijacked by the Kabila regime to launder public funds.

🔗 bit.ly/ACDCPolicyBr...

Inside the Congo Hold-Up: How a Captured Bank Enabled Grand Corruption - Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence

This briefing reveals how BGFIBank DRC was transformed into a vehicle for grand corruption by Congo’s ruling elite. It details how illicit financial flows were enabled through mis-invoicing, fictitiou...

bit.ly

Anti-Corruption Data Collective @acdatacollective.bsky.social · Jul 10

🔴 How can a captured bank become an engine of grand corruption❓

Our new briefing dives deep into the Congo Hold-Up investigation to reveal the tactics used to embezzle and launder funds through BGFIBank in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

acdatacollective.org/work/inside-...

Inside the Congo Hold-Up – ACDC

acdatacollective.org

Matt Collin @mattcollin.bsky.social · Jun 19

🚨New working paper🚨 w/ @jeannebomare.bsky.social

We use data leaked from the Isle of Man to understand how well international agreements meant to provide tax authorities with info on foreign accounts actually work

We find that tax authorities probably receive a lot less than they would desire

🧵👇

Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) @giace.bsky.social · Jun 18

🚨 Upcoming ACE Seminar
Inside the Congo Hold-Up: How a Captured Bank Enabled Grand Corruption

🗓️ 10 July 2025
🕓 4–5 PM UK Time
💻 Online
🔗 Register: bit.ly/aceseminar8

@lizdavidbarrett.bsky.social @sussexscsc.bsky.social @szakonyi.bsky.social @acdatacollective.bsky.social

David Szakonyi @szakonyi.bsky.social · Jun 12

What’s even more puzzling is that the media will cease to exist if they choose not to hold this current regime accountable and cover it for what it is

Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · Jun 2

If I'm reading this correctly, then Yarvin wants the role of führer to be awarded via a Wings of Voice-style competition www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

“You don’t ransack your own house,” he told me one afternoon, at an open-air café in Venice Beach. I’d asked him what would stop his C.E.O.-monarch from plundering the country—or enslaving his people—for personal gain. “For Louis XIV, when he says, ‘L’état, c’est moi,’ ransacking the state holds no meaning because it’s all his anyway.” Following Hoppe, Yarvin proposes that nations should eventually be broken up into a “patchwork” of statelets, like Singapore or Dubai, each with its own sovereign ruler. The eternal political problems of legitimacy, accountability, and succession would be solved by a secret board with the power to select and recall the otherwise all-powerful C.E.O. of each sovereign corporation, or SovCorp. (How the board itself would be selected is unclear, but Yarvin has suggested that airline pilots—“a fraternity of intelligent, practical, and careful people who are already trusted on a regular basis with the lives of others. What’s not to like?”—could manage the transition between regimes.) To prevent a C.E.O. from staging a military coup, the board members would have access to cryptographic keys that would allow them to disarm all government weapons, from nuclear missiles down to small arms, with the push of a button.

tim frye @timfrye.bsky.social · May 16

Good work here from my friend and colleague Andrei Yakovlev www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/putin...

Putin’s New Hermit Kingdom

At war with the West and its own elites, the Russian regime inches toward fully closed dictatorship.

www.foreignaffairs.com

Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · May 14

10/🧵 Read my full analysis in my latest:

How to Fight GOP Corruption: The Empirical Case for Rejecting Mega-Donor Money

How Democrats can align their funding model with their message to win hearts, minds, and elections

data4democracy.substack.com

David Szakonyi @szakonyi.bsky.social · Apr 17

In retrospect, insanity

David Szakonyi @szakonyi.bsky.social · Apr 9

Investigate and make this a story about today. Especially if and when the SEC refuses to.

Unusual Whales @unusualwhales.bsky.social · Apr 9

Alright, I think people knew of the tariff pause and traded it beforehand.

You can see before Trump posted "buy" on Truth Social, traders opened $QQQ $TQQQ and $SPY calls

RIGHT BEFORE THE NEWS, someone opened $SPY 509 calls, expiring TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those calls are up 2100% in one hour.

Unusual Whales @unusualwhales.bsky.social · Apr 9

Alright, I think people knew of the tariff pause and traded it beforehand.

You can see before Trump posted "buy" on Truth Social, traders opened $QQQ $TQQQ and $SPY calls

RIGHT BEFORE THE NEWS, someone opened $SPY 509 calls, expiring TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those calls are up 2100% in one hour.

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