Erica Weintraub Austin
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ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin
@ericawaustin.bsky.social
1K followers 250 following 500 posts

Originator of the Media Literacy Theory of Chge, baker of award-winning Cougar Gold Cheese Coins, and fortunate family partner of talented musicians, a statistician, theoretical physicist and ball-chasing pup. My views may not reflect those of my employer. .. more

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Communication & Media Studies 25%
Education 16%
Posts Replies Media Videos

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 1d
Mr. Bell is a mensch and must be a great teacher, and supervisor-elect Drew is a role model for more young people to follow!

Reporting from @sopandeb.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
Virginia Teen Narrowly Defeats His Former Civics Teacher in County Election
www.nytimes.com

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 2d
That's part of the fun of interesting writing. I'm all about the process aspect of the issues raised as opposed to focusing on the content...

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 2d
Yes. It doesn't matter what the topic was. The way it described the through-the-looking-glass process of writing up "reporting" struck a nerve.

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 2d
ChatGPT: More than a million users show signs of mental health distress and mania each week, internal data suggest.

The finding was part of an update to the AI technology to better detect these types of conversations.
BMJ 2025; 391 doi: doi.org/10.1136/bmj.... (Published 30 October 2025)
ChatGPT: More than a million users show signs of mental health distress and mania each week, internal data suggest
Hundreds of thousands of ChatGPT users exhibit signs of psychosis, mania, or suicidal intent every week, a company audit indicates.1 The finding, released as part of an update to the AI technology to...
doi.org

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 2d
apnews.com/article/open...
OpenAI faces 7 lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide, delusions
OpenAI is facing seven lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions even when they had no prior mental health issues.
apnews.com

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 2d
"the piece is...an orchestrated encounter. You’re gazing through a pane of glass. Only when you stand a little closer...there is zero, less than zero, stress put on the relation between those two “sides,” or their histories, or their sponsors, or their relative evidentiary authority"

#medialiteracy

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 2d
Makes me wonder if this will open up opportunities for others to serve Sam Altman w a subpoena when he shows up to testify. He apparently has been successfully avoiding this and might have a few issues people would love for him to discuss.

tribune.com.pk/story/257635...
Sam Altman served with subpoena during live talk with Steve Kerr in San Francisco | The Express Tribune
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was served with a subpoena mid-event in San Francisco during a talk with Steve Kerr
tribune.com.pk

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Erica Weintraub Austin

jeremylittau.com
Jeremy Littau @jeremylittau.com · 2d
Phew. This is the best thing I’ve read this week and is absolutely worth your time.
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com

Reposted by Erica Weintraub Austin

lyndacarter.bsky.social
Lynda Carter @lyndacarter.bsky.social · 3d
I truly believe the reason we liked her was because we recognized her within ourselves. The multifaceted parts of her personality, her strength, her beauty, her warmth, her tenacity, and her honesty is who you are!

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 3d
Wow. Media literacy is becoming more urgent by the hour.

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 3d
Love this article about how yellow-legged gulls have had "bad PR" but can bring multiple benefits to communities that don't persecute them. 🧪
avianbiology.bsky.social Journal of Avian Biology @avianbiology.bsky.social · 3d
NEW PAPER: As direct persecution declines, yellow-legged gulls abandon remote refuges for human-accessible habitats, driving new colony growth and fostering multispecies waterbird communities of unexpected conservation value.

➡️ vist.ly/4db9c

#ornithology #birds #colonisation 🪶
Yellow-legged gull. Photo: Nicolás Ron Arroyo Fig. 2 from the article: (A) Number of yellow-legged gull pairs over time (1976–2022), breeding in human-inaccessible sites (i.e. island cliffs). (B) Number of breeding pairs of yellow-legged gull over time (1976–2021) breeding in human-accessible islets. (C) Number of yellow-legged gull pairs over time (1977–2019) breeding in the urban area of Vigo city. Fig. 3 from the article: Timing of colonization of human-accessible islets by the three focal waterbird species (A) little egret (A.1 Pedregoso, A.2 Beiro) (B) Eurasian oystercatcher (B.1 Pedregoso, B.2 Areoso, B.3 Vionta) and (C) great black-backed gull (C.1 Pedregoso, C.2 Areoso, C.3 Vionta) in comparison with the timing of colonization of yellow-legged gulls. Fig. 4 from the article: Conceptual model that aims to show the process of colonization of human-accessible islets that were formerly empty due to anthropogenic disturbance

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 3d
It's easy to get confused when headlines, photos and ledes seem to contradict.

But the report explains context. Experts conclude there are "warning signs," people are "sour" and "anxious," but existing data are "still within typical bounds."

Multiple sources -> better info

#medialiteracy
Labor market continues to slow, private data shows
ADP’s monthly report shows private firms added jobs in October, for the first time since July. Meanwhile, Indeed data shows job openings slumped at the end of October.
www.marketplace.org

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 3d
Very interesting, thank you, also important for everyone to understand the methodology given that this is a poll from a progressive source, so here are the details www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/202...

#medialiteracy
www.filesforprogress.org

Reposted by Erica Weintraub Austin

avianbiology.bsky.social
Journal of Avian Biology @avianbiology.bsky.social · 3d
NEW PAPER: As direct persecution declines, yellow-legged gulls abandon remote refuges for human-accessible habitats, driving new colony growth and fostering multispecies waterbird communities of unexpected conservation value.

➡️ vist.ly/4db9c

#ornithology #birds #colonisation 🪶
Yellow-legged gull. Photo: Nicolás Ron Arroyo Fig. 2 from the article: (A) Number of yellow-legged gull pairs over time (1976–2022), breeding in human-inaccessible sites (i.e. island cliffs). (B) Number of breeding pairs of yellow-legged gull over time (1976–2021) breeding in human-accessible islets. (C) Number of yellow-legged gull pairs over time (1977–2019) breeding in the urban area of Vigo city. Fig. 3 from the article: Timing of colonization of human-accessible islets by the three focal waterbird species (A) little egret (A.1 Pedregoso, A.2 Beiro) (B) Eurasian oystercatcher (B.1 Pedregoso, B.2 Areoso, B.3 Vionta) and (C) great black-backed gull (C.1 Pedregoso, C.2 Areoso, C.3 Vionta) in comparison with the timing of colonization of yellow-legged gulls. Fig. 4 from the article: Conceptual model that aims to show the process of colonization of human-accessible islets that were formerly empty due to anthropogenic disturbance

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 4d
Verified with links to the original press releases at meidasnews.com/news/communi...

Wondering what the price difference would be for the 2024 version of the Thx meal.

#medialiteracy

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 5d
Meanwhile... www.404media.co/army-tells-s...
US Army Tells Soldiers to Go to German Food Bank, Then Deletes It
The initial 'Shutdown Guidance' for the US Army Garrison Bavaria included instructions to go to German food banks.
www.404media.co

Reposted by Erica Weintraub Austin

qasimrashid.com
Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 8d
Today is 105 year anniversary of Ocoee Election Day Massacre. On 11/2/1920 a white mob murdered 30 Black people, & burned 25 Black owned homes & Black churches—all b/c Black people dared exercise the right to vote

Ocoee's entire Black community was exiled. No Black American moved back in until 1980

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 9d
Anything to be said energetically in significant mainstream media and from leaders about the Nazi Halloween parade float that just happened to go down the street near Harrisburg?
Harrisburg’s Catholic bishop apologizes for ‘notorious symbol of hate’ on Halloween float
The phrase "Arbeit Macht Frei" was commonly posted at Wolrd War II-era concentration camps. Thursday, it also landed on a float in the Hanover Halloween parade.
www.pennlive.com

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 9d
Meanwhile @azteclady.bsky.social just posted an example of how the Jerusalem Post and other legacy media also are using AI in their reporting and not making it obvious, and AI requires a lot of fact checking.

Folks, don't repost those fake videos ok?

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 9d
yup, meeting people where they are with relevant information...

#medialiteracy
kennysmith.bsky.social Kenny Smith @kennysmith.bsky.social · 9d
When data centers insatiable energy demands cause rolling blackouts during our favorite pastimes … we will almost be ready to address the issue.
cjzero.bsky.social CJ Fogler @cjzero.bsky.social · 10d
NAU converts a 2 point try in the dark, the lights went out after the snap

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 9d
Inspiring about libraries.

When something is available, uplifting and enlightening, more people want in.

Libraries' power emanates from core values of openness, truth, and community accessibility. But this attracts threats.

Partnerships reduce vulnerability to isolated attack.

#medialiteracy

Reposted by Erica Weintraub Austin

kennysmith.bsky.social
Kenny Smith @kennysmith.bsky.social · 9d
When data centers insatiable energy demands cause rolling blackouts during our favorite pastimes … we will almost be ready to address the issue.
cjzero.bsky.social CJ Fogler @cjzero.bsky.social · 10d
NAU converts a 2 point try in the dark, the lights went out after the snap

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 9d
In better news:
jonathanslater.bsky.social Jonathan Slater @jonathanslater.bsky.social · 10d
My Visa declined at the sweater store.

So the cashier had to ask for my cardigan

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Rebecca Solnit , and 7 more

marisakabas.bsky.social
Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 9d
As SNAP hangs in the balance for nearly 42 million people, misinformation is rampant. Myths of laziness and fraud persist when we should be talking about too low wages for workers, income inequality, and our threadbare social safety net.

In this guest post, Adam Chandler sorts fact from fiction:
SNAP benefits feed essential needs while still leaving many hungry for more
Journalist and author Adam Chandler explains what so much of the conversation about them gets wrong.
www.thehandbasket.co

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 10d
An apology from the Bishop is a decent start but a lot more needs to be said about this by a lot more people in leadership roles.

Reposted by Erica Weintraub Austin

jonathanslater.bsky.social
Jonathan Slater @jonathanslater.bsky.social · 10d
My Visa declined at the sweater store.

So the cashier had to ask for my cardigan

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 11d
Meet Ron!

Thanks to many, he made it off of Death Row and has a fun job now.

share.inquirer.com/HeG8Ld?utm_s...
Ron was a pit bull scheduled for euthanasia. Now he’s a South Jersey K-9.
K-9 Ron, a rescued pit bull who was once scheduled to be euthanized, is now working for the Delran Township Police Department in narcotics detection. He was officially sworn in Tuesday night.
share.inquirer.com

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 12d
IF YOU CAN:

Food banks & pantries especially need $, shelf-stable milk, cooking oil, canned food, cereal, oatmeal, rice, peanut butter, juice, feminine products, toiletries.

& volunteers!

"SNAP distributes about 9x as much food as the charitable food system" says Eric Williams of Second Harvest.
'A sad reality': Food banks, grocery stores, residents expect to feel the strain from impending SNAP benefit expirations
Dozens of volunteers sifted through huge pallets overflowing with 40,000 pounds of pears fresh off a truck from the Wenatchee Valley on Tuesday afternoon at Second Harvest distribution center in Spoka...
www.spokesman.com

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 12d
This hunger hotline seems important to share.

You can learn more about @hungerfreeamerica.bsky.social on their website.

www.hungerfreeamerica.org/en-us/nation...
What is the National Hunger Hotline? Hunger Free America operates the National Hunger Hotline. The hotline is a resource for individuals and families seeking information on how to obtain food. The National Hunger Hotline staff connects callers with emergency food providers in their community, government assistance programs, and various social services. The hotline can be reached at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479) or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (1-877-842-6273), for Spanish, from Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET. Call the Hunger Hotline. Follow the Hunger Hotline on social media for more updates and resources. Click here to visit our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter page! Don't have time to call? Text the hotline! The Hunger Hotline also operates a texting service. Our number is 914-342-7744. Please note that these are automated texts and we do NOT reply or monitor texts. A list of keywords available is listed below. By sending a text you consent to receive messages from us where message and data rates may apply. You can opt out of receiving messages at any time by texting STOP. If you have any additional questions that were not answered over text, please call the hotline at 866-348-6479. https://www.hungerfreeamerica.org/en-us/national-hunger-hotline

ericawaustin.bsky.social
Erica Weintraub Austin @ericawaustin.bsky.social · 13d
Can you believe this decadence? There is more fun to be had. The What's Cooking interest group definitely needs more posting, everybody!