alyssa mercante
@alyssamerc.bsky.social
culture journo, reluctant gamer, reclaimed italian
views expressed are mine alone
views expressed are mine alone
Pinned
2025 was my first year doing freelance work full-time. I traveled across the US and Europe. I wrote more than 80 stories for The Guardian, Aftermath, Kotaku, Rolling Stone, Gamespot, & more. I worked my ass off to make ends meet.
Most importantly, I did work I'm really proud of. Here are my faves:
Most importantly, I did work I'm really proud of. Here are my faves:
Stephen Miller is so bitch made
MILLER: The US is using its military to secure our interests unapologetically in our hemisphere. We're a superpower. It's absurd we'd allow a nation in our backyard to become a supplier of resources to our adversaries
TAPPER: Sovereign countries shouldn't be able to do what they want?
M: *yells*
TAPPER: Sovereign countries shouldn't be able to do what they want?
M: *yells*
January 6, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Stephen Miller is so bitch made
Reposted by alyssa mercante
three bylines, six months late, almost zero new information we hadn't reported months ago. lowercased our name and mentioned deep in the story. no link to us. said they couldnt find the govt privacy document (we did). good job wall street journal
One of the WSJ's A1 stories today was reported *6 months ago* by @404media.co, a team of just four journalists.
January 5, 2026 at 10:10 PM
three bylines, six months late, almost zero new information we hadn't reported months ago. lowercased our name and mentioned deep in the story. no link to us. said they couldnt find the govt privacy document (we did). good job wall street journal
Reposted by alyssa mercante
Patrick Dane, longtime games and entertainment journalist and News Editor at This Week in Videogames, has died in a motor vehicle accident. He was 34 years old.
Patrick Dane, This Week in Videogames News Editor, Dies
Patrick will be remembered for his passion and enthusiasm for his work and the games industry, and as a cherished colleague and friend.
thisweekinvideogames.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Patrick Dane, longtime games and entertainment journalist and News Editor at This Week in Videogames, has died in a motor vehicle accident. He was 34 years old.
Not me just learning that the surgical steel ring I’ve had in my daith for a decade could ALSO be triggering my eczema (nickel allergy).
If you’re a sensitive skin girly, make sure you’re going to Association of Professional Piercers, because they’ll have proof of the alloy used in each piece.
If you’re a sensitive skin girly, make sure you’re going to Association of Professional Piercers, because they’ll have proof of the alloy used in each piece.
January 5, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Not me just learning that the surgical steel ring I’ve had in my daith for a decade could ALSO be triggering my eczema (nickel allergy).
If you’re a sensitive skin girly, make sure you’re going to Association of Professional Piercers, because they’ll have proof of the alloy used in each piece.
If you’re a sensitive skin girly, make sure you’re going to Association of Professional Piercers, because they’ll have proof of the alloy used in each piece.
Pat Dane was an incredibly kind-hearted person, a whip-smart writer, and an Overwatch sicko. We spoke through DMs/replies for years before finally meeting in person last year at a Blizz event. It was like reuniting with an old friend. The world is worse without him. Sending love to his family.
January 5, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Pat Dane was an incredibly kind-hearted person, a whip-smart writer, and an Overwatch sicko. We spoke through DMs/replies for years before finally meeting in person last year at a Blizz event. It was like reuniting with an old friend. The world is worse without him. Sending love to his family.
Reposted by alyssa mercante
My love, support and condolences to Pat Dane’s family and closest friends. He will be greatly missed 🖤
January 5, 2026 at 4:45 PM
My love, support and condolences to Pat Dane’s family and closest friends. He will be greatly missed 🖤
Reposted by alyssa mercante
This week I'm starting my Substack course on boosting media literacy, and today I'm teaching a master's seminar on the psychology of cults! I was disappointed not to land a tenure-track job since I love teaching, but I've found other fulfilling ways to do it.
January 5, 2026 at 3:54 PM
This week I'm starting my Substack course on boosting media literacy, and today I'm teaching a master's seminar on the psychology of cults! I was disappointed not to land a tenure-track job since I love teaching, but I've found other fulfilling ways to do it.
Reposted by alyssa mercante
We have published the following update to our article following an email response from the New York Times.
Trans News Network has a policy against platforming bigotry. As such, we have declined to publish the Times' statement which included blatant transphobia.
Trans News Network has a policy against platforming bigotry. As such, we have declined to publish the Times' statement which included blatant transphobia.
January 5, 2026 at 2:05 AM
We have published the following update to our article following an email response from the New York Times.
Trans News Network has a policy against platforming bigotry. As such, we have declined to publish the Times' statement which included blatant transphobia.
Trans News Network has a policy against platforming bigotry. As such, we have declined to publish the Times' statement which included blatant transphobia.
Reposted by alyssa mercante
NEW: The anonymous "researcher" in Nick Shirley's viral "fraud" video--treated as a concerned citizen on Fox News and elsewhere--is actually a Minnesota state lobbyist and political activist who worked with a GOP House staffer to provide Shirley info/
theintercept.com/2026/01/03/m...
theintercept.com/2026/01/03/m...
Unnamed Source in Viral Minnesota Somali Fraud Video Is Right-Wing Lobbyist Who Called Muslims “Demons”
David Hoch, who goes by his first name in Nick Shirley’s video allegedly exposing Somali fraud, referred to “demon Muslims” on social media.
theintercept.com
January 3, 2026 at 12:19 PM
NEW: The anonymous "researcher" in Nick Shirley's viral "fraud" video--treated as a concerned citizen on Fox News and elsewhere--is actually a Minnesota state lobbyist and political activist who worked with a GOP House staffer to provide Shirley info/
theintercept.com/2026/01/03/m...
theintercept.com/2026/01/03/m...
Reposted by alyssa mercante
The racism underlying MAGA-media's latest obsession is intertwined with misogyny.
Minnesota day care hoax is fueled by MAGA psychosexual weirdness
The racism underlying MAGA's latest obsession is intertwined with misogyny
www.salon.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:39 PM
The racism underlying MAGA-media's latest obsession is intertwined with misogyny.
Reposted by alyssa mercante
amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders
January 5, 2026 at 6:50 AM
amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders
Reposted by alyssa mercante
The end goal of Grok sexual harassment is to make women afraid to be visible. It’s a punishment for daring to exist in a way the perpetrators can’t control. There’s no one solution to this, because the problem isn’t just technological. It’s cultural. It’s misogyny. This is just one expression of it.
January 5, 2026 at 1:10 AM
The end goal of Grok sexual harassment is to make women afraid to be visible. It’s a punishment for daring to exist in a way the perpetrators can’t control. There’s no one solution to this, because the problem isn’t just technological. It’s cultural. It’s misogyny. This is just one expression of it.
How many books do you think alt right, AI-pilled, terminally online people have read in the last year?
January 5, 2026 at 1:27 PM
How many books do you think alt right, AI-pilled, terminally online people have read in the last year?
Not on Twitter, not posting shit about fuck and some blue check farmer posts a two-year old tweet of mine to drag me back into the fray. Guess which other mouth breathers seized an opp to make some rage money? Y’all boring get new material!
January 4, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Not on Twitter, not posting shit about fuck and some blue check farmer posts a two-year old tweet of mine to drag me back into the fray. Guess which other mouth breathers seized an opp to make some rage money? Y’all boring get new material!
Reposted by alyssa mercante
Well, it was either all this or another black person in a Star Wars movie
January 3, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Well, it was either all this or another black person in a Star Wars movie
Reposted by alyssa mercante
‘Just an unbelievable amount of pollution’: how big a threat is AI to the climate?
‘Just an unbelievable amount of pollution’: how big a threat is AI to the climate?
Defenders say AI can do good to fight the climate crisis. But spiralling energy and water costs leave experts worried
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:43 AM
‘Just an unbelievable amount of pollution’: how big a threat is AI to the climate?
Reposted by alyssa mercante
i will match up to $1000 of donations for @transnews.network — reply or DM me a screenshot of your receipt to join in!
We're need independent, unrepentantly radical journalism more than ever.
We do not take ads. We do not have corporate backers. Readers and their generous support keep us going.
Less than $1,500 to go to hit our goal. Help our worker-run trans newsroom survive: transnewsnetwork.networkforgood.com
We do not take ads. We do not have corporate backers. Readers and their generous support keep us going.
Less than $1,500 to go to hit our goal. Help our worker-run trans newsroom survive: transnewsnetwork.networkforgood.com
This winter, please consider a tax-deductible donation in support of Trans News Network!
TNN’s reporting is in-depth, hard-hitting and unrepentantly radical. Every dollar goes towards keeping trans journalists out of poverty and informing the public about what our communities are facing. ...
transnewsnetwork.networkforgood.com
January 3, 2026 at 5:47 PM
i will match up to $1000 of donations for @transnews.network — reply or DM me a screenshot of your receipt to join in!
Reposted by alyssa mercante
The US will continue destabilizing countries and then wonder why we get so many immigrants and refugees from those nations.
January 3, 2026 at 4:06 PM
The US will continue destabilizing countries and then wonder why we get so many immigrants and refugees from those nations.
Reposted by alyssa mercante
it's kind of crazy that there's even any question that democrats are going to do anything about this
January 3, 2026 at 5:31 PM
it's kind of crazy that there's even any question that democrats are going to do anything about this
This is wild shit @slasher.bsky.social
January 3, 2026 at 5:52 PM
This is wild shit @slasher.bsky.social
Reposted by alyssa mercante
You don't have to listen to these professional liars who are barely trying. 9 months ago they were saying they were powerless to return a man they illegally sent to an El Salvador gulag because it would violate that country's national sovereignty
Vance pushes back and says this was not illegal, arguing "Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don't get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas."
January 3, 2026 at 3:19 PM
You don't have to listen to these professional liars who are barely trying. 9 months ago they were saying they were powerless to return a man they illegally sent to an El Salvador gulag because it would violate that country's national sovereignty
Reposted by alyssa mercante
So for months they have tried to blame the entire fentanyl crisis on Venezuela and the indictment only mentions cocaine, which they pardoned a different guy for weeks ago
January 3, 2026 at 2:03 PM
So for months they have tried to blame the entire fentanyl crisis on Venezuela and the indictment only mentions cocaine, which they pardoned a different guy for weeks ago
Reposted by alyssa mercante
call of duty is gonna whitewash the hell out of this in 20 years
January 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
call of duty is gonna whitewash the hell out of this in 20 years
Reposted by alyssa mercante
Latin American Coups promoted by the United States
January 3, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Latin American Coups promoted by the United States
Reposted by alyssa mercante
I've been tracking the spread of nonconsensual deepfakes on X for more than two years. Here's a timeline of how Musk's leadership allowed the practice to flourish from a once-underground market to a viral trend, with little recourse for victims or legal enforcement.
spitfirenews.com/p/grok-csam-...
spitfirenews.com/p/grok-csam-...
How Grok's sexual abuse hit a tipping point
Nonconsensual deepfakes on X are nothing new, but now it's built into the platform.
spitfirenews.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:47 PM
I've been tracking the spread of nonconsensual deepfakes on X for more than two years. Here's a timeline of how Musk's leadership allowed the practice to flourish from a once-underground market to a viral trend, with little recourse for victims or legal enforcement.
spitfirenews.com/p/grok-csam-...
spitfirenews.com/p/grok-csam-...