Becca Lewis
@beccalew.bsky.social
Assistant prof of comparative media studies @MIT, researching the rise of right-wing politics in Silicon Valley and online. Email me at beccalewis@protonmail.com. Read my stuff at www.beccalew.org.
Pinned
New article out from me and Angèle Christin in the Annals of the AAPSS! In "The Politics of Engagement in Platform Governance," we unpack and historicize the concept of "social media engagement," an idea that has dominated debate over platform politics in recent years.
doi.org/10.1177/0002...
doi.org/10.1177/0002...
The Politics of Engagement in Platform Governance - Becca Lewis, Angèle Christin, 2024
In recent years, the concept of user engagement has dominated debate over the governance of online platforms, and critics use the term to assign crass commercia...
doi.org
Increasingly, I've been interested in understanding the ideas and beliefs that have shaped Silicon Valley and its technologies. "Engagement" is one of them. Far from merely a base economic impulse, the concept did--and continues to do--important ideological work for the high-tech industry
Reactionary modernism is so back
January 2, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Reactionary modernism is so back
Reposted by Becca Lewis
Most underrated Biden admin mistake was bailing out Silicon Valley Bank.
SVB bet big on low interest rates and lost. Rich tech VCs who put too many eggs in that basket generated a bank run, then called for govt money.
Got their bailout, helped elect Trump, and now reaping rewards from corruption.
SVB bet big on low interest rates and lost. Rich tech VCs who put too many eggs in that basket generated a bank run, then called for govt money.
Got their bailout, helped elect Trump, and now reaping rewards from corruption.
David Sacks, presumably, on the push by some in the tech and VC world to fund a primary challenge to Congressman Khanna.
December 29, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Most underrated Biden admin mistake was bailing out Silicon Valley Bank.
SVB bet big on low interest rates and lost. Rich tech VCs who put too many eggs in that basket generated a bank run, then called for govt money.
Got their bailout, helped elect Trump, and now reaping rewards from corruption.
SVB bet big on low interest rates and lost. Rich tech VCs who put too many eggs in that basket generated a bank run, then called for govt money.
Got their bailout, helped elect Trump, and now reaping rewards from corruption.
Reposted by Becca Lewis
I swear if you create a fake startup that you called “GONDOR” and told pants-wettingly fearful tech investors that it was an AI-powered weapon that executed pedestrians on sight if they looked too long at your house, you could raise $50 million in investment and get a DHS contract in 6 hours.
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
Sauron, the high-end home security startup for "super premium" customers, plucks a new CEO out of Sonos | TechCrunch
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
techcrunch.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:55 AM
I swear if you create a fake startup that you called “GONDOR” and told pants-wettingly fearful tech investors that it was an AI-powered weapon that executed pedestrians on sight if they looked too long at your house, you could raise $50 million in investment and get a DHS contract in 6 hours.
Reposted by Becca Lewis
As good as Stephen says. Like much of modern social media, the promise is neither friends nor companionship, the promise instead is refracted shades of yourself.
December 28, 2025 at 1:09 PM
As good as Stephen says. Like much of modern social media, the promise is neither friends nor companionship, the promise instead is refracted shades of yourself.
Fascist violence requires efficient infrastructure
“.. We need to get better at treating this like a business,” ICE acting director Todd M. Lyons said .. as efficiently as Amazon moves packages: “Like Prime, but with human beings.”
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
December 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Fascist violence requires efficient infrastructure
Reposted by Becca Lewis
“It’s [Citizen Lab] one of the few institutions that investigate cyberthreats exclusively in the public interest, and in doing so, it has exposed some of the most egregious digital abuses of the past two decades.”
Meet the man hunting the spies in your smartphone
Ronald Deibert and his research group, the Citizen Lab, have rigorously worked to unveil alarming digital threats for the past two decades. Now, he warns, this kind of work is under threat.
www.technologyreview.com
December 24, 2025 at 12:53 PM
“It’s [Citizen Lab] one of the few institutions that investigate cyberthreats exclusively in the public interest, and in doing so, it has exposed some of the most egregious digital abuses of the past two decades.”
Reposted by Becca Lewis
NEW: ICE has hired the infamous for-profit prison company GEO Group to help its immigrant bounty hunter program. GEO Group now stands to make money both tracking down immigrants and imprisoning them. theintercept.com/2025/12/19/i...
ICE Hires Immigrant Bounty Hunters From Private Prison Company GEO Group
BI Incorporated, a subsidiary of for-profit prison company GEO Group, will help ICE pinpoint the locations of immigrants.
theintercept.com
December 19, 2025 at 7:53 PM
NEW: ICE has hired the infamous for-profit prison company GEO Group to help its immigrant bounty hunter program. GEO Group now stands to make money both tracking down immigrants and imprisoning them. theintercept.com/2025/12/19/i...
It was a pleasure to go on This Is Hell! this year and talk about the longtime influence of right-wing ideas in Silicon Valley
NEW FREE "BEST OF 2025" EP!
The 'Hellidaze' continues!
In February, @beccalew.bsky.social spoke with us about her article at the @theguardian.com, “‘Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley."
Join to keep us free!
Here's our conversation:
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
The 'Hellidaze' continues!
In February, @beccalew.bsky.social spoke with us about her article at the @theguardian.com, “‘Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley."
Join to keep us free!
Here's our conversation:
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
"Best of 2025" Hellidaze! Becca Lewis and 'Technofascism' | This Is Hell!
Get more from This Is Hell! on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:04 PM
It was a pleasure to go on This Is Hell! this year and talk about the longtime influence of right-wing ideas in Silicon Valley
Reposted by Becca Lewis
NEW FREE "BEST OF 2025" EP!
The 'Hellidaze' continues!
In February, @beccalew.bsky.social spoke with us about her article at the @theguardian.com, “‘Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley."
Join to keep us free!
Here's our conversation:
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
The 'Hellidaze' continues!
In February, @beccalew.bsky.social spoke with us about her article at the @theguardian.com, “‘Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley."
Join to keep us free!
Here's our conversation:
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
"Best of 2025" Hellidaze! Becca Lewis and 'Technofascism' | This Is Hell!
Get more from This Is Hell! on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
NEW FREE "BEST OF 2025" EP!
The 'Hellidaze' continues!
In February, @beccalew.bsky.social spoke with us about her article at the @theguardian.com, “‘Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley."
Join to keep us free!
Here's our conversation:
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
The 'Hellidaze' continues!
In February, @beccalew.bsky.social spoke with us about her article at the @theguardian.com, “‘Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley."
Join to keep us free!
Here's our conversation:
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
Reposted by Becca Lewis
Bill Gates and Sergey Brin among newly released Epstein photos ft.trib.al/SdFHK35
Bill Gates and Sergey Brin among newly released Epstein photos
US congressional Democrats publish another batch of images from late sex offender’s estate
ft.trib.al
December 18, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Bill Gates and Sergey Brin among newly released Epstein photos ft.trib.al/SdFHK35
Reposted by Becca Lewis
David Brooks, who wrote in the NYT last month, "The Epstein Story? Count Me Out" is... in the latest Epstein photo dump published by @oversightdemocrats.house.gov.
He should absolutely be fired by NYT for this. Major conflict of interest that he didn't disclose.
He should absolutely be fired by NYT for this. Major conflict of interest that he didn't disclose.
December 18, 2025 at 5:35 PM
David Brooks, who wrote in the NYT last month, "The Epstein Story? Count Me Out" is... in the latest Epstein photo dump published by @oversightdemocrats.house.gov.
He should absolutely be fired by NYT for this. Major conflict of interest that he didn't disclose.
He should absolutely be fired by NYT for this. Major conflict of interest that he didn't disclose.
In 2022, I taught a class called “History of YouTube,” which helped students think critically about digital platforms. I showed them this video to teach them about early virality and copyright debates, thinking it would get a few chuckles. Instead, the entire class was stone-faced and silent.
20 years ago tonight, Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell enjoyed a Lazy Sunday:
Lazy Sunday - SNL Digital Short
YouTube video by Saturday Night Live
www.youtube.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:20 PM
In 2022, I taught a class called “History of YouTube,” which helped students think critically about digital platforms. I showed them this video to teach them about early virality and copyright debates, thinking it would get a few chuckles. Instead, the entire class was stone-faced and silent.
Reposted by Becca Lewis
All the centers they’re cutting add up to less than $7 million in spending.
UNC athletics budget is $185.4 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
UNC athletics budget is $185.4 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
December 18, 2025 at 12:45 AM
All the centers they’re cutting add up to less than $7 million in spending.
UNC athletics budget is $185.4 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
UNC athletics budget is $185.4 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Reposted by Becca Lewis
yes! i am a bit of a broken record on this but among elite male commentators there is such obvious gender anxiety
i was especially struck by these paragraphs, which rang very true to me. libs who grew up around conservatives aren't embarrassed to be liberals--or confused about what conservatives want. there's a certain kind of elite media man, on the other hand--
December 18, 2025 at 1:37 PM
yes! i am a bit of a broken record on this but among elite male commentators there is such obvious gender anxiety
Reposted by Becca Lewis
One thing I haven't seen discussed in this wave of discourse is that the contraction of higher ed and the media is not only a byproduct of neoliberalism. it's also the direct result of attacks from those who believed these spaces had become too "feminized"
My dear boy, you think you are talking about anti-white prejudice, but you are really just describing the liberal and literary professions (journalism, academia, publishing) collapsing under the weight of four decades of neoliberalism:
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
![Desperate for advancement-he'd had the same job, the same title, for nearly six years —Andrew looked elsewhere. "I applied for positions at The Atlantic, Politico, CNN, The Washington Post, three different desks at The New York Times," he told me. But newsrooms were contracting, which only made the competition more intense. "When scarcity sets in, you start to worry about these things a little bit more," Andrew reflected. "This was a business model problem that was exacerbated by the racial [and gender] preference](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:zgnkx3z75dmchqkaykcwhyzx/bafkreigiiwa2afs3ttbw2t2f3hkxxxpj7fywb62mol5xnw2c3bmcjg447i@jpeg)
December 17, 2025 at 9:41 PM
One thing I haven't seen discussed in this wave of discourse is that the contraction of higher ed and the media is not only a byproduct of neoliberalism. it's also the direct result of attacks from those who believed these spaces had become too "feminized"
this is so fucking grim
1/ At bargaining yesterday, @propublica.org management said that they should have 100% discretion to replace workers with AI and would not commit to labeling future AI-generated content.
December 17, 2025 at 9:21 PM
this is so fucking grim
Increasingly, I've been interested in understanding the ideas and beliefs that have shaped Silicon Valley and its technologies. "Engagement" is one of them. Far from merely a base economic impulse, the concept did--and continues to do--important ideological work for the high-tech industry
New article out from me and Angèle Christin in the Annals of the AAPSS! In "The Politics of Engagement in Platform Governance," we unpack and historicize the concept of "social media engagement," an idea that has dominated debate over platform politics in recent years.
doi.org/10.1177/0002...
doi.org/10.1177/0002...
The Politics of Engagement in Platform Governance - Becca Lewis, Angèle Christin, 2024
In recent years, the concept of user engagement has dominated debate over the governance of online platforms, and critics use the term to assign crass commercia...
doi.org
December 17, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Increasingly, I've been interested in understanding the ideas and beliefs that have shaped Silicon Valley and its technologies. "Engagement" is one of them. Far from merely a base economic impulse, the concept did--and continues to do--important ideological work for the high-tech industry
Hardest thing about travel is deciding which books to pack
December 17, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Hardest thing about travel is deciding which books to pack
New article out from me and Angèle Christin in the Annals of the AAPSS! In "The Politics of Engagement in Platform Governance," we unpack and historicize the concept of "social media engagement," an idea that has dominated debate over platform politics in recent years.
doi.org/10.1177/0002...
doi.org/10.1177/0002...
The Politics of Engagement in Platform Governance - Becca Lewis, Angèle Christin, 2024
In recent years, the concept of user engagement has dominated debate over the governance of online platforms, and critics use the term to assign crass commercia...
doi.org
December 15, 2025 at 2:10 PM
New article out from me and Angèle Christin in the Annals of the AAPSS! In "The Politics of Engagement in Platform Governance," we unpack and historicize the concept of "social media engagement," an idea that has dominated debate over platform politics in recent years.
doi.org/10.1177/0002...
doi.org/10.1177/0002...
Reposted by Becca Lewis
Last week, the New School issued voluntary separation & early retirement offers to 40% of the full-time faculty & the majority of non-union staff. These cuts to the bone are an ideological attempt to decimate historic spaces of critical inquiry & social justice. Share our statement tr.ee/qQBIDCpIuj
OFFICIAL Statement from AAUP-TNS on Cuts to Faculty and Staff 12-9-25
The New School - Austerity Cuts to the Bone A Statement from the Leadership Council of AAUP-TNS On December 3, 2025, New School President Joel Towers and Provost Richard Kessler issued voluntary sep...
tr.ee
December 14, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Last week, the New School issued voluntary separation & early retirement offers to 40% of the full-time faculty & the majority of non-union staff. These cuts to the bone are an ideological attempt to decimate historic spaces of critical inquiry & social justice. Share our statement tr.ee/qQBIDCpIuj
Skill issue
Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
December 9, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Skill issue
imho, "data colonialism" is ultimately a much stronger conceptual framework than "surveillance capitalism" for understanding contemporary tech, and it truly is a shame it's gotten only a fraction of the public attention
December 8, 2025 at 5:07 PM
imho, "data colonialism" is ultimately a much stronger conceptual framework than "surveillance capitalism" for understanding contemporary tech, and it truly is a shame it's gotten only a fraction of the public attention
Reposted by Becca Lewis
“School officials have created a Microsoft Copilot prompt to review course descriptions with an eye toward avoiding ‘advocacy-oriented or prescriptive terms.’”
Terms: “dismantling, decolonizing, interrogating, challenging, centering, combating, liberation, resistance, activism, justice oriented”
Terms: “dismantling, decolonizing, interrogating, challenging, centering, combating, liberation, resistance, activism, justice oriented”
To Root Out Wokeness in the Course Catalog, This Texas University Is Turning to AI
“The AI was upset with my use of the phrase ‘women's rights movement.’”
www.texasmonthly.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:42 PM
“School officials have created a Microsoft Copilot prompt to review course descriptions with an eye toward avoiding ‘advocacy-oriented or prescriptive terms.’”
Terms: “dismantling, decolonizing, interrogating, challenging, centering, combating, liberation, resistance, activism, justice oriented”
Terms: “dismantling, decolonizing, interrogating, challenging, centering, combating, liberation, resistance, activism, justice oriented”