Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
@drnycnerd.bsky.social
Journalism researcher, linguistic anthropologist, fiction writer. Some things I discuss: language & social meaning, news media, #binders, puns, food.
Now: @cnti.bsky.social
Once: @knology.org
My colleagues & I made: https://www.reportingwithnumbers.com/
Now: @cnti.bsky.social
Once: @knology.org
My colleagues & I made: https://www.reportingwithnumbers.com/
Pinned
Briefing #1: AI Literacy & Communication
July 2025
cnti.org
What do news organizations actually need to know about AI & journalism? A new briefing from @cnti.bsky.social's Global AI & Journalism Research Working Group synthesizes 80+ research studies.
cnti.org/article/aij-...
cnti.org/article/aij-...
TIL about a fun Easter egg: try googling "garamond font" or "comic sans font"
It only works for a handful of common ones but it's adorable.
It only works for a handful of common ones but it's adorable.
November 7, 2025 at 2:27 AM
TIL about a fun Easter egg: try googling "garamond font" or "comic sans font"
It only works for a handful of common ones but it's adorable.
It only works for a handful of common ones but it's adorable.
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
The biggest difference by far watching the various campaigns as a New Yorker and all of the messaging we were targeted with I think is an important takeaway for the whole country:
Cuomo’s entire message was threats and fear and cynicism.
Mamdani’s entire message was lightness and joy and hope.
Cuomo’s entire message was threats and fear and cynicism.
Mamdani’s entire message was lightness and joy and hope.
November 5, 2025 at 3:16 AM
The biggest difference by far watching the various campaigns as a New Yorker and all of the messaging we were targeted with I think is an important takeaway for the whole country:
Cuomo’s entire message was threats and fear and cynicism.
Mamdani’s entire message was lightness and joy and hope.
Cuomo’s entire message was threats and fear and cynicism.
Mamdani’s entire message was lightness and joy and hope.
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
This is why if you learn nothing else for evidence literacy, learn to look up survey items and read them for yourself and think about how someone might interpret them.
Poll: Americans say “too divided”
Pundit: Dems are being too divisive
Poll: Legal system unfair
Pundit: The public thinks Trump should get away with crimes
Poll: Low trust in media
Pundits: MSM is too far left
Every time they see a nonspecific term and assume everyone thinks like a Republican.
Pundit: Dems are being too divisive
Poll: Legal system unfair
Pundit: The public thinks Trump should get away with crimes
Poll: Low trust in media
Pundits: MSM is too far left
Every time they see a nonspecific term and assume everyone thinks like a Republican.
I will never understand the pundit obsession with getting Democrats to solve "political division."
Not only is this what they're already doing, but Klein admits that Republicans will never do the same. So elections will remain constant GOP smears and simping Democratic promises of bipartisanship.
Not only is this what they're already doing, but Klein admits that Republicans will never do the same. So elections will remain constant GOP smears and simping Democratic promises of bipartisanship.
November 2, 2025 at 3:23 PM
This is why if you learn nothing else for evidence literacy, learn to look up survey items and read them for yourself and think about how someone might interpret them.
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
so much of what i think has gone unsaid re: whether zohran is “good” for jewish new yorkers is that many are looking for him to indicate he would protect (whatever that means) jewish new yorkers *above* or to the detriment of non-jewish new yorkers.
November 4, 2025 at 12:32 AM
so much of what i think has gone unsaid re: whether zohran is “good” for jewish new yorkers is that many are looking for him to indicate he would protect (whatever that means) jewish new yorkers *above* or to the detriment of non-jewish new yorkers.
JFK is setting expectations really low these days, huh?
October 10, 2025 at 10:17 AM
JFK is setting expectations really low these days, huh?
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
What does responsible use of AI look like for the future of journalism?
CNTI's @drnycnerd.bsky.social will discuss ways AI is reshaping newsrooms as part of First Amendment Day at UNC.
🗓️ Wednesday, October 8, 2025
🕚 11:00 a.m.
📍 UNC
✅ Free and open to the public
Full details: lnkd.in/g-y2FyUE
CNTI's @drnycnerd.bsky.social will discuss ways AI is reshaping newsrooms as part of First Amendment Day at UNC.
🗓️ Wednesday, October 8, 2025
🕚 11:00 a.m.
📍 UNC
✅ Free and open to the public
Full details: lnkd.in/g-y2FyUE
October 6, 2025 at 2:45 PM
What does responsible use of AI look like for the future of journalism?
CNTI's @drnycnerd.bsky.social will discuss ways AI is reshaping newsrooms as part of First Amendment Day at UNC.
🗓️ Wednesday, October 8, 2025
🕚 11:00 a.m.
📍 UNC
✅ Free and open to the public
Full details: lnkd.in/g-y2FyUE
CNTI's @drnycnerd.bsky.social will discuss ways AI is reshaping newsrooms as part of First Amendment Day at UNC.
🗓️ Wednesday, October 8, 2025
🕚 11:00 a.m.
📍 UNC
✅ Free and open to the public
Full details: lnkd.in/g-y2FyUE
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
In Serbia, a leaked recording has raised fears of political attempts to weaken independent media. As the country adopts the EU’s DSA, a question looms: Will this law protect press freedom—or be misused to suppress it?
👉 Read more from @ewrightwy.bsky.social:
euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
👉 Read more from @ewrightwy.bsky.social:
euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
How Serbia could use EU Digital Services Act for state censorship
The implementation of the EU's Digital Services Act in Serbia and other countries lacking an independent digital services coordinator risks becoming an EU-based tool for state repression, enabling rul...
euobserver.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:00 PM
In Serbia, a leaked recording has raised fears of political attempts to weaken independent media. As the country adopts the EU’s DSA, a question looms: Will this law protect press freedom—or be misused to suppress it?
👉 Read more from @ewrightwy.bsky.social:
euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
👉 Read more from @ewrightwy.bsky.social:
euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
Eat. Sleep. Exercise. Nurture the relationships that sustain you. Protect your health. Find joy. Don't mistake any of these for the resistance itself. Joy isn't resistance, neither is rest. But you need to be whole to resist for a lifetime.
September 22, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Eat. Sleep. Exercise. Nurture the relationships that sustain you. Protect your health. Find joy. Don't mistake any of these for the resistance itself. Joy isn't resistance, neither is rest. But you need to be whole to resist for a lifetime.
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
It’s weird to me that people keep starting new Substacks and still don’t know that Substack is extremely bad news
Please get off Substack 😭
www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/...
Please get off Substack 😭
www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/...
Don't call it a Substack. - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
August 17, 2025 at 1:58 AM
It’s weird to me that people keep starting new Substacks and still don’t know that Substack is extremely bad news
Please get off Substack 😭
www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/...
Please get off Substack 😭
www.anildash.com//2024/11/19/...
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
GPT-5 is so amazing it can make 52.8 higher than 69.1 on a bar chart
It can even make 69.1 and 30.8 THE SAME SIZE
It can even make 69.1 and 30.8 THE SAME SIZE
August 7, 2025 at 5:08 PM
GPT-5 is so amazing it can make 52.8 higher than 69.1 on a bar chart
It can even make 69.1 and 30.8 THE SAME SIZE
It can even make 69.1 and 30.8 THE SAME SIZE
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
The real secret about genius is that it refers to an emotional experience in the perceiver, not a quality in the perceived. It's an amazing feeling, when someone lights up your brain with their skill. It's why I love my job. But it is a feeling, not an objective event
I am really sick of all these pieces about the DOGE boys who uncritically and unthinkingly repeat the claim that they're "geniuses."
We have to stop regurgitating out the label of "genius" exclusively for a certain type of special white little boy.
We have to stop regurgitating out the label of "genius" exclusively for a certain type of special white little boy.
We are also mythologizing his brilliance because he fits the mold of the singular boy genius tech stereotype. We need to stop and question that too.
August 4, 2025 at 7:09 PM
The real secret about genius is that it refers to an emotional experience in the perceiver, not a quality in the perceived. It's an amazing feeling, when someone lights up your brain with their skill. It's why I love my job. But it is a feeling, not an objective event
I finished reading "The AI Con" last week and I'm going to be sitting with it for a long time.
As a researcher it affirms my frustration with the slipperiness of "AI" as a term. All the research shows that people don't understand it consistently.
As a researcher it affirms my frustration with the slipperiness of "AI" as a term. All the research shows that people don't understand it consistently.
August 1, 2025 at 10:24 AM
I finished reading "The AI Con" last week and I'm going to be sitting with it for a long time.
As a researcher it affirms my frustration with the slipperiness of "AI" as a term. All the research shows that people don't understand it consistently.
As a researcher it affirms my frustration with the slipperiness of "AI" as a term. All the research shows that people don't understand it consistently.
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
What do news organizations actually need to know about AI & journalism? A new briefing from @cnti.bsky.social's Global AI & Journalism Research Working Group synthesizes 80+ research studies.
cnti.org/article/aij-...
cnti.org/article/aij-...
Briefing #1: AI Literacy & Communication
July 2025
cnti.org
July 31, 2025 at 1:05 PM
What do news organizations actually need to know about AI & journalism? A new briefing from @cnti.bsky.social's Global AI & Journalism Research Working Group synthesizes 80+ research studies.
cnti.org/article/aij-...
cnti.org/article/aij-...
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
🥇 Black: The good, normal way to have coffee
🥈 Milk, no sugar: Not bad at all, but superfluous (unless the coffee is too strong)
🥉 Milk and sugar: Fine if I think of it not as coffee, but as a coffee-flavoured dessert (affogato lite?)
💩 Sugar, no milk: O gods this is vile, why would you do this
🥈 Milk, no sugar: Not bad at all, but superfluous (unless the coffee is too strong)
🥉 Milk and sugar: Fine if I think of it not as coffee, but as a coffee-flavoured dessert (affogato lite?)
💩 Sugar, no milk: O gods this is vile, why would you do this
July 31, 2025 at 3:58 PM
🥇 Black: The good, normal way to have coffee
🥈 Milk, no sugar: Not bad at all, but superfluous (unless the coffee is too strong)
🥉 Milk and sugar: Fine if I think of it not as coffee, but as a coffee-flavoured dessert (affogato lite?)
💩 Sugar, no milk: O gods this is vile, why would you do this
🥈 Milk, no sugar: Not bad at all, but superfluous (unless the coffee is too strong)
🥉 Milk and sugar: Fine if I think of it not as coffee, but as a coffee-flavoured dessert (affogato lite?)
💩 Sugar, no milk: O gods this is vile, why would you do this
What do news organizations actually need to know about AI & journalism? A new briefing from @cnti.bsky.social's Global AI & Journalism Research Working Group synthesizes 80+ research studies.
cnti.org/article/aij-...
cnti.org/article/aij-...
Briefing #1: AI Literacy & Communication
July 2025
cnti.org
July 31, 2025 at 1:05 PM
What do news organizations actually need to know about AI & journalism? A new briefing from @cnti.bsky.social's Global AI & Journalism Research Working Group synthesizes 80+ research studies.
cnti.org/article/aij-...
cnti.org/article/aij-...
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
The mass starvation & killing of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli gov’t is a chillul hashem, a desecration of God.
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Gaza is starving. Where are the American Jewish leaders?
A fear of being labelled antisemitic still deters American Jews and Jewish institutions from taking a position that is morally correct.
forward.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The mass starvation & killing of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli gov’t is a chillul hashem, a desecration of God.
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
Setting aside the ethical and environmental concerns of AI, I'm really offended by a bunch of elite dudes telling us our minds aren't good enough when they've had to steal everything human minds have created to create their pretend mind and it doesn't even work right!
July 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Setting aside the ethical and environmental concerns of AI, I'm really offended by a bunch of elite dudes telling us our minds aren't good enough when they've had to steal everything human minds have created to create their pretend mind and it doesn't even work right!
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
Now Anthropic is strongly considering weekly limits on Claude Code. Users making it clear they won't accept this or pay more than $200 a month. I am confident this happens because as my analysis suggests they are losing tons of money on each user!
www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode...
www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode...
July 27, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Now Anthropic is strongly considering weekly limits on Claude Code. Users making it clear they won't accept this or pay more than $200 a month. I am confident this happens because as my analysis suggests they are losing tons of money on each user!
www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode...
www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode...
What do we know about how journalists and the public think about "journalism" and the people who create it?
This was fun to work on -- my colleague Sam is so, so smart!
journalistsresource.org/media/what-j...
This was fun to work on -- my colleague Sam is so, so smart!
journalistsresource.org/media/what-j...
What journalists and the public think of journalism and technology
Researchers shed light on a mismatch between how journalists and the public view journalism in the age of artificial intelligence.
journalistsresource.org
July 17, 2025 at 11:15 PM
What do we know about how journalists and the public think about "journalism" and the people who create it?
This was fun to work on -- my colleague Sam is so, so smart!
journalistsresource.org/media/what-j...
This was fun to work on -- my colleague Sam is so, so smart!
journalistsresource.org/media/what-j...
Speaking as both a NYC voter and a media researcher, I think this is well worth a read.
A FAIR analysis of media coverage of the top six Democratic candidates (based on polling through the end of May) found that Cuomo’s name appeared in headlines seven times more often than Zohran Mamdani, ... and nine times more often than Brad Lander....
Cuckoo for Cuomo: Ex-Governor’s Name Dominated Coverage of NYC Mayoral Race
A FAIR analysis of New York mayoral primary coverage found that Andrew Cuomo’s name appeared in headlines seven times more often than Zohran Mamdani's.
fair.org
June 26, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Speaking as both a NYC voter and a media researcher, I think this is well worth a read.
Reposted by Dr. Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein (they/them)
I'm not going to reskeet the skeet that made me feel the need to say this but: NYC is a very Jewish city - public schools are closed for Yom Kippur. It's also a very Muslim city - public schools are closed for Ramadan. It's also one of the most Catholic cities in the nation.
June 26, 2025 at 2:11 AM
I'm not going to reskeet the skeet that made me feel the need to say this but: NYC is a very Jewish city - public schools are closed for Yom Kippur. It's also a very Muslim city - public schools are closed for Ramadan. It's also one of the most Catholic cities in the nation.
Sweet relief is coming soon:
June 26, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Sweet relief is coming soon:
This series is so powerful and so hard to read and so, so, so important right now.
Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is the most documented war in history , yet Ukraine’s newly occupied territories remain sealed off, their suffering cloaked in darkness. Ukrainian reporter Tanya Kozyreva shares her experience covering occupied territories: tinyurl.com/mpudf3d3
June 23, 2025 at 2:56 PM
This series is so powerful and so hard to read and so, so, so important right now.
The next letter in @cnti.bsky.social 's press freedom series is up today. It's a beautiful meditation on what Nigeria can teach the US:
cnti.org/guest-essay/...
cnti.org/guest-essay/...
A Letter from Nigeria
In the darkest and most ferocious moments of Nigeria's totalitarian experience, two survival strategies worked for us: courage and community. Courage from journalists, but also courage from publishers...
cnti.org
June 16, 2025 at 1:05 PM
The next letter in @cnti.bsky.social 's press freedom series is up today. It's a beautiful meditation on what Nigeria can teach the US:
cnti.org/guest-essay/...
cnti.org/guest-essay/...
I'm so excited about @cnti.bsky.social 's series of "letters from the field" on press freedom.
Today's letter comes from Serbian journalist Teodora Ćurčić: cnti.org/guest-essay/...
Today's letter comes from Serbian journalist Teodora Ćurčić: cnti.org/guest-essay/...
A Letter from Serbia
In Serbia, media freedom has never been a given. We have never had a solid foundation of transparency or accountability. Journalists have been working under pressure for decades.
cnti.org
June 11, 2025 at 12:53 PM
I'm so excited about @cnti.bsky.social 's series of "letters from the field" on press freedom.
Today's letter comes from Serbian journalist Teodora Ćurčić: cnti.org/guest-essay/...
Today's letter comes from Serbian journalist Teodora Ćurčić: cnti.org/guest-essay/...