Derek Willis
@dwillis.bsky.social
I teach data journalism at the University of Maryland, run OpenElections. Fan of WBB & test cricket. Posting obscure things about campaign finance, Congress & elections.
https://github.com/dwillis
https://thescoop.org
https://github.com/dwillis
https://thescoop.org
Reposted by Derek Willis
New research just dropped, as the kids say. My partner @medialawprof.bsky.social and took a look at how states are trying to stop people from using AI to lie. We settled on A) it probably won’t work, B) is very probably unconstitutional, and C) tech companies need to prioritize tools to help users.
The Right To Lie With AI? First Amendment Challenges For State Efforts To Curb False Political Speech Using Deepfakes And Synthetic Media – Colorado Technology Law Journal
ctlj.colorado.edu
February 10, 2026 at 12:15 AM
New research just dropped, as the kids say. My partner @medialawprof.bsky.social and took a look at how states are trying to stop people from using AI to lie. We settled on A) it probably won’t work, B) is very probably unconstitutional, and C) tech companies need to prioritize tools to help users.
Reposted by Derek Willis
New blog post: A case study on using Claude Code in data journalism ->
kschaul.com/post/2026/02...
kschaul.com/post/2026/02...
How I used Claude Code in a real data journalism project
This morning three colleagues and I published a story outlining how the federal government is using AI. Here’s how I used Claude Code to help.
Agencies are required to publish a spreadsheet of AI use ...
kschaul.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:36 PM
New blog post: A case study on using Claude Code in data journalism ->
kschaul.com/post/2026/02...
kschaul.com/post/2026/02...
Reposted by Derek Willis
Amongst other things, this again highlights the core point about due process. It’s bad enough to be in a “show me your papers” situation, but your precious citizen/non-citizen, “legal”/“illegal” distinctions are meaningless when you can’t prove anything to authorities because they don’t give a shit.
And here is my story: ‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Amongst other things, this again highlights the core point about due process. It’s bad enough to be in a “show me your papers” situation, but your precious citizen/non-citizen, “legal”/“illegal” distinctions are meaningless when you can’t prove anything to authorities because they don’t give a shit.
Still very surprised that this happened (both the win and the fundraising email)
Not long after hitting a game-winning 3, UMD's Diggy Coit appears as the sender in an athletic department fundraising email.
Do other colleges do this, @mattbrown.bsky.social?
Do other colleges do this, @mattbrown.bsky.social?
February 9, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Still very surprised that this happened (both the win and the fundraising email)
Funny now news organizations keep finding this.
The BDN obtained and reviewed more than a thousand pages of federal court documents filed throughout New England, conducted interviews, attended court hearings and more. www.bangordailynews.com/2026/02/09/m...
ICE said it was arresting ‘the worst of the worst’ in Maine. We only found a few criminals.
The BDN used court records and other sources to identify 67 of roughly 200 people arrested in Maine during last month's surge.
www.bangordailynews.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Funny now news organizations keep finding this.
idk, seems like an unproductive thing to do:
February 9, 2026 at 2:31 AM
idk, seems like an unproductive thing to do:
Looks like a rare chance to suggest people learn about former Rep. Vito Marcantonio, a New Yorker who supported Puerto Rican independence and was LaGuardia's campaign manager. Not a pal of @dicknixon.bsky.social, but an effective advocate for Harlem:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vito_Ma...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vito_Ma...
Vito Marcantonio - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Looks like a rare chance to suggest people learn about former Rep. Vito Marcantonio, a New Yorker who supported Puerto Rican independence and was LaGuardia's campaign manager. Not a pal of @dicknixon.bsky.social, but an effective advocate for Harlem:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vito_Ma...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vito_Ma...
Not long after hitting a game-winning 3, UMD's Diggy Coit appears as the sender in an athletic department fundraising email.
Do other colleges do this, @mattbrown.bsky.social?
Do other colleges do this, @mattbrown.bsky.social?
February 8, 2026 at 11:49 PM
Not long after hitting a game-winning 3, UMD's Diggy Coit appears as the sender in an athletic department fundraising email.
Do other colleges do this, @mattbrown.bsky.social?
Do other colleges do this, @mattbrown.bsky.social?
Also contains, without irony, the line "It's not against the law to be male."
My brother in Christ, who do you think wrote most of our laws?
My brother in Christ, who do you think wrote most of our laws?
February 8, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Also contains, without irony, the line "It's not against the law to be male."
My brother in Christ, who do you think wrote most of our laws?
My brother in Christ, who do you think wrote most of our laws?
The only way that the Post even approaches the 200 million paid user goal it declared last year is if it operates more like Amazon.
Trouble is, that makes it less like the Washington Post.
Trouble is, that makes it less like the Washington Post.
Bezos is using Amazon to guide him with WaPo. Customers are now readers. But determining what to cover in the world is not the same as figuring out what baby formula and toilet paper to stock in warehouses. Pubs should listen to readers but that should not be the only factor in determining coverage.
February 8, 2026 at 1:07 AM
The only way that the Post even approaches the 200 million paid user goal it declared last year is if it operates more like Amazon.
Trouble is, that makes it less like the Washington Post.
Trouble is, that makes it less like the Washington Post.
Reposted by Derek Willis
So about TrumpRx: We crunched the numbers today and about half of the drugs on there have cheaper generics available already. www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/t...
February 6, 2026 at 11:09 PM
So about TrumpRx: We crunched the numbers today and about half of the drugs on there have cheaper generics available already. www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/t...
Political fundraising email or something else? You decide!
February 6, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Political fundraising email or something else? You decide!
Thank goodness national flags are never political symbols.
The Olympic committee ruled that Hatian athletes had to remove Toussaint Louverture from their uniforns because he is a "political symbol"
Lol wut
apnews.com/article/hait...
Lol wut
apnews.com/article/hait...
Haiti's Winter Olympics team shines a positive light even as IOC removes patriot from uniforms
Haiti is making a statement at the Milan Cortina Winter Games with two athletes proudly representing the nation.
apnews.com
February 5, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Thank goodness national flags are never political symbols.
SMDH Bluesky
Does anyone else—and I realize this is psycho stuff—hate multiplying by a particular number? For instance, 7, which is just a trash set of numbers (56??? 63??? Garbage)
February 5, 2026 at 9:20 PM
SMDH Bluesky
Great that _tech company_ comms reps believe that an LLM is a fact machine.
While reporting this, I had something happen that's never happened. A comms rep for one of the co's disputed my reporting and said what I was telling them was untrue because it was not in Grok, xAI's chatbot.
I was looking directly at the files. And this person was using AI to challenge the truth.
I was looking directly at the files. And this person was using AI to challenge the truth.
Epstein had many known connections to Silicon Valley CEOs, but less known was how he made money from those relationships.
We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
February 5, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Great that _tech company_ comms reps believe that an LLM is a fact machine.
Look, the least we can do for this White Citizens’ Council and KKK murderer is not to injure his reputation by calling him racist.
Medgar Evers’ killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist - Mississippi Today
Among anticipated changes to a new visitor brochure for the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument is no longer using "racist" to describe the killer of the civil rights leader.
mississippitoday.org
February 5, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Look, the least we can do for this White Citizens’ Council and KKK murderer is not to injure his reputation by calling him racist.
When the cover is a subtweet
Press freedom is in retreat. A vigorous newsgathering ecosystem, once destroyed, is hard to rebuild. The world will become dirtier and worse-governed: econ.st/4kjiZU1
February 5, 2026 at 2:55 PM
When the cover is a subtweet
Student journalism strikes again.
DiChristina also invited Epstein to attend an editorial meeting for the Scientific American, where she worked as editor-in-chief.
Correspondence from 2010 also showed DiChristina on a guest list for a meeting on “the islands,” though it was not immediately clear what Epstein meant by “islands.”
Correspondence from 2010 also showed DiChristina on a guest list for a meeting on “the islands,” though it was not immediately clear what Epstein meant by “islands.”
BU COM dean corresponded extensively with Jeffrey Epstein in 2014 and 2015, files show
Mariette DiChristina, dean of Boston University’s College of Communication, corresponded extensively with Jeffrey Epstein in 2014 and 2015. The two set up a one-on-one meeting, had “phone dates” and D...
dailyfreepress.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Student journalism strikes again.
In Oluchi and Kyndal we trust
February 5, 2026 at 1:47 AM
In Oluchi and Kyndal we trust
Reposted by Derek Willis
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell
Somewhat devastating news today from the CIA: One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. There's not even a hint as to why they …
simonwillison.net
February 5, 2026 at 12:25 AM
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Reposted by Derek Willis
Interesting trend unfolding in this cycle's special elections (data courtesy of @the-downballot.com). In 2018, Dems way overperformed on average in heavily GOP districts; slightly in more competitive ones; and not at all in heavily Dem districts.
In 2026, they're gangbusters in all three.
In 2026, they're gangbusters in all three.
February 4, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Interesting trend unfolding in this cycle's special elections (data courtesy of @the-downballot.com). In 2018, Dems way overperformed on average in heavily GOP districts; slightly in more competitive ones; and not at all in heavily Dem districts.
In 2026, they're gangbusters in all three.
In 2026, they're gangbusters in all three.
very normal stuff
February 4, 2026 at 8:42 PM
very normal stuff
Deleted a post about “what’s your least favorite song” because the vibes are bad enough already.
Instead: what’s your favorite song that has a long title, say at least 6 words long?
Mine: “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” (Pearl Jam)
Instead: what’s your favorite song that has a long title, say at least 6 words long?
Mine: “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” (Pearl Jam)
February 4, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Reposted by Derek Willis
Alyssa is both a serious data journalist with immense technical chops and a super-talented visualization guru, figuring out all sorts of solutions to create the best storytelling approach. Plus she's a great collaborative partner :) Someone needs to hire her ASAP.
I was laid off from the Washington Post today, along with hundreds (!!!) of incredible colleagues. If you need a data journalist, chart designer, or wacky-idea-specialist, give me a shout!
February 4, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Alyssa is both a serious data journalist with immense technical chops and a super-talented visualization guru, figuring out all sorts of solutions to create the best storytelling approach. Plus she's a great collaborative partner :) Someone needs to hire her ASAP.
As a Post alum, I've tried to think about what the plan is. Most charitable guess: the goal is massive scale (millions of subscribers), based on areas where coverage isn't mostly a commodity (like sports) or where scale isn't available (like local). Plus lots of AI to fill gaps. No idea if it works.
February 4, 2026 at 12:31 PM
As a Post alum, I've tried to think about what the plan is. Most charitable guess: the goal is massive scale (millions of subscribers), based on areas where coverage isn't mostly a commodity (like sports) or where scale isn't available (like local). Plus lots of AI to fill gaps. No idea if it works.