Flannery Dean
@flannerydean.bsky.social
Freelance writer, editor with clips @ The Star, Guardian, Slate, The Narwhal, Bright Wall/ Dark Room, Macleans, Globe. www.flannerydean.com
Pinned
Flannery Dean
@flannerydean.bsky.social
· Jul 26
Not gonna read one more piece. Waiting for Manosphere in IMAX
Reposted by Flannery Dean
One example of how Grok is being used to target women. Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch being sexualised, degraded, and humiliated step-by-step by Grok. All the images accurately reflect the prompts provided.
January 5, 2026 at 5:37 PM
One example of how Grok is being used to target women. Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch being sexualised, degraded, and humiliated step-by-step by Grok. All the images accurately reflect the prompts provided.
Reposted by Flannery Dean
The Narwhal is suing the RCMP to protect press freedom for all Canadians, and our case will be heard in a Vancouver courtroom beginning next week. We’re counting on your support as the case unfolds, so here’s what you need to know. 🧵
January 5, 2026 at 5:20 PM
The Narwhal is suing the RCMP to protect press freedom for all Canadians, and our case will be heard in a Vancouver courtroom beginning next week. We’re counting on your support as the case unfolds, so here’s what you need to know. 🧵
Natural counter to Stayfree Alberta is Always Canada. We can really do this guys.
Be careful to keep the space between Stay and Free, otherwise you're referencing an old maxipad brand.
January 5, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Natural counter to Stayfree Alberta is Always Canada. We can really do this guys.
Reposted by Flannery Dean
Be careful to keep the space between Stay and Free, otherwise you're referencing an old maxipad brand.
January 5, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Be careful to keep the space between Stay and Free, otherwise you're referencing an old maxipad brand.
There are people that won’t get flu shot and then there’s me reading news and wondering Can I get a double?
January 5, 2026 at 4:42 PM
There are people that won’t get flu shot and then there’s me reading news and wondering Can I get a double?
Reposted by Flannery Dean
Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Cockburn on the LRB podcast here, observing that the upshot of the War on Terror is that almost every independent state between Libya and Afghanistan has either been brought to heel, or smashed into an ungovernable mess that can’t defend itself. And that this was the entire point.
January 5, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Reposted by Flannery Dean
i would suggest an online safety act that can’t deal with CSAM on a widely used social network frequented by most westminster public figures isn’t doing a very good job of keeping anybody safe online
January 5, 2026 at 2:55 PM
i would suggest an online safety act that can’t deal with CSAM on a widely used social network frequented by most westminster public figures isn’t doing a very good job of keeping anybody safe online
Reposted by Flannery Dean
there's just a certain type of perpetually aggrieved bluesky tutscold type of motherfucker you just have to block on contact and move on from
it doesn't require an entire Mark Cuban newscycle and perpetual handwringing about the state of bluesky
it doesn't require an entire Mark Cuban newscycle and perpetual handwringing about the state of bluesky
January 5, 2026 at 4:17 PM
there's just a certain type of perpetually aggrieved bluesky tutscold type of motherfucker you just have to block on contact and move on from
it doesn't require an entire Mark Cuban newscycle and perpetual handwringing about the state of bluesky
it doesn't require an entire Mark Cuban newscycle and perpetual handwringing about the state of bluesky
Reposted by Flannery Dean
when you DO land a good joke in the after-years? they give you this look like "I gotta admit, that was legit funny," and it's so inside the dynamic of the child's obligatory differentiation from the people without whom, for a long time, they could not function in the world...it's beautiful
January 4, 2026 at 10:52 PM
when you DO land a good joke in the after-years? they give you this look like "I gotta admit, that was legit funny," and it's so inside the dynamic of the child's obligatory differentiation from the people without whom, for a long time, they could not function in the world...it's beautiful
Cringe comedy is the natural sphere of the tween parent. Make a comfortable place for yourself. This is your home now
it is your DUTY as a parent to be basic and cringe. if your child says "6-7" and you do not say, loud enough for their friends to hear, "8-9?", causing profound silence and intense discomfort, you are neglecting your responsibilities. being cool is for kids. your days of being laughed WITH are over
January 5, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Cringe comedy is the natural sphere of the tween parent. Make a comfortable place for yourself. This is your home now
Reposted by Flannery Dean
A panel of three judges has thrown out an attempt by the province to stop the release of government calls on Premier Doug Ford’s personal cellphone.
globalnews.ca/news/1159745...
globalnews.ca/news/1159745...
Ontario court rules Doug Ford must turn over personal phone records | Globalnews.ca
An Ontario court says it is reasonable to conclude Premier Doug Ford uses his personal cellphone to communicate and that he should make those records public.
globalnews.ca
January 5, 2026 at 3:23 PM
A panel of three judges has thrown out an attempt by the province to stop the release of government calls on Premier Doug Ford’s personal cellphone.
globalnews.ca/news/1159745...
globalnews.ca/news/1159745...
Reposted by Flannery Dean
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...
This made me tear up. This could not be a more pressing issue to more people in so many cities.
"I'm so sorry that we could not have done this earlier...to have saved the loved ones in your life. But I thank you fopr the work that you have done...to ensure that this pain not be felt by others who call this same city home." — Mayor Mamdani at McGuinness Blvd. presser youtube.com/shorts/uwAYI...
Mayor Mamdani commits to ending traffic violence across NYC on third day in office #safestreets
YouTube video by Streetsblog NYC
youtube.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:32 PM
This made me tear up. This could not be a more pressing issue to more people in so many cities.
Reposted by Flannery Dean
Happy birthday to the one and only, Hayao Miyazaki.
January 5, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Happy birthday to the one and only, Hayao Miyazaki.
Reposted by Flannery Dean
written before Grok's automated CSAM spree, which I'll come back to, but I think X's hold on AI discourse matters, in that coverage is downstream: on X, woke Gemini was a big deal, and nudifying Grok is a joke (there's also a defeatist, Trump-ish coverage exception for Musk) bsky.app/profile/coli...
Sorry to harp on this but what drives me completely bonkers about this is the Gemini thing was a direct result of people at Google trying to prevent harmful usage of their product whereas the Grok thing is a direct result of people at X and xAI trying to promote harmful usage of their product
Again I find it baffling to compare the coverage to when Gemini generated implausibly many Black hockey players etc. That was apparently a societal emergency. But the mass harassment campaign taking place in public barely warrants a mention.
January 5, 2026 at 3:07 PM
written before Grok's automated CSAM spree, which I'll come back to, but I think X's hold on AI discourse matters, in that coverage is downstream: on X, woke Gemini was a big deal, and nudifying Grok is a joke (there's also a defeatist, Trump-ish coverage exception for Musk) bsky.app/profile/coli...
Reposted by Flannery Dean
Wrote about an obvious and yet profoundly underappreciated aspect of the AI boom: its total narrative capture by Elon Musk's X nymag.com/intelligence...
January 5, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Wrote about an obvious and yet profoundly underappreciated aspect of the AI boom: its total narrative capture by Elon Musk's X nymag.com/intelligence...
Reposted by Flannery Dean
good news everyone
January 4, 2026 at 11:34 PM
good news everyone
Reposted by Flannery Dean
This kind of thing used to be a much bigger part of social media in general. Much of it has given away—everywhere—with re-posting popular takes. Much less first-hand.
Recs for on-the-ground reporters/observers/people in Venezuela posting at least part of the time in English?
January 4, 2026 at 8:43 PM
This kind of thing used to be a much bigger part of social media in general. Much of it has given away—everywhere—with re-posting popular takes. Much less first-hand.
Reposted by Flannery Dean
Well it finally happened, dogs are now wearing more winter gear than teenagers.
creativebyrovelo.com/therovelorecord
creativebyrovelo.com/therovelorecord
January 4, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Well it finally happened, dogs are now wearing more winter gear than teenagers.
creativebyrovelo.com/therovelorecord
creativebyrovelo.com/therovelorecord
Reposted by Flannery Dean
The ideal childhood, increasingly.
January 4, 2026 at 5:30 PM
The ideal childhood, increasingly.
Reposted by Flannery Dean
See, it’s not hard to denounce this and toe it into the larger pattern of criminality.
Chris Murphy: "Clearly this is wildly illegal. This is a president who has been operating illegally since he was sworn in -- stealing from the American people, seizing spending power, now dragging America into a war overseas ... Donald Trump's entire foreign policy is corrupt."
January 4, 2026 at 4:11 PM
See, it’s not hard to denounce this and toe it into the larger pattern of criminality.
prefer to listen to experts that inform and warn about implications of allowing illegality to become embedded vs approach that games out the strategy for readers.
January 4, 2026 at 5:02 PM
prefer to listen to experts that inform and warn about implications of allowing illegality to become embedded vs approach that games out the strategy for readers.
Had to have Grok convo with tween. Essentially most of my advice to him now is avoid the internet as much as possible even while the tech itself permeates every facet of his existence. Fun parenting challenge
January 4, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Had to have Grok convo with tween. Essentially most of my advice to him now is avoid the internet as much as possible even while the tech itself permeates every facet of his existence. Fun parenting challenge
Grumpy this am. Woke up on wrong side of history again.
January 4, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Grumpy this am. Woke up on wrong side of history again.
Reposted by Flannery Dean
Trying to cut commenters some slack today, because it seems like a lot of folks might not have anywhere to process all this except on here.
January 3, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Trying to cut commenters some slack today, because it seems like a lot of folks might not have anywhere to process all this except on here.