Keenan Chen @NICAR25
@kcinbk.bsky.social
- kcinbk.github.io
- data + computational methods
- Former data and misinformation researcher at Information Futures Lab (Brown University) and First Draft News.
- Ex-@Columbiajourn investigations fellow.
- Lang: 普通話, 廣東話
- data + computational methods
- Former data and misinformation researcher at Information Futures Lab (Brown University) and First Draft News.
- Ex-@Columbiajourn investigations fellow.
- Lang: 普通話, 廣東話
Pinned
Keenan Chen @NICAR25
@kcinbk.bsky.social
· Mar 14
He Used to Make Videos About NYC Real Estate. Then He Became Radicalized by the Right.
Cash Jordan made a name for himself showing off New York apartments. Now his YouTube channel is all crime and conspiracy. What happened?
slate.com
For Slate, I dived into what a viral real estate influencer in NYC may reveal our increasingly polluting news environment of, and how a profitable business model of amplifying polarizing political and cultural content is making it even worse.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
Clean energy went through a lot this year, but it still managed to dominate new power deployment in the U.S.
Chart: Clean energy remains dominant in the US — despite Trump
Trump spent much of 2025 boosting fossil fuels and blocking renewables, but 92% of new power additions through November were solar, wind, or batteries.
www.canarymedia.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Clean energy went through a lot this year, but it still managed to dominate new power deployment in the U.S.
For @nysfocus.bsky.social and @thecity.nyc , I took a deep-dive into NYC’s Department of Social Services.
OT spending has soared while frontline positions processing SNAP and Cash Assistance applicants remain unfilled, impacting the city’s most vulnerable residents (with @reuvenblau.bsky.social)
OT spending has soared while frontline positions processing SNAP and Cash Assistance applicants remain unfilled, impacting the city’s most vulnerable residents (with @reuvenblau.bsky.social)
With nearly 1,500 unfilled jobs and demand for public assistance at record highs, New York City’s Department of Social Services is leaning on mandatory overtime to keep up — and that’s before onerous new federal rules kick in. W/ NYSFocus.com
www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/11/e...
www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/11/e...
Millions in Overtime, Thousands of Vacancies: Inside NYC’s Overstretched Social Services Agency
With nearly 1,500 unfilled jobs and demand for public assistance at record highs, New York City’s Department of Social Services is leaning on mandatory overtime to keep up — and that’s before onerous…
www.thecity.nyc
December 12, 2025 at 4:28 PM
For @nysfocus.bsky.social and @thecity.nyc , I took a deep-dive into NYC’s Department of Social Services.
OT spending has soared while frontline positions processing SNAP and Cash Assistance applicants remain unfilled, impacting the city’s most vulnerable residents (with @reuvenblau.bsky.social)
OT spending has soared while frontline positions processing SNAP and Cash Assistance applicants remain unfilled, impacting the city’s most vulnerable residents (with @reuvenblau.bsky.social)
You can actually see the changes—the removal of human causes of climate change—side-by-side on the Internet Archive.
web.archive.org/web/diff/202...
web.archive.org/web/diff/202...
December 11, 2025 at 12:22 AM
You can actually see the changes—the removal of human causes of climate change—side-by-side on the Internet Archive.
web.archive.org/web/diff/202...
web.archive.org/web/diff/202...
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
I was sent some screenshots of HTML sites around the 1994 election cycle, one of the really rare to find examples of websites playing a part in politics so early. I'll get them on the archive but now you get them too.
December 10, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I was sent some screenshots of HTML sites around the 1994 election cycle, one of the really rare to find examples of websites playing a part in politics so early. I'll get them on the archive but now you get them too.
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
Refugees feeding refugees: Sudanese families fleeing violence find little aid at Chad border reut.rs/3M7Wvs9
Refugees feeding refugees: Sudanese families fleeing violence find little aid at Chad border
At a transit camp here on the Chad-Sudan border, Najwa Isa Adam, 32, hands out bowls of pasta and meat to orphaned Sudanese children from al-Fashir, the site of a recent violent takeover by paramilitary forces in Sudan.
reut.rs
December 1, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Refugees feeding refugees: Sudanese families fleeing violence find little aid at Chad border reut.rs/3M7Wvs9
Made a precinct-level map on the results of the NYC six ballot measures.
- A majority of voters in almost every single precinct on Staten Island voted against all of these proposals.
- Affordable housing–related measures proved popular even in some affluent neighborhoods and also outer borough.
- A majority of voters in almost every single precinct on Staten Island voted against all of these proposals.
- Affordable housing–related measures proved popular even in some affluent neighborhoods and also outer borough.
November 5, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Made a precinct-level map on the results of the NYC six ballot measures.
- A majority of voters in almost every single precinct on Staten Island voted against all of these proposals.
- Affordable housing–related measures proved popular even in some affluent neighborhoods and also outer borough.
- A majority of voters in almost every single precinct on Staten Island voted against all of these proposals.
- Affordable housing–related measures proved popular even in some affluent neighborhoods and also outer borough.
Not all misinformation requires sophisticated tech or AI.
For @craigsilverman.bsky.social's @indicator.media, I deep-dived into these accounts generated millions of views—and potentially handsome profits—with a little clever editing and an understanding of how strong emotions drive clicks.
For @craigsilverman.bsky.social's @indicator.media, I deep-dived into these accounts generated millions of views—and potentially handsome profits—with a little clever editing and an understanding of how strong emotions drive clicks.
We published an investigation from @kcinbk.bsky.social
into YouTube vids that falsely claim to show police racially profiling and arresting a person that turns out to to be an FBI agent. They've earned over 300 million views.
In response, YouTube banned 13 channels: indicator.media/p/youtube-co...
into YouTube vids that falsely claim to show police racially profiling and arresting a person that turns out to to be an FBI agent. They've earned over 300 million views.
In response, YouTube banned 13 channels: indicator.media/p/youtube-co...
Rage-baiting YouTube videos falsely claim to expose police for arresting FBI agents
Indicator identified 55 false or misleading cop comeuppance that generated hundreds of millions of views. In response, YouTube removed 13 channels
indicator.media
October 27, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Not all misinformation requires sophisticated tech or AI.
For @craigsilverman.bsky.social's @indicator.media, I deep-dived into these accounts generated millions of views—and potentially handsome profits—with a little clever editing and an understanding of how strong emotions drive clicks.
For @craigsilverman.bsky.social's @indicator.media, I deep-dived into these accounts generated millions of views—and potentially handsome profits—with a little clever editing and an understanding of how strong emotions drive clicks.
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
Justice Brett Kavanaugh: “If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen...they promptly let the individual go."
The reality: Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
A must read from the very talented @nicolefoy.bsky.social:
The reality: Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
A must read from the very talented @nicolefoy.bsky.social:
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Justice Brett Kavanaugh: “If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen...they promptly let the individual go."
The reality: Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
A must read from the very talented @nicolefoy.bsky.social:
The reality: Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
A must read from the very talented @nicolefoy.bsky.social:
I wrote about how foreign apparel sellers rushed to cash in on Charlie Kirk’s death. Within hours, these astroturf accounts started flooding Facebook and Instagram with merch ads. Some of these paid posts even claimed “100% of the profits” would go to his orgs and family.
tinyurl.com/4x253yn7
tinyurl.com/4x253yn7
Merch sellers cash in on Kirk’s killing with flood of social media ads
Foreign brands not linked to Kirk’s Turning Point USA sell patriotic gear with unclear promises to donate profits
www.theguardian.com
September 25, 2025 at 8:34 PM
I wrote about how foreign apparel sellers rushed to cash in on Charlie Kirk’s death. Within hours, these astroturf accounts started flooding Facebook and Instagram with merch ads. Some of these paid posts even claimed “100% of the profits” would go to his orgs and family.
tinyurl.com/4x253yn7
tinyurl.com/4x253yn7
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are walking and driving south to escape Israel's Gaza City offensive.
https://wapo.st/4pwffkf
https://wapo.st/4pwffkf
September 19, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are walking and driving south to escape Israel's Gaza City offensive.
https://wapo.st/4pwffkf
https://wapo.st/4pwffkf
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
Jarvis: I hate to say this to my friends here at CNN, mass media is dying, so they're taking the last of these vestiges of institutions that matter and they're trying to turn them into propaganda organs under threat from the head of the FCC
September 18, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Jarvis: I hate to say this to my friends here at CNN, mass media is dying, so they're taking the last of these vestiges of institutions that matter and they're trying to turn them into propaganda organs under threat from the head of the FCC
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
Israel’s minister of culture announced plans to cancel the funding for the country’s top film award ceremony after a 90-minute drama about a Palestinian boy won best feature on Tuesday night. nyti.ms/4mla5oe
Israel Says It Will Defund Film Awards After Palestinian Win
A drama about a Palestinian boy who sneaks into Israel won the top prize at Israel’s version of the Oscars. The country’s culture minister called the ceremony “shameful.”
nyti.ms
September 17, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Israel’s minister of culture announced plans to cancel the funding for the country’s top film award ceremony after a 90-minute drama about a Palestinian boy won best feature on Tuesday night. nyti.ms/4mla5oe
Conservative voices are now coalescing around the idea of “online radicalization,” claiming Kirk’s suspected shooter, a white, Christian male, was groomed into a violent leftist.
Quite a surprising turn, given their past hostility to the concept rigorously researched by academics and journalists.
Quite a surprising turn, given their past hostility to the concept rigorously researched by academics and journalists.
September 12, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Conservative voices are now coalescing around the idea of “online radicalization,” claiming Kirk’s suspected shooter, a white, Christian male, was groomed into a violent leftist.
Quite a surprising turn, given their past hostility to the concept rigorously researched by academics and journalists.
Quite a surprising turn, given their past hostility to the concept rigorously researched by academics and journalists.
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
If the federal show of force in Washington has had a deterrent effect on crime, it appears to have deterred entirely normal aspects of city life, too.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
September 11, 2025 at 11:21 PM
If the federal show of force in Washington has had a deterrent effect on crime, it appears to have deterred entirely normal aspects of city life, too.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
An AP investigation finds that Silicon Valley companies sold surveillance technology to Chinese police and security contractors, ignoring warnings that the tools were being used to quash dissent, persecute religious sects and target minorities.
US tech companies enabled the surveillance and detention of hundreds of thousands in China
U.S. technology firms such as IBM, Dell and Cisco largely designed and built China’s surveillance state, an AP investigation finds. The tech companies deny wrongdoing.
bit.ly
September 9, 2025 at 12:30 PM
An AP investigation finds that Silicon Valley companies sold surveillance technology to Chinese police and security contractors, ignoring warnings that the tools were being used to quash dissent, persecute religious sects and target minorities.
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
My lab's been attacked by an anti-wind group and their lawyers. They threatened the science funding of my whole university, to shut me and my undergraduate research assistants up.
NYT just covered it. 1/n
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...
NYT just covered it. 1/n
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...
Law Firm Pressures Brown University to Erase Research on Anti-Wind Groups
www.nytimes.com
August 25, 2025 at 11:32 AM
My lab's been attacked by an anti-wind group and their lawyers. They threatened the science funding of my whole university, to shut me and my undergraduate research assistants up.
NYT just covered it. 1/n
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...
NYT just covered it. 1/n
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...
When I reported for a leading Chinese-language newspaper in NYC years ago, I often had to explain: “No, I can’t take your red envelopes.” Even now, seeing them still give me anxiety.
I wrote about my personal experience on my SubStack.
kcinbk.substack.com/p/a-former-i...
I wrote about my personal experience on my SubStack.
kcinbk.substack.com/p/a-former-i...
A former insider on NYC's “Red Envelope Gate”
I had anxiety whenever I saw these "red envelopes."
kcinbk.substack.com
August 22, 2025 at 1:30 PM
When I reported for a leading Chinese-language newspaper in NYC years ago, I often had to explain: “No, I can’t take your red envelopes.” Even now, seeing them still give me anxiety.
I wrote about my personal experience on my SubStack.
kcinbk.substack.com/p/a-former-i...
I wrote about my personal experience on my SubStack.
kcinbk.substack.com/p/a-former-i...
I started my Substack because… why not?
For my first post, I wrote about how the NYC FARE Act — which bans mandatory broker fees for new tenants — has yet to trigger any significant rent hikes.
tinyurl.com/4tfnbyfr
For my first post, I wrote about how the NYC FARE Act — which bans mandatory broker fees for new tenants — has yet to trigger any significant rent hikes.
tinyurl.com/4tfnbyfr
New York City's broker fee ban, explained in three charts.
It’s still very early, but only a small fraction of rental listings appear to have increased asking rent since the FARE Act went into effect.
tinyurl.com
June 25, 2025 at 2:14 PM
I started my Substack because… why not?
For my first post, I wrote about how the NYC FARE Act — which bans mandatory broker fees for new tenants — has yet to trigger any significant rent hikes.
tinyurl.com/4tfnbyfr
For my first post, I wrote about how the NYC FARE Act — which bans mandatory broker fees for new tenants — has yet to trigger any significant rent hikes.
tinyurl.com/4tfnbyfr
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
Amazing presentation, fascinating data:
www.pewresearch.org/journalism/f...
www.pewresearch.org/journalism/f...
News Media Tracker
Pew Research Center’s News Media Tracker shows data on Americans’ awareness of, use of and trust in 30 major news sources to map out part of the U.S. media ecosystem.
www.pewresearch.org
June 18, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Amazing presentation, fascinating data:
www.pewresearch.org/journalism/f...
www.pewresearch.org/journalism/f...
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
"More than half (54%) of people get news from networks like Facebook, X and YouTube - overtaking TV (50%) and news sites and apps (48%)"
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Social media now main source of news in US, research suggests
A report also finds right-leaning audiences on X have almost doubled in the UK since Elon Musk's takeover.
www.bbc.com
June 17, 2025 at 12:50 PM
"More than half (54%) of people get news from networks like Facebook, X and YouTube - overtaking TV (50%) and news sites and apps (48%)"
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
NEW: A cottage industry of unlicensed, unregulated driving schools in New Jersey are targetting the state’s immigrant population, evading the system carefully set up for safety.
Unsafe at Any Speed: NJ Officials Allow Illegal Driving Schools To Run Rampant - Streetsblog New York City
A cottage industry of unlicensed, unregulated driving schools targets the state’s immigrant population, evading the system carefully set up for safety.
nyc.streetsblog.org
June 16, 2025 at 1:45 PM
NEW: A cottage industry of unlicensed, unregulated driving schools in New Jersey are targetting the state’s immigrant population, evading the system carefully set up for safety.
First Take should do a segment like this: If beef were a sport, where does the Trump-Musk beef rank of all time?
June 5, 2025 at 8:48 PM
First Take should do a segment like this: If beef were a sport, where does the Trump-Musk beef rank of all time?
She’s essentially calling a naturalized citizen "illegal" in another comment, while her a district- including Whitestone, Flushing, and Little Neck- has a significant population of foreign-born Chinese and Cantonese residents.
Curious how the local Chinese-language press will cover this, or not.
Curious how the local Chinese-language press will cover this, or not.
June 3, 2025 at 4:11 PM
She’s essentially calling a naturalized citizen "illegal" in another comment, while her a district- including Whitestone, Flushing, and Little Neck- has a significant population of foreign-born Chinese and Cantonese residents.
Curious how the local Chinese-language press will cover this, or not.
Curious how the local Chinese-language press will cover this, or not.
Reposted by Keenan Chen @NICAR25
New from 404 Media: Republicans are trying to cram a ban on AI regulation into the Budget Reconciliation bill, which would stop states from regulating AI entirely for 10 years.
www.404media.co/republicans-...
www.404media.co/republicans-...
Republicans Try to Cram Ban on AI Regulation Into Budget Reconciliation Bill
Republicans try to use the Budget Reconciliation bill to stop states from regulating AI entirely for 10 years.
www.404media.co
May 12, 2025 at 2:33 PM
New from 404 Media: Republicans are trying to cram a ban on AI regulation into the Budget Reconciliation bill, which would stop states from regulating AI entirely for 10 years.
www.404media.co/republicans-...
www.404media.co/republicans-...
"The leader of a Bulgarian spy ring helped Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek organise an airlift of 200 personnel from Kabul for the CIA during the military retreat from Afghanistan in 2021, a court in London has heard."
What a lede.
www.ft.com/content/17c9...
What a lede.
www.ft.com/content/17c9...
Bulgarian spy helped Wirecard’s Marsalek plan Kabul airlift for CIA, court told
Claim dismissed by prosecution lawyers at Old Bailey sentencing hearing
www.ft.com
May 8, 2025 at 9:49 PM
"The leader of a Bulgarian spy ring helped Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek organise an airlift of 200 personnel from Kabul for the CIA during the military retreat from Afghanistan in 2021, a court in London has heard."
What a lede.
www.ft.com/content/17c9...
What a lede.
www.ft.com/content/17c9...