Matt Severn
@mattsevern.bsky.social
LibDem councillor, fe support staff, former bookseller, Dad, husband, Christian, non league fan x2 clubs, strategy gamer, very amateur HEMA fighter, SF&F reader, 4 x Parliamentary candidate.
Mostly found in Cumbria and North Lancashire.
Mostly found in Cumbria and North Lancashire.
Reposted by Matt Severn
Elon Musk is increasingly addicted to white extinction narratives - whose purpose is to radicalise racial threat perceptions, fears of civil war and to legitimise violence.
The UK government took AI images seriously - but has still said almost nothing about Musk + racism
bsky.app/profile/sund...
The UK government took AI images seriously - but has still said almost nothing about Musk + racism
bsky.app/profile/sund...
"Whites are a rapidly dying minority,”
Elon Musk posted on 22nd January. The radicalised and radicalising X owner posted about race on 26 days out of 31 in January, the Guardian reveals. His site also invariably protects unlawful racist posts in the UK
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk posted on 22nd January. The radicalised and radicalising X owner posted about race on 26 days out of 31 in January, the Guardian reveals. His site also invariably protects unlawful racist posts in the UK
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk posted about race almost every day in January
Many social media posts by Tesla CEO on his platform are indiscernible from those of white supremacists, say experts
www.theguardian.com
February 18, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Elon Musk is increasingly addicted to white extinction narratives - whose purpose is to radicalise racial threat perceptions, fears of civil war and to legitimise violence.
The UK government took AI images seriously - but has still said almost nothing about Musk + racism
bsky.app/profile/sund...
The UK government took AI images seriously - but has still said almost nothing about Musk + racism
bsky.app/profile/sund...
Reposted by Matt Severn
In some ways I'm philosophical about The End these days. It is what it is. But for the final wave to hit because of the crisis when we worked the hardest we possibly could, we nearly broke ourselves, and did exactly what the govt told us to do? It seems.. painful.
21 MILLION? Oh. 😱 That's the end of some universities then. It's as simple as that. I'm sorry, I tried.
www.ft.com/content/a0cf...
www.ft.com/content/a0cf...
UCL students win £21mn over Covid disruption in watershed settlement
Move involving 6,500 claimants is set to put pressure on other universities to compensate graduates
www.ft.com
February 18, 2026 at 6:13 PM
In some ways I'm philosophical about The End these days. It is what it is. But for the final wave to hit because of the crisis when we worked the hardest we possibly could, we nearly broke ourselves, and did exactly what the govt told us to do? It seems.. painful.
Reposted by Matt Severn
Carney's incredible secret sauce seems to be - say what the problem is, whose fault it is, what you will have to do about it and what it will cost.
Keep reading articles about how impossible it is to be a successful centre/left PM these days. And then I look at Mark Carney...
#Breaking: Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux joining Liberal caucus, Carney says
February 18, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Carney's incredible secret sauce seems to be - say what the problem is, whose fault it is, what you will have to do about it and what it will cost.
Reposted by Matt Severn
I got a tip that all over the world, people are using a dead-simple hack to manipulate AI behavior. It turns out changing what AI tells other people can be as easy as writing a blog post *on your own website*
I didn’t believe it, so I decided to test it myself www.bbc.com/future/artic...
I didn’t believe it, so I decided to test it myself www.bbc.com/future/artic...
I hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI – and it only took 20 minutes
I found a way to make AI tell you lies – and I'm not the only one.
www.bbc.com
February 18, 2026 at 4:37 PM
I got a tip that all over the world, people are using a dead-simple hack to manipulate AI behavior. It turns out changing what AI tells other people can be as easy as writing a blog post *on your own website*
I didn’t believe it, so I decided to test it myself www.bbc.com/future/artic...
I didn’t believe it, so I decided to test it myself www.bbc.com/future/artic...
Reposted by Matt Severn
I just want to point out that’s Doug Wilson speaking at the Pentagon. Doug Wilson wants: the 19th amendment repealed, non-Christian religions outlawed, the death penalty for homosexuality, women barred from working or holding office, blasphemy laws, and one party theocratic rule.
February 18, 2026 at 7:22 PM
I just want to point out that’s Doug Wilson speaking at the Pentagon. Doug Wilson wants: the 19th amendment repealed, non-Christian religions outlawed, the death penalty for homosexuality, women barred from working or holding office, blasphemy laws, and one party theocratic rule.
Reposted by Matt Severn
21 MILLION? Oh. 😱 That's the end of some universities then. It's as simple as that. I'm sorry, I tried.
www.ft.com/content/a0cf...
www.ft.com/content/a0cf...
UCL students win £21mn over Covid disruption in watershed settlement
Move involving 6,500 claimants is set to put pressure on other universities to compensate graduates
www.ft.com
February 18, 2026 at 6:09 PM
21 MILLION? Oh. 😱 That's the end of some universities then. It's as simple as that. I'm sorry, I tried.
www.ft.com/content/a0cf...
www.ft.com/content/a0cf...
Reposted by Matt Severn
AOC: “You are the Attorney General of the United States of America & you don't want to hold anyone of these pedophiles accountable — resign or be impeached"
February 16, 2026 at 5:48 PM
AOC: “You are the Attorney General of the United States of America & you don't want to hold anyone of these pedophiles accountable — resign or be impeached"
Reposted by Matt Severn
Denmark and Canada ink new defense cooperation agreement 🇩🇰 🇨🇦
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...
Denmark and Canada ink new defense cooperation agreement - Naval News
On February 14, 2026, the official representation of Denmark in Canada announced a new defence cooperation agreement inked by Denmark and Canada in Munich
www.navalnews.com
February 17, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Denmark and Canada ink new defense cooperation agreement 🇩🇰 🇨🇦
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...
Reposted by Matt Severn
One element of recent Reform press conferences seems to me to be Nigel Farage believing his own hype, as it were, being particularly bullish and, at times, glib with critical questions. This could be risky for him as it's not always 100% appealing.
February 17, 2026 at 11:53 AM
One element of recent Reform press conferences seems to me to be Nigel Farage believing his own hype, as it were, being particularly bullish and, at times, glib with critical questions. This could be risky for him as it's not always 100% appealing.
Reposted by Matt Severn
“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
February 17, 2026 at 7:31 PM
“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
Reposted by Matt Severn
I’ll go a step further - it’s not just local storage, it’s local compute too.
They want you to subscribe to compute.
You’ll rent a dumb terminal connected to a corporate AI data centre and pay monthly for the privilege.
It’s not a conspiracy theory.
They want you to subscribe to compute.
You’ll rent a dumb terminal connected to a corporate AI data centre and pay monthly for the privilege.
It’s not a conspiracy theory.
I saw a conspiracy theory yesterday that the goal is to eliminate all local data storage and push everything into the corporate cloud where it will be scraped to train A.I. (and exploit us)
And I'm having a difficult time dismissing it
And I'm having a difficult time dismissing it
WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out
Hyperscalers are tearing hard drives out of the hands of manufacturers. Prices are therefore also rising for SSDs.
www.heise.de
February 17, 2026 at 10:28 PM
I’ll go a step further - it’s not just local storage, it’s local compute too.
They want you to subscribe to compute.
You’ll rent a dumb terminal connected to a corporate AI data centre and pay monthly for the privilege.
It’s not a conspiracy theory.
They want you to subscribe to compute.
You’ll rent a dumb terminal connected to a corporate AI data centre and pay monthly for the privilege.
It’s not a conspiracy theory.
Reposted by Matt Severn
I can’t help thinking there’s so much money changing hands wrt ICE detention that there aren’t even enough investigative reporters to track
www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
Michigan ICE detention center owner reports $254 million profit, record new business in 2025
The company that owns Michigan’s North Lake Processing Center, the largest immigration detention facility in the Midwest, reported $254 million in profit last year, up nearly 700 percent from $32 mill...
www.michiganpublic.org
February 17, 2026 at 7:08 PM
I can’t help thinking there’s so much money changing hands wrt ICE detention that there aren’t even enough investigative reporters to track
www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
Reposted by Matt Severn
...my team has to spend a reasonable part of their week trying to make sure none of us get murdered.
This also a greater burden for women, MPs of colour, LGBT MPs, so they effectively get less staff time to focus on what actually should matter...
6/?
This also a greater burden for women, MPs of colour, LGBT MPs, so they effectively get less staff time to focus on what actually should matter...
6/?
February 17, 2026 at 2:33 PM
...my team has to spend a reasonable part of their week trying to make sure none of us get murdered.
This also a greater burden for women, MPs of colour, LGBT MPs, so they effectively get less staff time to focus on what actually should matter...
6/?
This also a greater burden for women, MPs of colour, LGBT MPs, so they effectively get less staff time to focus on what actually should matter...
6/?
Reposted by Matt Severn
This stuff is the equivalent scandal to landlords exploiting grants for buy to let mortgages.
Massive data brokers will lease the hardware back to the public at a profit having bought it all out with government subsidies and destroy everyday amenities in the process.
Massive data brokers will lease the hardware back to the public at a profit having bought it all out with government subsidies and destroy everyday amenities in the process.
February 17, 2026 at 9:36 PM
This stuff is the equivalent scandal to landlords exploiting grants for buy to let mortgages.
Massive data brokers will lease the hardware back to the public at a profit having bought it all out with government subsidies and destroy everyday amenities in the process.
Massive data brokers will lease the hardware back to the public at a profit having bought it all out with government subsidies and destroy everyday amenities in the process.
Reposted by Matt Severn
People talk about this stuff in terms of how much it'll suck for gaming and I hate to inform you how many MRI machines, X-Rays, all sorts of other vital machinery are just a Windows IoT Edition PC in a beige plastic box with a big magnet/accelerator/whatever attached.
WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out
WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out
Hyperscalers are tearing hard drives out of the hands of manufacturers. Prices are therefore also rising for SSDs.
www.heise.de
February 17, 2026 at 9:12 PM
People talk about this stuff in terms of how much it'll suck for gaming and I hate to inform you how many MRI machines, X-Rays, all sorts of other vital machinery are just a Windows IoT Edition PC in a beige plastic box with a big magnet/accelerator/whatever attached.
Reposted by Matt Severn
Christian fundamentalist in charge of Reform policymaking
Fundamentally and completely an unserious fringe group. Despite what Orr professes to belive, reason and belief are not in conflict.
spectator.com/article/at-t...
spectator.com/article/at-t...
James Orr is Reform’s new Head of Policy
At today’s unveiling of Reform’s spokespersons , I asked Yusuf how he intended to balance the demands of his new role
spectator.com
February 17, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Christian fundamentalist in charge of Reform policymaking
Reposted by Matt Severn
“In plain language, Sanchez Estrada is facing up to 20 years behind bars for allegedly moving a box of anarchist zines from his parents’ house to another residence in his hometown of Dallas.”
Prison-Style Free Speech Censorship Is Coming for the Rest of Us
The outcome of a court case could decide whether the Trump administration can criminalize simply possessing political literature.
theintercept.com
February 17, 2026 at 10:04 PM
“In plain language, Sanchez Estrada is facing up to 20 years behind bars for allegedly moving a box of anarchist zines from his parents’ house to another residence in his hometown of Dallas.”
Reposted by Matt Severn
Honestly, I think the RAM prices are more likely to ‘break’ an aspect of the economy than tariffs.
The current ludicrous AI expansion simply cannot continue in a world where people want phones, consoles, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs.
The current ludicrous AI expansion simply cannot continue in a world where people want phones, consoles, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs.
February 17, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Honestly, I think the RAM prices are more likely to ‘break’ an aspect of the economy than tariffs.
The current ludicrous AI expansion simply cannot continue in a world where people want phones, consoles, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs.
The current ludicrous AI expansion simply cannot continue in a world where people want phones, consoles, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs.
Reposted by Matt Severn
“.. ‘many system vendors will go bankrupt or exit product lines due to a lack of memory. Mobile phone production will be reduced by 200-250 million units, and PC and TV production will be significantly reduced.’ Yikes.”
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
February 17, 2026 at 6:37 PM
“.. ‘many system vendors will go bankrupt or exit product lines due to a lack of memory. Mobile phone production will be reduced by 200-250 million units, and PC and TV production will be significantly reduced.’ Yikes.”
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
Reposted by Matt Severn
Love that AI, a thing we hate and don’t want, steals everything, ruins everything, shittifies everything. Drinks our water, plagiarizes our art, pisses all over our information fidelity, drives kids to suicide, serves the right-wing, and fucks up our devices and services. Good job, techbros!
“.. ‘many system vendors will go bankrupt or exit product lines due to a lack of memory. Mobile phone production will be reduced by 200-250 million units, and PC and TV production will be significantly reduced.’ Yikes.”
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
February 17, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Love that AI, a thing we hate and don’t want, steals everything, ruins everything, shittifies everything. Drinks our water, plagiarizes our art, pisses all over our information fidelity, drives kids to suicide, serves the right-wing, and fucks up our devices and services. Good job, techbros!
Reposted by Matt Severn
People always ask, "What would you do if you were born in another time period?"
With my health the answer is almost always, "Die before kindergarten."
Medical progress is the real deal, buddies.
With my health the answer is almost always, "Die before kindergarten."
Medical progress is the real deal, buddies.
before antibiotics did people just die all the time from everything?
February 17, 2026 at 9:17 PM
People always ask, "What would you do if you were born in another time period?"
With my health the answer is almost always, "Die before kindergarten."
Medical progress is the real deal, buddies.
With my health the answer is almost always, "Die before kindergarten."
Medical progress is the real deal, buddies.
Reposted by Matt Severn
The world's richest man is broadcasting eliminationist rhetoric about a tiny, vulnerable minority, and virtually no one is going to treat it as a scandal. It's just normal now.
February 17, 2026 at 2:18 PM
The world's richest man is broadcasting eliminationist rhetoric about a tiny, vulnerable minority, and virtually no one is going to treat it as a scandal. It's just normal now.
Reposted by Matt Severn
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
BBC warns Russia is taking over World Service radio frequencies
Russian propaganda is filling the void where the BBC has closed World Service radio services due to cuts
inews.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 6:03 AM
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
Reposted by Matt Severn
The UK will cut overseas aid spending by about 27% in 2026-27 compared with 2024-25
the US reductions are expected to be 23% lower in 2026 than in 2024, as Congress has this month blunted parts of the steep cuts proposed by President Donald Trump.
the US reductions are expected to be 23% lower in 2026 than in 2024, as Congress has this month blunted parts of the steep cuts proposed by President Donald Trump.
February 16, 2026 at 9:39 AM
The UK will cut overseas aid spending by about 27% in 2026-27 compared with 2024-25
the US reductions are expected to be 23% lower in 2026 than in 2024, as Congress has this month blunted parts of the steep cuts proposed by President Donald Trump.
the US reductions are expected to be 23% lower in 2026 than in 2024, as Congress has this month blunted parts of the steep cuts proposed by President Donald Trump.