michael h keller
@mhkeller.bsky.social
nytimes reporter | tech, special projects | mhkeller@{nytimes,protonmail}.com, github/mhkeller | adjunct at CUJ | mhkeller.01 on Signal
Reposted by michael h keller
New: Trio of Dem senators urge Apple and Google to enforce their own terms of service and ban X, Grok apps for their flood of nonconsensual sexual imagery.
I've repeatedly asked both Apple and Google about this for three days. They're completely silent, seemingly hoping the question just goes away.
I've repeatedly asked both Apple and Google about this for three days. They're completely silent, seemingly hoping the question just goes away.
Senators urged Apple and Google to remove X and Grok from app stores over sexual deepfakes
“Turning a blind eye to X’s egregious behavior would make a mockery of your moderation
practices,” three Democratic senators wrote to Apple’s and Google’s CEOs.
www.nbcnews.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:06 PM
New: Trio of Dem senators urge Apple and Google to enforce their own terms of service and ban X, Grok apps for their flood of nonconsensual sexual imagery.
I've repeatedly asked both Apple and Google about this for three days. They're completely silent, seemingly hoping the question just goes away.
I've repeatedly asked both Apple and Google about this for three days. They're completely silent, seemingly hoping the question just goes away.
Reposted by michael h keller
NEW INVESTIGATION: What Is A Life Worth In NYC? In Fatal Crashes, Sometimes Just $50.
Drivers who kill pedestrians often face minimal punishment, including just a $50 fine in one case, a Streetsblog investigation found. -- nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/01/08/w...
Drivers who kill pedestrians often face minimal punishment, including just a $50 fine in one case, a Streetsblog investigation found. -- nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/01/08/w...
What Is A Life Worth In NYC? In Fatal Crashes, Sometimes Just $50 - Streetsblog New York City
Drivers who kill pedestrians often face minimal punishment, a Streetsblog investigation found.
nyc.streetsblog.org
January 8, 2026 at 6:06 PM
NEW INVESTIGATION: What Is A Life Worth In NYC? In Fatal Crashes, Sometimes Just $50.
Drivers who kill pedestrians often face minimal punishment, including just a $50 fine in one case, a Streetsblog investigation found. -- nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/01/08/w...
Drivers who kill pedestrians often face minimal punishment, including just a $50 fine in one case, a Streetsblog investigation found. -- nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/01/08/w...
Highlighting this 2021 piece from my colleagues that looked into how police justify killing drivers, often saying the vehicle was a weapon.
www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/u...
www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/u...
How Police Justify Killing Drivers: The Vehicle Was a Weapon (Published 2021)
www.nytimes.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Highlighting this 2021 piece from my colleagues that looked into how police justify killing drivers, often saying the vehicle was a weapon.
www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/u...
www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/u...
Patients spending $50,000 chasing remedies. Permanent scars.
NYS investigation finds 40% of med spas cited for violations. One even injected fentanyl.
NYS investigation finds 40% of med spas cited for violations. One even injected fentanyl.
Medical spa operators caused serious injuries in some cases, prompting an investigation of businesses offering cosmetic procedures. www.timesunion.com/capitol/arti...
#ny #medspa #spa
#ny #medspa #spa
Investigation finds widespread problems in ‘medical spas’ across NY
Investigation of 223 New York medical spas found unlicensed operators performing injections and laser treatments, causing serious burns, infections and permanent scarring.
www.timesunion.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Patients spending $50,000 chasing remedies. Permanent scars.
NYS investigation finds 40% of med spas cited for violations. One even injected fentanyl.
NYS investigation finds 40% of med spas cited for violations. One even injected fentanyl.
Reposted by michael h keller
Sorry, but triumphant claims about autonomous vehicle safety are wildly exaggerated.
It's an open question whether today’s self-driving cars are any safer than those driven by humans.
And if reducing crashes is the goal, that isn’t even the right question.
My deep dive, in Bloomberg 🧵
It's an open question whether today’s self-driving cars are any safer than those driven by humans.
And if reducing crashes is the goal, that isn’t even the right question.
My deep dive, in Bloomberg 🧵
We Still Don’t Know if Robotaxis Are Safer Than Human Drivers
And even if self-driving technology proves to be less dangerous, there are many better ways to improve traffic safety and prevent fatal crashes.
www.bloomberg.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Sorry, but triumphant claims about autonomous vehicle safety are wildly exaggerated.
It's an open question whether today’s self-driving cars are any safer than those driven by humans.
And if reducing crashes is the goal, that isn’t even the right question.
My deep dive, in Bloomberg 🧵
It's an open question whether today’s self-driving cars are any safer than those driven by humans.
And if reducing crashes is the goal, that isn’t even the right question.
My deep dive, in Bloomberg 🧵
Reposted by michael h keller
Most people will focus on the insider trading element.
What's more concerning is how this could've been a tip-off of pending military action. Like Signalgate, except anyone can see it in real time.
What's more concerning is how this could've been a tip-off of pending military action. Like Signalgate, except anyone can see it in real time.
This person went on a buying spree over the past 24 hours. Fresh wallet. Only existed since Dec 27th and has only bet on Venezuela-related markets.
polymarket.com/@0x31a56e9E6...
polymarket.com/@0x31a56e9E6...
January 3, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Most people will focus on the insider trading element.
What's more concerning is how this could've been a tip-off of pending military action. Like Signalgate, except anyone can see it in real time.
What's more concerning is how this could've been a tip-off of pending military action. Like Signalgate, except anyone can see it in real time.
Reposted by michael h keller
i am losing my mind over this listing that staged a condemned philly trap house with AI
December 31, 2025 at 2:40 PM
i am losing my mind over this listing that staged a condemned philly trap house with AI
Reposted by michael h keller
For years, people have lodged complaints about Tesla’s doors. With no official statistics, Bloomberg did its own analysis on the number of fatal crashes in the US in which door functionality played a role. Read more: bloom.bg/49tm0fF
📷️: Getty Images
📷️: Getty Images
December 22, 2025 at 1:01 PM
For years, people have lodged complaints about Tesla’s doors. With no official statistics, Bloomberg did its own analysis on the number of fatal crashes in the US in which door functionality played a role. Read more: bloom.bg/49tm0fF
📷️: Getty Images
📷️: Getty Images
Reposted by michael h keller
Cannot think of a grimmer, sadder headline.
"I’m a Two-Time School-Shooting Survivor: Zoe Weissman was 12 when she lived through Parkland. At 20, she just went through it again at Brown University." -- www.thecut.com/article/brow...
"I’m a Two-Time School-Shooting Survivor: Zoe Weissman was 12 when she lived through Parkland. At 20, she just went through it again at Brown University." -- www.thecut.com/article/brow...
I’m a Two-Time School-Shooting Survivor
Zoe Weissman was 12 when she lived through Parkland. At 20, she just went through it again at Brown University.
www.thecut.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Cannot think of a grimmer, sadder headline.
"I’m a Two-Time School-Shooting Survivor: Zoe Weissman was 12 when she lived through Parkland. At 20, she just went through it again at Brown University." -- www.thecut.com/article/brow...
"I’m a Two-Time School-Shooting Survivor: Zoe Weissman was 12 when she lived through Parkland. At 20, she just went through it again at Brown University." -- www.thecut.com/article/brow...
Reposted by michael h keller
Small-scale, fiercely independent journalism rarely gets recognition when awards are handed out, but it's vital in our communities—especially this year. So I made an award and am thrilled to announce @unraveledpress.com and @lataco.bsky.social as the inaugural winners. dansinker.com/posts/2025-1...
Announcing the Inaugural Snooping Newsie Awards for Excellence in Independent Journalism | dansinker.com
dansinker.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Small-scale, fiercely independent journalism rarely gets recognition when awards are handed out, but it's vital in our communities—especially this year. So I made an award and am thrilled to announce @unraveledpress.com and @lataco.bsky.social as the inaugural winners. dansinker.com/posts/2025-1...
Reposted by michael h keller
Read @jonkeegan.com on Hyperion:
Tax “breaks afforded to Meta on just the sales tax of GPUs would come out to more than $3.3B”
Equal to:
-33 new high schools
-public teacher salaries for > 1Y
-more than 7 years of the Louisiana State Police budget
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
Tax “breaks afforded to Meta on just the sales tax of GPUs would come out to more than $3.3B”
Equal to:
-33 new high schools
-public teacher salaries for > 1Y
-more than 7 years of the Louisiana State Police budget
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
December 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Read @jonkeegan.com on Hyperion:
Tax “breaks afforded to Meta on just the sales tax of GPUs would come out to more than $3.3B”
Equal to:
-33 new high schools
-public teacher salaries for > 1Y
-more than 7 years of the Louisiana State Police budget
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
Tax “breaks afforded to Meta on just the sales tax of GPUs would come out to more than $3.3B”
Equal to:
-33 new high schools
-public teacher salaries for > 1Y
-more than 7 years of the Louisiana State Police budget
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
Reposted by michael h keller
I took a deep dive into Meta’s “Hyperion” data center in Richland Parish, LA. The story of a tech behemoth coming bearing billions to a poor community like Richland Parish is complex and worthy of scrutiny. 🧵 1/7
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
The power play behind Hyperion, Mark Zuckerberg’s colossal data center being built in rural Louisiana
$10 billion of investment. Code names to disguise projects and companies. Mixed opinions. Skyrocketing property values. And enough tax breaks...
sherwood.news
December 15, 2025 at 4:31 PM
I took a deep dive into Meta’s “Hyperion” data center in Richland Parish, LA. The story of a tech behemoth coming bearing billions to a poor community like Richland Parish is complex and worthy of scrutiny. 🧵 1/7
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/
Reposted by michael h keller
New! We worked with the Public Interest Research Group to test a bunch of LLM-driven toys ahead of the Christmas. That sexual talking teddy bear wasn't a one-off; it turns out disturbing behavior is deeply built into these toys across the board.
AI toys for kids talk about sex and issue Chinese Communist Party talking points, tests show
New research from Public Interest Research Group and tests conducted by NBC News found that a wide range of AI toys have loose guardrails.
www.nbcnews.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:24 PM
New! We worked with the Public Interest Research Group to test a bunch of LLM-driven toys ahead of the Christmas. That sexual talking teddy bear wasn't a one-off; it turns out disturbing behavior is deeply built into these toys across the board.
Reposted by michael h keller
it took the NYPD a week to find a man dead inside a car with illegal tinted windows and parked in front of a fire hydrant just 600 feet from their front door
The car was parked in front of a fire hydrant just 600 feet from the 90th Precinct stationhouse. Had the NYPD enforced basic parking rules near its own command post, it might not have taken a week to find the dead man inside. buff.ly/UzQM0P4
NYPD Finds Mysterious Corpse in Car With Illegal Tints Parked at a Hydrant Near Stationhouse - Streetsblog New York City
Williamsburg cops on Sunday discovered the corpse of a 61-year-old man in a car that had been parked at a fire hydrant for a week roughly 600 feet from the front door of the 90th Precinct — a…
nyc.streetsblog.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:23 AM
it took the NYPD a week to find a man dead inside a car with illegal tinted windows and parked in front of a fire hydrant just 600 feet from their front door
Reposted by michael h keller
Isn't it funny how little regulation there is for this tech (genAI) that is so easily making CSAM?
The rise of deepfake pornography in schools: ‘One girl was so horrified she vomited’ www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
The rise of deepfake pornography in schools: ‘One girl was so horrified she vomited’
The use of ‘nudify’ apps is becoming more and more prevalent, with hundreds of teachers having seen images created by pupils, often of their peers. The fallout is huge – and growing fast
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Isn't it funny how little regulation there is for this tech (genAI) that is so easily making CSAM?
Reposted by michael h keller
Excellent reporting from @charliesavage.bsky.social and @julianbarnes.bsky.social starting with the "plain reality" that there was no warship, and no fighting going on, in the Sept. 2 strike, or any of them:
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
1/2
December 5, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Excellent reporting from @charliesavage.bsky.social and @julianbarnes.bsky.social starting with the "plain reality" that there was no warship, and no fighting going on, in the Sept. 2 strike, or any of them:
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
1/2
Reposted by michael h keller
Red light CRIMINAL summonses against cyclists.
Based on where enforcement happens, this is not just.
Based on where enforcement happens, this is not just.
December 4, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Red light CRIMINAL summonses against cyclists.
Based on where enforcement happens, this is not just.
Based on where enforcement happens, this is not just.
Reposted by michael h keller
This is the first chart drafted by an AI assistant, and then reviewed by a human editor, to be published on the Reuters homepage.
December 2, 2025 at 10:39 PM
This is the first chart drafted by an AI assistant, and then reviewed by a human editor, to be published on the Reuters homepage.
Latest piece on the effects of the immigration crackdown: Internal DHS documents show that investigators have rescued or identified 300 fewer child sexual abuse victims this year compared to last year.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
November 25, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Latest piece on the effects of the immigration crackdown: Internal DHS documents show that investigators have rescued or identified 300 fewer child sexual abuse victims this year compared to last year.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Reposted by michael h keller
Last week, we wrote about DHS agents being pulled off child exploitation + terrorism investigations to arrest undocumented immigrants. Now we've seen internal data showing drop in drug + weapons cases.
- Drug arrests ↓ 11%
- New drug cases ↓ 15%
- Weapons seizures ↓ 73%
- Drug arrests ↓ 11%
- New drug cases ↓ 15%
- Weapons seizures ↓ 73%
November 25, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Last week, we wrote about DHS agents being pulled off child exploitation + terrorism investigations to arrest undocumented immigrants. Now we've seen internal data showing drop in drug + weapons cases.
- Drug arrests ↓ 11%
- New drug cases ↓ 15%
- Weapons seizures ↓ 73%
- Drug arrests ↓ 11%
- New drug cases ↓ 15%
- Weapons seizures ↓ 73%
Reposted by michael h keller
re: roblox dude's interview crashout. the thing he wants to say but can't is "at scale, kids are gonna get hurt. that is the price for scale." the thing nobody wants to say out loud is "maybe scaling to a level where harm isn't manageable is bad, and scale should be contained"
November 21, 2025 at 6:35 PM
re: roblox dude's interview crashout. the thing he wants to say but can't is "at scale, kids are gonna get hurt. that is the price for scale." the thing nobody wants to say out loud is "maybe scaling to a level where harm isn't manageable is bad, and scale should be contained"
Reposted by michael h keller
We originally set up an alert to track our mentions @towcenter.bsky.social - but soon found that my name cropped up a great deal, (false ‘Dr’ added), talking about the things I talk about (tech + media) but none of the quotes were real. AI slop me has been pretty busy….
We found AI produces fake ‘expert’ quotes for questionable websites - including our own director… @dmil.bsky.social @cj-robinson.bsky.social @emilybell.bsky.social
www.cjr.org/tow_center/w...
www.cjr.org/tow_center/w...
When the pink-slime researchers become the pink slime.
We love to hear when journalists engage with our research, so in October, we set up an LLM agent to sort through Google Alerts for Tow Center’s work and notify us when our research is cited in news. T...
www.cjr.org
November 20, 2025 at 11:58 PM
We originally set up an alert to track our mentions @towcenter.bsky.social - but soon found that my name cropped up a great deal, (false ‘Dr’ added), talking about the things I talk about (tech + media) but none of the quotes were real. AI slop me has been pretty busy….
Reposted by michael h keller
This is a great piece of investigative reporting ⤵️ ⤵️
The cost of Trump's immigration surge: Stalled investigations into child sexual abuse, Iranian oil smuggling and human trafficking, among others. My latest piece is a big team effort on how DHS has been transformed into the Department of Deportation.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Homeland Security Missions Falter Amid Focus on Deportations
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM
This is a great piece of investigative reporting ⤵️ ⤵️
Reposted by michael h keller
Thomson Reuters, has a Foundation, focuses on press freedom, funds research, runs a ‘Trust’ conference …and also uses a data brokerage business that helps ICE boost its surveillance capabilities
November 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Thomson Reuters, has a Foundation, focuses on press freedom, funds research, runs a ‘Trust’ conference …and also uses a data brokerage business that helps ICE boost its surveillance capabilities
The cost of Trump's immigration surge: Stalled investigations into child sexual abuse, Iranian oil smuggling and human trafficking, among others. My latest piece is a big team effort on how DHS has been transformed into the Department of Deportation.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Homeland Security Missions Falter Amid Focus on Deportations
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:35 PM
The cost of Trump's immigration surge: Stalled investigations into child sexual abuse, Iranian oil smuggling and human trafficking, among others. My latest piece is a big team effort on how DHS has been transformed into the Department of Deportation.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...