jenna ruddock
banner
ruddock.bsky.social
jenna ruddock
@ruddock.bsky.social
researcher, organizer, professor, a lot of hats
opinions my own and also my dog’s (probably)
Pinned
tired: a federal moratorium blocking states from regulating AI
wired: local moratoriums blocking tech companies' AI-fueled resource grabs

me for @techpolicypress.bsky.social with a big thanks to the folks I talked to and everyone in these fights across the US
www.techpolicy.press/the-real-rac...
The Real Race for an AI Moratorium: Stopping Data Centers | TechPolicy.Press
Cities and counties across the US are pulling the emergency brake on data center development, writes Jenna Ruddock.
www.techpolicy.press
The fact that US mainstream press simply will not name an unlawful act as what it is continues to provide cover for authoritarianism in the US and abroad. It isn’t objectivity — it’s complicity.
January 3, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
we are going to see some extremely ugly copycat landgrabs/kidnappings, not least in the very regions where Trump claims to have brokered ceasefires
Among the many reasons you don’t kidnap a foreign head of state at gunpoint even if you have the capability, is that it sparks consequences you can neither control nor anticipate.
January 3, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
ah, time to take a big sip of coffee and check the morning news, as is my daily tradition
January 3, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
Trump is a big fan of free speech rights so long as they are exercised by protesters in Iran and not in, say, Los Angeles or Portland or Minneapolis. (Also, nothing would delegitimize the protesters in Iran more quickly than Trump "coming to their rescue.") www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/w...
Trump Says U.S. Is ‘Locked and Loaded’ if Iran Kills Protesters
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
😒 this article is trying to frame the dislike for AI as irrational rather than telling the truth that people hate AI because its obvious that companies would rather burn trillions of dollars on a solution looking for a problem than pay people better wages all while selling bullshit.
You know this article isn’t in any way comprehensive because it doesn’t mention bluesky once.
Why Do Americans Hate A.I.?
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:04 PM
also not sure why people suddenly feel the need to broadly dismiss incredibly site-specific data center impacts like water use. all it does is undermine fights frontline communities are in and have been in for years.
the water thing isn't bullshit bc it's wrong to use *any* amount of water to make a csam generator / suicide coach
the water thing about genAI is bullshit but the thing where it makes on-demand nudes and CSAM isn't and the thing where it talks you into killing yourself isn't and those seem pretty bad
January 2, 2026 at 3:08 AM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
The GOP’s midterm strategy is literally just Comet Pizza
uhhh yeah I can see why these childcare properties weren't eager to let in some rando dudes asking "where are the kids?"
December 31, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
They are losing it lol
December 31, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
They want to wipe out almost a third of the country. It’s got nothing to do with illegal immigration.

It’s white nationalism pure and simple. They’re fascists, and there’s no reason to doubt it.
December 31, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
‪A profound meditation on the meaning of Mamdani's mayoralty by @mollycrabapple.bsky.social - it's a map to the future that runs through New York's radical past. We are so much stronger, so much harder to manipulate, when we know our history.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
Mamdani arrives to his mayoral inauguration at City Hall in a motorcade of NYC taxi cabs—workers he went on hunger strike with in 2021.
January 1, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
It’s not even “are these people racist?” It’s “do these people have any beliefs at all besides white supremacy?”
Like, this an actual post from an actual government social media account, posted in the last hour.
January 1, 2026 at 1:49 AM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
racist right wing agitprop seeded across social media = "viral fraud allegations"
HHS freezes all child care payments to Minnesota after viral fraud allegations
The Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday it has frozen federal child care funding for the state of Minnesota, citing viral fraud allegations.
www.cbsnews.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
This is going to culminate in Pizzagate-style vigilante violence if we do not protect our neighbors

www.startribune.com/police-inves...
Police investigating overnight burglary of Somali day care in south Minneapolis
The break-in comes in the aftermath of a viral video alleging fraud by several Somali child care centers.
www.startribune.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
I'm grateful for independent media this year. Truly. I have appreciated coverage by too many to list.
December 30, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
for the love of god, AI systems aren't "just tools that are neither good nor evil in and of themselves". AI systems *are* tools of capitalism. they exist as tools of capitalism. there is no AI system "in and of itself" outside of capitalism
December 29, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
with less than 48 hours left in 2025, DHS is preparing to push through a proposal that would radically and unlawfully expand ICE/CBP's collection of DNA and other highly sensitive biometrics. colleagues across dozens of orgs are working to meet the agency's Friday deadline for public comment.
December 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
NEW from me — I broke down Trump's claim on local right wing radio that the US carried out a Christmas Eve land strike in Venezuela, how he doubled down Monday, the subsequent media reports with no substance, the potential role of social media rumors about an actual fire, and how we need the truth:
Trump says US bombed alleged drug facility in Venezuela. No one knows if it’s true.
It could be a lie from social media, or a conflation of other stories. Either way, Americans need to know.
www.thehandbasket.co
December 29, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
“The editorial interference threatening 60 Minutes doesn't just betray journalism's core principles—it endangers the crown jewel of CBS News that has helped sustain the network financially and editorially for generations," the letter from CBS News vets reads.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
CBS veterans urge David Ellison to protect 60 Minutes from Bari Weiss’ ‘interference’
‘Weiss’ last-minute proposal that the story be delayed until it included a White House official, despite reported efforts by the 60 Minutes team to get comment from the Administration, was inappropria...
www.independent.co.uk
December 30, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
This is a tired strategy: accuse journalists seeking response and more information of "stalking" and "harassment"... rather than engage even to simply offer a "no comment." People in power, especially taxpayer-funded ones, should have to answer questions: www.propublica.org/article/prop...
Our Reporters Reached Out for Comment. They Were Accused of Stalking and Intimidation.
Our journalists reach out to people they’re writing about to ensure fairness. But in this environment, they’ve found their efforts to do so are more likely to be vilified than appreciated.
www.propublica.org
December 30, 2025 at 5:54 PM
with less than 48 hours left in 2025, DHS is preparing to push through a proposal that would radically and unlawfully expand ICE/CBP's collection of DNA and other highly sensitive biometrics. colleagues across dozens of orgs are working to meet the agency's Friday deadline for public comment.
December 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
I think it's really worth noting that literally ZERO mainstream media outlets were talking about Trump claiming a land strike on Venezuela until a few others and I noticed this post here on Sunday and started asking questions. That goes completely unacknowledged in coverage.
Trump says this December 26 in an interview with John Catsimatidis that the US destroyed a drug trafficking plant in Venezuela on Christmas Eve.

“They have a big plant. A building from where the boats leave. Two nights ago we hit them hard.”
December 30, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
Of all the dirty tricks: juking USPS rules so that the postmark of mail-in ballots won't reflect the date they were put in the hands of the Postal Service, creating a pretext to throw out the votes.
December 30, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
Historians: Quibbling Over Exact Definition Of Concentration Camp Sign Of Healthy Society https://theonion.com/historians-quibbling-over-exact-definition-of-concentration-camp-sign-of-healthy-society/
December 28, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by jenna ruddock
The guy who put a 19 year old named Big Balls in charge of gutting key government services: “experience matters when lives are at stake”
Best Twitter riposte of the day
December 28, 2025 at 12:18 AM