Ruth Michaelson
@ruthmichaelson.com
Observer Middle East correspondent based in Turkey.
Bylines @theobserveruk.bsky.social & seen in @theguardian.com, sometimes others.
ruth.michaelson@observer.co.uk
ruth.michaelson@guardian.co.uk
ruth@ruthmichaelson.com
www.ruthmichaelson.com
Bylines @theobserveruk.bsky.social & seen in @theguardian.com, sometimes others.
ruth.michaelson@observer.co.uk
ruth.michaelson@guardian.co.uk
ruth@ruthmichaelson.com
www.ruthmichaelson.com
Pinned
‘After the blackout, they really started killing’: horror...
Human rights groups and Iranians with satellite links have detailed the regime’s bloody response to protesters after its internet shutdown cut off access to the outside world
observer.co.uk
"Five days later, the same doctor came back online long enough to describe a nightmare scenario: the first thing he told Qorashi was he could still see “blood in the streets”, during his journey to work at the hospital."
How Iran's brutal crackdown unfolded, my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
How Iran's brutal crackdown unfolded, my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
jeeeeeeesus: theintercept.com/2026/02/10/g...
Google Handed ICE Student Journalist’s Bank and Credit Card Numbers
Amandla Thomas-Johnson didn't know how much information ICE requested in a subpoena now. Google never gave him a chance to fight it.
theintercept.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:50 PM
jeeeeeeesus: theintercept.com/2026/02/10/g...
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years for publishing a newspaper. www.cnn.com/2026/02/08/c...
Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison after landmark national security trial | CNN
Former Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, ending a years-long legal battle that has come to define Beijing’s transformational crackdown on the once-freewheeling...
www.cnn.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years for publishing a newspaper. www.cnn.com/2026/02/08/c...
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
February 6, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
Extreme weather disasters and climate tipping points aren't in economic models of the impact of climate change on the global economy
The result "is widespread complacency amongst investors and policymakers"
We will all suffer as a consequence
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The result "is widespread complacency amongst investors and policymakers"
We will all suffer as a consequence
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Flawed economic models mean climate crisis could crash global economy, experts warn
States and financial bodies using modelling that ignores shocks from extreme weather and climate tipping points
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Extreme weather disasters and climate tipping points aren't in economic models of the impact of climate change on the global economy
The result "is widespread complacency amongst investors and policymakers"
We will all suffer as a consequence
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The result "is widespread complacency amongst investors and policymakers"
We will all suffer as a consequence
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“What Bezos, Lewis, and their jargon-loving underlings also fail to understand is that the paper’s coverage of Washington will be neither as vivid nor as authoritative without the contributions of journalists in bureaus around the world.“
The Murder of The Washington Post
Today’s layoffs are the latest attempt to kill what makes the paper special.
www.theatlantic.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:53 PM
“What Bezos, Lewis, and their jargon-loving underlings also fail to understand is that the paper’s coverage of Washington will be neither as vivid nor as authoritative without the contributions of journalists in bureaus around the world.“
“The public will be denied the ground-level, fact-based reporting in our communities and around the world that is needed now more than ever.”
A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."
February 4, 2026 at 3:04 PM
“The public will be denied the ground-level, fact-based reporting in our communities and around the world that is needed now more than ever.”
This is most likely a terrible day for our industry and a self-inflicted wound by the Post's top staff. Solidarity rage with everyone at WaPo, particularly on the international desk which has done so much excellent coverage for years.
New: Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray and HR Chief Wayne Connell tell employees to stay home for a zoom webinar ahead of “significant actions across the company.” Widely expected layoffs are scheduled to begin today.
February 4, 2026 at 1:28 PM
This is most likely a terrible day for our industry and a self-inflicted wound by the Post's top staff. Solidarity rage with everyone at WaPo, particularly on the international desk which has done so much excellent coverage for years.
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
1. Build huge subscriber base by telling them their $ supports democracy.
2. Don’t establish other revenue sources.
3. Rug-pull subscribers by pushing opinion side to the right.
4. Subscribers leave, revenue falls.
5. Enact crippling newsroom cuts.
2. Don’t establish other revenue sources.
3. Rug-pull subscribers by pushing opinion side to the right.
4. Subscribers leave, revenue falls.
5. Enact crippling newsroom cuts.
February 4, 2026 at 11:52 AM
1. Build huge subscriber base by telling them their $ supports democracy.
2. Don’t establish other revenue sources.
3. Rug-pull subscribers by pushing opinion side to the right.
4. Subscribers leave, revenue falls.
5. Enact crippling newsroom cuts.
2. Don’t establish other revenue sources.
3. Rug-pull subscribers by pushing opinion side to the right.
4. Subscribers leave, revenue falls.
5. Enact crippling newsroom cuts.
I realise in the age of impunity we are all blunted to how appalling this is, but a reporter asked the US president about Jeffrey Epstein's victims and he came back with a personal attack on her for "not smiling." One of many disgusting things – let's not forget "quiet piggy" – to keep in mind.
Trump Scolds CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for ‘Not Smiling’
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 8:05 AM
I realise in the age of impunity we are all blunted to how appalling this is, but a reporter asked the US president about Jeffrey Epstein's victims and he came back with a personal attack on her for "not smiling." One of many disgusting things – let's not forget "quiet piggy" – to keep in mind.
"Elon Musk’s flagship artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, continues to generate sexualized images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent, Reuters has found."
www.reuters.com/business/des...
www.reuters.com/business/des...
Exclusive: Despite new curbs, Elon Musk’s Grok at times produces sexualized images - even when told subjects didn’t consent
After Elon Musk’s social media company X announced new curbs on Grok’s public output, Reuters reporters gave it a series of prompts to determine whether and under what circumstances the chatbot would ...
www.reuters.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:00 PM
"Elon Musk’s flagship artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, continues to generate sexualized images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent, Reuters has found."
www.reuters.com/business/des...
www.reuters.com/business/des...
There is something I deeply love about this @annamerlan.bsky.social story on the chief proponent of raw milk complaining that RFK Jr "won’t return his calls or texts" a year after becoming HHS secretary - even if even the words "raw milk" make me nauseous.
RFK Jr. was raw milk’s biggest fan. Now he won’t return industry calls.
Mark McAfee owns America's largest raw milk dairy. He thought he’d be advising the Trump administration. What happened?
www.motherjones.com
February 2, 2026 at 6:18 PM
There is something I deeply love about this @annamerlan.bsky.social story on the chief proponent of raw milk complaining that RFK Jr "won’t return his calls or texts" a year after becoming HHS secretary - even if even the words "raw milk" make me nauseous.
“She was my daughter for 29 years – it’s impossible she jumped from that height."
Hundreds of women are recorded in Turkish state data every year as committing suicide by 'throwing themselves from a high place.' But did they all jump– or were they pushed?
Reporting with @berileski.bsky.social
Hundreds of women are recorded in Turkish state data every year as committing suicide by 'throwing themselves from a high place.' But did they all jump– or were they pushed?
Reporting with @berileski.bsky.social
‘There’s no way my daughter would have jumped’: why are so many Turkish women falling to their deaths?
Every year in Turkey, hundreds of women are recorded as having taken their lives by ‘throwing themselves from a high place’. But many grieving families maintain that investigators are missing the full...
www.theguardian.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:37 PM
“She was my daughter for 29 years – it’s impossible she jumped from that height."
Hundreds of women are recorded in Turkish state data every year as committing suicide by 'throwing themselves from a high place.' But did they all jump– or were they pushed?
Reporting with @berileski.bsky.social
Hundreds of women are recorded in Turkish state data every year as committing suicide by 'throwing themselves from a high place.' But did they all jump– or were they pushed?
Reporting with @berileski.bsky.social
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
New court record from the FBI details the state of the devices seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson: phone was on w/Lockdown Mode; personal laptop was off; work laptop was on w/Touch ID; several Signal chats used disappearing messages. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 31, 2026 at 5:32 PM
New court record from the FBI details the state of the devices seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson: phone was on w/Lockdown Mode; personal laptop was off; work laptop was on w/Touch ID; several Signal chats used disappearing messages. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
9-9-6 was a Chinese term invented mostly to show how depressing and lifeless work culture was; watching softbrained AI guys adopt it as an ideal is ... well, entirely predictable
January 29, 2026 at 8:39 AM
9-9-6 was a Chinese term invented mostly to show how depressing and lifeless work culture was; watching softbrained AI guys adopt it as an ideal is ... well, entirely predictable
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
Personally I think this is too much money for Donald trumps untrained heavily armed militia
January 29, 2026 at 2:22 AM
Personally I think this is too much money for Donald trumps untrained heavily armed militia
Tragedy of epic proportions being voluntarily enacted by WaPo management- audiences want to read quality journalism, not AI brain-rot or random blogs. This is damage with no aim.
“It’s like someone who slices your Achilles and then asks you why you’re limping,” one reporter said.”
“It’s like someone who slices your Achilles and then asks you why you’re limping,” one reporter said.”
Inside the Washington Post’s Existential Meltdown
“There’s no vision for why it should exist.”
nymag.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Tragedy of epic proportions being voluntarily enacted by WaPo management- audiences want to read quality journalism, not AI brain-rot or random blogs. This is damage with no aim.
“It’s like someone who slices your Achilles and then asks you why you’re limping,” one reporter said.”
“It’s like someone who slices your Achilles and then asks you why you’re limping,” one reporter said.”
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
RFKJr's principal accomplishment as the nation's health guardian.
January 28, 2026 at 4:08 PM
RFKJr's principal accomplishment as the nation's health guardian.
The latest example of Interpol being abused by authoritarian regimes: "La Russie n’a jamais cessé de traquer opposants, journalistes et dissidents en exil grâce aux outils de l’organisation."
🔴 Persécutions, fichage, arrestations arbitraires
@disclose.ngo et la BBC révèlent un vaste système de détournement d'Interpol par les régimes les plus répressifs au monde
À commencer par la Russie
#InterpolFiles
disclose.ngo/fr/article/c...
@disclose.ngo et la BBC révèlent un vaste système de détournement d'Interpol par les régimes les plus répressifs au monde
À commencer par la Russie
#InterpolFiles
disclose.ngo/fr/article/c...
Comment Moscou traque ses opposants grâce à Interpol
La Russie use de tous les outils offerts par Interpol pour traquer opposants, journalistes et militants en exil, révèlent Disclose et la BBC, sur la base d'une fuite de données internes à l'organisati...
disclose.ngo
January 26, 2026 at 1:03 PM
The latest example of Interpol being abused by authoritarian regimes: "La Russie n’a jamais cessé de traquer opposants, journalistes et dissidents en exil grâce aux outils de l’organisation."
Iranian security bodies are out in force on the streets, with citizens still left in the dark of an Internet blackout.
“It seems like the internet is going to be cut permanently, and this is really horrifying,” one protestor said. “They want to kill us all.”|My piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
“It seems like the internet is going to be cut permanently, and this is really horrifying,” one protestor said. “They want to kill us all.”|My piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
‘They want to kill us all’: fear replaces hope in Iran as...
Cut off from the rest of the world, the tens of thousands of Iranians who protested against the regime are feeling the full force of its brutal crackdown
observer.co.uk
January 26, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Iranian security bodies are out in force on the streets, with citizens still left in the dark of an Internet blackout.
“It seems like the internet is going to be cut permanently, and this is really horrifying,” one protestor said. “They want to kill us all.”|My piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
“It seems like the internet is going to be cut permanently, and this is really horrifying,” one protestor said. “They want to kill us all.”|My piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
A producer in the London bureau is the *only* CBS person quoted in their story about Israel killing its longtime freelance cameramen in Gaza—someone who once filed dispatches for them from an ambulance, while wounded.
Not quoted: The network’s editor in chief.
www.cbsnews.com/news/journal...
Not quoted: The network’s editor in chief.
www.cbsnews.com/news/journal...
3 journalists killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza, including cameraman who worked with CBS News
An Israeli airstrike killed three journalists in Gaza on Wednesday, the territory's civil defense agency said. One of those killed, Abed Shaat, had worked for years as a cameraman for CBS News and oth...
www.cbsnews.com
January 24, 2026 at 3:41 AM
A producer in the London bureau is the *only* CBS person quoted in their story about Israel killing its longtime freelance cameramen in Gaza—someone who once filed dispatches for them from an ambulance, while wounded.
Not quoted: The network’s editor in chief.
www.cbsnews.com/news/journal...
Not quoted: The network’s editor in chief.
www.cbsnews.com/news/journal...
"Five days later, the same doctor came back online long enough to describe a nightmare scenario: the first thing he told Qorashi was he could still see “blood in the streets”, during his journey to work at the hospital."
How Iran's brutal crackdown unfolded, my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
How Iran's brutal crackdown unfolded, my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
‘After the blackout, they really started killing’: horror...
Human rights groups and Iranians with satellite links have detailed the regime’s bloody response to protesters after its internet shutdown cut off access to the outside world
observer.co.uk
January 21, 2026 at 10:19 AM
"Five days later, the same doctor came back online long enough to describe a nightmare scenario: the first thing he told Qorashi was he could still see “blood in the streets”, during his journey to work at the hospital."
How Iran's brutal crackdown unfolded, my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
How Iran's brutal crackdown unfolded, my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
Hundreds of photos revealing the faces of those killed during the violent crackdown on protests in Iran have been leaked to BBC Verify.
The pictures reveal the bloodied, swollen and bruised faces of at least 326 victims - including 18 women.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The pictures reveal the bloodied, swollen and bruised faces of at least 326 victims - including 18 women.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Leaked photos show hundreds killed in Iran's brutal crackdown
The images from one mortuary in Tehran were shown to families who went to identify their loved ones.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 21, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Hundreds of photos revealing the faces of those killed during the violent crackdown on protests in Iran have been leaked to BBC Verify.
The pictures reveal the bloodied, swollen and bruised faces of at least 326 victims - including 18 women.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The pictures reveal the bloodied, swollen and bruised faces of at least 326 victims - including 18 women.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
In the increasingly difficult reporting environment here in Turkey, a French journalist was detained while covering a protest from a Kurdish party in Istanbul earlier this week. He is being threatened with deportation, for doing a basic reporting task.
Turquie : «Courrier international», «Libération», «Mediapart» et «Ouest-France» réclament la libération immédiate de Raphaël Boukandoura
Après l’arrestation du journaliste français Raphaël Boukandoura lundi 19 janvier, les quatre rédactions françaises qui l’emploient ont rédigé un communiqué commun, en français et en turc.
www.liberation.fr
January 21, 2026 at 10:01 AM
In the increasingly difficult reporting environment here in Turkey, a French journalist was detained while covering a protest from a Kurdish party in Istanbul earlier this week. He is being threatened with deportation, for doing a basic reporting task.
Activists worldwide have been warning for years, decades, that these supposed crowd control weapons like tear gas, rubber bullets etc can be dangerous or even deadly. Now US forces feel they have a free hand to misuse them in this way- starting with shots to the head.
The free use by DHS secret police forces of "less lethal" against peaceful protesters has already blinded two persons. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
US federal forces blind two protesters shot in face with ‘less-lethal’ munitions
Kaden Rummler and Britain Rodriguez tell KTLA and LA Times of being shot at close range during California protest
www.theguardian.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Activists worldwide have been warning for years, decades, that these supposed crowd control weapons like tear gas, rubber bullets etc can be dangerous or even deadly. Now US forces feel they have a free hand to misuse them in this way- starting with shots to the head.
Reposted by Ruth Michaelson
Hannah Natanson is an exceptional reporter and should never have been subjected to this type of extraordinary intimidation tactic. We have few details now, but it’s hard to interpret this as anything other than an attempt to squash the freedom of the press.
January 14, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Hannah Natanson is an exceptional reporter and should never have been subjected to this type of extraordinary intimidation tactic. We have few details now, but it’s hard to interpret this as anything other than an attempt to squash the freedom of the press.