Ryan J. Gallagher
@ryanjgallag.com
Applied scientist trying to make the internet a little better. PhD. Trust & safety, platform manipulation, networks, fingerstyle guitar. I use my hair to express myself. They/he
Pinned
Ryan J. Gallagher
@ryanjgallag.com
· Nov 12
With more people migrating to Bluesky (and my general quietness since Twitter fell apart), I want to reintroduce myself!
I'm an applied scientist in online trust & safety. I specialize in detecting coordinated/harmful/deceptive networks, and bridging domain expertise with machine learning systems
I'm an applied scientist in online trust & safety. I specialize in detecting coordinated/harmful/deceptive networks, and bridging domain expertise with machine learning systems
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
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 Ryan J. Gallagher
Check out our new paper on the demographic foundations of trust in science in @poqjournal.bsky.social
The tldr is that w/ all of the radical shifts in trust in the US over the last 50+ years, the demographic predictors of trust in science have been rock steady(!)
academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...
The tldr is that w/ all of the radical shifts in trust in the US over the last 50+ years, the demographic predictors of trust in science have been rock steady(!)
academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...
February 10, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Check out our new paper on the demographic foundations of trust in science in @poqjournal.bsky.social
The tldr is that w/ all of the radical shifts in trust in the US over the last 50+ years, the demographic predictors of trust in science have been rock steady(!)
academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...
The tldr is that w/ all of the radical shifts in trust in the US over the last 50+ years, the demographic predictors of trust in science have been rock steady(!)
academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
The choice to frame this rhetorically as a negotiation *with ICE and DHS* rather than, you know, a decision about their future made by their rightful superiors in the popularly elected legislature is, to me, incredibly grating.
Our DHS reform demands are exceedingly reasonable.
We're asking ICE to do nothing more than follow the standards that the vast majority of law enforcement agencies already follow.
Republicans, the ball is in your court. The clock is ticking.
We're asking ICE to do nothing more than follow the standards that the vast majority of law enforcement agencies already follow.
Republicans, the ball is in your court. The clock is ticking.
February 10, 2026 at 4:55 AM
The choice to frame this rhetorically as a negotiation *with ICE and DHS* rather than, you know, a decision about their future made by their rightful superiors in the popularly elected legislature is, to me, incredibly grating.
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
The ability to edit your profile's pronouns are now available on the blacksky.community web app. Reload the tab/page to see the update.
Pronouns are visible when viewing a user's profile and also as you reply to their posts. Thank you @thisismissem.social for your contributions.
Pronouns are visible when viewing a user's profile and also as you reply to their posts. Thank you @thisismissem.social for your contributions.
February 9, 2026 at 11:28 PM
The ability to edit your profile's pronouns are now available on the blacksky.community web app. Reload the tab/page to see the update.
Pronouns are visible when viewing a user's profile and also as you reply to their posts. Thank you @thisismissem.social for your contributions.
Pronouns are visible when viewing a user's profile and also as you reply to their posts. Thank you @thisismissem.social for your contributions.
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
📝 Our new paper officially coming out at #chi2026: we hope to help people think about systems like #CommunityNotes, the design choices they make, and the normative implications of relying on them to moderate our information ecosystem. 📝
"Community Notes" are reshaping how millions encounter information on social media--but what makes them work (or not)? We term these "Crowdsourced Context Systems" (CCS) and introduce a framework for designing and evaluating them in a new #CHI26 paper 🧵
February 9, 2026 at 4:52 PM
📝 Our new paper officially coming out at #chi2026: we hope to help people think about systems like #CommunityNotes, the design choices they make, and the normative implications of relying on them to moderate our information ecosystem. 📝
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
{whispering} people convicted of violent crimes also do not deserve to live in these conditions
The government says the people being deported are violent criminals, and they treat them inhumanely. But mostly they are subjecting ordinary people to extraordinary punishments.
February 9, 2026 at 1:02 PM
{whispering} people convicted of violent crimes also do not deserve to live in these conditions
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
Recent publications arguing against the use of genAI in reflexive qual research inspired us (Elida Ibrahim and @andreavoyer.bsky.social) to write our own perspective. Not to convince anyone to use genAI but for those who might be interested and are looking for guidance.
osf.io/preprints/so...
osf.io/preprints/so...
February 9, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Recent publications arguing against the use of genAI in reflexive qual research inspired us (Elida Ibrahim and @andreavoyer.bsky.social) to write our own perspective. Not to convince anyone to use genAI but for those who might be interested and are looking for guidance.
osf.io/preprints/so...
osf.io/preprints/so...
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
2/ TL;DR: I built a bunch of highly-modular online simulations you can use with your students. They cover automation bias,¹ the false positive paradox,² competing definitions of fairness,³ disparate impact resulting from machine bias,⁴ and the value of due process.⁵
February 9, 2026 at 1:45 PM
2/ TL;DR: I built a bunch of highly-modular online simulations you can use with your students. They cover automation bias,¹ the false positive paradox,² competing definitions of fairness,³ disparate impact resulting from machine bias,⁴ and the value of due process.⁵
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
My colleague got into Trump's sprawling family detention camp, which is full of toddlers, kids, & teens.
- Kids have cut themselves or talked about suicide
-There's worms & mold in food
-300 kids have been held for 30+ days, far longer court settlement allows
www.propublica.org/article/life...
- Kids have cut themselves or talked about suicide
-There's worms & mold in food
-300 kids have been held for 30+ days, far longer court settlement allows
www.propublica.org/article/life...
February 9, 2026 at 3:35 PM
My colleague got into Trump's sprawling family detention camp, which is full of toddlers, kids, & teens.
- Kids have cut themselves or talked about suicide
-There's worms & mold in food
-300 kids have been held for 30+ days, far longer court settlement allows
www.propublica.org/article/life...
- Kids have cut themselves or talked about suicide
-There's worms & mold in food
-300 kids have been held for 30+ days, far longer court settlement allows
www.propublica.org/article/life...
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
9,852 theatrical pyrotechnics, nearly 400 costumed extras, 25 carts, and one very excellent BTS explainer
February 9, 2026 at 10:37 AM
9,852 theatrical pyrotechnics, nearly 400 costumed extras, 25 carts, and one very excellent BTS explainer
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
👀 "Homeland Security is trying to force tech companies to hand over data about Trump critics" techcrunch.com/2026/02/03/h...
Homeland Security is trying to force tech companies to hand over data about Trump critics | TechCrunch
The use of administrative subpoenas, which are not subject to judicial oversight, are used to demand a wealth of information from tech companies, including the owners of anonymous online accounts docu...
techcrunch.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:02 AM
👀 "Homeland Security is trying to force tech companies to hand over data about Trump critics" techcrunch.com/2026/02/03/h...
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
There's nothing subtle or complicated about what's going on here
A screenshot from a video posted on Trump's Truth Social account: truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
February 6, 2026 at 2:00 PM
There's nothing subtle or complicated about what's going on here
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
If you were to actually take his white supremacy and racism seriously, you would evaluate their impacts on every single decision and policy advanced by the administration. And you would be on board for future reparations.
February 6, 2026 at 12:32 PM
If you were to actually take his white supremacy and racism seriously, you would evaluate their impacts on every single decision and policy advanced by the administration. And you would be on board for future reparations.
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
Our paper modelling transmission risk in schools is published in Nature Communications. **The relative contribution of close-proximity contacts, shared classroom exposure and indoor air quality to respiratory virus transmission in schools** doi.org/10.1038/s414...
February 5, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Our paper modelling transmission risk in schools is published in Nature Communications. **The relative contribution of close-proximity contacts, shared classroom exposure and indoor air quality to respiratory virus transmission in schools** doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
Our results indicate that extended periods spent in poorly ventilated classrooms may be a stronger driver of within-school transmission than individual contact rates.
February 5, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Our results indicate that extended periods spent in poorly ventilated classrooms may be a stronger driver of within-school transmission than individual contact rates.
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
some thoughts on how to implement public community spaces in atproto.
I think it is important for us to stretch what the protocol can do; and there are some great opportunities for self-hosting, moderation, customization, etc
I think it is important for us to stretch what the protocol can do; and there are some great opportunities for self-hosting, moderation, customization, etc
February 5, 2026 at 2:50 AM
some thoughts on how to implement public community spaces in atproto.
I think it is important for us to stretch what the protocol can do; and there are some great opportunities for self-hosting, moderation, customization, etc
I think it is important for us to stretch what the protocol can do; and there are some great opportunities for self-hosting, moderation, customization, etc
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
"Ten simple rules for teaching data science": arxiv.org/abs/2602.02874
A new preprint by @minecr.bsky.social and myself. We'd love any feedback!
A new preprint by @minecr.bsky.social and myself. We'd love any feedback!
Ten simple rules for teaching data science
Teaching data science presents unique challenges and opportunities that cannot be fully addressed by simply borrowing pedagogical strategies from its parent disciplines of statistics and computer scie...
arxiv.org
February 4, 2026 at 4:39 PM
"Ten simple rules for teaching data science": arxiv.org/abs/2602.02874
A new preprint by @minecr.bsky.social and myself. We'd love any feedback!
A new preprint by @minecr.bsky.social and myself. We'd love any feedback!
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
"Why Slop Matters"
The authors argue that AI slop "should be taken seriously as an object of study in its own right." AI slop has (1) an important social function and (2) has aesthetic value.
This is great. Any sociologists out there studying the social function of slop?
The authors argue that AI slop "should be taken seriously as an object of study in its own right." AI slop has (1) an important social function and (2) has aesthetic value.
This is great. Any sociologists out there studying the social function of slop?
New paper on Why Slop Matters w/ great group of co authors (@hoytlong.bsky.social @eduede.bsky.social @ari-holtzman.bsky.social + others not on Bluesky) from ACM AI Letters. We try to move the debate re: AI Slop past normative, neg claims & towards parsing its social uses. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Why Slop Matters | ACM AI Letters
AI-generated “slop” is often seen as digital pollution. We argue that this dismissal
of the topic risks missing important aspects of AI Slop which deserve rigorous study.
AI Slop serves a social funct...
dl.acm.org
February 4, 2026 at 6:24 PM
"Why Slop Matters"
The authors argue that AI slop "should be taken seriously as an object of study in its own right." AI slop has (1) an important social function and (2) has aesthetic value.
This is great. Any sociologists out there studying the social function of slop?
The authors argue that AI slop "should be taken seriously as an object of study in its own right." AI slop has (1) an important social function and (2) has aesthetic value.
This is great. Any sociologists out there studying the social function of slop?
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
It’s really insane to watch this. If a person throws tear gas into a crowd of children that person doesn’t need to be “reined in”, they need to be sent to prison
Federal agents tear-gassed demonstrators and children in Portland.
An agent in Colorado stole a woman’s phone and threw her to the ground.
The disgraced former head of Border Patrol urged mass arrests.
This isn't what Americans signed up for. We must rein in ICE.
An agent in Colorado stole a woman’s phone and threw her to the ground.
The disgraced former head of Border Patrol urged mass arrests.
This isn't what Americans signed up for. We must rein in ICE.
February 4, 2026 at 7:37 AM
It’s really insane to watch this. If a person throws tear gas into a crowd of children that person doesn’t need to be “reined in”, they need to be sent to prison
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
have always valued this sentiment more. imo syncs well with software/code being a living product, being deeply tied to the people who maintain it, the non-neutrality of design, etc
But IMO the world hasn’t been made any better by half-built products looking for quick exits and requiring constant data collection in order to run their A/B tests
I am personally of the opinionated, obsessive, craft + taste > market analysis, vertical integration, long timelines ilk of technologist
I am personally of the opinionated, obsessive, craft + taste > market analysis, vertical integration, long timelines ilk of technologist
February 3, 2026 at 6:49 PM
have always valued this sentiment more. imo syncs well with software/code being a living product, being deeply tied to the people who maintain it, the non-neutrality of design, etc
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
this is a very cool thing to do and also highlights one of the biggest keys to Zohran's appeal: he just thinks New York City is really neat
people who live somewhere want to vote for someone who likes it there and wants to make it better, not someone who wants to use it as a springboard
people who live somewhere want to vote for someone who likes it there and wants to make it better, not someone who wants to use it as a springboard
It’s your city, from the sidewalk to the skyline. The David Dinkins Municipal Building’s rooftop is open & free to everyone, starting this June.
February 3, 2026 at 12:21 AM
this is a very cool thing to do and also highlights one of the biggest keys to Zohran's appeal: he just thinks New York City is really neat
people who live somewhere want to vote for someone who likes it there and wants to make it better, not someone who wants to use it as a springboard
people who live somewhere want to vote for someone who likes it there and wants to make it better, not someone who wants to use it as a springboard
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
I am really angry about all of the scientists who cozied up to Epstein even after it was known who he was.
I am nearly as angry at how many people are justifying this as "they had to, it's how academia works"
NO IT FUCKING WELL ISN'T
I am nearly as angry at how many people are justifying this as "they had to, it's how academia works"
NO IT FUCKING WELL ISN'T
You don't have to dirty your soul to be a successful academic or a scientist. Have some fucking pride. Have some fucking principles.
If you think you DO need to do that, all I can say is that I beg you not to go into academia or science.
If you think you DO need to do that, all I can say is that I beg you not to go into academia or science.
February 1, 2026 at 3:35 AM
I am really angry about all of the scientists who cozied up to Epstein even after it was known who he was.
I am nearly as angry at how many people are justifying this as "they had to, it's how academia works"
NO IT FUCKING WELL ISN'T
I am nearly as angry at how many people are justifying this as "they had to, it's how academia works"
NO IT FUCKING WELL ISN'T
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
Shocker: Moltbook is insecure and left users’ API keys exposed, allowing anyone to take over any account
www.404media.co/exposed-molt...
www.404media.co/exposed-molt...
Exposed Moltbook Database Let Anyone Take Control of Any AI Agent on the Site
'It exploded before anyone thought to check whether the database was properly secured.'
www.404media.co
February 1, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Shocker: Moltbook is insecure and left users’ API keys exposed, allowing anyone to take over any account
www.404media.co/exposed-molt...
www.404media.co/exposed-molt...
Reposted by Ryan J. Gallagher
> Blacksky didn’t begin with a pitch deck or a promise of disruption. It began with something much older and more enduring – a principle of mutual aid.
Mandatory reading for anyone that wants to work with or for @blackskyweb.xyz in the future.
Mandatory reading for anyone that wants to work with or for @blackskyweb.xyz in the future.
“Mutual aid has always been about more than money. But money, shared intentionally, can be a powerful expression of solidarity. This is us building toward that future.“ Read about what’s coming with Blacksky Cash in our latest blog! blackskyweb.xyz/money-for-mu...
Money for mutual resilience: Introducing Blacksky Cash
Mutual aid has always been about more than money. But money, shared intentionally, can be a powerful expression of solidarity. This is us building toward that future.
blackskyweb.xyz
January 30, 2026 at 7:56 PM
> Blacksky didn’t begin with a pitch deck or a promise of disruption. It began with something much older and more enduring – a principle of mutual aid.
Mandatory reading for anyone that wants to work with or for @blackskyweb.xyz in the future.
Mandatory reading for anyone that wants to work with or for @blackskyweb.xyz in the future.