Silja JA Talvi
@sjat.bsky.social
Forced exile from U.S.; survived severe human rights abuses. Veteran investigative journalist, lecturer & author: “Women Behind Bars.” Multi-minority. Emphases: Prisons, racism, misogyny, refugees. Documentary: https://youtu.be/lbBMriSDEwg?feature=shared
Pinned
Silja JA Talvi
@sjat.bsky.social
· Oct 26
Documentary link is corrected in bio. After staying relatively hidden for over a decade, I broke my silence. The doc explains why I was forced to flee the U.S. despite a flourishing career as investigative/immersive journo. It all came down to what I stumbled across.
I view starter packs the way I do eg bartenders who befriend for tips & ppl who tip 4 access. Yes, I want for my warnings & insights to be heard. But it feels disingenuous to follow packs of ppl & vice versa for big numbers. I’m not telling you it’s wrong 4 u. It’s just not 4 me.
February 16, 2026 at 7:11 PM
I view starter packs the way I do eg bartenders who befriend for tips & ppl who tip 4 access. Yes, I want for my warnings & insights to be heard. But it feels disingenuous to follow packs of ppl & vice versa for big numbers. I’m not telling you it’s wrong 4 u. It’s just not 4 me.
Every day, I use my (newish) phone & my battery life creeps down very slowly. But on the nights I don’t remove my sim & don’t use it at all, I wake to a phone at 0 %. Which means the phone is being “used” by “outsiders” while I sleep. That’s a major hacking flag, just in case you’re unaware.
February 16, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Every day, I use my (newish) phone & my battery life creeps down very slowly. But on the nights I don’t remove my sim & don’t use it at all, I wake to a phone at 0 %. Which means the phone is being “used” by “outsiders” while I sleep. That’s a major hacking flag, just in case you’re unaware.
The meek shall inherit the earth. The monsters not so much.
February 16, 2026 at 6:59 PM
The meek shall inherit the earth. The monsters not so much.
1/ When men post that #ICE can just go ahead & surveil them & invade their right to privacy bc theyre up for the fight, I’m guessing most haven’t yet been locked up or the target of directed psychological & physical abuse or torture at hands of paramilitary or military forces. (Cont, please)
February 16, 2026 at 6:48 PM
1/ When men post that #ICE can just go ahead & surveil them & invade their right to privacy bc theyre up for the fight, I’m guessing most haven’t yet been locked up or the target of directed psychological & physical abuse or torture at hands of paramilitary or military forces. (Cont, please)
#Pelicot’s bravery is what we need to read after horrible stories re: Epstein, Combs & more.
Stranger rape and assault leave unique scars. But intimate partner rape, abuse & incest leave many of us in daily pain. How do ppl abuse those who love & trust them most?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/m...
Stranger rape and assault leave unique scars. But intimate partner rape, abuse & incest leave many of us in daily pain. How do ppl abuse those who love & trust them most?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/m...
‘They All Tried to Break Me’: Gisèle Pelicot Shares Her Story
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 9:37 AM
#Pelicot’s bravery is what we need to read after horrible stories re: Epstein, Combs & more.
Stranger rape and assault leave unique scars. But intimate partner rape, abuse & incest leave many of us in daily pain. How do ppl abuse those who love & trust them most?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/m...
Stranger rape and assault leave unique scars. But intimate partner rape, abuse & incest leave many of us in daily pain. How do ppl abuse those who love & trust them most?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/m...
Find me a government free of violence and oppression against its own citizens.
I shall wait an eternity, because one cannot be found anywhere in the annals of history.
But if we must be governed for now, then let no one be left to starve or suffer for lack of shelter, concern or care.
I shall wait an eternity, because one cannot be found anywhere in the annals of history.
But if we must be governed for now, then let no one be left to starve or suffer for lack of shelter, concern or care.
February 15, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Find me a government free of violence and oppression against its own citizens.
I shall wait an eternity, because one cannot be found anywhere in the annals of history.
But if we must be governed for now, then let no one be left to starve or suffer for lack of shelter, concern or care.
I shall wait an eternity, because one cannot be found anywhere in the annals of history.
But if we must be governed for now, then let no one be left to starve or suffer for lack of shelter, concern or care.
Recently, I came across a posting that called for the public lynchings of the ppl whose “taste” for the torture & rape of girls/young women has spurred righteous outrage. I must remind ppl that the legacy of US public #lynching is vile. Never again, no matter what. wordinblack.com/2022/01/the-...
The Horrors of Lynching Photographs and Postcards
Lynching photographs captured the brazen cruelty of white mobs who were so audacious they did not fear arrest and were willing to be photographed with the victims.
wordinblack.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Recently, I came across a posting that called for the public lynchings of the ppl whose “taste” for the torture & rape of girls/young women has spurred righteous outrage. I must remind ppl that the legacy of US public #lynching is vile. Never again, no matter what. wordinblack.com/2022/01/the-...
1/ Every single moment of every single day is a battle between the forces of good & evil. In the space of milliseconds, human beings make constant decisions whether to hurt or help each other. Whether to retaliate w/ violence or seek solutions that don’t involve hate, torture & murder. (Cont)
February 15, 2026 at 8:34 PM
1/ Every single moment of every single day is a battle between the forces of good & evil. In the space of milliseconds, human beings make constant decisions whether to hurt or help each other. Whether to retaliate w/ violence or seek solutions that don’t involve hate, torture & murder. (Cont)
I never thought I’d end up living in a world in which a publication has to make clear that their work is produced by “human journalists.”
Point of clarification: the only real journalists ARE human journalists.
Machines cannot be #journalists.
#JournalismIsNotACrime
#SayNoToRobotReporting
Point of clarification: the only real journalists ARE human journalists.
Machines cannot be #journalists.
#JournalismIsNotACrime
#SayNoToRobotReporting
February 15, 2026 at 6:32 PM
I never thought I’d end up living in a world in which a publication has to make clear that their work is produced by “human journalists.”
Point of clarification: the only real journalists ARE human journalists.
Machines cannot be #journalists.
#JournalismIsNotACrime
#SayNoToRobotReporting
Point of clarification: the only real journalists ARE human journalists.
Machines cannot be #journalists.
#JournalismIsNotACrime
#SayNoToRobotReporting
Related to my last post. I used to work for ICT under previous owners, and will contact them about what I’ve discovered, but this issue also needs to be known beyond the #NativeAmerican press. Systemic Sterilization of #Native women by fed govt REALLY is ongoing. No exaggeration.
New Mexico memorial calling for study of forced sterilization against Women of Color advances.
New Mexico would be the first state to acknowledge the history of eugenics practices in the US. ictnews.org/news/new-mex...
New Mexico would be the first state to acknowledge the history of eugenics practices in the US. ictnews.org/news/new-mex...
New Mexico memorial calling for study of forced sterilization against women of color advances - ICT
New Mexico would be the first state to acknowledge the history of eugenics practices in the U.S., expert says
ictnews.org
February 15, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Related to my last post. I used to work for ICT under previous owners, and will contact them about what I’ve discovered, but this issue also needs to be known beyond the #NativeAmerican press. Systemic Sterilization of #Native women by fed govt REALLY is ongoing. No exaggeration.
First: For DECADES, IHS sterilized #Native women without their consent. Second: we must make #eugenics a concept that everyone understands as (de facto and de jure) practice throughout much of US history. I’ve uncovered continuation of this practice by the fed govt. But editors don’t seem to care.
“Coerced and forced sterilization is considered a crime against humanity under international law and also constituting genocide... over 70,000 Native American women and women of color were forcibly sterilized just in the ’70s alone, when these eugenics laws were on the books.”
New Mexico memorial calling for study of forced sterilization against Women of Color advances.
New Mexico would be the first state to acknowledge the history of eugenics practices in the US. ictnews.org/news/new-mex...
New Mexico would be the first state to acknowledge the history of eugenics practices in the US. ictnews.org/news/new-mex...
February 15, 2026 at 5:57 PM
There’s a reason why I warn #socialmedia users about callous disregard for what companies like Meta, X and Google hv allowed the IC* to do.
It’s tempting to say, “but I haven’t done anything wrong!”
Neither had I.
#Freespeech is the 1st Amendment. Or was.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
It’s tempting to say, “but I haven’t done anything wrong!”
Neither had I.
#Freespeech is the 1st Amendment. Or was.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts
www.nytimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:48 PM
There’s a reason why I warn #socialmedia users about callous disregard for what companies like Meta, X and Google hv allowed the IC* to do.
It’s tempting to say, “but I haven’t done anything wrong!”
Neither had I.
#Freespeech is the 1st Amendment. Or was.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
It’s tempting to say, “but I haven’t done anything wrong!”
Neither had I.
#Freespeech is the 1st Amendment. Or was.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
F-ck Valentine’s Day. It was already bad enuf until it got exported as yet another capitalist holiday to foreign countries with their own traditions. Buy more stuff. 😠🤬
But DO go ahead and share/export Black History Month. ✊🏽Seriously. Most school kids here aren’t taught about #slavery.
But DO go ahead and share/export Black History Month. ✊🏽Seriously. Most school kids here aren’t taught about #slavery.
February 14, 2026 at 9:55 PM
F-ck Valentine’s Day. It was already bad enuf until it got exported as yet another capitalist holiday to foreign countries with their own traditions. Buy more stuff. 😠🤬
But DO go ahead and share/export Black History Month. ✊🏽Seriously. Most school kids here aren’t taught about #slavery.
But DO go ahead and share/export Black History Month. ✊🏽Seriously. Most school kids here aren’t taught about #slavery.
When she found out she was about to be ”gifted,” enslaved servant, #OnaJudge, made a dangerous escape from President Washington’s residence. The National Park Service has erased her story—and that of #slavery itself. Read Prof. Welbeck’s powerful essay: theconversation.com/martha-washi...
Martha Washington’s enslaved maid Ona Judge made a daring escape to freedom – but the National Park Service has erased her story from Philadelphia exhibit
Ona Judge was one of 9 people George Washington owned when he lived in the President’s House in Philadelphia.
theconversation.com
February 14, 2026 at 9:45 PM
When she found out she was about to be ”gifted,” enslaved servant, #OnaJudge, made a dangerous escape from President Washington’s residence. The National Park Service has erased her story—and that of #slavery itself. Read Prof. Welbeck’s powerful essay: theconversation.com/martha-washi...
What happens when a society turns in on itself, devouring, disappearing, incarcerating & killing its own citizens? Isolating globally whilst expanding empire?
Americans, you’re living it. But please don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s the first time. Not even close.
Americans, you’re living it. But please don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s the first time. Not even close.
February 14, 2026 at 6:04 PM
What happens when a society turns in on itself, devouring, disappearing, incarcerating & killing its own citizens? Isolating globally whilst expanding empire?
Americans, you’re living it. But please don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s the first time. Not even close.
Americans, you’re living it. But please don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s the first time. Not even close.
Intergenerational #trauma is as real as inherited wealth & (preposterous but prevalent) notions of “racial” superiority. Those of us born into families marked by persecution, war, abuse &/or exile can’t escape it. But comprehending & confronting generations of pain brings you closer to #freedom.
February 14, 2026 at 5:46 PM
There was a time when the #slowfood movement had a brief impact on the disease inducing fast food culture. It’s time to expand the concept to #slowlife, a 2026 version of Walden Pond. We’re bred to hustle so as to survive or thrive, but the deep insights don’t come if you’re speeding through life.
February 14, 2026 at 5:34 PM
#Socialmedia has had an unmistakable deleterious impact on pre-teens & teens, particularly when use is unchecked & obsessive & impacts #mentalhealth. Spain’s under-16 ban is one w/ which I understand in theory, but it won’t work in the end. Good analysis here: theconversation.com/spain-social...
Spain social media ban for under-16s: here’s what we know so far, and what we don’t
Details are still emerging, but we can’t blame screentime for all teenage mental health issues.
theconversation.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:13 PM
#Socialmedia has had an unmistakable deleterious impact on pre-teens & teens, particularly when use is unchecked & obsessive & impacts #mentalhealth. Spain’s under-16 ban is one w/ which I understand in theory, but it won’t work in the end. Good analysis here: theconversation.com/spain-social...
Dear Sanders, I deeply respect you. But that is EXACTLY what the U.S. has been doing since DAY ONE. Not only was I was thrown in jail w/out any due process (no charges or rights read, no access to an an arraignment/bail hearing, etc), but I’ve been silenced in SO many ways. I’m not the 1st or last.
Sanders: The American people do not want this country to be an authoritarian society or an oligarchy. We have our differences, that’s what democracy is about—we argue it out. We don’t throw people who disagree in jail. We don’t intimidate the media. We don’t send ICE agents to shoot people.
February 13, 2026 at 10:01 PM
Dear Sanders, I deeply respect you. But that is EXACTLY what the U.S. has been doing since DAY ONE. Not only was I was thrown in jail w/out any due process (no charges or rights read, no access to an an arraignment/bail hearing, etc), but I’ve been silenced in SO many ways. I’m not the 1st or last.
We cannot fully “erase” pro-slavery ideas from Americans as they are embedded in the very blood that has soaked into the intergenerational souls of oppressors & the soil beneath the feet of the oppressed. But we CAN confront these ideas and TRULY begin the process of SERIOUS re-education.
Massive re-education plan needed. Erase pro slavery ideas that dominate uneducated people's minds.
Yes, Trump is the irritating and destructive byproduct of the systemic issues at hand, but he is not the root cause.
The groups who support and enable racism are.
The groups who support and enable racism are.
February 13, 2026 at 9:47 PM
We cannot fully “erase” pro-slavery ideas from Americans as they are embedded in the very blood that has soaked into the intergenerational souls of oppressors & the soil beneath the feet of the oppressed. But we CAN confront these ideas and TRULY begin the process of SERIOUS re-education.
As tech advances to oppress us in new & devious ways, our lives are now irreparably changed. Resistance is NOT futile but it IS difficult. Stop agreeing to being tracked, fight for privacy & divorce yourself from X, Google, Meta, etc. #Iran #Resist #Surveillance
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Iran Turns to Digital Surveillance Tools to Track Down Protesters
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 9:34 PM
As tech advances to oppress us in new & devious ways, our lives are now irreparably changed. Resistance is NOT futile but it IS difficult. Stop agreeing to being tracked, fight for privacy & divorce yourself from X, Google, Meta, etc. #Iran #Resist #Surveillance
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Nothing about what I’ve intermittently experienced in past 15-16 years re: invasive hacking & #surveillance related to #investigativejournalism happened in a vacuum. The only difference now is the proof of how it’s happening.
Orwell predicted this. take a burner phone/wipe before traveling. No apps, phone OFF, gps location OFF, no SM, email, photos, passwords. Have 1 emergency contact in your address book. Police/feds have software to break into phones (illegal), electronics will be searched, so have nothing to find.
Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods
404 Media has obtained material that explains how Tangles and Webloc, two surveillance systems ICE recently purchased, work. Webloc can track phones without a warrant and follow their owners home or t...
www.404media.co
February 13, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Nothing about what I’ve intermittently experienced in past 15-16 years re: invasive hacking & #surveillance related to #investigativejournalism happened in a vacuum. The only difference now is the proof of how it’s happening.
Pls familiarize yourself with #404Media generally.
“404 Media has filed a lawsuit against #ICE for access to its contract with #Paragon, a company that sells powerful spyware for breaking into phones and accessing encrypted messaging apps.”
www.404media.co/were-suing-i...
“404 Media has filed a lawsuit against #ICE for access to its contract with #Paragon, a company that sells powerful spyware for breaking into phones and accessing encrypted messaging apps.”
www.404media.co/were-suing-i...
We’re Suing ICE for Its $2 Million Spyware Contract
404 Media has filed a lawsuit against ICE for access to its contract with Paragon, a company that sells powerful spyware for breaking into phones and accessing encrypted messaging apps.
www.404media.co
February 13, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Pls familiarize yourself with #404Media generally.
“404 Media has filed a lawsuit against #ICE for access to its contract with #Paragon, a company that sells powerful spyware for breaking into phones and accessing encrypted messaging apps.”
www.404media.co/were-suing-i...
“404 Media has filed a lawsuit against #ICE for access to its contract with #Paragon, a company that sells powerful spyware for breaking into phones and accessing encrypted messaging apps.”
www.404media.co/were-suing-i...
Why are the masses so easily swayed to stereotype entire ethnic groups but hesitate to do so where billionaires and the aggregators of wealth & power are concerned? We’ve internalized the idea that the uber rich ARE better than the rest, but they are among the sickest ppl alive.
February 13, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Why are the masses so easily swayed to stereotype entire ethnic groups but hesitate to do so where billionaires and the aggregators of wealth & power are concerned? We’ve internalized the idea that the uber rich ARE better than the rest, but they are among the sickest ppl alive.
Even more specifically, it is the INTERSECTION of ethnic & class oppression. Just as ”slave patrols” became cop patrols, plantations “evolved” into modern-day prisons. And, yes, class divisions ran throughout.
February 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Even more specifically, it is the INTERSECTION of ethnic & class oppression. Just as ”slave patrols” became cop patrols, plantations “evolved” into modern-day prisons. And, yes, class divisions ran throughout.