David Scales
@tnfalpha.bsky.social
Hospitalist, sociologist @WeillCornell studying information environments, contested illness, medical communication
Co-founder, Health for Palestine
he/il/el/هو
Co-founder, Health for Palestine
he/il/el/هو
Pinned
David Scales
@tnfalpha.bsky.social
· Jun 17
Contemporary information systems face growing public distrust across a range of issues. This Perspective introduces a Community-Centered Exploration, Engagement, and Evaluation system to help detect and mitigate potential information harms.
Advocating for a community-centred model for responding to potential information harms - Nature Human Behaviour
Contemporary information systems face growing public distrust across a range of issues including public health, election integrity and climate. This Perspective introduces the Community-Centered Exploration, Engagement, and Evaluation system to help detect and mitigate potential information harms, integrating community participation and response at its core.
www.nature.com
Community expertise is essential for monitoring potential information harms, but current “social listening” efforts often bring community input late in the process. It’s time to update our tracking approaches to foreground that shift. @cward1e.bsky.social and I offer one approach in a new paper.
Reposted by David Scales
Israel to Ban International Aid Groups From Gaza
Israel’s decision to bar a number of international humanitarian organizations—among them Doctors Without Borders (MSF)—from operating in Gaza is anticipated to severely impact civilians already enduring a protracted humanitarian crisis.
Israel’s decision to bar a number of international humanitarian organizations—among them Doctors Without Borders (MSF)—from operating in Gaza is anticipated to severely impact civilians already enduring a protracted humanitarian crisis.
December 31, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Israel to Ban International Aid Groups From Gaza
Israel’s decision to bar a number of international humanitarian organizations—among them Doctors Without Borders (MSF)—from operating in Gaza is anticipated to severely impact civilians already enduring a protracted humanitarian crisis.
Israel’s decision to bar a number of international humanitarian organizations—among them Doctors Without Borders (MSF)—from operating in Gaza is anticipated to severely impact civilians already enduring a protracted humanitarian crisis.
Reposted by David Scales
“An AI scientist, for example, could figure out how the human brain works, or deliver any gene to any cell in the body.”
Yeah and a magic pony could shit bricks of 24k gold and piss a highly concentrated solution of pure heroin.
Yeah and a magic pony could shit bricks of 24k gold and piss a highly concentrated solution of pure heroin.
Building an AI Scientist
Hertz Fellow Sam Rodriguez launched FutureHouse, a nonprofit research lab working toward building an AI scientist or AI systems that can automate scientific research in biology and other complex scien...
www.hertzfoundation.org
December 30, 2025 at 12:29 AM
“An AI scientist, for example, could figure out how the human brain works, or deliver any gene to any cell in the body.”
Yeah and a magic pony could shit bricks of 24k gold and piss a highly concentrated solution of pure heroin.
Yeah and a magic pony could shit bricks of 24k gold and piss a highly concentrated solution of pure heroin.
Reposted by David Scales
This is not hard. Artists are not responsible for ensuring the Kennedy Center remains relevant and successful. The center’s board is responsible for that, in a fiduciary way. All of this energy being directed at artists should be re-directed at the board.
December 30, 2025 at 4:07 PM
This is not hard. Artists are not responsible for ensuring the Kennedy Center remains relevant and successful. The center’s board is responsible for that, in a fiduciary way. All of this energy being directed at artists should be re-directed at the board.
Reposted by David Scales
INBOX: @jkbjournalist.bsky.social, an investigative reporter at @miamiherald.com who has covered Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking story for nearly a decade, accuses the Trump Department of Justice for tracking her flight history in 2019 and releasing them partially unredacted in the Epstein files
December 28, 2025 at 9:32 PM
INBOX: @jkbjournalist.bsky.social, an investigative reporter at @miamiherald.com who has covered Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking story for nearly a decade, accuses the Trump Department of Justice for tracking her flight history in 2019 and releasing them partially unredacted in the Epstein files
Reposted by David Scales
The Washpost edit board calls Trump’s bombing in Nigeria “a welcome change in a part of the world that has always been little more than an afterthought for the president” — and has zero mention of the thousands in Africa facing starvation because of USAID cuts
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Why West Africa is worth worrying about
Strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria are welcome but insufficient.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 27, 2025 at 11:52 PM
The Washpost edit board calls Trump’s bombing in Nigeria “a welcome change in a part of the world that has always been little more than an afterthought for the president” — and has zero mention of the thousands in Africa facing starvation because of USAID cuts
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Reposted by David Scales
"They found the coats on Thursday morning.
Fifteen winter coats. Good ones, not garbage. Hanging on the chain-link fence outside Lincoln Elementary.No note. No explanation. Just coats zipped up like ghosts waiting for bodies.
Principal Morris freaked out. Called the police. "Could be stolen"
Fifteen winter coats. Good ones, not garbage. Hanging on the chain-link fence outside Lincoln Elementary.No note. No explanation. Just coats zipped up like ghosts waiting for bodies.
Principal Morris freaked out. Called the police. "Could be stolen"
December 27, 2025 at 4:41 PM
"They found the coats on Thursday morning.
Fifteen winter coats. Good ones, not garbage. Hanging on the chain-link fence outside Lincoln Elementary.No note. No explanation. Just coats zipped up like ghosts waiting for bodies.
Principal Morris freaked out. Called the police. "Could be stolen"
Fifteen winter coats. Good ones, not garbage. Hanging on the chain-link fence outside Lincoln Elementary.No note. No explanation. Just coats zipped up like ghosts waiting for bodies.
Principal Morris freaked out. Called the police. "Could be stolen"
Reposted by David Scales
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:24 PM
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Reposted by David Scales
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
Reposted by David Scales
December 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Reposted by David Scales
As a Jew studying propaganda, I've been saddened by the rise of hate. I'm supporting the IRC's efforts in Gaza-a highly rated charity inspired by Einstein (check them out).
Despite all the darkness, as we lit the last candle yesterday, I can only wish peace and light for all🕯🕎 ☮️
Happy holidays!
Despite all the darkness, as we lit the last candle yesterday, I can only wish peace and light for all🕯🕎 ☮️
Happy holidays!
December 23, 2025 at 8:45 PM
As a Jew studying propaganda, I've been saddened by the rise of hate. I'm supporting the IRC's efforts in Gaza-a highly rated charity inspired by Einstein (check them out).
Despite all the darkness, as we lit the last candle yesterday, I can only wish peace and light for all🕯🕎 ☮️
Happy holidays!
Despite all the darkness, as we lit the last candle yesterday, I can only wish peace and light for all🕯🕎 ☮️
Happy holidays!
Reposted by David Scales
Are you a journalist with a deep interest in complexity?
Each year, the Santa Fe Institute invites two experienced journalists to join the Complex Systems Summer School through the CSSS Journalism Fellowship.
Application deadline: Feb. 4, 2026
Learn more: santafe.edu/journalism-f...
Each year, the Santa Fe Institute invites two experienced journalists to join the Complex Systems Summer School through the CSSS Journalism Fellowship.
Application deadline: Feb. 4, 2026
Learn more: santafe.edu/journalism-f...
December 23, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Are you a journalist with a deep interest in complexity?
Each year, the Santa Fe Institute invites two experienced journalists to join the Complex Systems Summer School through the CSSS Journalism Fellowship.
Application deadline: Feb. 4, 2026
Learn more: santafe.edu/journalism-f...
Each year, the Santa Fe Institute invites two experienced journalists to join the Complex Systems Summer School through the CSSS Journalism Fellowship.
Application deadline: Feb. 4, 2026
Learn more: santafe.edu/journalism-f...
Reposted by David Scales
"It is going to get so much worse."
For the first of two end-of-the-year episodes of @pandemia.bsky.social, I talked to @drdemetre.bsky.social about what happened in 2025 at the CDC and how he thinks about the future of vaccines and public health in the US.
A quick 🧪🧵
For the first of two end-of-the-year episodes of @pandemia.bsky.social, I talked to @drdemetre.bsky.social about what happened in 2025 at the CDC and how he thinks about the future of vaccines and public health in the US.
A quick 🧪🧵
Impfen | Es wird noch viel schlimmer werden
Podcast Episode · Pandemia · 22/12/2025 · 40m
podcasts.apple.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:52 AM
"It is going to get so much worse."
For the first of two end-of-the-year episodes of @pandemia.bsky.social, I talked to @drdemetre.bsky.social about what happened in 2025 at the CDC and how he thinks about the future of vaccines and public health in the US.
A quick 🧪🧵
For the first of two end-of-the-year episodes of @pandemia.bsky.social, I talked to @drdemetre.bsky.social about what happened in 2025 at the CDC and how he thinks about the future of vaccines and public health in the US.
A quick 🧪🧵
Reposted by David Scales
CBS didn't run the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT, but over here at @propublica.org we've been working on the story since March, including finding out who each and every man sent to that maximum security prison was.
You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...
You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...
Deported and Imprisoned Archives
A case-by-case investigation that examines the Trump administration’s claims that these immigrants are all “sick criminals” and “terrorists” and that shows what they suffered during months in one of t...
www.propublica.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:08 PM
CBS didn't run the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT, but over here at @propublica.org we've been working on the story since March, including finding out who each and every man sent to that maximum security prison was.
You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...
You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...
Reposted by David Scales
Gaza of course dominates coverage of Israel/Palestine. But as this excellent @nytimes.com piece reports, extremist Israeli settlers backed by the Israeli government and the IDF are systematically stealing Palestinian land and brutalizing Palestinian farmers: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Land Grab: Inside Israel’s Escalating Campaign for Control of the West Bank
Israeli seizure of Palestinian lands in the West Bank, often brutally, has accelerated, raising doubts about the prospects of a peaceful solution to the conflict.
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Gaza of course dominates coverage of Israel/Palestine. But as this excellent @nytimes.com piece reports, extremist Israeli settlers backed by the Israeli government and the IDF are systematically stealing Palestinian land and brutalizing Palestinian farmers: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by David Scales
New on @indicator.media:
I asked 53 experts of digital deception from 15 countries to rate the key figures and moments of 2025.
I asked 53 experts of digital deception from 15 countries to rate the key figures and moments of 2025.
Elon Musk is this year’s King of Digital Deception
And some more serious findings – including a great reading list – from our survey of 53 experts
indicator.media
December 17, 2025 at 1:53 PM
New on @indicator.media:
I asked 53 experts of digital deception from 15 countries to rate the key figures and moments of 2025.
I asked 53 experts of digital deception from 15 countries to rate the key figures and moments of 2025.
Reposted by David Scales
INBOX: Former NIAID director Jeanne Marrazzo is suing the Trump administration.
She alleges the NIH violated her constitutional rights and illegally fired her after she blew the whistle on actions that jeopardized public health and violated federal law.
She alleges the NIH violated her constitutional rights and illegally fired her after she blew the whistle on actions that jeopardized public health and violated federal law.
December 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
INBOX: Former NIAID director Jeanne Marrazzo is suing the Trump administration.
She alleges the NIH violated her constitutional rights and illegally fired her after she blew the whistle on actions that jeopardized public health and violated federal law.
She alleges the NIH violated her constitutional rights and illegally fired her after she blew the whistle on actions that jeopardized public health and violated federal law.
Reposted by David Scales
We're currently accepting applications to hire up to two @cip.uw.edu postdoctoral scholars to join our team in Seattle. The priority deadline to apply is January 15, 2026.
For the position description, salary range, qualifications and application process, click here: apply.interfolio.com/177901
For the position description, salary range, qualifications and application process, click here: apply.interfolio.com/177901
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:48 PM
We're currently accepting applications to hire up to two @cip.uw.edu postdoctoral scholars to join our team in Seattle. The priority deadline to apply is January 15, 2026.
For the position description, salary range, qualifications and application process, click here: apply.interfolio.com/177901
For the position description, salary range, qualifications and application process, click here: apply.interfolio.com/177901
Many Covid contrarians complained not just about outcome, but process. But now in power, their processes are less transparent and more top-down than those they critiqued, all to achieve their preferred outcome. Science = process, disrupting that is anti-science, even if you worship RCTs.
Who Is: Vinay Prasad
A thread about how the FDA’s head of biologics became its biggest internal threat. Vinay Prasad, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, is known not for effective leadership, but for quietly dismantling the scientific systems he was chosen to protect.
A thread about how the FDA’s head of biologics became its biggest internal threat. Vinay Prasad, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, is known not for effective leadership, but for quietly dismantling the scientific systems he was chosen to protect.
December 16, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Many Covid contrarians complained not just about outcome, but process. But now in power, their processes are less transparent and more top-down than those they critiqued, all to achieve their preferred outcome. Science = process, disrupting that is anti-science, even if you worship RCTs.
Reposted by David Scales
One of our striking research findings from 2025 is a little niche, but critical for digital publishers:
Google users who see an AI Overview are *half* as likely as other users to click through to search results. Huge implications for search traffic.
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Google users who see an AI Overview are *half* as likely as other users to click through to search results. Huge implications for search traffic.
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
December 10, 2025 at 2:32 PM
One of our striking research findings from 2025 is a little niche, but critical for digital publishers:
Google users who see an AI Overview are *half* as likely as other users to click through to search results. Huge implications for search traffic.
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Google users who see an AI Overview are *half* as likely as other users to click through to search results. Huge implications for search traffic.
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Reposted by David Scales
Seeking nominations: The CIP Award for Impact & Excellence recognizes outstanding contributions and achievements that advance civic health and promote an informed society by helping individuals, communities, and institutions navigate complex information challenges.
We're currently seeking nomination materials for the @cip.uw.edu Award for Impact & Excellence. The submission deadline is January 15, 2026.
Complete information: www.cip.uw.edu/cip-award-im...
Complete information: www.cip.uw.edu/cip-award-im...
December 9, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Seeking nominations: The CIP Award for Impact & Excellence recognizes outstanding contributions and achievements that advance civic health and promote an informed society by helping individuals, communities, and institutions navigate complex information challenges.
Reposted by David Scales
“Post-publication investigation confirmed that the paper does not contain an adequate description of the framework it proposes, uses an AI-generated figure containing nonsense to demonstrate the framework, and does not include code underlying the model developed.”
The Scientifc Reports autism cycle article has been retracted: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
December 5, 2025 at 12:10 PM
“Post-publication investigation confirmed that the paper does not contain an adequate description of the framework it proposes, uses an AI-generated figure containing nonsense to demonstrate the framework, and does not include code underlying the model developed.”
Reposted by David Scales
For the last decade, the pervasive spread of bullshit & manipulation of online platforms have been widely recognized societal concerns. Now non US citizens studying those subjects can be labeled “censors” & denied visas or deported from the US. Censorship, indeed. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Exclusive: Trump administration orders enhanced vetting for applicants of H-1B visa
An internal State Department memo said that anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech should be considered for rejection.
www.reuters.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:10 PM
For the last decade, the pervasive spread of bullshit & manipulation of online platforms have been widely recognized societal concerns. Now non US citizens studying those subjects can be labeled “censors” & denied visas or deported from the US. Censorship, indeed. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reposted by David Scales
spoiler: mass media consolidated in the hands of ad-based corporations owned by a handful of right wing billionaires is easily exploited by a wide variety of bad actors and fatal to democracy and informed consensus
Thrilled to announce the publication of our @rooseveltinstitute.org report that uncovers the policy roots of the current crises facing our news, information & communication systems. We argue that media reform must become central to a US pro-democracy movement. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
The Political Economy of the US Media System: Excavating the Roots of the Present Crisis - Roosevelt Institute
Bilal Baydoun, Shahrzad Shams, and Victor Pickard trace the roots of the US media crisis to decades of deregulation and commercial capture, outlining how consolidation, news deserts, and platform domi...
rooseveltinstitute.org
December 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
spoiler: mass media consolidated in the hands of ad-based corporations owned by a handful of right wing billionaires is easily exploited by a wide variety of bad actors and fatal to democracy and informed consensus
Great to see interoception getting more coverage!
It’s under-recognized in medicine and studies suggest our perception of things like heart rate or blood pressure aren’t always that accurate.
It’s under-recognized in medicine and studies suggest our perception of things like heart rate or blood pressure aren’t always that accurate.
I have a story today about interoception--a kind of sixth sense that delivers information from within our bodies to our brains. nyti.ms/4rfTDtn
nyti.ms
December 2, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Great to see interoception getting more coverage!
It’s under-recognized in medicine and studies suggest our perception of things like heart rate or blood pressure aren’t always that accurate.
It’s under-recognized in medicine and studies suggest our perception of things like heart rate or blood pressure aren’t always that accurate.
Reposted by David Scales
The term "has historic roots, including Nazi ideology and, more recently, a violent conspiracy theory that’s inspired terrorist attacks in the US and abroad" www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/u...
November 29, 2025 at 3:17 AM
The term "has historic roots, including Nazi ideology and, more recently, a violent conspiracy theory that’s inspired terrorist attacks in the US and abroad" www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/u...