Zac Whittenburg
@trailerpilot.bsky.social
Chicagoan, Coloradan, cyclist, grantmaker, shutterbug, writer, and a few other things. Posts are mine alone, he / him, reskeet ≠ “I think”
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
"Sure, our plagiarism machine ingests enormous amounts of copyrighted material without anyone's permission, but it's the users of the machine who are the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 criminals, your honor." 🙄🙄
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
November 14, 2025 at 2:39 AM
"Sure, our plagiarism machine ingests enormous amounts of copyrighted material without anyone's permission, but it's the users of the machine who are the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 criminals, your honor." 🙄🙄
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
Paid a Colombian tea grower $1,500 for a shipment. Got billed $150 by the Trump administration at the border. *I* got billed. Not the tea growers. Not the Colombian government. Me. The American business owner. I paid the Trump tax.
November 12, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Paid a Colombian tea grower $1,500 for a shipment. Got billed $150 by the Trump administration at the border. *I* got billed. Not the tea growers. Not the Colombian government. Me. The American business owner. I paid the Trump tax.
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
“The most dramatic rollback of human rights for trans people in a generation will be covered by a mainstream corporate press that has purged queer journalists from its ranks in a stunningly transparent series of politicized moves over the past month.”
NEW: Firings of LGBTQ staff at NBC and Condé Nast have worsened an already dire picture for legacy news media when it comes to covering the trans community.
From @billiejsweeney.bsky.social, a close look at our increasingly degraded media environment.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
From @billiejsweeney.bsky.social, a close look at our increasingly degraded media environment.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
Corporate Media’s Queer Purge — Assigned
It’s no coincidence that historic assaults on trans and queer people’s rights have been accompanied by the mainstream media’s widespread dismissal of LGBTQ+ journalists and the elimination of beats de...
www.assignedmedia.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:23 PM
“The most dramatic rollback of human rights for trans people in a generation will be covered by a mainstream corporate press that has purged queer journalists from its ranks in a stunningly transparent series of politicized moves over the past month.”
“The source said it is unusual for an office’s top prosecutor to convene such a gathering.” on.msnbc.com/4ozy0m7
U.S. Attorney investigating alleged grand ‘conspiracy’ calls unit-wide meeting after two prosecutors resign
Career prosecutors on “pins and needles” after flurry of subpoenas approved.
on.msnbc.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:50 PM
“The source said it is unusual for an office’s top prosecutor to convene such a gathering.” on.msnbc.com/4ozy0m7
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
Buried inside the deal to reopen government is a provision that would give Senators private right of action to sue for millions in damages over their phone records being analyzed by Jack Smith's team.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Shutdown Deal Would Let Senators Sue Over Jack Smith Searches
Senators whose phone records were sought by Special Counsel Jack Smith would gain authority to sue for millions in damages under a provision buried in the Senate-advanced deal to reopen the government...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Buried inside the deal to reopen government is a provision that would give Senators private right of action to sue for millions in damages over their phone records being analyzed by Jack Smith's team.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
“We're seeing a level of proliferation of bodies & body piles from space that's unlike anything I've ever seen…”
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
November 9, 2025 at 4:00 PM
“We're seeing a level of proliferation of bodies & body piles from space that's unlike anything I've ever seen…”
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
“We have rarely witnessed such brutality erupt into public view like it has in Chicago,” writes Michael Woolf, senior minister of Lake Street Church of Evanston. “For me, this is a spiritual emergency, and it means putting our bodies on the line in order to stop deportations.”
I’m One of the Clergy ICE Assaulted. They Treat Immigrants Worse
I learned the hard way that my clerical collar doesn’t offer much protection from ICE. But immigrants have no protection at all.
sojo.net
November 9, 2025 at 3:53 PM
“We have rarely witnessed such brutality erupt into public view like it has in Chicago,” writes Michael Woolf, senior minister of Lake Street Church of Evanston. “For me, this is a spiritual emergency, and it means putting our bodies on the line in order to stop deportations.”
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
I’ve had two conferences—one in the US and one international—change titles of panels or the entire gathering to avoid being targeted or make people’s lives more difficult.
It’s the exact kind of thing the US used to label totalitarian when foreign countries did this to their scholars.
It’s the exact kind of thing the US used to label totalitarian when foreign countries did this to their scholars.
Going to a research conference next week. One of my panels featured researchers coming from Asia, who decided to withdraw given the uncertainty about domestic travel with flight cancelations. Just one more reference point for how the US under Trump has become seen as a basket case country.
November 9, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I’ve had two conferences—one in the US and one international—change titles of panels or the entire gathering to avoid being targeted or make people’s lives more difficult.
It’s the exact kind of thing the US used to label totalitarian when foreign countries did this to their scholars.
It’s the exact kind of thing the US used to label totalitarian when foreign countries did this to their scholars.
“‘I like to be chic,’ he said. ‘I go to school like this.’” bit.ly/4ossD7X
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
bit.ly
November 9, 2025 at 2:54 PM
“‘I like to be chic,’ he said. ‘I go to school like this.’” bit.ly/4ossD7X
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
"biological pronouns" is an insane phrase
BREAKING: The Sixth Circuit, in a 10-7 en banc decision, holds that an Ohio school district's anti-bullying policy that requires students to use children's preferred pronouns is likely unconstitutional on these facts.
Judge Murphy, a Trump appointee, writes the court's decision.
Judge Murphy, a Trump appointee, writes the court's decision.
November 7, 2025 at 4:22 AM
"biological pronouns" is an insane phrase
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
I was laid off from Teen Vogue this week, alongside multiple other phenomenal team members.
At our Summit, I was asked how it felt to be 1 of 2 Black women left and what that meant for representation. Now, there are no Black women at Teen Vogue and that is incredibly painful to think about.
At our Summit, I was asked how it felt to be 1 of 2 Black women left and what that meant for representation. Now, there are no Black women at Teen Vogue and that is incredibly painful to think about.
November 3, 2025 at 11:57 PM
I was laid off from Teen Vogue this week, alongside multiple other phenomenal team members.
At our Summit, I was asked how it felt to be 1 of 2 Black women left and what that meant for representation. Now, there are no Black women at Teen Vogue and that is incredibly painful to think about.
At our Summit, I was asked how it felt to be 1 of 2 Black women left and what that meant for representation. Now, there are no Black women at Teen Vogue and that is incredibly painful to think about.
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
What’s more Chicago right now than handing off 200 whistles in a Portillos bag.
November 6, 2025 at 1:54 AM
What’s more Chicago right now than handing off 200 whistles in a Portillos bag.
Delighted to announce that, as of this evening, I have been photographed on Scott Burton’s Two-Part Chaise (1986–89) in two buildings by Tadao Ando (Pulitzer Arts Foundation and Wrightwood 659) in two U.S. states (Missouri and Illinois)
November 6, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Delighted to announce that, as of this evening, I have been photographed on Scott Burton’s Two-Part Chaise (1986–89) in two buildings by Tadao Ando (Pulitzer Arts Foundation and Wrightwood 659) in two U.S. states (Missouri and Illinois)
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
Now's a good time for Illinois residents to take advantage of a unique right we have to be removed from Clearview's database. Scroll down to IL opt-out here: www.clearview.ai/privacy-and-...
November 6, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Now's a good time for Illinois residents to take advantage of a unique right we have to be removed from Clearview's database. Scroll down to IL opt-out here: www.clearview.ai/privacy-and-...
Friends of mine who live in downtown Chicago, along with neighbors in their building, said they were warned about this.
November 6, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Friends of mine who live in downtown Chicago, along with neighbors in their building, said they were warned about this.
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000.
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
Tracking Anticipated Deaths from USAID Funding Cuts
Brooke Nichols has launched online tracking tools that capture estimated increases in mortality and disease spread for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases as a result of the near-total...
www.bu.edu
November 5, 2025 at 10:28 PM
By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000.
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
Pains me to say it but I think this is true. Some of my colleagues in the media who’ve stayed on X don’t even realize how badly its noxious algorithm is skewing their perception of politics and reality.
Also, that place seems designed to make you miserable unless you’re a Nazi. It’s just wretched.
Also, that place seems designed to make you miserable unless you’re a Nazi. It’s just wretched.
Tonight's even more proof the mainstream reporters who are still on Twitter are suffering from a brain problem akin Havana Syndrome that is preventing them from accurately doing their jobs. They are being cooked alive by a snuff-focused apartheid algorithm.
November 5, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Pains me to say it but I think this is true. Some of my colleagues in the media who’ve stayed on X don’t even realize how badly its noxious algorithm is skewing their perception of politics and reality.
Also, that place seems designed to make you miserable unless you’re a Nazi. It’s just wretched.
Also, that place seems designed to make you miserable unless you’re a Nazi. It’s just wretched.
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
NEW: Common Crawl, the massive archiver of the web, has gotten cozy with AI companies and is providing paywalled articles for training data. They’re also lying to publishers who have asked for material to be removed. “The robots are people too,” CC’s exec director told us when we asked about this.
The Nonprofit Feeding the Entire Internet to AI Companies
Common Crawl claims to provide a public benefit, but it lies to publishers about its activities.
www.theatlantic.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:15 PM
NEW: Common Crawl, the massive archiver of the web, has gotten cozy with AI companies and is providing paywalled articles for training data. They’re also lying to publishers who have asked for material to be removed. “The robots are people too,” CC’s exec director told us when we asked about this.
“When data is distorted, it becomes impossible to pursue honest results or accountability, diminishing efforts to achieve equity and justice.” blackoutreport.org
The Blackout Report
Exposing the campaign to erase Black progress. Explore Onyx Impact’s Blackout Report — data, stories, and action to defend our history.
blackoutreport.org
November 4, 2025 at 3:23 AM
“When data is distorted, it becomes impossible to pursue honest results or accountability, diminishing efforts to achieve equity and justice.” blackoutreport.org
I hear it’s been a good week for being into sports
November 2, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I hear it’s been a good week for being into sports
When you’ve papered the house and it’s still half empty bit.ly/3WAMhm0
Trump’s Takeover of Kennedy Center Leads to Stunning Sales Collapse
The Kennedy Center is quickly dying thanks to the president’s new vision for the historic theater.
bit.ly
November 2, 2025 at 9:24 PM
When you’ve papered the house and it’s still half empty bit.ly/3WAMhm0
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
Look folks gen AI videos are out in the wild so if you weren't already being careful about sharing rage bait videos then now is a great time to start
If you can't trace a video back to a trusted source then I recommend leaving it where it is, like a slice of bologna you found on the street
If you can't trace a video back to a trusted source then I recommend leaving it where it is, like a slice of bologna you found on the street
November 2, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Look folks gen AI videos are out in the wild so if you weren't already being careful about sharing rage bait videos then now is a great time to start
If you can't trace a video back to a trusted source then I recommend leaving it where it is, like a slice of bologna you found on the street
If you can't trace a video back to a trusted source then I recommend leaving it where it is, like a slice of bologna you found on the street
Reposted by Zac Whittenburg
A device exploded inside the Goldenson Building in Harvard’s Longwood medical campus early Saturday morning, according to a message from the Harvard University Police Department to University affiliates.
Matan H. Josephy and Laurel M. Shugart report.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Matan H. Josephy and Laurel M. Shugart report.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Authorities Investigating Explosion on Harvard’s Medical Campus, Believed To Be Intentional | News | The Harvard Crimson
A device exploded inside the Goldenson Building in Harvard’s Longwood medical campus early Saturday morning, according to a message from the Harvard University Police Department to University…
www.thecrimson.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:11 PM
A device exploded inside the Goldenson Building in Harvard’s Longwood medical campus early Saturday morning, according to a message from the Harvard University Police Department to University affiliates.
Matan H. Josephy and Laurel M. Shugart report.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Matan H. Josephy and Laurel M. Shugart report.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...