Ahmed Zidan
@zidan.bsky.social
Platforms | Press Freedom | Journalism
Good takes and bad jokes. Dark humor and 🦋hite 🦋ine.
Deputy director, audience, @freedom.press and @pressfreedomtracker.us.
@zidanism on that other site.
Good takes and bad jokes. Dark humor and 🦋hite 🦋ine.
Deputy director, audience, @freedom.press and @pressfreedomtracker.us.
@zidanism on that other site.
Pinned
Ahmed Zidan
@zidan.bsky.social
· Jul 30
Censorship Whac-A-Mole: Google search exploited to scrub articles on San Francisco tech exec
A novel method of de-indexing websites from search results was used to bury critical reporting and commentary.
freedom.press
In June, I uncovered a Google vulnerability that was exploited to de-index legitimate articles from search.
Google acknowledged it and introduced a universal fix.
But also, there is a backstory about a SF tech exec., a domestic violence case, and a persistent censorship campaign.
@freedom.press:
Google acknowledged it and introduced a universal fix.
But also, there is a backstory about a SF tech exec., a domestic violence case, and a persistent censorship campaign.
@freedom.press:
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Worth noting the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize has been encouraging Trump to do exactly this ever since she won the prize. Another one to add to the dismal record of that prize committee, too. bsky.app/profile/elio...
A very embarrassing moment for the FIFA Peace Prize committee
JUST IN: Trump says the U.S. has captured Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country.
January 3, 2026 at 10:05 AM
Worth noting the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize has been encouraging Trump to do exactly this ever since she won the prize. Another one to add to the dismal record of that prize committee, too. bsky.app/profile/elio...
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
A very embarrassing moment for the FIFA Peace Prize committee
JUST IN: Trump says the U.S. has captured Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country.
January 3, 2026 at 9:31 AM
A very embarrassing moment for the FIFA Peace Prize committee
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
The FIFA Peace Prize doesn't mean what it used to
January 3, 2026 at 9:42 AM
The FIFA Peace Prize doesn't mean what it used to
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
I feel like I haven’t even been properly lied to about the purposes of this war
January 3, 2026 at 9:13 AM
I feel like I haven’t even been properly lied to about the purposes of this war
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Are we at war with Venezuela?!?
I don't know. You don't know either.
It sure would be nice to have a legitimate Pentagon press corps right about now.
I don't know. You don't know either.
It sure would be nice to have a legitimate Pentagon press corps right about now.
January 3, 2026 at 8:03 AM
Are we at war with Venezuela?!?
I don't know. You don't know either.
It sure would be nice to have a legitimate Pentagon press corps right about now.
I don't know. You don't know either.
It sure would be nice to have a legitimate Pentagon press corps right about now.
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
A scorched boat washed ashore on a remote beach in Colombia. Then mangled bodies. And then empty packets, a few with marijuana traces. We matched the physical and digital evidence to a U.S. airstrike — and found a fishing community terrified to go to sea. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/w...
Grim Evidence of Trump’s Airstrikes Washes Ashore on a Colombian Peninsula
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:58 PM
A scorched boat washed ashore on a remote beach in Colombia. Then mangled bodies. And then empty packets, a few with marijuana traces. We matched the physical and digital evidence to a U.S. airstrike — and found a fishing community terrified to go to sea. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/w...
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
🇻🇪 NEW: The CIA carried out a covert drone strike earlier in Dec. 2025 on a remote port facility along Venezuela’s coast — the first known U.S. attack on a target inside the country, according to CNN.
US officials claim the dock was used by the Tren de Aragua gang to store and load narcotics for...
US officials claim the dock was used by the Tren de Aragua gang to store and load narcotics for...
December 30, 2025 at 3:23 AM
🇻🇪 NEW: The CIA carried out a covert drone strike earlier in Dec. 2025 on a remote port facility along Venezuela’s coast — the first known U.S. attack on a target inside the country, according to CNN.
US officials claim the dock was used by the Tren de Aragua gang to store and load narcotics for...
US officials claim the dock was used by the Tren de Aragua gang to store and load narcotics for...
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Huge win for Richard Noticias LA, TikTok journalist shot by ICE. Criminal charges dismissed with prejudice, meaning can’t be refiled.
ICE did him DIRTY. Repeatedly. Inhumane treatment, basically medical torture.
Still in ICE custody on immigration case. They owe him unconditional release.
ICE did him DIRTY. Repeatedly. Inhumane treatment, basically medical torture.
Still in ICE custody on immigration case. They owe him unconditional release.
Federal judge dismisses indictment against TikToker shot by ICE, citing constitutional violations
Days before Carlitos Ricardo Parias was set to to go to trial for assault on a federal officer, a federal judge dismissed the case against him. The judge cited the deprivation of Parias' access to cou...
www.latimes.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Huge win for Richard Noticias LA, TikTok journalist shot by ICE. Criminal charges dismissed with prejudice, meaning can’t be refiled.
ICE did him DIRTY. Repeatedly. Inhumane treatment, basically medical torture.
Still in ICE custody on immigration case. They owe him unconditional release.
ICE did him DIRTY. Repeatedly. Inhumane treatment, basically medical torture.
Still in ICE custody on immigration case. They owe him unconditional release.
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
How Project 2025 kneecapped the U.S. press.
The Heritage Foundation’s road map for a conservative presidency proposed sweeping media reforms. Trump carried out most of them — and he has three years left.
Read more in @columjournreview.bsky.social:
The Heritage Foundation’s road map for a conservative presidency proposed sweeping media reforms. Trump carried out most of them — and he has three years left.
Read more in @columjournreview.bsky.social:
How Project 2025 kneecapped the US press.
The Heritage Foundation’s road map for a conservative presidency proposed sweeping media reforms. Trump carried out most of them—and he has three years left.
www.cjr.org
December 28, 2025 at 2:20 PM
How Project 2025 kneecapped the U.S. press.
The Heritage Foundation’s road map for a conservative presidency proposed sweeping media reforms. Trump carried out most of them — and he has three years left.
Read more in @columjournreview.bsky.social:
The Heritage Foundation’s road map for a conservative presidency proposed sweeping media reforms. Trump carried out most of them — and he has three years left.
Read more in @columjournreview.bsky.social:
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
I guess I overestimated this lame stunt's lifespan when I said a month.
It looks like the White House stopped updating its bias tracker. I can't say I've conducted a comprehensive review, but I don't see anything past early December, and the current "offender of the week" is a report from Dec. 4.
It looks like the White House stopped updating its bias tracker. I can't say I've conducted a comprehensive review, but I don't see anything past early December, and the current "offender of the week" is a report from Dec. 4.
The White House bias tracker is a reprehensible attack on the free press. It’s also so corny and lame that we doubt anyone will be paying attention to it a month from now.
Read our statement.
Read our statement.
White House media bias tracker: Another tired gimmick
Trump has the power to correct the record with documented facts but opts for stunts instead
freedom.press
December 26, 2025 at 10:19 PM
I guess I overestimated this lame stunt's lifespan when I said a month.
It looks like the White House stopped updating its bias tracker. I can't say I've conducted a comprehensive review, but I don't see anything past early December, and the current "offender of the week" is a report from Dec. 4.
It looks like the White House stopped updating its bias tracker. I can't say I've conducted a comprehensive review, but I don't see anything past early December, and the current "offender of the week" is a report from Dec. 4.
Why is ChatGPT giving zodiac vibes?
December 25, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Why is ChatGPT giving zodiac vibes?
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Stephen Miller himself descends from Russian Jews who fled pogroms, entered through Ellis Island, and rose from poverty to prosperity — immigrants once denounced as alien threats to “civilization” in the United States. nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
December 24, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Stephen Miller himself descends from Russian Jews who fled pogroms, entered through Ellis Island, and rose from poverty to prosperity — immigrants once denounced as alien threats to “civilization” in the United States. nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
📩 Read in our weekly newsletter (and subscribe):
- Covering protests is a dangerous job for journalists
- Stop Heng Guan's deportation
- The FCC’s declaration of dependence
- Trump’s BBC lawsuit is nonsense, like his others
- Plus, what we're reading...
- Covering protests is a dangerous job for journalists
- Stop Heng Guan's deportation
- The FCC’s declaration of dependence
- Trump’s BBC lawsuit is nonsense, like his others
- Plus, what we're reading...
Covering protests is a dangerous job for journalists
Stop the deportation of Heng Guan
freedom.press
December 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
📩 Read in our weekly newsletter (and subscribe):
- Covering protests is a dangerous job for journalists
- Stop Heng Guan's deportation
- The FCC’s declaration of dependence
- Trump’s BBC lawsuit is nonsense, like his others
- Plus, what we're reading...
- Covering protests is a dangerous job for journalists
- Stop Heng Guan's deportation
- The FCC’s declaration of dependence
- Trump’s BBC lawsuit is nonsense, like his others
- Plus, what we're reading...
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Bari's betrayal of CBS met with condemnation from inside:
"If the standard for airing a story becomes 'the government must agree to be interviewed,' then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state."
"If the standard for airing a story becomes 'the government must agree to be interviewed,' then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state."
Read the full email Sharyn Alfonsi sent her team about CBS pulling their segment on the Trump admin’s deportations of Venezuelan migrants
December 22, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Bari's betrayal of CBS met with condemnation from inside:
"If the standard for airing a story becomes 'the government must agree to be interviewed,' then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state."
"If the standard for airing a story becomes 'the government must agree to be interviewed,' then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state."
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
So many people are watching bootleg versions of the 60 Minutes CECOT segment, could it end up with more viewers than if it just aired normally?
Pure Streisand effect.
I feel bad for rank and file CBS staff filing Sisyphean takedown requests. Did Bari Weiss screw up their holidays on top of it?
Pure Streisand effect.
I feel bad for rank and file CBS staff filing Sisyphean takedown requests. Did Bari Weiss screw up their holidays on top of it?
iCloud, Mega, and as a torrent. Archivists have uploaded the 60 Minutes episode Bari Weiss spiked.
Archivists Posted the 60 Minutes CECOT Segment Bari Weiss Killed
iCloud, Mega, and as a torrent. Archivists have uploaded the 60 Minutes episode Bari Weiss spiked.
www.404media.co
December 23, 2025 at 1:00 AM
So many people are watching bootleg versions of the 60 Minutes CECOT segment, could it end up with more viewers than if it just aired normally?
Pure Streisand effect.
I feel bad for rank and file CBS staff filing Sisyphean takedown requests. Did Bari Weiss screw up their holidays on top of it?
Pure Streisand effect.
I feel bad for rank and file CBS staff filing Sisyphean takedown requests. Did Bari Weiss screw up their holidays on top of it?
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
A Syrian expat was dining at Sixty, a restaurant at the top of a Moscow skyscraper, when waiters asked him not to take any photos. The diner looked around to see who the VIP was. It was Bashar al-Assad. Our story on the family’s life in exile: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/w...
For Fallen Syrian Dictator Assad and Family, an Exile of Luxury and Impunity
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:33 PM
A Syrian expat was dining at Sixty, a restaurant at the top of a Moscow skyscraper, when waiters asked him not to take any photos. The diner looked around to see who the VIP was. It was Bashar al-Assad. Our story on the family’s life in exile: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/w...
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Sounds like they're trying to Bari the story.
December 21, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Sounds like they're trying to Bari the story.
Anti-Palestinian Billionaires Can Now Control What TikTok Users See
Anti-Palestinian Billionaires Can Now Control What TikTok Users See
Under the TikTok deal, its Chinese owners will sell U.S. operations to a group of pro-Israel billionaires eager to censor critical content.
theintercept.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Anti-Palestinian Billionaires Can Now Control What TikTok Users See
“We have been promoting this story on social media for days…Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of ‘gold standard’ reputation for a single week of political quiet.”
‘60 Minutes’ Pulled a Segment. A Correspondent Calls It ‘Political.’
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:21 AM
“We have been promoting this story on social media for days…Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of ‘gold standard’ reputation for a single week of political quiet.”
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Olive grove by olive grove, sheep pasture by sheep pasture, village by village — over the past two years, Israeli settlers, often with Israeli military support, have escalated their unrelenting campaign to seize land and erase its Palestinian presence. Paywall free: nytimes.com/interactive/...
December 21, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Olive grove by olive grove, sheep pasture by sheep pasture, village by village — over the past two years, Israeli settlers, often with Israeli military support, have escalated their unrelenting campaign to seize land and erase its Palestinian presence. Paywall free: nytimes.com/interactive/...
“By impairing our ability to know what's happening in our country and our world, the Trump administration is creating the conditions for unchecked corporate power, growing immiseration, and rampant environmental destruction.”
Via @projectcensored.bsky.social
Via @projectcensored.bsky.social
Trump’s War on Epistemic Institutions
Analysis of Trump’s renewed assault on universities, science, government research and the threat it poses to democracy, truth, & public knowledge.
www.projectcensored.org
December 21, 2025 at 3:46 PM
“By impairing our ability to know what's happening in our country and our world, the Trump administration is creating the conditions for unchecked corporate power, growing immiseration, and rampant environmental destruction.”
Via @projectcensored.bsky.social
Via @projectcensored.bsky.social
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
The police were naughty. The prosecutors were nice.
We’re heading into the holidays with a nice win for press freedom in Miami:
We’re heading into the holidays with a nice win for press freedom in Miami:
Florida prosecutor agrees: Photography is not a crime
A coalition of 23 press organizations spoke out against the charges — the prosecutor agreed
freedom.press
December 19, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The police were naughty. The prosecutors were nice.
We’re heading into the holidays with a nice win for press freedom in Miami:
We’re heading into the holidays with a nice win for press freedom in Miami:
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
"The Kelly and Epstein cases are Exhibits A and B in how secrecy protects predators, not their victims," @seth-stern.bsky.social and Jim DeRogatis write in @columjournreview.bsky.social.
Without journalists and their reporting, "Epstein and Kelly would likely still be preying on young girls."
Without journalists and their reporting, "Epstein and Kelly would likely still be preying on young girls."
Transparency didn't delay justice for R. Kelly or Jeffrey Epstein. Prosecutors did.
From Epstein’s inoculating friendships with the rich and powerful to lax law enforcement and a politicized Justice Department, the systems that should have protected his victims failed time and again....
www.cjr.org
December 19, 2025 at 8:40 PM
"The Kelly and Epstein cases are Exhibits A and B in how secrecy protects predators, not their victims," @seth-stern.bsky.social and Jim DeRogatis write in @columjournreview.bsky.social.
Without journalists and their reporting, "Epstein and Kelly would likely still be preying on young girls."
Without journalists and their reporting, "Epstein and Kelly would likely still be preying on young girls."
Without journalists and the information they pried loose from the government, Epstein and R. Kelly “would likely still be preying on young girls from Chicago to the US Virgin Islands,” @freedom.press’ @seth-stern.bsky.social and Jim DeRogatis write in @columjournreview.bsky.social.
Transparency didn't delay justice for R. Kelly or Jeffrey Epstein. Prosecutors did.
From Epstein’s inoculating friendships with the rich and powerful to lax law enforcement and a politicized Justice Department, the systems that should have protected his victims failed time and again....
www.cjr.org
December 19, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Without journalists and the information they pried loose from the government, Epstein and R. Kelly “would likely still be preying on young girls from Chicago to the US Virgin Islands,” @freedom.press’ @seth-stern.bsky.social and Jim DeRogatis write in @columjournreview.bsky.social.