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:
This is corruption. Plain and simple.
"The Department of Homeland Security has kept at least one beneficiary of the nine-figure ad deal a secret, records and interviews show: a Republican consulting firm with long-standing personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS."
"The Department of Homeland Security has kept at least one beneficiary of the nine-figure ad deal a secret, records and interviews show: a Republican consulting firm with long-standing personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS."
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rule...
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:43 PM
This is corruption. Plain and simple.
"The Department of Homeland Security has kept at least one beneficiary of the nine-figure ad deal a secret, records and interviews show: a Republican consulting firm with long-standing personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS."
"The Department of Homeland Security has kept at least one beneficiary of the nine-figure ad deal a secret, records and interviews show: a Republican consulting firm with long-standing personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS."
This is fantastic work and great public service journalism by the fine folks at Zeteo.
Zeteo Scoured 26,000 Epstein Docs. Here’s What We Found
You can search and review the emails here. Read what Epstein said about Trump, and his emails with Peter Thiel, Steve Bannon, Ehud Barak, and Larry Summers. From @premthakker.bsky.social and @micahflee.com:
zeteo.com/p/epstein-26...
You can search and review the emails here. Read what Epstein said about Trump, and his emails with Peter Thiel, Steve Bannon, Ehud Barak, and Larry Summers. From @premthakker.bsky.social and @micahflee.com:
zeteo.com/p/epstein-26...
Zeteo Scoured 26,000 Epstein Docs. Here’s What We Found
You can search and review the emails here. Read what Epstein said about Trump, and his emails with Peter Thiel, Steve Bannon, Ehud Barak, and Larry Summers.
zeteo.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:02 PM
This is fantastic work and great public service journalism by the fine folks at Zeteo.
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Sick of horrors they're seeing by ICE, retired Chicago journalists unleash
Letter from Chicago broadcast veterans: Federal immigration agents have traumatized us and eroded our rights
The fact that some federal immigration forces may be leaving soon is cold comfort given the damage they’ve done.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Sick of horrors they're seeing by ICE, retired Chicago journalists unleash
The four-word message the BBC should send Trump about his $1bn lawsuit: The corporation must show it will not be cowed, unlike American broadcast media, and should call the president’s bluff
Read this good article by @arusbridger.bsky.social in @prospectmagazine.co.uk.
Read this good article by @arusbridger.bsky.social in @prospectmagazine.co.uk.
The four-word message the BBC should send Trump about his $1bn lawsuit
The corporation must show it will not be cowed, unlike American broadcast media, and call the president’s bluff
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 4:56 PM
The four-word message the BBC should send Trump about his $1bn lawsuit: The corporation must show it will not be cowed, unlike American broadcast media, and should call the president’s bluff
Read this good article by @arusbridger.bsky.social in @prospectmagazine.co.uk.
Read this good article by @arusbridger.bsky.social in @prospectmagazine.co.uk.
"Even if Trump harbors no particular rancor for the BBC, he may be motivated by a desire to support his allies on the British right, including Farage, who are seeking to kneecap the organization," @joelsimonsays.bsky.social writes in @columjournreview.bsky.social.
How Donald Trump blew up the BBC.
The president set out to undermine public broadcasters in the US. Now, with help from British allies, he’s taking his strategy global.
www.cjr.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:43 PM
"Even if Trump harbors no particular rancor for the BBC, he may be motivated by a desire to support his allies on the British right, including Farage, who are seeking to kneecap the organization," @joelsimonsays.bsky.social writes in @columjournreview.bsky.social.
Horrific: An eyewitness said about 50 masked settlers were involved in the attack Saturday — those who assaulted Reuters photojournalist Raneen Sawafta "beat her up without mercy, continuing to stone her while she was on the ground and then continuing to attack everyone who was coming to her help”
Israeli settlers attack Palestinians, journalists at West Bank olive harvest, witnesses say
Israeli settlers attacked a group of Palestinian villagers, activists and journalists on Saturday who had gathered during an attempt to harvest olives near a settler outpost in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, witnesses said.
www.reuters.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Horrific: An eyewitness said about 50 masked settlers were involved in the attack Saturday — those who assaulted Reuters photojournalist Raneen Sawafta "beat her up without mercy, continuing to stone her while she was on the ground and then continuing to attack everyone who was coming to her help”
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Are you a journalist who covers the mass incarceration system in the U.S.?
Watch the video below by journalist Daniel Moritz-Rabson to know the rights, risks, and realities for journalists trying to get the story from American prisons and jails.
freedom.press/issues/cover...
Watch the video below by journalist Daniel Moritz-Rabson to know the rights, risks, and realities for journalists trying to get the story from American prisons and jails.
freedom.press/issues/cover...
November 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Are you a journalist who covers the mass incarceration system in the U.S.?
Watch the video below by journalist Daniel Moritz-Rabson to know the rights, risks, and realities for journalists trying to get the story from American prisons and jails.
freedom.press/issues/cover...
Watch the video below by journalist Daniel Moritz-Rabson to know the rights, risks, and realities for journalists trying to get the story from American prisons and jails.
freedom.press/issues/cover...
“The more westerners that are there, that are documenting what’s happening, that are just providing presence is the only thing that’s slowing down the settlers,” @infinitejaz.bsky.social says in this thoughtful interview with Chapo Trap House.
983 - The Killing Fields feat. Jasper Nathaniel (11/3/25)
Podcast Episode · Chapo Trap House · 11/04/2025 · 1h 17m
podcasts.apple.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:28 PM
“The more westerners that are there, that are documenting what’s happening, that are just providing presence is the only thing that’s slowing down the settlers,” @infinitejaz.bsky.social says in this thoughtful interview with Chapo Trap House.
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
I Tried to Deliver Aid to Gaza. Israel Kidnapped and Tortured Me: They stripped us naked, deprived us of sleep, food, and sanitary facilities, arbitrarily threatened us with guns, and physically attacked us.
Journalist and human rights lawyer Thomas Becker writes in @thenation.com.
Journalist and human rights lawyer Thomas Becker writes in @thenation.com.
I Tried to Deliver Aid to Gaza. Israel Kidnapped and Tortured Me.
They stripped us naked, deprived us of sleep, food, and sanitary facilities, arbitrarily threatened us with guns, and physically attacked us.
www.thenation.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:42 PM
I Tried to Deliver Aid to Gaza. Israel Kidnapped and Tortured Me: They stripped us naked, deprived us of sleep, food, and sanitary facilities, arbitrarily threatened us with guns, and physically attacked us.
Journalist and human rights lawyer Thomas Becker writes in @thenation.com.
Journalist and human rights lawyer Thomas Becker writes in @thenation.com.
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
"Police baked their own contempt into the data, listing people’s occupations as 'SCUM BAG,' 'TURD,' or simply 'BLACK.'"
Great FOIA work from @sreynolds.bsky.social and reporting from @dell.bsky.social
Worth noting this DHS-CPD partnership happened under Biden; no admin has had good DHS oversight.
Great FOIA work from @sreynolds.bsky.social and reporting from @dell.bsky.social
Worth noting this DHS-CPD partnership happened under Biden; no admin has had good DHS oversight.
NEW: DHS secretly obtained Chicago police data on 900 residents accused of gang ties. It was quietly deleted after intelligence officers violated rules against domestic spying.
The handoff came well after city inspectors formally announced CPD's gang data was deeply flawed and infected w/ bias.
The handoff came well after city inspectors formally announced CPD's gang data was deeply flawed and infected w/ bias.
DHS Kept Chicago Police Records for Months in Violation of Domestic Espionage Rules
The Department of Homeland Security collected data on Chicago residents accused of gang ties to test if police files could feed an FBI watchlist. Months passed before anyone noticed it wasn’t deleted.
www.wired.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:43 PM
"Police baked their own contempt into the data, listing people’s occupations as 'SCUM BAG,' 'TURD,' or simply 'BLACK.'"
Great FOIA work from @sreynolds.bsky.social and reporting from @dell.bsky.social
Worth noting this DHS-CPD partnership happened under Biden; no admin has had good DHS oversight.
Great FOIA work from @sreynolds.bsky.social and reporting from @dell.bsky.social
Worth noting this DHS-CPD partnership happened under Biden; no admin has had good DHS oversight.
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
A $3 million settlement is major victory, but it can’t undo the damage to press freedom from the illegal raid on the Marion County Record.
If other communities don’t want to learn First Amendment law the expensive way, they must train police and prosecutors to respect press rights.
If other communities don’t want to learn First Amendment law the expensive way, they must train police and prosecutors to respect press rights.
November 12, 2025 at 4:01 PM
A $3 million settlement is major victory, but it can’t undo the damage to press freedom from the illegal raid on the Marion County Record.
If other communities don’t want to learn First Amendment law the expensive way, they must train police and prosecutors to respect press rights.
If other communities don’t want to learn First Amendment law the expensive way, they must train police and prosecutors to respect press rights.
A win for freedom of the press: US government made it clear that journalists *don't* need permission to cover immigration courts
"It’s hard to blame journalists for not wanting to go out of their way to put themselves on the radar by 'coordinating' with an administration that abhors the free press"
"It’s hard to blame journalists for not wanting to go out of their way to put themselves on the radar by 'coordinating' with an administration that abhors the free press"
No, journalists don’t need permission to cover immigration courts
DOJ office rescinds unconstitutional check-in requirement following FPF letter
freedom.press
November 12, 2025 at 10:56 PM
A win for freedom of the press: US government made it clear that journalists *don't* need permission to cover immigration courts
"It’s hard to blame journalists for not wanting to go out of their way to put themselves on the radar by 'coordinating' with an administration that abhors the free press"
"It’s hard to blame journalists for not wanting to go out of their way to put themselves on the radar by 'coordinating' with an administration that abhors the free press"
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Police and judges need a refresher on the First Amendment.
Kansas’ Marion County just provided the syllabus — the expensive way.
Kansas’ Marion County just provided the syllabus — the expensive way.
Kansas county pays $3M for forgetting the First Amendment
Marion County cops got their First Amendment lesson the hard way. Police elsewhere should take note
freedom.press
November 12, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Police and judges need a refresher on the First Amendment.
Kansas’ Marion County just provided the syllabus — the expensive way.
Kansas’ Marion County just provided the syllabus — the expensive way.
Eric Meyer, Marion County Record's editor and publisher, told AP he is hoping the size of the payment is large enough to discourage similar actions against news organizations in the future.
“The goal isn’t to get the money. The money is symbolic ... The press has basically been under assault.”
“The goal isn’t to get the money. The money is symbolic ... The press has basically been under assault.”
Kansas county agrees to pay $3 million over law enforcement raid on a small-town newspaper
A rural Kansas county has agreed to pay more than $3 million and apologize over a law enforcement raid on a small-town weekly newspaper in August 2023.
apnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Eric Meyer, Marion County Record's editor and publisher, told AP he is hoping the size of the payment is large enough to discourage similar actions against news organizations in the future.
“The goal isn’t to get the money. The money is symbolic ... The press has basically been under assault.”
“The goal isn’t to get the money. The money is symbolic ... The press has basically been under assault.”
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
An extraordinary admission: "The Sheriff’s Office wishes to express its sincere regrets to Eric and Joan Meyer and Ruth and Ronald Herbel for its participation in the drafting and execution of the Marion Police Department’s search warrants on their homes and the Marion County Record" #ksleg
Breaking: Marion County agrees to pay out $3M for newspaper raid, express regret kansasreflector.com/2025/11/11/m...
Marion County agrees to pay out $3M for newspaper raid, express regret • Kansas Reflector
A handful of county-level officials who were involved in a small-town Kansas newspaper raid in 2023 will pay a cumulative $3 million to three journalists and a city councilor.
kansasreflector.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:40 PM
An extraordinary admission: "The Sheriff’s Office wishes to express its sincere regrets to Eric and Joan Meyer and Ruth and Ronald Herbel for its participation in the drafting and execution of the Marion Police Department’s search warrants on their homes and the Marion County Record" #ksleg
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
November 11, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
YouTube quietly erased more than 700 videos documenting Israeli human rights violations: "A capitulation to Trump sanctions"
Read more in this @theintercept.com story by @jonahmv.bsky.social and Nikita Mazurov:
Read more in this @theintercept.com story by @jonahmv.bsky.social and Nikita Mazurov:
YouTube Quietly Erased More Than 700 Videos Documenting Israeli Human Rights Violations
The tech giant deleted the accounts of three prominent Palestinian human rights groups — a capitulation to Trump sanctions.
theintercept.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:46 PM
YouTube quietly erased more than 700 videos documenting Israeli human rights violations: "A capitulation to Trump sanctions"
Read more in this @theintercept.com story by @jonahmv.bsky.social and Nikita Mazurov:
Read more in this @theintercept.com story by @jonahmv.bsky.social and Nikita Mazurov:
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
The Alabama Solution couldn’t have been made without incarcerated people having access to cell phones.
Think that has to do with why the Trump administration now wants to jam cell phones in prisons?
Read more from @joinjeremy.org in collaboration with @freedom.press and @theintercept.com
Think that has to do with why the Trump administration now wants to jam cell phones in prisons?
Read more from @joinjeremy.org in collaboration with @freedom.press and @theintercept.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:37 PM
The Alabama Solution couldn’t have been made without incarcerated people having access to cell phones.
Think that has to do with why the Trump administration now wants to jam cell phones in prisons?
Read more from @joinjeremy.org in collaboration with @freedom.press and @theintercept.com
Think that has to do with why the Trump administration now wants to jam cell phones in prisons?
Read more from @joinjeremy.org in collaboration with @freedom.press and @theintercept.com
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Off to go FOIA the responses to this memo because ffs what’s the consequence worse than people starving?
Breaking news: The Trump administration over the weekend ordered states to stop distributing full food assistance benefits for November to the 42 million low-income Americans risking food insecurity.
Trump administration orders states to pause paying full SNAP benefits
A memo issued by the Agriculture Dept. warns states that if they fail to comply with the new orders, they will face consequences.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Off to go FOIA the responses to this memo because ffs what’s the consequence worse than people starving?
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
Our attorney @kevinok.bsky.social is spot on: “ICE will find hiding from FOIA harder than simply pulling on their balaclavas, which tend to be frowned on in court.”
Read more about our latest FOIA lawsuit, in which we are represented by Free Information Group, here:
Read more about our latest FOIA lawsuit, in which we are represented by Free Information Group, here:
FPF takes ICE to court over dangerous secrecy
FOIA lawsuit targets ICE’s efforts to stop congressional oversight of detention facilities
freedom.press
November 7, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Our attorney @kevinok.bsky.social is spot on: “ICE will find hiding from FOIA harder than simply pulling on their balaclavas, which tend to be frowned on in court.”
Read more about our latest FOIA lawsuit, in which we are represented by Free Information Group, here:
Read more about our latest FOIA lawsuit, in which we are represented by Free Information Group, here:
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
“ICE loves to demand our papers but it seems they don’t like it as much when we demand theirs,” said Ginger Quintero-McCall, one of FPF's lawyers in our latest FOIA lawsuit against the immigration agency.
FPF takes ICE to court over dangerous secrecy
FOIA lawsuit targets ICE’s efforts to stop congressional oversight of detention facilities
freedom.press
November 7, 2025 at 8:34 PM
“ICE loves to demand our papers but it seems they don’t like it as much when we demand theirs,” said Ginger Quintero-McCall, one of FPF's lawyers in our latest FOIA lawsuit against the immigration agency.
A reminder that Rümeysa Öztürk has been facing deportation for 227 days for co-writing an op-ed the government didn’t like, and the government hasn’t stopped targeting journalists for deportation.
Read our latest newsletter (and subscribe):
Read our latest newsletter (and subscribe):
Time to enforce ICE restraining orders
Plus: FPF takes ICE to court
freedom.press
November 7, 2025 at 9:24 PM
A reminder that Rümeysa Öztürk has been facing deportation for 227 days for co-writing an op-ed the government didn’t like, and the government hasn’t stopped targeting journalists for deportation.
Read our latest newsletter (and subscribe):
Read our latest newsletter (and subscribe):
ICE is tearing apart families, placing people in secretive detention centers beyond the reach of congressional oversight, that's why @freedom.press is suing the agency to obtain emails it received Congress.
"ICE is the most lawless agency in government," FPF attorney @kevinok.bsky.social says.
"ICE is the most lawless agency in government," FPF attorney @kevinok.bsky.social says.
FPF takes ICE to court over dangerous secrecy
FOIA lawsuit targets ICE’s efforts to stop congressional oversight of detention facilities
freedom.press
November 7, 2025 at 5:47 PM
ICE is tearing apart families, placing people in secretive detention centers beyond the reach of congressional oversight, that's why @freedom.press is suing the agency to obtain emails it received Congress.
"ICE is the most lawless agency in government," FPF attorney @kevinok.bsky.social says.
"ICE is the most lawless agency in government," FPF attorney @kevinok.bsky.social says.
YouTube deleted the accounts of 3 prominent Palestinian human rights groups; >700 videos documenting Israeli human rights abuses — a capitulation to Trump sanctions.
Via @theintercept.com
Via @theintercept.com
YouTube Quietly Erased More Than 700 Videos Documenting Israeli Human Rights Violations
The tech giant deleted the accounts of three prominent Palestinian human rights groups — a capitulation to Trump sanctions.
theintercept.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:41 AM
YouTube deleted the accounts of 3 prominent Palestinian human rights groups; >700 videos documenting Israeli human rights abuses — a capitulation to Trump sanctions.
Via @theintercept.com
Via @theintercept.com
Reposted by Ahmed Zidan
This is a really hard day and I want to just add as WIRED's politics editor -- WIRED's politics reporting isn't going anywhere. We are very much here and won't stop.
Please continue to read and support us - canceling your subscription to WIRED is not standing in solidarity with our journalists.
Please continue to read and support us - canceling your subscription to WIRED is not standing in solidarity with our journalists.
The key thing to watch here: they fired a Wired political reporter. That’s the title doing the most effective, pointed work. Teen Vogue’s stuff was culturally impactful, but less focused on investigating the administration. Within the Condé portfolio, Wired and the New Yorker are the canaries.
New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.
November 6, 2025 at 6:26 PM
This is a really hard day and I want to just add as WIRED's politics editor -- WIRED's politics reporting isn't going anywhere. We are very much here and won't stop.
Please continue to read and support us - canceling your subscription to WIRED is not standing in solidarity with our journalists.
Please continue to read and support us - canceling your subscription to WIRED is not standing in solidarity with our journalists.