Ryan Williams
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activationlayer.org
Ryan Williams
@activationlayer.org
270 followers 1.2K following 380 posts
Creating the Global Disinformation Policy Database. https://disinfo-policy.org
I have a Pug.
Democracy, technology, and collective sensemaking.
PhD student @ the University of Texas.
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activationlayer.org
@reckless.bsky.social next time you get one of these guys on decoder can you pask them how they can possibly justify doing a photo op with a murderer?

is there anything they *wouldn’t* do to gain an edge? Can they articulate it? Can “democratic ai” be developed in collab with a dismember-er?
Photo of Sam Altman in Riyadh.
May 15, 2025 at 6:27 PM
activationlayer.org
Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple in Kyoto. Very chill spot. A fun walk from the arashiyama bamboo grove.
A smiling statue on a hillside of Green grass
April 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM
activationlayer.org
The name Marco Rubio will forever be synonymous with cowardice. A repellant, loathsome figure.
an embarrassing portrait of a complete failure (Rubio) sitting, wordlessly, as he betrays every principle or value he may have once held.
February 28, 2025 at 6:40 PM
activationlayer.org
Yuri is a feral madman who only loves the sound of shattering
December 5, 2024 at 11:25 PM
activationlayer.org
perchance to dream?
Sweet baby pug struggles to stay awake. Her tongue won’t fit inside her mouth because she is too tired
November 26, 2024 at 4:04 PM
activationlayer.org
Really looking forward to sharing the Global Disinformation Policy Database explorer soon. Let me know what kinds of filtering/visualization you would find useful.

Already included:
- analysis of definitions used in policy
- instrument type breakdowns
- filtering by liabilities created
This graph shows the growth and distribution of different types of policy responses to disinformation over time, from 2000 to the present. The visualization breaks down policies into four categories: Legislative, Executive, Judicial, and Other, represented by stacked bars. There's a clear upward trend beginning around 2015, with a significant spike in policy activity between 2018-2021, particularly in Legislative and Executive actions. The peak appears to be around 2021, with roughly 50 total policies enacted that year, followed by a notable decline in more recent years. The dominance of legislative and executive measures over judicial and other approaches suggests governments have primarily addressed disinformation through lawmaking and executive orders rather than court decisions.
November 25, 2024 at 7:19 PM
activationlayer.org
Good progress on blueskyteams.fun network page. Next up: some network stats and better styling of the network itself. I may eventually make this a public-facing page.
some good progress on teams network page. Next up some network stats and better styling of the network itself. may eventually make this part public facing. "A zoomed-in view of the Network Oracle dashboard focusing on inner circle connections. The visualization shows a central purple node labeled 'Ryan Williams' connected to eight surrounding nodes in purple and green colors. Node labels include names like 'Jared Short', 'Paul Strynd', and 'Jessica Van Neer'. The graph is displayed on a dark background with clean, minimalist styling and shows 10 Team Members and 18 Connections in the statistics area."
November 22, 2024 at 12:11 AM
activationlayer.org
ahem...
image.png RW This appears to be a tweet from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announcing an investigation into advertising companies. The tweet indicates that he's investigating a potential conspiracy among advertising companies to boycott certain social media platforms. He criticizes the Department of Justice under the Biden administration for allegedly not enforcing antitrust laws against "perceived political allies" and states that trade organizations and companies cannot coordinate to block advertising revenue from entities they wish to undermine. The tweet includes a card from the Texas Attorney General's official account linking to a press release on the state government website. The tweet was posted at 3:36 PM on November 21, 2024 and had received 1.7M views at the time of the screenshot.
November 21, 2024 at 9:17 PM
activationlayer.org
new team assignment page is live:
a team assignment interface with a dark theme. The main content shows: Left side: A card labeled "MAUVE" with "#0001" A circular profile photo Name "Ryan Williams" with "@activationlayer.org" Two buttons: "Share Assignment" and "View Team" Right side: "TEAM MANIFESTO" section with text: "We are the keepers of the subtle. The ones who see beauty in the spaces between. Join us in our pursuit of the ineffable." FAQ-style sections explaining: What this means What to do now How the team wins A question about trusting "team Sage" "MEET YOUR TEAM" section showing: A team member "molly-a" (@molly-a.bsky.social) Their status: "Smiling at thoughts of house chicken." At the bottom: "an experiment from @ryan-w.bsky.social" The overall design is minimalist and elegant, using purple/mauve tones against a dark background.
November 21, 2024 at 9:06 PM
activationlayer.org
A couple days into this experiment and:

7 Members of #teamMauve
2 Members of #teamSage

a local network of ~4200 users.

blueskyteams.fun
different view of the Team Network visualization, filtered to show "Team Members Only" (as indicated in the dropdown). The metrics have changed significantly from the previous view: 9 Total Nodes 15 Total Connections 9 Team Members 15 Intra-team Connections The visualization now shows a simpler network with what appears to be just the core team members (represented by small circles in purple and mint green colors) connected to each other. The circles appear to be roughly the same size, suggesting similar levels of connectivity within the team. There's a red arrow in the image pointing to the "15 Intra-team Connections" metric, which seems to be highlighting this particular statistic. The interface maintains the same dark theme and includes the same note about API rate limits at the bottom. This view appears to focus on internal team relationships rather than the broader network shown in the previous image that included external connections. a network visualization dashboard titled "Team Network" that shows connections between team members. The interface includes: At the top: A title "Team Network" A subtitle "Visualizing the connections between team members" Two dropdown menus: "Full Network" and "Both Teams" Key metrics displayed: 9 Team Members 4,142 Other Users 16 Internal Connections 4,606 External Connections The main visualization shows a network graph with nodes of varying sizes connected by lines/edges. The nodes appear as circular elements with different diameters, suggesting different levels of connectivity or importance in the network. The connections between nodes are shown as lines linking the various elements. At the bottom, there's a note indicating that the "Network visualization is based on a sample of team members due to API rate limits." The visualization uses a dark theme with light gray/white elements on a black background, creating a professional and modern appearance.
November 21, 2024 at 2:17 AM
activationlayer.org
She normally doesn’t look like this. Pugs can straight-up frown.
A pug frowns as she sits underneath a green cat tree
November 20, 2024 at 10:28 PM
activationlayer.org
So far, #teamMauve is crushing #teamSage
Bar graph showing 'Posts per Day by Team' over the last 7 days (Nov 13-19). Two teams are represented: Team Mauve and Team Sage, with Mauve showing significantly more activity. Team Mauve's posts fluctuate across the week, with peaks of about 70 posts on Nov 18 and 40 posts on Nov 17, while maintaining roughly 15-25 posts on other days. Team Sage shows minimal activity with only one visible bar of about 3 posts on Nov 18. The graph includes a note that statistics are based on a sample of team members and scaled to represent the full team.
November 20, 2024 at 8:54 PM
activationlayer.org
"They appear to be comfortable companions sharing the same resting space."
The image shows a pug and a cat lounging together on what appears to be a brown leather couch. The pug has a typical fawn-colored coat and is partially covered by a colorful blanket with blue, orange, and navy patterns. The cat is sleeping on a light blue textured pillow or cushion. They appear to be comfortable companions sharing the same resting space.
November 19, 2024 at 6:53 PM
activationlayer.org
Outtake
A photo of a pug in a tent from below. The pug, naturally, has her tongue out. The pug is standing on someone, unaware that she is making it difficult to breathe. It is near sunset and you can see trees thru the branches of the tent
November 16, 2024 at 6:38 PM
activationlayer.org
Hey. The squirrels are vaping now.
A squirrel stands next to a vape. Looking out in golden morning light. Why does it vape? Who gave it to the squirrel?
November 16, 2024 at 2:44 PM
activationlayer.org
I've been posting a lot of pug content here lately. But let's not neglect my darling genius baby boi, Yuri. #cat
a cat framed in a window. the sun is setting behind him. he is glorious. he is looking straight up and is attempting to eat the pull cord that's used to raise and lower the blinds. A cat is silhouetted against a bright window, looking upward through venetian blinds. The window appears to be on a higher floor with a scenic view of trees and landscape visible through a balcony railing. The sunlight creates a warm, backlit glow around the cat's profile.
November 14, 2024 at 8:05 PM
activationlayer.org
This was Fern's first time camping. She approves!

This was her face when she caught me reading the news instead of unplugging.
A selfie of a pug in a tent as the sun sets. the pug does have its pink little tongue out. the pug does not know what an election is or that we lost.
November 10, 2024 at 7:49 PM
activationlayer.org
Without downloading any new pics, where are you mentally today?
November 5, 2024 at 2:35 PM
activationlayer.org
“Do it for Fern”
A sweet baby pug looks into the camera and her whole vibe is desperately worried. The caption: “please vote”
October 30, 2024 at 2:08 AM
activationlayer.org
Fern is a pretty damn good social media manager tho.
Gorgeous baby pug looking up with a kind of saintly vibe
October 30, 2024 at 1:34 AM
activationlayer.org
A cat and a pug photographed nuzzling from a low angle
October 27, 2024 at 1:39 PM
activationlayer.org
“Listen kid. No- wait look at me: listen kid.”
October 27, 2024 at 12:01 AM
activationlayer.org
next up is a network viz and a snowball expansion slider.
October 22, 2024 at 3:03 PM
activationlayer.org
anyway, here is a Tuesday pug.
a pug asleep on the arm of an orange couch. The pug has a droopy face so you know it is that good sleep.
October 22, 2024 at 1:44 PM
activationlayer.org
nice! took about 15 minutes to get a toy implementation up and running. no auth required.

NEXT UP: develop a respectful request processor so I can do some network analysis without being a bad citizen.
a web app with a list of bluesky users
October 21, 2024 at 8:47 PM