Anna Beers
@beeeeeers.bsky.social
Postdoc @unituebingen.bsky.social, on the job market, studying social media, influencers, far-right politics, conspiracy science, disinformation, and monetization. six e's.
Pinned
Anna Beers
@beeeeeers.bsky.social
· May 19
Anti-Transgender Disinformation in the Age of Algorithmic Search Summaries
Recently Google introduced a feature in its search engine that algorithmically creates summaries of one's search results. Though it could be viewed as a useful tool, researcher Anna Beers argues this ...
just-tech.ssrc.org
Hey all, here's a post at @ssrc.org about how anti-trans talking points are getting wrapped into Google's AI search results.
AI search not only cites anti-trans disinfo, but sanitizes it, making practices like conversion therapy sound legitimate and safe.
AI search not only cites anti-trans disinfo, but sanitizes it, making practices like conversion therapy sound legitimate and safe.
Reposted by Anna Beers
The latest Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies is out, and it's a doozy: a special issue on "Dynamics of Transphobic Content and Disinformation".
With topics including Youtube, Mumsnet, LGB Alliance, Chinese TERFs, and transvestigators, this is an vital read! bulletin.appliedtransstudies.org
With topics including Youtube, Mumsnet, LGB Alliance, Chinese TERFs, and transvestigators, this is an vital read! bulletin.appliedtransstudies.org
November 13, 2025 at 11:42 AM
The latest Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies is out, and it's a doozy: a special issue on "Dynamics of Transphobic Content and Disinformation".
With topics including Youtube, Mumsnet, LGB Alliance, Chinese TERFs, and transvestigators, this is an vital read! bulletin.appliedtransstudies.org
With topics including Youtube, Mumsnet, LGB Alliance, Chinese TERFs, and transvestigators, this is an vital read! bulletin.appliedtransstudies.org
I recently had to research trans medications for a manuscript on health information-seeking, and it really drove home how much cis people use every form of trans healthcare -- seemingly more and more!
Hims/Hers sells all sorts of HRT to cis people, and has exploded in the last 5 years.
Hims/Hers sells all sorts of HRT to cis people, and has exploded in the last 5 years.
for those puzzling out why an administration hostile to HRT for transition is super pro HRT for menopause, their claims that menopause ruins women and marriages seems pretty key
No, menopause does not kill women or cause divorce.
November 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM
I recently had to research trans medications for a manuscript on health information-seeking, and it really drove home how much cis people use every form of trans healthcare -- seemingly more and more!
Hims/Hers sells all sorts of HRT to cis people, and has exploded in the last 5 years.
Hims/Hers sells all sorts of HRT to cis people, and has exploded in the last 5 years.
Loads of evidence that Grok is purposefully biased towards white supremacist ideas, but it's important to note that you can get answers like these out of most chatbots.
Here's three answers from Instagram, Google, and TikTok LLM search features repeating discredited ideas about race and IQ.
Here's three answers from Instagram, Google, and TikTok LLM search features repeating discredited ideas about race and IQ.
![A TikTok AI Search answer. In the middle are three videos. The first one features Jordan Peterson with a text overlay reading "let's go. Look at people who only have an IQ of 145." It has 27.7k likes. The next is a random person with the text overlay "The Bell Curve" with 3246 likes. The last is mostly cut off, and only has 19 lies. The summary reads:
Average IQ by Race
Summarized from sources [lists icon for Wikipedia and others].
Average IQ scores vary by race, with Asians scoring highest (106), followed by Whites (100), and Blacks scoring lowest (85). These differences are influenced by a complex mix of genetic, environmental,
and socioeconomic factors.
Key Findings
Global Averages:
East Asians: ~106
Whites: ~100
Blacks: ~85 (U.S.), ~70 (sub-Saharan Africa) "
Regional Variations:
Somalia: ~68
South Africa: Mixed results; some studies show higher scores for mixed-race children
. Historical Context:
IQ thresholds for disability classification have been racially biased (e.g., 70 for Whites, 80 for)
[The rest is cutoff.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tsuexertapdaedikorpy27ck/bafkreig5gzucsjejzrbwomfls5qrlnhpdh5vxzsehuasr7x44rwor4mqlu@jpeg)
November 11, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Loads of evidence that Grok is purposefully biased towards white supremacist ideas, but it's important to note that you can get answers like these out of most chatbots.
Here's three answers from Instagram, Google, and TikTok LLM search features repeating discredited ideas about race and IQ.
Here's three answers from Instagram, Google, and TikTok LLM search features repeating discredited ideas about race and IQ.
Reposted by Anna Beers
“Retrieving Trans and Gender Diverse Literature” our protocol paper on developing TGD search hedges for Ovid MEDLINE and APA PsycInfo is up now in @jmirpub.bsky.social Protocols
Been a labor of love for a couple years now! Check out protocol below 👇🏻
preprints.jmir.org/preprint/760...
Been a labor of love for a couple years now! Check out protocol below 👇🏻
preprints.jmir.org/preprint/760...
Retrieving Trans and Gender Diverse literature: A protocol for the development and validation of two search hedges in Ovid MEDLINE and APA PsycInfo
Background: Searching for Two-Spirit, Transgender, and Non-binary (2STGNB) articles within large academic databases can be a challenging process, partly due to the dynamic and diverse...
preprints.jmir.org
November 10, 2025 at 1:22 PM
“Retrieving Trans and Gender Diverse Literature” our protocol paper on developing TGD search hedges for Ovid MEDLINE and APA PsycInfo is up now in @jmirpub.bsky.social Protocols
Been a labor of love for a couple years now! Check out protocol below 👇🏻
preprints.jmir.org/preprint/760...
Been a labor of love for a couple years now! Check out protocol below 👇🏻
preprints.jmir.org/preprint/760...
Reposted by Anna Beers
📣 I am hiring a postdoc! aial.ie/hiring/postd...
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks
October 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
📣 I am hiring a postdoc! aial.ie/hiring/postd...
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks
Reposted by Anna Beers
I have watched as so-called "compromise" positions on transgender people's rights have failed over and over--in statehouses, the Biden White House, and in liberal rhetoric. There is no middle ground acceptable to the politicians, activists, and billionaires obsessed with trans people and our lives.
November 1, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I have watched as so-called "compromise" positions on transgender people's rights have failed over and over--in statehouses, the Biden White House, and in liberal rhetoric. There is no middle ground acceptable to the politicians, activists, and billionaires obsessed with trans people and our lives.
Reposted by Anna Beers
I’m glad Bray is getting support of colleagues and I don’t begrudge anyone leaving, I’d do all I can to keep my family safe.
I do want to emphasize tho that doxing & death threats have become normal for minoritized activists who get little support from colleagues as they stay & continue to fight.
I do want to emphasize tho that doxing & death threats have become normal for minoritized activists who get little support from colleagues as they stay & continue to fight.
History faculty at Columbia & Barnard decrying the harassment of @mark-bray.bsky.social: "This is the first case in recent memory of a historian who has fled the country after receiving death threats on account of the history that they teach."
October 15, 2025 at 11:24 AM
I’m glad Bray is getting support of colleagues and I don’t begrudge anyone leaving, I’d do all I can to keep my family safe.
I do want to emphasize tho that doxing & death threats have become normal for minoritized activists who get little support from colleagues as they stay & continue to fight.
I do want to emphasize tho that doxing & death threats have become normal for minoritized activists who get little support from colleagues as they stay & continue to fight.
Something that keeps popping up in my research on search+LLMs is how they mix-and-match quotes from completely unrelated papers.
Here's a response on detransition that pulls a limitations section from an unrelated paper on childhood traumatic experiences to claim that current research has flaws.
Here's a response on detransition that pulls a limitations section from an unrelated paper on childhood traumatic experiences to claim that current research has flaws.
September 5, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Something that keeps popping up in my research on search+LLMs is how they mix-and-match quotes from completely unrelated papers.
Here's a response on detransition that pulls a limitations section from an unrelated paper on childhood traumatic experiences to claim that current research has flaws.
Here's a response on detransition that pulls a limitations section from an unrelated paper on childhood traumatic experiences to claim that current research has flaws.
Reposted by Anna Beers
remember there’s always a lucrative position for the seeming critic of the tech industry who doesn’t actually challenge its power and foundational ideas.
the prodigal tech bro is one example. there’s a whole industry of academics and journalists who serve in this role too.
the prodigal tech bro is one example. there’s a whole industry of academics and journalists who serve in this role too.
The Prodigal Techbro
Prodigal tech bro stories skip straight from the past, when they were part of something that—surprise!—turned out to be bad, to the present, where they are now a moral authority on how to do good…
conversationalist.org
August 9, 2025 at 7:40 PM
remember there’s always a lucrative position for the seeming critic of the tech industry who doesn’t actually challenge its power and foundational ideas.
the prodigal tech bro is one example. there’s a whole industry of academics and journalists who serve in this role too.
the prodigal tech bro is one example. there’s a whole industry of academics and journalists who serve in this role too.
Reposted by Anna Beers
Increasingly I think a major function of “masculinity” IS its crisis — a vehicle for the dominant & dominating group to justify focusing their social attentions primarily on themselves
August 2, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Increasingly I think a major function of “masculinity” IS its crisis — a vehicle for the dominant & dominating group to justify focusing their social attentions primarily on themselves
Reposted by Anna Beers
One fascinating thing about the most self-serious newspaper in America with its staff of the winning journalistic meritocrats is that it routinely, institutionally publishes completely made-up bullshit speculation about pure abstractions, based on zero reporting, written as if it were plain facts
![Screenshot of text:
[Highlighting begins] But the shooting may put concerns over gun violence back on voters’ minds, and may lead some to further scrutinize Mr. Mamdani, [Highlighting ends] who has relatively limited experience in government and has not handled a high-profile crisis while in office.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:lyspo2bgxpznqtug5ir2q33g/bafkreihpibcyvb46urauouq4b3futsmsttqayuzk5op6jxvvoeyc7p7mha@jpeg)
July 29, 2025 at 7:23 PM
One fascinating thing about the most self-serious newspaper in America with its staff of the winning journalistic meritocrats is that it routinely, institutionally publishes completely made-up bullshit speculation about pure abstractions, based on zero reporting, written as if it were plain facts
Reposted by Anna Beers
ProPublica spoke to about 150 people who had lived in homeless encampments when cities cleared them out in “sweeps.”
We distributed notecards so people could tell us about the toll in their own words.
➡️ This is what they wrote: projects.propublica.org/impact-of-ho...
We distributed notecards so people could tell us about the toll in their own words.
➡️ This is what they wrote: projects.propublica.org/impact-of-ho...
July 26, 2025 at 3:15 AM
ProPublica spoke to about 150 people who had lived in homeless encampments when cities cleared them out in “sweeps.”
We distributed notecards so people could tell us about the toll in their own words.
➡️ This is what they wrote: projects.propublica.org/impact-of-ho...
We distributed notecards so people could tell us about the toll in their own words.
➡️ This is what they wrote: projects.propublica.org/impact-of-ho...
Just finished this awesome essay from @citap.bsky.social postdoc Jaylexia Clark on @ssrc.org.
On "racialized emotions" in gig work like Uber and DoorDash, and how these apps surveil and punish Black gig workers' personal and emotional expression.
On "racialized emotions" in gig work like Uber and DoorDash, and how these apps surveil and punish Black gig workers' personal and emotional expression.
July 9, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Just finished this awesome essay from @citap.bsky.social postdoc Jaylexia Clark on @ssrc.org.
On "racialized emotions" in gig work like Uber and DoorDash, and how these apps surveil and punish Black gig workers' personal and emotional expression.
On "racialized emotions" in gig work like Uber and DoorDash, and how these apps surveil and punish Black gig workers' personal and emotional expression.
Reposted by Anna Beers
the parent of a trans kid in missouri begged the new york times not to use an audio clip in The Protocol podcast of a verbal confrontation with professional transphobe Jamie Reed out of fear of safety for her kid and NYT management refused her request.
Always curious to see who gets to be an anonymous source!
July 4, 2025 at 11:41 PM
the parent of a trans kid in missouri begged the new york times not to use an audio clip in The Protocol podcast of a verbal confrontation with professional transphobe Jamie Reed out of fear of safety for her kid and NYT management refused her request.
Reposted by Anna Beers
I don't think NYT should know peace until they divulge the full chain of decision making that led to the laundering of Nazi propaganda against a leading anti-fascist politician the same day fascism was codified in Congress.
July 4, 2025 at 2:51 AM
I don't think NYT should know peace until they divulge the full chain of decision making that led to the laundering of Nazi propaganda against a leading anti-fascist politician the same day fascism was codified in Congress.
Reposted by Anna Beers
Really excited to draw attention to this dissertation by Melinda McClure Haughey (@melm.cc). Melinda's research explored collaborative infrastructure for supporting the "sensemaking" work of journalists working on high-stakes, fast-paced & often data-driven beats. www.melm.cc/research/dis...
Melinda's Dissertation: Truth-Seeking as Collaborative Work
In moments of uncertainty, journalists help the public make sense. This research shows how that work depends on expert networks and systems that too often fail when they need to move fast and what it ...
www.melm.cc
June 30, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Really excited to draw attention to this dissertation by Melinda McClure Haughey (@melm.cc). Melinda's research explored collaborative infrastructure for supporting the "sensemaking" work of journalists working on high-stakes, fast-paced & often data-driven beats. www.melm.cc/research/dis...
Reposted by Anna Beers
New paper hot off the press www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance
1/
We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance
1/
Computer-vision research powers surveillance technology - Nature
An analysis of research papers and citing patents indicates the extensive ties between computer-vision research and surveillance.
www.nature.com
June 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
New paper hot off the press www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance
1/
We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance
1/
Reposted by Anna Beers
How the New York Times Bet Against Transgender Rights and Won
This framing is beneath contempt. The Christian right and MAGA launched an unprecedented assault on the civil rights of a tiny minority and successfully weaponized the pseudoliberal establishment - led by the NYT - to provide it with a medical controversy pretext that doesn’t actually exist.
June 19, 2025 at 1:05 PM
How the New York Times Bet Against Transgender Rights and Won
Reposted by Anna Beers
it's so cool there's a direct line from Jesse Singal to Justice Thomas's brainworms
Justice Thomas, concurring, casts doubt on medical standards: "Recent revelations suggest that WPATH, long considered a standard bearer in treating pediatric gender dysphoria... bases its guidance on insufficient evidence and allows politics to influence its medical conclusions."
June 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM
it's so cool there's a direct line from Jesse Singal to Justice Thomas's brainworms
I'm at #ica25! Doing a high-density session on Saturday morning about how Google launders anti-trans orgs via their AI summaries.
HMU if you want to chat about trans/media things, or just going to war with the far-right in general.
HMU if you want to chat about trans/media things, or just going to war with the far-right in general.
June 13, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I'm at #ica25! Doing a high-density session on Saturday morning about how Google launders anti-trans orgs via their AI summaries.
HMU if you want to chat about trans/media things, or just going to war with the far-right in general.
HMU if you want to chat about trans/media things, or just going to war with the far-right in general.
Reposted by Anna Beers
The health of trans young people has already been negatively impacted by all this. NYT stories have been repeatedly cited in lawsuits. They underpin laws banning treatments for gender dysphoria by creating an excuse for lawmakers and judges to ignore the opinions of major medical organizations.
June 4, 2025 at 12:23 PM
The health of trans young people has already been negatively impacted by all this. NYT stories have been repeatedly cited in lawsuits. They underpin laws banning treatments for gender dysphoria by creating an excuse for lawmakers and judges to ignore the opinions of major medical organizations.
Reposted by Anna Beers
The number of times a week now I have to correct the wild shit people are saying about Harvard, which apparently is a magical perfect land full of unicorns and honey, not a giant financial entity that was until a few days ago holding photos of enslaved people against the will of their descendants
May 30, 2025 at 9:50 AM
The number of times a week now I have to correct the wild shit people are saying about Harvard, which apparently is a magical perfect land full of unicorns and honey, not a giant financial entity that was until a few days ago holding photos of enslaved people against the will of their descendants
If you go on Google Trends right now, and look at the "Rising" related queries for any low-volume search, you'll probably find kids looking up their homework questions.
..and why not, because Google will answer them lol.
..and why not, because Google will answer them lol.
May 22, 2025 at 3:43 PM
If you go on Google Trends right now, and look at the "Rising" related queries for any low-volume search, you'll probably find kids looking up their homework questions.
..and why not, because Google will answer them lol.
..and why not, because Google will answer them lol.
Reposted by Anna Beers
something i've been thinking about is how lots of AI commentary, especially as it pertains to measuring "capabilities", borrows from a sort of neoliberal skills discourse, where skills are commensurable and measurable insofar as they have market value
the "AI is 5x less accurate at summarizing" paper falls into the same pitfall of comparing human performance to technical systems that i find really irksome. maybe i should write a post about this, but i don't see the value in giving engineers an easy metric to optimize for. it's a losing argument.
May 20, 2025 at 3:52 PM
something i've been thinking about is how lots of AI commentary, especially as it pertains to measuring "capabilities", borrows from a sort of neoliberal skills discourse, where skills are commensurable and measurable insofar as they have market value