Ben Horne
@benjamindhorne.bsky.social
Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences @ UT-Knoxville. I study trust in media ecosystems, particularly when interventions are introduced.
Computational Social Science | Disinformation | Content Moderation | Alt-Tech
benjamindhorne.github.io
Computational Social Science | Disinformation | Content Moderation | Alt-Tech
benjamindhorne.github.io
Reposted by Ben Horne
"In any other administration, at any other time in American history, this level of corruption would be a political disaster — a scandal that could bring down the administration. For the Trump administration, it is a Tuesday."
wrote about the president’s flagrant and destructive corruption in a column that references street fighter, the simpsons, machiavelli, and a host of revolutionary-era americans (gift link)
Opinion | The White House Gold Rush Is On
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:27 PM
"In any other administration, at any other time in American history, this level of corruption would be a political disaster — a scandal that could bring down the administration. For the Trump administration, it is a Tuesday."
Reposted by Ben Horne
Getting nervous for the talk I'm about to give at a workshop about "using AI to drive impact" which features slides such as these.
November 6, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Getting nervous for the talk I'm about to give at a workshop about "using AI to drive impact" which features slides such as these.
Reposted by Ben Horne
This is a very meta question...but is is sustainable to have an economy in which one person controls the money supply by appointee the central bank, controls trade by unilaterally imposing tariffs, and can just choose to pay himself unchecked sums from the public treasury?
Breaking News: President Trump wants $230 million from the Justice Department for investigating him, people familiar with the matter say. Any settlement might ultimately be approved by senior department officials who defended him or those in his orbit. nyti.ms/4hmIi5X
October 22, 2025 at 12:08 PM
This is a very meta question...but is is sustainable to have an economy in which one person controls the money supply by appointee the central bank, controls trade by unilaterally imposing tariffs, and can just choose to pay himself unchecked sums from the public treasury?
Reposted by Ben Horne
So Corporate Media amplifies Trump's disinformation instead, and calls that being neutral.
October 21, 2025 at 12:40 PM
So Corporate Media amplifies Trump's disinformation instead, and calls that being neutral.
Reposted by Ben Horne
Basically Corporate Media refuses to show how uninformed, confused, deteriorated, hateful, corrupt, dangerous Trump is, because if they report basic facts about Trump, if they amplified his own public appearances & social media posts with proper context, they would "appear" to be anti-Trump.
October 21, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Basically Corporate Media refuses to show how uninformed, confused, deteriorated, hateful, corrupt, dangerous Trump is, because if they report basic facts about Trump, if they amplified his own public appearances & social media posts with proper context, they would "appear" to be anti-Trump.
Reposted by Ben Horne
"There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
Here is our full story that Vance is dismissing, with primary source documents showing Trump cabinet members with multiple primary-residence mortgages
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
October 12, 2025 at 5:34 PM
"There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
Reposted by Ben Horne
I actually don't really care if AI is useful/interesting/good for some things in education actually - it is besides these things clearly a big problem already that maybe need listing yet again:
October 11, 2025 at 10:20 PM
I actually don't really care if AI is useful/interesting/good for some things in education actually - it is besides these things clearly a big problem already that maybe need listing yet again:
Reposted by Ben Horne
Curious if folks are getting the impression that those around them are unaware antifa is not an org? We know this admin is dead set on pretending it is & many media are uncritically perpetuating that. Feels like we’re watching an elite disinfo campaign move in both a rapid and absurdist fashion.
you'd think a prominent news outlet like the New York Times might mention that "antifa" isn't an actual organization in a long story about antifa, but nope!
and the subhead helps props up a false claim this professor was up to something seedy as something up for debate
and the subhead helps props up a false claim this professor was up to something seedy as something up for debate
October 10, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Curious if folks are getting the impression that those around them are unaware antifa is not an org? We know this admin is dead set on pretending it is & many media are uncritically perpetuating that. Feels like we’re watching an elite disinfo campaign move in both a rapid and absurdist fashion.
Reposted by Ben Horne
Now we have no rule-of-law: Trump brazenly commits crimes while using Justice Department to prosecute his enemies on absurd political charges. Our Elite are so bad for US.
October 9, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Now we have no rule-of-law: Trump brazenly commits crimes while using Justice Department to prosecute his enemies on absurd political charges. Our Elite are so bad for US.
Reposted by Ben Horne
Media & Political Elite told US that indicting & prosecuting Trump would undermine rule-of-law, because hardcore Trump supporters would lose faith in system and Trump would escalate if he regained power: But dragging feet undermined rule-of-law for rest of US AND allowed him to retried to power.
October 9, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Media & Political Elite told US that indicting & prosecuting Trump would undermine rule-of-law, because hardcore Trump supporters would lose faith in system and Trump would escalate if he regained power: But dragging feet undermined rule-of-law for rest of US AND allowed him to retried to power.
Reposted by Ben Horne
This is the genius of the Portland protests - they make the claims of lawlessness look not just wrong, but comical
The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.
October 9, 2025 at 10:54 PM
This is the genius of the Portland protests - they make the claims of lawlessness look not just wrong, but comical
Reposted by Ben Horne
Pretty crazy that government is arguing they need the military for an active war in Portland OR, but no Corporate Media can bother to send a reporter out there to investigate the situation on the ground and show US there is no violence to justify their war against US
October 9, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Pretty crazy that government is arguing they need the military for an active war in Portland OR, but no Corporate Media can bother to send a reporter out there to investigate the situation on the ground and show US there is no violence to justify their war against US
Reposted by Ben Horne
Pretty crazy that government is arguing they need the military for an active war in Portland OR, but can provide no proof *at all* that there is any violence *at all*
October 9, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Pretty crazy that government is arguing they need the military for an active war in Portland OR, but can provide no proof *at all* that there is any violence *at all*
Reposted by Ben Horne
Obviously signing Trump’s compact is the death knell for a university, but the fact that any of them are even *considering* it exposes something deeply rotten at the heart of their leadership. It should disqualify them forever.
October 7, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Obviously signing Trump’s compact is the death knell for a university, but the fact that any of them are even *considering* it exposes something deeply rotten at the heart of their leadership. It should disqualify them forever.
Reposted by Ben Horne
Our Media & Political Elite spent the last few years announcing that Democrats were dangerous echo chambers and needed more exposure to Republican ideas. Meanwhile, Republican leadership governs US from a fantasy world, completely divorced from reality.
Trump: Portland is burning to the ground—insurrectionists all over the place. The politicians are afraid for their lives. That’s the only reason they say there’s nothing happening.
October 6, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Our Media & Political Elite spent the last few years announcing that Democrats were dangerous echo chambers and needed more exposure to Republican ideas. Meanwhile, Republican leadership governs US from a fantasy world, completely divorced from reality.
Reposted by Ben Horne
Yep that is our future
(Also: cites our research although in an ever-so-slightly wrong way).
(Also: cites our research although in an ever-so-slightly wrong way).
Workslop is AI output that looks polished but is hollow on closer read, leaving the receiver to decipher it to find any actual substance.
With companies pushing AI everywhere, we’re drowning in empty content no one bothers to read before spreading. Instead of AI boosting productivity, it kills it.
With companies pushing AI everywhere, we’re drowning in empty content no one bothers to read before spreading. Instead of AI boosting productivity, it kills it.
Workslop is oozing into every corner of America's white-collar offices — Business Insider
Office workers everywhere are awash in
stocks.apple.com
October 1, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Yep that is our future
(Also: cites our research although in an ever-so-slightly wrong way).
(Also: cites our research although in an ever-so-slightly wrong way).
Reposted by Ben Horne
I know we're desensitized, but it's important to note, again, that today's events would have led to the immediate impeachment & removal of any president from at least Truman to at least Obama. We're hundreds of miles on the interstate past Richard Nixon's high school prank-level crimes compared to 👇
Trump wraps up a speech to military leaders that represented a major escalation of his effort to weaponize the armed forces into a tool he can use to violently quash domestic dissent. Hard to imagine how anyone with a shred of dignity can keep serving after this, which of course is the point.
September 30, 2025 at 6:32 PM
I know we're desensitized, but it's important to note, again, that today's events would have led to the immediate impeachment & removal of any president from at least Truman to at least Obama. We're hundreds of miles on the interstate past Richard Nixon's high school prank-level crimes compared to 👇
Reposted by Ben Horne
Not to mention that this particular part of the crime spree will somehow make Madden an even worse product.
Corporate Media keeps reporting on the massive corruption of Trump Family as isolated events, while it should be viewed at as a single ongoing $10+ billion crime spree with semi-hostile foreign nations that weakens our national security, undermines our economy, and threatens our democracy.
FT: Several people said they expected the transaction to go through fairly easily.
“.. What regulator is going to say no to the president’s son-in-law?" 🤡
@financialtimes.com $EA
www.ft.com/content/61ce...
“.. What regulator is going to say no to the president’s son-in-law?" 🤡
@financialtimes.com $EA
www.ft.com/content/61ce...
September 30, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Not to mention that this particular part of the crime spree will somehow make Madden an even worse product.
Reposted by Ben Horne
Corporate Media keeps reporting on the massive corruption of Trump Family as isolated events, while it should be viewed at as a single ongoing $10+ billion crime spree with semi-hostile foreign nations that weakens our national security, undermines our economy, and threatens our democracy.
FT: Several people said they expected the transaction to go through fairly easily.
“.. What regulator is going to say no to the president’s son-in-law?" 🤡
@financialtimes.com $EA
www.ft.com/content/61ce...
“.. What regulator is going to say no to the president’s son-in-law?" 🤡
@financialtimes.com $EA
www.ft.com/content/61ce...
How Jared Kushner brokered the $55bn takeover of Electronic Arts
Trump’s son-in-law used deep ties in Saudi Arabia to help pull off the largest buyout
www.ft.com
September 30, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Corporate Media keeps reporting on the massive corruption of Trump Family as isolated events, while it should be viewed at as a single ongoing $10+ billion crime spree with semi-hostile foreign nations that weakens our national security, undermines our economy, and threatens our democracy.
Reposted by Ben Horne
Our tax dollars at work. AI slop is on brand.
September 30, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Our tax dollars at work. AI slop is on brand.
Reposted by Ben Horne
The right wing media machine incentives the constant production of “evidence” to fit their frames. News influencers “work” by selectively amplifying content that aligns w/ their frames/goals. The left seems to be catching on, but they need to do more than just solicit content, they need to reward it
Pritzker: "People of Illinois, we need your help. Get our your cell phones, record and narrate what you see. Put it on social media. Peacefully ask for badge numbers and identification. Speak up for your neighbors. We need to let the world know that this is happening and that we won't stand for it."
September 29, 2025 at 10:37 PM
The right wing media machine incentives the constant production of “evidence” to fit their frames. News influencers “work” by selectively amplifying content that aligns w/ their frames/goals. The left seems to be catching on, but they need to do more than just solicit content, they need to reward it
Reposted by Ben Horne
Hegseth summons hundreds of commanders to one physical location for meeting whose main likely effect is to make American military’s command-and-control exceptionally vulnerable to a decapitation strike.
There is no justification for this kind of meeting--especially given that it is likely to be more deranged remaking of DoD in the image of the draft dodger and the frat boy who are now in charge. A distraction. They undermine our preparedness daily. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Hegseth orders rare, urgent meeting of hundreds of generals, admirals
The Pentagon has summoned military officials from around the world for a gathering in Virginia. Top generals and their staffs don’t know the reason for the meeting.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 25, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Hegseth summons hundreds of commanders to one physical location for meeting whose main likely effect is to make American military’s command-and-control exceptionally vulnerable to a decapitation strike.