Benjamin Powers
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benjaminpowers.bsky.social
Benjamin Powers
@benjaminpowers.bsky.social
Comms/strategy at 150Bond. Prior: Tech Reporter at The Messenger covering AI, tech and government. Previously Grid, CoinDesk
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
Thread here - incredible dummy Brendan Carr has lost all respect from the telecom world and it’s just plain to see
At #FCC open meeting press conference, @kelcee.bsky.social asks a great question about how Carr can say he’s empowering “local” TV stations when it’s giant conglomerates like Nexstar & Sinclair. Carr says those giants are local. It’s a joke. Nexstar is a local station like CVS is a local pharmacy.
September 30, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
Likely going to have something about this tomorrow or Tuesday, so if you fit the below (or wind power companies) I'd love to hear from you, and also please sign up for my newsletter Gravity Is Gone, it is free

www.gravityisgone.com
Hey if anyone at any of the growing number of fed agencies involved with the assault on wind power (DOI, EPA but also, uh, HHS (?), Defense (???), etc) has any info on what's going on with all that I'd be very curious to hear, signal is davelevitan.26 and you can remain anonymous
September 14, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
Members of Congress were also there, but were not arrested. One reason why? It's literally illegal for DHS to bar any member of Congress from entering an immigration detention facility for the purposes of conducting oversight.
May 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
This guy, Dom Lucre, shared child sexual abuse material on Twitter, got banned for it, and then Musk reinstated him. Absolutely wild to see him being treated like a real journalist.
Dom Lucre asks Leavitt if the administration might investigate Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Leavitt says she finds the question "refreshing"
April 30, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
"Two members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency were given accounts on classified networks that hold highly guarded details about America's nuclear weapons, two sources tell NPR." www.npr.org/2025/04/28/n...
DOGE employees gain accounts on classified networks holding nuclear secrets
Two members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency were given accounts on classified networks that hold highly guarded details about America's nuclear weapons, two sources tell NPR.
www.npr.org
April 29, 2025 at 2:00 AM
At the age where I am asking WHY the neighbors are having an outdoor party with live music on a Sunday. Yesterday was absolutely the day for this come on.
December 16, 2024 at 3:47 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
We invite filmmakers & artists of all skill levels to celebrate Public Domain Day on January 24, 2024, by creating & uploading short films using materials from the public domain!

📆 Deadline: Jan 17, 2025
💰 First prize: $1,500
👉 Details: blog.archive.org/2024/12/16/2...
December 16, 2024 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
Lol. One week after the Economist published this chart showing the dude can't stop tweeting in the middle of the night, Elon removes time stamps from tweets.
December 5, 2024 at 1:24 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
Traffic from Bluesky's @bsky.app to @theguardian.com is already 2x that of Threads

In its first week on the platform & with 300k followers, Bluesky traffic from @theguardian.com posts is already higher than it was from TwX in any week in 2024, where the account had 10.8m followers, but🧵
November 27, 2024 at 6:30 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
We want Bluesky to be a great home for journalists, publishers, and creators. Unlike other platforms, we don't de-promote your links. Post all the links you want — Bluesky is a lobby to the open web.
Traffic from Bluesky's @bsky.app to @theguardian.com is already 2x that of Threads

In its first week on the platform & with 300k followers, Bluesky traffic from @theguardian.com posts is already higher than it was from TwX in any week in 2024, where the account had 10.8m followers, but🧵
November 27, 2024 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
Phew, we’re safe.
November 20, 2024 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
Your periodic reminder:

Ordinary apps on your phone can collect spy-level information on millions of people's physical movements. And there are virtually no U.S. laws to stop them from selling or sharing that data with anyone.

www.wired.com/story/phone-...
November 20, 2024 at 12:35 PM
Half his brain was eaten by a worm.
npr.org NPR @npr.org · Nov 15
RFK Jr. wants to tackle chronic disease. Despite controversial views on vaccines, his focus on healthy food and taking on special interests may find broad support — and face political headwinds.
RFK Jr. wants to 'Make America Healthy Again.' He could face a lot of pushback
RFK Jr. wants to tackle chronic disease. Despite controversial views on vaccines, his focus on healthy food and taking on special interests may find broad support — and face political headwinds.
www.npr.org
November 15, 2024 at 9:00 PM
November 15, 2024 at 8:59 PM
Wow lots of people flocking here. Going to try to be more active!
November 15, 2024 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
"The idea of a "vaccine skeptic" in 2024 is as nonsensical as the idea of a germ theory skeptic. A molecular biology skeptic. A heliocentricity skeptic. A spherical triangle."

Very good from @albertburneko.bsky.social
November 15, 2024 at 4:40 PM
Wow brave man.
Mayor Adams is on The View, where he won't criticize Trump's appointment of RFK Jr. to lead HHS.

"The executives will nominate and bring those who they believe will move their vision forward," he says.

He also says: "I believe we should have fluoride in the water."
November 15, 2024 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
Big new @propublica.org story: After SolarWinds, Biden asked Microsoft to turbocharge agencies' cyber defenses --- so Microsoft offered a free year of its pricey top-tier service, knowing that doing so would guarantee future business and lock out competitors.
www.propublica.org/article/micr...
November 15, 2024 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
it's important for everyone just now joining bluesky to know that this is a website where we have a live ranking list of the most blocked users clearsky.app
October 17, 2024 at 3:40 PM
Lots of companies claim they can detect AI generated content. But without benchmarks and standards, those claims don't mean a lot without additional context. My latest: ‘It’s an Arms Race’: How We’re Already Losing The Battle to Stop Harmful AI Fakes themessenger.com/tech/artific...
'It’s an Arms Race': How We’re Already Losing The Battle to Stop Harmful AI Fakes
A slew of startups are developing detection tools for AI misinformation, but the entire AI industry is fast changing.
themessenger.com
December 31, 2023 at 5:13 PM
From Biden's Executive Order to Pope Francis' white puffer jacket (except not really) and billions in funding flying around, here is my latest: The 13 moments that defined AI in 2023. themessenger.com/tech/artific...
The 13 Moments that Defined AI in 2023
AI dominated the tech industry this year — attracting fans, billions of dollars in investment and plenty of controversy.
themessenger.com
December 27, 2023 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Powers
There was an avalanche of Bad Ice News this year. I asked some polar experts what the research is telling us about the ice sheets and their devastating potential.

"It is hard to stay optimistic."
This Was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year for Polar Ice
New research about the polar ice sheets give us new insight on when the ice melt and what we can do to save it.
themessenger.com
December 26, 2023 at 4:23 PM
SCOOP: Democrats will introduce an act tomorrow that would require companies creating artificial intelligence models to disclose details about how they develop that technology. My latest: themessenger.com/tech/artific...
Democrats Propose New Bill To Make AI More Transparent (Exclusive)
Two Democrats plan to introduce a bill in the House of Representatives that hopes to shine a light on how AI is created.
themessenger.com
December 21, 2023 at 6:51 PM
Privacy is a barrier that is slowly chipped away at example TKTKTKT
The private security screening company Clear is rolling out facial recognition technology at its expedited airport checkpoints in 2024, replacing the company’s iris-scanning and fingerprint-checking measures.
Clear wants to scan your face at airports. Privacy experts are worried.
Clear’s move into facial recognition technology at its expedited airport checkpoints speaks to a broader exchange of privacy for convenience
www.washingtonpost.com
December 20, 2023 at 6:14 PM