Tori Smith Ekstrand
@toriekstrand.bsky.social
Professor, Media Law, UNC-Chapel Hill, School of Journalism and Media. Former AP exec. Speaking for myself & not UNC. "Take up space. Pitch it faster. Run harder. Put another plate on the bar. And NEVER tone it down." - Ilona Maher. #academicfreedom
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Attention chumps: If you, despite all our dire warnings, decided to put your newsletter on Substack, the untrustworthy asses who run the company just did what we all knew they would, and made it impossible to take your subscribers with you if you want to leave. support.substack.com/hc/en-us/art...
Can my subscribers pay on the Substack iOS app?
Substack now includes external links in the iOS app that take readers to the web to complete their purchase. Subscriptions made this way are treated like standard web purchases—creators receive the...
support.substack.com
August 18, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Attention chumps: If you, despite all our dire warnings, decided to put your newsletter on Substack, the untrustworthy asses who run the company just did what we all knew they would, and made it impossible to take your subscribers with you if you want to leave. support.substack.com/hc/en-us/art...
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Other states sending troops to the capital include Ohio, West Virginia and South Carolina.
Read the full story:
Read the full story:
White House says National Guard could carry weapons in DC as Mississippi, Tennessee pledge to send troops
Mississippi pledged to send about 200 Guard troops. About 160 Tennessee Guard troops will depart this week. They could carry weapons in the city.
www.stripes.com
August 18, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Other states sending troops to the capital include Ohio, West Virginia and South Carolina.
Read the full story:
Read the full story:
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
BREAKING: Three more states are sending National Guard troops to the nation's capital, with the White House stating they could be armed.
Mississippi pledged to send about 200 Guard troops. About 160 Tennessee Guard troops will depart this week. Louisiana has promised to send 135 troops.
#Flashes
Mississippi pledged to send about 200 Guard troops. About 160 Tennessee Guard troops will depart this week. Louisiana has promised to send 135 troops.
#Flashes
August 18, 2025 at 10:10 PM
BREAKING: Three more states are sending National Guard troops to the nation's capital, with the White House stating they could be armed.
Mississippi pledged to send about 200 Guard troops. About 160 Tennessee Guard troops will depart this week. Louisiana has promised to send 135 troops.
#Flashes
Mississippi pledged to send about 200 Guard troops. About 160 Tennessee Guard troops will depart this week. Louisiana has promised to send 135 troops.
#Flashes
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
A massive attack on several humanities units (Arabic Studies, Judaic Studies, Holocaust Studies, Classics, Religion, German & Scandinavian, Russian/East European/Eurasian Studies) *and* tenure now unfolding at the University of Oregon (a blue state!). Closure of units and faculty layoffs threatened.
August 18, 2025 at 6:42 PM
A massive attack on several humanities units (Arabic Studies, Judaic Studies, Holocaust Studies, Classics, Religion, German & Scandinavian, Russian/East European/Eurasian Studies) *and* tenure now unfolding at the University of Oregon (a blue state!). Closure of units and faculty layoffs threatened.
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Insurance is one of those things you just can't bullshit or fake, as authoritarians try to do with many other things via control of information.
Losses are losses, and when they're bigger than expected, the firms go broke
Losses are losses, and when they're bigger than expected, the firms go broke
August 9, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Insurance is one of those things you just can't bullshit or fake, as authoritarians try to do with many other things via control of information.
Losses are losses, and when they're bigger than expected, the firms go broke
Losses are losses, and when they're bigger than expected, the firms go broke
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Job growth is decelerating as huge amounts of policy uncertainty from POTUS reduces businesses’ willingness to invest:
+128K/mo over most-recent 12 months
+81K/mo over most-recent 6 months
+35K/mo over most-recent 3 months
+73K this past month
+128K/mo over most-recent 12 months
+81K/mo over most-recent 6 months
+35K/mo over most-recent 3 months
+73K this past month
August 1, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Job growth is decelerating as huge amounts of policy uncertainty from POTUS reduces businesses’ willingness to invest:
+128K/mo over most-recent 12 months
+81K/mo over most-recent 6 months
+35K/mo over most-recent 3 months
+73K this past month
+128K/mo over most-recent 12 months
+81K/mo over most-recent 6 months
+35K/mo over most-recent 3 months
+73K this past month
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
When you strip away humanity
July 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
When you strip away humanity
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
This is a good read
1. @abenewman.bsky.social and I have a new piece in @wired.com on the enshittification of American power. It repurposes arguments from our book, Underground Empire amzn.to/3PbIyqX , and Cory Doctorow's idea of enshittification to explain how the Trump administration is trying to remake the world.
The Enshittification of American Power
First Google and Facebook, then the world. Under Trump 2.0, US statecraft is starting to mimic the worst tendencies of Big Tech.
www.wired.com
July 15, 2025 at 2:42 PM
This is a good read
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
The US DOD announces OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI have won DOD contracts, each with a $200M ceiling, aimed at enabling agentic AI workflows and more (Deborah Sophia/Reuters)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
July 14, 2025 at 5:10 PM
The US DOD announces OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI have won DOD contracts, each with a $200M ceiling, aimed at enabling agentic AI workflows and more (Deborah Sophia/Reuters)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Starting July 25, Bluesky will require users in the UK to scan their face, upload an ID or verify their identity with a bankcard.
I realize that platforms feel they have no choice but to comply with the government surveillance schemes, but shocking nonetheless.
I realize that platforms feel they have no choice but to comply with the government surveillance schemes, but shocking nonetheless.
Bluesky is rolling out age verification in the UK
Bluesky users in the UK can verify their age using their face, ID, or payment card.
www.theverge.com
July 10, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Starting July 25, Bluesky will require users in the UK to scan their face, upload an ID or verify their identity with a bankcard.
I realize that platforms feel they have no choice but to comply with the government surveillance schemes, but shocking nonetheless.
I realize that platforms feel they have no choice but to comply with the government surveillance schemes, but shocking nonetheless.
We are still so heartbroken. May their memories inspire us to change.
Minnesota Lawmaker and Her Husband Remembered for Their Shared Legacy
www.nytimes.com
June 28, 2025 at 9:32 PM
We are still so heartbroken. May their memories inspire us to change.
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Zohran Mamdani’s win has inspired over 3400 young people to raise their hands to run for office just since Tuesday. It’s now @runforsomething.net’s biggest candidate recruitment moment since the election.
A new generation of leaders is here.
A new generation of leaders is here.
June 28, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Zohran Mamdani’s win has inspired over 3400 young people to raise their hands to run for office just since Tuesday. It’s now @runforsomething.net’s biggest candidate recruitment moment since the election.
A new generation of leaders is here.
A new generation of leaders is here.
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
People in wheelchairs are getting arrested right now in the Russell Senate Office Building in DC. They showed up to tell Congress not to cut their Medicaid, because they cant afford health care without it. If you look closely you can see the zip ties on their hands. #WeWontGetOverLosingMedicaid
June 25, 2025 at 6:26 PM
People in wheelchairs are getting arrested right now in the Russell Senate Office Building in DC. They showed up to tell Congress not to cut their Medicaid, because they cant afford health care without it. If you look closely you can see the zip ties on their hands. #WeWontGetOverLosingMedicaid
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
A lot of people will say "it's obviously fake" but that's missing the bigger problem. We're now having to expend more and more mental effort to ensure the media we consume is real. The ultimate effect is that everyone will distrust everything they don't want to believe. It only helps authoritarians.
I've been exploring how easy it is for bad actors to use VEO 3 text to video generation to spread disinformation in a crisis. With the Iran war in the news, these kinds of AI videos could potentially fuel a crisis if they were to go viral at the wrong moment.
June 24, 2025 at 7:13 PM
A lot of people will say "it's obviously fake" but that's missing the bigger problem. We're now having to expend more and more mental effort to ensure the media we consume is real. The ultimate effect is that everyone will distrust everything they don't want to believe. It only helps authoritarians.
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
The refusal to publicly offer evidence to justify the *use of military force* is a key step toward autocratization because it rejects the notion that this government owes the people it rules an explanation of its actions.
Jeffries: "Not a scintilla of evidence to date has been presented that I have seen to justify the notion that there was an imminent threat to the United States of America. If the administration has evidence to the contrary, come up to present it."
June 24, 2025 at 2:35 PM
The refusal to publicly offer evidence to justify the *use of military force* is a key step toward autocratization because it rejects the notion that this government owes the people it rules an explanation of its actions.
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Based on crowd-sourced records of No Kings Day event turnout, and extrapolating for the cities where we don't have data yet, it looks like roughly 4-6 million people protested Trump across the U.S. yesterday. That's nearly 2% of the U.S. pop!
Mobilized anti-Trump resistance is exceeding 2017 levels
Mobilized anti-Trump resistance is exceeding 2017 levels
"No Kings Day" protests turn out millions
Our unofficial estimate is that around 4 million people attended a protest event yesterday. Anti-Trump resistance is outpacing 2017.
www.gelliottmorris.com
June 15, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Based on crowd-sourced records of No Kings Day event turnout, and extrapolating for the cities where we don't have data yet, it looks like roughly 4-6 million people protested Trump across the U.S. yesterday. That's nearly 2% of the U.S. pop!
Mobilized anti-Trump resistance is exceeding 2017 levels
Mobilized anti-Trump resistance is exceeding 2017 levels
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
I did my best to compile as many protest safety notes as possible into a one page foldout zine! Coincidentally…it seems the file has breached containment…like it’s available for anyone to print or hand out 👀⚖️
toonyart.com/s/PSZine.pdf
toonyart.com/s/PSZine.pdf
June 12, 2025 at 11:59 PM
I did my best to compile as many protest safety notes as possible into a one page foldout zine! Coincidentally…it seems the file has breached containment…like it’s available for anyone to print or hand out 👀⚖️
toonyart.com/s/PSZine.pdf
toonyart.com/s/PSZine.pdf
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
We've just updated the @wired.com guide to protecting your privacy while attending protests with the latest best practices. @agreenberg.bsky.social and @lhn.bsky.social report: www.wired.com/story/how-to...
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com
June 12, 2025 at 7:31 PM
We've just updated the @wired.com guide to protecting your privacy while attending protests with the latest best practices. @agreenberg.bsky.social and @lhn.bsky.social report: www.wired.com/story/how-to...
Asking questions is what I have been doing my entire career.
June 12, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Asking questions is what I have been doing my entire career.
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Statement from Sen. Alex Padilla's office:
June 12, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Statement from Sen. Alex Padilla's office:
Never hurts to repost.
Every protest I’ve attended in SC has been peaceful. Cops were kind and removed disrupters. This rhetoric out of DC is meant to instill fear and keep people away. Show up. Know your rights. Save democracy.
#MomSky
#MomSky
June 12, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Never hurts to repost.
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Sitting US Senator Alex Padilla forcibly wrestled to the ground and arrested by the FBI for attempting to ask a question of DHS secretary Kristin Noem.
June 12, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Sitting US Senator Alex Padilla forcibly wrestled to the ground and arrested by the FBI for attempting to ask a question of DHS secretary Kristin Noem.
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
We’ve leapt over a lot of red lines in the last week. But one I find most worrying is Trump/MAGA/ICE have ceased even pretending to claim some criminal pretext for cracking down on protected speech. It’s just straight up “if you criticize us, you’re getting throttled/arrested/disappeared.”
June 11, 2025 at 1:28 AM
We’ve leapt over a lot of red lines in the last week. But one I find most worrying is Trump/MAGA/ICE have ceased even pretending to claim some criminal pretext for cracking down on protected speech. It’s just straight up “if you criticize us, you’re getting throttled/arrested/disappeared.”
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
Amazing how hard it is to write: “Police shoot at journalists.”
June 11, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Amazing how hard it is to write: “Police shoot at journalists.”
Reposted by Tori Smith Ekstrand
"If you saw all this in any other country — soldiers sent to crush dissent, union leaders arrested, opposition politicians threatened — it would be clear that autocracy had arrived."
June 10, 2025 at 12:52 AM
"If you saw all this in any other country — soldiers sent to crush dissent, union leaders arrested, opposition politicians threatened — it would be clear that autocracy had arrived."