Trevor Aaronson
@trevoraaronson.bsky.social
Journalist writing a book about the FBI | Peabody winner | Pulse and Into the Madness now on Audible | Signal: taa.10 | linktr.ee/trevoraaronson
Pinned
On July 4, 2022, a gunman opened fire on a parade outside Chicago, killing seven and wounding dozens. "Into the Madness," my new Audible series out today, uncovers the story behind the attack — and how conspiracy theories fueled the violence. 1/6
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
Actual history teachers: um, no
Hegseth: "As history teaches us, the only people who actually deserve peace and those who are willing to wage war to defend it. That's why pacifism is so naive and dangerous."
September 30, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Actual history teachers: um, no
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
Gotta love how Hegseth gathered senior military officials to tell them "no fatties."
September 30, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Gotta love how Hegseth gathered senior military officials to tell them "no fatties."
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
The vast percentage of roles in the modern US military are *not* in combat. Who cares if your mechanic can do 100 pushups? If your cook can run a sub-6 minute mile? If your intelligence analyst can deadlift 300 pounds?
And who cares if your Sec of Defense is great at PT if he cannot think or lead?
And who cares if your Sec of Defense is great at PT if he cannot think or lead?
Hegseth: "Basic training is being restored to what it should be -- scary, tough, and disciplined. We're empowering drill sergeants to instill healthy fear in new recruits, ensuring that future warfighters are forged ... they can put hands on recruits."
September 30, 2025 at 1:11 PM
The vast percentage of roles in the modern US military are *not* in combat. Who cares if your mechanic can do 100 pushups? If your cook can run a sub-6 minute mile? If your intelligence analyst can deadlift 300 pounds?
And who cares if your Sec of Defense is great at PT if he cannot think or lead?
And who cares if your Sec of Defense is great at PT if he cannot think or lead?
Two decades ago, the FBI used immigration as leverage to recruit an imam as a spy.
He refused, and avoided deportation.
Then the Trump administration rounded him up.
His story is a Kafkaesque saga linking the FBI’s post-9/11 informant machine to today’s immigration dragnet. 🧵
He refused, and avoided deportation.
Then the Trump administration rounded him up.
His story is a Kafkaesque saga linking the FBI’s post-9/11 informant machine to today’s immigration dragnet. 🧵
September 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Two decades ago, the FBI used immigration as leverage to recruit an imam as a spy.
He refused, and avoided deportation.
Then the Trump administration rounded him up.
His story is a Kafkaesque saga linking the FBI’s post-9/11 informant machine to today’s immigration dragnet. 🧵
He refused, and avoided deportation.
Then the Trump administration rounded him up.
His story is a Kafkaesque saga linking the FBI’s post-9/11 informant machine to today’s immigration dragnet. 🧵
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
Breaking news narratives shape our memories of major events as media cycles evolve. Learn the real stories by watching and listening to these Peabody-recognized works highlighted in our latest #PeabodyFinds newsletter.
➡️ peabodyawards.com/stories/reth...
@wnyc.org @trevoraaronson.bsky.social
➡️ peabodyawards.com/stories/reth...
@wnyc.org @trevoraaronson.bsky.social
August 2, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Breaking news narratives shape our memories of major events as media cycles evolve. Learn the real stories by watching and listening to these Peabody-recognized works highlighted in our latest #PeabodyFinds newsletter.
➡️ peabodyawards.com/stories/reth...
@wnyc.org @trevoraaronson.bsky.social
➡️ peabodyawards.com/stories/reth...
@wnyc.org @trevoraaronson.bsky.social
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
@trevoraaronson.bsky.social and his team raise important questions about public narratives and the politicization of memory once reports came out after the 2016 shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, which killed 49 people and wounded 53.
May 15, 2025 at 7:21 PM
@trevoraaronson.bsky.social and his team raise important questions about public narratives and the politicization of memory once reports came out after the 2016 shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, which killed 49 people and wounded 53.
They Criticized Musk on X. Then Their Reach Collapsed. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
They Criticized Musk on X. Then Their Reach Collapsed. (Gift Article)
Three users who disagreed with the site’s owner saw views for their posts plummet.
www.nytimes.com
April 23, 2025 at 8:17 PM
They Criticized Musk on X. Then Their Reach Collapsed. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
I'm honored to share that Pulse: The Untold Story, my Audible Original documentary series, has been nominated for a Peabody Award in the Podcast/Radio: Documentary category.
#PeabodyAwards #Peabody85 🧵
#PeabodyAwards #Peabody85 🧵
April 15, 2025 at 5:27 PM
I'm honored to share that Pulse: The Untold Story, my Audible Original documentary series, has been nominated for a Peabody Award in the Podcast/Radio: Documentary category.
#PeabodyAwards #Peabody85 🧵
#PeabodyAwards #Peabody85 🧵
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
It always boggles my mind that I, a journalist, am expressly forbidden from trading stocks, but members of Congress, with vastly greater knowledge of market-moving news, are allowed to profit by front-running markets, and so may profit by in essence stealing from the public they represent.
April 10, 2025 at 10:30 AM
It always boggles my mind that I, a journalist, am expressly forbidden from trading stocks, but members of Congress, with vastly greater knowledge of market-moving news, are allowed to profit by front-running markets, and so may profit by in essence stealing from the public they represent.
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
One man just wiped out $10 trillion in wealth, is destroying centuries-old legal protections, and seems determined to unravel humanity’s greatest public health achievement. In 3 months.
I don’t know how we get out of this. But if we do, one person can never have that kind of power again.
I don’t know how we get out of this. But if we do, one person can never have that kind of power again.
April 7, 2025 at 3:31 AM
One man just wiped out $10 trillion in wealth, is destroying centuries-old legal protections, and seems determined to unravel humanity’s greatest public health achievement. In 3 months.
I don’t know how we get out of this. But if we do, one person can never have that kind of power again.
I don’t know how we get out of this. But if we do, one person can never have that kind of power again.
A trade war is brewing, markets are tumbling, and economists are warning of a recession — yet this is the lead story on Fox News' website right now.
April 4, 2025 at 3:41 PM
A trade war is brewing, markets are tumbling, and economists are warning of a recession — yet this is the lead story on Fox News' website right now.
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
The Department of Government Efficiency, for example
April 1, 2025 at 2:48 PM
The Department of Government Efficiency, for example
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
The government’s statement is a flex, not a confession of error. The important elements of the flex are these:
1. We send enemies to brutal foreign labor camps.
2. We decide who enemies are.
3. We may decide you are an enemy based on a secret informant, or our view of your tattoos.
/1
1. We send enemies to brutal foreign labor camps.
2. We decide who enemies are.
3. We may decide you are an enemy based on a secret informant, or our view of your tattoos.
/1
EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration has acknowledged that it grabbed a Maryland father with protected status and mistakenly deported him to El Salvador—but claims that courts are powerless to order his return, @nickmiroff.bsky.social reports: theatln.tc/Bot5mE4O
An ‘Administrative Error’ Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison
The Trump administration says it mistakenly deported an immigrant with protected status but that courts are powerless to order his return.
theatln.tc
April 1, 2025 at 3:47 PM
The government’s statement is a flex, not a confession of error. The important elements of the flex are these:
1. We send enemies to brutal foreign labor camps.
2. We decide who enemies are.
3. We may decide you are an enemy based on a secret informant, or our view of your tattoos.
/1
1. We send enemies to brutal foreign labor camps.
2. We decide who enemies are.
3. We may decide you are an enemy based on a secret informant, or our view of your tattoos.
/1
Between this guy's pardon and Carlos Watson's commutation, the message is clear: In America, the bigger your financial crime, the safer you are.
President Trump says he pardoned Trevor Milton, the CEO of now-defunct hydrogen and electric truck firm Nikola, in part because he believed Milton was persecuted for supporting Trump’s political ambitions.
In October 2022, Milton was convicted on federal charges of securities fraud and wire fraud.
In October 2022, Milton was convicted on federal charges of securities fraud and wire fraud.
Trump pardons Trevor Milton, who was accused of fraud related to bankrupt truck maker Nikola | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump says he pardoned Trevor Milton, the CEO of now-defunct hydrogen and electric truck firm Nikola, in part because he believed Milton was persecuted for supporting Trump’s politica...
cnn.it
March 28, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Between this guy's pardon and Carlos Watson's commutation, the message is clear: In America, the bigger your financial crime, the safer you are.
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
A very old Soviet joke, from an especially dark time:
Foxes are fleeing the USSR in droves.
Q: Why are you running away?
Fox: The Soviets passed a new law that they’re going to arrest all camels.
Q: But you’re foxes!
Fox: Yeah, why don’t *you* try proving to the NKVD that you’re not a camel.
Foxes are fleeing the USSR in droves.
Q: Why are you running away?
Fox: The Soviets passed a new law that they’re going to arrest all camels.
Q: But you’re foxes!
Fox: Yeah, why don’t *you* try proving to the NKVD that you’re not a camel.
If you accept that non-citizens have no right to due process, you are accepting that citizens have no right to due process. All the government has to do is claim that you are not a citizen; without due process you have no chance to prove the contrary.
March 27, 2025 at 10:21 PM
A very old Soviet joke, from an especially dark time:
Foxes are fleeing the USSR in droves.
Q: Why are you running away?
Fox: The Soviets passed a new law that they’re going to arrest all camels.
Q: But you’re foxes!
Fox: Yeah, why don’t *you* try proving to the NKVD that you’re not a camel.
Foxes are fleeing the USSR in droves.
Q: Why are you running away?
Fox: The Soviets passed a new law that they’re going to arrest all camels.
Q: But you’re foxes!
Fox: Yeah, why don’t *you* try proving to the NKVD that you’re not a camel.
Think a Venezuelan gang is invading the U.S.?
My story today in @theintercept.com is about how that panic really started — not with a crime wave, but with an alleged slumlord in Colorado and a PR firm in Florida. (1/7) 👇
My story today in @theintercept.com is about how that panic really started — not with a crime wave, but with an alleged slumlord in Colorado and a PR firm in Florida. (1/7) 👇
March 27, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Think a Venezuelan gang is invading the U.S.?
My story today in @theintercept.com is about how that panic really started — not with a crime wave, but with an alleged slumlord in Colorado and a PR firm in Florida. (1/7) 👇
My story today in @theintercept.com is about how that panic really started — not with a crime wave, but with an alleged slumlord in Colorado and a PR firm in Florida. (1/7) 👇
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
Six employees said the scope and scale of the list is unprecedented and highly unusual.
(My first time working with the wonderful @anniewaldman.bsky.social !)
(My first time working with the wonderful @anniewaldman.bsky.social !)
NEW: Vaccines. Fluoride. Autism.
Communications involving these and 20 other “controversial, high profile, or sensitive” topics will get extra scrutiny under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
By @anniewaldman.bsky.social and @lisalsong.bsky.social
Communications involving these and 20 other “controversial, high profile, or sensitive” topics will get extra scrutiny under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
By @anniewaldman.bsky.social and @lisalsong.bsky.social
National Cancer Institute Employees Can’t Publish Information on These Topics Without Special Approval
Vaccines. Fluoride. Autism. Communications involving these and 20 other “controversial, high profile, or sensitive” topics will get extra scrutiny under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
propub.li
March 10, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Six employees said the scope and scale of the list is unprecedented and highly unusual.
(My first time working with the wonderful @anniewaldman.bsky.social !)
(My first time working with the wonderful @anniewaldman.bsky.social !)
C'mon, at least make the metaphors a little less obvious. bit.ly/3F9QLe1
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft explodes midflight for a second time | CNN
SpaceX pulled off the rocket booster catch maneuver during its eighth test flight but the Starship spacecraft exploded over the Caribbean, according to reports from residents.
bit.ly
March 7, 2025 at 2:10 AM
C'mon, at least make the metaphors a little less obvious. bit.ly/3F9QLe1
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
Yeah. This is the other point that's so important. We *need* decentralized systems across the board to protect democracy. We need people to have the power to control their online experiences, rather than oligarchs.
Mike Masnick is exactly correct. And it’s not just that tech journalism has to be about democracy these days, but building tech products has to be, too.
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w...
/cc @mmasnick.bsky.social
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w...
/cc @mmasnick.bsky.social
Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not)
While political reporters are still doing their view-from-nowhere “Democrats say this, Republicans say that” dance, tech and legal journalists have been watching an unfortunately recogn…
www.techdirt.com
March 5, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Yeah. This is the other point that's so important. We *need* decentralized systems across the board to protect democracy. We need people to have the power to control their online experiences, rather than oligarchs.
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
Being able to drop a quarterly US GDP prediction by 5.1% from +2.3% to -2.8% in a single week is one of the most impressive economic developments in the history of the world.
March 4, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Being able to drop a quarterly US GDP prediction by 5.1% from +2.3% to -2.8% in a single week is one of the most impressive economic developments in the history of the world.
On July 4, 2022, a gunman opened fire on a parade outside Chicago, killing seven and wounding dozens. "Into the Madness," my new Audible series out today, uncovers the story behind the attack — and how conspiracy theories fueled the violence. 1/6
February 20, 2025 at 6:33 PM
On July 4, 2022, a gunman opened fire on a parade outside Chicago, killing seven and wounding dozens. "Into the Madness," my new Audible series out today, uncovers the story behind the attack — and how conspiracy theories fueled the violence. 1/6
Reposted by Trevor Aaronson
February 13, 2025 at 8:00 PM