Same, which is why the sheer persistence of ‘natural immunity’ rhetoric - especially for something like measles, lately - is so frustrating. It illustrates how effective propaganda can be when it aligns with identity and intuition, even when it’s so demonstrably wrong. RE:
Bluesky Social
Angie Rasmussen (@angierasmussen.bsky.social)
I can't think of a single example where it's better to get the virus than the vaccine that protects against it. [contains quote post or other embe...
Yes BUT the online crowd really matters now, because it participates in finding “evidence”, making things go viral, and driving or justifying calls to act. It didn’t exist during Climategate and was minimally a driver during the DNC compared to MSM (Pizzagate was a niche thing). Now it’s immense. RE:
Bluesky Social
David Roberts (@volts.wtf)
The right-wing tactic of sifting through huge caches of emails and pulling individual words and phrases out of context in order to stoke controvers...
 View quoted note →
Being constantly validated is bad, actually. This is the unifying takeaway of several prominent pieces of online discourse from this weekend alone, including this one, but more generally speaks to something that’s been apparent for several years now. [www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...](
AI-Fueled Spiritual Delusions Are Destroying Human Relationships
Marriages and families are falling apart as people are sucked into fantasy worlds of spiritual prophecy by AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT
 ) [People Are Losing Loved Ones t...](
AI-Fueled Spiritual Delusions Are Destroying Human Relationships
Marriages and families are falling apart as people are sucked into fantasy worlds of spiritual prophecy by AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT
 )
🌱 Some weekends I don’t feel like writing or reading the news and this was one of them, so: got all the plants in the community garden plot. There was an heirloom tomato fest nearby with literal binders of options so we got some of those, then did okra, squash, eggplant, peas, & cucumber. 🍆 🍅🫛🥒 https://morel.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:5bnbgj7gwebt6hhub4pa5c7n&cid=bafkreiazqbpsxgvd6nph6fxz52ccvr3mke2rz5y744ynwfuddxlfbtqcpm https://morel.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:5bnbgj7gwebt6hhub4pa5c7n&cid=bafkreiay5fxsfxvzlbbxc7parxxnm4rbv5ufd6c3hzf6bmcpmlxupjdc3q https://morel.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:5bnbgj7gwebt6hhub4pa5c7n&cid=bafkreigg46luzw6dbwqo5hx5nub2nenvrj6xvofzb5ni2mqf23ci6r5abi
There is this, but I think it’s also pretty important to be differentiating between the incentives of the influencers and the crowd here, because flattening the response into “we just need more empathy to restore trust” is also not it. RFK JR, for example, does not just need more empathy. RE:
Bluesky Social
Donie O’Sullivan (@donie.bsky.social)
Why it’s time we change how we talk about conspiracy theories https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/03/politics/persuadable-podcast-conspiracy-theories-es...
RFK Jr will direct federal health agencies to spend your tax dollars chasing his personal pipedreams as children die in TX. RE:
Bluesky Social
The New York Times (@nytimes.com)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will direct federal health agencies to explore potential new treatments for measles as the U.S. faces its largest outbreak in...
This is exactly right. The Twitter Files was utter nonsense but Musk involvement in the spectacle guaranteed amplification, the writeups provided “evidence” for Congressmen and AGs to cite, and the accusations and villains provided a source of grievance fodder to reuse as needed. RE:
Bluesky Social
Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel.bsky.social)
For a lot of ppl the Twitter Files was either inscrutable, a nothingburger, or it happened & people moved on. But in MAGA spheres it's a Pentagon P...
🌱 Came home last night to the roses going off. 🌹 Missed the prettiest day but this one usually produces a few times each season Everything except some thyme and a rosemary survived the winter. 2nd pic has oregano taking over. 🫣 https://morel.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:5bnbgj7gwebt6hhub4pa5c7n&cid=bafkreievfam6jndsoh57dq3wq4zmkmszscjd5jactebrz5fypllxqlsf2q https://morel.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:5bnbgj7gwebt6hhub4pa5c7n&cid=bafkreih6rxtlu4wiatlxmn6lh62legxwyhthgn5oydrblcgadx6ikhjbuy
From the very first line, this is just fantastic writing. A profile of someone you’d like to forget, or had already forgotten, but it makes you keep reading… [www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...](
The Atlantic
Is Anthony Weiner Ready to Go Another Round?
The ex-congressman whose name became a punch line is running for New York’s city council. In some ways, he hasn’t changed a bit.
 ) [Is Anthony Weiner Ready to Go ...](
The Atlantic
Is Anthony Weiner Ready to Go Another Round?
The ex-congressman whose name became a punch line is running for New York’s city council. In some ways, he hasn’t changed a bit.
 )
“Considering how obsessed Trump’s top ppl are w/calling everything “communism,” it’s ironic how much this whole business seems like a page from Soviet history, w/Party commissars trying to identify ideological saboteurs in their midst.” [@radiofreetom.bsky.social](
Bluesky Social
Tom Nichols (@radiofreetom.bsky.social)
Staff writer at The Atlantic. Cat guy, democracy defender. Actor for a day on Succession, Jeopardy champ. New Englander and curmudgeon.
 ) [www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...](
The Atlantic
A Witch Hunt at the State Department
Trump’s commissars are looking for ideological enemies.
 ) RE:
Bluesky Social
Renee DiResta (@noupside.bsky.social)
🚨 Read this to see how extremists within the US State Dept have *weaponized the government*. They made a list of journos & researchers they pers...
 [A Witch Hunt at the State Depa...](
The Atlantic
A Witch Hunt at the State Department
Trump’s commissars are looking for ideological enemies.
 ) View quoted note →