In 2019 Carole Cadwalladr gave a TED talk that broke from their tradition of glowing techno-optimism. She told the world about the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal. She was met with a lot of anger, and she got sued.
Now she's back with a talk about the "digital coup" in the US. I'll just quote a lot of the transcript. The whole transcript is here:
I have a lot of emotions about coming here. And TED, also, I suspect, is feeling them too. But what actually I finally realized yesterday is that the denial and the confusion that I've been feeling is maybe what you're feeling, too.
I felt powerless for a really long time. So if that's what you're feeling, I get it. But we have to act now. My alarm system is ringing again. There are things that we can do. In my case, I survived. And you will too. But it's by learning how to fight back. This is my guide, and it has to start with naming it. It's a coup.
I know you probably don't want to hear that, and especially here, but we can’t fight it if we can’t see it. And we can’t see it if we don’t name it.
The Russian and American presidents are now speaking the same words. They are telling the same lies. We are watching the collapse of the international order in real time. And this is just the start.
Coups are like concrete. When they stop moving, they set. It is already later than we think.
[Photo of Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk et al looking uncomfortable at Trump's inauguation.]
This image, some of you in this room might know these people. I call it tech bros in hostage situations. It's a message to you. This is Putin's playbook. He allows a business elite to make untold riches in exchange for absolute loyalty.
Some people are calling this oligarchy, but it's actually bigger than that. These are global platforms. It's broligarchy.
There is an alignment of interests that runs through Silicon Valley to what is now a coming autocracy. It's a type of power that the world has never seen before.
Follow the data. It's always the data. It's the crack cocaine of Silicon Valley. You know, the first thing that Elon Musk did was to send his cyber troops into the US Treasury to get access to the data. That is not a coincidence. It's a hack. That data is now feeding AIs that are choosing who to sack and who to replace - Sorry -- eliminate fraud and waste.
When we broke the Cambridge Analytica story about the harvesting of 87 million people’s Facebook data, people freaked out, rightly. That is chicken feed compared to this. But it is the blueprint. It's always the data. Which is why it's so important that you start thinking about your private life. The broligarchy doesn't want you to have one.
This is the old headquarters of the East German secret police. They kept detailed files on almost one in three of their citizens. That is nothing compared to what Google has on every single one of us, and hundreds of other companies.
The entire business model of Silicon Valley is surveillance. It harvests our data in order to sell us stuff. We are already living inside the architecture of totalitarianism. It may not have been deliberate, but we now have to start acting as if we live in East Germany, and Instagram is the Stasi.
Politics is downstream from culture. So I actually learned this from somebody who I think of as one of the great philosophers of our age, Steve Bannon. He actually stole it from somebody else. But it's not politicians who have the power. He knows that. It's why he's a podcast bro, these days. But culture now is just what's next on your phone. And that's AI. Culture is AI now.
And forget the killer robots. If you want to know what the first great AI apocalypse is, we're already living it. It's total information collapse. And if you take one thing only away from this talk, it's politics is technology now. And that's why everybody in this room, you can't look away. It's why your CEOs have been taken captive and are paraded on TV like hostages. But you, you have a choice.
So Trump, he calls the press the enemies of the people. And he probably doesn't even know that he's quoting Stalin. So what happened to me is a playbook, and it's now coming for all sorts of other people. It was actually a friend of this guy who came after me. This is Nigel Farage. He's a Brexit funder.
[Carole Cadwalladr was sued for libel by Arron Banks, co-founder of the "Lean EU" Brexit campaign. She had said he lied about "his relationship with the Russian government". The courts agreed with this, but still say she owes damages and £1m in costs.]
I'm not going to go super into the details. But 19 press-freedom organizations called the lawsuit against me a SLAPP. That means it’s a Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation. A really long-winded way of saying it's using law as a weapon to shut people up. Not just journalists, but other public people, too. And it works.
I just wanted to tell you about one aspect of the litigation, which I found terrifying. And that was the data harvesting. There's this quote you may know, it's Cardinal Richelieu:
"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him."
In my case, the first forensic searches of my phone and laptop yielded 40,000 pieces of data. It was my messages, my emails, my voice memos, my personal life. And the whole thing about this: the attack which came for me, was really personal. Because the thing about this litigation is only one part of the playbook. It was also this sort of massive online campaign of abuse, which is just day after day, after day, after day. Because my most unforgivable crime was reporting while female. It was a digital witch burning.
And I believe that this man came after me personally, not at "The Guardian" and not TED, it was because I looked like the weakest link. But he was wrong.
30,000 people rose up to support me. They contributed almost a million pounds to a legal defense fund. Because they saw a bully trying to crush me, and they would not let it stand.
You know, Trump is suing news organizations, and every day they're settling. These are big corporates with corporate interests. Not everybody can stand up to power, but there are people who are doing it, and we can support them. We have to have each other’s backs right now. Because we are the cavalry now.
You know, this is really important to me, but I spoke to a UK libel lawyer before this talk. I want to say that there is an awful lot of facts set down in a High Court judgment, and we're actually taking the case now to the European Court of Human Rights. We're testing the UK on its laws around freedom of expression.
So look after facts. You'll miss them when they've gone.
This is Wayback Machine. Give them money, they're trying to preserve the internet as it's being deleted day by day. History is our best chance of getting out of this.
You know, you probably know this phrase, "Do not obey in advance." That's Tim Snyder, who's a historian of authoritarianism. We now are in techno-authoritarianism. We have to learn how to digitally disobey. That can be as simple as the dropdown box. Don't accept the cookies, don't give your real name, download Signal, the encrypted messaging app.
[...]
Don't experiment on children. You know, social mores change. We don't send children down coal mines anymore. And in years to come, allowing your child to be data-harvested from birth will be considered child abuse. You didn't know, but now you do.
Privacy is power. And we have more of it than we think.
[...]
There is a beautiful internet of the future, free from corporate capture and data tracking. We can build it. It is going to take a movement.
I am late to the party, but finally, I am reading my first book by N. K. Jemisin, a SFF short story collection: "How Long 'til Black Future Month". The first story, "The Ones Who Stay and Fight" starts of with a seemingly utopia, but there is also a dystopia build in it. There are 22 short stories in this book.
The petrochemical industry looked at the global reaction to the damage caused by CFCs and leaded petrol, the entire planet moving to ban them and vowed 'never again'. Not to avoid releasing knowingly harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, but making sure they threw enough mud into the water and money to politicians to ensure that any effort to save the world or improve public health would be a matter for debate, fought along party lines. The only thing they care about is the number going up.
Bart Simpson and Martin Prince are running for class presidet. Martin warns class there are to many parts of dangerous asbestos in the air. Bart opposes him ...
if used on Joe Rogan does it work like a vaccine to cure him?
If coming from RFK Jr, then it's more likely to be something that would cause Rogain to hallucinate (more) or just blast his system like a shot of bleach
So I quit Duolingo around a year ago, and haven't really tried to learn any language since then But I would like to continue learning at some point. What apps do you use? It should be a somewhat gamified app, and it would be nice if it didn't cost too much
Sie hat die ganze Hörnchenmanie bei mir angezettelt, als sie immer wieder auf unserem Balkon auftauchte 🐿️😍. Vor einem Jahr hatten wir gerade das erste Futterhaus angebracht und sie fand es toll.
Happy (and a little proud) that my new website based on @getkirby is online as of this afternoon. Its main sections are - Portfolio - Albums (Galleries / Projects) - Singles (~daily posts) - Gear - About / Contact
Will migrate more content from my previous site during the coming weeks. 🙇♂️
@kev Hi Kev! Thanks so much for reaching out. I had actually found your article and made some progress based on it. But then I found that depending on what page elements in my Kirby Theme (ZOON) I'd use, I would, or would not, get php errors that were beyond what I was able to fix. The theme developer has indicated he'd consider RSS for a future update, so I'll just wait a bit. I wouldn't want to burden you going through a 3rd person's code. Thanks again!👊
"President Donald Trump on Sunday called for 'maximum fines and punishment' against CBS and its corporate parent, Paramount, over Sunday night’s '60 Minutes' broadcast."
Hab mich in Details verloren aber es ist das erste Mal seit Monaten dass ich es schaffe wieder richtig digital zu arbeiten und es gibt mir grad ganz viel 🥹
Flagging this up, maybe someone does or knows someone who does: I am in search of a tool steel maker who can replicate some parts. Specifically Leatherman has stopped making the Style PS, and I have a tendency to burn through the little screwdrivers / nail file on them something fierce.
My stashed supply of them is getting low, and replacements are well into "hey I bet I can find someone to make me a pile of parts" territory. So here's my ask: if you are a steel tool worker, or know someone who does and are willing to take a look at an existing part and replicate it as close as possible, possibly with some modifications, hit me up.
Boosts welcome, I'm not sure where to search for this one!
Ich brauche bitte mal Schwarmwissen: Seit dem Umstieg von iOS auf #grapheneos vermisse ich die Funktion, mit langem Druck auf die Leertaste den Cursor bewegen zu können. Mit HeliBoard kann ich den Cursor horizontal und vertikal bewegen, aber nicht so präzise. Kennt ihr eine Alternative?
Ich bin übrigens dagegen den Umgang mit Jens #Spahn zu normalisieren.
Jens Spahn ist ein rechtskippender Brandstifter, der immer wieder bewusst und kalkuliert rhetorisch die Axt an die Grundpfeiler unser offenen Demokratie legt.
Ich brauch Eure Kreativität. Ich hab drei Löcher in der Decke. Die sauber zuzuspachteln ist mir zu viel Arbeit; ich will da einfach etwas draufpappen. In das größte kommt Ceiling Cat rein, aber dann bleiben noch zwei, nämlich die hier. Ich dachte mir zuerst, ich tu da einen 3D-gedruckten Wasserspeier oder eine "Konsole" drauf (thx @ckeen !), aber vielleicht geht da noch was lustigeres? Ein kleines Hexenhäuschen, so in Richtung Booknooks? Fällt Euch was ein? Kennt Ihr da STLs?
@mwfc Dafür ist wahrscheinlich nicht genug Platz. Ich denke, ich bau da einfach etwas davor; so ein kleines umgedrehtes Hexenhaus. Vielleicht find ich noch Warhammer-Spielies, die mir beim Anmalen helfen...
@cyb3rrunn3r Der kann vielleicht schimpfen! 🙉😁 Wahrscheinlich ist der Schlafast wieder nich bequem genug. Und im Baum nebenan ist besetzt… irgenwas ist ja immer. 😬😆
Vor dem wahrscheinlich wieder üppigen Abendessen noch eine gemütliche Runde an der Weser. Dabei wurden die drei universellen Gesetze des Laufens wieder bestätigt:
1) Der Regen setzt nach der Hälfte der Strecke ein.
2) Irgendwann werden die Klamotten nicht mehr nasser.
I've been coping with a lot recently so decided to treat myself to a little something, The Spectrum , a 2024 console based on the original 48K Sinclair ZX Spectrum from 23rd April 1982, rubber keys and all. Like 2018's Spectrum Next this machine updated the firmware to a modern standard of presentation, and include modern ports for power and connectivity (1xUSB-C, 5xUSB-A).
Reader, I'm delighted with it. I've already had a bash at Horace Goes Skiing and it all came flooding back...how bad I was at Horace Goes Skiing.
Not only that but seller included a 16Gb USB that held hundreds of Mb of other speccy games - possibly all of them easily sourced from fan sites and less reputable channels - which you can access and play through the console's main menu. That's a catalogue of over 9000 titles NOT including the eye-openingly fantastic Homebrew games made by fans in the decades since. See you in 2201? 😁 LOAD""
Haben wir eigentlich brauchbare ZFS/TrueNAS spezis hier unter uns?
Ich bin grad dabei ein künftiges nas zu planen... basis wird so ein xeon basierter server mit 4x sata. da rein sollen 2x 500gig sata ssd fürs booten (mirrored) und tendentiell dann 4x 12tb nas platte.
Damit das passt kommt ein 8port hba dazu.. Es bleiben also 4 bis 6 freie sata ports.... macht es sinn da dann nochmal so 960gig SSDs ranzuhängen als cache/metadata/whatever?
Alles davon soll am ende nativ mit zfs laufen .. großartige spielereien drumherum will ich am system nicht mehr machen eigentlich .. nurnoch on top. ;)
Today marks a milestone for me: it took 898 days on the Fediverse to get a first attack against me. That's something for a woman on the internet (like, it took a really long time on here).
I was just called "absolutely despicable" for pointing out the incongruity between Carole Cadwalladr's brilliant TED Talk against the Broligarchy... & the fact she is using Bluesky as a social media platform & publishing on Substack.
I stand by my words AND I didn't mean any offense against CC. She's amazing
@FediWouter thanks and no worries! It was quite the eloquent, multi-paragraph attack that had some valid points.
Nothing compared to the time a MAGA-friendly actor unleashed thousands of trolls on me on Twitter 1.0 (RIP) when I dared write about a sexist incident at the Cannes Film Festival (he was not involved, I just irked him with my progressive stance).
In the interest of being constructive, maybe I can talk about my role models: people who speak truth to power and create content with financial support by readers.
@molly0xfff is my ultimate role model in this space.
She is on Mastodon, Bluesky and X and publishes content on her self-hosted Ghost blog (access is free but she accepts monthly donations).
She has eloquently explained many times how Substack would take a big cut of her earnings.
yup, I'd already communicated as much in that I pointed out I wanted to support her but not while SubStack was the mechanism in place, I also directed her to Molly's discussions of Ghost and her POSSE write up … so you are not the only one.
@craigmorgan bravo for pointing that out in an elegant way.
yeah I'm really surprised by her choice of Substack when so many negative stories about it are now well known and more and more independent journalists are picking Beehiiv and Ghost.
I would definitely do a paid subscription to her posts if she was not on Substack...
Your critique is absolutely correct and justified. Sorry that happened but take solace in pointing out the incongruity between her thesis and her actions. Both of these are poor choices by her IMHO.
I think my larger point - which I didn't adequately express - is that if even Carole Cadwalladr (who recognizes the problem, and speaks eloquently about it) ends up using centralized, VC-backed tech platforms, we're all f**ked (sorry for the language, it was for emphasis)
Yes, and as people like you have proven you don’t need Twitter to reach a wide range of eyeballs AND have meaningful exchanges with folks. People need to put their money where their mouth is so to speak.
Yeah, the way your comments were being responded to was depressingly familiar. I'm in no way surprised it coalesced into abuse.
I responded to one who I felt had crossed a line into outright sarcasm but the general tone was Correctile Dysfunction.
I'm also sorry this happened. I truly wish my gender would fucking wise up. This shit is exhausting for me to witness; I can only imagine what it's like for a woman.
@Uraael I promise this was really nothing! I was just surprised it took this long on the Fediverse...
After 14 years on Twitter 1.0 I think I have a relatively thick skin.
As I replied to someone else, it's nothing compared to the time an actor with millions of followers on Twitter 1.0 unleashed his right wing trolls on me 😅
@Uraael I used to get stalked and harassed by attack monkeys by someone who I vouched and stood up for when I felt he was being unfairly treated and needed a friend.
the attack (I looked it up) is indefensible, once you get to the name calling.
I'm not better. Yesterday I wrote something similar (ok, less strong. I said they are what's wrong with online discourse, which I regretted and deleted) because I am triggered by people constantly finding " impurities" in every positive message. Whataboutism that in one sentence seeks to invalidate everything good about the original message.
Your case was different. It's clear that you value Cadwalladr.
I will say this, although there are attacks on Mastodon, it's a lot fewer than you'd find on some of the other social media platforms. I am presuming that's because MAGA chuds have a hard time trying to spell the word Mastodon.
I enjoy reading your comments and journey with trying to set-up and use non-corporate tools and services. I am in the same process.
The comments regarding the TED talk will piss-off some people. I disagree with you but we both care about the same values: fluid conversational dialogues are good.
"I'd rather have friends who care than friends who agree with me."
Well, I'd say your insight was not for that person, and the reaction was not for you either. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and providing a courageous example.
On Monday, the parliament is set to vote on a constitutional amendment that would strengthen the legal foundations for the prohibition of the Pride march.
Oh ja, hab ich vorhin auch gesehen. Wir hatten schon am ersten Tag die Info, dass man im Dunkeln besser nicht durch den Park geht. Man könnte meinen, da gäbe es einen Zusammenhang 🤔
und ich meine das Schild ist juristisch nicht korrekt. Es gibt kein "Waffenverbot" sondern eine "Verbot des Führen von Waffen" Der Transport ist nicht verboten
, a 2024 console based on the original 48K Sinclair ZX Spectrum from 23rd April 1982, rubber keys and all. Like 2018's Spectrum Next this machine updated the firmware to a modern standard of presentation, and include modern ports for power and connectivity (1xUSB-C, 5xUSB-A).
Mad Alex
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