University of Rochester: Your social media feed is built to agree with you. What if it didn’t?. “…new research from the University of Rochester has found that echo chambers might not be a fact of online life. Published in IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, the study argues that they are partly a design choice—one that could be softened with a surprisingly modest change: introducing […]

Lifehacker: That Political ‘Call to Action’ Might Actually Be a Scam. “Recently, investor Fred Benenson blogged about a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting SendGrid users. Phishers sent emails claiming the company was going to add a large ‘Support ICE’ button at the bottom of every outgoing email unless users opted out. The emails also featured a large blue button promising to help you […]

“A Wikipedia article is a process, not a product”*…

A quarter of a century ago Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia‘s founder, articulated its vision– one into which it has impressively grown: “Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That’s what we’re doing.”

On the ocassion of its birthday this month, Caitlin Dewey takes stock…

Happy birthday to Wikipedia, which is now old enough to rent a car without extra charges … but faces new (and newly urgent) threats from AI and political polarization. As a palate cleanser, should those bum you out (the second, in particular, is very grim/good), may I then suggest this “entirely non-comprehensive list of life principles” learned from 20 years of editing Wikipedia. [Scientific American / Financial Times / The Wikipedian]…

From her wonderful newsletter, Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends. All three are eminently worth reading.

* Clay Shirky, who went on to observe that “Wikipedia is forcing people to accept the stone-cold bummer that knowledge is produced and constructed by argument rather than by divine inspiration,” but at the same time that: “We have lived in this world where little things are done for love and big things for money. Now we have Wikipedia. Suddenly big things can be done for love.”

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As we treasure– and support— treasures, we might recall that it was on this date in 1885 that LaMarcus Adna Thompson received the first patent for a true “switchback railroad”– or , as we know it, a roller coaster.  Thompson had designed the ride in 1881, and opened it on Coney Island in 1884.  (The “hot dog” had been invented, also at Coney Island, in 1867, so was available to trouble the stomachs of the very first coaster riders.)

University of Washington: Social media research tool can reduce polarization — it could also lead to more user control over algorithms. “The researchers created a seamless, web-based tool that reorders content to move posts lower in a user’s feed when they contain antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity, such as advocating for violence or jailing supporters of the opposing party.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/08/university-of-washington-social-media-research-tool-can-reduce-polarization-it-could-also-lead-to-more-user-control-over-algorithms/

Harvard Gazette: Think the viral meme of that legislator is funny?. “In this edited conversation, Susanna Siegel, the Edgar Pierce Professor of Philosophy, who has written about this dark side of American politics, explains how reveling in someone else’s setbacks — or accusing others of doing so — is poisonous to democracy.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/03/harvard-gazette-think-the-viral-meme-of-that-legislator-is-funny/

Northeastern University: New research reveals algorithms’ hidden political power. “New research shows the impact that social media algorithms can have on partisan political feelings, using a new tool that hijacks the way platforms rank content.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/30/northeastern-university-new-research-reveals-algorithms-hidden-political-power/

Politics Turned 'Trash TV': The Global Spectacle of Governance 📺🎭

https://joanfriendica.duckdns.org/display/848bfe52-9269-1e07-815f-3a1192220716

Bipartisan Senators Want To Honor Charlie Kirk By Making It Easier To Censor The Internet

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/18/bipartisan-senators-want-to-honor-charlie-kirk-by-making-it-easier-to-censor-the-internet/