Violet Blue

@violetblue
6.7K Followers
122 Following
3.6K Posts

Award-winning author, journalist. Shaped like the hole in your heart.

Engadget, Popular Science, freelance reporter on hacking, privacy, sexuality, human rights. Previously SF Chronicle, ZDNet, CBS, O Magazine, many more.

Six IPPY awards (2023 Gold); notable book appearance: Oprah; Advisor to Without My Consent.

Coming soon: Mental Health and Horror (documentary).

New book: https://www.amazon.com/Fish-Has-Word-Water-Francisco-ebook/dp/B0BQ5FG59C

News/bloghttps://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-roundup-65708396
Abouthttps://about.me/violetblue
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/violetblue
Verified Journalisthttps://www.verifiedjournalist.org/people/@[email protected]?rel=me

New by me: wild details on the ISS’s medical scare, OKCupid/Match gets no penalties for selling 3M users’ biometric data to a facial recognition broker, FBI’s Patel email hacked (twice in 2 years), people are giving AI control to sex toys… and I have exciting news.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-31-154388966

Please spread the word: early bird registration is now open for the conference I'm helping with next month!

Any kind of share helps (repost, email, pneumatic tubes, screaming) and it's for an excellent cause that's more timely than ever: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/stout-centre/about/events/kia-tika-kia-pono-for-a-just-society

Kia Tika, Kia Pono—For A Just Society | Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies | Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Join us for a kōrero to imagine, articulate, and collaborate for a just society.

Victoria University of Wellington

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for Mar. 26th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue

- Up to 60% of health care workers may have long COVID 4 years after infection

- The dangers of repeat Covid infections

- Discussion on highly mutated BA 3.2 ("Cicada") from experts & variant trackers

- Study: COVID vaccines not tied to risk of sudden death

- The unknowns of having Long Covid while pregnant

- NHS workers with Long Covid feel abandoned by the system

- The challenge of trying to get a booster for #AotearoaNewZealand -ers under 30

- Disability justice advocate and author #AliceWong 's celebration of life

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-march-26-153975461

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: CYBERSECURITY 🧑‍💻
for Mar. 24th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue

- US regulator bans imports of new foreign-made routers

- Tracking #Iran 's extended communication blackout

- #Google Search is using AI to replace headlines

- Cyberattack on a car breathalyzer firm leaves drivers stuck

- The DJI Romo robovac had security so bad one man remotely accessed thousands of them

- Praise for the 49MB web page

- Updates on #Russia ’s expanding (intentional) internet blackout

- #DOGE plans to change US radiation dose rules

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-24-153785746

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCybersecurity #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #infosec #cybersec #CovidIsNotOver

THREAT MODEL: COVID 🦠
for Mar. 19th, 2026
by independent journalist @violetblue

- #LongCovid affects 18 million Americans (that we know of)

- Over 150,000 uncounted Covid deaths occurred 2020-2021

- Study of higher education during Covid shutdowns shows certain subjects are better taught online

- #UK Covid Inquiry report due out today; UK in “much worse position” than before Covid

- #RFKJr ’s ACIP/CDC vaccine advisory board is spreading a “report” that Covid vaccines cause a condition just like Long Covid

- This weekend: Covid safety for sex workers workshop (online)

- Netherlands experiencing record Covid lows

- NZ rejects WHO pandemic rule changes, aligning with RFK Jr

...and much more.

✨THREAT MODEL is free to read -- please help keep it accessible to all by becoming a patron, even $1 a month makes a difference!✨

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-march-19-153403657

#ThreatModel #ThreatModelCovid #ThreatModelNewsletters #VioletBlue #COVIDnews #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver

New: UK Inquiry report live, 150,000+ uncounted 2020-2021 US deaths, a sex worker Covid safety workshop (online, this weekend), Netherlands is experiencing record C19 lows (see, it *can* be done!), 400K in NZ have #LongCovid as surge continues, Long Covid affects 18 million Americans, local risk levels, more:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-march-19-153403657

RE: https://mastodon.social/@violetblue/116246425320166519

Who profits from digital age check laws? Who gets the data?

ICYMI: Meta, Heritage Foundation, and NCOSE - formerly Morality in Media - have been traced in open records (including IRS) as the source of lobbying and funding behind age-check laws *globally*

DCA's leadership traces directly to NCOSE ⬇️

RE: https://mastodon.social/@violetblue/116246425320166519

Who profits from digital age check laws? Who gets the data?

ICYMI: Meta, Heritage Foundation, and NCOSE - formerly Morality in Media - have been traced in open records (including IRS) as the source of lobbying and funding behind age-check laws *globally*

DCA's leadership traces directly to NCOSE ⬇️

NEW: Meta and the Heritage Foundation are behind online age-check laws being pushed worldwide, Iran hacked a multinational US company and remote-wiped most of its devices, BuzzFeed nears bankruptcy after pivot to AI, random acts of Kiwi compassion, and more.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-17-153242517

This is the best video about Covid that has ever been made

Don't worry, it's short 🙃

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqWx2W39Zbw

NZ's ninth wave of Covid | Now You Know | The Spinoff

YouTube