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Technology & Disinformation

Washington Blade •

How I — a trans man — went undercover on a TERF dating site

It turns out the “lesbian renaissance” only has 85 people. 
No, I am not talking about the Renaissance as defined by Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, Bottoms, and Drive-Away Dolls. That Renaissance is well populated. 
It’s the Renaissance defined by Jenny Watson, a lesbian and self-described TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) committed to the idea that lesbians can only be “biologically female.”My number comes from Watson’s female-only lesbian and bisexual dating and community app, L Commun...
Washington Blade •

Lesbian software developer seeks to preserve lost LGBTQ history

Up until the early 2010s, if you searched “Babe Ruth” in the Baseball Hall of Fame, nothing would pop up. To find information on the greatest baseball player of all time, you would have to search “Ruth, George Herman.” 
That is the way online archival systems were set up and there was a clear problem with it. Kristen Gwinn-Becker was uniquely able to solve it. “I’m a super tech geek, history geek,” she says, “I love any opportunity to create this aha moment with people through history.” 
Gwinn-B...
OSU Extension Service •

Oregon growers: This might be the droid you are looking for

CORVALLIS, Ore. – There’s a shout from across the field.

“Who’s got the remote?”

Those who have gathered at the Oregon State University North Willamette Research and Extension Center (NWREC) are looking at a large, square-shaped machine, which deftly navigates between rows of beets.

“It needs no remote,” said Dane Watson, one of the company experts in the technology.

The growers watch the machine make its way down the field. Their nods show that they are impressed.

Meet FarmDroid, an innova...
Washington Blade •

How data helps — and hurts — LGBTQ communities

When Scotland voted to add questions about sexuality and transgender status to its census, and clarified the definition of “sex,” it was so controversial it led to a court case.
It got so heated that the director of Fair Play for Women, a gender-critical organization, argued: “Extreme gender ideology is deeply embedded within the Scottish Government, and promoted at the highest levels including the First Minister.”
Data, like the census, “is often presented as being objective, being quantitative...
Washington Blade •

Trans experiences with the internet range from ‘harrowing’ to ‘powerful’

Alex, 29, would not have met their friends without the internet. While living in a small city surrounded by farmland, finding community was not always easy.
Alex tried out one of those apps for adults seeking to make friends. It turned out to be a remarkable success. “I’ve made my friend group as a direct result of using the internet,” they said, explaining that even though all the friends are trans, due to their diverse interests, “we would have been hard-pressed to have ever really run into ea...
Washington Blade •

TransTech Social removing barriers to trans success

It is common knowledge that women earn 84% of the average worker. Less common knowledge? Trans women earn 60% of the average worker. Trans men and non-binary people come in at around 70%, while 16% of all trans people make less than $10,000 annually. 
E.C. Pizarro was lucky, and he knew it. He had a BFA in graphic design and had taught himself how to code. As a stealth trans man in a corporate job, he had access to a stable wage and good benefits. “People that do not have experiences in corporat...
Washington Blade •

Mass. startup streamlining name changes for trans, non-binary residents

A guy in America wants to buy a truck. They save money. They have built up good credit. They find a truck in their price range. They go to the dealership to buy it, but when the dealership puts the guy’s name through the system no credit shows up.

The problem? That guy is trans and had recently changed their name. “Due to the name change, I was credit invisible,” Luke Lennon explained. “This can happen often for trans and non-binary folks who change their name.” The kicker? “That piece is not t
Mother Jones •

The future of natural history is here, and it’s open-source

It’s 1963. You’re an African spiny mouse in Egypt. You mostly eat dates, but you’re known to consume the dried flesh of local mummies; your species was here long before they were.

In another 60 years, it’ll be discovered that your fur hides regenerative, bony scales called osteoderms—an incredible adaptation long thought exclusive to armadillos and reptiles. The finding is pure accident: a herpetologist on an unrelated project, Dr. Edward Stanley, happens to scan you and catch “something strang
Mother Jones •

The UK's new study on gender affirming care misses the mark in so many ways

Last month, the UK’s four-year-long review of medical interventions for transgender youth was published. The Cass Review, named after Hilary Cass, a retired pediatrician appointed by the National Health Service to lead the effort, found that “there is not a reliable evidence base” for gender-affirming medicine. As a result, the report concludes, trans minors should generally not be able to access hormone blockers or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and instead should seek psychotherapy. While t
Washington Blade •

From LGBTQ book bans to internet bans: A bipartisan attack on knowledge

“They had LGBTQ-inclusive books in every single classroom and school library,” Maxx Fenning says of his high school experience. “They were even working on LGBTQ-specific course codes to get approved by the state,” he said, describing courses on queer studies and LGBTQ Black history.

No, Fenning didn’t grow up in Portland or a Boston suburb. Fenning graduated from a South Florida high school in 2020. Florida’s transformation from mostly affirming to “Don’t Say Gay” has been swift, he says. “It feels like a parallel universe.”
Mother Jones •

Anti-trans bills keep citing the New York Times

New York Times columnist Pamela Paul argued in a 4,500-word op-ed earlier this month that transgender health care procedures amount to “unproven treatments for children,” despite major medical associations’ support for gender-affirming care and the widespread view that it is lifesaving. The piece, which builds upon Paul’s record of espousing anti-trans views in the pages of the country’s most important paper, was roundly condemned by trans journalists over what they alleged was an argument rife
Mother Jones •

About to break down? You might be a Cybertruck.

At a live delivery event this November, where Elon Musk awkwardly opened the door for about a dozen new Cybertruck owners, he told the world: “The apocalypse can come along any moment, and here at Tesla, we have the best in apocalypse technology.”

Then he showed a video of the vehicle being pummeled by a machine gun, quipping, “If you’re ever in an argument with another car, you will win.”

And then he sold a bunch of Cybertrucks. Two million have been preordered—and 500 delivered—for over $60,
Mother Jones •

The irony of Jewish activists facing anti-LGBTQ backlash for supporting Palestinians

“Mr. President, you care about Jewish people. As a rabbi, I need you to call for a cease-fire right now,” called Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg last week, interrupting Biden at a campaign reception in Minneapolis.

Biden responded with “I think we need a pause.” It was the first time Biden had wavered from his unconditional support for Israel, though he clarified that “a pause means give time to get the prisoners out. Give time.”

Rosenberg, a Reconstructionist rabbi, author, and organizer, is a member
Mother Jones •

Israel-Palestine disinformation is rampant. Here's how to avoid it.

Open one social media platform and you’re hit with a fake video; open another and you’re hit with bigotry. Open a news article, and you’ll find some victims “killed” but others “dying.” Each account of events in Israel and Palestine seems to rely on different facts. What’s clear is that misinformation, hate speech, and factual distortions are running rampant.

How do we vet what we see in such a landscape? I spoke to experts across the field of media, politics, tech, and communications about inf
Mother Jones •

"Read with extreme caution": A journalist's guide to Israel-Palestine media literacy

Open one social media platform and you’re hit with a fake video; open another and you’re hit with bigotry. Open a news article, and you’ll find some victims “killed” but others “dying.” Each account of events in Israel and Palestine seems to rely on different facts. What’s clear is that misinformation, hate speech, and factual distortions are running rampant.

How do we vet what we see in such a landscape? I spoke to experts across the field of media, politics, tech, and communications about inf
Mother Jones •

"As if they just dropped dead": Inside the Israel-Palestine war of words

Open one social media platform and you’re hit with a fake video; open another and you’re hit with bigotry. Open a news article, and you’ll find some victims “killed” but others “dying.” Each account of events in Israel and Palestine seems to rely on different facts. What’s clear is that misinformation, hate speech, and factual distortions are running rampant.

How do we vet what we see in such a landscape? I spoke to experts across the field of media, politics, tech, and communications about inf
Mother Jones •

Piecing together the evidence: Open-source intelligence in Israel's Gaza war

Open one social media platform and you’re hit with a fake video; open another and you’re hit with bigotry. Open a news article, and you’ll find some victims “killed” but others “dying.” Each account of events in Israel and Palestine seems to rely on different facts. What’s clear is that misinformation, hate speech, and factual distortions are running rampant.

How do we vet what we see in such a landscape? I spoke to experts across the field of media, politics, tech, and communications about inf
Mother Jones •

Slow down and read! A scientist's toolkit for propaganda-proof news.

Open one social media platform and you’re hit with a fake video; open another and you’re hit with bigotry. Open a news article, and you’ll find some victims “killed” but others “dying.” Each account of events in Israel and Palestine seems to rely on different facts. What’s clear is that misinformation, hate speech, and factual distortions are running rampant.

How do we vet what we see in such a landscape? I spoke to experts across the field of media, politics, tech, and communications about inf