TVC Note: This is an incomplete, evolving list. As resources become available and known to me, I will add them to their appropriate section.
TVC Note Part Deux(™): The Virginia Civic Engagement Table (VCET) compiled the vast majority of these resources. To follow along with them and support their work, visit their website and sign up for their newsletter.
*Have you seen ICE activity? Has a friend or family member been detained? Call here.*
*Note: All of these resources offer volunteer opportunities. If you are interested, they are accessible via the main website link.*
*In the face of government sabotage of our most vital resources, all we can do is stand together. Here are some resources from people doing the work protecting our data and research.*
Shareable Graphics to Support Civil Rights TVC Note: To save any of these graphics, just right-click on them and click "save image". On Mobile, simply screenshot. Graphics Links TVC Note: Below are some links to organizing and messaging graphics made by some trusted allies. They are free to access…
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Elon Musk is, to put it mildly, a bastard. He has no business being in our government. If you're here, I'm sure you agree. Here's a free tool courtesy of the NYC Democratic Socialists of America to help you tell your reps to make him fuck off. Click here to…
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Wednesday, February 19th has been designated as National Save Our Services Day by the Federal Unionists Network. Now, who doesn't want some FUN in these trying times? Here's how you can sign up and participate. [caption id="attachment_184" align="aligncenter" width="300"] From FUN (Federal Unionists Network)[/caption]
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With the way Elon Musk is acting, you'd think he'd been given an empathic universal mandate to rule as America's King. It's too bad not one person voted for him. To remind our friends, family, and neighbors of this fact, MoveOn has created this helpful little graphic and sticker, which…
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On May 8th, 2024, a coalition of progressive senators, including Sens. Sanders, Merkley, Khanna, and Tlaib, introduced a measure to cancel all $220 Billion in medical debt held by Americans. They cited a staggering figure: 27% of all working-age Americans have at least $500 in medical debt, with 15% having…
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We’ve known since the advent of modern AI tools that they were built with implicit biases that often reinforce racist and otherwise bigoted narratives. AI companies have assured us that they’ve been working diligently to overcome that (as I discussed in this previous blog post), but it’s a difficult problem…
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The conversation about “disinformation” has reached a fever pitch, and for good reason. By all accounts, we’ve seen an uptick in instances all across the internet in every country in the world. Disinformation tactics have grown bolder and more varied as technology has advanced, inadvertently developing new and better ways…
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April is Medicare/Medicaid Awareness Month, making it a great time to celebrate all things Medicare and discuss some prevailing issues in our healthcare system. Medicaid Flashback You may recall that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government declared a Public Health Emergency. That act ensured that some 87 million people…
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Let’s talk about automation and (not to sound like some kind of propaganda flyer) what it can do for you. First, a quick tangent. Creation and Automation I personally believe creation–by which I mean engaging with art (in all its forms), either generating or consuming it–is humanity’s highest calling. What…
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This blog post is a continuation of my ongoing series on AI. I’ve covered a few things already, ranging from basic definitions to certain models’ pitfalls to ethical considerations. Check those out as well here. The EU has just voted to implement the most comprehensive AI policy to date. [caption…
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I’m an IVF baby. It’s not something I usually have to think about–or care to. But recent developments in Alabama have forced me to reckon with that, what it means for me and what it means for my parents.\ My mom had my brother and I–twins–at age 40. She and…
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Sora is Here There’s another new player in the AI landscape: Sora. Open AI’s new generative AI project (technically a “diffusion transformer”) allows for video generation from user prompts. Think ChatGPT, but for videos. [caption id="attachment_112" align="aligncenter" width="300"] OpenAvocados[/caption] Sora and Bias With it comes familiar pitfalls. Chiefly, the bias…
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How do we use AI ethically, if that’s at all possible? Believe it or not, I’m optimistic. After all, AI is just a tool, and tools can be shaped and regulated into something great. A note before we begin: this piece is primarily about examining necessary considerations. I have offered…
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In my last post, I talked about AI Hallucinations and how AI can be primed for disinformation. Today, I’m gonna explore exactly how it’s being used as a disinformation tool and what experts are watching. Before we begin, let me clarify: AI is a tool. My goal is not to…
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What are AI hallucinations, and why do they matter? “Hallucination” is a fancy word, but you can think of it as whenever an AI model spits back inaccurate information. AI Hallucinations in Practice A good example of an AI hallucination comes from ChatGPT. For a time–and this has been corrected–if…
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What is AI? Artificial ‘intelligence’? Not exactly. AI, as we understand it today, is not really “intelligence”, but sophisticated automation. Usually when we talk about AI, at least in the counter-disinformation field, we’re referring to either generative AI or Large Language Models (LLMs)--though we do tend to use the two…
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Glenn Youngkin signaled his disdain for the poor again this week, this time in the form of a denial of the need to raise the minimum wage. According to Youngkin, “the market is working”. I’m not so sure about that, Glenn. [caption id="attachment_77" align="aligncenter" width="240"] Clownkin's at it again.[/caption] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Youngkin…
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Today, we celebrate one of the greatest people in American history: Martin Luther King Jr. I’m sure I don’t need to sing his praises for you; even the immensely flawed American public school system correctly identifies him as a great man and one of the most important and influential people…
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Welcome to 2024, and welcome to Virginia’s brand new legislative session! As I wrote in my other recent blog post, Virginia has a part-time legislature, meaning they’re only in session for about ¼ of the year (I had some things to say about that). Anyway, you may be wondering: how…
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It’s everyone’s favorite time of year! You know, when Virginia legislators actually do their jobs. Seriously, why is a part-time legislature even allowed? Our representatives literally spend like 75% of the year just… not representing us. Well, that’s not entirely fair. Many legislators (at least the good ones)…
Read MoreCan You Believe It?, a toolkit to help you fight fake and misleading information this election season.
The University of Washington Center for an Informed Public
The News Literacy Project's Misinformation Dashboard
The News Literacy Project's Introduction to Algorithms
Fact-Checking in Science Journalism
A Journalist’s Guide to Fact-checking Your Work
The Fact-Checking Guide via Truth in Journalism
The University of Chicago SIFT Method