Welcome to this week’s “Destroying Autocracy”.
It’s your source for curated news affecting democracy in the cyber arena with a focus on protecting democracy. That necessitates an opinionated Butlerian jihad against big tech as well as evangelizing for open-source and the Fediverse. Since big media’s journalism wing is flailing and failing in its core duty to democracy, this is also a collection of alternative reporting on the eternal battle between autocracy and democracy. We also cover the cybersecurity world. You can’t be free without safety and privacy.
DA comes out on Thursday and is updated through the end of day on Friday. Then we start over. So take your time in perusing it and check back in over the weekend.
FYI, my opinions will be in bold. And will often involve cursing. Because humans. Especially tech bros. And fascists. Fuck ’em.
Featured Item
The Dabbler writes:
If an AI system, though not actually thinking or understanding, is built to reflect the way we theorize our minds to function, then in theory at least, we should be able to change it the same way we change our own minds. That means bringing conflicts and contradictions to the surface in order to resolve them. And if we want to undermine the technofascist project, then we need to emphasize the contradictions inherent to it.
Very interesting.
We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.
The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery
TechDirt reports:
No Personal Liability For DOGE Yet, But With Two More Lawsuits We Get Closer
TechCrunch reports:
Open source LLMs hit Europe’s digital sovereignty roadmap
The European Commission has a:
DSA Elections Toolkit for Digital Services Coordinators
EuroNews reports:
How Europe could ‘leap ahead’ in the global AI race, according to Mozilla’s president
The Electronic Frontier Foundation says:
Stop Censoring Abortion: Help EFF and Repro Uncensored End Digital Suppression
404 Media reports:
Public Library Ebook Service to Cull AI Slop After 404 Media Investigation
Tech Policy reports:
Data Colonialism Comes Home To The US: Resistance Must Too
Neutral
Tech Policy Press reports:
At Paris AI Summit, US, EU, Other Nations Lay Out Divergent Goals
AI Countergovernance: Lessons Learned from Canada and Paris
The Evil Empire Strikes Back
Tech Policy reports:
Online Election Manipulation Is a Challenge for Democracy. It’s About to Get a Whole Lot Worse.
404 Media reports:
Musk Ally Demands Admin Access to System That Lets Government Text the Public
The Texas Observer reports:
ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account
Pariah States
The Register reports:
If you dread a Microsoft Teams invite, just wait until it turns out to be a Russian phish
Google reports:
Signals of Trouble: Multiple Russia-Aligned Threat Actors Actively Targeting Signal Messenger
DarkReading reports:
China-Linked Threat Group Targets Japanese Orgs’ Servers
North Korea’s Kimsuky Taps Trusted Platforms to Attack South Korea
Big Media
The Independent reports:
Washington Post refuses to run $115,000 ad titled ‘Fire Elon Musk,’ report says
The Verge reports:
The New York Times adopts AI tools in the newsroom
Newsweek reports:
Joe Rogan Dethroned by Anti-Trump Podcast in the Charts
404 Media reports:
Ziff Davis, Owner of Sites Including IGN and CNET, Quietly Removed DEI Language From Its Website
Micah Flee reports:
Not only is Substack right-wing broligarchy garbage, it’s way more expensive than Ghost
Big Tech
The Verge reports:
CBS News reports:
Meta failing to curb spread of many sexualized AI deepfake celebrity images on Facebook
TechCrunch reports:
Tech Policy reports:
Wired reports:
Google Ad-Tech Users Can Target National Security ‘Decision Makers’ and People With Chronic Diseases
Cybersecurity/Privacy
The Register reports:
Nearly 10 years after Data and Goliath, Bruce Schneier says: Privacy’s still screwed
Oops, some of our customers’ Power Pages-hosted sites were exploited, says Microsoft
The Center for Democracy and Technology reports:
First Amendment Tech Transparency Roadmap
Privacy Guides says:
No, Privacy is Not Dead: Beware the All-or-Nothing Mindset
BleepingComputer reports:
Lee Enterprises newspaper disruptions caused by ransomware attack
Darcula PhaaS can now auto-generate phishing kits for any brand
The Verge reports:
Chase will start blocking Zelle payments over social media
Center for Democracy and Technology says:
Online Censorship Isn’t New – Neither Are Efforts to Evade It
Soatok starts a new series:
Reviewing the Cryptography Used by Signal
Vox reports:
How to fight back in the war against spam texts
Fediverse
The Fediverse Report has:
The Nexus of Privacy explores:
Organizing on decentralized social networks
We Distribute reports:
How to Launch Your Own Fediverse Community Server
Good stuff.
Life Hacker shares:
The Best Instagram Alternatives If You’re Sick of Meta
Phoenix Paulina Schmid shares:
A Beginner’s Guide to Decentralized Social Media – Loops
Elana Rossini says:
GoToSocial empowers you to have your own home on the Fediverse – with unique controls
Box 464 has:
Understanding Mastodon Preview Card Display Logic
Other Slightly Federated Social Media
The Fediverse Report has:
Last Week in Bluesky – 2025feb.c
Planning shares:
What Makes Bluesky the New ‘It’ Space for Urbanists
TechCrunch reports:
Bluesky adds a ‘followers only’ reply option
Jaz looks at:
When Imperfect Systems are Good, Actually: Bluesky’s Lossy Timelines
CTAs (aka show us some free love)
- That’s it for this week. Please share this edition of Destroying Autocracy.
- Follow me on the Fediverse. Or this site via the button in the footer. Or via RSS.
- Or follow Battalion on Bluesky.
Keep fighting!
Ringleader, Battalion
Reuben Walker
Follow me on the Fediverse
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