Matthew Johnson

If only there was some way to know which cars were ambulances

Then argue from the average, not the outlier. If I said "Data centres in Latvia only use 0.1% of the country's electricity" you would rightly say I was arguing from an unrepresentative figure.

And "outlier for now," absent any evidence, is textbook special pleading.

Ireland is a massive outlier: the average in the EU is 2.8 - 3.8%. interactdc.com/static/image...

Gene Wolfe. (Runner up, Tim Powers.)

The over-representation of crime news affects us all. For folks who see this stuff it leads to "mean world syndrome" where we think the world is a worse place than it is and folks who think the world is a scary place are more likely to give power to authoritarians who promise safety.

What Parents Need to Know About Instagram’s New Map Feature www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/what-pa...

signs of cats who are running for cat mayor of somerville, massachusetts

a sign for a cat running for cat mayor named hermes squirmies

a pink sign for a cat running for cat mayor named beatrix. her slogan is “no kings, only princesses”

a sign for a cat running for cat mayor named Luna. her slogan is “pro zoomies, chaos, and attention”

there’s an election for Cat Mayor currently happening in Somerville, Mass. and every cat deserves to win

Want to build your confidence teaching digital media literacy this fall? Our self-directed workshop offers educators everything they need to get started. Learn more: mediasmarts.ca/digital-medi... #EduSky

By this definition both table salt and tap water are ultra-processed. The only reason they aren't in standard classifications is thhat they got specific carveouts.

This one in particular is a good example of how one of the biggest biases in news coverage is "bad news bias" - bad news is more newsworthy than good news, and good news is more newsworthy if it can be reframed as bad news.

This account is invaluable for anyone teaching digital media literacy - mostly because it shows the daily processes of the news industry, but also because every now and then you see a perfect example of how the same story can be framed in totally opposite ways:

You'd have to be an antidisestablishmentarian to object.

We’re renewing the IPC’s Youth Advisory Council for a second term! Applications are now open for youth aged 15–22 across Ontario who are passionate about privacy, access to information, and digital rights. Learn more here: ow.ly/wJXU50Wy18e

How misinformation spreaders reframe news from reputable sources to support false claims A growing body of research tracking the spread of misinformation online has largely focused on presumably false stories from unreliable sources—websites that fabricate content or intentionally mislead...

A key doubtmongering strategy...👇

How misinformation spreaders reframe news from reputable sources to support false claims phys.org/news/2025-07...

"...some social media users deliberately repurpose credible journalism to advance misleading claims."

orange cat lying on floor with square lights reflected on his flank that resembles lit windows

live action catbus looking pretty sweet

I know when I say this
I may be makin' quite a ruckus
But I don't like all these people
Slagging him for breaking up Fluxus

(Apologies to Barenaked Ladies, and no one else)

An inescapable conclusion of this research is that nine million years ago, the song "Tomato, to-mahto" was half as long as it is today.

So what did Vikings really look like?
TV/movies tell us they looked like dollar-store biker gangs, wearing black leather, covered in dirt and allergic to colours... but in reality... they looked like 1970s pop singers.

Seriously, thread time.🧵

Photo: Roberto Fortuna

Nicotine is Getting the Rebrand of A Lifetime Interest in nicotine as a supposed health enhancer is soaring in 2025, driven by a mix of conspiracy theories, pseudoscientific claims, culture, and aggressive commercial marketing.

🧵Nicotine is Getting the Rebrand of A Lifetime

Interest in nicotine as a supposed health enhancer is soaring in 2025, driven by a mix of conspiracy theories, pseudoscientific claims, culture, and aggressive commercial marketing.

infoepi.substack.com/p/nicotine-...

1/18

The tobacco industry is aggressively rebranding nicotine as a nootropic that has benefits. Content frames nicotine as wrongly vilified alongside tobacco. It's a strategy of reinvention, and people need to understand that it's effective.

Not just yes or no: Experts explain consent following Hockey Canada trial The Hockey Canada trial had a lot to do with consent. Experts explain what that is and why it isn’t as simple as yes or no.

If you’re looking to talk to kids about consent following the Hockey Canada ruling, CBC Kids News has an excellent piece with helpful insights from
@farrahsafiakhan.bsky.social and Kaitlynn Mendes. www.cbc.ca/kidsnews/pos...

They grind exceeding fine

Possibly because it's a really bad allegory. (Not a bad comic, but the things that make it a good comic weaken the allegory, and the things that work best as an allegory are the worst things about the comic.)

Interested in integrating Native American stories and culture in your classroom through comics? Here are some lesson ideas
I developed with Trickster as a central book docs.google.com/document/d/1...

That's quite the tribble you've got there.

Modern robotics surprisingly reliant on the "magic hat" technology from Frosty the Snowman

You could certainly say "misogyny holds a consistent appeal to men of all ages" but that doesn't explain the increased gender difference.

There are no meaningful differences in R support among different age cohorts of men, while the youngest women are way more likely to support Democrats than older ones - so I would say the stronger effect is that misogyny is repelling young women.

Please stop sharing the fake article about Meta suspending Zohran’s accounts. It’s from a non-bylined article on a website nobody has ever heard of and I guarantee you that if it’s real you would be hearing about it from *fucking everyone*. A little media literacy, please.