Aashka Dave

Breaking: We’ve talked to multiple individuals who have confirmed that UNC-CH is merging SILS (library and information science) and SDSS (data science and society). Announcement will be tomorrow morning. Faculty were not consulted.

100 Days in Appalachia's Call for Pitches 100 Days in Appalachia began as an experimental pop-up publication, designed to candidly narrate the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency from within the heart of a region dubbed “Trump Country...

Student + early career journalists in Appalachia (or young folks who want to write): pitch 100 Days! Looking for stories w/ angles on young people, related to education & what's happening on campuses, politics, life & identity, & more. Rates start at $150 for opinion, $200-$400 for reporting.

Thrilled to announce that the great Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social will visit UVA on 10/21, 6pm, Old Cabell Hall! Join me for an exciting conversation with Karen and Seth Lewis @sethclewis.bsky.social, with opening remarks by Dean Christa Acampora. Free tickets: www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening...

Anti-Transgender Disinformation in the Age of Algorithmic Search Summaries Recently Google introduced a feature in its search engine that algorithmically creates summaries of one's search results. Though it could be viewed as a useful tool, researcher Anna Beers argues this ...

Hey all, here's a post at @ssrc.org about how anti-trans talking points are getting wrapped into Google's AI search results.

AI search not only cites anti-trans disinfo, but sanitizes it, making practices like conversion therapy sound legitimate and safe.

Screenshot of the front cover of the digital zine "DIY web archiving", which has large-sized text stating: "Things disappear from the internet. Care about stuff on the web? You need to act to archive it. Anyone can do it—this zine shows you how."

#ICYMI folks w/deep experience re:crisis web archiving (@sucho-org.bsky.social)+building tools for it (@webrecorder.net) made a free zine teaching how anyone can archive the things you love on the web before they go away: zinebakery.com/homemade-zin... & why you shouldn't expect others will do so

Amidst our current chaos, I've been very appreciative of this newsletter from @lizneeley.bsky.social, highly recommend taking a look ⬇️

American higher education now faces a perfect storm of demoralization, defunding, and delegitimization​. These attacks are not random or isolated; they follow a classic authoritarian playbook, and go beyond ordinary policy disagreements and have become an existential threat to the academic sector.

How to Shop for a Home That Won’t Be Upended by Climate Change (Gift Article) Deciding where to live has always been a high-stakes financial decision, but a changing climate makes it even more critical. This guide will get you started.

I've been researching how people find information about climate risk for a long time now - it's really hard!

This NYT article looks like a really helpful resource for potential homebuyers (gift link): www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

You can learn a conference’s worth of data journalism through these NICAR tipsheets From AI to OSINT, maps to the sports section, it's a data journalism jubilee.

From AI to OSINT, maps to the sports section, NICAR is a data journalism jubilee.

U.S. Terminates Funding for Polio, H.I.V., Malaria and Nutrition Programs Around the World Here are some of the 5,800 contracts the Trump administration formally canceled this week in a wave of terse emails.

“‘People will die,’ said Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi, executive director of the African Population and Health Research Center, ‘but we will never know, because even the programs to count the dead are cut.’”

Brooklyn Public Library Offers Free eCards to Teens Nationwide Facing Book Bans in Local Communities | Brooklyn Public Library Librarians and Teen Volunteers Spearhead Books Unbanned Initiative to Combat Censorship

The Brooklyn Public Library has announced that any teenager in America is now eligible for a Brooklyn Public Library card.
Teens can sign out ebooks + audiobooks 
The move is designed to combat censorship, with some titles listed as "always available."

www.bklynlibrary.org/media/press/...

This list has been really helpful when looking at Bluesky posts lately ⬇️

BlueSky generated 33% more subscriptions than Threads for the Globe in January.

A Guide to Digital Safety in a Dangerous World Being in a media space, even simply being locally connected, like blog bloggers, it is getting dangerous online. Hate groups like the Proud Boys are doxing people. Most of the platforms we operate on ...

A Guide to Digital Safety in a Dangerous World

Public Library Ebook Service to Cull AI Slop After 404 Media Investigation

🔗 www.404media.co/public-libra...

Georgia could become 10th state to withdraw from voter accuracy group ERIC Georgia Republican legislators advanced a bill Tuesday that would withdraw the state from an organization that identifies outdated voter registrations.

Republican state legislators who say they want more accurate voter registration lists voted for a bill that would withdraw Georgia from a voter list accuracy organization. #gapol
ajc.com/politics/geo...

Colorado wants to force insurance companies to help homeowners understand, mitigate wildfire risk House Bill 1182 would also require insurers to give customers an opportunity to appeal assessments of a property’s wildfire risk, which can lead to increased costs and nonrenewals

Colorado wants to force insurance companies to help homeowners understand, mitigate wildfire risk

The Drilled List: A Running Tally of Trump’s Climate Impacts What Trump is doing and un-doing about climate policy in his second term.

In an effort to keep tabs on climate stuff happening during the second Trump term, we've got a running tally going. Please send updates and tips if you've got em!

drilled.media/news/trump2

Earthquake warning system among projects threatened by NSF funding freeze Small nonprofit that helps manage network could soon run out of money

The funding freeze has hit the *earthquake early warning system,* plus a GPS network used by aircraft www.science.org/content/arti...

Stacey Abrams-founded New Georgia Project roiled by turmoil and layoffs The voter registration project founded by Stacey Abrams is facing dire challenges after being hit with a historic state fine, layoffs and deepened tensions.

New Georgia Project was once a cornerstone of the state’s left-leaning infrastructure, credited with registering tens of thousands of left-leaning voters who turned Georgia into a legitimate political battleground. Now, it's a shadow of its former self. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/onc...

black and white photo of Wong Kim Ark, American of Chinese descent. He is looking straight at the camera.

A thread on birthright citizenship I wrote in 2018, that unfortunately remains relevant.

I always thought this was where it was all headed. Abolishing birthright citizenship for the non-white and non-rich. And why I teach on United States v. Wong Kim Ark every semester.

Who was Wong Kim Ark? 1/

The Five Feet That Could Prevent the Next Palisades Fire California passed a new fire safety law more than four years ago. It still isn’t in force.

California has a very strong anti-wildfire “home hardening” law on the books, but it’s never been enforced because insurance models can’t account for it — and because people *hate* what it tells them to do. Fascinating @emilypont.bsky.social story: heatmap.news/climate/los-...

Breaking news out of Kentucky:

I will be requesting this from the library and reading the whole thing!!

Missy CONGRATS!!!!!!