Apparently One Dismissed Speech-Suppressing SLAPP Suit Wasn’t Enough For Matt Taibbi | Techdirt https://www.techdirt.com/ • • Sign In (https://www.techdirt.com/my-account/) • Register (https://www.techdirt.com/register/) • Preferences (https://www.techdirt.com/preferences/) Techdirt - [x] • TechDirt (https://www.techdirt.com/) • GreenHouse (https://www.techdirt.com/edition/greenhouse/) • Free Speech (https://www.techdirt.com/edition/freespeech/) • Error 402 (https://www.techdirt.com/edition/webmonetization/) • Ctrl-Alt-Speech (https://www.techdirt.com/edition/ctrlaltspeech/) • Deals (https://deals.techdirt.com/) • Jobs (https://jobs.techdirt.com/) • Support Techdirt (https://www.techdirt.com/support/) https://www.techdirt.com/blog/podcast/ Why Google’s New AI-Saturated Search Page Will Be A Disaster (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/why-googles-new-ai-saturated-search-page-will-be-a-disaster/) US Researchers Say Trump’s Attack On Science Has Resulted In Self-Censorship (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/us-researchers-say-trumps-attack-on-science-has-resulted-in-self-censorship/) Apparently One Dismissed Speech-Suppressing SLAPP Suit Wasn’t Enough For Matt Taibbi https://www.techdirt.com/?s&topic=defamation Defamation (https://www.techdirt.com/?s&topic=defamation) from the vampire-squid-strikes-again dept Thu, Jun 11th 2026 01:14pm - Mike Masnick (https://www.techdirt.com/user/mmasnick/) To lose one speech-suppressing SLAPP suit may be regarded as thoughtless. To lose two looks like you’re a censorial hack. Last month we wrote about how supposed “free speech warrior” Matt Taibbi (who spent years misrepresenting the work (https://www.techdirt.com/2023/03/22/matt-taibbi-cant-comprehend-that-there-are-reasons-to-study-propaganda-information-flows-so-he-insists-it-must-be-nefarious/) of people who study disinformation as inherently censorial, while getting pretty basic facts wrong (https://www.techdirt.com/2023/04/07/mehdi-hasan-dismantles-the-entire-foundation-of-the-twitter-files-as-matt-taibbi-stumbles-to-defend-it/)) had lost his speech suppressing SLAPP suit (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/05/06/matt-taibbi-loses-his-vexatious-slapp-suit-as-judge-explains-what-a-metaphor-means/) against author Eoin Higgins. In that case, he argued that some rhetorically hyperbolic metaphors used on the book’s cover defamed him. The court pointed out that’s not at all how defamation works. Taibbi, who also claimed he somehow had to sue to “protect free speech” (also not how it works) apparently wasn’t satisfied with just a single SLAPP suit. He also had sued congressional Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.565250/gov.uscourts.njd.565250.1.0_1.pdf) in a separate action, claiming that her calling him a “serial sexual harasser” (and entering into the record two articles to support that claim) during a congressional hearing was defamation. If you’re interested, the two articles that were entered into the record were the Chicago Reader’s “Twenty years ago, in Moscow, Matt Taibbi was a misogynist asshole—and possibly worse (https://chicagoreader.com/blogs/twenty-years-ago-in-moscow-matt-taibbi-was-a-misogynist-asshole-and-possibly-worse/)” and the Washington Post’s “The two expat bros who terrorized women correspondents in Moscow. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-two-expat-bros-who-terrorized-women-correspondents-in-moscow/2017/12/15/91ff338c-ca3c-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html)“ The hearing in question was yet another in a ridiculously long line of congressional hearings (multiple ones where Taibbi has appeared peddling nonsense) about the supposed “censorship industrial complex (https://www.congress.gov/event/119th-congress/house-event/LC74470/text),” a mostly made-up concept pushed by political hacks trying to shield online trolls and bullies from ever facing consequences from private actors for breaking the clearly stated policies of online platforms. Kamlager-Dove chose to question Taibbi’s credibility. You could argue she could have focused on the factual problems with his continued confused claims about how disinformation research and trust & safety work — but she went for the more salacious (and widely reported) claims about his time in Moscow from a few decades ago, along with a characterization that reads as a clear opinion based on disclosed facts, which (by definition) cannot be defamatory. As you may be aware, things said in Congress tend to be protected by the speech and debate clause (https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S6-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013300/) of the Constitution. Taibbi’s lawyers claimed that because Kamlager-Dove reposted videos of her remarks on social media, that somehow took them outside the clause’s protection. For her part, Kamlager-Dove pointed to the Westfall Act which (as we’ve discussed in the past (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/05/08/once-again-trump-looks-to-get-out-of-paying-e-jean-carroll-by-having-the-doj-substitute-in-for-himself/)) allows the government itself to substitute in as a defendant in cases filed against government employees if the lawsuit was based on government work they were doing. In defamation cases, this is fatal: once the federal government substitutes itself in as defendant, the case collapses, because you simply can’t sue the federal government for defamation thanks to sovereign immunity. Here, the case fails on those grounds exactly (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.565250/gov.uscourts.njd.565250.35.0.pdf). Judge Evelyn Padin finds that the Westfall Act does apply, effectively dooming the case. Taibbi’s lawyers tried to argue that Kamlager-Dove’s statements weren’t part of her job as Congress… because her comments were “partisan communications” and were for “self-aggrandizement on Twitter” rather than serving her constituents. Except politicians making self-aggrandizing partisan communications is (unfortunately) part of their job these days. Representative Kamlager-Dove’s Statements and republications, however, are precisely the kind of conduct that is “a central part of the job for members of Congress.”…. Indeed, a “primary obligation of a [m]ember of Congress in a representative democracy is to serve and respond to his or her constituents.” …. As the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee holding the Hearing. Representative Kamlager-Dove’s remarks mentioned “taxpayer time and resources” and “foreign policy” topics that are important to members of Congress and that are top-of-mind for their constituents…. Republishing the statements online does not change the analysis. Taibbi claims that the “republications on X, BlueSky, and [Representative Kamlager-Dove’s] website were not legislative work, [and] occurred outside the legislative setting.” …. But members of Congress routinely engage with the public on social media and on the internet as part of their jobs…. (“There is no meaningful difference between tweets and the other kinds of public communications between an elected official and their constituents that have been held to be within the scope-of-employment under the Westfall Act.”). As Taibbi concedes, Representative Kamlager-Dove was simply “talking to voters on Twitter.” … Thus, while the judge doesn’t get a chance to dismiss the censorial SLAPP suit for being a censorial SLAPP suit, the court does make it pretty clear you can’t sue over this kind of thing. Two SLAPP suits filed to silence critics. Both dismissed. This is a guy who built his recent brand on the Twitter Files and the “censorship industrial complex” — and who has been a key cog (https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/19/the-disinformation-campaign-that-has-effectively-destroyed-the-ability-to-combat-disinformation/) in helping the government suppress speech in the process. He’s now spent quite a lot of time trying to use the courts to shut people up for criticizing him — and failing at that, too. Filed Under: defamation (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/defamation/), free speech (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/free-speech/), matt taibbi (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/matt-taibbi/), slapp (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/slapp/), slapp suit (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/slapp-suit/), sydney kamlager-dove (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/sydney-kamlager-dove/), westfall act (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/westfall-act/) https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/https://reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F11%2Fapparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi%2F&title=Apparently%20One%20Dismissed%20Speech-Suppressing%20SLAPP%20Suit%20Wasn%26%238217%3Bt%20Enough%20For%20Matt%20Taibbihttps://twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F11%2Fapparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi%2F&text=Apparently%20One%20Dismissed%20Speech-Suppressing%20SLAPP%20Suit%20Wasn%26%238217%3Bt%20Enough%20For%20Matt%20Taibbi&via=Techdirthttps://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F11%2Fapparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi%2F&t=Apparently%20One%20Dismissed%20Speech-Suppressing%20SLAPP%20Suit%20Wasn%26%238217%3Bt%20Enough%20For%20Matt%20Taibbihttps://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&ro=false&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F11%2Fapparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi%2F&title=Apparently%20One%20Dismissed%20Speech-Suppressing%20SLAPP%20Suit%20Wasn%26%238217%3Bt%20Enough%20For%20Matt%20Taibbi 8 Comments (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comments)Leave a Comment (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comments) If you liked this post, you may also be interested in... • Former Cop Arrested For Not Being Sufficiently Reverential Of Charlie Kirk's Corpse Scores $835K Lawsuit Settlement (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/05/former-cop-arrested-for-not-being-sufficiently-reverential-of-charlie-kirks-corpse-scores-835k-lawsuit-settlement/) • Disney Moves To Protect Its Broadcast Licenses From Brendan Carr's Sham Investigations (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/02/disney-moves-to-protect-its-broadcast-licenses-from-brendan-carrs-sham-investigations/) • Prosecutor Nopes Out Of The DOJ After Being Handed The James Comey '8647' Case (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/01/prosecutor-nopes-out-of-the-doj-after-being-handed-the-james-comey-8647-case/) • Trump FCC Proposes Vile New Trans Panic TV Warnings (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/05/29/trump-fcc-proposes-vile-new-trans-panic-tv-warnings/) • Lying, Cheating Administration Has Its Ass Handed To It By Judge Overseeing BS Charges Against ICE Protesters (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/05/27/lying-cheating-administration-has-its-ass-handed-to-it-by-judge-overseeing-bs-charges-against-ice-protesters/) Click to toggle (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/)https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/ Rate this comment as insightful Rate this comment as funny You have rated this comment as insightful You have rated this comment as funny Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam You have flagged this comment The first word has already been claimed The last word has already been claimed Comments on “Apparently One Dismissed Speech-Suppressing SLAPP Suit Wasn’t Enough For Matt Taibbi” Subscribe: RSS (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/comments/feed/)Leave a comment (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#respond) • Filter comments in by Time • Filter comments as Threaded • Filter only comments rated Insightful • Filter only comments rated funny LOL • Filter only comments that are Unread 8 Comments Collapse all replies This comment is new since your last visit. Pixelation says: June 11, 2026 at 3:17 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comment-5391498) “Come see the violence inherent in the system. Help! Help! I’m being defamed!” This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 11, 2026 at 3:22 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comment-5391517) Oh Matty, keep falling, the bottom is down there somewhere. Perhaps Bari Weiss will throw you a safety line. This comment is new since your last visit. This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it. Anonymous Coward says: June 11, 2026 at 3:56 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comment-5391569) It’s not a SLAPP lawsuit just cuz you want it to be. You know basically nothing about the law and Taibbi is much, much better tech journalist than you are. (especially since you’re principally an activist.) This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [2] AC Unknown(profile) (https://www.techdirt.com/user/acunkown/)says: June 11, 2026 at 5:13 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comment-5391679) Re: The court pretty much indicated it was a SLAPP suit. When will you pull your head outta your ass? This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [3] M1k3 says: June 11, 2026 at 10:35 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comment-5392146) Re: Re: ACTIVIST JUDGE!! Or something… This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [2] Anonymous Coward says: June 11, 2026 at 6:02 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comment-5391723) Re: If they weren’t SLAPP suits why do they keep getting thrown out of court so quickly? This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [2] AssistantDABABaracus says: June 11, 2026 at 7:06 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comment-5391868) Re: Seriously? Even for a low effort troll, this is low effort trolling. “It’s not a SLAPP suit just because you want it to be.” You do understand it’s not NOT SLAPP just because you don’t want it to be? Not sure your credentials to say what the author does or doesn’t know about the law. But this simple assertion isn’t worth the typographical farting noise it made upon leaving your keyboard. Nor is the bald assertion that Taibbi is a better tech journalist (and Taibbi’s somehow not just as much of an activist?) Wait a second… I know it’s hackneyed but… MattT, is that you? This comment is new since your last visit. Pixelation says: June 11, 2026 at 9:53 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#comment-5392080) He could go for the trifecta. Harder would love to represent him… Close • says: https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/# Add Your Comment Cancel reply (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/11/apparently-one-dismissed-speech-suppressing-slapp-suit-wasnt-enough-for-matt-taibbi/#respond) Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked * Have a Techdirt Account? 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They flout all laws and regulations. • aabsurdity:They will be stopped. • They're simply choosing to escalate rather than retreat. It will not end well for them. • Leah Abram:In lighter stories • I just found out that there's fan-fiction of The Maltese Falcon that actually resolves the story with closure: https://www.amazon.com/Return-Ma...https://www.amazon.com/Return-Maltese-Falcon-Allan-Collins/ (https://www.amazon.com/Return-Maltese-Falcon-Allan-Collins/) • I The Public Domain! • BentFranklin:If Trump runs for a third term let's nominate Obama to run against him. • Leah Abram:[[gifv]https://tenor.com/view/do-it-star-wars-emperor-palpatine-palpatine-gif-7523581979863470761](https://tenor.com/view/do-it-star-wars-emperor-palpatine-palpatine-gif-7523581979863470761) • BentFranklin:Trump Tower Tehran: you heard it here first • tomacamot:I wish I hadn't • candescence:So the judge for that $10b IRS Trump case agreed to reopen it. • https://thehill.com/regulation/c...https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5902065-trump-irs-lawsuit-reopened/ (https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5902065-trump-irs-lawsuit-reopened/) • imatool13:I imagined all roads would lead to this anyway, just didn't assume this quickly. • John Roddy:Not quite • More like dragging the plaintiff back into court to explain • aabsurdity:Bluesky's new moderation system silencing entire accounts for posting adult content is pretty bleak. :( • https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc...https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:34ydeurdtukrpzjjelklch4y/post/3mn5p4mttas22 (https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:34ydeurdtukrpzjjelklch4y/post/3mn5p4mttas22)https://bsky.app/profile/teethgr...https://bsky.app/profile/teethgrip.bsky.social/post/3mn4kej3ctk2q (https://bsky.app/profile/teethgrip.bsky.social/post/3mn4kej3ctk2q) • John Roddy:All right, so who's going to be the one to write about Clarence Thomas's blog post in today's order list? • That last paragraph is just too perfect • intelati:What. What a cursed sentence/timeline • https://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.b...https://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mna7cn7lpc2j (https://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mna7cn7lpc2j) • Oh. • aabsurdity:Thomas evidently spending so much time wearing his klan hood, nobody's had the heart to tell him he's black... • Mike Masnick:there was that biographer of thomas who says he's actually never given up his black radical past, but believes that the only way for Black radicalism to succeed is to remove any and all attempts to help the Black community so that they have to do it entirely on their own. A kind of accelerationist argument • John Roddy:This is why I tell people they're missing the point when they suggest that he's reaching for another Plessy v Fergusson • Nah. More like Prigg v Pennsylvania. • candescence:https://bsky.app/profile/justinb...https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3mnaqomeegc26 (https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3mnaqomeegc26) • Yeah, ngl this is legitimately an ass-backwards change that defeats the point of putting content filters in the hands of users and kinda punishes users for correctly marking posts as NSFW https://bsky.app/profile/chocomi...https://bsky.app/profile/chocomingo.bsky.social/post/3mmz2dycdjk2v (https://bsky.app/profile/chocomingo.bsky.social/post/3mmz2dycdjk2v) • Leah Abram:Agreed. Bluesky enshittified itself. • (I don't know if Mr. C. Doctorow would agree with my usage of that term, though) • John Roddy:They already started rolling it back • Leah Abram:Wait, what? BlueSky disenshittified themselves? • John Roddy:They seemed to be genuinely shocked by the backlash. • I don't understand how • Leah Abram:So Trumpy rolled back his $1.8B IRS scam and BlueSky walked back their enshittifying changes? • Am I feeling…pride? • [[gifv]https://klipy.com/gifs/what-nani-1](https://klipy.com/gifs/what-nani-1) • John Roddy:Mamdani suspended bedtimes • candescence:Must've been a well-intentioned change that the staff really did not think through • But they really should stop with these sudden changes without community input • John Roddy:That's what gets me. BlueSky is one of the very few startups that genuinely took moderation and trust& safety serious from day one • How did they walk into such an obvious backlash like this? • aabsurdity:There were reports that one of the people affected was given a 22 day timer, shown on posts. Because your entire post history dissolves into chastity after 22 days somehow, I guess? • Bluesky moderation has stepped on a few rakes, but this really scared the whole artist community, given all the NSFW and SFW creators whose lives and livelihoods were decimated by PayPal in recent months. • https://bsky.app/profile/safety....https://bsky.app/profile/safety.bsky.app/post/3mnb7cza5yc2g (https://bsky.app/profile/safety.bsky.app/post/3mnb7cza5yc2g) I really could do without the idea that the concept of humans having bodies is inherently harmful to people until they turn 18. • Generations of kids have been taught how to deal with being on fire, but nobody wants to have a talk with their kids about other people because it's icky. • benv0727:Today, I joined @IJM to call for the Senate to immediately hold a vote on my STOP CSAM Act—which advanced unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Children need protections from predators on the internet, and this bill is an essential first step. There is no more time for delay. • https://x.com/i/status/206185715...https://x.com/i/status/2061857154957468115 (https://x.com/i/status/2061857154957468115) • aabsurdity:If you're quoting someone, it's generally accepted that you will use quote marks to indicate this. • BentFranklin:Microsoft CEO: We’re moving from OS and apps to agents instead • https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/02/m...https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/02/microsoft-ceo-were-moving-from-os-and-apps-to-agents-instead/ (https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/02/microsoft-ceo-were-moving-from-os-and-apps-to-agents-instead/) • . • Mike Masnick:at some point i'm going to write something about this, but an agentic-first computing paradigm really would fuck up all the efforts to age gate the internet... so I get why people don't like it for the AI of it all, but there are some interesting side effects • John Roddy:I know it usually misses the point to investigate how it would break once it's been established that the break is inevitable. But hey, that's still fascinating to weirdos like me. • Also, Matt Taibbi is appealing his defamation loss to the 2nd Circus. • Get in, losers. We're going losing! • candescence:https://bsky.app/profile/yashara...https://bsky.app/profile/yasharali.bsky.social/post/3mndxlp273d2g (https://bsky.app/profile/yasharali.bsky.social/post/3mndxlp273d2g) • https://bsky.app/profile/justinb...https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3mndxll2mvk2l (https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3mndxll2mvk2l) • Nick Bilton is a thin-skinned stooge. • Mike Masnick:meanwhile... [[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36jxNeV5L1Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36jxNeV5L1Q) • aabsurdity:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3...https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3fS5NyKzygU (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3fS5NyKzygU) • Seems to be a decent summary. • Leah Abram:I concur. • imatool13:@Mike Masnick with the prolifieration of Agents is MCP (mixed with skills) protocol above platform? Seems a whole lot of companies open themselves up to AI Agents more than just integrations, curious your thoughts. • BentFranklin:I didn't think we were ever going to get the Musk versus Zuckerberg slapfight we were promised, but now that we will have a cage right there, it would be wasteful not to use it at least a few more times before dismantling it. • aabsurdity:Especially now that Trump wants to keep it forever as a commemoration of his bestest and happiest birthday, like the Eiffel Tower. • intelati:What the [[article]https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/03/trump-ufc-arena-white-house-claw-permanent/90387950007/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/03/trump-ufc-arena-white-house-claw-permanent/90387950007/) I hate this timeline • aabsurdity:It's amazing how Trump does not, and never has, and never will, have any class whatsoever. He genuinely cannot see the difference between the engineering marvel of the Eiffel Tower, and a commonplace (though still a significant technical achievement in its way) lighting scaffold. They're both made of metal. • BentFranklin:How long until his ballroom guests mosey over after dinner to watch gladiators fight to the death with Trump having the final say with or ? • aabsurdity:I can't imagine he'd be interested. He'd have to be able to care if people other than himself are alive or dead. • intelati:Not this bout. The next one is a 50/50 shot. And increasing therein • BentFranklin:You know how mobsters will make you do a crime before they can trust you? So they will always have something on you? I think about that whenever someone says "I was just Epstein's lawyer," or broker, or anything significant. • John Roddy:I someone describe the BAM article as "climbing Mount Masnick" • And my brain immediately did the movie trailer guy voice for "from the makers of Driving Ms Daisy" • Leah Abram:Maybe it’s because of where I live but when I see “BAM” I think “Brooklyn Academy of Music” • aabsurdity:[[link]https://fxbsky.app/profile/presidentkelly.blacksky.app/post/3mnkf25iyjs2s](https://fxbsky.app/profile/presidentkelly.blacksky.app/post/3mnkf25iyjs2s)[[article]https://fxbsky.app/profile/yeti-detective.bsky.social/post/3mnkhrida222h](https://fxbsky.app/profile/yeti-detective.bsky.social/post/3mnkhrida222h) AI hiring screeners apparently retaining their rejection score for applicants across multiple different jobs, at all the companies they service, for nearly a year. So, get rejected for one job, basically you're unhireable by any company that also uses that tool, for any position, for the next 330 days. That's... Pretty dang bad if true... • BentFranklin:The Smart TV in Your Living Room Is a Node in the AI Scraping Economy • [[article]https://blog.includesecurity.com/2026/06/the-smart-tv-in-your-livingroom-is-a-node-in-the-aiscraping-economy/](https://blog.includesecurity.com/2026/06/the-smart-tv-in-your-livingroom-is-a-node-in-the-aiscraping-economy/) • Leah Abram:This is why Dumb TVs are a smart option! • I want a TV dumber than Pete Hegseth! • tomacamot:Or simply don't connect your TV to the Internet • candescence:Scott Pelley is now free to shit on his former bosses and tell the world how much of a propaganda rag CBS is becoming: https://youtu.be/ePqdmbgQ4BI?si=...https://youtu.be/ePqdmbgQ4BI?si=DZq7rY81Ur9IcKUt (https://youtu.be/ePqdmbgQ4BI?si=DZq7rY81Ur9IcKUt) • Quotes include "Bari Weiss Emailed my Boss and asked 'Can you make the protestors look more violent?'" and "Can you describe Renee Good as 'driving at the officer'?" • This is why you don't fire people who know where the bodies are buried. • aabsurdity:Someone said something today that I genuinely hadn't considered, which was the idea that this isn't an anti-journalism conservative deliberately torching a journalistic institution because the money they're spending doesn't mean anything any more, or that the death of CBS is simply advantageous, and instead that this is a project someone believes in and thinks it's going to work. And I have to admit that I didn't even see that as a possibility, but now that I have, that might make it worse. • Mike Masnick:Oh, they absolutely believe it's going to work. The Bari Weisses of the world believe fully that their view of the world has a silent majority behind them who were just waiting to have what The Free Press was delivering to the world... • aabsurdity:Genuinely baffling. • intelati:https://bsky.app/profile/cdelawa...https://bsky.app/profile/cdelawalla.bsky.social/post/3mnrigweehc2t (https://bsky.app/profile/cdelawalla.bsky.social/post/3mnrigweehc2t) • candescence:It looks like Microsoft and Sony's gaming divisions have almost entirely reverted back to exclusivity • Leah Abram:The golden age is over. This is like when Comedy Specials went from DRM-free video files to being included with streaming services • candescence:Sony's pulling back from single-player PC releases is a bit more questionable since low sales there are kinda self-inflicted due to late but overpriced releases, but the Xbox division has a new boss and it seems she's decided that multiplatform releases simply aren't working and are hurting the brand • timothygeigner:Trust me, the exclusivity thing is on my radar. I definitely have things to say about it. • Though why Microsoft won't just admit that they lost the console wars is beyond me. • John Roddy:My favorite was the clarification that the new Gears of War would be exclusive to Xbox. • And PC. • The ol' Ubisoft-style definition of exclusive. • aabsurdity:As a PC gamer... • BentFranklin:Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers • [[article]https://the-decoder.com/landmark-german-ruling-declares-googles-ai-overviews-are-googles-own-words-and-makes-it-liable-for-false-answers/](https://the-decoder.com/landmark-german-ruling-declares-googles-ai-overviews-are-googles-own-words-and-makes-it-liable-for-false-answers/) • aabsurdity:> First I came for the Communists > And I laughed > Because I was not a Communist > Then I came for the Socialists > And I laughed > Because I was not a Socialist > Then I came for the trade unionists > And I laughed > Because I was not a trade unionist > Then I came for the Jews > And I laughed > Because I was not a Jew > Then they came for me > “If he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody,” I said > “There’s never going to be good enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants.“ Become an Insider! 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