#baffler — Public Fediverse posts

having a subscription to The Baffler has been really good for the soul (and the experience of reading something short-but-good)

three issues in, the magazine continues to consistently be way better than i expect

i have yet to read an article that i didn't finish

it's well-written, it's entertaining, and the subject matter varies between "wow, i learned something" to "that's an interesting perspective"

i have heaps of admiration for how well put-together this is

#baffler

‘Take It to the Spank Bank’ by #Anabelle #Johnston in The #Baffler.

On #AI and the driver of technology: #pornography.

I got confused by this little observation: ‘it would be nice to produce a gangbang without having to shoot it.’
It’s probably just me and my inner GPU.

Whatever: read it, it’s good for you

https://thebaffler.com/latest/take-it-to-the-spank-bank-johnston

Remember #YashaLevin's muckraking in the #Baffler on the #EFF and its supposed close ties with Big Tech corporations? Here's how real journalists cover the Silicon Valley lobbying front groups.
https://theintercept.com/2019/04/16/consumer-privacy-laws-california/

Please note, no mention of the EFF. Who were the sources for Levine's hit piece? Perhaps people from some of the organizations mentioned in this story, trying to muddy the waters?

Remember #YashaLevin's muckraking in the #Baffler on the #EFF and its supposed close ties with Big Tech corporations? Here's how real journalists cover the Silicon Valley lobbying front groups.
https://theintercept.com/2019/04/16/consumer-privacy-laws-california/

Please note, no mention of the EFF. Who were the sources for Levine's hit piece? Perhaps people from some of the organizations mentioned in this story, trying to muddy the waters?

The third part is also notable for its framing of the internet's role in disinformation. Basically the net = the major #DataFarms (FB etc), and "regulation" of Silicon Valley = increased government control over internet speech (not #AntiTrust action). It's a framing I first noticed in the otherwise excellent Adam Curtis series '... Machines of Loving Grace ...', in #FredTurner's 'counterculture to cyberculture' discourse, and in a hit piece on the #EFF by #YashaLevine, published in the #Baffler.

@z428 @bjoern yes, when I see people like #YashaLevine attacking the EFF in left-wing publications like the #Baffler, and claiming that tech corporation are the real threat to our privacy (which they can be), and governments are its saviours (which is so obviously bullshit), I get very suspicious:
https://thebaffler.com/salvos/all-effd-up-levine

It reminds me of the similar #Baffler piece about Tim O'Reilly, which all but ignores the existence of RMS or anyone else who doesn't fit into its narrative that #OpenSource is all a conspiracy by O'Reilly and Silicon Valley:
https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-meme-hustler