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Ned Watt

@nedwatt

PhD candidate at the DMRC and ADM+S researching independent fact checking and genAI. Interested in technology, political accountability, and information integrity Lover of folk music in all forms, and also skramz πŸ‰

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03.09.2023
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Latest posts by Ned Watt @nedwatt

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A $10K Bounty Awaits Anyone Who Can Hack Ring Cameras to Stop Sharing Data With Amazon The Fulu Foundation, a nonprofit that pays out bounties for removing user-hostile features, is hunting for a way to keep Ring cameras from sending data to Amazonβ€”without breaking the hardware.

"A $10K Bounty Awaits Anyone Who Can Hack Ring Cameras to Stop Sharing Data With Amazon" www.wired.com/story/a-10k-...

20.02.2026 01:58 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has passed away at the age of 84. My thoughts are with his family.

I wanted to share this clip from his appearance on Sesame Street in 1971. His important words ring just as true today as they did back then.

17.02.2026 17:45 πŸ‘ 7623 πŸ” 2144 πŸ’¬ 163 πŸ“Œ 129
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β€œIn times of crisis Australians are great at doing the right thing morally and socially, which is also the smart thing economically. What would it take to do so all the time?” - Lukas Ringland

Read the full piece on The Point: https://theaus.in/3OeQxqx

16.02.2026 05:13 πŸ‘ 40 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

A must watch.

16.02.2026 05:59 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Many of my friends who have adopted Ring style doorbell cameras aren’t aware that these technologies serve markets far beyond the front door.
I get the anxiety and the β€˜what if’ logic of security, but these cameras give me the ick! Keeping an anxious poodle is a better security option imo

11.02.2026 00:53 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

As always - remember this is what they do when they know they are being filmed.

09.02.2026 09:44 πŸ‘ 409 πŸ” 152 πŸ’¬ 23 πŸ“Œ 3
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Brisbane showed up for Palestine tonight πŸ‰

09.02.2026 09:38 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
06.02.2026 00:03 πŸ‘ 154 πŸ” 67 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 1

Bannon (and his buddies) are using an informational strategy called reflexive control that intentionally exploits the reaction of his adversaries (on the left) to inflict damage on their own side. Don't become an unwitting agent in their information operation.

04.02.2026 21:24 πŸ‘ 747 πŸ” 226 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 14
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Sky News Australia as network propaganda: how a niche cable channel became an international right-wing propaganda machine - Simon Copland, Axel Bruns, Timothy Graham, 2025 In the past decade or so, the right-wing news channel, Sky News Australia, has pivoted to publishing online content that speaks to broadly right-wing audiences ...

Any time Sky News Australia comes up in discourse, please feel most welcome and free to cite this research, which shows empirically that is is a propaganda machine.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

04.02.2026 02:19 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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The Iranian digital blackout, and how you can help (#37) Podcast Episode Β· Read Them Sideways Β· 02/02/2026 Β· 53m

Hey BlueSky, most of you have access to internet connectivity that the people of Iran currently do not. Do me a favour and share this podcast episode from the DMRC Digital Publics group.

We can no longer accept catastrophic silence.

Solidarity means paying attention and creating visibility

02.02.2026 12:09 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Iran protests are not just about economics – they’re a full-blown ideological crisis Iran’s young population is educated and connected to the world: even state violence cannot deny their freedom in the long run.

theconversation.com/iran-protest...

Great article contextualising the crisis in Iran and how it connects with rising authoritarianism and erosion in institutional trust and trustworthiness

24.01.2026 01:54 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Hundreds of faces among thousands, truly gutted by the atrocities we are seeing the Iranian regime perpetrate on its own people

22.01.2026 11:56 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Factnameh Confirms 950 Bodies in Just Two Days at Tehran Morgue How body-bag serial numbers expose the true human cost of state violence

factnameh.substack.com/p/factnameh-...

20.01.2026 23:24 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Tehran morgue videos show the brutality of Iran's crackdown on protesters Distressing footage reveals nearly 200 bodies with one victim identified as young as 16.

We've analysed new videos published by @vahid.online that show rows of body bags at the Kahrizak mortuary in Tehran on 10 January.

We've counted at least 186 bodies in one clip and at least 178 bodies in another, although the true figure is likely much higher.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

14.01.2026 17:52 πŸ‘ 113 πŸ” 56 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 2

Extremely important & timely piece by @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social of WITNESS on the informational complexities around the protests in Iran, describing the β€œepistemic fog”, the blackout of communications, and powerful efforts to frame and reframe the protests and the brutal response from the regime.

15.01.2026 04:18 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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QUT - Strengthening Public Opinion Formation Amid Digital Threats (PhD scholarship)

πŸ“’ PhD Scholarship at QUT to join my DECRA project "Democratic Resilience Online: Strengthening Public Opinion Formation Amid Digital Threats" @qutdmrc.bsky.social

πŸ“… Applications close: 13/03/2026

More info here: www.qut.edu.au/study/fees-a...

Please share and reach out if you have questions!

13.01.2026 04:55 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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The first reports of the harms of the social media ban is having on vulnerable kids are out. This is what happens when policy is designed without listening to experts, not tackling the problem of harmful algorithms and business practices and just banning people from accessing parts of the internet.

12.01.2026 01:51 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Iran experiencing nationwide internet blackout, monitor says NetBlocks says the apparent blackout follows 'a series of escalating digital censorship measures targeting protests'.

Meanwhile

09.01.2026 12:41 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Australia's social media ban for children under 16 begins today.

Our explainer paper provides an overview of the complex issue of social media bans for young teens, explaining the technical challenges, potential risks, and specific concerns voiced by parents and carers.

Read it here: qut.to/1ww5%

09.12.2025 21:44 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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AI chatbots are encouraging conspiracy theories – new research If you interact with chatbots about conspiracy theories, research shows you can can easily fall down the rabbit hole.

PhD researcher Kate FitzGerald has a new article out in The Conversation today looking at generative AI chatbots and conspiracy theories.

24.11.2025 03:40 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2

πŸ‘‹ So hello world, we did a thing.

🎁 Might be useful for some people ?

#misinformation #disinformation #fakenews

18.11.2025 08:01 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Here's a new resource from @qutdmrc.bsky.social to explain #problematicinformation (and its various forms), harms, tips to help navigate online info environments, and what can be done. Access and download here: research.qut.edu.au/dmrc/explain... #informationintegrity #misinformation #disinformation

17.11.2025 22:47 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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The Body as a Password: The Cost of Face ID Convenience is costing people their freedom. Research shows that features like Face ID and fingerprints enable violent, forced phone access by police and authorities, writes Afsaneh Rigot.

"Research shows that features like Face ID and fingerprints enable violent, forced phone access by police and authorities" the-decenter.ghost.io/the-body-as-... by Afsaneh Rigot

06.11.2025 16:53 πŸ‘ 55 πŸ” 39 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 7
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What happens when Google stops sending you to websites & starts answering questions itself? In this podcast episode ADM+S researchers Ashwin Nagappa, Oleg Zendel & Sara Al Lawati discuss what the future of search means for all of us bit.ly/48zWDK9 #GoogleSearch #AIMode

21.10.2025 05:27 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ“’2026 Fellowship applications are OPEN!πŸ“’
If you are someone looking to inform technology policy through rigorous original reporting or policy analyses, we want to hear from you!
Apply here: airtable.com/appIrc1F9M5d...

04.09.2025 11:47 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

We just released a *big* working paper on Voice AI and Authenticity as part of the ARC CoE for Automated Decision-Making and Society @admscentre.org.au

It surveys the history of the tech, emerging issues, and what can be done

Check it out at Australian Policy Online here:
apo.org.au/node/331920

01.09.2025 00:02 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Join NTEU members this Sunday 24 August at marches across the country in solidarity with Palestine.

Find out where it’s happening in your city πŸ‘‰ nteu.info/24

@nteuact.bsky.social @nteuvictoria.bsky.social

19.08.2025 06:37 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

"We need to engage in discourse about how we make sure that we maximise the benefits but minimise any of the other factors that need to be considered." is exactly the kind of running the clock say nothing quotable over media trained blandfest that I was talking about in my last post.

07.08.2025 03:42 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0