Newsmast Foundation

Three Years at the Newsmast Foundation and on the Social Web A short reflection on what I've learnt about myself and about the Social Web. Three years. It really doesn't feel like that long until I start thinking about everything we've done in that time. Then ...

Three years of the Social Web 😱

forbetter.ghost.io/three-years-...

How could the organisations you support do a better job of supporting you?

We've noticed that far too many organisations don't put their community first. It's time to make a change.

#TimeForChange #SocialMedia

It's been a busy couple of weeks here at the Newsmast Foundation, but we're not slowing down.

We're still working hard to bring more people meaningful community on the Social Web ⚡️

If you know how we can help bring a community you're a part of to social media they own, please reach out!

Community power: the evidence Moving towards a community-led system of public services

The Community Power report by Local Trust amplifies our message, that by providing space to come together, communities can strengthen beyond their differences.

See the full report here: localtrust.org.uk/insights/res...

A graphic with a quote which reads: "Community power is an idea whose time has come. At its heart, community power is based on the principle that communities have a wealth of knowledge, skills and assets which mean they are well placed to identify and respond to any challenges that they face, and to thrive." - - Grace Pollard, Jessica Studdert and Luca Tiratelli. In partnership with Local Trust.

Local community is essential.

At the Newsmast Foundation, we're working to support local communities by providing digital spaces for them to come together. Places they can organise, and inform as a collective.

FediMTL - Digital Sovereignty Conference A Canadian conference on digital sovereignty and the social web - February 24, 2026 in Montreal

Tomorrow, members of our team will be in Montreal, Canada for FediMTL! 🇨🇦

We're giving a talk on our work and showing off the new app we've built in partnership with Qlub Social!

If you're in the area, we'd love to see you there.

fedimtl.ca

#SocialWeb #Events

Disinformation and democracy Join Eliot Higgins, Carole Cadwalladr and Media Revolution at RSA House for a timely discussion on disinformation, deepfakes, AI propaganda, and the future of democracy.

One of the biggest threats we face to democracy is disinformation.

If you're in London next week, we'd highly recommend checking it out and meeting these brilliant voices face to face.

Learn more here: www.thersa.org/events/2026/...

#Democracy #SocialMedia

Apps Applications Qlub Télécharge les applications officielles de Qlub pour une meilleure expérience et pour bénéficier de toutes les fonctionnalités. – ou – Accéder à Qlub sur le web…

We're absolutely thrilled to see the new Qlub app sitting pretty in app stores now 😍

We worked with the team at Qlub to build an app for the amazing community in Quebec and their specific needs. It's so exciting to see it go live!

site.qlub.social/apps/

#SocialMedia #SocialApp

Call for Participation: AT Protocol Ecosystem Action Research A pilot program to facilitate cooperative, research-led innovation in the AT Protocol ecosystem.

Introducing Ecosystem Action Research: a pilot program to address shared challenges in the AT Protocol ecosystem with a cooperative approach to strategic innovation.

By the community, for the community.

Sign up to participate here:

Your community. Your platform. We’re reaching a lot of new people this year, so here’s a re-introduction to what we’re about. The Newsmast Foundation is a non-profit, public-interest organisation building open, ethical digital infr...

Here's an update and re-introduction to @newsmastfoundation.org . We're building community apps and platforms in five flavours: news, content creators, professional networks, hyper-local and local language. In the UK, Germany, Brazil, Africa, Canada and the US.

www.blog-pat.ch/your-communi...

A graphic reading: "Chinese New Year, 2026". It uses red and gold colours to show a horse among Chinese-style illustrations.

Happy Lunar New Year 🎆

2026 is the Year of the Horse! 🐴

If you were born in a Horse year, look out, 2026 is your Ben Ming Nian - meaning bad luck could be coming your way...

#LunarNewYear

Your community. Your platform. We’re reaching a lot of new people this year, so here’s a re-introduction to what we’re about. The Newsmast Foundation is a non-profit, public-interest organisation building open, ethical digital…

Wondering what we're up to at the Newsmast Foundation? 🤔

Then read the latest blog from our co-founder, @michael.eurosky.social

www.blog-pat.ch/your-communi...

#SocialWeb #CommunitySpaces #SocialMedia

A woman on stage giving a talk to a crowd full of people with the words " A Brief and incomplete history of algorithmic fuckery

At #PfPLondon, we heard powerful ideas on the future of publishing.
@aendra.com showed how publishers can design their own newsfeeds on Bluesky. Interledger argued for micropayments to save journalism. @newsmastfoundation.org shared how it built a news app to support community-led local journalism.

A graphic showing a red heart over a background of pink, decorated with smaller red hearts. Over the design, text reads: "Fall in love with social media again."

Social media shouldn't feel like a toxic relationship.

On Valentine's Day, take control of your relationship with social media.

Set boundaries, communicate your needs, and move on if they're not being met. You deserve to use social media that values you, rather than your data.

#PlentyOfFish

Launch: Interact with Unbridged Replies & Mentions Last year, we launched a feature for Bridgy Fed that sent a DM of an hourly digest of interactions that we couldn't bridge back to your native platform. While that gave you visibility into interaction...

We're excited to launch our most-requested Bridgy Fed feature: being able to interact with unbridged users!

Starting today, when people interact with you on the other side of the bridge, you'll get a notification over DM along with a "respond" link, where you can like, repost, reply, or block.

FediForum | Growing the Open Social Web:<br>An Online FediForum Un-Workshop Event Listing

Ahead of it, we've published our Position Paper. You can see it here 👉
www.newsmastfoundation.org/our-blog/gro...

To register for this special FediForum: fediforum.org/2026-03-grow...

We are committed to growing the Open Social Web. For us, that starts by working to overcome barriers of entry in the network and highlighting the things done well.

On March 2nd, @fediforum.org are hosting an event dedicated to Growing the OSW. Ahead of it, we've published a Position Paper 👇

the @newsmastfoundation.org x Bristol Cable collab that was showcased at @protocolsforpublishers.com London last night was an example of this pattern

they just... did it.

Protocols for Publishers ✨ London Join us in London on Feb 4-5, 2026

We'll be at @protocolsforpublishers.com London this evening and throughout tomorrow!

If you're coming, we can't wait to say hi 👋

protocolsforpublishers.com/london-2026/

FOSDEM 2026 - Bonfire: Building Modular, Consentful, and Federated Social Networks Bonfire is an open-source, modular platform for creating federated social networks and communities that put users and groups in control. Bonfire’s architecture is designed to be deeply extensible:…

In case you missed it, Bonfire and the Newsmast Foundation are working together!

You can see the announcement and what we're working on in this wonderful talk by the Bonfire team at FOSDEM last week.

fosdem.org/2026/schedul...

#SocialMedia

A graphic, framed by Pride colours, showing illustrations of various stereotypical people from history. There is a Greek athlete, a Tudor period woman, a Roman soldier, an Egyptian builder, a Viking warrior, an Inca, and a Medieval man. The text reads: "LGBTQ+ History Month. LGBTQ+ people have always been here. Their history is our history."

LGBTQ+ people have always existed, contributing more than we will ever be able to discover to our history.

In February, here in the UK, we celebrate LGBTQ+ history month. It's a chance to learn more about the LGBTQ+ people who have shaped our society up until this point.

#History #LGBTQ

Glad you enjoyed the talk about our partnership! We should say though, it wasn't the Newsmast team in Brussels, it was Bonfire 🔥

FOSDEM 2026 - Schedule Every year, FOSDEM hosts a wide variety of activities. This page gives an overview with links to further information about scheduled events. All times CET (UTC+1).

It's FOSDEM this weekend!

If you're not there in Brussels, you can follow along online with us. Check out the schedule below 👇

fosdem.org/2026/schedule/

#FOSDEM26

Did you know you can track network statistics from across the ActivityPub Fediverse?

On FediDB, you can see federated server statistics as well as an overview of the entire network. It's a great way to take note of the network before another year of growth!

fedidb.com

#SocialMedia #Fediverse

A blurred image of casino counters. Over the image is the copy: "Harmful. Addictive. Dangerous."

Would you host your community in a casino?

Addictive algorithms, amplified hateful content, doomscrolling. It's time to call social media what it is: dangerous.

As a society, we need to work harder to detangle ourselves from these places and the behaviour they encourage.

#SocialMedia

EU-Kommission: EU-Abgeordnete fordern nach Grok-Skandal eigenes europäisches Netzwerk Mehr als 50 EU-Abgeordnete haben sich in einem offenen Brief an die EU-Kommission gewandt. Sie solle in europäische Alternativen zu US-Netzwerken wie X investieren.

Europeans deserve safer digital spaces and real alternatives to US-based platforms.

We urge the Commission to:
- Invest in European tech initiatives.
- Support the development of user-focused, European-owned networks.
- Guarantee robust data portability rights for all users.

🧡

Launch: Domain Blocklists In November last year, we began developing additional user-facing moderation features for Bridgy Fed users. While blocking users across the bridge was always possible via DMs, we knew it would be easi...

For our first launch of the year, we're kicking off with more blocking features!

Rolling out today: ATProto across Bluesky, Blacksky, and any other PDS can apply domain blocklists to Bridgy Fed. Blocks come with if you Bounce, and we even added a handy list of reputable blocklists to choose from.

We're All Set: Final Details for PfP✨London The last pieces have been locked in for our next in-person event in London. Firstly, we would like to announce or last speaker: Jeremiah Lee from the Interledger Foundation who will be discussing dev...

Final details for #PfP✨London are locked in. We have our 🏛️ venue, last 🗣️ speaker confirmed, and the 🎟️ registration is now completely open!

protocolsforpublishers.com/final-detail...

#ActivityPub #ATProto #AI #webpayments #webpublishing #events #London

How to Build an Organic Community… Inorganically – CSID Network Translate:

Building a community is about more than just tech. It takes effort.

So, how do we build meaningful community?

Our friends at CSID Network published a brilliant piece on their approach that we think everyone should be learning from.

csidnet.org/how-to-build...

#CommunityBuilding