#freepress

Just read this sobering retrospective from @NiemanLab on Jeff Bezos and the Washington Post. It tracks the arc from 2013—when Bezos was the "badass" billionaire savior of journalism—to February 2026, where he has largely gone silent during a "bloodbath" of layoffs (30% of the newsroom) and a pivot toward "free market" editorializing. The piece highlights: The 300+ jobs cut yesterday (Feb 4), including bureaus and the Amazon reporter. The shift from "curious steward" to distant owner. How the 2024 non-endorsement was just the start of a broader "preemptive obedience" to power. It’s a case study in how quickly a "pillar of democracy" can be hollowed out when its ownership priorities shift. Read more here: https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/something-i-will-be-most-proud-of-when-im-90-how-jeff-bezos-used-to-talk-about-the-washington-post-and-whats-changed/ #WashingtonPost #Journalism #Media #JeffBezos #FreePress #Democracy #MastodonNews

New details about the FBI's raid on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's home have come out in government court filings--including details about what devices agents seized. Incredibly--agents compelled Natanson to unlock one of her MacBook computers using her fingerprint. This raid demonstrates the problems with biometrics--and what some courts are getting wrong about them. Read about it here: https://decentproject.org/an-fbi-raid-on-a-reporters-home-shows-the-problem-with-biometrics #privacy #security #OPSEC #FifthAmendment #FreePress