Progressive Lady Geek

AI Overview

Yes, research by the National Academy of Sciences shows that Instagram users whose online activity suggested they were Black were roughly 50% more likely to face automatic account suspension by moderation systems compared to white users.

The Moderation Bias

These studies highlight several key factors contributing to this disparity:

The "Jim Code" in Algorithms: Natural language processing tools and automated moderation systems frequently misclassify personal narratives about racism or discrimination as "toxic" or "hate speech".

Disproportionate Bans: Because Black creators are more likely to speak out about racial justice and online encounters with racism, their accounts and posts are flagged at higher rates than those of their white counterparts.

Lack of Transparency: Marginalized creators are heavily impacted by vague content-flagging procedures, where accounts are restricted or banned with little to no explanation.

Broader Impacts on the Creator Economy

Beyond account suspensions, Black creators consistently document disproportionate hurdles in the creator economy:

Algorithmic Suppression: Many creators have expressed being shadowbanned (having their viewership artificially suppressed) after discussing topics like Black Lives Matter or online anti-Blackness.

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Example of an annotated license plate reader photo showing captured vehicle details

Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs or LPRs) are AI-powered cameras that capture and analyze images of all passing vehicles, storing details like your car's location, date, and time. They also capture your car's make, model, color, and identifying features such as dents, roof racks, and bumper stickers, often turning these into searchable data points.

These cameras collect data on millions of vehicles regardless of whether the driver is suspected of a crime. These systems are marketed as indispensable tools to fight crime, but they ignore the powerful tools police already have to track criminals, such as cell phone location data, creating a loophole that doesn't require a warrant.

The Dangers of ALPRs

Privacy Violations

ALPRs track your movements and store your data for long periods of time, creating a detailed record of your location history.

Risk of Misuse

Data from ALPRs has led to wrongful arrests, profiling, and stalking ex-partners by police officers.

Limited Benefits

There's no substantial evidence that ALPRs effectively prevent crime, despite Flock's unethical attempts to prove otherwise.

ALPRs are a serious risk to your privacy and civil liberties. These systems continuously record your movements without a warrant, probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion. Your driving history is rarely confined to the town or city where the cameras are installed. It's typically shared with thousands of other agencies nationwide (secretly). Once the data is out of your community, you have no control over how it's used or what rules apply, leading to instances of misuse.

What is Flock?

Flock Safety is one of the largest ALPR vendors in the United States. Their cameras are installed for police departments, businesses, and HOAs. Captured vehicle data is uploaded to Flock's cloud system, where participating agencies can search and share information across jurisdictions.

Flock is not the only ALPR vendor, and other vendors still participate in similar practices. See this list of other common ALPR vendors.

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It's just the crazy left wing and fake news

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March 2026 was the first month that renewables generated more power than natural gas in the US. In fact, fossil fuels generated less energy this past March than they had in any March for the previous 25 years.