Create accountLogin

Recent searches

No recent searches

Search options

Only available when logged in.
toad.social is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
Mastodon server operated by David Troy, a tech pioneer and investigative journalist addressing threats to democracy. Thoughtful participation and discussion welcome.

Administered by:

Server stats:

325
active users

toad.social: AboutProfiles directoryPrivacy policy

Mastodon: AboutGet the appKeyboard shortcutsView source codev4.3.8

#disappearing

2 posts2 participants0 posts today
Public
Chuck Darwin

In February, #Marc #Andreessen described the #Chatham #House group chats to the podcaster #Lex #Fridman as “the equivalent of [Soviet era] #samizdat”
“The combination of encryption and disappearing messages really unleashed it,” he said. The chats, he wrote recently, helped produce our national “vibe shift.”
They have rarely been discussed in public, though you can catch the occasional mention in, for instance, a podcast debate between #Mark #Cuban and the Republican entrepreneur #Vivek #Ramaswamy, which started in a chat.

But they are made visible through a group consensus on social media.
Their effects have ranged from the mainstreaming of the monarchist pundit #Curtis #Yarvin to a particularly focused and developed dislike of the former Washington Post writer #Taylor #Lorenz.

They succeeded at avoiding leaks (until, to a modest extent, this article) in part because of Signal’s and WhatsApp’s #disappearing #message features,
and in part because the groups had formed out of a mix of fear and disdain for journalists they believed were “out to get us,” as one member put it.
“People during 2020 felt that there was a monoculture on social media, and if they didn’t agree with something, group chats became a safe space to debate that, share that, build consensus, feel that you’re not alone,”
said #Erik #Torenberg, an entrepreneur who was the first employee of the tech community hub Product Hunt.
As #Krishnan was setting up a set of tech group WhatsApp chats at a16z, #Torenberg independently founded a group of tech chats on WhatsApp and some more political Signal chats.

“They’re having all the private conversations because they weren’t allowed to have the public conversations,” Andreessen told Torenberg on a recent podcast,
after claiming in the name of secrecy that he’d never heard of such groups.
“If it wasn’t for the censorship all of these conversations would have happened in public, which would have been much better.”
Their creations took off:
“It might not seem like it, because of all the sh*t that people still post on X, but the internet has fragmented,”
the Substack author #Noah #Smith wrote after my inquiries for this story spilled into public Saturday.
“Group chats are now where everything important and interesting happens.”

semafor.com/article/04/27/2025

www.semafor.com · The group chats that changed AmericaBy Ben Smith
Public
Autiste à :ch_Vaud:🌊 #woke

The #Trump administration is descending into authoritarianism | theguardian.com/us-news/ng-int

Is descending? It is already in full #authoritarian mode! I don't know what else you can call a government that tramplea every rule of law, ignores the courts and judges requests and responds by insulting them or even requesting their removal. When a regime is " #disappearing " people, it's not a #democracy anymore. When people will finally realize in what trap they got themselves in, it'll be too late!

Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator, reacted on social media: “In dictatorships, they call this practice ‘being disappeared’. No charges, no claims of criminal behaviour. The White House doesn’t claim he did anything criminal. He’s in jail because of his political speech.”
Public
beSpacific

Russia anyone? A coalition of #news organizations said in a #court filing that video exhibits from a #Jan6 #riot case had "disappeared" from a government platform #DOJ that provided access to evidence used in court. "It is unclear whether the Department of Justice intentionally removed the files." npr.org/2025/02/11/nx-s1-52934 #disappearing #data #government #websites #politics #maga #trump #riots #CapitolRiots #legalresearch #censorship #freedomofinformation

Public
Chuck Darwin

👉 The #disappearance of #Indigenous #peoples in #Mexico,
👉 the #impunity of perpetrators committing #crimes against Indigenous, 👉 how some #self-#defense groups are #criminalized, and
👉 the #response by the National Indigenous Congress (#CNI).

In Mexico, Indigenous #defenders of #land, #territory, and the #environment are #disappearing

A prominent example is Santos de la Cruz Carrillo, Wixárika (Huichol) land defender and attorney.

Meanwhile the state and local #authorities have shown no interest in conducting real investigations. Perpetrators of crimes against Indigenous peoples are acting with impunity while Indigenous peoples are being #falsely #charged of criminal activities.

When the government fails to provide security or actively collaborates with violent criminal organizations, Indigenous communities may form their own armed groups out of desperation, but this rarely ends well.

In #Pantelhó, in the highlands of #Chiapas, Los #Machetes began as an Indigenous self-defense group but have degenerated into a criminal band.

Next, we get an update on the National Indigenous Congress (#CNI) held in Tehuacan, Puebla on 4-5 March 2023, describing their efforts to resist several megaprojects which adversely impact Indigenous peoples.

Lastly, some preliminary analysis of the #Vatican’s 3/30/2023 statement #repudiating the #Doctrine of #Discovery.

soundcloud.com/burntswamp/murd

SoundCloudMurder Inc. of Indigenous Peoples in Mexico & Repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery: Land Back?On today’s program we report on the disappearance of Indigenous peoples in Mexico, the impunity of perpetrators committing crimes against Indigenous, how some self-defense groups are criminalized, and
ExploreLive feeds
About