Samantha Pajor

Feminist. Journalist. Fangirl.

[Hank Green @hankgreen]

Placing a layer of algorithmic recommendation on speech does not make speech less free, but it does pervert it.

Platforms do not value speech because it is protected, they value the service it provides them.

In most cases, this is fairly straightforward...the service your speech provides for the platform is the capture and retention of attention. Whatever speech is better at capturing and retaining attention is the speech that will be amplified regardless of truth, care, or consequence. In many cases, it is amplified specifically because it does not place any value on truth or consequence.

In an era defined by these platforms, that has resulted in an information economy (and a politics) driven almost entirely by how good something is at capturing and retaining attention. This effect can even do this to our minds, re-forming our thought processes to weight whether a thought would grab attention over whether it is true.

The fact that this is done solely for profit does not change that it is a perversion of your speech. It does not just change how you understand reality, it changes how you engage with that reality. When we know that our speech will be silenced if it does not capture and hold attention, we alter our behavior to say only the most attention-grabbing things.

If the medium is the message, then the message of algorithmic content platforms is not expression or connection or freedom. It is salience above all else.

This is what is happening to us on these platforms. They cannot behave any other way.

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

@corenswet Happy National Aviation Day ✈️🎙️

[Hank Green @hankgreen]

“Nazi” isn’t a slur. It’s a word that describes real people who earnestly believe in their ideas. Their ideas are disgusting and hateful, but of course they often do not realize it.

I keep running into racists who think that it’s not white supremacist to think that white people are inherently superior to other races. No…that’s the whole definition!! The fact that they believe it earnestly and don’t think it’s an idiotic, hateful belief doesn’t mean it’s not an idiotic, hateful belief.

Nazi isn’t a word that means “bad evil boogeyman” it means “someone who believes in their own racial superiority, extreme protectionist nativism, the purifying of society by eliminating undesirables, expansionism, active suppression of dissent, and total state power held in the hands of a very small group.”

Make sure the people you’re cheering for don’t believe these things because otherwise…

[Hank Green @hankgreen]

Just gonna leave this here...

[🐢🐢🐢John Green🐢🐢🐢 @johngreen]

Hi! My new book, Everything Is Tuberculosis, comes out March 18th. I'm signing 100,000 copies of it. You can preorder your signed copy today at https://t.co/WEtD6dTeAJ or wherever books are sold.

[Results UK @resultsuk]

📷 TB is the deadliest infectious disease, yet the Global Fund only allocates 18% of its resources to fighting it. This is far from enough.

We need equitable funding to end TB. Read our blog & sign the petition to demand change! 📷 https://t.co/CYqhrwyz0T

#EndTB #GlobalHealth

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

If you're a fan of Alan Bradley and the Flavia de Luce mystery series, you HAVE to watch this interview from @murderbooks between Alan Bradley and Louise Penny! It was so charming, and has me SO excited to read the new book!
https://t.co/LsHpBZ3uvn

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

I was fascinated by Sai Englert's talk on #SettlerColonialism at @socialismconf and knew I had to read his book! The @haymarketbooks book room was sold out by the time I went in to buy it, so I purchased it online and it arrived today! So excited to read this and learn more!

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

I think Socialists sometimes forget that they didn't always identify as Socialists.
When talking to people about politics, we have to meet them where they are.
#Socialism2024

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

@shifuplay1 @AdagioTeas I'm waiting for this too! 🌕

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

So excited for this! Just listened to the first episode!

[Rude Eats @RudeEats]

Ready for a taste of something sinister?🍷🔪
Feast your ears on Rude Eats, the podcast that's been simmering in the shadows, dissecting NBC's Hannibal with dark humor & ominous insights. Join us if you dare.
https://t.co/nm9ypvHCnd

[Hank Green @hankgreen]

https://t.co/bVY80MXdSE kicks ass and has everything you need in one place to make sure you’re registered, register if you aren’t, find out if you can vote by mail, find your polling place, etc etc etc. All in one non-partisan place!!!

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

@mishacollins Most people do agree with you. Polls have shown for months that most people agree with you.

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

@hankgreen Well you've convinced me! Just added myself to the hold list for this at my library! 💚

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

@hankgreen @riochantel I like 2 best!

[Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias]

Rising murders in 2020-2021 were a huge news story.

The fact that over 100% of that increase has reversed is a non-story in a world dominated by negativity and doomer narratives.

https://t.co/hy9c68FgRM

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

@johngreen @StreamOnMax John, it looks so good!! Congratulations!!

[MSF Access @MSF_access]

Sign our petition!
https://t.co/0SpMniTndP

We have a simple request to @DanaherCorp & @CepheidNews: drop the price of your lifesaving medical tests to $5🖐️each, so many more people can get diagnosed & treated!

#TimeFor5 #PeopleOverProfits #MedicinesANDTestsShouldntBeALuxury

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

Today I went for a walk and listened to John Green's lecture on Tuberculosis. I highly recommend both. #TBFighters
https://t.co/3osGxkXuPt

[Samantha Pajor @SamanthaPajor]

I'm attending a @theactionnet event: Listen to Michigan and Beyond! Mass Call for Uncommitted . RSVP here: https://t.co/PKMdPHf0VM
#CeasefireNOW #uncommitted