I draw stuff, I write stuff, I mostly yell incoherently about niche fandoms. If you enjoy the content I produce, perhaps you'd like to buy me a coffee. | I said it once, I'll say it again: If you start following me and your blog is entirely empty, I will think you're a bot and I will block you. Post or reblog something so I know you have a personality.
1. The court holds Google responsible for statements made by its AI, considering them Google's statements (search engines have limited liability for results in their engine as they're the words of other sites/companies/people), meaning when their AI lies/hallucinates they're liable for the defamation/harm resulting from those statements.
2. Google's defense that customers are generally aware of the lack of reliability and are responsible for fact checking was dismissed. As the court pointed out, that would "significantly diminish" AI Search's stated purpose and it can't be distinguished from Google's business practices/statements as a search tool.
3. Studies have found about 91% of Google's everyday AI responses are accurate, leaving millions of searches per HOUR with potential liability for falsehoods. 56% of correct responses weren't supported by the sources the AI listed. Both of which mean Google is now liable for a LOT more AI "errors."
4. Google was held liable for 80% of court costs in this case and this precedent is expected to reverberate around the world. This is a massive shift from the 3rd-party search provider role Google has previously played and it comes right as they've tied ALL searches to their AI search.
Additional source and more details below. Absolutely thrilled to say that this is real. And yeah, it's huge.
For all the reasons above AND ALSO because this particular lawsuit is a defamation case
Privacy lawsuits are hard because most privacy laws are super super weak, and there's very rarely a lot of money or enforcement backing privacy laws for...twenty million reasons, really...
But defamation suits? Those have teeth.
(In large part because, at least in some countries and including in the US, defamation laws protect public figures the least - and "public figures" legally includes most if not all politicians, and a hell of a lot of other rich ppl too)
A Munich court ruled Google's AI Overviews are its own words, making it liable for false claims, a decision that, if it holds, could reach e
A German court has ruled that Google can be held directly liable for false claims made by its AI Overviews, a decision that could put a serious legal dent in the whole “the AI made me do it” defense.
According to The Next Web, the Regional Court of Munich issued a temporary injunction after Google’s AI Overviews wrongly tied two Munich publishers to scams, subscription traps, and dubious business practices. The court treated those AI-generated summaries as Google’s own statements, not just ordinary search results pointing to third-party pages.
That distinction matters. Search engines have traditionally had more protection because they index and link to other people’s content. AI Overviews changes the machinery. Google is not just showing the web anymore. It is summarizing it, rewriting it, and sometimes apparently hallucinating a tiny legal grenade into the results page.
HEY DON'T CRY. 8,008 SPECIES OF FROG IN THE WORLD PER AMPHIBIAWEB AND THE 8,000TH FROG WAS DESCRIBED BY TUMBLR'S OWN FROG SCIENTIST DR. Scherz, ET AL., PEACE AND LOVE ON PLANET EARTH ‼️‼️‼️
yk, there are of course problems with sex work as an industry, many of them due to it being so heavily stigmatized. Yes, there is a large grey/black area of it, yes, it can often be traumatic for the workers, yes, can be extremely dangerous, and yes it's often exploitative.
However. Criminalizing sex work would likely solve none of these problems, only exacerbate them, and add a whole list of new problems on top. First of all.
And second of all, none of these problems are unique to sex work. Agriculture, delivery, home care, so many more: all these industries rely heavily on criminally underpaid migrant workers. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the cheap plastic shit we buy, all was brought to us by exploitation. I'm speaking from a western European perspective when I say, all of this is happening right here. At home. On our farms, in our streets.
And yet! Delivering amazon parcels or working 3 shifts in a slaughterhouse is not constantly on the verge of being criminalized. Is it. No one is publicly shamed and called a pervert for hiring a 24hr care assistant to come live with their grandma.
It is only sex work that has supposed "feminists" rallying against it and why is that? Not because of exploitation, and not because of the danger (plenty of exploitative and dangerous jobs with a largely female workforce to go around). Because they see sex as inherently degrading. Sex work is The Worst because sex is uniquely damaging. It is the madonna/whore complex but call it feminism.
I'm not saying the sector isn't riddled with problems. It absolutely is. But the barely disguised moral outrage, not at the problems, but at the fact that sex work exists at all - that's very, very transparent. And it's honestly astonishing that none of these clowns are self-aware enough to realize that.
There's this huge media storm that, even when it's supposed to be "trans positive" still paints this atmosphere of separation between trans and cis women. This has been the opposite of my experience. I'm grateful for the solidarity between all women <3
There are gonna be young cis women who are gonna delight in helping you find out what sort of clothes you wanna wear, how to look after your skin and hair, helping you on the path to learning the difference between like, what you feel you *should* present like vs what is actually comfortable and authentically you.
There are going to be menopausal cis mums who are on the same brand of estrogen patch as you who are gonna join you in griping about getting them to stick and swapping tips for when you get dispensed the big patches but your dose is half that.
There are going to be infertile cis women who share your pain and anger at the concept that 'able to bear children' is seen as the only 'real' way to be a woman.
There are gonna be intersex cis women who understand what it's like to have your body's default state not line up with societal expectations.
There are gonna be queer cis women who will stand with you at Pride, who will welcome you to our family, our community.
I want to reblog this a thousand times. I've seen all of this, and it is so beautiful and pure and we all need it for survival. I love women, I love the solidarity we all have, and I love what we can all do for each other <3
reblogged this earlier but actually have something to add. the barely 20 year old cis girl who came up to me in the train station to ask me if she could stand with me. who told me all her friends left and she felt nervous waiting alone. who waited with me and told me to get home safe as we got on the train together. the fact that you felt like I was a safe and kind woman you could lean on a little?
Probably the single most affirming social experience I've had with a stranger. The fact you chose me of everyone in the train station means you saw me in a crowd and picked me out and said "That's a girl's girl."
Shout out to the group of middle aged cis moms I met at the liquor store when I was looking for wine. The one that said "oh honey, you just wiped off your makeup." And gestured at her upper lip after I wiped the sweat off my face with a handkerchief from my purse.
I was having a lot of dysphoria about my upper lip hair suddenly having color to it (medicine side effect it seems). So I was internally wondering if they'd ostracize me since they'd clocked me.
One of the women goes "oh it's okay, I have PCOS too. Don't let it bother you." And suddenly I've got 3 women chatting with me and lamenting how they have to "shave almost every day at this point" and just cackling. The store worker joined in, saying she plucks constantly, and her "transgender friend has to shave 2 or more times a day!". They all had these genuine reactions and "oh no, poor girl" and other comments.
I felt included. I never mentioned that I was transgender.. I just carried on, they helped me pick out wines, gave me some tips on undertones for makeup to cover facial hair stubble, and I got the shop worker to pull out some elderflower liqueur to add to a small sample of a Pinot Grigio (and got more people to try it and add it to their rotation. Seriously, try it sometime. It's incredible).
The random solidarity and genuine reactions I've received from other women has been very validating and honestly so welcome.
I actually have one for this. I work in food service, and I was working in that industry for... Almost a decade before I came out. And I came out at age 27, didn't start HRT until I was 28. Despite the sheer size of the city I live in, a not insignificant portion of the industry knows who I am. And so when I get a new job, I usually have to come out a few times.
I had had this job for a couple of months, and while I was working I was told we had a stage coming in later to see how they fit in. I say great and go on my break. When I come back, the potential hire is there... And she's a coworker from a couple jobs ago (like two or three years previous). We both slowly point at each other and go "Aren't you... ?" Before laughing and reintroducing ourselves. I go "Sooo I'm a girl now," and she laughs and tells me "Yeah I can tell." We spend some time catching up, and we work great together, and she gets hired.
A few days later I tell her I'm jealous of her bandana — you need something to cover your hair at work, and I'd been using a baseball cap, but I felt it made me look really masculine, even after several years of HRT — and she immediately pulls out a spare and shows me how to wear it. I still love the selfie I took that day, I was beaming. And from there it was very clear she just... accepted me as one of the girls. She'd tell me about men being shitty to her, and about the consistent misogyny we face, and even helped me at a sapphic night at a bar. It was just... Instant solidarity. It was amazing. We're still friends today.
when my close friend came out, my mother (who had a hysterectomy years ago and had been in estrogen) gave her some general advice about it.
she also gave her a list of things that would help with the bodily transition while on estrogen, from good bras, general breast health tips (not even just lump checks - how to deal with friction or rashes underneath the breasts, how to get properly fitted for a bra, etc.) and just - general stuff a mother would do for a daughter going through puberty.
it is general human nature to help and take care of each other. cruelty isn't.
there will never be anything as funny as the mutual disbelief between long form and short form fic writers about each other's style.
short form writers look at people writing 100k+ fics as though this is some sort of talent given as part of a fae bargain, that the commitment required shows some sort of ungodly mental fortitude.
meanwhile long form writers look at people writing 1000 word one shots like god I would cut off my left nipple to be able to say anything concisely. i would love to play with multiple ideas. free me from the shackles of this child I have birthed. i love them but I now must take them to t-ball and doctor's appointments and they're going to destroy everything I own.
yeah yeah rainbow capitalism is bad and whatever but like. when I was a child, being pro gay was not the popular or lucrative choice. I'm happy that times have changed.
I miss rainbow capitalism. I do. I miss when it felt like public opinion was still pro gay. I understand it was always an empty gesture, but it mattered in a sense of knowing how socially acceptable being queer is. If that makes sense.
Ok but like. What the fuck is there to do on the internet anymore?
Idk when I was younger, you could just go and go and find exciting new websites full of whatever cool things you wanted to explore. An overabundance of ways to occupy your time online.
Now, it's just... Social media. That's it. Social media and news sites. And I'm tired of social media and I'm tired of the news.
Am I just like completely inept at finding new things or has the internet just fallen apart that much with the problems of SEO and web 3.0 turning everything into a same-site prison?
You're right that the internet is smaller than it used to be, but there's still some cool stuff left in the corners. I'd recommend checking checking out Neocities if you haven't--it's an independent web hosting platform like Geocities of the old web, and there are hundreds of interesting and active pages discoverable both through their search function and through web buttons (links attached to small pictures with the title of a website) within the websites themselves. Here are three examples of web buttons you may find in link pages:
Most Neocities websites have link pages or button collections with anywhere from tens to hundreds of these. Don't be afraid to explore!
If you're looking for something more like a search engine, I can point you towards Marginalia. It's not a particularly smart engine, but it's perfectly usable if you've ever been taught to use search engines back when they were mostly run through keywords instead of full sentence comprehension. There's also an "about" and "tips" section on the front page with more information. The algorithm of Marginalia can be filtered by the user to allow, disallow, or require JavaScript depending on your needs, plus there are filters designed specifically to prioritize web 1.0 sites or mostly text-based ones. It is possible to search for modern websites with it, but it can return websites from just about any decade (since the invention of the web, obviously) so long as they contain the information you're looking for. For example, here are some random interesting sites I've found using Marginalia:
Native Languages of the Americas: Native American Cultures
BASIC HTML COMPETENCY IS THE NEW PUNK FOLK EXPLOSION!
Earthbound Text Labs by Bill Eager
The possibilities for discovery are truly endless.
Now you might want to know about directories. These make browsing for websites easier, but require you to read through and judge which ones to visit, as there aren't algorithms ranking the sites besides the whim of whoever coded the directory. Some of them have themes, others don't. Here are two that I've used:
Yesterlinks Directory
Ichigo Directory
Directories can be harder to come by just by surfing the net, but they aren't impossible to find. Many personal websites have their own directories of interesting sites hidden within them.
Webrings are similar to directories, but are actually more community-based. You have to register your website to be a part of a webring, usually by sending an email to whoever runs it and meeting some kind of entry criteria. For example, my personal website used to be a part of a webring called Sweet Dreams, which was for websites that heavily utilize color palettes and images of cute things, particularly sweets. Webrings will give you access to a widget upon entry that allow visitors and other members to browse between the registered websites in a massive ring, ergo, where the term gets its name. Webrings can have any theme or criteria for entry. If you can make a website about it, you can find a webring for it.
Now, you might be wondering about social media alternatives. I can't offer much, but I can nudge you towards the idea of forums. Here's one I found that could really use some traffic. I also browse a bit on MelonLand forum, which is actually closed right now--it's currently closed on Mondays--but on any other day of the week, you can find a fun community there dedicated to web revival. You can find it through MelonLand's main page. I'd also recommend checking out SpaceHey, which is a MySpace clone that's customizable and easy to use.
I hope this is of some help to you. The internet may feel less magical than it used to be, but that doesn't mean that the spark has completely died out. These types of indie websites need more attention if we ever hope to reverse the damage done to the internet by centralization and corporate interest. People are trying to make the web a cooler place to be, but we're going to have to do the work of finding and interacting with these projects in order to get them off the ground someday.
ALSO you should consider browsing Virtual Pet List and seeing if there are any pet sites you might be interested in playing. There is a whole genre of browser games right under your nose
Getting off of twitter and onto neocities has really healed me and I am so glad to see it is healing other people too ;u; let's retreat into the self-made digital woods and away from corporate bs pls, I am so tired
roald dahl was antisemitic. george orwell was openly homophobic. edgar allan poe married his 13 year old cousin. dr seuss cheated on his wife. hp lovecraft was racist as fuck.
anyways they’re fucking dead it’s not like you’re enabling their behaviors in the afterlife or something. then again I think orwell’s homophobia bleeds into one of his books so uh keep an eye out for that
the difference between these old white guys and jk rowling is that the former group is all dead. jk rowling is alive and using your money to oppress trans people
it’s kind of wild that after nearly 3 years of genocide zionists still haven’t come up with anything better than asking if you condemn hamas and then insisting that no israel means no jews. gotta update that playbook real bad
Yeah, it means that I'm Jewish, have studied Jewish history, spoken to Jewish survivors from all over the world, and know what happens when Jews are left at the mercy of goyim.
Hey, @at-the-end-of-all, please read what Hamas has said will happen to Israelis. Please read what they did to Muslim Israelis on October 7, 2023.
Read what Yahya Sinwar said would be done to Jews. Read what Hamas did to people. Here's a tiny example of what Hamas does to Jews:
In terms of how surrounding countries treat Jews, I offer this.
And if you don't want to believe a Jew, fine, but I hope you'll listen to an actual Palestinian who has repeatedly called for peace and a two state solution.
real direct quotes from the Hamas founding covenant:
"Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised."
"The day that enemies usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Moslem. In face of the Jews' usurpation of Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised."
"In their Nazi treatment, the Jews made no exception for women or children. Their policy of striking fear in the heart is meant for all. They attack people where their breadwinning is concerned, extorting their money and threatening their honour. They deal with people as if they were the worst war criminals."
"Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Moslem people."
"Arab and Islamic Peoples should augment by further steps on their part; Islamic groupings all over the Arab world should also do the same, since all of these are the best-equipped for the future role in the fight with the warmongering Jews."
*note that every spelling is in the actual document, not my words.
or a quote from Ahed Tamimi: "We are fighting the Jews, not just Zionism"
please stop lying. Hamas or other groups like them being in charge absolutely means no Jews. and since you see little value in Jewish lives, I will ask you what you think would happen to the 1 in 5 Israelis who are Arab Muslims considering Hamas did not spare them on October 7th.
In your original tags you claim that asking for people to condemn Hamas is unproductive. meanwhile Hamas literally says they want to murder all the Jews in the world. so yeah lol. how dare Jews want to know if someone supports a group that calls for their deaths.
Transphobia is about to be signed into law in the UK. We can fight this.
I am begging the UK trans community and its allies to attend the Mass Lobby at Parliament on June 25th, 11am-4pm, organised by Trans Solidarity Alliance.
Last year we broke the record for an LGBT+ mass lobby of Parliament. Will you help us break it again? Join us on 25th June 2026 to demand be
The new EHRC Code of Practice pushes trans people out of toilets, hospital wards, and community spaces. It normalises gender policing based on appearance and stereotypes. It becomes statutory guidance in the UK by the end of June.
Trans people are now legally their assigned gender at birth and must join gendered spaces accordingly, but if they are perceived as their lived gender, they can also be ejected from those spaces. The guidance says: either break the law, or don’t pass too well.
A mass lobby is where you invite your MP to discuss your concerns with you in-person. Ask your MP to:
Demand full parliamentary scrutiny, debate, and use their free vote on the EHRC Code of Practice.
Support any motions rejecting the EHRC guidance. As of June 4th, Labour MP Nadia Whittome has submitted a prayer motion - Early Day Motion 240.
Write to Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities about our concerns
Your MP does not have to be an ally, they do not have to respond to your email for you to show up and greencard them (details below the cut.) What matters is that as many people as possible show up.
I cannot stress this enough: Showing up in person matters. It is much more effective than petitions, emails, and letters.
It is a horrible, stressful time, and I am so sorry if you're trans and live in the UK. But I was at last year's mass lobby and the line for greencarding alone stretched around the back gates. It was a record breaking mass lobby and made us impossible to ignore. Let's do even better this time. Details under the cut:
Worried about what to say?
Bring your personal worries about transphobia being signed into law, and trans friends being excluded from public spaces. You are a living person who deserves dignity. Remind your MP of that. You will also get guidance and brochures from Trans Solidarity Alliance that outlines our demands. This is mine from last year.
Money issues?
Trans Solidarity Alliance provides a travel bursary that you can sign up for via the link.
Got a refusal or no response from your MP?
Come anyway! You can request a same-day appointment with your MP through a process called greencarding. They will come and see you if they’re already in Parliament. Even if they don’t, they’re made acutely aware of your cause because you showed up in person. This is my greencard from last year.
Here is the EHRC Code of Practice in full. It's a tough read, but some highlights are:
Organisations can’t provide trans-inclusive, single-sex services, or they risk being sued for discrimination.
e.g. domestic violence support for women including trans women, men’s rugby group including trans men (12.68).
Trans people will have nowhere safe to pee.
If you’re a trans man, businesses can't allow you to pee in the men's, and you can also be ejected from women’s bathrooms if you’re perceived as a man. Vice versa for trans women. EHRC suggests a ‘third space’ bathroom, which is discriminatory and unworkable for most businesses. (13.130-133)
Sports organisations must exclude trans people from single-sex competitions (13.73).
A women’s only sports competition must exclude trans women because of their biological advantage or face potential lawsuits (13.74), but a trans man who has undergone testosterone treatment can also be excluded based on fairness rules (13.81).
Trans women are stripped of the legal definition of ‘lesbian’, and therefore no longer have legal protections if they’re discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. (2.50, 2.92).
Here is the Good Law Project's better explanation of the EHRC Code.
I have also made a PDF printout of QR codes for the government petition, email your MP tool, and mass lobby link to pass around your communities. DM me and I'll send it to you.
It's also important for us cis allies to show up and support our trans community members, so think about joining this if you're able no matter your gender identity.
I'm not going to be able to go, but I do have some experience with lobbying my various MPs over the years, so here's some quick advice off the top of my head:
If you're resident in the UK but not a citizen you still have the right to go to Parliament and be seen by your MP.
If you don't know who your MP is you can look it up by putting your postcode into the Find My MP page on Parliament's website (pro tip if you are a uni student, check your MP for both your family home and your uni, one may be a better option for lobbying than the other, you may even be able to Green Card both of them, but I don't know if that's possible, ask on the desk when you ask for the card).
And everyone needs to remember that while officially you're not required to show photo ID to get into Parliament the official guidance from the House of Commons is "you don't need photo ID to get in but we suggest you bring it anyway" (which is just unhelpful)
You will also be required to pass through airport style security which obviously may be a stressful experience for some of the people taking part in the mass lobby. That can take anywhere up to half an hour, the staff are usually pretty nice, but the entry into the security check is a sloped metal ramp with zero shade and nowhere to lean or sit so plan accordingly.
If your MP is not in the building to come and meet you they are required to respond to your Green Card as soon as possible via the contact details you put on your Green Card. While meeting them in person is the ideal you will get a response so it will be worth it even if your MP is unavailable.
Have a safe, productive lobby! Proud of all of you who can go and support the cause.
Yes! This is also a good point! MPs are traditionally expected to spend their Fridays in their constituency and to hold regular opportunities for you to meet with them to discuss issues. This is called a constituency surgery. If you are unable to make it to London you can look up when your MP is holding their next surgery and make an appointment to see them in your home town to discuss it there. Maybe even reach out to local pride groups in your area and do a local mass lobby of your MP in order to show them this is an issue that matters in your area too.
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