#information pollution

[theemotionmachine]

It would be easier to solve moral and cultural problems if dishonest actors weren’t constantly clogging up our information streams.

[wat3rm370n]

AI slop is not journalism.

Associated Press dumps journalists for AI – Pivot to AI – Apr 7, 2026

It’s truly bizarre that long respected news outlets are throwing it all away to embrace information pollution via shoddy error-prone AI slop. One outlet even announced they would be publishing AI slop with bylines using names of real journalists without their consent. I’m sure that will shore up the lagging trust in mainstream media!

My letter to reps:

News and publications that use AI should have to at least label their content as automated, because it’s well known that AI chatbot generated text is error-prone, and even makes up fake citation references to science or legal cases that don’t exist. How can anyone trust anything out there in the news or in books if it’s just churned out of text generating chatbots just to make a buck? It’s information pollution.

Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.

Nieman Lab - ProPublica journalists walk off the job in first U.S. newsroom strike over AI - On the picket line in New York, union leaders said they expect “more concentrated conflicts” over AI in the news industry. By Andrew Deck April 9, 2026, 1:22 p.m. Bargaining committee members told me there has been little movement from ProPublica management since the strike authorization vote passed on March 20, with the support of 92% of the Guild. That includes the dispute over a provision that would restrict layoffs because of AI technologies. Management has offered expanded severance for AI-related layoffs as a counter proposal. “Broadly trust in journalism is in a really fragile place,” said Campbell, noting the rise of “AI slop” and AI-generated disinformation on social media. “I would think that we would want to be leading the way on something like this. We have an opportunity to be a place that people know that they can always go to and trust that it’s going to be work that’s produced by humans.”

[wat3rm370n]

AI shortcuts are a serious form of creating information pollution.

With so many companies encouraging the use of AI chatbots, chatbot coding, agents, etc, into everything in order to cut corners, slash jobs, and cut costs, there have probably already been deaths that could be linked to the information pollution and errors that are resulting. How could there not be?

Screenshot of post on bluesky: mush at goblinbox dot com‬ - the ice cream labels where i work, which must be accurate by law (especially allergens, so we don't injure someone or get fined) are filled in by a coworker recently learned she's been copying AI results instead of visiting ingredient manufacturer's sites, so now, on average, they're all 30% wrong 4:26 AM · Apr 9, 2026 8 reposts 3 quotes 37 likes 1 save

My letter to reps:

Someone posted on social media that they work in ice cream labels that are supposed to be accurate by law for allergens for example, and they have a coworker doing labels by copying error-prone AI chatbot results instead of visiting the manufacturer websites, as a shortcut. What are you doing to prevent this kind of potentially serious issue because AI is pushed everywhere to cut corners?

Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.

[megonyourface]

1. Write your name in song titles m : maps - maroon 5
e : earned it - the weeknd
g : g.i.n.a.s.f.s. - fob
a : all hail the heartbreakers - the spill canvas
n : naive - the kooks 2. Why did you choose your URL?
it's my name! i wanted megan_leonard (because that is me like literally everywhere on the interwebz!!) but tumblr doesn't allow underscores. boooo! 3. What’s your middle name? 
elaine. 4. If you could be a fictional/fairy tale being, who would you be?
peter pan is pretty rad, that'd be cool. 5. Favourite colour?
sometimes blue, sometimes yellow. 6. Favourite song? oh, i can't pick a favorite! but my top played on iTunes is 'headfirst slide into cooperstown on a bad bet' by fall out boy, obvi ;) 7. Top 4 fandoms?
fall out boy, brendon urie/patd, uhhh.... 8. Why do you enjoy Tumblr?
aesthetic. ;) 9. Tag 9 of your mutuals: 
idk if we follow 9 mutuals, but I'll tag: riseofbunny, mysilentstrife, balancingknives, kendraismyname, cassiestmorin, jadedwhiskeyprincess, kenziejumps, satansstepmom, winebottledame mr supersaiyanswagg tagged me! 😁

[kenyatta]

Police officers in one major U.S. city are fighting back against Waze, a popular mobile app that reveals their locations to motorists. Hundreds of officers in the Miami area have downloaded the app, which lets users provide real-time traffic information and identify areas where police are conducting speed enforcement. The local NBC affiliate says the officers are flooding Waze with false information on their activity in an attempt to make the app's information less useful to drivers. Disclosing the location of police officers "puts us at risk, puts the public at risk, because it's going to cause more deadly encounters between law enforcement and suspects," Sgt. Javier Ortiz, president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, tells the news outlet. The National Sheriffs' Association first raised concerns about the Waze app, which is used by millions of motorists. Not all police officers agree that it poses a threat, however. If a criminal wants to hurt an officer, they say, they don't need an app to find a target. And high-visibility enforcement may ultimately reduce crime.

Police officers circumvent Waze by providing misinformation