Current status: fuming with rage at the SHEER INEPTITUDE of the French press in covering W Social and Mastodon.
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@benroyce perfectly said Ben!!!
I just found a video of the CEO of W Social at Davos literally going: "10 years ago we were saying that data is the new oil, but right now we say HIGH QUALITY data is the new oil."
To me it kind of reads like a confession / motivating force behind (1) creating W Social (2) using AT Proto for their "European alternative to X." Ouf.
@_elena That CEO used to be Chief Privacy Officer at eBay.. lol. Goes to tell what shape eBay's privacy is in, and what to expect from that BS project.
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yup
we are on #mastodon/ #fediverse because the profit motive in corporate #socialMedia means privacy defilement, free reign for bigotry/ ignorance, and #algorithm manipulation by #plutocracy agendas
the same applies to the #news #media:
#ventureCapital takes over dying traditional media outlets and puts right wing goons in the managing editor positions
we have nonprofit news (#NPR, #ProPublica, #TheGuardian, etc)
trust them
all else: beware
@benroyce @_elena @Gargron
I don't even trust The Guardian - too many of their "journalists" are trust fund babies who can't get jobs doing anything else, who regard poverty as a hypothetical rather than something that too many people know from experience, and are just as ready to throw trans folk under the bus as their right wing counterparts. -
RE: https://mamot.fr/@imacrea/115977976198245094
Current status: fuming with rage at the SHEER INEPTITUDE of the French press in covering W Social and Mastodon.
In the article linked below "journalist" François Saltiel wrote that @Gargron "quit his own network [Mastodon] because he was fed up with the behavior of certain users."
Eugen referred to deleting his bridge to Bluesky, not quitting Mastodon FFS.
You should know Mr. Saltier simply rehashed W Social's press release and failed to mention it is a fork of Bluesky...
"Journalism" today
it is a fork of Bluesky
Ah! Thanks! I was wondering wtf this “W Social” is supposed to be, and a quick duckduckgo left open more questions than it solved…
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@benroyce perfectly said Ben!!!
I just found a video of the CEO of W Social at Davos literally going: "10 years ago we were saying that data is the new oil, but right now we say HIGH QUALITY data is the new oil."
To me it kind of reads like a confession / motivating force behind (1) creating W Social (2) using AT Proto for their "European alternative to X." Ouf.
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RE: https://mamot.fr/@imacrea/115977976198245094
Current status: fuming with rage at the SHEER INEPTITUDE of the French press in covering W Social and Mastodon.
In the article linked below "journalist" François Saltiel wrote that @Gargron "quit his own network [Mastodon] because he was fed up with the behavior of certain users."
Eugen referred to deleting his bridge to Bluesky, not quitting Mastodon FFS.
You should know Mr. Saltier simply rehashed W Social's press release and failed to mention it is a fork of Bluesky...
"Journalism" today
@_elena @Gargron Wow, this, well, article is... something. In German jurisprudence, I guess this would most likely fall under “false factual claims” and can have legal consequences for the author. As it is not “only” directed against one person, but against the network as a whole and can have very negative consequences, I would at least consider taking legal actions against this person.
The crucial point is: Is this false factual claim being claimed as fact, or is it being expressed as opinion? -
@benroyce @_elena @Gargron
I don't even trust The Guardian - too many of their "journalists" are trust fund babies who can't get jobs doing anything else, who regard poverty as a hypothetical rather than something that too many people know from experience, and are just as ready to throw trans folk under the bus as their right wing counterparts.i remember that
for anyone not familiar with The Guardian's betrayal of trans rights:
all i have to say in return is that with nonprofit media there is a chance for correction. while for-profit news media, they take over the managing editor positions with right wing venture capital and so trans rights will never be honored, will be always attacked
my point is in general about for-profit vs nonprofit, not a specific defense of The Guardian
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@_elena how many politicians, organisations and journalists will join - because then the masses will join. If we want that is another question.
So yes, it's just one of these "quick" broadcast contributions where an author doesn't interview people directly (or did he?) and graps the informations on the desk. And these were definitively the press release/publicity of Zeiter ...
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@Z_Zed_Zed @NatureMC @Gargron one of my favorite features to be honest (top 3!)
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@Z_Zed_Zed Therefore, I wrote: If we want that is another question."
Personally, I like that the Fediverse is growing in a sustainable and quite organic way, especially since some admins of smaller servers are often on the brink of financial ruin, lacking donations. But we also have to support this - and watch how the really big accounts go elsewhere.
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@aaronmccollum That's my impression too: it was a quick production because Zeiter's press release was on the table, so they quickly opened a blog page for a second structure, took a look, wrote something, and that was it.
These three-minute pieces are done under enormous time pressure. And very few listeners remember them afterwards.
@NatureMC @aaronmccollum @laxsill @_elena
my mother was a reporter and editor. she got me a part time job in high school at her newspaper
i've watched her work since i was in diapers and so i understand through her time pressure in journalism
but that is no defense for shoddy work
nor do people just forget
in fact the lies, intentional or unintentional, that appear in the press have debilitating effects on the common perception of truth
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RE: https://mamot.fr/@imacrea/115977976198245094
Current status: fuming with rage at the SHEER INEPTITUDE of the French press in covering W Social and Mastodon.
In the article linked below "journalist" François Saltiel wrote that @Gargron "quit his own network [Mastodon] because he was fed up with the behavior of certain users."
Eugen referred to deleting his bridge to Bluesky, not quitting Mastodon FFS.
You should know Mr. Saltier simply rehashed W Social's press release and failed to mention it is a fork of Bluesky...
"Journalism" today
@_elena @Gargron I foresee all those blind lemmings who left centralised platform X because one person started pulling the strings there with an undesirable fascist result, and then fled to a similar centralised platform, Bluesky, where ICE is suddenly allowed, now fleeing again to yet another centralised platform, W, only to find out in a few years' time that it's the same shit.
Donkeys don't stumble over the same stone twice!
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RE: https://mamot.fr/@imacrea/115977976198245094
Current status: fuming with rage at the SHEER INEPTITUDE of the French press in covering W Social and Mastodon.
In the article linked below "journalist" François Saltiel wrote that @Gargron "quit his own network [Mastodon] because he was fed up with the behavior of certain users."
Eugen referred to deleting his bridge to Bluesky, not quitting Mastodon FFS.
You should know Mr. Saltier simply rehashed W Social's press release and failed to mention it is a fork of Bluesky...
"Journalism" today
Humans make mistakes.
Here is a page where you can write him. They will probably mention the mistake and correct it in another podcast:
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@NatureMC @aaronmccollum @laxsill @_elena
my mother was a reporter and editor. she got me a part time job in high school at her newspaper
i've watched her work since i was in diapers and so i understand through her time pressure in journalism
but that is no defense for shoddy work
nor do people just forget
in fact the lies, intentional or unintentional, that appear in the press have debilitating effects on the common perception of truth
@benroyce
We *completely* agree!France Culture was repeatedly in the headlines until 2023 due to despotic conditions towards employees/political influence (and also financial difficulties):
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_Culture#Directions
With the new boss, a lot seems to have improved. But I have seen their reporters at local appointments who were unprepared and wanted to finish as quickly as possible. And therefore, reporting mistakes.
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@benroyce
We *completely* agree!France Culture was repeatedly in the headlines until 2023 due to despotic conditions towards employees/political influence (and also financial difficulties):
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_Culture#Directions
With the new boss, a lot seems to have improved. But I have seen their reporters at local appointments who were unprepared and wanted to finish as quickly as possible. And therefore, reporting mistakes. @NatureMC @aaronmccollum @laxsill @_elena
oof
thanks for the info
we need nonprofit alternatives to journalism, badly
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RE: https://mamot.fr/@imacrea/115977976198245094
Current status: fuming with rage at the SHEER INEPTITUDE of the French press in covering W Social and Mastodon.
In the article linked below "journalist" François Saltiel wrote that @Gargron "quit his own network [Mastodon] because he was fed up with the behavior of certain users."
Eugen referred to deleting his bridge to Bluesky, not quitting Mastodon FFS.
You should know Mr. Saltier simply rehashed W Social's press release and failed to mention it is a fork of Bluesky...
"Journalism" today
I also hate the French press. It's impossible to clean. #
️
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RE: https://mamot.fr/@imacrea/115977976198245094
Current status: fuming with rage at the SHEER INEPTITUDE of the French press in covering W Social and Mastodon.
In the article linked below "journalist" François Saltiel wrote that @Gargron "quit his own network [Mastodon] because he was fed up with the behavior of certain users."
Eugen referred to deleting his bridge to Bluesky, not quitting Mastodon FFS.
You should know Mr. Saltier simply rehashed W Social's press release and failed to mention it is a fork of Bluesky...
"Journalism" today
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In November 2025, Eugen Rochko stepped down as Mastodon CEO, and he transferred the trademark and assets to Mastodon. He did NOT cancel his account or any instances. It’s still there. The “journalist” could have check.
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/11/my-next-chapter-with-mastodonIn January 2026, he opted his Mastodon account out of the Bluesky bridge. This was supposedly because of the user behavior at Bsky. But I cannot find a direct statement about him leaving because of users.
https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/115912977448929626 -
@NatureMC @aaronmccollum @laxsill @_elena
my mother was a reporter and editor. she got me a part time job in high school at her newspaper
i've watched her work since i was in diapers and so i understand through her time pressure in journalism
but that is no defense for shoddy work
nor do people just forget
in fact the lies, intentional or unintentional, that appear in the press have debilitating effects on the common perception of truth
@benroyce worth mentioning your Neil Postman connection too Ben for the extra cred
The LinkedIn profile of that French journalist is really alarming because he's been a teacher of journalism at La Sorbonne and has published several books on tech. He's a radio producer and host. It's shocking that he would share such blatant lies. Shocking I tell you!
He even has a Wikipedia page: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Saltiel
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In November 2025, Eugen Rochko stepped down as Mastodon CEO, and he transferred the trademark and assets to Mastodon. He did NOT cancel his account or any instances. It’s still there. The “journalist” could have check.
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/11/my-next-chapter-with-mastodonIn January 2026, he opted his Mastodon account out of the Bluesky bridge. This was supposedly because of the user behavior at Bsky. But I cannot find a direct statement about him leaving because of users.
https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/115912977448929626@NickBergenComputerQuest you can't "find a direct statement about him leaving because of users" because it's a complete fabrication by that so-called journalist / radio host.
I repeat, a complete fabrication. And my jaw is still on the floor.
Thank you @imacrea for bringing to our attention that shocking paragraph
