Twitter quietly dropped the government identity check requirement for verification, as well as the requirements that the account be 30 days old, have an avatar, and are not impersonating anyone.
I was able to get verification on a 2 day old account named Barack Obama with no avatar or posts.
This will basically be the first US election where disinformation operatives have control over a major social media platform, rather than having to subvert its trust and safety apparatus.
I keep seeing this get reposted and I can't tell if people are trolling for engagements or if everyone is just completely financially illiterate. If you get any answer other than $400, you need to go back to school.
I made a new Twitter account just to make sure my disinformation research account wasn't somehow tainted by my scrolling habits. Here is the makeup of my news feed from a brand new account:
Elon Musk - Far right troll
Spectator Index - Neutral, high quality news
OSINTdefender - Disinformation account, possibly a RU bot
Disclose.tv - Far right news outlet
Matt Wallace - Far right troll
Scott Adams - Far right troll / Conspiracy account
Illuminati Bot - Far right troll / Conspiracy account
Hurt Copain - Left Wing, I think?
Catturd - Far right troll
Tim Pool - Far right troll
Gunther Eagleman - Far right troll
Chaya Raichik - Far right troll
Ian Miles Cheong - Far right troll
Nick Sortor - Far right troll
I'm always shocked by how expensive basic European experiences are in the US. One of my favorite things is high street shops. You have a bunch of stores with apartments above them, so you can always live within walking distance of basically everything. In the US they separate things into commercial and residential districts so you have to drive everywhere.
Areas that allow mixing residential and commercial buildings are so rare that supply & demand sends costs through the roof. In Europe living in an apartment above stores is a budget option for people who can't afford homes, in the US you basically have to be wealthy and often those apartments cost as much as an entire house.
The other thing I've never been able to wrap my head around is the cost of living difference. For the same as rent on a 2 bed apartment in west LA, I could buy absolutely any residential property in my hometown, including even some of the hotels.
even within the US, cost of living can vary insanely. my partner was renting a 1 BR basement apt in SF. for the same as that rent, i was paying mortgages on two houses, with total of 7500 sq ft, both houses having 3 car garages and views of mountains. admittedly, both houses were in suburbs in smaller towns in non-coast states.
And before someone mentions Texas. No. I don't move to Texas for the same reason I don't try to save money by buying off-brand cereal that's made with asbestos.
FML, It looks like the Airline Pilots Union is going to force the FFA to close the charter loophole because it's taking business away from major airlines. The loophole allows carriers running planes with 30 seats or less to operate like private jets and not force passengers to go through security. It was the last remaining not completely garbage experience of commercial air travel. https://simpleflying.com/faa-close-regulatory-charter-loophole/
@malwaretech counterpoint. Every time I’ve looked into smaller charter flights , the price has been prohibitively expensive ($10k or more per person).
Fwiw, I have precheck and clear, and my security line experience is vastly improved and shortened. Definitely worth the money if you fly with any regularity.
@malwaretech I mean, a year and a half ago I got most of my news from Twitter. I was able to follow reporters, academics, and authors to get timely and informative news.
These days, most of the people with higher quality info have moved on, and those who remain are supporting that mess. The only thing I miss is OSINT/nuclear non-proliferation academia, but at least @nuclearanthro and @CherylRofer are here.
Got a question because I'm useless at business. I get a lot of emails from companies asking me to do webinars, interviews, be a podcast guest, etc. They never mention any payment (not just no payment amount, but no mention of it being paid at all). Then when I don't reply, they follow up later with "btw we can pay you" and it's always phrased like they simply forgot to mention that in the initial email. I understand me being responsible for negotiating my rate, but having to negotiate getting paid at all? Is this the norm or is this just unserious companies trying to see first if I'll work for free and I'm better to just not engage at all with them at all?
@malwaretech folks hoping for a free lunch. same as the "we'll send you the product for free if you review it" people who, when you crunch the numbers, are paying you less than minimum wage to advertise for them.
@malwaretech
Sounds like a bad-faith offer if they don't mention payment; raises questions about whether they will actually pay you after you've delivered.
One of my rules of business: do not work with people/companies who can't get the money part right.
@malwaretech I don't understand why they (Republicans) don't just get on with it and shut it down and leave it that way - the Republicans already have their Project 2025 to drown the government in a bathtub, what's the difference to them?
Or do they actually like having the government running feeding Red States their pork every day?
I just saw that Am I The Asshole reddit thread where the white girl started going to a black salon because she had extremely curly hair and the black salon was the only one that didn't massacre it. Her white friends straight up gaslit her into believe she was engaging in cultural appropriation and stealing resources from black people. WILD 💀
I guess the economy really isn't going well because my apartment complex just sent out an email advertising a service that provides financing for paying your monthly rent