Ben Werdmuller
benwerd@nos.social
npub183ng...4n09
I lead technology at ProPublica and write speculative fiction. This is a personal account.
Every day, I write about tech, democracy, and society at https://werd.io.
More about me: https://about.werd.io
‘The goal of a protest song is to make people feel strong and alive’: Ani DiFranco on Broadway, Fugazi and 30 years of activism 
Ben Werdmuller
‘The goal of a protest song is to make people feel strong and alive’: Ani DiFranco on Broadway, Fugazi and 30 years of activism
[Ani DiFranco interviewed by Kate Hutchinson in The Guardian]
Ani DiFranco, the artist I've seen live more than any other, answered my question as...
DOGE Is Building a Master Database to Surveil and Track Immigrants
Ben Werdmuller
DOGE Is Building a Master Database to Surveil and Track Immigrants
[Makena Kelly and Vittoria Elliott at WIRED]
The Holocaust was organized on IBM punch cards. Hitler gave the head of IBM, Watson, a medal for his ...
Trump Halts Data Collection on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change, More
Ben Werdmuller
Trump Halts Data Collection on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change, More
[Alec MacGillis at ProPublica]
The statistics that help us navigate our world are under thread:
"Every year, year after year, workers in agencies...
If I ran Bluesky Product 
Ben Werdmuller
If I ran Bluesky Product
What Musk is branding, Bluesky may build.
CaMeL offers a promising new direction for mitigating prompt injection attacks
Ben Werdmuller
CaMeL offers a promising new direction for mitigating prompt injection attacks
[Simon Willison]
Prompt injection attacks have been one of the bugbears for modern AI models: it's an unsolved problem that has meant that it can ...
EU issues US-bound staff with burner phones over spying fears
Ben Werdmuller
EU issues US-bound staff with burner phones over spying fears
[Andy Bounds in the Financial Times]
The last few months have radically changed the risk assessment for people traveling to the US from abroad - a...
Notes from Perugia: journalism, values, and building the web we need
Ben Werdmuller
Notes from Perugia: journalism, values, and building the web we need
We can own the platforms that support us
The Social Security Administration Is Gutting Regional Staff and Shifting All Public Communications to X
Ben Werdmuller
The Social Security Administration Is Gutting Regional Staff and Shifting All Public Communications to X
[Zoë Schiffer at WIRED]
The Social Security Administration is changing its communications strategy in a surprising way:
““We are no longer p...
After leaving Substack, writers are making more money elsewhere
Ben Werdmuller
After leaving Substack, writers are making more money elsewhere
[Alexander Lee at Digiday]
Substack isn't the best deal in town for independent journalists:
"A year after leaving Substack in early 2024, newsle...
Social Security’s website keeps crashing, as DOGE demands cuts to IT staff
Ben Werdmuller
Social Security’s website keeps crashing, as DOGE demands cuts to IT staff
[Lisa Rein, Hannah Natanson and Elizabeth Dwoskin at The Washington Post]
More "efficiency" from DOGE:
"Retirees and disabled people are facing c...
The Tumblr revival is real—and Gen Z is leading the charge
Ben Werdmuller
The Tumblr revival is real—and Gen Z is leading the charge
[Eve Upton-Clark at Fast Company]
I love this. Tumblr is so back:
"Thanks to Gen Z, the site has found new life. As of 2025, Gen Z makes up 50% o...