Philipp Markolin
@philippmarkolin.eurosky.social
Science blogger and communicator:
www.protagonist-science.com
My investigative book about the COVID-19 origin controversy and manipulation campaigns about it can be found here:
www.lab-leak-fever.com
www.protagonist-science.com
My investigative book about the COVID-19 origin controversy and manipulation campaigns about it can be found here:
www.lab-leak-fever.com
Pinned
Lab Leak Fever
The COVID-19 Origin Theory that Sabotaged Science and Society
open.substack.com
Given the recent COVID-19 origins revival and Fauci witchhunt, just a reminder that I have written a book that answers to the best of our knowledge the question; and dismantles the many disinformation campaigns around the various lab leak narratives.
Free access:
open.substack.com/pub/protagon...
Free access:
open.substack.com/pub/protagon...
This is the type of social media innovation the platform monopolies have stiffled and deprived the public of for more than a decade.
In contrast, why if you give users more control over their feed?
Check it here on bluesky: bsky.app/profile/did:...
Or read 🔽
newpublic.substack.com/p/meet-the-a...
In contrast, why if you give users more control over their feed?
Check it here on bluesky: bsky.app/profile/did:...
Or read 🔽
newpublic.substack.com/p/meet-the-a...
🎛️📲 Meet the algorithm you can actually control and understand
Jonathan Stray and Renée DiResta introduce MySky, a feed that shows its work
newpublic.substack.com
September 20, 2026 at 5:06 PM
This is the type of social media innovation the platform monopolies have stiffled and deprived the public of for more than a decade.
In contrast, why if you give users more control over their feed?
Check it here on bluesky: bsky.app/profile/did:...
Or read 🔽
newpublic.substack.com/p/meet-the-a...
In contrast, why if you give users more control over their feed?
Check it here on bluesky: bsky.app/profile/did:...
Or read 🔽
newpublic.substack.com/p/meet-the-a...
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
I have a couple of really big projects in the works and the hardest part is not spoiling it too soon.
If you like my journalism and appreciate what I’m about, be appropriately excited.
If you like my journalism and appreciate what I’m about, be appropriately excited.
September 20, 2026 at 4:00 PM
I have a couple of really big projects in the works and the hardest part is not spoiling it too soon.
If you like my journalism and appreciate what I’m about, be appropriately excited.
If you like my journalism and appreciate what I’m about, be appropriately excited.
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
Ireland is to the US what Hungary was for too long to Russia.
We need to be much stricter in Treaty-level interventions to shut down the beachheads of fascism.
We need to be much stricter in Treaty-level interventions to shut down the beachheads of fascism.
This is insanity.
Irish Presidency's draft text of amendments to the GDPR allows training & operation of any AI without safeguards & tough legal basis (under "legitimate interest" a company claims what it is doing is OK. Up to you to find out and challenge in court). This is a free pass for US Tech.
Irish Presidency's draft text of amendments to the GDPR allows training & operation of any AI without safeguards & tough legal basis (under "legitimate interest" a company claims what it is doing is OK. Up to you to find out and challenge in court). This is a free pass for US Tech.
September 18, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Ireland is to the US what Hungary was for too long to Russia.
We need to be much stricter in Treaty-level interventions to shut down the beachheads of fascism.
We need to be much stricter in Treaty-level interventions to shut down the beachheads of fascism.
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
Person has long, conspicuous record of X → enters respectable institutional role → fellow elites immediately behave as though X might no longer be X → person does X → headline: “In surprising return to X…”
It’s respectability kayfabe. It kills me.
It’s respectability kayfabe. It kills me.
September 18, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Person has long, conspicuous record of X → enters respectable institutional role → fellow elites immediately behave as though X might no longer be X → person does X → headline: “In surprising return to X…”
It’s respectability kayfabe. It kills me.
It’s respectability kayfabe. It kills me.
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
Baffled about what on earth is happening this week?
You can't tell the players without a program. Fortunately, @nathaliemarechal.net has you covered.
You can't tell the players without a program. Fortunately, @nathaliemarechal.net has you covered.
What Policymakers and the Public Need to Know About the Cult of AI
Nathalie Maréchal asks, why are we betting the economy and the future of democracy on cult-like beliefs?
www.techpolicy.press
September 17, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Baffled about what on earth is happening this week?
You can't tell the players without a program. Fortunately, @nathaliemarechal.net has you covered.
You can't tell the players without a program. Fortunately, @nathaliemarechal.net has you covered.
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
BREAKING NEWS: The United Nations’ top human rights body reported that it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that the U.S. committed war crimes in Iran.
September 17, 2026 at 3:49 PM
BREAKING NEWS: The United Nations’ top human rights body reported that it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that the U.S. committed war crimes in Iran.
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
Pod drop alert! The one and only @noupside.bsky.social joined me and @craigsilverman.bsky.social on @indicator.media's Show & Tell to chat Grokipedia, Community Notes, and the wobbly state of platform disclosures on influence operations.
How Renée DiResta realized Grokipedia’s suddenly stopped accepting edits
YouTube video by Indicator
www.youtube.com
September 17, 2026 at 11:27 AM
Pod drop alert! The one and only @noupside.bsky.social joined me and @craigsilverman.bsky.social on @indicator.media's Show & Tell to chat Grokipedia, Community Notes, and the wobbly state of platform disclosures on influence operations.
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
I joined Ashoka earlier today to talk about the work of Bellingcat, including our investigations, work with universities, and the complex issues facing democracies in our modern information environment www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_v_...
The Citizen Investigators
YouTube video by Ashoka
www.youtube.com
September 16, 2026 at 8:42 PM
I joined Ashoka earlier today to talk about the work of Bellingcat, including our investigations, work with universities, and the complex issues facing democracies in our modern information environment www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_v_...
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
This is as egregious as it's hilarious.
Can we *please* get DMA horizontal interoperability for social media @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu, the European social internet is more than ready, we just need an open market to compete in.
Can we *please* get DMA horizontal interoperability for social media @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu, the European social internet is more than ready, we just need an open market to compete in.
Fucking hell. Facebook is now limiting the number of links that a page or professional profile can include in a post to TWO PER MONTH, unless you pay them $7.99 a month.
Fucking assholes.
Fucking assholes.
September 16, 2026 at 8:04 PM
This is as egregious as it's hilarious.
Can we *please* get DMA horizontal interoperability for social media @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu, the European social internet is more than ready, we just need an open market to compete in.
Can we *please* get DMA horizontal interoperability for social media @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu, the European social internet is more than ready, we just need an open market to compete in.
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
ProPublica's bombshell that a Putin ally funded Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding was so consequential that it got extensive coverage from every major news organization in the U.S. and a segment on every evening news broadcast -- except for one. Not one word on Bari Weiss's CBS Evening News... 1/4
September 15, 2026 at 4:41 PM
ProPublica's bombshell that a Putin ally funded Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding was so consequential that it got extensive coverage from every major news organization in the U.S. and a segment on every evening news broadcast -- except for one. Not one word on Bari Weiss's CBS Evening News... 1/4
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
“The democracy shield as a whole is a set of half-measures that are reactive to information campaigns,” [Berjon] argued, adding that authoritarian forces online own and operate the platforms “that define the very physics of online information”.
www.euractiv.com/news/eus-pus...
www.euractiv.com/news/eus-pus...
EU's push to shield democracy from online risks hard to spot | Euractiv
A year on from high profile resilience effort, critics say there's little to show for it
www.euractiv.com
September 15, 2026 at 6:40 AM
“The democracy shield as a whole is a set of half-measures that are reactive to information campaigns,” [Berjon] argued, adding that authoritarian forces online own and operate the platforms “that define the very physics of online information”.
www.euractiv.com/news/eus-pus...
www.euractiv.com/news/eus-pus...
What AI commentators should ask when a new supposed feat drops:
A) is it reported by insiders?
- if so, what is the independent estimate?
B) is it contextual?
- if so, what is the context?
C) is it what they claim it is?
- if so, was it really enabled by AI intelligence or rather human stupidity?
A) is it reported by insiders?
- if so, what is the independent estimate?
B) is it contextual?
- if so, what is the context?
C) is it what they claim it is?
- if so, was it really enabled by AI intelligence or rather human stupidity?
In thisa piece for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social I express the wish for a better level of public discourse around AI that doesn't leave us hanging on every word of the alleged tech gurus.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
Apocalyptic AI fantasies are a stupid, annoying distraction from its real problems
The people who work in AI are not gurus and most of their predictions have been wrong. Working in the industry makes them less reliable commentators, not more
www.thenewworld.co.uk
September 15, 2026 at 10:45 AM
What AI commentators should ask when a new supposed feat drops:
A) is it reported by insiders?
- if so, what is the independent estimate?
B) is it contextual?
- if so, what is the context?
C) is it what they claim it is?
- if so, was it really enabled by AI intelligence or rather human stupidity?
A) is it reported by insiders?
- if so, what is the independent estimate?
B) is it contextual?
- if so, what is the context?
C) is it what they claim it is?
- if so, was it really enabled by AI intelligence or rather human stupidity?
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
In thisa piece for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social I express the wish for a better level of public discourse around AI that doesn't leave us hanging on every word of the alleged tech gurus.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
Apocalyptic AI fantasies are a stupid, annoying distraction from its real problems
The people who work in AI are not gurus and most of their predictions have been wrong. Working in the industry makes them less reliable commentators, not more
www.thenewworld.co.uk
September 15, 2026 at 7:35 AM
In thisa piece for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social I express the wish for a better level of public discourse around AI that doesn't leave us hanging on every word of the alleged tech gurus.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
One blip isn’t enough to declare “dark matter has been detected”
The LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter candidate event is the most interesting experimental physics result in years.
But one event does not a detection make.
Just ask Blas Cabrera about 1982.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #particle
The LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter candidate event is the most interesting experimental physics result in years.
But one event does not a detection make.
Just ask Blas Cabrera about 1982.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #particle
One blip isn't enough to declare "dark matter has been detected"
In 1982, an experiment showed unprecedented evidence for exotic matter: magnetic monopoles. But without reproducibility, it didn't hold up.
bigthink.com
September 15, 2026 at 6:10 AM
One blip isn’t enough to declare “dark matter has been detected”
The LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter candidate event is the most interesting experimental physics result in years.
But one event does not a detection make.
Just ask Blas Cabrera about 1982.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #particle
The LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter candidate event is the most interesting experimental physics result in years.
But one event does not a detection make.
Just ask Blas Cabrera about 1982.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #particle
I want to give a shoutout for this independent science journalism newsletter from @elisecutts.bsky.social
Lots of value in science news reporting and developments packed together, contextualized, or just listed in case you missed it.
I keep enjoying it a lot
www.reviewertoo.com/openai-is-tu...
Lots of value in science news reporting and developments packed together, contextualized, or just listed in case you missed it.
I keep enjoying it a lot
www.reviewertoo.com/openai-is-tu...
OpenAI's million-dollar proof: Math is now pay-to-win
Also: NSF science funding overhaul, more newspaper layoffs, and people trust scientists who seem "on their side"
www.reviewertoo.com
September 15, 2026 at 9:45 AM
I want to give a shoutout for this independent science journalism newsletter from @elisecutts.bsky.social
Lots of value in science news reporting and developments packed together, contextualized, or just listed in case you missed it.
I keep enjoying it a lot
www.reviewertoo.com/openai-is-tu...
Lots of value in science news reporting and developments packed together, contextualized, or just listed in case you missed it.
I keep enjoying it a lot
www.reviewertoo.com/openai-is-tu...
Well worth the read
A very interesting and clear (and reassuring?) piece relating the Farrell et al (www.science.org/doi/full/10....) idea of LLM's as cultural technology to the recent developments in AI Mathematics.
terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/13/h...
terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/13/h...
Happy, those able to know the causes of things
[This is a guest post by Nestor Guillen, crossposted from his blog. This blog post was initially written in a different file format and converted using AI. — T.] Keywords: LLMs, cultural tech…
terrytao.wordpress.com
September 15, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Well worth the read
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
This looks amazing. And, again, reconfirms the thing I keep telling people: the Atmosphere isn't about rebuilding Twitter. It's about rebuilding a better web overall.
🙋♂️ ever wanted to build something without needing to configure a db, auth, file storage or a cms?
it turns out you already have all four if you have a bluesky account
👉 airspace is a typed client for it
it turns out you already have all four if you have a bluesky account
👉 airspace is a typed client for it
airspace
The database you already have.
getair.space
September 14, 2026 at 11:51 PM
This looks amazing. And, again, reconfirms the thing I keep telling people: the Atmosphere isn't about rebuilding Twitter. It's about rebuilding a better web overall.
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
More reporting on how scientists were trying to create bioweapons and how that was blocked by Anthropic.
Again, that is not correct - Anthropic blocked what was likely basic research.
I understand the concerns and the difficulty, but hyped and inaccurate reporting does not help.
nyti.ms/4rdk6rJ
Again, that is not correct - Anthropic blocked what was likely basic research.
I understand the concerns and the difficulty, but hyped and inaccurate reporting does not help.
nyti.ms/4rdk6rJ
September 14, 2026 at 6:29 PM
More reporting on how scientists were trying to create bioweapons and how that was blocked by Anthropic.
Again, that is not correct - Anthropic blocked what was likely basic research.
I understand the concerns and the difficulty, but hyped and inaccurate reporting does not help.
nyti.ms/4rdk6rJ
Again, that is not correct - Anthropic blocked what was likely basic research.
I understand the concerns and the difficulty, but hyped and inaccurate reporting does not help.
nyti.ms/4rdk6rJ
Going an X for AI discourse, you can really feel the end-times facism ideology merge with the apocalyptic delusion machine; and millions of people and a billionaire friendly press being uncritically part of the spectacle.
Guess will be interesting if the Bluesky consensus or the X consensus...
Guess will be interesting if the Bluesky consensus or the X consensus...
September 14, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Going an X for AI discourse, you can really feel the end-times facism ideology merge with the apocalyptic delusion machine; and millions of people and a billionaire friendly press being uncritically part of the spectacle.
Guess will be interesting if the Bluesky consensus or the X consensus...
Guess will be interesting if the Bluesky consensus or the X consensus...
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
Good read.
What truly baffles me seeing this "AI-designed-printed-in-the-lab-bioweapon will kill us all" guff is the fact that we have *the* biggest, out-of-control, Gain-of-Function experiment, in BSL-0, already running rampant in the US.
In cattle 🐮.
Yet, 🦗.
www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...
What truly baffles me seeing this "AI-designed-printed-in-the-lab-bioweapon will kill us all" guff is the fact that we have *the* biggest, out-of-control, Gain-of-Function experiment, in BSL-0, already running rampant in the US.
In cattle 🐮.
Yet, 🦗.
www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...
The AI Pandemic Isn’t On Its Way
Yet plenty of others might be, thanks to evolution.
www.theatlantic.com
September 11, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Good read.
What truly baffles me seeing this "AI-designed-printed-in-the-lab-bioweapon will kill us all" guff is the fact that we have *the* biggest, out-of-control, Gain-of-Function experiment, in BSL-0, already running rampant in the US.
In cattle 🐮.
Yet, 🦗.
www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...
What truly baffles me seeing this "AI-designed-printed-in-the-lab-bioweapon will kill us all" guff is the fact that we have *the* biggest, out-of-control, Gain-of-Function experiment, in BSL-0, already running rampant in the US.
In cattle 🐮.
Yet, 🦗.
www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
Ich bin spontan jetzt auch dem Beispiel gefolgt und hab auf Eurosky umgestellt. War kein großer Aufwand.
September 11, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Ich bin spontan jetzt auch dem Beispiel gefolgt und hab auf Eurosky umgestellt. War kein großer Aufwand.
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
"People are really mad and however mad you are, it’s not enough. Because there is something so profound about no longer believing in the future, about seeing no value in our shared home, in the natural world. They’re traitors to creation.” www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...
Naomi Klein: ‘Extreme wealth has a deranging effect. It turns you into a supremacist’
She’s tackled neoliberalism and the digital world, now the writer and activist is taking on tech billionaires. She explains how the super-rich are capitalising on climate and financial chaos in pursui...
www.theguardian.com
September 12, 2026 at 11:45 AM
"People are really mad and however mad you are, it’s not enough. Because there is something so profound about no longer believing in the future, about seeing no value in our shared home, in the natural world. They’re traitors to creation.” www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
Unglaublich wie dieses Kid nach 4 Jahren so gut Schwiizerdüütsch redet... www.srf.ch/kids/eltern/...
#SayHi: Er floh aus der Ukraine – jetzt singt er Schweizerdeutsch
Mit 14 stand ILKO im Finale von «The Voice Kids». Nun folgt die nächste Herausforderung: Singen auf Schweizerdeutsch.
www.srf.ch
September 12, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Unglaublich wie dieses Kid nach 4 Jahren so gut Schwiizerdüütsch redet... www.srf.ch/kids/eltern/...
Reposted by Philipp Markolin
This is such a good example of basic, critically important, research. It has absolutely nothing to do with "bioweapons".
Of course, we didn't use AI for any of our research, nor did we nefariously try to access LLMs, but I bet they'd have added nothing (and, likely, made the research worse).
Of course, we didn't use AI for any of our research, nor did we nefariously try to access LLMs, but I bet they'd have added nothing (and, likely, made the research worse).
September 11, 2026 at 10:35 PM
This is such a good example of basic, critically important, research. It has absolutely nothing to do with "bioweapons".
Of course, we didn't use AI for any of our research, nor did we nefariously try to access LLMs, but I bet they'd have added nothing (and, likely, made the research worse).
Of course, we didn't use AI for any of our research, nor did we nefariously try to access LLMs, but I bet they'd have added nothing (and, likely, made the research worse).