Susan E. Seager
Susan E. Seager
@susanseager.bsky.social
Adjunct law prof & founder of UC Irvine Law School Press Freedom Project providing free legal help to indy journalists. Author of “Trump Is a Libel Bully” https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/communications_lawyer/fall2016/cl32-3.pdf
@nytimes.com Please assign your top reporters to investigate Slut Con and orgies in Silicon Valley - coercive sex parties that are not really optional for Silicon Valley tech women. And please don’t just do it based solely on court records. Talk to real people. bsky.app/profile/fain...
Women trying to succeed in Silicon Valley AI and effective altruist spaces are reporting feeling serious social pressure to attend sex parties - where people have reported being sexually assaulted, like below.

Events like Aella’s “Slutcon,” which is happening again this weekend.
September 30, 2026 at 4:20 PM
For everyone who says we shouldn’t use the word “fabricate” to describe it when AI presents falsehoods as true facts because there’s no intent to deceive by AI, read the story about AI intentionally deceiving its masters in the AI Face Hugger hacking case. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/t...
September 4, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Today is a good day to expand the Supreme Court.
#BREAKING: By a 5-4 vote (with Chief Justice Roberts joining the three Democratic appointees in dissent), #SCOTUS grants a stay pending appeal in the ballroom case, clearing the way for Trump to continue building the ballroom indefinitely while the litigation proceeds.
September 1, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Yes! “Hallucinate” suggests Elon got high at Burning Man. Oopsie! No harm! But when AI presents falsehoods as true, there is harm to all.
Hallucination lets companies off the hook, like it’s out of their control. In fact, AI is purposefully coded to fabricate info. AI hallucination is a term that needs to be explained to people. AI fabrication is self-explanatory. We who have to deal with the ramifications should get to set the terms.
@apstylebook.com. Wikipedia says:
“In the field of artificial intelligence (AI), a hallucination or artificial hallucination (also called bullshitting, confabulation, or delusion is a response generated by AI that contains false or misleading information presented as fact.
August 22, 2026 at 5:12 AM
Cool. Thanks for keying me in. I rarely get any traction on social media, so this is great.
You saw the Stylebook was chatting about your suggestion over on X. They (nominally) have 324.9k followers there.
Here's what the circulation numbers look like tonight. A lot people interacted with the post there too. :)

URL: x.com/APStylebook/...
August 22, 2026 at 5:09 AM
Woo hoo
This appears to be traveling. Quoted over on threads too.
August 20, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Yep
@marcelias.bsky.social–738,090 Bluesky followers

Bsky goal for weekend: 250 Democracy Docket subscribers to his "news platform" $120/yr!

"Elias Law Group is the nation's largest law firm focused on representing the Democratic Party."

He threatens NYT, raises $ for "news."

Real journos go hungry.
Hi @marcelias.bsky.social, why did you send cease-and-desist letter to @nytimes.bsky.social to block this fine article by Adambonica.bsky.social about the Dem party’s panicked fundraising emails hooking seniors into donating limited retirement funds? data4democracy.substack.com/p/hook-and-s...
August 20, 2026 at 2:09 PM
@apstylebook.com. Wikipedia says:
“In the field of artificial intelligence (AI), a hallucination or artificial hallucination (also called bullshitting, confabulation, or delusion is a response generated by AI that contains false or misleading information presented as fact.
@susanseager.bsky.social posted asking us to ban the term "hallucinate" for AI. She said in part, “The term 'hallucinate' is an inaccurate, industry-friendly term that should be banned when reporting news about AI fabrications.”
August 20, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Instead of saying AI made a “hallucination/hallucinated,” say AI made a “fabrication/fabricated.”
I am a real noodge when it comes to word choices. One way I have been able to rein myself in a little is a challenge I came up with: I don't get to complain about someone else's word choice unless I can suggest a replacement.

Interested to hear ideas from @susanseager.bsky.social.
August 20, 2026 at 12:29 AM
@jayrosen.bsky.social @latimes.com
@nytimes.com @jelanicobb.bsky.com
All tech/legal writers and news orgs/J schools should ban the term “hallucination” to describe a lie by AI. It’s not an oopsie mistake. It’s a lie presented as fact. In court, it’s a fraud on the court. Don’t white wash it.
@apstylebook.com: The term “hallucinate” is an inaccurate, industry-friendly term that should be banned when reporting news about AI fabrications. It has been shown that AI lies and cheats to please its taskmaster. It’s not an accidental, innocent, ha-ha, drug-induced mistake.
@apnews.com Urging the AP Stylebook to ban the inaccurate, industry-friendly term “hallucinate/hallucination” when describing AI lies, such as when AI lies by citing fake court case in court filings. Shouldn’t the correct term be “fabricate/fabrication/lie”? www.latimes.com/california/s...
August 19, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Yes, I did.
No doubt!

See if they notice. And, maybe you'll find an email for the organization that you can write to?

(also, did you realize you quote posted this? It's totally fine! But I'm not sure that was your intention. Bluesky UX, esp. on mobile, can make it very tricky to see what's going on.)
August 19, 2026 at 2:27 PM
@apstylebook.com: The term “hallucinate” is an inaccurate, industry-friendly term that should be banned when reporting news about AI fabrications. It has been shown that AI lies and cheats to please its taskmaster. It’s not an accidental, innocent, ha-ha, drug-induced mistake.
@apnews.com Urging the AP Stylebook to ban the inaccurate, industry-friendly term “hallucinate/hallucination” when describing AI lies, such as when AI lies by citing fake court case in court filings. Shouldn’t the correct term be “fabricate/fabrication/lie”? www.latimes.com/california/s...
AI hallucinated case law in insurance company's filings in L.A. County house fire dispute
Attorneys for State Farm apologized to a judge for submitting legal briefings rife with AI hallucinations and nonexistent case law, which were not fact-checked.
www.latimes.com
August 19, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Thanks. I tried to suggest the change through their website, but you have part of a member organization?
They have their own handle here. @apstylebook.com

Although, I'm skeptical about their likelihood to respond on this platform. Anything can happen. :)
August 19, 2026 at 2:18 PM
@apnews.com Urging the AP Stylebook to ban the inaccurate, industry-friendly term “hallucinate/hallucination” when describing AI lies, such as when AI lies by citing fake court case in court filings. Shouldn’t the correct term be “fabricate/fabrication/lie”? www.latimes.com/california/s...
AI hallucinated case law in insurance company's filings in L.A. County house fire dispute
Attorneys for State Farm apologized to a judge for submitting legal briefings rife with AI hallucinations and nonexistent case law, which were not fact-checked.
www.latimes.com
August 19, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Hi @marcelias.bsky.social, why did you send cease-and-desist letter to @nytimes.bsky.social to block this fine article by Adambonica.bsky.social about the Dem party’s panicked fundraising emails hooking seniors into donating limited retirement funds? data4democracy.substack.com/p/hook-and-s...
Hook and Squeeze
How Democratic consultants, committees, and party leaders built a fundraising spam pipeline that funnels money from a captive pool of elderly donors into their own operations.
data4democracy.substack.com
August 16, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Susan E. Seager
I just submitted my comment about the OMB's dangerous proposal to politicize research funding in the United States: acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...

You can still do so until 11:59pm eastern today (see link in quoted post).
Today is the deadline to submit comments, and you can do so here: www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...

I'm currently drafting a quick comment explaining that the rule's viewpoint-based criteria run afoul of existing First Amendment law.
Using an open-source pipeline to read every comment on OMB's proposed grants rule that could have significant impact on science and technology research funding, Christopher Steven Marcum and Abigail Haddad find the verdict "clear and lopsided": ~94% oppose it.
July 13, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Susan E. Seager
Our local newspaper, The Portland Press Herald, has lifted their paywall on coverage of the ICE shooting of a man in Biddeford, Maine this morning. They have excellent reporters and will have much more accurate information than natl news as we learn more:

www.pressherald.com/2026/07/13/s...
Live updates: King calls for transparent investigation after Biddeford man killed in ICE-involved shooting
Protests are growing after a man identified as a 26-year-old from Colombia was fatally shot. Immigration advocates say he was authorized to work in the U.S.
www.pressherald.com
July 13, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Flock lawyer sends dumb cease and desist letter to Newport Beach discussion group - @thesaturdaysalon on Insta - ordering them to stop talking about Flock’s creepy license plate surveillance loved by cops. Ha ha. Courts would deny this illegal prior restraint.

www.instagram.com/p/DajWr2evru...
thesaturdaysalon on Instagram: "WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED. Giving a lecture about surveillance in a secret Newport speakeasy is now considered suspicious behavior.A …"
WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED. Giving a lecture about surveillance in a secret Newport speakeasy is now considered suspicious behavior.A while back, we hosted a discussion on the surveillance state, privacy, and whether safety and civil liberties can peacefully coexist. Evidently, the real threat wasn’t the lecture… it was the fact that people were voluntarily talking to one another.The Saturday Salon traces its lineage to the 18th’ century European salon, where dangerous activities such as reading books, drinking wine, and disagreeing politely routinely terrified centralized authority.We understand the confusion.A private speakeasy full of 1920’s furniture, Trader Joe’s wine & overdressed Newport Beach residents arguing about philosophy does bear a striking resemblance to a sophisticated intelligence operation. Admittedly, we do ask difficult questions. Occasionally someone even writes a book.We simply host conversations… one of the few technologies that social media has yet to successfully automate.If anyone intends to keep investigating us, please have your process server bring a few bottles of Trader Joe’s Cabernet on the next visit.And while you’re at it… get our address right.#flock #palantir #flockcameras
www.instagram.com
July 9, 2026 at 5:39 PM
This article doesn’t address the problem I see with some Independent journalists: do they have impact on corrupt and incompetent governments or are they ignored in a way that mainstream media often is not? Do they comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable with stories that force reform?
“What journalists gain — and lose — when they go independent

The creator economy is opening new doors for journalists. But can independence replace everything a newsroom provides?”

www.poynter.org/business-wor...
What journalists gain — and lose — when they go independent - Poynter
The creator economy is opening new doors for journalists. But can independence replace everything a newsroom provides?
www.poynter.org
June 17, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Hugh’s thanks to Judge Luttig @judgeluttig and 34 other retired judges for winning a court order requiring Donald Trump to explain why his lawsuit against the IRS and the slush-fund “settlement” was not “a fraud on the court.”
We love to see it: Federal judge orders IRS case reopened, will investigate if DOJ’s fake dismissal request to create slush fund constituted a fraud on the court, or otherwise sanctionable, “collusive” conduct.

Win for former fed judges who moved to reopen: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
- Order (PAPERLESS or pdf attached) – #65 in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service (S.D. Fla., 1:26-cv-20609) – CourtListener.com
ORDER. See attached document for full details. Signed by Judge Kathleen M. Williams on 5/29/2026. (ymd) (Entered: 05/29/2026)
storage.courtlistener.com
May 29, 2026 at 11:32 PM
Professor Hatcher’s motto: “I combine information, analysis and irritation, all intended to get readers thinking.” More of that, please.
This should be the motto of journalism. And any journalist who’s going to hang out with Trump tonight is not a proud irritant, but a disappointment.
April 24, 2026 at 7:28 PM
This should be the motto of journalism. And any journalist who’s going to hang out with Trump tonight is not a proud irritant, but a disappointment.
April 24, 2026 at 7:27 PM
April 11, 2026 at 12:55 AM
CSU professor acquitted of assaulting U.S. agents during immigration protest!!!

Feds lose another bogus criminal case against a protester- this time a professor.
April 11, 2026 at 12:55 AM
Did you know there is a desert apricot? It’s part of the rose family. Cahuilla people habe valued it as a food source. Very tasty on a hot day at the California Botanical Garden!
April 5, 2026 at 2:42 AM