Oct 1, 2026 9 min read

Anti-Social 2026: Autumn Edition

A recap of last quarter's social media posts, for those of us who aren't glued to our screens

A flower I saw in D.C. I think it is a begonia. I'm sure people will correct me if I'm wrong. 🌸

Last summer, I started summarizing my social media posts for folks who want to read my updates at their own pace, as inspired by Jason Li's newsletter. Here's the second installment: a roundup of what you may have missed July through September.

I've Been Writing About Scams

Specifically, I wrote about a network of AI-powered dating scam apps that Anthropic discovered for The Verge. Special thanks to Matthew "Zigula" Gore-Kormanik, who helped replicate the company's findings (and then some), and to Jacana CEO Tate Jarrow, who helped put it all in context. Oh, and to This Week in Security and Techmeme for amplifying.

I've Been Giving Talks

I went to D.C. for the National Consumers League Future of Trust conference, where I was on panel on AI scams. I talked about how companies need to stop putting all of the responsibility for scams on end users.

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Companies are complicit when it comes to the scams they profit off if.

(At this conference, I learned about Medicare scams on Meta, generating hundreds of millions of views, mostly from seniors. Yikes.)

I spoke about the limits of cybersecurity advice in Las Vegas at DEF CON's Crypto & Privacy Village. I have slides (designed by David Huerta), but what I think you really want to see is this party pic.

Hanging with some of my fellow Lockdown Systems collective members. We really were having this much fun!

My CactusCon talk with David Huerta is now up! Watch us roast bad tech reporting, again.

(No, I don't know why the description is in Dutch, either.)

I also gave a talk for Safe Communities Coalition and AZ Faith Network on protecting your congregation and organization. And I went back to Cronkite to give a talk to the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.

I didn't speak at LABScon, but was really glad to be there for its final iteration. There's an article in WIRED about one of my favorite talks by Google Threat Intelligence Group researcher Austin Larsen about disrupting TeamPCP’s 'Mini Shai-Hulud' campaign.

I Was On A Podcast

It was initially so spicy that I made sure to listen to it before linking.

Thank you to Giana for being a great podcast host!

I Stopped Looking For Jobs, At Least For Now

Looking for jobs just feels like unpaid labor, and I'm not convinced that the questions I've been asked in the few screenings and interviews I've landed would help predict performance any better than rolling a D20. While I have yet to be offered a $6m bribe, I'm lucky enough to be very busy with contract work (and a lot of travel coming up), so I decided to put the search on hold for now, unless something amazing comes my way (especially if I can snag one of those coveted internal referrals). But I did let Claude compile all of my rejection emails.

Pamela Slim has an amazing permission slip on LinkedIn to do "whatever it takes to put food on the table and to quiet down your nervous system" which I highly recommend for everybody trying to navigate this bizarre job market.

Also, the Onion made me feel better.

I'm Doing So Much Professional Development

One of the things I love about continuing education is that there are so many amazing resources that aren't tied to employment. To build my skills in open source intelligence, I participated in Digital Sherlocks, a phenomenal training program by Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) and The Atlantic Council. These skills are so needed as we work to monitor and protect today's information environment.

I also wrapped up my Safety Ambassador Fellowship at the International Women's Media Foundation, culminating in a summit held at Macarthur Foundation in Chicago, Illinois. If you are a journalist or newsroom looking for online or in-person training on risk mitigation strategies for the evolving risks you face, please get in touch.

I've Been Reading About AI

I thought In The Weights was fun, but YMMV. Some of what I've been reading includes this letter to the AI labs shouldering the great burden of humanity's survival, as well as the aptly-named Wankthropic. But my favorite AI project this quarter has to be Cringebot3000, an AI-powered engine that can transform any topic into peak LinkedIn cringe.

This quarter I learned that some of my co-authors used AI in our AP investigation, Made in America, Watched Worldwide. Apparently a lot of other Pulitzer winners and finalists used AI, too. (Many of these uses are much closer to using spellcheck or a search engine than using a computer to do the heavy lifting, but people seem to have strong opinions on it--so I thought it might be interesting.

Are You Not Entertained?

I won't list the five million shows I've been watching (though I'm obsessed with Furious), but will admit to reading way too much Dungeon Crawler Carl. In non-fiction, I read My Son, The Priest: A Mother's Crisis of Faith by Kristen Gilger (who was interim dean when I was at Cronkite). I also started Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee.

Everything Is Cancelled

This is where I tell folks who aren't perpetually online that VPN fave Mullvad is canceled and password manager fave 1Password is also canceled. Of course, which organization you choose to for real cancel is between you and your God. A lot of us also want Substack to be canceled but also want to support our favorite creators on Substack, so we are in perpetual internal conflict. At least we can all agree that Graham Platner was appropriately canceled, though I'm still waiting for meaningful apologies from organizations like SURJ and people like Chris Crass. 🦗🦗🦗

Palette Cleanse

Good News

I got to meet cartoonist Evan Dorkin, who I first interviewed for my zine as a teenager in the 90s. (Then I interviewed him again a few years ago for a blog that no longer exists. They say never to meet your heroes, but it was quite lovely. And he drew in my book! Totally worth the long wait, even though the AC in that warehouse was no match for the heat. (It was a ridiculously hot day, even for Phoenix.)

Evan Dorkin literally draws in everyone's books; it's amazing.

After getting my copies of Nerd Inferno and Calla Cthulhu signed, I ducked under a tree for a tiny bit of shade while I tried to figure out how to get to a coffee shop. There I heard the loudest sound. It was this acorn woodpecker, pecking wood. Look at how close I got!

In other good news, I must congratulate Carey Parker for hitting episode 500 of Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons, as I did in a clip on the show.

And congrats are in order for Bailey, not only the best chiweenie of all time but also the cyber pupper of the week a few weeks back in the This Week in Security newsletter.

Our Made in America, Watched Worldwide package is a Gerald Loeb Awards finalist in international reporting, alongside Power Moves by The New York Times, Dark Fleets by Reuters, and The Trump Crypto Story: Pardon and Profit by The Wall Street Journal. The winners will be announced on October 8th.

Miscellaneous

In 2021, I made a playlist called A Day in Dollywood by...going to Dollywood and walking around with Shazam on my phone. It's on Spotify, and I am resharing it in memory of our queen, Dolly Parton.

At Lockdown Systems, we had to take down our ICEWatch map due to lack of government data/transparency.

The rest of my social media for October was about my trip to Flagstaff to see Anthony and Cleopatra, and about food. I had my first cruffle at Proof Bread (in Phoenix), which I recommend.

I was lucky enough to hit Moon Rabbit in D.C.. Yes, I must share pics.

I was excited to get to Valley Brook Tea (also in D.C.) because the last time I went there I couldn't go inside because I had a broken foot and there are stairs. Being there during the three days they were selling mooncakes was a fun coincidence.

Back at home, I met a tree lizard up close and personal, which I will leave you with. Happy Autumn!