The hottest Surveillance Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Kash Patel Embraces Big Brother

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 2465 implied HN points • 19 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. The new administration’s intelligence leaders kept core surveillance tools in place instead of dismantling the system.
  2. The FBI reported a 34% jump in searches on Americans in a foreign intelligence database in 2025 versus the prior administration’s final year.
  3. The increase and low public attention suggest officials are preserving or expanding spying powers while keeping the activity out of the spotlight.

CIA Prepares Criminal Referral of Tucker Carlson, as Israel and Its Loyalists Demand His Arrest

Glenn Greenwald • 6506 implied HN points • 15 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. U.S. intelligence is reportedly preparing a criminal referral against a high-profile journalist over his communications with Iranian contacts, suggesting journalists could be prosecuted for critical war reporting.
  2. Influential Israeli-aligned voices and their U.S. allies pushed an orchestrated campaign demanding his arrest, showing growing efforts to punish and intimidate critics of Israel and the Trump-Netanyahu war.
  3. Evidence points to domestic and allied surveillance of the journalist’s communications, highlighting how spying and legal pressure can be used to chill independent reporting and free speech.

There are no heroes in commercial AI

Marcus on AI • 13872 implied HN points • 08 Mar 26
đź•ą Technology Surveillance
  1. Commercial AI leaders often use hype to raise money, overpromise on AGI timelines, and prioritize growth over clear accountability.
  2. Using large language models in high‑stakes settings like military targeting can cause deadly errors, and putting humans 'in the loop' doesn’t stop mistakes when operators are overloaded or overtrust the AI.
  3. Companies claim to care about safety but sometimes abandon pledges, rely on dubious training practices like scraping copyrighted work, and push fragile, hard‑to‑secure agent systems that create real negative side effects.

The banality of surveillance

benn.substack • 5830 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
đź•ą Technology Surveillance
  1. Our phones and apps already record almost everything we do, and that data is collected and sold across companies and marketplaces.
  2. Privacy has mostly depended on the annoying difficulty of combining messy logs, so ordinary lives stayed unexamined because it was a pain to do so.
  3. AI automates the grunt work of stitching together those logs, making it trivially easy for governments, companies, or anyone with access to buy or assemble detailed profiles at scale.

"All Lawful Use": Much More Than You Wanted To Know

Astral Codex Ten • 28838 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. Saying systems can be used for “all lawful use” is not a real safeguard because existing laws and internal defense policies have big loopholes and can be reinterpreted or changed.
  2. AI removes the scale and cost limits that once made mass domestic surveillance impractical, so governments can lawfully buy or incidentally collect data and then use AI to analyze and profile large populations.
  3. Autonomous-weapon rules mostly live in vague, changeable defense policies, so allowing only “lawful” uses can still permit weapons with little human judgment; companies should avoid contracts that could force them to build systems without strong safeguards.
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EXCLUSIVE: The FBI's Secret Stash Finally Uncovered

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 5866 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. The FBI has long kept a separate, non-searchable "prohibited access" filing system that only a very small number of senior officials can access.
  2. Whistleblowers and congressional pressure have prompted a task force to begin examining decades of those hidden files, and some records have already been turned over to Congress.
  3. The files reportedly include off-books surveillance and politically sensitive investigations spanning both parties since at least 1999, raising serious oversight and constitutional concerns.

How Powerful People Became Obsessed w/ Section 230

Taylor Lorenz's Newsletter • 1731 implied HN points • 18 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. Independent creators are stuck on a publishing hamster wheel where taking breaks risks losing subscribers, which leads to burnout and constant work.
  2. There’s almost no funding for long investigative projects, so creators rely on paid subscriptions to subsidize important but unprofitable coverage; without steady support those projects can’t happen.
  3. Section 230 has become a political lightning rod full of misconceptions, and repealing it would likely make big platforms more powerful, so myth-busting and clear public education are crucial.

50 Years of Secrets: Why You Should Care About the FBI's 'Prohibited Access' Files

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 4232 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. Hidden "prohibited access" FBI files could reveal decades of off-books domestic surveillance and misconduct, similar to past intelligence scandals.
  2. Since 9/11 the FBI shifted toward intelligence and political spying, expanding secrecy and intrusive collection practices with weak oversight.
  3. Releasing these files to Congress is a rare chance for transparency and reform, but the disclosures may be incomplete or blocked unless sustained political pressure forces real accountability.

Kash’s Cache: Locating The FBI’s Secret Files

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 3268 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. The FBI uses a separate top‑secret database (called Sentinel Gold) to hold “prohibited access” files that aren’t kept in the bureau’s regular case system.
  2. Information marked prohibited is hidden from normal searches and can be withheld from FBI agents, Congress, and other oversight bodies, leaving gaps where records of misconduct or spying should be.
  3. Only a very small, specially privileged group can access those files, which raises serious accountability and oversight concerns.

What are the Influenza Vaccine Risks?

Who is Robert Malone • 10 implied HN points • 23 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Surveillance
  1. Vaccine risks and benefits are not the same for everyone — they vary a lot by age, vaccine formulation, whether other shots are given at the same visit, and the type of flu season; older and high‑risk people get clear net benefit while healthy younger adults and some children often see much smaller gains.
  2. Serious adverse events are rare but real: anaphylaxis occurs on the order of 1.35–1.6 cases per million doses, Guillain‑Barré syndrome about 1–2 per million, and febrile seizures are measurably increased in young children, especially when the flu shot is co‑administered with PCV13 and DTaP (these seizures are usually brief and benign).
  3. Policy and communication should reflect the nuance and data limits — NNV versus NNH calculations strongly favor vaccination for older adults but are less decisive for low‑risk groups, surveillance systems have known biases, and one‑size‑fits‑all mandates or generic counseling miss important individual considerations.

Secretary of War Tweets That Anthropic is Now a Supply Chain Risk

Don't Worry About the Vase • 3136 implied HN points • 02 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. A Defense official tried to brand Anthropic a supply-chain risk and ban partners from working with it, a move that looks legally questionable and could seriously damage the company, markets, and national-security supply chains.
  2. The real fight was over mass domestic surveillance and use of AI with big commercial datasets and autonomous weapons — Anthropic insisted on contractual red lines, while the Pentagon pushed for “all lawful use.”
  3. OpenAI cut a fast deal that leans on a technical “safety stack” and trust in the military’s legal view rather than strong contract limits, which might calm things short-term but leaves weak legal protections and a risky precedent that employees and the public should scrutinize.

A Tale of Three Contracts

Don't Worry About the Vase • 2643 implied HN points • 03 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. Anthropic’s original DoD deal deployed Claude Gov on classified networks with a layered safety stack, forward‑deployed engineers, and explicit red lines like no domestic mass surveillance and no autonomous weapons without a human in the kill chain, and it reportedly worked well for national security.
  2. The Department pushed to rewrite the contract to allow “all lawful use,” Anthropic refused because that would erode its red lines, negotiations collapsed amid threats to punish Anthropic, and OpenAI then rushed a separate deal that included similar language while relying on its own safety stack and planned amendments.
  3. The exact contract language is legally ambiguous — terms like “surveillance,” “as appropriate,” and “all lawful use” can be interpreted in many ways — so experts are skeptical the changes will reliably prevent misuse; ultimately this shows trust, clear definitions, and enforceable oversight are what matter most to avoid damaging national security or private companies.

Gone Fishin’: How The FBI Can Spend Years Trying To Hook You

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 3072 implied HN points • 27 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. The FBI can open informal "assessments" and collect information without a warrant or even suspecting a crime.
  2. These assessments can last for years as agents "fish" for wrongdoing, but they frequently turn up nothing and are quietly closed.
  3. The information gathered can be shared with other agencies and can become a lasting federal record about individuals.

Amazon's Ring and Google's Nest Unwittingly Reveal the Severity of the U.S. Surveillance State

Glenn Greenwald • 5960 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. Home security devices are no longer just for private use — features like neighborhood-wide camera linking and AI search can turn them into mass surveillance tools that threaten biometric privacy.
  2. Big tech may store or provide access to footage even for unsubscribed users, and law enforcement can recover that data, showing that personal video isn’t always truly deleted or private.
  3. Facial recognition, AI, and close ties between companies and state agencies are rapidly normalizing a powerful surveillance system that erodes privacy and civil liberties despite earlier public outcry.

Livestream, 2:00 PM ET: Matt Taibbi and Ryan Lovelace on the FBI's "Prohibited Access" Files

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 1361 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. Reporters uncovered the FBI's secret "Prohibited Access" filing system and turned a declassified description into a published story in about a week.
  2. A livestream discussion will go over what the files likely contain, why the story matters, who helped reveal them, and what might come next.
  3. The conversation will also explore possible downsides—including how to tell if attempts to expose the system are being blocked—and tells viewers where to tune in to watch.

A Woman on a NY Subway Just Set the Tone for Next Year

The Honest Broker • 21942 implied HN points • 28 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Surveillance
  1. People are starting to push back physically and culturally against wearable surveillance tech, showing real anger at devices that can identify strangers and record them without consent.
  2. Attempts to shame or vilify critics—like calling a woman a “Karen”—often fail online and can instead rally public sympathy for people who resist intrusive tech.
  3. Social media can amplify or invert these incidents, and the privacy debate over AI-powered glasses looks set to be a major public issue shaping attitudes and trends in 2026.

EXCLUSIVE: FBI Probed Actions Of Trump's Legal Team While He Was Still In Office

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 3428 implied HN points • 20 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. The FBI opened an assessment in December 2020 into actions by President Trump's legal team while he was still in office, labeling it an "election matter."
  2. Agents focused on a Georgia hearing where Rudy Giuliani alleged voting fraud and were urged to start interviews quickly; assessments allow intrusive steps like warrantless surveillance or informants without court approval or proof of a crime.
  3. That early scrutiny preceded and helped lead to more aggressive action, including an April 2021 raid on Giuliani's home and office, showing the bureau acted before the formal presidential transition.

EXCLUSIVE: FBI Gathered Intel On 1,000 Journalists, Politicians, Religious Organizations On Flimsy Grounds

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 4022 implied HN points • 12 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. The FBI used so-called “assessments” to collect information on more than 1,000 journalists, politicians, and religious organizations without any evidence of a crime.
  2. Those assessments allow agents to gather personal details and build dossiers on people even when there is no criminal suspicion, which raises serious privacy and oversight concerns.
  3. The details came from a confidential government report that directed recipients to destroy it, indicating the matter was treated as sensitive and not publicly transparent.

ICE’s Plan to Monitor Social Media 24/7

Taylor Lorenz's Newsletter • 2090 implied HN points • 27 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. Big tech companies removed apps and online groups used to track or criticize ICE after pressure from government officials, which makes it harder for people to report on or organize against ICE activity online.
  2. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is suing the government over those removals, arguing that recording law enforcement and sharing information about ICE are protected speech and that the government improperly influenced platforms.
  3. There are wider civil liberties risks because agencies aiming to monitor social media and build secret databases could chill protest, silence critics, and expand surveillance of communities.

The Satellite Detection Edition

Why is this interesting? • 965 implied HN points • 24 Feb 26
đź•ą Technology Surveillance
  1. Commercial trackers, not government sensors, were the first to find the tiny Mozhayets‑6 satellite, showing that private teams now play a leading role in space detection.
  2. Very small, faint satellites can hide by riding with larger craft or matching orbital planes, and states are experimenting with designs that make craft harder to track.
  3. Space awareness is now a commercial product sold to militaries, insurers, and investors, so early warnings may come from subscribers or data engineers rather than traditional command centers.

The 'Situation Monitoring' Products Flooding The Web

Taylor Lorenz's Newsletter • 1522 implied HN points • 02 Mar 26
đź•ą Technology Surveillance
  1. New age‑verification and “child safety” laws are pushing platforms to collect identities and pre‑comply, which removes online anonymity and makes it easy for governments or companies to track and censor journalists, activists, and marginalized people.
  2. There is little solid evidence that social media is causing a broad youth mental‑health crisis, yet that panic is being used as a pretext to pass sweeping surveillance and access‑limiting laws.
  3. Efforts to weaken Section 230 and the spread of situation‑monitoring or Palantir‑style tools are being used by anti‑abortion and other groups to restrict access to reproductive health information and expand online censorship.

Anthropic v DoW

ChinaTalk • 741 implied HN points • 27 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. Anthropic is in a tense standoff with the Department of Defense over how its Claude AI can be used, with the company saying the models aren’t reliable for fully autonomous lethal systems or domestic surveillance while the Pentagon pressures for access and even threatens DPA or supply-chain labels.
  2. There’s worry that legal and oversight guardrails inside defense and intelligence are weakening — from messy FISA/NSA practices to an underpowered Office of General Counsel — which both raises privacy risks and could push companies away or force heavy-handed government control.
  3. Global military strains—from Iran and risky raids in the Caribbean to a four-year war in Ukraine—are stretching forces and alliances, increasing the chance of operational mistakes, escalation, and hard choices about rearmament and who leads negotiations.

The Ticking Time Bomb Looming Over Gaza, And Other Notes

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1960 implied HN points • 18 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Surveillance
  1. Israel is threatening to resume full-scale bombing of Gaza unless Hamas disarms, but Hamas has never agreed to give up its weapons, putting both sides on a collision course toward renewed mass violence.
  2. The United States allowed the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with Russia to collapse, a development that makes the world far more dangerous than the repeated alarms about Iran.
  3. U.S. imperialism and regime‑change operations push other countries to clamp down and restrict freedoms to resist foreign infiltration, so American actions often make the world more authoritarian.

Alexa, Stop Recording Me

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 333 implied HN points • 10 Mar 26
đź•ą Technology Surveillance
  1. A new consumer device called Spectre I claims to stop unwanted audio recordings by nearby smart recorders, pitched as a sleek anti-surveillance dome.
  2. A short social media video about the device went viral and generated strong public interest and excitement.
  3. Many people are skeptical about its effectiveness and safety, with some fearing it could be a Trojan horse for surveillance or otherwise be misused.

A few choice words for SNL (Odds and Ends #89)

Odds and Ends of History • 737 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
🎭️ Culture Surveillance
  1. There’s a small reader meet-up in Manchester tomorrow night, and both free and premium subscribers are welcome to sign up.
  2. The YIMBY Pod highlights that Cornwall could become a lithium superpower, Oxford Street is getting pedestrianised, and funding for curiosity‑driven astronomy is under threat.
  3. This issue rounds up short reads on culture (including a notably bad SNL sketch and a short AI film), energy and gas price outlooks, the mostly‑fake AI backlash, street and roadwork fixes, government use of mobile data for surveillance, and a handy war‑monitoring website.

Halting vaccine innovation, younger colorectal cancer deaths, lingering flu, and good news

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1472 implied HN points • 18 Feb 26
🏥 Health Politics Surveillance
  1. The FDA initially refused to file Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine application, highlighting how shifting regulatory decisions could slow or deter long-term vaccine innovation and investment.
  2. Colorectal cancer rates are rising in younger adults, so screening now starts at 45 and people should watch symptoms at any age while focusing on healthier diets, more fiber, and regular activity to lower risk.
  3. Winter respiratory illnesses are lingering (flu B, RSV, colds) and measles cases have surged past 1,000, plus a small outbreak of drug-resistant Salmonella linked to moringa capsules—stay current on vaccines, heed outbreak warnings, and check supplement lot codes if you own the product.

Middle East-focused US/UK intel contractors discussed price for their spies to 'break stuff'

All-Source Intelligence Fusion • 773 implied HN points • 18 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Surveillance
  1. Court filings show US/UK intelligence contractors discussed charging extra to move spies from passive surveillance into risky operations, including possible electronic attacks framed as an "internet coverage test".
  2. Messages reveal planning of port surveillance projects targeting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz to monitor Iran–China trade after their 2021 agreement, with codenames like METALLICA and QUIXOTE.
  3. The firms operated through layered shell companies and strict compartmentalization while holding large U.S. defense contracts, and their covert acquisition, payouts, and PR risks led to lawsuits and internal concern.

AI 2028: Civil disturbance

Philosophy bear • 135 implied HN points • 13 Mar 26
đź•ą Technology Surveillance
  1. AI will rapidly improve and flood online spaces, making human-created content hard to tell apart from machine output. That will devalue creative work, threaten many white-collar jobs, and destabilize economies and internet culture.
  2. AI will enable mass automated surveillance and concentrate power in huge companies and states. That creates new tools for doxxing, political targeting, and a security-driven arms race that deepens polarization.
  3. Rising economic pain and cultural collapse will drive fierce anti-AI resistance that could merge with other political movements around elections. People should build local unions and community ties, stay informed about AI, and push for safety, regulation, and democratic control.

Immune Imprinting, Immunosenescence, and the Limits of Universal Seasonal Influenza Vaccination

Who is Robert Malone • 8 implied HN points • 21 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Surveillance
  1. Childhood immune imprinting and repeated annual vaccination can bias and weaken vaccine-induced protection, especially against influenza A(H3N2). Prior exposures tend to recall outdated immune memory and can suppress the generation of new, strain-specific neutralizing responses.
  2. Age-related immune decline makes standard-dose vaccines less effective in adults aged 65 and older, and while enhanced formulations (high-dose, adjuvanted, recombinant) improve responses, randomized trial evidence on reducing severe outcomes is mixed.
  3. A one-size-fits-all annual vaccination policy is misaligned with this immune heterogeneity, so risk- and platform-stratified strategies, evaluation of next-generation vaccines and immunomodulatory approaches, and clearer public communication about conditional vaccine benefits are warranted.

When Compliance Becomes A Crime

Can We Still Govern? • 254 implied HN points • 03 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. A new law fixes legal sex at birth and retroactively invalidates many changed IDs, turning routine document compliance into potential criminal penalties and state tracking.
  2. This measure is part of a larger coordinated effort—including federal policy—that narrows where trans people can get supportive documents and builds administrative systems that surveil and control gendered identity across states.
  3. The law disproportionately hurts already marginalized people, making everyday tasks like work, medical care, and voting riskier, and it empowers citizens to police and sue people over restroom use, encouraging vigilantism.

WATCH: The Epstein Tapes

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1006 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
đź“° News Surveillance
  1. The Department of Justice released a massive trove of Epstein-related files that includes roughly 2,000 videos, but the videos are hard to access because there’s no central index and automated downloads are blocked.
  2. Data Set 10 contains about 14 hours of footage taken from Epstein’s devices, and those clips were consolidated so people can view them without downloading the entire archive.
  3. Although many clips are heavily redacted, the videos together reveal Epstein’s lavish lifestyle and disturbing sexual content, including material involving minors, while other released sets include prison CCTV that shows his movements in custody.

Is Germany Previewing America's Speech Future?

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 4539 implied HN points • 06 Dec 25
🌍 World Politics Surveillance
  1. German authorities are increasingly policing speech aggressively, using raids, fines, and criminal charges even for satire or criticism.
  2. A large censorship industry of NGOs, academics, contractors, and state bodies is monitoring and scoring content, with hundreds or even thousands of groups and grants shaping what gets flagged or removed.
  3. The overlap of police, private groups, and bureaucracies — plus invasive scanning of communications — creates a whole-of-society censorship model that risks spreading and chilling dissent beyond Europe.

American Apotheosis, Lustration, and Conciliatism: Part Three

Dr. Pippa's Pen & Podcast • 32 implied HN points • 17 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. The Epstein saga points to a sprawling, institutionalized machine of elites rather than a lone actor, with Epstein serving as a public face and operational node and that apparatus continues even if the individual is gone.
  2. The machine is shifting from physical honeytraps to digital leverage, where AI and data‑mining can automatically find private debts, health issues, or opinions to create permanent, invisible blackmail.
  3. States are pushing back with sanctions, choke‑point strategies, and AI‑driven cybersecurity, which could produce apotheosis, lustration, conciliation, or a prolonged struggle as agentic AI maps and contains these networks.

U.S. federal judge retroactively seals court documents, hiding joint American-British covert action in Iran

All-Source Intelligence Fusion • 834 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Surveillance
  1. A federal judge retroactively sealed four sections of previously public court filings that listed codenames, target countries, date ranges, and other details of covert information-collection programs.
  2. The filings tie a UAE-based contractor (IAS) and U.S. firms to work for U.S. Special Operations Command, describing programs like BEOWULF that targeted multiple Iranian cities and had a roughly $4.5 million price tag.
  3. Counsel moved to seal after the material was publicly disclosed, and the judge ordered redactions and re-filing within seven days, although the sensitive charts had already been circulated.

Ongoing lawsuit between American and British info warfare contractors sheds light on scale of covert operations against Iran

All-Source Intelligence Fusion • 1119 implied HN points • 24 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Surveillance
  1. Court filings show a large, years‑long set of U.S. government‑backed covert information‑collection and influence programs aimed at Iran, with many program codenames dated from 2012 to 2020.
  2. Private contractors and shell companies — including U.S. and British firms and firms later bought or rebranded — carried out and supported these operations, and lawsuits and leaked documents exposed encrypted chats, program names, and payment disputes.
  3. The filings also reveal a global campaign of similar programs targeting many countries, using techniques like Wi‑Fi mapping, human and signals intelligence, market research, and influence activities often coordinated with U.S. agencies.

War on Iran: The Information Gap

God's Spies by Thomas Neuburger • 160 implied HN points • 08 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Surveillance
  1. Commercial satellite firms are delaying public images over Israel and the Gulf, so independent observers lack real-time visual evidence of damage there while images of Iran remain available.
  2. Other reports claim heavy damage to U.S. bases and Israeli infrastructure, meaning repairs could take years and may weaken future U.S. presence in the region.
  3. Iran looks determined to keep fighting and seems unlikely to fold, and because Israel is small even a low rate of successful strikes can cause outsized damage while Iran’s size gives it greater staying power.

How German political spies mistook a random Berlin woman for a white nationalist troll, surveilled her for two years and got her fired for no reason

eugyppius: a plague chronicle • 158 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Surveillance
  1. A domestic intelligence agency misidentified an ordinary woman as a white nationalist, monitored her for about two years, and her employer fired her based on that faulty intelligence. She never got her job back and received no apology.
  2. The error came from cursory online searches and a failure to verify identities, yet the agency forwarded its unconfirmed findings to her employer and only reviewed the case months later. There was no meaningful accountability for the harm caused.
  3. The case shows a wider problem where domestic spies both overreach and act incompetently, harming innocent people while real extremists can go unchallenged. Lack of oversight and inconsistent practices make such surveillance dangerous for civil liberties.

Outbreak Outlook - National - March 15

Force of Infection • 62 implied HN points • 15 Mar 26
🏥 Health & Wellness Surveillance
  1. RSV season came on much later than usual and now appears to be reaching or passing its peak, with test positivity easing and hospitalizations — especially in babies — starting to fall.
  2. Flu activity is declining and more areas have moved out of high activity, but overall visits remain above baseline and this season has been unusually severe for children.
  3. Norovirus has hit a new seasonal peak with very high test positivity and spreads easily, so careful handwashing and staying home for a few days after symptoms end are important to prevent onward transmission.

We're Are All Wall Dancers Now

ChinaTalk • 489 implied HN points • 06 Feb 26
đź•ą Technology Surveillance
  1. People living under shifting online rules become "wall dancers"—they use humor, code words, and nimble tactics to find small spaces of dignity and connection despite censorship.
  2. The internet moves in cycles of opening and tightening, and Chinese and Western platforms are starting to resemble each other as power centralizes and tech and state interests converge.
  3. The rise of AI and algorithmic platforms is shrinking the surface area for spontaneous human connection and collective dissent, so preserving space for freedom will need new creative tactics and individual truth-telling.

Flu is up, up, and away. SNAP restrictions, measles milestone, and good news!

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1679 implied HN points • 07 Jan 26
🏥 Health Politics Surveillance
  1. Flu is surging across the U.S., with influenza‑like illness at its highest level in six years; a mutated H3N2 strain plus falling vaccination rates are driving many hospitalizations and deaths, and vaccination plus early antivirals still help reduce severe outcomes.
  2. Eighteen states are piloting SNAP purchase restrictions, but the research is limited and mixed — restrictions can cut purchases of targeted items yet may not improve overall diet or health, and they raise concerns about cost, autonomy, and stigma; pairing restrictions with incentives looks more promising.
  3. Measles cases topped 2,000 in 2025, mostly in unvaccinated people, which risks the U.S. losing its WHO measles elimination status and could allow measles to become endemic.