Notable links
Notable links: February 20, 2026
Why aren't newsrooms sharing and innovating? And more.
Notable links
Commentary on links that caught my attention around the web.
Media
Stop calling optimization "innovation."
"The problem is, if you’re optimizing a product that fundamentally isn’t working for how people get news in 2026, all you’re really doing is riding that buggy off of a cliff with style."
Technology
The political effects of X’s feed algorithm
"Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes." This study shows that some do - to significant effect.
Media
In Graphic Detail: Subscriptions are rising at big news publishers – even as traffic shrinks
In a world where traffic is decreasing, publishers are moving more heavily into subscriptions - with very good results.
Democracy
Palantir vs. the "Republik": US analytics firm takes magazine to court
Switzerland rejected Palantir on security grounds after independent journalism shed light on fundamental issues. Now the company is suing to tell its side of the story.
Media
Most Americans don’t pay for news and don’t think they need to
Only 8% of respondents believe individual Americans have a responsibility to pay for news. "I don't think that information should be a privilege," one respondent said.
Technology
Everyone is stealing TV
"Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes." The question is: what's on them?
Media
Journalism lost its culture of sharing
"The data are clear: The open-source culture that defined an earlier era of online journalism has collapsed."
AI
Hiring in an era of fake candidates, real scams and AI slop
"Red flags that both job seekers and employers should watch for, in an era of AI slop and application scams."
Notable links
Notable links: Jan 24, 2026
What does the future of engineering look like? And more.
Technology
On ICE, Verification, and Presence As Harm
"Bluesky built a verification system designed to distribute trust, and then didn't use it when it mattered."
AI
The Five Levels: from Spicy Autocomplete to the Software Factory
"I’ve now seen dozens of companies struggling to put AI to work writing code, and each one has moved through five clear tiers of automation. That felt familiar."