Murmel's Digest
March 12, 2026 · View on web
These are the most widely shared links from across Mastodon and the Fediverse today — surfaced by Murmel from thousands of posts in the open social web. This is the Fediverse-wide view. Sign up to get a digest tailored to the people you actually follow.
An open letter to Grammarly and other plagiarists, thieves and slop merchants
moryan.com · 26 people
To everyone at Grammarly, I am writing a book right now, a really challenging endeavor that no doubt someone in Silicon Valley will think it’s fine to steal the day it’s published. I’ve been a professional writer for decades, even though the number of ways to make
“You should be ashamed of where you work. Not just Grammarly or Superhuman or whatever comically dumb name you come up with next. Almost everyone running tech firms, most people in positions of responsibility, pretty much every C-suite type — congrats, you’re all making the world a worse place. People used to be excited about tech, now they dread what data you're going to steal next, they dread what violation of privacy or the environment will turn up next.”
— @thomasfuchs · Mar 11
From Flock to ICE, Here’s a Breakdown of How You’re Being Watched
404media.co · 23 people
To better understand what exactly we’re looking at in this dystopian surveillance hellscape, 404 Media’s Jason Koebler and Joseph Cox joined Reddit's r/technology for an Ask Me Anything session.
We recently answered a ton of questions about ICE, Palantir, Flock, the surveillance industry, and more. This is our breakdown of the state of surveillance in 2026:
— @josephcox · Mar 11
Parliament: this House urgently needs more plumbers
thenerve.news · 8 people
Britain’s ailing construction industry should be embracing high-profile figures like builder-turned-MP Hannah Spencer. And why is the built environment media largely ignoring this positive news, asks architecture writer Phineas Harper
As Phineas Harper points out:
'Whether or not Hannah Spencer can change parliament's relationship with construction, she has already changed what it means to imagine a construction worker’s place in British public life, and that’s a start. The buildings we get are, in the end, a reflection of the respect we are willing to extend to the people who build them'!
Spencer's move into Parliament is politically meaningful on a number of levels!
— @ChrisMayLA6 · Mar 10
The liberal legal establishment deluded itself that judging was apolitical, America is stuck with the consequences
plus.flux.community · 10 people Worth reading
A conversation with The Nation’s Elie Mystal on how legal formalism stopped the left from restraining judicial power
The liberal legal establishment deluded itself that judging was apolitical, America is stuck with the consequences
— @tend2wobble · Mar 11
Harvey Weinstein: The Rikers Interview
hollywoodreporter.com · 4 people Worth reading
In his first major sit-down from behind bars, the disgraced mogul fumes about life at Rikers ("I’m dying here"), his wrecked legacy and his delusions about the future ("I will be proven innocent. That I promise you").
Harvey Weinstein has a publicist. Still.
Harvey Weinstein: The Rikers Interview
— @jeffjarvis · Mar 11
How Columbia Ignored Women, Undermined Prosecutors and Protected a Predator for More Than 20 Years
propublica.org · 6 people
For decades, patients warned Columbia about the behavior of obstetrician Robert Hadden. One even called 911 and had him arrested. Columbia let him keep working.
Columbia's report was prompted by a 2023 ProPublica investigation that revealed how the university protected a predator who abused more than 1,000 patients during his nearly 25-year career.
#Columbia #University #Doctor #Health #Medicine #Women #SexualAbuse #Education #HigherEd
— @ProPublica · Mar 11
In the Twenty-first Century, Space is the New Railroad for Billionaire Ambitions
techpolicy.press · 13 people
Billionaires are playing a game of orbital Monopoly, writes Janet Vertesi.
Billionaires aren't getting into the Space Race because they grew up on Star Trek. This is a game of Monopoly, and they are playing to own the pipes.
A new form of consolidation through lateral integration, across apparently separate industrial sectors that maintain control over essential communications infrastructures.
Own the pipes, and you control the world.
— @cyberlyra · Mar 10
My journey from foreign correspondent to Uber driver in Trump's America
stevescherer.substack.com · 5 people Worth reading
I once documented human displacement and desperation; now I am living it
Steve Scherer was a Reuters’ bureau chief in Canada. Then he got laid off, had to leave the country, and now drives for Uber in Virginia, in a country he doesn’t recognize anymore after working for 28 years abroad.
— @kottke · Mar 11
Spain and Norway Expose the Bankruptcy of Europe's Iran Response
socialeurope.eu · 11 people
Europe's response to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran exposes a continent locked in dependency and struggling to find its voice.
Spain and Norway Expose the Bankruptcy of Europe's Iran Response
— @therightarticle · Mar 10
Tony Hoare (1934-2026)
blog.computationalcomplexity.org · 14 people
Turing Award winner and former Oxford professor Tony Hoare passed away last Thursday at the age of 92. Hoare is famous for quicksort, ALGO...
Your personalized digest
See what your network is sharing
This page shows the top links across the whole Fediverse. Sign up and Murmel will surface only the stories that the people you follow are actually talking about.
Start your free 30-day trialNo credit card required. Connect Mastodon.