the only Australian on the internet. www.cameronwilson.com.au i write @thesizzle.com.au and report at @crikey.com.au
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who needs a thesaurus when you have the cam wilson discord: discord.gg/RQY6e2HU
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Google keeps Chrome, AI blamed for FOI reforms and waxer wears smart glasses Plus: It should not be this easy to crack a gift card like this READ: https://thesizzle.com.au/p/google-keeps-chrome-ai-blamed-for-foi-reforms-and-waxer-wears-smart-glasses
Govt leans heavily on eSafety Commissioner receiving 600 FOI requests in one year. However frivolous they may be, they were overwhelmingly for personal info - so fees wouldn't apply. And at just 1 or 2% of all FOIs, they are not the reason the system is so expensive in money and work-hours.
this is the auspol version of those photos of NBA players when they were a kid posing with a star who they grow up to play against
just ten years between these photos.... remember to follow your dreams, kids
The government's proposed FOI Act amendments are out. Media has focused on the new submission fee, but far more alarming are changes making it easier for govt to block access to public information. Two in particular stand out:
new way to tell the boys that you're on for beers this weekend just dropped
also shows that these people have shit for brains if they think spamming an agency with the same FOI request will have any impact other than being annoying
What is the minister doing thinking that charging all people for FOI is the solution to this? Dealing with AI generated content is a serious problem (I wrote about AI generated submissions in 2023) but the answer is not charging everyone for access www.crikey.com.au/2023/08/10/a...
apologies if i was slow/didn't reply over the last week and a bit, i was OOO but now i am back. did i miss anything in the past few days?
News Corp's Courier Mail linked a teen girl's suicide bullying on social media as part of its campaign for the <16 ban. But the child's parents said she wasn't bullied on social media. Which News would have known if they contacted them before publishing.
counterpoint: he's dead
no-one absolutely no-one: anthony albanese: some of the people at the rally with nazis speeches are grouse blokes.
i would never say ignore them. we should treat them like any other group of weirdo fringe losers. if "lower the minimum age of consent" activists (a lot of crossover with this group and NSN btw lol) interrupted a jacinta allen conference, i wouldn't get a push notification
The first story I did for Crikey back in 2021 was reporting on a leaked neo-nazi manual showing how "media baiting" — aka tricking journalists into writing about them — was a major strategy for them. www.crikey.com.au/20...
i shouldn't get a push notification for "attention seeking loser goes to press conference"
maybe we shouldn't run "neo-nazi does [anything]" as the top story on national news websites unless it's meaningfully newsworthy/impactful? these are people who want to exterminate australians + are actively trying to get attention. we can't treat them as normal political players
I’m a foreign government/criminal and I can’t wait to carry out my nefarious ends by filing FOI requests and waiting 6-9 months to get highly redacted documents as long as they aren’t exempt for a wide number of reasons including national security… beware 😈
This protest isn’t scheduled to start for two hours yet and there are already TWO sets of TV reporters and camera crews here setting up their shots. Melbourne has protests every single weekend and few if any get this level of media attention. No media setting up at the Gaza rally location.
damn if only they’d spent 6.5 million dollars recently on trialing technologies to verify people’s age (and thereby their existence)
The bank app is telling me to "tap & pay like a boss😏" and "rally my crew". I am 37 years old and you are the bank. Don't talk to me this way.
"The applause on the steps of state parliament earlier in the day spilled into terror a few blocks away, granting these men the illusion of validation." Searing piece by @mrdtjames.bsky.social on the moment the line between rhetoric and violence dissolved www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/02/a...
Believe it or not there was supposed to be context to this
oh no foreign actors and criminals are RORTING our information!!
they say if you make your hobby into your job, you’ll never work a day in your life ❤️
oh sorry in that case I went two these two locations and everyone furrowed their brows, scratched their heads, and said sorry we haven’t had the pleasure
I went to these two places and everyone knew your and your clothes
Someone used Dezi Freeman's social media account while he's been on the run The accused Porepunkah police shooter's Telegram account has been active within the last 24 hours. READ: https://thesizzle.com.au/p/someone-used-dezi-freeman-s-social-media-account-while-he-s-been-on-the-run
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Age check tech report, Meta's AI woes and alleged shooter's Telegram Plus: A Really Great vibe-coded age verification option! READ: https://thesizzle.com.au/p/age-check-tech-report-meta-s-ai-woes-and-alleged-shooter-s-telegram
i hear mp's offices phones are blowing up... their doors being knocked down... over this
it says microsoft paper clip pregnant
..excuse me?
I wrote this for Crikey about how media coverage of Dezi Freeman as far back as 2018 fed his paranoia and sovereign citizen talking points. After last week's shootings, it's not great to see media today downplay the role of Nazis into the alarmingly attended March for Australia rallies yesterday.
for people who use AI for too many things, have you considered putting your questions to a group chat of 3-5 friends instead?
same thing happened at the 2022 election where anti-vaccine, anti-lockdown groups had a negligible effect. for whatever reason — I'll let you speculate — there are big chunks of mainstream media and politics who elevate extreme anti-migration sentiment as if it is a strongly & widely held view.
I'm away until later this week so I haven't deep-dived into the teen social media ban's tech trial report, but I thought it was notable that Nine/Today's tech commentator Trevor Long said the report shows how "age assurance doesn't work"
Teen social media ban tech trial report out now drive.google.com/drive/folder...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...
Exclusive: Hundreds of previously unreported Facebook posts, Telegram messages + Instagram comments show how Dezi Freeman openly fantasised about killing and torturing police officers in years leading up to the alleged Porepunkah police shooting www.crikey.com.au/20...
Centrist at the nazi rally: oh no I’m not here for the protest, I’m here to protest the counter protest
So… someone is using alleged police shooter Dezi Freeman’s Telegram account while he has been evading police thesizzle.com.au/p/someone-us...
So… someone is using alleged police shooter Dezi Freeman’s Telegram account while he has been evading police thesizzle.com.au/p/someone-us...
hall of fame legal AI moment: a judge figures out that someone's court submission was generated using AI because it cites "a wholly imaginary judgment for which the plaintiff claims that I am the author."
Everything the pro-Israel media think the pro-Palestine movement is (racist, extremist, building up violent hate) is actually happening with the anti-migrant “March for Australia” but with a fraction of the outrage.
If Blinky Bill was set today, he would likely be executed for being a domestic terrorist…. due to Woke
My take: if the Castle were set today I do not think The Kerrigans would be smeared as right-wing extremists that would be investigated by the AFP because they are fictional characters who do not exist
when you’re being mean to me online This is who you’re being mean to
when you’re being mean to me online This is who you’re being mean to
I think if Britain colonised your country of origin you should get free BBC iplayer.
Our secret plot has finally been revealed: Ariel Bogle and I have written a book: 'CONSPIRACY NATION: Exposing the dangerous world of Australian conspiracy theories' We have a lot to share about what we uncovered, but for now you can pre-order it here: bio.to/ConspiracyNation
'Freeman shared Covid-19 conspiracy theories & opposed public health measures such as masks, lockdowns & vaccines. In particular, Freeman raged at then Victorian premier Dan Andrews, whom he would try unsuccessfully to prosecute for treason.'
tricking people to turn up to shit that they didn’t want to attend is famously a very good recruiting tactic
here’s what I wrote on it www.crikey.com.au/2025/08/29/d...
here’s what I wrote on it
It’s even worse than that. Dezi Freeman frequently posted about doing a “Nuremberg” to police (see here) This is /literally/ the same rhetoric of an accused killer at large.
AI doomerism is just a symptom of a class of people who are so detached from the real threats to real people that their main concerns are the plots of bad sci-fi novels
This might seem hypocritical but there is actually a logic for the rich tech guys: 1/1000 chance that one day we get SkyNet, which would affect me - this is the gravest risk to humanity Ordinary people doing suicide by coo and murders because AI told the - 😔 alas that’s the cost of doing business
just had a mild aneurysm thinking about how the guys spent years warning us about how dangerous AI could be, and are now just shrugging their hands when their products are successfully encouraging kids to kill themselves
Exclusive: Hundreds of previously unreported Facebook posts, Telegram messages + Instagram comments show how Dezi Freeman openly fantasised about killing and torturing police officers in years leading up to the alleged Porepunkah police shooting www.crikey.com.au/20...
@cameronwilson.bsky.social has been *the* leading journo covering the teen social media ban, hands down. The govt now has the final results from the tech trial. Cam gave me his honest opinions on today's ep of Cut Through: open.spotify.com/episode/4tIZ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=F59T...
i wrote today's sizzle, here is a gift link (don't tell @cameronwilson.bsky.social) thesizzle.com.au/p/the-parabl...
something something blood and soil management plan
If you claim to be marching to ‘protect Australian heritage’ but you don’t know what s.5.10 of the NSW model local environmental plan requires consent authorities to consider, fuck off
“extremism never triumphs on its own. It succeeds because others enable it—because of their ambition, because of their fear, or because they misjudge the dangers of small concessions.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting engaged is actually intended as a distraction to keep you from reading this article I wrote for @thebaffler.com.
Full resignation letter from Demetre C. Daskalakis, a CDC leader, does not hold back. "The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud."
i find this image so fascinating. it is both a literal example of authoritarianism but also a second-hand reproduction of the aesthetics of other authoritarian states. it's like a simulacra of authoritarianism whose purpose is to attempt to make the simulacra real.
OMG, partner was just googling snorkelling from Daintree and the Google's AI summary suggested snorkelling in the DAINTREE RIVER!!! For the unacquainted, the Daintree is famous for salt water crocodile watching tours where you avoid the water at all costs. Please never swim in a river in Nth QLD.
We don't know everything that transpired in Porepunkah, but it is no surprise that someone committed to anti-government conspiracy theories has become violent. Ariel and I wrote in our book there there are no easy answers. But we can't accept the status quo either. www.smh.com.au/natio...
Platform choice (or better yet, building new platforms) is a form of exercising and potentially building power; but lending your voice to the powerful who own platforms that profit from hate for the faint hope of reach and persuasion on their platforms is giving your power away to them
We don't know everything that transpired in Porepunkah, but it is no surprise that someone committed to anti-government conspiracy theories has become violent. Ariel and I wrote in our book there there are no easy answers. But we can't accept the status quo either. www.smh.com.au/natio...
📢 Thousands of Australians don’t believe the law applies to them. The goal for decision-makers is to ensure they don’t come to see violence as a solution to their discontent. 👉 Bot to check Bluesky account creation dates
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Chinese hackers down under, Deloitte report slop and the web is local Researchers have discovered AI’s weakness: bad grammar READ: https://thesizzle.com.au/p/chinese-hackers-down-under-deloitte-report-slop-and-the-web-is-local
From Facebook groups to shoot-outs with police: inside the sprawling ecosystem of ‘sovereign citizens’ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Greens say they’ve successfully established a Senate inquiry into the “social media age ban and search engine age verification codes”
Trump's global tech bullying, Vic 'sov cit' and AI use disclosure Plus: This Redditor is not having a good day READ: https://thesizzle.com.au/p/trump-s-global-tech-bullying-vic-sov-cit-and-ai-use-disclosure
Just finished reading the @cameronwilson.bsky.social and @arielbogle.bsky.social book “Conspiracy Nation” and its really jarring how we like to just ignore the huge problems we have in this country with people who hold these kind of views. Definitely recommended reading.
clever for spotify to meet the needs of one of their key demos: band guys who wanna groom underage fan
There will likely be calls for action to respond to the Porepunkah shooting before we even know the details. After Wieambilla, Peter Dutton called for more powers to break encryption messaging apps — but as it turns out those weren't used by the Trains.
The exchanges between Adam and ChatGPT are devastating. This, in my mind, is the worst one. One of his last messages was a photo of the noose hung in his bedroom closet, asking if it was "good." ChatGPT offered a technical analysis of the set up and told him it 'could potentially suspend a human."
FYI: the anti-government conspiracy theorists known as "sovereign citizens" (also called pseudolaw believers) aren't a big organised group. It's more of a movement of people with similar ideas. There are some organised pseudolaw groups, but many adherents aren't involved in one.
For years, police have been warning about the potential of violence from "small cell" or lone wolf actors who have sovereign citizen (or pseudolaw) and anti-government beliefs Here's some briefings I got via FOI in 2023: www.crikey.com.au/20... and 2024: www.crikey.com.au/20...
The Age is reporting that two police officers have been killed and one wounded while carrying out a warrant on someone believed to be sovereign citizen. I imagine this will get a lot of attention but it’s good to be patient and wait until we know more before speculating too much
its a bit LinkedIn and a bit amphetamine
i reckon you can tell when someone spends too much time with LLMs by the way they post. There's like an over-confident, staccato delivery style that comes from having a constant pep talk from a robot yes man.
a small programming note to say that I'm OOO until mid-next week. I'm still Sizzling but otherwise I /will/ ignore your emails <3
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Work laptop surveillance, Bluesky blocks US state and Chinese phones Plus: Granny’s been drafted for Australia’s cyber militia READ: https://thesizzle.com.au/p/work-laptop-surveillance-bluesky-blocks-us-state-and-chinese-phones-598baa5c5faefdbf
incredible things are coming from the Trump Phone marketing department
Getting on a plane but couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a snap with my book PISSANTS by BRANDON JADK
Internal government emails show the government chose not to take recommendations for "critical" changes to the teen social media ban in its rush to get the law ready for its own December 10 deadline, instead erring to do short-term stop gap solutions. www.crikey.com.au/20...
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AI (bad) vibe shift, China's 74 minute internet outage and the Sizzler Say Plus: An app to show you which country you’d hit if you went straight READ: https://thesizzle.com.au/p/ai-bad-vibe-shift-china-s-74-minute-internet-outage-and-the-sizzler-say-c9f302e0a1fe3207
ok but where's Hermann Rorschach and why did you post a picture of my parents fighting?