Sameer Padania

@sdp

public interest x journalism x information ecosystems x tech/AI accountability vs information inequality linkedin.com/in/sameerpadania #COYS #FRSA

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Sameer Padania@sdp· 29d

In some weird kind of metaphor, I just had to liberate this evidently quite frustrated butterfly from my back door.

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jul 16

Britain has Fallen

screenshot of uber eats sainsbury’s screen showing four pots of yoghurt as “yogurt”.

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jul 16

“Yogurt”? You’re losing your heads, people...

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jul 15

For fans of Nat Segnit's Beautiful Dreamers, and specifically The Traitor of the Zazalcara...

Spain’s anaconda grip strangles France’s World Cup dream
Relentless pressing, flawless possession and clinical finishing powered Spain past France 2-0, moving the European champions one step from World Cup glory

From the opening whistle, the Spaniards wrapped themselves around France like an anaconda, tightening their grip with every ⁠wave of pressing and every spell of possession until the life had been squeezed from a French attack that had looked irresistible throughout the tournament. "A dream come true … to be honest, I never even imagined anything like this, not even in my wildest dreams," Porro said. "We did ‌everything right – everything we needed to do – against a team that was having a brilliant World Cup."

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jul 15

The erstwhile Ofwat identified #informationinequality as a constraint on people understanding how to get access to the Priority Services Register - for a long time the only public body I could find using that term. https://youtu.be/iHK1LWyFMGo?is=tlq-cmh006tfZKOE

Ofwat is starting a conversation with the water sector and beyond to #ListenCareShare. We want to understand the challenges and
experiences that water customers are facing, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, so we can all provide help and support in the right way, at the right time.
To begin with we will Listen Care Share around three themes: financial vulnerability; mental
wellbeing; information inequality.
Research commissioned by Ofwat as part of #ListenCareShare, a piece of work to understand customers' experiences duringCovid-19, found that information about the types of customer support available is not reaching those who need it. Only 15% of customers are aware that financial sunnort for…

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jul 9

Portugal version from @publico.pt - Conde Cara de Caixote do Lixo:

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jul 4

#Corinthians have a new sponsor (seemingly a content-creator platform) whose logo will be replaced on @sccpfutfeminino.bsky.social shorts with a message to end violence against women & girls. Given the questions RDZ faced on appointment, #THFC should maybe consider a similar move?

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jul 3

I think they get along just fine

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jun 26

aaaaaaaaaaaaargh (for the nth year in a row)

application deadline that i just thought about, four days after it passed, because, well, i have been super busy doing work

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jun 13

I literally wrote a report defending the BBC in January, so it pains me to say this - its editorial decision-making is in a worrying state at the moment. #belfast

shado-mag.com
Hours before the worst violence
occurred, The World At One - BBC
Radio 4's long-running lunchtime
news and current affairs radio
programme - decided to read out
Rupert Lowe's posts at the start of
their bulletin. This despite the fact
that Lowe's fascist party, Restore
Britain, polls at about 3% today.
Someone at the BBC made the
decision to centre one of the most
extreme figures in British politics at
a time when racists were openly
calling for blood. This, like with the
case of The Mirror, was an editorial

shado-mag.com
Later, Lowe called for prosecuting
politicians who "knowingly placed
dangerous third world savages in
our community" on X, a post that
was shared by Elon Musk who
added "this is the way." Just like that,
a minor political figure was boosted
by both the BBC and the world's
richest man who has been using his
ownership of X to spread White
nationalist politics. And yet, the UK
government under Labour
continues to use Musk's platform
for crucial communication, giving a
White nationalist platform

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jun 8

More #Palantir updates in @theguardian.com story on Clegg, including this marvellous correction: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

“An earlier version incorrectly described Palantir as a spyware company; it is a spy-tech company.”

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jun 7

Writing in the early 20th century, Virginia Woolf made sustained attention the very substance of her prose – the flicker of light on water, the texture of a London morning, a moth dying on a windowpane. For Woolf and the modernists, paying close attention was not simply a way of experiencing art, it was one of the essential conditions of being human.

Now we have festivals and artists such as Jack White banning smartphones, because the crowd were more glued to their phone screens than what was happening on stage. More theatres are considering Yondr pouches – especially after photos of James Norton nude on stage in A Little Life were leaked in 2023. The fact that we need enforcement measures to create the conditions for attention is itself a reflection of how far things have gone.

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jun 4

If I were to open a bike shop, this is what I would call it:

Sameer Padania@sdp· Jun 4

Public policy schools today operate in a world undergoing profound transformation. Climate instability, geopolitical fragmentation, technological disruption, social polarisation, and demographic change are no longer distant risks, but immediate realities. These forces are reshaping governance in ways that blur traditional boundaries between developed and developing economies, public and private actors, and national and global policy arenas. In this context, how can public policy education evolve to better serve society?

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 31

Some fellow concert-goers asked the ¿roadie? for the set list (I didn’t know that was a thing), and one let me a take a picture - so now you know what Aldous Harding and (super tight and on it) band played (it says Saturday but this was Sunday too):

Set list for Aldous Harding on 31 May 2026 at Barbican in London, UK.

TRAIN ON THE ISLAND
I ATE THE MOST
ONE STOP
TREASURE
VENUS IN THE ZINNIA
IF LADY DOES IT
WORMS
PASSION BABE
LEATHERY WHIP
SAN FRANCISCO
WHAT AM I GONNA DO?
FEVER
WARM CHRIS
COATS
RIDING THAT SYMBOL IMAGINING MY MAN
DESIGNER

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 31

Absolutely exceptional concert by Aldous Harding tonight at the Barbican. (Took precisely one photo, as she came out for the encore.)

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 30

Meanwhile, I was going to mention that the late Mario Tascon once gave a talk to the board of the Journalism programme at OSF in which he showed Hokusai’s the Great Wave & how the boat was navigating *into* & not away from the wave. I googled to see if there were other references for this, and…

i’m not going to transcribe the slop generated by this AI overview

nor the plausible-sounding meta slop if you go deeper

hmm - it points to tom trewinnard’s post as the key source for this claim. i wonder what tom has written about this… wait - there’s no reference to Tascon or Hokusai here…?

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 22

I thought I was hallucinating when i saw this at 7am, but no.

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 19

From the Trust for Civic Life's new briefing on "What local communities are telling us about digital tools, AI, and novel civic tech": trustforciviclife.org/wp-content/u...

DIGITAL CIVIC LIFE THROUGH THE DECADES

1990 – 2000
The early web sparked the first civic digital experiments: municipal
data projects, e-democracy platforms, and campaigns to open public data. Tools like Craigslist and community listservs set the template
for local online connection.

2000 – 2010
Web 2.0 put users in the driver’s seat with Wikipedia, YouTube, and open APIs. Local civic platforms launched, open-source code spread ideas
globally, and blogs plus Twitter gave activists and journalists new organizing power.

2010 – 2020
Smartphones and tech giants reshaped daily life. Civic tech attracted hundreds of millions in funding, then petered out as funders grew discouraged by resulting impact.

2020 – 2025
COVID dramatically changed in-person interaction and virtual tools went mainstream. By 2025, the generative AI boom created both opportunity and uncertainty for public interest work.

2026+
A post platform future driven by wide adoption of AI tools that lower the cost and barriers for creating niche or hyper-local applications.

Source: https://trustforciviclife.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/TCL_2026DigitalReport_for-web.pdf

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 18

The last week has been absolutely

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 18

At @thersaorg.bsky.social for @carissaveliz.bsky.social and Roger McNamee’s conversation:

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 10

Literally pinned above my desk - and if i were ever to get a tattoo, it should be this.

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 7

just back from the most wonderful intimate concert by #DeryaYildirim in the beautiful #ChurchOfSound. Genuinely exceptional.

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 6

Interesting that the @theguardian.com is looking for a Dep Ed of Community Journalism: www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/44...

About the job
Join our team at the Guardian and be a part of a diverse and inclusive global organisation that delivers fearless, investigative journalism, and holds power to account. Our team of award-winning journalists, cutting-edge commercial professionals, and industry-leading digital experts are committed to making a difference and represent a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. We offer a challenging and exciting environment for career development, with a focus on training, growth and fostering an inclusive culture.

We are now looking for a deputy editor, community journalism.

Community journalism plays a central role in the Guardian's newsroom. The team collaborates with our global audiences to ensure that people’s views and experiences are represented in our journalism. These can be stories that have been informed by views and experiences of people around the world in response to Guardian callouts across news, politics, business, society and culture.

This is a permanent NUJ contract.

About the role
Generate and deliver agenda-setting UK and international community journalism projects
Commission, write and edit community journalism callouts and articles.
Deputise for and represent the community journalism editor when required
Liaise and collaborate with other Guardian desks and global offices to facilitate community journalism callouts and articles
Build editorial relationships with staff at all levels in the UK and other global offices
Help shape thinking about the most effective ways to evolve community journalism at the Guardian
Think creatively about the future of Guardian community journalism on video and social media platforms

Sameer Padania@sdp· May 5

As someone who shares a birthday with #KarlMarx and who loves John Boorman’s Zardoz, I’ve often wondered about this, and finally bothered to google it today:

John Boorman:
When Zardoz opened in France, the communist newspaper asked me to go to their office, and they were very nervous and agitated…

John Boorman:
They said they wanted to give it a good review, but they were concerned that I had based the flying head on Karl Marx…

John Boorman:
and that I was making fun of Karl Marx with this head…

John Boorman:
And that had absolutely never occurred to me. The sculptor who made the head based it on me. I sat there for him and he cast it…

Sameer Padania@sdp· Apr 30

Really enjoyed doing this - not least the private message from a fellow Spurs fan remarking on my choice of mug. #COYS

Sameer Padania@sdp· Apr 30

Owner of Brent Cross shopping centre sues John Lewis for cut of online sales/click and collect: www.ft.com/content/ec9e...

Sameer Padania@sdp· Apr 29

Bloody hell - I initially assumed it was a hoax designed to spread uncertainty... @404media.co now reporting it: www.404media.co/rightscon-hu... Thabo Kawana's other FB statements are ageing badly: www.facebook.com/thabokawan/

Fellow citizens,
Last evening, we officiated at Crown TV Zambia’s 5th anniversary celebration under the theme “Five Years of Excellence.”
We reaffirmed Government’s commitment to media freedom and to the growth of a professional, independent media sector.
We commended Crown TV for its rapid growth and contribution to our evolving media landscape. Official records note that it is now one of Zambia’s leading television stations, available on TopStar, StarTimes, DStv, and GOtv, with plans to expand to Azam TV.
We recognised that reaching over 4.5 million households carries significant responsibility. We attribute the station’s success to strong leadership, a skilled workforce, and its commendable commitment to achieving gender parity in management.
We reiterated Government’s resolve to safeguard democratic freedoms, including freedom of expression. That right guides our public service and we have taken deliberate steps to create a more open and supportive environment for the media.
We assured the nation that Government will continue to foster a media landscape that is free, fair and conducive to national development.
We urged Crown TV to keep innovating and upholding high journalistic standards as our media sector grows.
Thabo Kawana
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Information and Media

Fellow citizens,
We are honoured to officiate at the relaunch of Musanza TV, Zambia’s first local language-focused broadcaster. This progressive step expands access to information and strengthens media diversity and plurality, ensuring broader citizen engagement in national discourse.
As a private commercial entity operating in partnership with Diamond Media Group, we expect Musanza TV to uphold the high production standards and editorial excellence that define Diamond TV.
The initiative aligns directly with our Government’s agenda of inclusivity and national development, deepening community participation and safeguarding our cultural heritage.
As we commend this milestone, we also recognise the weight of responsibility it carries. We urge all media practitioners to reaffirm their commitment to professionalism and accuracy, particularly given growing concerns over misinformation, propaganda and divisive content in some sections of the media.
In our multi-ethnic and multi-lingual nation, failure to maintain ethical standards risks eroding public trust and undermining national unity and stability, especially as we approach an election period. We look forward to Musanza TV serving our people with integrity, quality, balance and respect for the diversity that defines Zambia.
Thabo Kawana
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Information and Media
Lusaka

Sameer Padania@sdp· Apr 26

oh my. #AI #SouthAfrica

Statement on the integrity of the Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy

Following revelations that the Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy published for public comment contains various fictitious sources in its reference list, we initiated internal questions which have now confirmed that this was the case.

This failure is not a mere technical issue but has compromised the integrity and credibility of the draft policy. As such, I am withdrawing the Draft National Artificial intelligence Policy.

South Africans deserve better. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies did not deliver on the standard that is acceptable for an institution entrusted with the role to lead South Africa ‘s digital policy environment. The most plausible explanation is that AI-generated citations were included without proper verification. This should not have happened.

In fact, this unacceptable lapse proves why vigilant human oversight over the use of artificial intelligence is critical. It’s a lesson we take with humility. I want to reassure the country that we are treating this matter with the gravity it deserves. There will be consequence management for those responsible for drafting and quality assurance.

End.

Sameer Padania@sdp· Apr 26

Simons Agonistes #COYS #THFC