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Gillian Branstetter


Gillian Branstetter is a reporter and essayist who specializes in the intersection of technology, LGBTQ issues, and privacy. In April 2018, she joined the National Center for Transgender Equality as a media relations manager.

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This isn’t the first time Facebook has manipulated you—and it won’t be the last

Our fear isn’t truly that Facebook is using us as pawns. It’s that we may be dumb enough to let them.

On Jul 1, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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Online TV doesn’t have to die with Aereo

The rumors of Aereo's death have been greatly exaggerated. 

On Jun 26, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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Amazon’s Fire Phone is your privacy’s worst nightmare

Why the relative calm toward a smartphone whose primary purpose is to see and hear everything you do?

On Jun 20, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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’90s nostalgia will make your kids dumb and uncreative

By being okay with regurgitated culture, we lower the bar for new culture.

On Jun 13, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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Why Slender Man is the perfect culprit for the Internet era

Slenderman is whoever you want him to be.

On Jun 6, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

reddit red pill

It’s time for Reddit to flush the Red Pill

It's a poisonous cocktail to feed young men.

On May 29, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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The real reason the U.S. is indicting Chinese hackers

Stealing secrets from U.S. companies isn’t an act of strength or even clever sleuthing: it’s an act of fear.

On May 22, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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Should you have the right to remove undesirable search results from Google?

We must be able to trust the results Google gives us.

On May 14, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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How can we make ‘net neutrality’ not sound so boring?

There's a reason MSNBC called net neutrality the media's "Most Undercovered" story.

On May 9, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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Why anonymous Facebook isn’t nearly as strange as you think

Facebook wants to hide your data and eat it, too.

On May 2, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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To win the war for TV, Netflix and HBO are becoming each other

In whatever buzzword we’re naming this era of the Internet, a common tactic amongst rivals seems to be to mirror each other.

On Apr 24, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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How Facebook and Google are bringing Internet access to the world

What if I told you not everyone was online?

On Apr 8, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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Why is ‘Mad Men’ ignored by the Internet?

The news of the death of the Golden Age of TV has been greatly exaggerated.

On Apr 4, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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The NSA overestimated how much trust Americans place in government

If it is established that Americans do not trust the government, the question is if we even should.

On Apr 2, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter

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How silence started a revolution on Spotify

Ten tracks of nothingness sounds a lot like your favorite band's future.

On Mar 27, 2014 by Gillian Branstetter