https://t.co/h8sWy9qOTS

when it comes to reminding us that life disappoints, great art never does https://t.co/Ap8IysYPd4

when it comes to reminding us that life disappoints, great art never does https://t.co/Ap8IysYPd4

I just got scammed for $1.25 million. I feel ashamed and stupid. This story starts with me getting a phone call from @MrBeast and @MarkRober . They ask me to donate money @teamwater. To build wells in Africa and help people get clean water. I'm surprised by their call. We've met before but haven't spoken in years. I take a few days to think. I focus on learning more about the water crisis in the world. I decide to donate $1 million. MrBeast gets excited about this and tweets to the world about the donation. I'm proud and excited to be a part of this amazing campaign! About a week later I get a message from Team Water on WhatsApp on my personal phone number. They are excited about the donation. They invite me on a trip with the top donors to Africa. To see the wells being built and then stay for a few days for a wildlife safari. To go to Africa and see wells like this being built is long time a dream of mine. I'm excited to go! I immediately say yes. Then they add me to a WhatsApp-group with some of the other top donors. Jimmy (MrBeast that is) is in group, so is Mark Rober and then some well known billionaires like @StakeEddie and @tobi and streamer super stars like @adinross . I can't believe I'm in this group. I feel like a 13 year old boy wanting to fit in. They are all chatting and have a good banter going on. I find myself writing a message... then deleting what I wrote because it didn't feel cool enough. I write it again... then delete it. I can't believe I will be travelling with these people to Africa! Jimmy tells the group about another charity project he wants to start. Everyone is eager to help out more. This conversation goes on for about a week. It's Friday. I'm heading away for a weekend trip with a bunch of my friends. I've been looking forward to this for months. We have a packed schedule and I'm very excited. On Saturday, Jimmy writes in the chat and tells us about this other opportunity. He has just signed a deal with @coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges that will launch their own crypto coin. As a part of a marketing collaboration Jimmy has gotten the chance to buy in early on this coin. As a thank you he wants to extend this offer to anyone who donated over $1 million. Everything is secretive and it's important to act fast. This is where I should have stopped. When someone needs you to act fast - it's often to get you to do something without thinking. But I didn't... Everyone in the chat gets excited about this. I know some of them are real crypto experts and they jump on this opportunity. I don't know much about crypto. But the 13 year old boy in me wants to belong. If they are excited. I want to be excited. I also don't want to be the only one on this trip to Africa that didn't join in on the investment. I find myself calling a crypto friend telling him about this. And he says that if Coinbase is launching a coin, and we can get early access to it, it's a sure win! I get even more excited! I'm also very distracted. I don't want to be in my head right now. I want to join my friends for this workshop they are doing. I'm finally at this event, I want to get the most of it. I go to the workshop but I'm all in my head. I keep thinking about this investment and it frustrates me. I don't want to make business decisions now but I also don't want to miss out. The workshop ends and I call my friend again. We are both excited and we don't want to miss out. We say fuck it, lets go! Within a few hours we have sent $500 000 in crypto to the wallet we were given. The chat is going strong and people are even more excited. @StakeEddie wants in, but he is too slow. When he asks if it can get solved after the deadline, he is told that it's unfortunately too late. I read it and I can't believe a guy like that gets rejected. The next day Jimmy writes again and says that there is a new chance to invest. However the price has now gone up, from $0.15 per coin to $0.30. The maximum investment in this round is $750 000. I call my friend again. I tell him about the billionaire that got rejected and how everyone else is buying in again. I'm still att the event. I'm still super distracted by other things - and we end up falling for it again, sending another $750 000. It's now Monday. The retreat has ended and I'm heading home. I still have a good feeling about all of this and I'm excited. I'm also exhausted after the weekend. Lots of experiences to process and far too little sleep. On Tuesday, Jimmy writes one more time in the chat. Saying that this is the final chance to get it. The price is now $0.45 and everything up until now has been taken. Once again I call my friend and we say let's go. We are about to send the money. But this time something makes me stop for a second. Something in my belly says to look closer at the details. For the first time in these 72 hours I actually stop to properly think. And I see some details that are off. I know one of the @adinross is American, but his phone number is British, why is that? For the first time since this chat started, I call Jimmy just to confirm everything. And he says "What are you talking about?" And that's a punch to my stomach. I say "Please say that you are fucking kidding me?!" and I send him a print screen of the chat. He looks at is and says: "Wow, I don't know what to say... please tell me you didn't send them any money..." And I reply "1.25 million..." The realisation sinks in. Oh fuck... The first phone call from a few weeks ago was Jimmy. The real Jimmy. The fundraiser for clean water was Jimmy. The real Jimmy. But the person reaching out from his team, wasn't from his team. It was a scammer. The Jimmy in the chat, wasn't Jimmy. It was a scammer. It was all very skilfully orchestrated. All the people in the chat were fake. All the banter was fake. The trip to Africa was fake. I feel the shame inside of me. The regret. The sadness. The anger. I've been fooled. I so deeply wanted to belong in this group that I acted way out of character. I trusted "Jimmy" and I followed the peer pressure of the "billionaires" and "super stars". I broke so many of my own principles of how to make decisions. But at least there is a silver lining... I've been scammed before. The first time, I was scammed for about $3000 when I was 20. A fortune to me back then. That time I felt so ashamed that I didn't tell anyone about it for many years. The shame kept haunting me. This time, the first thing I did was to tell my wife. Later I wrote to tell my parents and my brother. Then a group chat with many of my closest friends. I've gotten so much support. My brother wrote me a message that moved me to tears. I've read it over and over. (I'm adding it below if you want to read it) I've also cried. I've screamed. I've punched. Then done it all over again. I'm sharing this story partly to integrate it more. Change the emotional experience from shame and anger - to - something else. I'm not sure yet what that is. But pretty much every feeling is better than shame. I already feel a lot less shame... - The next time you fuck up. Think of this story. Remember that we all fuck up sometimes. - The next time you feel shame. Think of this story. Remember that shame can only live in the shadows. Tell people about your shame, and I promise that the feeling will change. - On a final note. Even after this has happened. I'm still very proud to be a part of Team Water. I still believe Jimmy and Mark are amazing! I struggle to find words to describe the positive impact they have on the world. Thanks you for reading <3

https://t.co/Dl4zVYuIoV

A man was found dead “lying in a pool of blood” at Burning Man festival on Saturday night, which is being investigated as a homicide, authorities said Sunday. More: https://t.co/vFRTTW2Jiu https://t.co/vFRTTW2Jiu

Korn fan enjoys himself during performance of "Got the Life" at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (2025) https://t.co/LJVikSd40S

😑 https://t.co/JJfrb8a13G

😑 https://t.co/JJfrb8a13G

I know I should rewatch it, but the opening of To Live and Die in LA is so fucking goofy and weird and doesn't even seem to tie in with the rest of the movie and I don't know why it's done like this. https://t.co/kne6VTWbDD

https://t.co/lGvaEDYlX5

https://t.co/lGvaEDYlX5

Go from private code to a public good. ⭐️ A United Nations organization open sourced its tech in just 4 steps and empowered a global community. 🚀 Here's how you can too. ⬇️ https://t.co/VhgZ89gWek

OpenAI's most advanced model has finally arrived. 👀 Check out GPT-5, now in public preview for all paid GitHub Copilot plans! 🎉 Here's where you can try it. ▶️ https://t.co/D0h8cZBYMb https://t.co/zCQi0mUIYC

This isn't your average tech conference. 😉 #GitHubUniverse goes beyond 100+ sessions. Explore 9 unique spaces for networking, building with LEGOs, career resources, and more. 🚀 🚨 Early Bird pricing ends Sept. 8! Register now to save $400 on your ticket. 🎟️ Find out what else is in store for the big event. 👀 ⬇️ https://t.co/FzFTI9Leca

Build, test, and deploy your code automatically with GitHub Actions. 🚀 Learn the fundamentals and see what's possible in our guide.👇 https://t.co/JzKjigE81I

Starship the first ever designed rocket to get us to Mars. https://t.co/bRgAvw7NM8

Whatever happened in the USA is now happening in Europe. A gigantic magnet to attract illegal immigrants and have them stay in the country. It's outrageous that taxpayer money is spent on luxury hotels for illegals, because they are trying to import voters to win elections. https://t.co/ASvJRJYthE

Thank you Elon for buying and building 𝕏 https://t.co/7dQnGxlBYQ

They give them homes rent free while British citizens have to pay. Why? Because they want their votes. This is how Labour stay in power. They use our money to bribe them. https://t.co/RPDwTtyZEO

How did the UK get this messed up? Which Prime Minister started this disaster? They all continued it and did nothing to stop it, but which one started it? https://t.co/bfUK9lwv0t

🚨Labour have just sent a signal to the world to send MORE MIGRANTS • Gazan's will be given priority and visa scheme will be made permanent • Plans to allow 'refugees' work in Britain. • New incentives for them to come here They will stop at nothing to destroy us Evil. https://t.co/Hkmi2dX6TO

🇺🇸🔥 Naming the people and NGOs behind the Biden's "Soul of the Nation" speech 🔥🇺🇸 "𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰." This was a quote from an extraordinary speech given by a sitting United States President. It took place on September 1, 2022, over an year after the events of January 6, and less than three years ago. In it, he also goes onto declare: "𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘈 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺." In other words, he declared the nation cannot survive the threat of 74 million Americans sharing their opinion. Make no mistake. The people who were behind this speech haven't gone anywhere. The moment they have a friendly White House again, this kind of divisive, authoritarian rhetoric will be back in full force. I will be naming them and the NGOs behind them below (putting together the Tweets in live time, patience please). 👇

If you don’t believe in free speech for people who you disagree with, and even hate for what they stand for, then you don’t believe in free speech. https://t.co/wMZoQbHZxj

🚨🇬🇧 This boy's name is Leo Ross. Leo was 12 years old and a very successful student. His family describes him as a loving and kind person. One day, Leo was cycling home from school when he was brutally stabbed to death by a 15-year-old migrant boy in Birmingham. It turned out that the killer had 6 serious previous crimes, including harassment and assaulting police officers, but he was free to roam the streets of the UK and killed Leo. RIP Leo...

Any asylum seeker, refugee, or immigrant who commits a crime on British soil should be deported to their country of origin. Simple as. If you can’t respect the rules of our country, you forfeit the right to live in it. https://t.co/byONhmFdmZ

https://t.co/qyWqEmtFv0

https://t.co/qyWqEmtFv0

Hermes 4 open-source LLM from @NousResearch does great with creativity Here's a 5 minute test where I will.. - Build a world model - Develop a character - Roleplay chat How do you think it did and have you tested this yet? https://t.co/Z01EDKhVdb

Humans have an extraordinary ability to adapt immediately to massive changes, as if things had been that way forever, while also being completely unwilling to imagine anything changing any more beyond that. https://t.co/0C1J1fsMUG

An insightful point from @danluu about how allowing downvotes can *increase* the level of civility on a platform: https://t.co/5oO1O4Qw26

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