Mastodawn

Waymo invasions, WordleTV, Halupedia, ballmaxxing, rogue AI radio, NYC roulette, Clav's List, YouTube whisperers, Elon's top reply guy, another study finds zero benefits from smartphone bans, and MORE in today's newsletter!! https://www.usermag.co/p/ben-shapiros-empire-is-crumbling

Ben Shapiro's Empire is Crumbling w/ Will Sommer

+ Waymo invasions, WordleTV, Halupedia, ballmaxxing, rogue AI radio, NYC roulette, Clav's List, YouTube whisperers, Elon's top reply guy, and another study finds zero benefits from smartphone bans

User Mag

Taylor Lorenz May 1

SCOOP: A pro-AI dark money group backed by a powerful super PAC funded by execs tied to Palantir and OpenAI, has been secretly paying influencers to push pro-AI, anti-China propaganda on TikTok and IG. https://www.wired.com/story/super-pac-backed-by-openai-and-palantir-is-paying-tiktok-influencers-to-fear-monger-about-china/

A Dark-Money Campaign Is Paying Influencers to Frame Chinese AI as a Threat

Build American AI, a nonprofit linked to a super PAC bankrolled by executives at OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, is funding a campaign to spread pro-AI messaging and stoke fears about China.

WIRED

Taylor Lorenz Apr 22

New video out on the crazy things big AI companies are doing to convince women to embrace AI w/ @kattenbarge
https://youtu.be/yf3hkq4WZKM

The Girlboss-ification of AI

YouTube

Taylor Lorenz Apr 17

Show thread

mcc Apr 16

This is why I believe Bluesky was never meant to be federated. To create a Bluesky "instance", like Blacksky is heroically attempting, you have to perfectly duplicate every server Bluesky runs. But Bluesky is a business operating at a loss by burning unlimited-for-now VC cash. That has always implied only a business with unlimited VC cash can create an instance. Blacksky is succeeding. Except on days where they aren't.

Taylor Lorenz Apr 17

"Age verification is is inherently a right-wing effort. While these laws are being supported globally by those on the political right and left, they are very much a right wing effort to suppress disliked speech."
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/04/16/the-right-wing-origins-age-verification-laws-dont-disappear-just-because-theyre-going-bipartisan/

The Right Wing Origins Age Verification Laws Don’t Disappear Just Because They’re Going Bipartisan.

I think it’s important to understand that, despite claims to the contrary, age verification is, inherently, a right-wing effort. While it’s currently true that age verification laws are…

Techdirt

Taylor Lorenz Apr 11

Boy kibble, cyberdecks, Bierberchella, AI Michael Jackson babies, peptides overtake pickleball, dating app whimsey, deep runs, an AI storefront, YouTubers vs Apple, Claude Code whips and fairy wands, and MORE in this weekend's newsletter. Subscribe to support my work!!! https://www.usermag.co/p/skibidi-toilet-fans-are-melting-down

Skibidi Toilet fans are melting down

+ Boy kibble, cyberdecks, Bierberchella, AI Michael Jackson babies, peptides overtake pickleball, dating app whimsey, deep runs, an AI storefront, YouTubers vs Apple, Claude Code whips and fairy wands

User Mag

Taylor Lorenz Apr 10

It was such a massive honor to get to chat with Cindy Cohn, former executive director of the @eff.org about her career taking on big tech and fighting mass surveillance. Please listen, comment, and share!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31OevNiNdcc

The Woman Taking On Big Tech

YouTube

Taylor Lorenz Apr 5

noah witherspoon Apr 5

the main thing making me support right-to-repair laws is that I need to make my car’s manufacturer give me whatever horrific software is running the touchscreen so I can rewrite it

Taylor Lorenz Apr 5

Love to see people using vibe coding tech to build tools to fight back against the government.

For months, lone vibe coder Rafael Concepcion has obsessively built tools to counter the federal immigration crackdown—pivoting as he’s been outmatched. https://www.wired.com/story/opposing-ice-might-save-the-country-could-also-ruin-your-life/

Opposing ICE Might Save the Country. It Could Also Ruin Your Life

For months, lone vibe coder Rafael Concepcion has obsessively built tools to counter the federal immigration crackdown—pivoting as he’s been outmatched. He’s also lost his job and become a target.

WIRED

Taylor Lorenz Apr 3

How Democrats Are Embracing Dark Money

Democrats are creating obscure new nonprofits to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into politics, raising concerns about ethics and transparency. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/us/politics/dark-money-nonprofits-explainer.html

How Democrats Are Embracing Dark Money

The left is creating new, obscure nonprofits to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into politics and advocacy.

The New York Times