Today, X released the company’s first transparency report since Elon Musk bought the company, formerly Twitter, in 2022. Before Musk’s takeover, Twitter would release transparency reports every six months.These largely covered the same ground as the new X report, giving specific numbers for takedowns, government requests for information, and content …
Read More »Teens Say Trump’s Former Personal Aide and Project 2025 Higher-Up Made Them Uncomfortable in Chats
In October of 2023, when Grace Carter was an 18-year-old freshman at North Carolina State University, she received a message on Instagram from the business account of the conservative dating app The Right Stuff. It was reaching out to ask if she wanted some merchandise. Carter didn’t know much about …
Read More »Russia-Backed Media Outlets Are Under Fire in the US—but Still Trusted Worldwide
In the lead-up to the 2024 elections, the Biden administration has taken aim at several Russian information operations. Earlier in September, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against two employees of RT, a Russian state-backed news network formerly known as Russia Today. At the heart of the indictment was …
Read More »Online Casino Workers Went on Hunger Strike Over Working Conditions
For more than a month, thousands of employees of Evolution, an online gambling company, have been on strike in Tbilisi, Georgia, protesting over pay, allegations of harassment, and unsafe working conditions. The strike began on July 12 but escalated in August. Initially, says Giorgi Diasamidze, head of the employee union …
Read More »X Is Working With a GOP Consulting Firm
X appears to be working with a well-known Republican consulting group, seemingly to handle the messaging around the social media platform’s suspension in Brazil. When WIRED emailed X for comment about the rapidly evolving situation in Brazil, a reply came from Michael Abboud, the managing director of the conservative consulting …
Read More »Elon Musk Has Backed Himself Into a Corner in Brazil
Less than two years after taking over Twitter, now X, Elon Musk has managed to lose the company access to its third largest market and reportedly more than 40 million users. And despite his bravado online, he seems to have backed himself into a corner. Brazil’s decision to block X …
Read More »AI-Fakes Detection Is Failing Voters in the Global South
Recently, former president and convicted felon Donald Trump posted a series of photos that appeared to show fans of pop star Taylor Swift supporting his bid for the US presidency. The pictures looked AI-generated, and WIRED was able to confirm they probably were by running them through the nonprofit True …
Read More »Astrologers Say 2024’s Political Future May Be Written in the Stars
Kamala Harris’ meteoric rise to the top of the Democratic ticket was unexpected. Two months ago, no one could have predicted it. Well, almost no one. On June 6, 2023, astrologer Laurie Rivers, who goes by the name AstroLaurie on TikTok and hosts the Awake Space podcast, posted a video …
Read More »RFK Jr. Suspends Presidential Campaign, Endorses Trump
Today, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his withdrawal from the presidential race. “I am not terminating my campaign, I am simply suspending it, not ending it,” said Kennedy. “My name will remain on the ballot in most states.” But Kennedy said that after “deep prayer,” he had decided …
Read More »Gamergate’s Aggrieved Men Still Haunt the Internet
Ten years ago, a flood of gamers attacked developers Zoë Quinn and Brianna Wu and media critic Anita Sarkeesian. The three were part of a growing chorus of people calling for a more inclusive culture within video games. The attackers doxxed and harassed their targets, doing all they could to …
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