The day before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the presidential contest, a pair of his most ardent supporters were circling the Democratic National Convention in an ancient RV repurposed into an unofficial campaign bus—a fact largely hidden by the explosion of red, white, and blue graphics and slogans …
Read More »'Kamala is a relaxing thought': Swifties for Kamala raise $100,000 for the Harris campaign
An estimated 27,000 Swifties gathered last night, not for the Eras Tour, but to rally for the election of Vice President Kamala Harris. SEE ALSO: Is it ‘Kamala’ or ‘Harris’? The answer is complicated. Swifties logged onto Zoom, streamed on YouTube, X / Twitter, and Instagram to hear fellow Taylor …
Read More »‘Hundreds of Ads in Minutes’: This Startup Thinks AI Can Drown Out the MAGA Movement
Stories about AI-generated political content are like stories about people drunkenly setting off fireworks: There’s a good chance they’ll end in disaster. WIRED is tracking AI usage in political campaigns across the world, and so far examples include pornographic deepfakes and misinformation-spewing chatbots. It’s gotten to the point where the …
Read More »Crypto’s Shiny New Political Machine
Amongst the sea of American flags and ubiquitous blue signs at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week prowled Jonathan Padilla, the “crypto guy.” Wearing a baseball cap and conspicuous pineapple-print shirt, Padilla tramped the halls of the convention, talking crypto policy with anyone who would listen. In a …
Read More »The DNC Is Officially the Influencer Convention
Yacht parties, free snacks, and multiple lounges: This is what the Democratic National Convention in Chicago looks like so far for the influencers and creators invited. For the first time ever, 200 creators have been credentialed to cover the convention as part of the Democrats’ attempt to reach young voters. …
Read More »A Single Iranian Hacker Group Targeted Both Presidential Campaigns, Google Says
When Donald Trump's presidential campaign publicly stated last week that it had been successfully targeted by Iranian hackers, the news may have initially seemed like a sign that the Middle Eastern country was particularly focused on the candidate whom it perceived to take the most hawkish approach to its regime. …
Read More »Black Sororities and Fraternities Are Mobilizing Online and in Secret Chats for Voter Turnout
On the same day that former president Donald Trump said vice president Kamala Harris “happened to turn Black,” Harris was at a Black sorority conference in Texas. “As a proud member of the Divine 9, when I look out at everyone here, I see family,” said Harris, speaking on July …
Read More »Gamergate’s Legacy Lives on in Attacks Against Kamala Harris
Back in August 2014, the misogynistic online campaign that became known as Gamergate was something that bubbled up in the anonymous, dark corners of the internet that only a select few even knew existed. Ten years later, the tactics used against Gamergate targets like Zoë Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian—boosting lies, …
Read More »The Right Is Still Pushing Election Denial—and Pillows
The election denial movement lives on, thanks in part to the efforts of well-funded and well-organized far-right activists. Today on the show, CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan joins WIRED Politics Lab to talk about his forthcoming documentary examining election deniers’ new tactics, and what happens after the November vote. Leah Feiger …
Read More »How Project 2025 Would Put US Elections at Risk
The winner of the 2024 US presidential election will confront complicated questions about whether the government is doing enough to protect the country from cyber threats. But one leading conservative group is sidestepping those questions and pushing to shrink the government’s main cyber agency, calling it a bastion of far-left …
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