In hundreds of videos since taken down by YouTube, right-wing influencers working for Tenet Media—a company the US Department of Justice alleges was financed and guided by a state-backed Russian news network—showed interest in a highly specific set of topics, according to a WIRED analysis. Using closed captioning of the …
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It’s Democratic National Convention Week! For all the politicians, delegates, journalists, and influencers in Chicago this week, that means days of nonstop events, speeches, parties, and networking. I’ve been on the ground covering it with my colleague, senior security writer Dhruv Mehrotra (More from Dhruv below). Some of the events …
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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. …
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After President Joe Biden stepped down and Harris announced her candidacy, excitement quickly swelled around the new campaign. The KamalaHQ account on TikTok quintupled in followers within the first week, the campaign tells WIRED, and the new Harris-focused content received 232 million views and more than 33 million likes. This …
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Pro-Trump influencers and supporters raced to put out merchandise featuring the image of Trump with blood on his face and a fist in the air just hours after the deadly shooting and assassination attempt on Saturday. By Sunday afternoon, right-wing activist Candace Owens and former Trump administration official Sebastian Gorka …
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This might be the end of TikTok. President Joe Biden signed a bill this week which allows the US government to ban the platform if TikTok doesn't divest from its China-based owner, ByteDance, within a year. Today on the show, we’re going to talk about what happens to TikTok now …
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Fashion influencer Lauren Holifield opened up Instagram one day in February and was soon fighting the urge to throw up. “I was so nauseous,” she says. The account she uses to bring in a six-figure annual salary from marketing products to more than 100,000 followers had been banned—shutting off income …
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A lot is happening this week. Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial officially kicked off, Congress is trying to reauthorize a major spy law, and Google workers protested a company contract with Israel. Which is why we’re talking about Jake Paul, and the influencer-politics ecosystem, in this week’s newsletter. This is …
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Campaigns and politicians have experimented with influencer marketing over the past four years. But recruiting content creators to reach voters is already happening more than ever in 2024. The Biden campaign has built out a powerful digital operation with a few staffers specifically focused on online persuasion. The White House …
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Eben Fox makes it sound like the best shopping hack in the world. In a since-deleted TikTok video, the sneaker influencer gushed to his 120,000 followers about a relatively obscure ecommerce website called Pandabuy. “Everything is so cheap that you’re going to get instantly addicted,” said Fox, who goes by …
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