AI
The business of AI slop
The videos are fake. But the money is very real.
Drew Harwell
I'm a reporter for the Washington Post. Email me at [email protected].
Trump
Trump's woke chatbot
The chatbot on Donald Trump's website says widespread election fraud is fake and Barack Obama is popular, among other inconvenient truths.
AI
AI obituaries
The new trend in death care promises a "faster way to remember." What happens when the AI gets it wrong?
Creators
YouTube propaganda
Mega-creators like IShowSpeed are going on government-sponsored international tours. Is it propaganda, or just good advertising?
AI
How to stop a rogue AI
Grok went full Nazi, and Elon Musk gave it a promotion. But there may still be ways to fight back.
Infowar
Deportation meme machine
The Trump administration's 4chan-ified social media arm is turning mass removals into one big joke.
Trump
Influencer in chief
"These people could be ice skating on the top of yachts, and instead they’re tapping away on their screens."
Money
Trump's meme coin millionaires
I talked to the anonymous crypto moguls capitalizing on "the most corrupt thing a president has ever done."
Infowar
Jan. 6 influencers
Pardoned by Trump, many Jan. 6 rioters are now working to capitalize on the attention through podcasts, speaking tours and self-branded merchandise.
Profiles
Emily's endless stream
"They’re judged all the time. They don’t get a break from the constant surveillance. ... Is it any wonder these people burn out?"
Money
"Brazenly corrupt"
The president's team floated a "night to remember" for the biggest buyers of his meme coin. Tens of millions of dollars poured in.
Profiles
Mayhem clippers
They turn the news into "raw stimuli" that dominates the web. And basically no one knows anything about them.
America
A gold Rolex and prisoners as props
The Homeland Security secretary stages a photo op in a notorious mega-prison with men “stacked up like cordwood behind her.”
Infowar
Trump's meme state media
A new era of propaganda, built on meme accounts and friendly influencers, is supercharging the president's power to drown out dissent.
Deception
Elon the gamer
Why does the world's richest man care so much about beating nobodies in digital caves?
Social media
TikTok's age of chaos
“It was all a game. It was like a competition: What’s a creative way to suck up to Trump?”