Stories
Watching the Gaza war on TikTok
The app's critics say the popularity of pro-Palestinian videos proves it's a brainwashing machine. The reality is more complicated.
Drew Harwell
I'm a reporter for the Washington Post. Email me at [email protected].
Stories
The business of online influencers
"You’re basically working for the internet, and on the internet, you are very easily replaced."
Stories
A fake online leftie, built for outrage
"It’s as if she dropped from the moon and arrived fully formed with this narrative that makes liberals look like idiots."
Stories
A Trump whistleblower's life after
From an executive vice president role at Trump Media to 5:30 a.m. shifts in slip-resistant shoes.
Stories
The AI girl next door
“Feeling pretty today :).”
Stories
Prompt whisperers
"These things lie to you. They mislead you. They pull you down false paths ... and, if you mispronounce them, demons come to eat you.”
Stories
Truth Social's bitter infighting
A whistleblower exposes how a fight for power undermined Trump Media's plan to build an online empire.
Stories
Sorry you went viral
TikTok’s explosive stardom has created a new kind of celebrity. But nothing goes viral like rage.
Stories
The machine that makes the art
He won a prize for his AI-generated, neo-Renaissance print. Or was he just ushering in "the death of artistry ... right before our eyes?"
Stories
The terror of whistleblowing
An exclusive interview with the former Twitter official whose testimony shaped our understanding of Jan. 6, 2021.
Stories
Ukrainian psychological warfare
A gruesome facial recognition campaign targeting Russian mothers was, as one Ukrainian wrote, “the only way to stop all this madness."
Stories
Meta's secret mud-slinging campaign
Inside a Facebook-funded consulting firm's scramble to frame TikTok as a threat to American teens.
Stories
Up all night with a Twitch millionaire
"There are just eyes on you, always on you. Kids grew up watching me for 10 hours a day. It feels like it’s been my whole life.”
Stories
Scanning the neighborhood
"This is not just for million-dollar homes. This is America at its core."
Stories
The princess' escape
“Shoot me here. Don’t take me back,” she’d screamed as commandos dragged her off the yacht. Then she disappeared.
Stories
Fantasy world
"The only thing I’m creating is … my appearance. Everything else is me."