AI
My bot, my self
A new wave of selfie-generating chatbots, made in our own images, end up revealing how much humanity they leave behind.
Surveillance
How the police get your prescription
America's largest pharmacy chains are handing over customers’ most intimate medical records in the store. And it's completely legal.
Social media
A Montana judge upends the TikTok ban
The state's first-in-the-nation law, Republicans' model for banning the video app, "violates the Constitution in more ways than one."
AI
OpenAI, X and the perils of power
The secretive cults of personality that run Silicon Valley's biggest stars.
Social media
The viral bin Laden trend that wasn't
How a "small group of nobodies" on TikTok sparked the latest social media panic.
Profiles
Inside a $10 million OnlyFans farm
In Florida, I saw firsthand how the new business of sex is changing the web.
Infowar
What these violent videos do to us
The "golden age of brutal voyeurism" is bringing the horrors of war back home.
Creators
MrBeast's neighborhood
In Greenville, N.C., the unlikely home of YouTube's biggest star, the neighbors are all part of the spectacle — whether they like it or not.
Social media
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.
Creators
The business of online influence
"You’re basically working for the internet, and on the internet, you are very easily replaced."
Social media
A fake 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."
Profiles
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.
Deception
The AI girl next door
“Feeling pretty today :).”
AI
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.”
Infowar
Truth Social's bitter infighting
A whistleblower exposes how a fight for power undermined Trump Media's plan to build an online empire.
Social media
Sorry you went viral
TikTok’s explosive stardom has created a new kind of celebrity. But nothing goes viral like rage.