Social media
Sorry you went viral
TikTok’s explosive stardom has created a new kind of celebrity. But nothing goes viral like rage.
AI
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?"
Social media
The terror of whistleblowing
An exclusive interview with the former Twitter official whose testimony shaped our understanding of Jan. 6, 2021.
AI
Ukrainian psychological warfare
A gruesome facial recognition campaign targeting Russian mothers was, as one Ukrainian wrote, “the only way to stop all this madness."
Social media
Meta's secret mudslinging
Inside a Facebook-funded consulting firm's scramble to frame TikTok as a threat to American teens.
Profiles
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.”
Modern life
Scanning the neighborhood
"This is not just for million-dollar homes. This is America at its core."
Surveillance
The princess escape
“Shoot me here. Don’t take me back,” she’d screamed as commandos dragged her off the yacht. Then she disappeared.
Profiles
Fantasy world
"The only thing I’m creating is … my appearance. Everything else is me."
Surveillance
Sedition hunt
"Today it’s almost impossible not to leave your footprints somewhere."
Modern life
Student surveillance
“That anxiety you feel for those 10 seconds? … That’s how basically all of us feel” all the time.
Surveillance
"Sometimes I just watch"
They think, ‘If I put all these cameras up, I’ll be safe.’ Safe from what? … It’s only making them more afraid."
AI
The job-interview AI
“It’s pseudoscience. It’s a license to discriminate. And the people whose lives and opportunities are literally being shaped by these systems don’t have any chance to weigh in.”
Modern life
Face scan summer camp
"This idea where you have to be happy all the time: That’s not real, and yet that’s what we’re chasing and what we’re looking for when we want all these pictures all the time.”
AI
The human worker machines
"The last thing you want it to do is talk. Because if you talk, people think they can talk back."
Infowar
Unraveling a viral fraud
“We don’t have a policy that stipulates that the information you post on Facebook must be true."