It’s only been a year since Digg founder Kevin Rose, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, and a few others announced the link-sharing site would relaunch, promising a “social discovery built by communities, not by algorithms.” Now, two months after opening its Reddit-like platform to the public, Digg is announcing a “hard reset” that’s shutting down operations […]
Tucker Carlson’s online store sells right-wing apparel and home goods, like hoodies in the Supreme streetwear style mocking Somali people or mugs with The Godfather puppetmaster iconography edited to feature AIPAC. But last week, a handful of other products caught the attention of those outside Carlson’s typical audience: one is a red and yellow “NY […]
The close timing of Jeffrey Epstein coming into contact with 4chan founder Chris ‘moot’ Poole and the launch of the “politically incorrect” message board /pol/ that became a breeding ground for QAnon and the white supremacist alt-right movement was coincidental, says Poole. In a statement given to The Verge, Pool writes, “The decision to add […]
At the time, people felt like 2016 was cursed — but at least we did not yet have a word for “doomscrolling.”
Hello from the dead week of the year, when all sane people have logged off to spend time with their families. This is when I typically write at least one deeply weird post while I’m working over the holiday. One time I got left alone on New Year’s Day and posted about cats all day […]
On Monday, several dozen members of the public are lined up outside 100 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, hoping to squeeze into the courtroom to hear testimony from witnesses called by the state against Luigi Mangione – the man accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson a year ago. Despite the endless news […]
One year after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, his alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione, faces charges of first and second degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, stalking, forgery, and others. Mangione has become a folk hero to many online, amid debates over wealth inequality, healthcare affordability, and even content moderation. His […]
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on internet culture, follow Stevie Bonifield. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started The indie web began a few years after the end of GeoCities, […]
The more than 20,000 pages of Jeffrey Epstein emails released earlier this month by the House Oversight Committee have been enough to prompt more investigations into the convicted child sex offender and the people around him, like former Harvard president and OpenAI board member Larry Summers. Now, Luke Igel and Riley Walz have reformatted the […]
There has been a recent deluge of generative AI videos featuring uncannily fresh-faced teens waxing nostalgic about how much better the world was during the ’80s and ’90s. As the AI youths smize and show off their period-specific haircuts, the clips cut to dreamlike footage of sun-drenched cul-de-sacs and vintage cars while songs like “Everybody […]