Over the past week, airplanes made by Boeing have been involved in numerous incidents, including midair emergencies, leaking hydraulic fluid, a wheel falling off a plane as it took off, pilots losing control of the plane mid-journey, and a plane plummeting suddenly and injuring 50 people. As a result, right-wing influencers and far–right extremists are … Read more
On Sunday, Kensington Palace released a photo of Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. The image, also shared to the royal couple’s Instagram account, depicts Middleton seated, smiling, and surrounded by her three children. Purportedly taken by her husband Prince William in Windsor, the photo was widely distributed by wire services like the Associated Press, … Read more
Several people are typing, and they’re all saying Netflix’s Leave the World Behind is wildly prescient. The movie, directed by Sam Esmail, opens on a world where communication has been knocked out following a cyberattack. And earlier this week, when nearly all of Meta’s platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Threads—went down, people took to (other) social media platforms … Read more
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Super Tuesday was a blowout for former President Donald Trump, who won 14 out of 15 states. And yet, Trump’s most ardent supporters who believe that all votes and elections are now irredeemably fraudulent, spent the day boosting wild conspiracies online, predicting what would happen in November, and guessing how their perceived enemies will conspire … Read more
Over the past two weeks, Taylor Swift has made headlines dozens of times. Only one, maybe two of those instances have been because of something she actually did. Her music getting removed from TikTok? That was a disagreement between Universal Music Group and the app itself. Her songs getting boosted illegally? That was pirates. Explicit … Read more
Public perception of psychological operations soured in a big way in the mid-1970s, when details of the CIA’s MK-ULTRA program were first released, detailing a plot—more based in science fiction than science—to brainwash subjects using psychoactive drugs. Further revelations that the US had supplied Nicaraguan death squads with psychological warfare guides would not help that … Read more
But this recent spate of antisemitic content on X, and the juxtaposition of big-brand ads next to it, only underscores to advertisers that X is a risky bet, experts argue. “Even with those tools, if you’re an advertiser right now you’re thinking, there’s quite literally nothing I can do on this platform to improve my … Read more
Taylor Swift, as WIRED has reported in the past, rules the internet. She’s one of the most Googled celebrities in the world. Her search engine optimization, or SEO, in industry parlance, is on fire. She’s a Tumblr kid turned titan of industry (her Eras Tour, after it broke Ticketmaster, made billions) who is even capable … Read more
Back in February, when a Conservative Party lawmaker in the UK’s House of Commons voiced support for the 15-minute city conspiracy, he was laughed at by his fellow members of Parliament. Now, eight months later, the British government is fully embracing the fringe conspiracy and placing it at the heart of government policy. “Right across … Read more
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There was a quick, unusual second in 2015 when Russell Model mattered in mainstream British politics. With an election looming, the opposition Labour Celebration was trailing within the polls in opposition to a coalition authorities that was the very definition of multinational—led by an Eton- and Oxford-educated prime minister in David Cameron and his Westminster- … Read more