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Taylor Lorenz USER MAG

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GMAIL 10 26

The Collapse Of A Billionaire Tech Cult

Taylor Lorenz

Oct 14

Some of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest tech elites have a radical new dream to abandon modern democracy completely and build their own sovereign nation. A millionaire VC named Balaji Srinivasan is the leader of this new movement and he calls it the "Network State".

In this episode of my podcast, I speak with freelance journalist Sam Venis about his firsthand reporting at Balaji's Network School. We discuss what really went down at Balaji’s experimental new government pop up set up inside Forest City, a massive, abandoned ghost city in Malaysia. From aggressive NDAs and toxic black mold to clashes with local governments and authoritarian power trips, Sam breaks down his firsthand investigation into tech’s most bizarre and dangerous exit strategy.

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6 26 // AI INFLUENCERS, PIX W/ KIDS

Why Timothée Chalamet Is Shilling Kalshi

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have become one of the most powerful forces in American media, politics, and culture. In the latest episode of my Power User*podcast,* I sit down with NPR’s Bobby Allyn, the country’s top prediction-markets reporter, to break down how Kalshi went from a tiny startup that 50 lawyers refused to represent to an inescapable cultural juggernaut backed by the Trump family, celebrities, and major news organizations.

We dig into how Kalshi exploited a legal loophole to bring sports betting and election betting to every state, why Donald Trump Jr. became an advisor to both Kalshi and Polymarket, and how the companies called the 2024 election for Trump before the mainstream media would, cementing their place in the MAGA universe. Bobby explains the rise of Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, Polymarket’s offshore “crypto bad boy” founder Shane Coplan, and the regulatory war happening right now inside the CFTC.

We also cover the dark side nobody is talking about: undisclosed influencer marketing flooding your feed, the Timothée Chalamet Kalshi deal, secret ads during the NBA playoffs, the Mr. Beast video editor insider trading scandal, betting markets on wildfires and war, and the casinoification of the entire economy. We dig into the lawsuits, the looming Supreme Court showdown, and whether this whole gambling empire could vanish overnightWATCH NOW.

gmail 3 26

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You Are Being Lied to About Algorithms

Taylor Lorenz

Mar 10

I just released the latest episode of my Section 230 mini-series, where I sat down with Eric Goldman, associate dean for research and a professor at Santa Clara Law, one of the nation's foremost experts on internet law, to debunk the biggest myths surrounding Section 230 and algorithmic amplification.

One big thing I’ve heard since starting this series is, “platforms should lose their Section 230 protections because they use algorithms.” This is very silly, and Mike Masnick, (as usual!!) has debunked this well. But I wanted to help people understand why this line of thinking is so flawed.

Most people don't even understand what an algorithm even is. Eric discusses how even the beloved "reverse chronological order" feed is an algorithm, and how it actually rewards spammers, trolls, and bad actors.

We dive deep into how politicians are using the techlash to amass more power, how censorship has become a bipartisan value, and how companies like Meta actually want Section 230 amended so they can wipe out their smaller competitors.

From the dangers of age verification laws to the truth about how algorithms protect us from a dystopian, miserable internet full of spam and scams, Eric and I discuss the real existential threats to the open web, and how arguments about "algorithms" miss the real powers at play. [WATCH]

You Are Being Lied to About Algorithms - YouTube

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GMAIL 1 26

The New Satanic Panic Is Here

Are smartphones and social media actually destroying teen mental health, or is this just another moral panic? In my latest episode of my Free Speech Friday YouTube series, I critically examine the pervasive false narrative that phones, apps, and screen time are responsible for rising anxiety, depression, and harm among teenagers.

These claims, popularized by politicians, MSM journalists, interest groups like the Heritage Foundation, and authors like Jonathan Haidt (The Anxious Generation), are being used to justify mass surveillance laws, deplatforming marginalized people, and implementing policies that actually harm kids and reward big tech.

Haidt and others boosting this moral panic have continually pushed debunked claims about how social media can turn kids LGBTQ. Haidt has pushed false and misogynistic claims that young liberal women suffer from more "anxiety." He is on the board of Bari Weiss' unaccredited reactionary right wing University.

All of this comes just as two massive new studies were published just this week that, once again, debunk the harmful and dangerous claims made by Haidt and other right wing reactionary figures.

The first study was published in JAMA Pediatrics. It followed over 100,000 adolescents across three years. It found that the relationship between social media use and well-being is not remotely linear. Kids who use social media moderately actually have the best outcomes, while kids who don’t use social media at all have the worst outcomes.

The study found that, while very, very extreme amounts of social media use can be harmful, “moderate social media use was associated with the best well-being outcomes, and for girls, moderate use became most favorable from middle adolescence onward.”

Mike Masnick reported on these studies in TechDirt writing:

Researchers at the University of Manchester just published a separate study in the Journal of Public Health that followed 25,000 11- to 14-year-olds over three school years. Their conclusion? Screen time spent on social media or gaming does not cause mental health problems in teenagers. At all.

From the Guardian’s coverage of the UK study:

The study found no evidence for boys or girls that heavier social media use or more frequent gaming increased teenagers’ symptoms of anxiety or depression over the following year. Increases in girls’ and boys’ social media use from year 8 to year 9 and from year 9 to year 10 had zero detrimental impact on their mental health the following year.

Zero. Not “small.” Not “modest.” Zero.

The UK researchers also examined whether how kids use social media matters—active chatting versus passive scrolling. The answer? Neither appeared to drive mental health difficulties. As lead author Dr. Qiqi Cheng put it:

We know families are worried, but our results do not support the idea that simply spending time on social media or gaming leads to mental health problems – the story is far more complex than that.

As Mike writes, “while researchers urge caution, politicians have been happy to sprint ahead. Australia leapt into the fray, and the ban [on social media under 16s] has so far proven to be a complete mess.

The entire premise of Australia’s ban—and similar proposals floating around in various US states and across Europe—is that social media is inherently harmful to young people, and that removing access is protective. But both studies suggest the reality is far more complicated. The Australian researchers explicitly call this out:

Social media’s association with adolescent well-being is complex and nonlinear, suggesting that both abstinence and excessive use can be problematic depending on developmental stage and sex.:

In other words: Australia’s ban may be taking kids who would have been moderate users with good outcomes and forcing them into the “no use” category that the study associates with worsewell-being. It’s potentially the worst of all possible policy outcomes.

The UK study’s co-author, Prof. Neil Humphrey, reinforced this point, “Our findings tell us that young people’s choices around social media and gaming may be shaped by how they’re feeling but not necessarily the other way around. Rather than blaming technology itself, we need to pay attention to what young people are doing online, who they’re connecting with and how supported they feel in their daily lives.”

That’s a crucial distinction that the moral panic crowd keeps glossing over: correlation running in the opposite direction than assumed. Kids who are already struggling, and who aren’t getting the support they need, might use social media differently—not the other way around.”

I highly suggest reading more of Mike’s amazing coverage in TechDirt. For instance, this story, this story, this story, this story, and this story.

I also dug deep into the data on all of this and made a video about how harmful this moral panic is, and how right wing reactionary figures like Haidt, want to scapegoat social media or smartphone use, instead of addressing the real harms in society, which we know are affecting kids negatively. [WATCH HERE]

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1 26 gmail

How ICE Makes Raids Go Viral

Taylor Lorenz

Jan 8

For years, ICE’s public affairs was run like any other routine government communications shop. They posted public service announcements and news releases, mostly to their own website where very few Americans would ever see.

But since Trump’s second term, ICE has rapidly transformed itself into an influencer-style media machine, churning out non-stop viral videos of tactical operations and immigration raids.

ICE’s social media strategy and ability to dominate the internet has come to serve as a blueprint for other Trump administration agencies, and their relentless focus on dominating the internet is already reshaping public opinion on immigrants.

My former colleague Drew Harwell has been covering ICE’s social media blitz and he joined me on my podcast this week to discuss the inside information he uncovered about how ICE’s internet meme team operates, what their internal chat logs reveal about their approach to the internet, and a how this previously under the radar federal law enforcement became a deadly “influencer-style media machine.”

wh comm shop be smashmouth meme way to virality; film crew shadow ice raids “viz comm team” “digital engagement teams” ridealong traffic stop kavanaugh giy raN tackled, action movie rap soundtrack cops TV style chase not woman in apron and guy pt specks; posted to outrafe left so THEY wd boost also extreme captions, copyrt music ~ sabrina carpenter berate libs belittle immigr 4chanfied enemy ayt gates repel invADERS

LOW LEVEL STAFF POST GET PICKED UP BY INFLUENCERS POKEMAN COLLECT ALL DOOR EXPLODE

; MEMELORDS NO CONSTRAINTS; EXPLIC SAY TRAD MEDIA DOES NOT MATTER; FEED CONTENT TO INFL BENNY J 1ST, LIVESTREAM THEN CLIP;

NO ASK HARD QUESTIONS; WEAR TACT VESTS, VISIT CECOT;BOVINO; MAJ OF PROTEST VIDS IS RW; GET A JOB YOU IMBECICILIC MORONS TACKLED

ONLINE SAFETY BILLS BS? CREATING MACHINE TO CREATE POLITICS FOREVER

former colleague Drew Harwell has been covering ICE’s social media blitz and he joined me on my podcast this week to discuss the inside information he uncovered about how ICE’s internet meme team operates, what their internal chat logs reveal about their approach to the internet, and a how this previously under the radar federal law enforcement became a deadly “influencer-style media machine.”

:{Inside ICE’s Private Chats About Going Viral - YouTube

Inside ICE’s Private Chats About Going Viral

Taylor Lorenz

238K subscribers

65,033 views Jan 7, 2026 Power User Podcast w/ Taylor Lorenz

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON for ad-free and bonus episodes!!! / taylorlorenz Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!! 🙏 https://www.usermag.co Since Trump took office, ICE has rapidly transformed itself from an under the radar agency into an influencer-style media machine, churning out non-stop viral videos of tactical operations and immigration raids. ICE's ability to dominate the internet has come to serve as a blueprint for other Trump administration agencies, and their relentless focus on virality is already reshaping public opinion on immigrants. Drew Harwell is a reporter at The Washington Post and he recently published an investigation into ICE's social media blitz. He joins me to:

Explore the podcast

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Power User Podcast w/ Taylor Lorenz

Taylor Lorenz

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Podcasts](https://www.youtube.com/podcasts)

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript.

Show transcript

[

Taylor Lorenz

238K subscribers](https://www.youtube.com/@TaylorLorenz)

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321 Comments

This after the news today might finally break the illusion that we aren't being occupied by state terrorists.

Transcript

0:00

But they are not taking down murderers

0:01

every time they get somebody. A lot of

0:03

these people have no criminal history.

0:07

For years, ISIS public affairs

0:09

department was run like any other

0:11

routine government communication shop.

0:13

They posted public service announcements

0:15

and news releases, mostly to their own

0:18

website where very few Americans would

0:20

ever see them. But since Trump's second

0:22

term, ICE has rapidly transformed itself

0:24

into an influencer style media machine,

0:27

churning out non-stop viral videos of

0:30

tactical operations and immigration

0:32

raids. IC's social media strategy and

0:34

ability to dominate the internet has

0:37

come to serve as a blueprint for other

0:38

Trump administration agencies, and their

0:41

relentless focus on dominating the

0:42

online world is already reshaping public

0:45

opinion on immigration. Drew Harwell is

0:48

a reporter at the Washington Post and he

0:50

recently published an investigation into

0:52

ISIS's social media blitz. Today, he's

0:54

joining me to reveal the inside

0:56

information that he uncovered about how

0:58

ISIS's internet meme team operates, what

1:01

their internal chat logs reveal about

1:03

their approach, the Gen Z clip farming

1:05

operation they're employing, and how a

1:07

previously under the radar federal law

1:09

enforcement agency became an influencer

1:12

style media machine. Drew, welcome to

1:15

Power User.

clip farm?

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GMAIL 11 25

Right-wing influencers earn higher fees for sponsored posts than left-wing counterparts

Sora strangulations, Slurmcore, Bearista breakdowns, a skincare line for 3 yr olds, fitness influencers' hotness problem, MrBeast + Dealbook, Rizzwiches, how far ChatGPT will really go

Taylor Lorenz

Nov 10

∙

Preview

Reuters has an excellent new investigation out examining, in excruciating detail, how right wing influencers and Trump officials have formed a powerful alliance. The piece details how the Trump admin and influencers work together to target enemies, spread lies and transform the media landscape.” All of this is happening right as the social media platform landscape is being reshaped to privilege right-wing views and censor speech under the guise of “child safety.”

One of the most important takeaways from the story is how much money that can be made on the right. The piece talks about how Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichick charges $250,000 for vague social media consulting services. Conservative influencer Rogan O’Handley, aka DC_Draino, who has 5.3 million followers across Instagram and X, got paid $164,000 for just a few Instagram posts in 2024 by Smart & Safe Florida, the political committee sponsoring a push to legalize marijuana in the state.

Other right wing influencers including Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin and Tim Pool were paid millions ahead of the 2024 election. One was paid $400,000 a month, a $100,000 signing bonus and a performance bonus to create “four weekly videos.” The money was from a Russian propaganda scheme.

Reuters found that top right-wing influencers earn significantly higher fees for sponsored posts than their left-wing counterparts.

This tsunami of money on the right has allowed a new class of corporate centrist Democrats to fleece liberal donors out of millions of dollars for nonsensical schemes to “create the left Joe Rogan.” Chorus, a project of the notorious liberal dark money group the Sixteen Thirty Fund, for instance, is funneling tens of thousands of dollars to a slew of liberal influencers who take part in their Democrat messaging program.

But the influencers in the Chorus program and others like it, aren’t advocating for any meaningful changes to the system. Instead, they’re taking selfie videos with Chuck Schumer, leveraging interviews with politicians to create promotional content for their podcasts, and relentlessly attacking organically popular leftist influencers like Hasan Piker.

These Chorus influencers and others like them have also launched multi platform harassment and deplatforming campaigns against seemingly anyone on the left who doesn’t adhere to their pro-capitalism centrist Democrat talking points. They’ve sought to get prominent leftist influencers deplatformed and demonetized.

All of this has resulted in a system where influencers on the left face a 24/7 barrage of attacks from both centrist Democrats and the far right, who are increasingly aligned ideologically. Just like in congress, there is little to no actual meaningful opposition to Trump and the far right’s network of influence.

This asymmetric system is why I currently have zero advertising deals(!) and why buying a paid subscription to this newsletter or supporting my work on Patreon makes such a difference. I am not getting tens of thousands of dollars from centrist corporate Democrat dark money groups, or shady right wing causes. I earn my money directly from subscriptions.

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