Siobhan Aalders

It was so good.

A Moscow-based global ‘news’ network has infected Western AI tools with Russian propaganda: AI chatbots — including OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o, xAI’s Grok, Mistral’s le Chat, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, & Perplexity’s answer engine have been affected. www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/a-well-fun...

Want to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier? Then Cultivate Your Social Connections Chronic loneliness can increase cortisol and inflammation and weaken your immune system, says social scientist Kasley Killiam. She argues it’s time to accept that good quality social connections are...

Chronic loneliness can increase cortisol and inflammation and weaken your immune system, says social scientist Kasley Killiam. She argues it’s time to accept that good quality social connections are a fundamental human need.

It’s hard to feel much sympathy for Chegg. No company is entitled to Google traffic, and this one in particular enabled academic dishonesty at a scale that was previously unheard of. (Google called the lawsuit “meritless” in a statement to the Post.) At the same time, the company is likely a bellwether. SEO experts told the Post that web pages that offer clear-cut answers to basic questions had seen a larger decline in traffic than others to date. But there’s no reason to believe the declines will stop there.

The collapse of Chegg offers a preview of what is going to happen to a lot of companies when AI is finished pulping the web www.platformer.news/chegg-google...

Eggs have done better than crypto under Trump. Just saying. on.ft.com/4b1ylrM

US Funding Cuts Are Helping Criminals Get Away With Child Abuse and Human Trafficking Services supporting victims of online child exploitation and trafficking around the world have faced USAID and State Department cuts—and children are suffering as a result, sources tell WIRED.

Services supporting victims of online child exploitation and trafficking around the world have faced USAID and State Department cuts—and children are suffering as a result, sources tell WIRED.

Here at DOGE, We’ve Streamlined Every Aspect of America’s Collapse "Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave representatives of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to the federal payment system la...

"I promise, America will soon be the Cybertruck of countries—uglier than you could have imagined, built for rich chuds, borderline inoperable, and on fire."

The Recruitment Effort That Helped Build Elon Musk’s DOGE Army At least three individuals associated with Palantir or its cofounder Peter Thiel were involved in an online recruiting effort for DOGE late last year, WIRED has learned.

SCOOP: We've learned at least three individuals closely associated with Palantir or its cofounder Peter Thiel were involved in an online recruiting effort for DOGE late last year. Step inside the recruitment effort that helped build Elon's DOGE army:

Donald Trump’s cuts to renewables risk US energy crisis, warn executives [FREE TO READ] Country will struggle to meet growing demand from power-hungry AI with fossil fuels alone

Donald Trump’s cuts to renewables risk a full blown US energy crisis, as the nation's creaking energy system struggles to meet surging demand from AI tech and reshoring industries on.ft.com/4hEXElm @financialtimes.com

Grubhub security breach compromises customer and driver data It’s time to change your Grubhub password

Grubhub security breach compromises customer and driver data

Books written by humans are getting their own certification Making it easier to avoid AI-generated slop.

Books written by humans are getting their own certification

Microsoft makes DeepSeek’s R1 model available on Azure AI and GitHub Microsoft moves quick to make R1 available broadly.

Microsoft is making DeepSeek’s R1 model available on Azure AI and GitHub today. Microsoft has moved surprisingly quickly to bring R1 to its Azure customers, and it's planning to bring a smaller distilled version to Copilot+ PCs too. Details below 👇 www.theverge.com/news/602162/...

Indie Bookstores Will Soon Be Able to Sell E-Books Bookshop, a site that lets independent, bricks-and-mortar bookshops sell their books online, is launching an app that will allow the sales of e-books, too.

This is such great news. For so long Amazon has had a chokehold on ebooks. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/b...

Why Trump Freed Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road’s Dread Pirate Roberts Ulbricht, who was convicted of running an anonymous online drug marketplace, became a hero to crypto-holders everywhere. What does his pardon signal for the future of the technology?

"Why Trump Freed Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road’s Dread Pirate Roberts"

@charlesbethea.bsky.social for @newyorker.com

Google Maps will soon rename Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ Google will rename the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Denali mountain in Google Maps once a federal mapping database reflects changes ordered by the Trump Administration, the company announced Monday. Google is complying with an executive order issued last…

Google Maps will soon rename Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’

DeepSeek's most powerful capability is confirming in everyone's minds what they already believed about AI

Thanks really useful summary and insights.

Our cover this week

Google restores Joe Biden to ‘U.S. presidents’ search results, blames ‘data error’ for omission Users on Wednesday night noticed Google search results omitted President Joe Biden from the list of U.S. presidents.

A really unfortunate corollary of big tech spending 20 years hyping up the quality of their systems in order to drum up investment is that when they make basic mistakes that are just mistakes a public that has swallowed and accepted your hype can't possibly believe it www.cnbc.com/2025/01/23/g...

Women Made Electoral Gains in Statehouses Across the Country in 2024. The Southeast Is a Different Story. All but one state that held legislative elections last fall in the Southeast saw losses of Republican women. In South Carolina, that means the Senate Republican caucus, which will make decisions that…

NEW: If a bill that would ban almost all abortions moves to the South Carolina Senate, not a single Republican debating or voting on the restrictions will be a woman.

By @jenniferberryhawes.bsky.social

David Lynch, Visionary Director of ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Blue Velvet,’ Dies at 78 Director David Lynch, who radicalized American film with with a dark, surrealistic artistic vision in films like 'Blue Velvet,' has died. He was 78.

David Lynch, Visionary Director of ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Blue Velvet,’ Dies at 78 variety.com/2025/film/ne...

These L.A. restaurants are offering free meals to any fire evacuees (UPDATED) Please abide by the honor system, folks.

Here’s some restaurants in Los Angeles who are offering free meals to evacuees who have been displaced by the fires: www.timeout.com/los-angeles/...

This toaster-looking gadget boosts your phone’s battery in seconds The price of never charging your phone again is... a lot.

This toaster-looking gadget boosts your phone’s battery in seconds

If anyone deserves to go to Heaven, it’s Jimmy Carter.

If anyone deserves to burn in Hell, it’s Donald Trump.

BREAKING: President Jimmy Carter dies at the age of 100

Hi! I'm Tatum Hunter, I cover internet culture for The Washington Post. I want to hear about everything -- wonderful and horrible -- you see on here and how it affects your life. Reachable via DM and Signal :) Bsky lfg

Shooting reported at Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin: Police Police in Madison, Wisconsin, said they're investigating a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School.

BREAKING: Multiple people wounded in a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, according to police.