Steve Stecklow

Instagram’s teen safety features are flawed, researchers say Numerous safety features that Meta has said it has implemented to protect young users on Instagram over the years do not work well or, in some cases, don't exist, according to a report from child-safety advocacy groups that was corroborated by researchers at Northeastern University.

Instagram’s teen safety features are flawed, researchers say - www.reuters.com/business/ins... by @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social

Not my usual investigation… www.reuters.com/lifestyle/fi...

Some of the world's most powerful AI tools were perfectly willing to help @reuters.com cook up phishing emails to scam the elderly.

Grok, Elon Musk's AI, did it even though reports told it they wanted its help scamming older people.

www.reuters.com/investigates...

We asked major AI chatbots to help craft a phishing scam. They did. From fake charities to urgent pleas, the bots delivered. This investigation shows how generative AI is fueling fraud — and why it’s so hard to stop. Read our findings here: reut.rs/3K400yU

One measure of the relative clout Trust and Safety staffers have is that, when you ask a chatbot to help you to commit a crime, sometimes they just say "sure!"

We wanted to craft a perfect phishing scam. AI bots were happy to help Reuters and a Harvard researcher used AI to plot a simulated phishing scam and tested it on senior volunteers. It worked–showing how AI arms criminals for fraud

www.reuters.com/investigates...

Exclusive: Bill Pulte accused Fed Governor Lisa Cook of fraud. His relatives filed housing claims similar to hers Close relatives of the federal official who has accused a Federal Reserve governor of improperly claiming primary residence on two properties have declared the same status on two homes in two different states, public records show.

@reuters.com Exclusive: Bill Pulte accused Lisa Cook of fraud. His relatives filed housing claims similar to hers - www.reuters.com/world/us/bil...

Exclusive: Meta created flirty chatbots of Taylor Swift, other celebrities without permission Meta has appropriated the names and likenesses of celebrities – including Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez – to create dozens of flirty social-media chatbots without their permission, Reuters has found.

Another @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social Exclusive: Meta created flirty chatbots of Taylor Swift, other celebrities without permission - www.reuters.com/business/met...

A flirty Meta AI bot invited a retiree to meet. He never made it home. Impaired by a stroke, a man fell for a Meta chatbot originally created with Kendall Jenner. His death spotlights Meta’s AI rules, which let bots tell falsehoods.

Quite a debut @reuters.com by @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social: www.reuters.com/investigates...

Reuters hires WSJ's Horwitz - Talking Biz News Reuters global enterprise editor Mike Williams recently sent out the following note to the staff:  All,  I’m excited to announce that Jeff Horwitz is joining Reuters in the new role of tech investigat...

talkingbiznews.com/media-news/r...

Thanks WSJ (and the White House) for promoting my story:

Trump's nominee for NASA administrator was once arrested, accused of passing bad checks to casinos President Donald Trump's nominee for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, was arrested on fraud charges in 2010 and faced lawsuits in two states for writing $2 million in bad checks to casinos, according to government records and court filings.

www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

U.S. fentanyl deaths have been plunging. Enter Trump The U.S. has recorded a historic drop in overdose deaths. The Trump administration’s campaign to slash spending and reduce the federal workforce could reverse this fragile progress, public health experts say

www.reuters.com/investigatio...

As Tesla tanks, Musk’s hand-picked board chair is doing just fine Elon Musk’s EV company is struggling as he plunges into politics. Robyn Denholm, the Australian chair of Tesla, is thriving after cashing in half a billion dollars of the stock. Investors are clamoring for her to rein in the world’s richest man – but some question whether she has the independence to do so.

As Tesla tanks, Musk’s hand-picked board chair is doing just fine - www.reuters.com/investigatio...

Amazon copied products and rigged search results, documents show A trove of Amazon documents reveals how the company ran a campaign in India of creating knockoff goods and manipulating search results to boost its own products.

www.reuters.com/investigates...

India court orders Amazon to pay $39 million in damages in Beverly Hills Polo Club case An Indian court has ordered an Amazon unit to pay $39 million in damages for infringing the "Beverly Hills Polo Club" trademark after garments with identical branding were sold on Amazon's India website, a court order showed on Wednesday.

Continuing fallout from our 2021 @Reuters.com probe of Amazon in India: India court orders Amazon to pay $39 million in damages in Beverly Hills Polo Club case - www.reuters.com/business/ret...

U.S. aid freeze 'decimates' life-saving work globally, survey finds Aid groups across the world have closed operations, laid off staff and halted life-saving work, including with malnourished children, because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign assistance, according to a survey of 246 humanitarian organisations.

Along the many aid programs forced to close across the world because of the U.S freeze, according to a new survey: life saving health centres for malnourished children.

Report with @stecklow.bsky.social and Giulia Paravicini.

www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

U.S. aid freeze 'decimates' life-saving work globally, survey finds Aid groups across the world have closed operations, laid off staff and halted life-saving work, including with malnourished children, because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign assistance, according to a survey of 246 humanitarian organisations.

Our latest on the impact of the US foreign-aid freeze: www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

Reuters stands with the Associated Press and other media organizations in objecting to coverage restrictions imposed by the White House:

x.com/reuterspr/st...

My unexpected healing at San Quentin I first came to the prison as a journalist. After my son's suicide, I returned.

Powerful piece by the great Robert Rosenthal (Rosey to his friends): www.motherjones.com/criminal-jus...?

Exclusive: The Russian billionaires whose chemical factories fuel Russia's war machine Chemicals factories founded or owned by some of Russia's wealthiest men are supplying ingredients to plants that manufacture explosives used by Moscow's military during the war in Ukraine, an analysis of railway and financial data shows.

www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Gary Cohn, a Pulitzer Prize winner and former Inquirer reporter, has died at 72 Mr. Cohn won a Pulitzer in 1998 for an investigative series on the dangers posed to workers and the environment when old ships are dismantled. He also worked for the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

A great loss for investigative reporting: www.inquirer.com/obituaries/g...

Great investigative reporting job with our team: uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/in...

Looting cripples food supply in Gaza as Israel neglects pledge to tackle gangs, sources say Israel has failed to crack down on armed gangs attacking food convoys in Gaza, despite a pledge to do so in mid-October to help ward off famine in the Palestinian enclave, according to three U.N. and U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

In October, nearly a quarter of all humanitarian aid sent to Gaza that month was lost because of attacks and looting, as Israel neglected a pledge to tackle gangs: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

The Starving World The world’s system for detecting and alleviating famine is struggling to cope as conflicts wrack developing nations, from Sudan and Ethiopia to Gaza and Myanmar. Reuters reveals the causes of the global hunger-relief crisis and explores solutions in a series of reports.

The Starving World -- our @reuters.com famine series www.reuters.com/investigates...

Global hunger crisis deepens as major nations skimp on aid It’s a simple but brutal equation: The number of people going hungry or otherwise struggling around the world is rising, while the amount of money the world’s wealthiest nations are contributing toward helping them is dropping.

Another in the @reuters.com famine series: www.reuters.com/world/global...

Sudan drops out of hunger-monitoring system on eve of famine report The Sudanese government has suspended its participation in the global hunger-monitoring system on the eve of a report that’s expected to show famine spreading across the country, a step likely to undercut efforts to address one of the world’s largest hunger crises.

"Both pathetic and tragic" -- Our @reuters.com exclusive on Sudan: www.reuters.com/world/africa...

Myanmar junta intimidates aid groups in effort to hide hunger crisis Myanmar’s army has warned aid workers not to release data showing millions are hungry. Fearing retaliation, aid groups have held back publicizing their findings

Scoop: Myanmar's military has detained food-security researchers and warned aid workers not to release information revealing that millions are experiencing severe hunger. Fearing retaliation, aid organizations have suppressed their findings. via @reuters.com
www.reuters.com/investigates...

A fentanyl antidote is saving lives. But it isn‘t ending the crisis The US death toll from fentanyl is falling as communities hand out overdose-reversal drug naloxone. Behind the good news, opioids remain rife - and users report harrowing effects from the antidote.

Why are fentanyl deaths declining? Maurice Tamman and Shannon Stapleton find answers in a beaten-down neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio.
www.reuters.com/investigates...

Myanmar junta intimidates aid groups in effort to hide hunger crisis Myanmar’s army has warned aid workers not to release data showing millions are hungry. Fearing retaliation, aid groups have held back publicizing their findings

Covering up hunger — the latest in our @reuters.com famine series: www.reuters.com/investigates...