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The backlash against children’s YouTuber Ms Rachel, explainedThe backlash against children’s YouTuber Ms Rachel, explained
Culture

The preschool teacher-turned-content creator is an advocate for all families. Conservatives are mad about it.

By Sam Delgado
Congress’s online child safety bill, explainedCongress’s online child safety bill, explained
Technology

What is the Kids’ Online Safety Act, and why should you care about it?

By A.W. Ohlheiser
The latest drama in “poverty porn” YouTube, explainedThe latest drama in “poverty porn” YouTube, explained
Technology

Nobody wins when creators fight over who is helping a poor family the most.

By A.W. Ohlheiser
Plagiarism doesn’t need AI to thrive onlinePlagiarism doesn’t need AI to thrive online
Technology

A YouTuber’s deep dive on plagiarism tries to make viewers care when creators steal content.

By A.W. Ohlheiser
The Biden administration is allowed to talk to social media platforms again — for nowThe Biden administration is allowed to talk to social media platforms again — for now
Technology

A court has temporarily stopped a judge’s order forbidding the White House from contacting social media companies from taking effect.

By Sara Morrison
What YouTube hustle gurus are really selling youWhat YouTube hustle gurus are really selling you
Culture

YouTube and TikTok are plagued with 20-something “passive income” bros who want your attention — and your money.

By Rebecca Jennings
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping downYouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down
Technology

One of the most prominent women in tech — and one of Google’s earliest employees — is leaving the company.

By Peter Kafka
Are we too worried about misinformation?
Technology

“Resist trying to make things better”: A conversation with internet security expert Alex Stamos.

By Peter Kafka
Florida’s social media free speech law has been blocked for likely violating free speech lawsFlorida’s social media free speech law has been blocked for likely violating free speech laws
Technology

The Florida law prevented certain platforms from banning political candidates.

By Sara Morrison
Biden threatens Big Tech over its “national experiment” on childrenBiden threatens Big Tech over its “national experiment” on children
Technology

In his State of the Union speech, the president vowed to hold social media platforms accountable for their harms.

By Shirin Ghaffary
Big Tech’s Russia problemBig Tech’s Russia problem
Technology

Social media companies are in a standoff with Russia on censorship and there’s no easy solution.

By Shirin Ghaffary
Does banning extremists online work? It depends.
Technology

Social media bans can make it harder to recruit new followers, but existing supporters can become more toxic.

By Shirin Ghaffary
One Good Thing: Knifepoint Horror, a collection of campfire ghost stories in podcast formOne Good Thing: Knifepoint Horror, a collection of campfire ghost stories in podcast form
Audio
One Good Thing

A spooky anthology series to listen to over Halloween weekend and on many fall nights to come.

By Aja Romano
One Good Thing: A YouTube decluttering channel that made my sister and me quit screamingOne Good Thing: A YouTube decluttering channel that made my sister and me quit screaming
One Good Thing

Kay Patterson, the mind behind The Organized Soprano, is a decluttering genius.

By Athena Frost
How Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are handling the Taliban
Technology

The world might accept the Taliban as a legitimate government. Will social media companies?

By Shirin Ghaffary
Facebook wants creators, but YouTube is paying creators much, much moreFacebook wants creators, but YouTube is paying creators much, much more
Technology

YouTube gives half its revenue to the people who make its videos. Facebook doesn’t want to do that.

By Peter Kafka
Trump’s lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google will probably go nowhereTrump’s lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google will probably go nowhere
Technology

But that’s not the point.

By Shirin Ghaffary
YouTube’s kids app has a rabbit hole problemYouTube’s kids app has a rabbit hole problem
Audio
Technology

The company says it’s adding more control over autoplay in the YouTube Kids app.

By Rebecca Heilweil
Here’s just how much people have stopped talking about Trump on Facebook and TwitterHere’s just how much people have stopped talking about Trump on Facebook and Twitter
Technology

Twitter and Facebook bans made people stop talking about Trump.

By Rani Molla and Shirin Ghaffary
YouTube says it’s better at removing videos that violate its rules, but those rules are in fluxYouTube says it’s better at removing videos that violate its rules, but those rules are in flux
Technology

YouTube’s newest content moderation stat, briefly explained.

By Rebecca Heilweil
How YouTube swallowed the worldHow YouTube swallowed the world
Audio
Technology

Google’s video site has room for everything, from everyone. Is that a feature or a bug?

By Peter Kafka and Shirin Ghaffary
How neo-Nazis used the internet to instigate a right-wing extremist crisis
Technology

The number of active hate groups in the US is falling as they find new places to hide online.

By Adam Clark Estes
Social media companies are already losing the vaccine misinformation fightSocial media companies are already losing the vaccine misinformation fight
Technology

Posts that discourage and make fun of Covid-19 vaccination are racking up engagement.

By Rebecca Heilweil
Twitter joins Facebook and YouTube in banning Covid-19 vaccine misinformationTwitter joins Facebook and YouTube in banning Covid-19 vaccine misinformation
Technology

The move comes as false rumors about Covid-19 vaccines are surging online.

By Rebecca Heilweil
How fake news aimed at Latinos thrives on social mediaHow fake news aimed at Latinos thrives on social media
Technology

Democrats are paying attention after a surprising number of Latino voters in swing states supported Trump.

By Shirin Ghaffary
YouTube is awash with election misinformation — and it isn’t taking it downYouTube is awash with election misinformation — and it isn’t taking it down
Technology

Videos questioning the election results are racking up hundreds of thousands of views.

By Rebecca Heilweil
Why the Trump campaign is going all-in on YouTubeWhy the Trump campaign is going all-in on YouTube
Technology

YouTube memes are a big part of the president’s Election Day push.

By Rebecca Heilweil
Most Americans think social media companies are censoring peopleMost Americans think social media companies are censoring people
Technology

Three-quarters of Americans think that companies “intentionally censor political viewpoints,” according to a new poll from Pew.

By Shirin Ghaffary
How Trump and his son helped make a Covid-19 conspiracy theorist go viral in a matter of hoursHow Trump and his son helped make a Covid-19 conspiracy theorist go viral in a matter of hours
Technology

A doctor who thinks alien DNA is used in medicine now says hydroxychloroquine is the cure for Covid-19.

By Sara Morrison and Rebecca Heilweil
How feds used a YouTube livestream to arrest a Portland protesterHow feds used a YouTube livestream to arrest a Portland protester
Technology

Trump-deployed federal officers are using whatever they can to find evidence against activists.

By Sara Morrison
The Trump administration’s flawed plan to destroy the internet as we know itThe Trump administration’s flawed plan to destroy the internet as we know it
Technology

Following the president’s lead, Republicans are all trying to chip away at Section 230.

By Sara Morrison
Why Big Tech isn’t fighting Trump in public this timeWhy Big Tech isn’t fighting Trump in public this time
Technology

Either because they don’t take him seriously or because they don’t want to fight him in public. Or both.

By Peter Kafka
Big Tech thought the pandemic wouldn’t be political. Think again.Big Tech thought the pandemic wouldn’t be political. Think again.
Technology

What happens when the medical misinformation comes from the president?

By Peter Kafka
Netflix went down for an hour for some usersNetflix went down for an hour for some users
Technology

But the company won’t say whether it thinks it’s because of a pandemic-fueled rise in streaming.

By Peter Kafka
Facebook doubles down on removing coronavirus conspiracy theoriesFacebook doubles down on removing coronavirus conspiracy theories
Technology

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok are all battling misinformation related to the novel coronavirus.

By Shirin Ghaffary and Rebecca Heilweil
YouTube makes $15 billion a year from ads — and pays more than half of that to video makersYouTube makes $15 billion a year from ads — and pays more than half of that to video makers
Technology

Influencers, giant TV companies, and everyone in between gets a cut.

By Peter Kafka
NikkieTutorials’ coming out brought out the best in the beauty community — for the most partNikkieTutorials’ coming out brought out the best in the beauty community — for the most part
Culture

The beauty company Too Faced fired its co-founder’s sister after she accused NikkieTutorials of lying about her gender and other parts of her life.

By Alex Abad-Santos
Can an online star really make it in Hollywood?
Features

Lilly Singh, Issa Rae, and others have made the leap from online auteurs to bona fide TV personalities. What happens to others who hope to turn followers and views into mainstream careers? We talk to a few who tried.

By Liz Shannon Miller
YouTube just made sweeping positive changes to its harassment policy. So why all the backlash?YouTube just made sweeping positive changes to its harassment policy. So why all the backlash?
Culture

A ban on “malicious insults” and a complicated FTC ruling mean drastic changes could be coming to YouTube.

By Aja Romano
A group of YouTubers is trying to prove the site systematically demonetizes queer contentA group of YouTubers is trying to prove the site systematically demonetizes queer content
Culture

They reverse-engineered YouTube’s ad revenue bot to investigate whether it’s penalizing queer content.

By Aja Romano