Politics

Rising Tensions
Elon Musk and America’s Far Right Stoke Anger Over Murder of UK Teen
Influential figures, including Nick Fuentes, have been accused of “hijacking” the murder of Henry Nowak to push a racist agenda.
David Gilbert



Drone Ports and Funding Mayhem: Trump's Ballroom Has Turned Toxic
“Republicans are just going to have to suck it up and get it done,” says one Trump aide about the funding melee. The votes, though, may simply not be there.
Hugo Lowell

It’s Officially Election Season in Trumpworld
With Trump nemesis Thomas Massie vanquished, Republican strategists are now eyeing races in Texas, California, and Maine.
Hugo Lowell

Trump's Inner Circle Is Already Scrambling Over the 2028 Presidential Ticket
Republicans still have the midterms to get through, but administration officials have already set their sights on the next election.
Hugo Lowell

Trump’s Team Wants Him to Accept an Iran Deal He’s Already Rejected
As chaotic negotiations over the end of the Iran war continue, US negotiators think they have the framework for a deal in place. Now they just have to sell the president on it.
Hugo Lowell

The Manhattan Institute Helped Kill DEI. Now It’s Coming for Protests
The right-wing think tank is actively pushing “civil terrorism”—increasing penalties for minor crimes committed while people engage in constitutionally protected free speech.
Ali Winston

The EU Is Going Through a Trump-Fueled Breakup With Big Tech
France is already moving on from Zoom and Microsoft Teams in favor of homegrown alternatives. Other countries are quickly following suit.
Matt Burgess and Vittoria Elliott

An ICE Firearms Trainer Was Involved in At Least 4 Deadly Shootings
David Norman, a former Phoenix police officer who’s described himself as “a fucking savage,” now runs a company that provided training to Homeland Security’s Special Response Teams.
Ali Winston

The Latest Push to Extend Key US Spy Powers Is Still a Mess
A US surveillance program that lets the FBI view Americans’ communications without a warrant is up for renewal. A new bill aims to address mounting lawmaker concerns—with smoke and mirrors.
Dell Cameron
How the Internet Broke Everyone’s Bullshit Detectors
From AI-generated images to restricted satellite data, the systems used to verify what’s real online are struggling to keep up.
Gia Chaudry

Fake AI Content About the Iran War Is All Over X
X’s Grok is failing to accurately verify video footage from the Iran conflict and is sharing its own AI-generated images about the war.
David Gilbert

Here’s Why Trump Posted About Iran ‘Stealing’ the 2020 Election Hours After the US Attacked
Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social about Iran echoed a conspiracy theory that has been circulating online for years.
David Gilbert

X Is Drowning in Disinformation Following US and Israeli Attack on Iran
WIRED has reviewed hundreds of posts on X that promote misleading claims about the locations and scale of the attack.
David Gilbert

US Law Enforcement Warns of ‘Anti-Tech Extremism’ as AI Hatred Grows
As Americans stew over the looming risk of job-stealing AI and data centers in their back yards, the feds are raising the alarm about a new category of threat, documents obtained by WIRED show.
Daniel Boguslaw

Senators Want Extremism Researchers to Surrender Documents Linked to Right-Wing Grudges
The Senate homeland security committee's chair has asked researchers to turn over troves of documents related to the January 6 attack, vaccines, and more, according to a letter reviewed by WIRED.
Ali Winston

An Anarchist’s Conviction Offers a Grim Foreshadowing of Trump’s War on the ‘Left’
As the Trump administration ramps up its targeting of left-leaning people and groups, the prosecution and harsh sentencing of Casey Goonan may provide a glimpse of things to come.
Ali Winston

Elon Musk Has Turned His Eye to the UK
Musk posted nonstop at the beginning of the year about British politics, until his focus was consumed by DOGE. Now he’s back.
David Gilbert

This Is How Trump Is Already Threatening the Midterms
WIRED surveyed the ways the Trump administration is working to manipulate this year’s midterm elections.
David Gilbert

Pro-AI Super PACs Are Already All In on the Midterms
Silicon Valley’s battle against AI regulation is already shaping the next US election cycle.
Maxwell Zeff

The Inside Story of How Gen Z Toppled Nepal’s Leader and Chose a New One on Discord
The revolution started on social media. It ended with protests, violence, and an online poll to pick the new prime minister.
Tulsi Rauniyar

One Republican Now Controls a Huge Chunk of US Election Infrastructure
Former GOP operative Scott Leiendecker just bought Dominion Voting Systems, giving him ownership of voting systems used in 27 states. Election experts don't know what to think.
Kim Zetter

The White House’s Aliens.gov Site Brags That ICE Arrested More Than 700 US Citizens
The website, which compares human beings to extraterrestrials, touts arrest numbers from the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown. But some of its details are really out there.
Maddy Varner and Dell Cameron

Trump’s Tech Posse in China, Who’s Winning in Musk v. Altman, and Hantavirus Conspiracy Theories
Today on Uncanny Valley, we discuss how Donald Trump’s visit to China could influence conversations between world leaders at a moment when the economic and foreign policy stakes couldn’t be higher.
Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger

A Federal Worker Was Fired for Filming DOGE. Now She’s Running for Congress
Alexis Goldstein, a former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employee, was fired this year for recording DOGE’s incursion into the agency.
Makena Kelly

The Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference Canceled
Access Now, the group that organizes RightsCon, says Zambian officials asked it to exclude Taiwanese participants if it wanted the event to proceed as planned.
Vittoria Elliott and Zeyi Yang
Latest


AI or Bust
The Trump Administration Is at War With Itself Over AI Regulation
Hugo Lowell and Maxwell Zeff


Immigration
The State Department Really Doesn’t Want to Talk About the Office of Remigration
David Gilbert



Prayers Up
The Department of Labor’s Faith Leader Is Now Also in Charge of Its Civil Rights Enforcement
Vittoria Elliott

Ebola Outbreak
‘Perfect Storm’: How Trump’s Aid Cuts Are Fueling the Ebola Outbreak
Kate Knibbs and Leah Feiger


The Big Interview
Tom Steyer Wants to Save California From Billionaires. But Also Doesn’t Want Them to Leave
Katie Drummond


Election Security
A Conspiracy Theory About QR Codes Has Led to Chaos Ahead of Georgia's Midterms
David Gilbert







Elections
‘The Damage Is Massive’: How the Justice Department Dismantled Its Voting Rights Section
David Gilbert


Conspiracy Theories
‘STAGED’: Conspiracy Theories Are Everywhere Following White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting
David Gilbert
Gun Violence
California Engineer Identified in Suspected Shooting at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Caroline Haskins and Andrew Couts




The Big Interview
The Internet’s Favorite Lawyer Says We’re Living Through ‘Multiple Watergates per Week’
Katie Drummond


Conspiracy Theory
MAGA Is Increasingly Convinced the Trump Assassination Attempt Was Staged
David Gilbert

ICE ICE
Congress Turns Up Pressure on DHS Over Palantir’s Role in Immigration Crackdown
Caroline Haskins






Satanic Panic
Staunch Trump Supporters Are Now Asking if He’s the Antichrist
Makena Kelly and David Gilbert


Missed Connections
The FBI Didn’t Answer Texts From Minnesota Investigators for Days After Renee Good’s Killing
Caroline Haskins


Life Goals
Politicians Are Spending More Money on Security as They Increasingly Become Targets
Maddy Varner





Fraud Talk
Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine Is Helping Out on Viral Fraud Videos Now
Makena Kelly and Vittoria Elliott

Bounce Back
A Year After DOGE Cuts, GSA Now Plans to Hire Hundreds of Employees
Leah Feiger and Zoë Schiffer

Use of Force
Unmasking the Paramilitary Agents Behind Trump’s Violent Immigration Crackdown
Ali Winston and Maddy Varner














Under Pressure
FCC Enforcement Chief Offered to Help Brendan Carr Target Disney, Records Show
Dell Cameron


Data grab
John Solly Is the DOGE Operative Accused of Planning to Take Social Security Data to His New Job
Vittoria Elliott and Makena Kelly

Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley: Anthropic’s DOD Lawsuit, War Memes, and AI Coming for VC Jobs
Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger





Big Business
A Trumpworld Events Company Is Raking In Millions in Federal Contracts
David Gilbert, Matt Giles, Leah Feiger, and Zoë Schiffer

Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley: Iran War in the AI Era, Prediction Market Ethics, and Paramount Beats Netflix
Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger







Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley: Pentagon vs. ‘Woke’ Anthropic, Agentic vs. Mimetic, and Trump vs. State of the Union
Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger



Blockade
Life in Cuba Under Trump's Pressure Campaign: No Electricity, No Oil, and Impossible Choices
Abraham Jiménez Enoa

Crossing a Line
‘Narco-Submarine’ Carrying 4 Tons of Cocaine Captured by Mexico's Navy
Fernanda González

There Can Be Only One
DHS Wants a Single Search Engine to Flag Faces and Fingerprints Across Agencies
Dell Cameron







ICE Online
Inside the Homeland Security Forum Where ICE Agents Talk Shit About Other Agents
Vittoria Elliott

ICE Takes America
Social Security Workers Are Being Told to Hand Over Appointment Details to ICE
Zoë Schiffer, Vittoria Elliott, and Leah Feiger

Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley: ICE’s Secret Expansion Plans, Palantir Workers’ Ethical Concerns, and AI Assistants
Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger

Eyes on Iran
Elon Musk’s X Appears to Be Violating US Sanctions by Selling Premium Accounts to Iranian Leaders
David Gilbert




ICE Takes America
ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next
Leah Feiger


Demolition Job
RFK Jr.’s Picks for a Key Autism Panel Include Advocates for Bizarre Theories
David Gilbert

ID, Please
ICE and CBP’s Face-Recognition App Can’t Actually Verify Who People Are
Dell Cameron and Maddy Varner
