The Billionaire Who Built a Private Surveillance State Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Sports arenas and concert venues are becoming high-tech surveillance "deep states." In this video, I dive into the explosive Wired report by Noah Shachtman and Robert Silverman that reveals how the owner of a ton of NYC concert venues and sports arenas uses facial recognition and priv...
Apr 24, 2026•24 min
AI companies are secretly waging a massive PR campaign targeting women. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co In the past year, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta have launched an aggressive PR campaign to rebrand artificial intelligence for women, especially mothers and teen girls. Suddenly AI isn't an existential threat or a labor displacement machine. It's a "lifestyle ac...
Apr 22, 2026•1 hr 1 min
Is Silicon Valley actually making progress, or are they just breaking the world for profit? Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I’m joined by legal scholar and surveillance expert Albert Fox Cahn to dismantle the "Move Fast and Break Things" ethos that has dominated tech for a decade. From the multibillion-dollar failure of the Metav...
Apr 17, 2026•30 min
Iranian LEGO videos mocking the US government are taking over the internet. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co We are living in an era where global internet culture and meme warfare are just as influential as traditional media and LEGOs are being used to create the most effective messaging around the US-Iran war. I sat down with Areeba Fatima, a journalist for Dropsite N...
Apr 15, 2026•35 min
Are we losing our right to online privacy entirely? Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I sat down with Cindy Cohn, former head of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and author of the new book Privacy's Defender. We dive deep into the secret history of the early internet, the terrifying reality of mass online surveillance by th...
Apr 10, 2026•33 min
Skibidi Toilet changed how storytelling works on YouTube. But behind the scenes, things got messy. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Back in 2023, a creator named Alexey (better known as DaFuqBoom) launched a super weird, viral series about a singing head in a toilet called Skibidi Toilet. It went viral and quickly became one of the most popular online series to ever e...
Apr 08, 2026•33 min
AI Surveillance is taking over our schools. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Kent Myrtle, a Wichita bus driver, has been blowing the whistle on AI-powered cameras being installed on school buses. From Wichita to Massachusetts, school districts are partnering with companies like Samsara and BusPatrol to implement "real-time monitoring" and "hazard detection." But is this actual...
Apr 03, 2026•30 min
Kyle Chayka is a writer for the New Yorker, and on this week's Power User he joins me to break down the rise of AI fruit slop dramas. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Millions and millions of TikTok users are tuning into an AI generated short form show called Fruit Love Island. On the show, AI generated fruits kiss, date, fight, and make up. The show has amassed an overnight f...
Apr 01, 2026•28 min
[SPECIAL BONUS EPISODE] Why the internet is trying to "end" Chappell Roan. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Twitch streamer and cultural commentator Caroline Kwan joins me to break down the massive viral controversy surrounding Chappell Roan. What started as a passing interaction at a hotel breakfast in Brazil has morphed into a multi-platform smear campaign led by TikTokers, ...
Mar 30, 2026•40 min
Everything you've been told about the "social media addiction" trial is wrong. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Everyone is celebrating the $400 million fine against Meta and Mark Zuckerberg, but it's a massive win for Big Tech. In this episode of Free Speech Friday, journalist Kat Tenbarge and I debunk a slew of misinformation about the landmark "social media addiction" trials i...
Mar 27, 2026•51 min
This show created one of the fastest fandoms ever. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Over the past few months, a series born from a niche, self-published Canadian romance novel became one of the biggest cultural phenomenons on the internet. In this episode of Power User, I dive deep into the explosive rise of the Heated Rivalry fandom and why it has the internet in a chokehold. Fa...
Mar 25, 2026•41 min
The Internet Is Being Deleted. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co We are witnessing a massive, systematic erasure of digital history. From war crime investigations to grassroots activism and historical archives, the "permanent" web is vanishing. In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I break down the escalating censorship from Big Tech and governments that is burning our collective...
Mar 20, 2026•47 min
Why Does The Internet Think Every Famous Person Is A Clone? The Jim Carrey Clone Conspiracy Explained Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co After his appearance at the Cesar Awards in Paris, the internet exploded with a bizarre theory: Jim Carrey had been replaced by a clone or body double. TikTok, X, and conspiracy communities are convinced something is off, from his face to his mann...
Mar 18, 2026•31 min
What is Section 230 and why is everyone trying to kill it? Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co In the latest episode of my Section 230 mini-series I’m joined by Mike Masnick, founder of Techdirt and host of the amazing Section 230 podcast Otherwise Objectionable. Mike breaks down how the whole drama around Section 230 began, and how this extremely inconsequential law became vilif...
Mar 16, 2026•49 min
BUY COLA CORP APPAREL: https://www.thecolacorporation.com (None of this is sponsored, I just really want people to support him!!!!) Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co What happens when the government doesn't like your t-shirts? Joe, founder of Cola Corporation, has dealt with DMCA takedowns, letters from the LAPD, shipments seized by US Customs and Border Protection, and bans fr...
Mar 13, 2026•42 min
Is The Nicki Minaj Bot Scandal the Future of Politics? Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co The lines between entertainment, celebrity beef, and political propaganda are blurring. A few weeks ago, a POLITICO report sent shockwaves through Stan Twitter and the MAGA internet. The story reported that Nicki Minaj’s sudden pro-Trump pivot was being secretly propped up by an army of ten...
Mar 11, 2026•36 min
Are social media algorithms actually destroying the internet? Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co In this episode of my Section 230 series, I sit down with Eric Goldman, Associate Dean for Research and Professor at Santa Clara Law, and one of the nation's foremost experts on internet law, to debunk the biggest myths surrounding Section 230 and algorithmic amplification. I hear al...
Mar 09, 2026•45 min
The AI industry just had one of its biggest controversies ever. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co A massive conflict between the Pentagon and leading AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI has triggered a nationwide debate about how artificial intelligence should be used in warfare and surveillance. What started as a $200 million government contract fight quickly spiraled into a Silicon Valley crisis involv...
Mar 06, 2026•33 min
How Jeffrey Epstein Shaped the Modern Internet: From 4chan to Facebook Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co Since the release of the Epstein files, we've learned a ton about Epstein's role in the early web. From 4chan to World of Warcraft, to Facebook, and online movements like gamergate and #MeToo, Epstein seems to have played a role in it all. So how much of our modern internet was shaped by Epstein? I sat d...
Mar 04, 2026•39 min
How Section 230 Became a Reproductive Rights Issue Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co In this episode of my Section 230 mini series, I break down how anti abortion groups are targeting the internet itself. From the 1873 Comstock Act to modern day efforts to repeal Section 230, there is a long history of using censorship laws to suppress reproductive health information. The fight for reproductive justice and ...
Mar 02, 2026•44 min
The Trump admin publicly bragged about demanding that Apple and Facebook remove ICE watch apps and Facebook groups documenting ICE activity, and Big Tech is complying. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co [FREE SPEECH FRIDAY] Since last year, Meta, Apple, and other big tech platforms have been mass removing content related to ICE. From deleting Facebook groups who criticize ICE agents to removing apps from the...
Feb 27, 2026•30 min
Would you pay $65,000 to have ChatGPT teach your kids? Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co 404 Media reporter Emmanuel Maiberg joins to discuss the disturbing truth behind Alpha School, an AI-powered private school that has been getting massive hype from mainstream media. While Alpha School promises parents that kids can complete their core education in just two hours a day, leaked internal documents reveal t...
Feb 25, 2026•37 min
FOSTA/SESTA shows what happens when you "reform" and chip away at Section 230. Welcome back to my Section 230 mini-series, where I break down the most important and misunderstood law about the internet!! Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co FOSTA-SESTA was the first major amendment and carve-out to Section 230. While the law claimed to be about "cracking down on big tech" and making the internet "safer for ch...
Feb 23, 2026•54 min
Democrats just handed ICE exactly what ICE asked for. [FREE SPEECH FRIDAY] If you value my reporting, please, please support my work 👇👇👇 Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz Subscribe to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Body cameras were supposed to hold police accountable. So why is police violence still rising? Why are cops almost never convicted using body cam footage? And why are Democrats (the same politicians who just tripled the ICE budget) now demanding that IC...
Feb 20, 2026•30 min
Are dumb phones actually the solution to our anxieties, or are they a $400 scam built on a moral panic? ~~~~~~~~~~ My work is 100% self-funded and this series is not backed by any advertisers or tech giants. If you value my reporting, please, please support my channel: Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz Subscribe to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Over the past few years, a massive industry has emerged around dumb phones and the concept of logging off. Fro...
Feb 18, 2026•1 hr
Sen. Ron Wyden speaks about Section 230, internet freedom, free speech, and how Trump is pushing big tech's policies. Big Tech interest groups and reactionary non-profits are spending millions to try to get Section 230 revoked. My work is 100% self-funded. This series is not backed by any advertisers or tech giants. If you value this reporting, please, please support the channel: Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz Subscribe to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Section 23...
Feb 16, 2026•20 min
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is pushing a bill that would END free speech on the internet, and he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. [FREE SPEECH FRIDAY] Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz Subscribe to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Section 230 is one of the most important laws in the history of the internet. It is often called “the law that created the internet” because it protects websites, forums, blogs, comment sections, Wikipedia, and every platform that...
Feb 13, 2026•45 min
White women have long been a core voting bloc for conservatives, so why are right wing media figures suddenly obsessed with attacking them? Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co In this episode, Crooked Media Hysteria's Erin Ryan joins me to break down the growing hatred towards white women in MAGA spaces and conservative media. From the massive hate campaigns against Amber Heard and Blake Lively, to smearing w...
Feb 11, 2026•43 min
🚨 URGENT: Section 230 is under attack and it affects EVERY person who uses the internet. This is part 1 of my deep-dive series exposing the truth about the most important internet law ever created. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co Every single time you leave a comment, post a review, or send a message, you are being protected by a law called Section 230, and right now, politicians on both sides of the ais...
Feb 09, 2026•55 min
The UK is rapidly becoming one of the most aggressive surveillance states in the democratic world, and many don't even realize it's happening. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co [FREE SPEECH FRIDAY] The UK has officially slid into a dystopian surveillance state, and the rest of the world is next. On this week's Free Speech Friday The Kavernackle joined me to discuss the terrifying reality of the Online Safet...
Feb 06, 2026•39 min
