Notices by Taylor Lorenz (taylorlorenz@mastodon.social)

SCOOP: YouTube removes 'gender identity' from hate speech policy. "YouTube quietly removing ‘gender identity and expression’ from its list of protected groups is a major radical shift away from best practices in the field of trust and safety." https://www.usermag.co/p/youtube-removes-gender-identity-from

I wrote about how Palantir CEO Alex Karp is profiting from Israel’s genocide abroad, and wants to make money off of Trump’s immigration crackdown at home for @zeteonews https://zeteo.com/p/meet-the-tech-billionaire-just-as

Remember “the #Resistance”?! I did a deep dive into 2017-2020 internet, the rise of the movement, its major figures, the resistance’s ultimate downfall, and why it crumbled.
https://youtu.be/mz3Rf820ozE

From 2021 to 2024 we witnessed things like RICO charges being levied at protesters fighting against "cop city" in Atlanta, mask bans that lock disabled people out of public life, and young college students facing federal charges for peaceful protests, again, all under Democratic leadership. https://www.usermag.co/p/the-attacks-on-free-speech-should

Bonafidemasks.com, which is where I get all my KN95s from is having a 25% off sale + free shipping! They have tons of colors and styles (and full N95s too).

STOCK UP NOW!! 😷 Covid is raging and disabling millions, not to mention all the other airborne disease, pollution, etc. Masking is solidarity https://bonafidemasks.com/

Viral claims about family influencers fleeing the state of California are completely false. TikToks and YouTube videos have amassed millions of views pushing this conspiracy.

My article debunking it only has.... 2 shares. Journalism feels so fruitless sometimes. https://www.usermag.co/p/no-family-vloggers-are-not-fleeing-california-over-a-child-labor-law-viral-tiktok-false

I wrote about the Epstein files influencer 'clusterfuck' https://www.usermag.co/p/the-epstein-files-influencer-disaster-chaya-raichik-fail

Ed Yong is such a real one <3 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/magazine/ed-yong-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.y04.Wrq7.R5L0fwPg8N5l&smid=url-share

"Silicon Valley billionaires like Marc Andreessen talk about 'high agency' people as if they’re some superior class and the traits they carry are innate, which reads a bit weird to me considering how fond those people are of eugenics." https://www.usermag.co/p/high-agency-silicon-valleys-new-hot-buzzword

As the U.S. government seeks to enact stricter controls over online speech, TikTok users are adopting more coded 'algospeak' to criticize and resist the government https://www.usermag.co/p/tiktok-cute-winter-boots-meaning-explained-algospeak

I wrote about how DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough is sending Silicon Valley techies into a panic.

"It’s interesting how when something Chinese outperforms something American (TikTok, deepseek, etc) it's a ‘psyop’ or ‘economic warfare’ or and not just ‘another country made something ppl like.’” https://www.usermag.co/p/tiktok-cute-winter-boots-meaning-explained-algospeak

“The death of ‘websites’ and outlets that value true creativity and diversity in coverage — largely at the whims of ghoulish executives and private equity vulturism — has created in me a stinging grief that I cannot seem to shake.” https://lindseyadler.substack.com/p/ten-years-in-a-crumbling-industry

The TikTok ban will deplatform thousands of progressive content creators and skew online discourse to the right. It will consolidate media influence within right-leaning platforms like Meta and X. Over time, I believe this reconfiguration will permanently alter the political landscape of the creator economy https://www.usermag.co/p/the-great-creator-reset

While the majority of news content creators across the social media landscape are conservative men, a recent study found that TikTok is the *only* platform where left-leaning news influencers outnumber right-leaning ones. https://www.usermag.co/p/the-great-creator-reset

NEW NEWSLETTER OUT!!! 🚨

MrBeast Luigi arc, the Gen Z jegging, masculinity coaches, Barstool tea, paparazzi fire chasers, a Spotify party boycott at the Grammys, and more https://www.usermag.co/p/should-you-quit-your-job

I wrote about FreeOurFeeds, a new $30M plan to take back social media from billionaires https://www.usermag.co/p/freeourfeeds-a-30m-plan-to-take-back-social-media-from-billionaires

Substack could embrace the federated model of social media, which platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and even Threads leverage. In so many ways, the Fediverse embodies the ideals that Substack was founded on: giving users a platform-agnostic connection to their audience, allowing for audience portability, eliminating top-down moderation, and putting users back in control of their online experience. https://www.usermag.co/p/how-substacks-follow-feature-betrays

SCOOP: Instagram blocked teens from searching LGBTQ-related content for months.

Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags were hidden under Meta's “sensitive content” policy which restricts "sexually suggestive content", Meta said they are fixing this “error” after I reached out for comment. https://www.usermag.co/p/instagram-blocked-teens-from-searching

These anti trans bills are huge threats to civil liberties and we should do everything in our power to fight them https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/nancy-maces-federal-trans-bathroom

I wrote about the similarities between OpenAI and Visa, and how both companies have sought to build regulatory and legal moats to lock in customers and lock out competitors https://sherwood.news/tech/openai-is-visa/