iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 27/02/2026

@adrjeffries.bsky.social produced a short documentary with @cecianasta.bsky.social about Stake's use of influencers to promote gambling. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQMI...

youtube.com

The Math Behind Drake’s Lucky Spins

YouTube video by Bloomberg Television

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 27/02/2026

To do this we needed to audit each streamer's Stake gameplay. We used an LLM to capture balance, bet and game played every 4s of stream. We manually verified each streamer's balance over time and calculated their spins to wins. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 27/02/2026

We analyzed +500hrs of livestreams from 25 streamers and found Drake and Adin Ross win big 4x more frequently than the average when playing games owned by the Stake's parent co. Read our methodology with @suryamattu.com and @cecianasta.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 27/02/2026

NEW @bloomberg.com feature on Stake: the world's largest crypto casino. Our year-long piece dives into Stake employing superstar influencers such as Drake and Adin Ross to livestream gambling. By @cecianasta.bsky.social @oliviasolon.bsky.social and myself: www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

bloomberg.com

Unlikely Wins and Comped Spins: Inside Stake’s Empire

Crypto casino Stake pays Drake and other stars to bet, spreading clips of big wins to impressionable gamblers. The numbers show unusual luck is at work.

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 17/02/2026

I’m a UMAP truther, but it’s all pretty similar

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Davey Alba @davey.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

NEW: For months, my colleagues and I dug into YouTube's conservative airwaves and found a flourishing network of host-read ads on right-leaning podcasts. This phenomenon has enriched hosts, YouTube, and businesses that use ideology to sell. bloom.bg/3Kaio9w

YouTube’s Right-Wing Stars Fuel Boom in Politically Charged Ads

By
Davey Alba
Priyanjana Bengani
Leon Yin
Ashley Carman
Julia Love
Rachael Dottle
Elena Mejía Technology

Big Tech

November 20, 2025

On YouTube’s conservative airwaves, podcast hosts tout products that let people buy into the MAGA crowd: Republican Red Winery vintages for toasting the “silent majority;” Black Rifle Coffee for caffeinating gun owners; XX-XY Athletics for workout clothes symbolizing opposition to the “lunacy of the left social agenda.”

The popularity of YouTube podcasts among conservatives is driving a boom in small businesses tailoring ads to their millions of listeners, paying hosts like Joe Rogan and Candace Owens to read out promotions in the hope that fans will place orders. The phenomenon has enriched both the hosts and YouTube, supporting further growth of the businesses using ideology to sell.

A Bloomberg analysis of host-read ads across nearly 1,000 videos from eight of the platform’s top right-leaning podcasters found that advertisers on the shows routinely tapped into political identity in marketing. At least one host-read ad with a political message appeared in 91% of videos reviewed.

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 17/11/2025

No, I don’t think it’s being maintained! Kind of a miracle it lasted as long as it did.

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Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Friday was my last day at WIRED. Today I started a new job at Bloomberg on a dream desk with @suryamattu.com and @jeffykao.bsky.social. Got a tip? A dataset? Something we should look at? Find me on Signal at dmehro.89 In no particular order, here’s some stuff I’d like to continue to dig in to:

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 18/06/2025

Headed to New Orleans or my first @ire.org Conference. I'll be on a panel Friday morning (11:30) on crowdsourcing data for your next investigation w/ Cassandra Garibay and Sergio Olmos. schedules.ire.org/ire-2025/ind...

schedules.ire.org

IRE 2025 schedule | June 19-22, 2025 | New Orleans

Welcome to the #IRE25 conference schedule!

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 06/06/2025

Good "missing data" story

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 06/06/2025

Tried "vibe coding" ... hated it! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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WIRED @wired.com · 29/05/2025

NEW: The US government has collected DNA samples from 133,000+ migrant children and teenagers and uploaded them into CODIS, a national criminal database originally built for convicted sex offenders and violent criminals, according to documents reviewed by WIRED.

wired.com

The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database

Customs and Border Protection has swabbed the DNA of migrant children as young as 4, whose genetic data is uploaded to an FBI-run database that can track them if they commit crimes in the future.

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 02/05/2025

I see your point! I was just using the domain term to contrast from arrests at or along the Southern border. But yeah the North, (also Midwest) and elsewhere in the country, too. Thanks for tuning it!

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 02/05/2025

Sounds like a cool project! Thanks for reading

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 02/05/2025

Thank you for reading, I'll share that feedback with the team!

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Will Craft @wcraft.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

This is a great story, the kind of great story you can do through using the data released by The Deportation Data Project: deportationdata.org Every data reporter covering immigration should get familiar with the data here

deportationdata.org

Deportation Data Project

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 01/05/2025

100%, such a rich dataset. Thanks for sharing Will!

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 01/05/2025

Our analysis uses records from the Data Deportation Project. They FOIA'd ICE for arrest and detention records of over 3.5 immigrants spanning Obama's second term to the first four weeks of Trump's second term. This data is available for anyone to use: deportationdata.org/data.html

deportationdata.org

Data repository – Deportation Data Project

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 01/05/2025

This trend is partially due to historic lows in border arrests (freeing up space in the largest ICE facilities), and an increase in interior arrests. However, interior arrests aren't at a historic high, and the NE's largest detention center in had over 400 beds open. bloom.bg/43am95w

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 01/05/2025

When immigrants are transferred across state lines they often need to get new legal counsel. ICE detention facilities in the South and SW are remote, with immigration lawyers few and far between. The avg distance to the closest immigration lawyer in Louisiana is over 100 miles. bloom.bg/43am95w

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 01/05/2025

In prior years few immigrants detained by ICE in the Northeast were sent to the South & SW. Virtually nobody sent to New Mexico, and less than 1% of ppl sent to Texas or Arizona. In Trump's first month, 12% of ppl detained in the NE were sent to Texas, 4% to NM and 3% to AZ. bloom.bg/43am95w

bloom.bg

The Rising Cost of ICE Flying Immigrants to Far-Flung Detention Centers

The increase in long-distance transfers makes it harder to fight deportation and boosts taxpayer expense.

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 01/05/2025

Getting transferred to the South and SW reduce detained immigrants' chances at staying in the country. 70% of people detained in Louisiana and New Mexico end up deported, which is double that of the Northeast and the Nat'l Avg, which is about 50%. bloom.bg/43am95w

bloom.bg

The Rising Cost of ICE Flying Immigrants to Far-Flung Detention Centers

The increase in long-distance transfers makes it harder to fight deportation and boosts taxpayer expense.

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 01/05/2025

NEW: @bloomberg.com analysis of +13 years of ICE detentions shows immigrants transferred to the South and SW from interior US at unprecedented rates. Reducing the odds of winning their cases. w/ @elenamejia.bsky.social @racheladhe.bsky.social @pollymosendz.bsky.social bloom.bg/43am95w

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Deeedjay 🇨🇦 @deeedjay.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

ICE will be working with IRS now. New data-sharing document signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will allow ICE to use IRS data. Acting Commissioner resigns over it. apnews.com/article/irs-...

apnews.com

IRS acting commissioner is resigning over deal to send immigrants' tax data to ICE, AP sources say

The Internal Revenue Service’s acting commissioner is resigning over a deal to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people i...

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 23/03/2025

Can’t wait to read, thank you for sharing

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Piotr Sapiezynski @sapiezynski.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

This Friday at @ire-nicar.bsky.social myself and @leonyin.org will be teaching how to can find and use undocumented API and build your own datasets. Come say hi and learn something new!

An announcement for the "Finding and using undocumented APIs" tutorial at NICAR 2025, Friday, March 7 at 3:30-4:30pm. Located at Gray's Bay, 8th floor. Images of Leon Yin and Piotr Sapiezynski.

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 26/02/2025

After a big story we (reporters) go back to zero. It's a lifeless and cold wasteland. Sometimes we shine a light down a new rabbit hole and see new potential to start digging again.

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 24/02/2025

come on down and say what up! (if you're going NICAR)

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 24/02/2025

Thanks! The impact is a result from our super team, especially @natalielung.com for her continued reporting on the topic!

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 24/02/2025

I'll be speaking about crowdsourcing data using WhatsApp at @ire-nicar.bsky.social NICAR in about a week with @asiafields.bsky.social and @jeremybmerrill.com Friday March 7th at 10:15am. Come say hi! schedules.ire.org/nicar-2025/i...

schedules.ire.org

NICAR 2025 schedule | March 6-9, 2025 | Minneapolis

Welcome to the #NICAR25 conference schedule!

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Camille Bromley @chameauleon.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

An absolute pleasure to talk to @davey.bsky.social and @leonyin.org about their blockbuster Bloomberg investigation into the podcasts building support for Trump's agenda. Via @columjournreview.bsky.social www.cjr.org/the_media_to...

cjr.org

Q&A: Bloomberg’s Davey Alba and Leon Yin on the New Political Influence of Podcasts

“The question is, Can they hang?”

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 30/01/2025

The FTC is probing Uber and Lyft over driver lockouts in New York City. bsky.app/profile/leah...

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 30/01/2025

Read our Oct. investigation into Uber and Lyft's driver lockouts, which the FTC is now looking into for illegally limiting driver pay in New York City bloom.bg/3WHra1X

bloom.bg

How Uber and Lyft Used a Loophole to Deny NYC Drivers Millions in Pay

Uber and Lyft locked drivers out of their apps to game a NYC wage law, denying drivers millions in pay

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 29/01/2025

By the way... most of our data is open source and there is an adjacency matrix would be perfect for a network graph! You'll notice we DID NOT publish a network graph... github.com/BloombergGra...

github.com

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Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

The story behind RFK Jr. in Samoa's measles crisis has never been reported. He wasn't there to spread misinformation about vaccines (though he did). He wanted to study a "natural experiment" of unvaccinated kids. “I can’t imagine anything less ethical or more cruel.” www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

nbcnews.com

Experts saw Samoa's plunging vaccination rates as a crisis. RFK Jr. saw an opportunity.

New details show how Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then chair of an anti-vaccine group and now Trump’s pick for health secretary, sought to exploit a deadly vaccine accident.

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 24/01/2025

Hi Zachary, thanks for reading and glad to hear it's a useful reference. The people who shared this information with us weren't at liberty to do so as it is not public, and so we have protected their identity. Hope you understand!

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Taylor Lorenz @taylorlorenz.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Transgender identity was mentioned in 29% of the most highly viewed YouTube videos from top male podcasters/YouTubers. 30% videos discussing trans identity also mention children.

usermag.co

How YouTubers pushed young male voters to Trump (with receipts)

+ Gamergate 2.0, pocket cheese, NYT on The Rizzler, MrBeast is hiring, and a Twitter exec reveals why Vine *really* failed

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Davey Alba @davey.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Becca’s 2018 study on the reactionary right on YouTube was so illuminating and prescient, and inspired this piece in so many ways! Grateful that she paved the path for us datasociety.net/library/alte...

datasociety.net

Alternative Influence

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Leon Yin @leonyin.org · 22/01/2025

We used keyword search to prioritize passages to review, but episodes span from 1-6 hours long which is kind of unreasonable for a topic model!

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