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makena kelly

@makenakelly.bsky.social
114K followers 3.3K following 1.1K posts

writing about politics + the internet formerly: @wired.com, @theverge.com DMs open, Signal: makenakelly.32 FAQ, Instagram, + everything else at linktr.ee/makenakelly

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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
ipad is bad for just about every productivity thing i’ve tried to use it for, it’s just a glorified manga reading device. foldable? another glorified manga reading device.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
guys i feel so great
me behind an amazing glass of white wine
secret garden lookin ass passageway
cave of poetry in salento
photo of the beach and water in sant andrea
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
no one told me there were scorpions in italy!!!!
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
please listen to matt and kim with the windows down today, amen
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Leah Feiger @leahfeiger.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
“I was so worried after I had a salad from my local bodega and my stomach was bothering me the rest of the afternoon at work," one woman, who asked to stay anonymous, tells WIRED about her experience with days of watery diarrhea. "But I also have a history of IBS."
wired.com
Everyone Thinks They Have the Diarrhea Parasite
Cyclosporiasis isn’t the only thing spreading across the US. So is anxiety about getting hit with it.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
driving my mom’s 2010 jeep liberty that smells like cigarettes and cost me $74 to fill up to an airport 1.5 hours away so i could get a nonstop flight to the east coast with a large iced coffee from 7Brew, this is middle america, folks.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
slowly making my way thru my mom’s things and finding this oh my god
signed image of the lone ranger and tonto
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Jake Lahut @jakelahut.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Some personal news, as they say: I’m so stoked for the rest of the Fired Four getting this deal. Conde is giving them nearly two years of backpay. They offered me 4 months. In the absence of a serious offer, I’m looking forward to my day in court. www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...
hollywoodreporter.com
Condé Nast and Union Reach Settlement Over “Fired Four” (Exclusive)
The publishing giant is allowing workers to resign as active employees and paying a financial settlement.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
the restaurant talarico ate at should call their potato, egg, and cheese taco the tala-freako atp
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
SCOOPLET: Just before the holiday weekend, DOL employees received an email instructing them how to file complaints against colleagues for engaging in DEI. One employee told me that it was like a reminder to "narc on your colleagues." @wired.com www.wired.com/story/depart...
wired.com
Department of Labor Tells Employees to Report Anyone Prioritizing DEI
The email instructs workers to report behavior that predates Donald Trump’s second inauguration. One employee tells WIRED it felt like a “reminder to narc on your coworkers.”
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Mia Sato @miasato.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Exclusive: Unionized tech workers at the New York Times have filed grievances accusing management of using AI-powered performance tools to track and discipline staff. The Tech Guild says recent disciplinary notices appear to be generated using one of the tools. 🎁 www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
theverge.com
The AI fight brewing inside The New York Times
The company is using AI performance tracking software, the union says
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the beggars out of here getter @milesklee.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Was Pope Leo specifically calling out Tolkien-loving tech bros Peter Thiel and Elon Musk when he quoted Gandalf in an encyclical about the dehumanizing effects of technocratic society? The Vatican won't answer my emails, but the billionaire's hopeless misreads certainly called for a correction:
wired.com
Pope Leo Schooled the Tech Bros on Tolkien
The Holy Father referenced “The Lord of the Rings” in his encyclical about AI—an expert (if unintentional) troll of tech billionaires who keep misinterpreting the series.
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Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
NEW: My unhinged @wired.com colleagues turned our latest digital issue about AI into a mandatory AI retraining course for employees who hate AI everywhere: www.wired.com/story/ai-or-...
wired.com
Take This Mandatory AI Workplace Training Right Now—or Else
AI could make you redundant. Here’s what you need to know.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
SCOOP: Palantir's '26 Hack Week was all about ICE. Also if you are a current or ex-Palantir employee, please reach out. You can remain anonymous. Signal: makenakelly.32
wired.com
Palantir Held Another ‘Hack Week.’ This Time, the Focus Was ICE
The hackathon, held to build user-auditing tools for Palantir customers, comes as the company struggles to address employee concerns over its relationship with ICE.
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Reece @thiccreese.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
MY FIRST “BIG STORY” FOR WIRED!! Spent a week with a camera strapped to my forehead, training robots how to do chores. “Teach the robot how to cook tonight so you can put food on the table tomorrow.” www.wired.com/story/househ...
wired.com
I Spent a Week Recording Myself Doing Chores for Money. Who's the Robot Now?
Cooking. Doing laundry. Tidying up. All your household tasks can be turned into data to train future humanoids—if you’re prepared for the consequences.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
even when maryland drivers use their turn signal, you still don’t know which way they’re going
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
is it “bimbo stoicism” or just closeted furryism
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
SCOOP: Palantir's '26 Hack Week was all about ICE. Also if you are a current or ex-Palantir employee, please reach out. You can remain anonymous. Signal: makenakelly.32
wired.com
Palantir Held Another ‘Hack Week.’ This Time, the Focus Was ICE
The hackathon, held to build user-auditing tools for Palantir customers, comes as the company struggles to address employee concerns over its relationship with ICE.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
just bought a juicer so i can juice one million key limes to make pies >:)
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
@makenakelly.bsky.social SCOOP: Palantir employees voiced their discomfort about how their work was supporting ICE, so the company put together a hackathon for them to "fix" the problem in the form of new tools Spoiler: the company still has billions in DHS contracts www.wired.com/story/palant...
wired.com
Palantir Held a Hack Week to Add New Controls to Software Used by ICE
The hackathon, held to build user-auditing tools for Palantir customers, comes as the company struggles to address employee concerns over its relationship with ICE.
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Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Palantir employees were pissed about the company's work with ICE. So Palantir held a hackathon to build better oversight tools for agencies (now whether they'll actually use them...) Scoop from @makenakelly.bsky.social
wired.com
Palantir Held a Hack Week to Add New Controls to Software Used by ICE
The hackathon, held to build user-auditing tools for Palantir customers, comes as the company struggles to address employee concerns over its relationship with ICE.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
the whole DNC autopsy news cycle feels like a cartoon of a guy who keeps slipping on banana peels he put there himself
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
“If this is not under control immediately, we will have cases here in no time,” says one former deputy assistant administrator for global health at USAID. From me and @leahfeiger.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/how-tr...
wired.com
‘Perfect Storm’: How Trump's Aid Cuts Are Fueling the Ebola Outbreak
One health provider who works on the ground says that basic medical equipment like masks and hand sanitizers are in short supply due to funding cuts.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
thinking about the fbi agent who did a flip at a bar and accidentally shot someone www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
nbcnews.com
Dancing FBI agent won't do jail time for backflip that left man shot at bar
Chase Bishop pleaded not guilty in November to second-degree assault, which could have got him up to 16 years in prison.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
it's going to start playing Indigo Girls when I drive up in my Subaru
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
perfect saturday spending all afternoon in the backyard writing and then writing with PBS docs on in the bg in the evening
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Reminding me of my all-time favorite Joe Biden moment. Along the 2020 campaign trail, Biden was asked how many genders there were and he replied, "There are at least three."
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
EXCLUSIVE: Sat down with CFTC chairman Michael Selig to talk insider trading & AI: www.wired.com/story/polyma...
wired.com
The US Is Using AI to Hunt Down Insider Trading on Polymarket
CFTC chairman Michael Selig sat down with WIRED to discuss how the agency scours Polymarket and other prediction markets for illegal activity.
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Lauren Goode @laurengoode.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
NEW, from @peard33.bsky.social @zoeschiffer.bsky.social @stevenlevy.bsky.social and me: Morale at Meta is sinking, with layoffs pending, exorbitant spending on AI, a new initiative to track employee computer movements, mandatory role changes, courtroom losses, and more www.wired.com/story/meta-l...
wired.com
Meta’s New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale
Next week, Meta is cutting about 10 percent of its staff. WIRED spoke with more than a dozen current and former employees about what it's like inside a company where "everyone is unhappy."
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
ICYMI: In new SEC filings, Trump Media reveals that Truth Predict, the Trump family's much-hyped prediction market offering, is initially just a "marketing and promotion" partnership with Crypto.com www.wired.com/story/trump-...
wired.com
Trump Media Scales Back Plans for Its Own Prediction Market
Truth Predict was supposed to be the Trump family’s biggest leap yet into prediction markets. Now it’s looking more like a tiptoe.
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David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
NEW: 2021: Conspiracists said QR codes were somehow used to rig the 2020 election 2024: Georgia bans QR codes in elections 2026: No new system has been agreed on, and conspiracists are using the ensuing chaos to push to remove voting machines completely www.wired.com/story/conspi...
wired.com
A Conspiracy Theory About QR Codes Has Led to Chaos Ahead of Georgia’s Midterms
The state of Georgia banned the use of QR codes for elections, based in part on the assertions of a man who’s boosted false claims about Israel and 9/11. Now no one knows how ballots will be counted.
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molly taft @mollytaft.com · 13/05/2026
NEW: xAI appears to have added more than 500 MW (!) of unpermitted gas turbines to its Colossus 2 campus in a matter of weeks, according to internal emails between the company and regulators
wired.com
xAI Adds 16 New Gas Turbines Despite Ongoing Lawsuit
Emails show that Elon Musk's company is expanding its use of portable gas-fired power at its Colossus 2 site as a fight over air quality continues.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
we all have better things to do today, but instead... www.wired.com/story/video-...
wired.com
There’s an Unhinged New Video Game About Trump and the Iran War
The game, developed by the group of anonymous artists known as Secret Handshake, is available online and in person in Washington, DC.
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
SCOOP! DOGE’s Ethan Shaotran, one of the young engineers first identified by WIRED, is starting a post-government second act: defense tech startup that appears to be gearing up to get government contracts. @wired.com www.wired.com/story/doges-...
wired.com
DOGE's Ethan Shaotran Is Now Running a Defense Tech Startup
In an email viewed by WIRED, Shaotran describes Blitz Industries as “a defense company backed by big names.”
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Leah Feiger @leahfeiger.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
It was a privilege to accept the Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism with @katie-drummond.bsky.social and @timmarchman.bsky.social for @wired.com’s DOGE coverage last night! Our team uncovered a government takeover in real-time, and our reporting was unparalleled-an honor to have that recognized!
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maddy varner @regret.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
NEW: DHS is using a legal tool called a 1509 customs summons to try to obtain info from Google about a Canadian after he criticized the Trump admin online. He says he hasn't been to the US in 10+ years and didn't ship anything during the time period DHS asked about: www.wired.com/story/dhs-de...
wired.com
DHS Demanded Google Surrender Data on Canadian's Activity, Location Over Anti-ICE Posts
Using a 1930s trade law, Homeland Security targeted the man—who hasn't entered the US in more than a decade—following posts on X condemning the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
NEW from me and @zeyiyang.bsky.social: @rightscon.org, the biggest digital human rights conference was effectively canceled this week after the Chinese government put pressure on the host country, Zambia, over the presence of attendees from Taiwan. For @wired.com www.wired.com/story/the-ch...
wired.com
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.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
i get carsick so easily and my dumbass always thinks maybe this time it’ll be ok pulling out my laptop to send a couple emails !!!!! it’s never ok!!!!!!
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David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
NEW In the space of a year, Trump has destroyed the DOJ's voting rights section, turning what was once the "crown jewel of the Civil Rights Division" into what one former DOJ lawyer called "the losingest law firm in America" This is the story of that demise. www.wired.com/story/the-ju...
wired.com
The Justice Department Has Destroyed Its Voting Rights Section
There were around 30 attorneys in the DOJ's voting section on the day of Donald Trump's second inauguration. Three months later, all but two were gone. Now the election deniers are in control.
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Reece @thiccreese.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
NEW: The DIY gadget is, in part, a rejection of our current moment, dominated by the predictable flatness of generative AI and minimalist, mass-produced devices. Check out my news feature about cyberdecks for @wired.com✨ www.wired.com/story/cyberd...
wired.com
The Hottest Anti-AI Gadget Is a Cyberdeck
On TikTok, young women are going viral for crafting whimsical homemade computers inside purses.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
i’ve had the weirdest work weekend of my life and it had nothing to do with the WHCD
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
NEW from me: the FTC appears to be gearing up to focus on penalizing gender-affirming care for minors—and those who speak in favor of it. @wired.com www.wired.com/story/the-fe...
wired.com
The FTC Is Ramping Up to Target Transgender Rights
A series of new hires and investigations at the agency appear to focus on penalizing gender-affirming care for minors—and those who speak in favor of it.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Here's the internal reaction to Palantir's 22-point manifesto earlier this week. “It’s like we taped a ‘kick me’ sign on our own backs... I hope no one who decided to put this out is surprised that we are, in fact, getting kicked.” www.wired.com/story/palant...
Palantir’s leadership incensed workers yet again this week after the company posted a Saturday afternoon manifesto reducing Karp’s recent book, The Technological Republic, to 22 points. The post—which includes many of Karp’s long-standing beliefs on how Silicon Valley could better serve US national interests—goes as far as suggesting that the US should consider reinstating the draft. Critics called the manifesto fascist.

Internally, the post alarmed some workers who huddled in a Slack thread on Monday morning, questioning leadership over its decision to post it in the first place.

“I’m curious why this had to be posted. Especially on the company account. On the practical level every time stuff like that gets posted it gets harder for us to sell the software outside of the US (for sure in the current political climate), and I doubt we need this in the US?” wrote one frustrated employee. The message received more than 50 “+1” emojis.

“Wether [sic] we acknowledge it or not, this impacts us all personally,” another worker wrote on Monday. “I’ve already had multiple friends reach out and ask what the hell did we post.” This message received nearly two dozen “+1” emoji reactions.

“Yeah it turns out that short-form summaries of the book’s long-form ideas are easy to misrepresent. It’s like we taped a ‘kick me’ sign on our own backs,” a third worker wrote. “I hope no one who decided to put this out is surprised that we are, in fact, getting kicked.”
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
SCOOP: Palantir's 22-point manifesto is alarming even its own employees—but it's just the latest move by leadership that's incensed workers. More on the internal dissent growing inside the company: wired.com/story/palantir-employees-are-starting-to-wonder-if-theyre-the-bad-guys/
wired.com
Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder if They're the Bad Guys
Interviews with current and former Palantir employees, along with internal Slack messages obtained by WIRED, suggest a workforce in turmoil.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
getting a hammock for the backyard was one of my better decisions recently
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
just when you think you've seen everything in political campaigns.... something new comes along www.wired.com/story/us-sen...
wired.com
US Senate Candidate Caught Insider Trading on Kalshi Says He Did It on Purpose
Mark Moran, an underdog Senate candidate from Virginia, claims he wanted to get caught violating the prediction market platform’s rules.
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
NEW from me: According to USAID whistleblower Nicholas Enrich, the DOGE takeover was even worse than we knew, rife with conflict between political appointees who wanted an orderly "drawdown" and a DOGE team that wanted to flip the kill switch. @wired.com www.wired.com/story/usaid-...
wired.com
USAID Whistleblower Says It Was Even Worse Than People Knew
Political appointees wanted a quiet drawdown, the whistleblower says. DOGE wanted an execution.
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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
paid my internet/cable bill this morning and realized it has nearly doubled in the four years i’ve been on this provider………..
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Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
"WIRED’s stories were not only groundbreaking; they were singular." HUGE congratulations to my @wired.com colleagues for this well-earned 2026 Hillman Prize for our coverage of DOGE! www.hillmanfoundation.org/hillman-priz...
hillmanfoundation.org
Inside the DOGE Takeover of the Federal Government
In early 2025, Americans first learned about the takeover of the federal government by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE had been operating under a veil of secrecy, with l...
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