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John Paczkowski

@pczki.bsky.social
7.8K followers 442 following 397 posts

Executive Editor, Tech & Innovation, @forbes. Previously: BuzzFeed News, Recode, AllThingsD. Full salmon, forward into terror.

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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 19h
Our new Agentic AI list via @annatonger.bsky.social, featuring funeral homes and shrimp farms www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 19h
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Katharine Schwab @kschwab.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
NEW: Last fall, executives at TikTok slashed the number of violations for which a TikTok advertiser could be immediately banned by more than half, per policy documents and four TikTok sources. That opened the floodgates to a surge in scams. with @iainmartin.bsky.social www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
SCOOP: “It was very clear that it was revenue,” one source said. “We could not take it down because they want to make money off of it.”
forbes.com
How TikTok’s Weakened Ad Rules Allowed Fake E-Commerce Sites To Scam Tens Of Thousands
Last year, TikTok’s executives quietly defanged its advertising rules, opening the floodgates to fraudsters that target American users with fake sales of products that never arrive. Sources told Forbe...
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Oh, btw:
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
our other one is almost 150 ...
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The dynamic is pretty straight forward: NVIDIA, Amphenol and a plethora of other companies sell the components that make data centers work. Senators own pieces of those companies—and vote yea or nay on laws dictating where data centers go and who has to foot the power bill.
forbes.com
The 5 Senators—Including Maine's Susan Collins—With The Biggest Investments In Data Centers
Forbes examined financial disclosures for every sitting Senator. We found 26 Senators with at least $7 million in investments tied directly to the data center buildout, including Sheldon Whitehouse an...
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 05/10/2026
NEW: Remember when John Oliver opened a church to expose how easy it was to get tax exemptions? This year, ProPublica reporters set out to establish private schools to test if, truly, anyone could open one. We founded two. Here’s how.
propublica.org
How ProPublica Reporters Became Private School Owners in 24 Hours
The reporting experiment demonstrates how easy it can be to open private schools that might then access public money. No credentials or background checks required.
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Just as soon as you accept culpability ...
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 05/10/2026
We are aware of an individual using a UK number on Telegram and WhatsApp under the name “Antony Kevin” to seek assistance recruiting journalists and analysts working on Syria. They claim to work for Bellingcat, but do not. Please disregard requests from them and contact [contact@bellingcat.com].
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
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Richard Nieva @richardnieva.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
New: I spoke to current and former employees at Snap to try to make sense out of Specs, its $2,195 AR glasses, panned for being too chunky and expensive. I found Snap dealing with a familiar boogeyman: Meta and Mark Zuckerberg. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
forbes.com
Evan Spiegel's Ill-Fated $3 Billion Plan To Put Snapchat On Your Face
The former tech wunderkind has poured billions into his quest to make technologically superior AR glasses and best nemesis Zuckerberg's Meta.
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Personal news:
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Amy Feldman @amyfeldman7.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Former OpenAI exec Fidji Simo started ChronicleBio to find treatments for complex chronic conditions (including her own POTS) using AI and lots of biological data. So far it has ID’d 13 diff subtypes of illnesses, + plans a 1st clinical trial this year. @forbes.com www.forbes.com/sites/amyfel...
forbes.com
Former OpenAI Exec Fidji Simo’s $20 Million Plan To Solve Her Chronic Disease And Others
Sufferers of complex, chronic diseases like POTS and long COVID often spend years searching for relief. The longtime tech exec started ChronicleBio to find treatments using AI and lots of biological d...
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
So good
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
with the average price of diesel spiking, Tesla would seem perfectly positioned to sell as many units of its long-delayed electric Semi as it can crank out. There’s just one problem: The company still hasn’t built enough of the high-powered chargers the truck depends on.
forbes.com
Tesla’s Big Rig Bet Has A Big Problem
The company has booked thousands of orders for its electric Semi. But without enough high-powered megawatt chargers, it may deliver only about 250 this year.
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Richard Nieva @richardnieva.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
New: Corgi has closed yet another round of funding, this time raising $64 million at a valuation of $5 billion — up from $4 billion in July. It comes as the startup deals with controversies including the temporary closure of one of its all-night cafes. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
forbes.com
Corgi Is Worth $5 Billion, Nearly Quadruple Its Value Five Months Ago
AI insurance outfit Corgi has been on a nonstop funding spree since May — even as it deals with controversies and feuds.
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Sarah Keese knew within seconds after injecting the peptide sermorelin into her stomach that something was wrong. Flushed and lightheaded, she cried out to her boyfriend for help. As Keese walked toward him, she fell to the ground, unconscious.
forbes.com
Peptides Like ‘Tesa’ And Sermorelin Are Landing Fitness Fans In The Hospital With Allergic Reactions
A class of peptides that are meant to stimulate human growth hormone has been linked with a spat of severe allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock-like symptoms.
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Thomas Brewster @thomasbrewster.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🚨NEW🚨 In an astonishing cyberattack, a Chinese-speaking hacker told AI agents powered by DeepSeek and Anthropic's Claude to go breach a bunch of retailers and hospitality companies. Within five days, the agents hacked 30+ websites and stole over 600,000 credit cards. www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
forbes.com
Massive AI-Fueled Hack Hit 100 Companies In Days
Anthropic, DeepSeek and Moonshot AI agents carried out a wide-ranging cyberattack, obtaining 600,000+ credit card numbers in just a few days. It’s a worrying new milestone in cybercrime.
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Mat Honan ✅ @mathonan.com · 21/09/2026
Our reporters spent the past year and some months investigating deaths along the "virtual wall" of the southern border. Their investigation reveals that a humanitarian crisis at the border has unfolded in view of the government’s own cameras: www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1...
technologyreview.com
The US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?
Surveillance towers, increasingly powered by AI, promised faster responses to crossings. Our investigation of deaths near the towers found they are failing to deliver.
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
An analysis of dispatches tracking his movement daily indicates that the president has spent more than 1,400 hours at his golf properties during his second term. That’s about as much time as most people spend working their full-time jobs over an eight-month span. www.forbes.com/sites/danale...
forbes.com
How Trump Indulges His Hot Dog Habit—Then Bills The Secret Service
At his golf clubs, the president barrels through foursomes, knocks away putts, and has the time of his life—with the government picking up the Secret Service’s hot-dog tab.
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Richard Nieva @richardnieva.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
It’s never been a crazier time to be a CIO or C-suite digital exec at a company. @thealexknapp.bsky.social and I are putting together the annual Forbes CIO Next list. If you know anyone (including yourself) doing cool things, please apply. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
forbes.com
Forbes CIO Next 2026: Nominations Are Open
Nominations for the annual list will be accepted through October 2.
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Dan Alexander @danalexander21.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Donald Trump is obsessed with the hot dogs at one of his golf courses. So obsessed that he orders one for everyone around him, including his Secret Service detail. Then, according to a former employee, the club bills the Secret Service for the hot dogs. www.forbes.com/sites/danale...
forbes.com
Hot-Dog Heaven: Inside Trump’s Golf Getaways
At his private golf clubs, the president barrels through foursomes, knocks away putts, and generally has the time of his life—with the government picking up the Secret Service’s hot-dog tab.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
New from 404 Media: humans are reading ChatGPT conversations. OpenAI has hired an army of contractors who read real ChatGPT users' chats. I've seen internal docs, the review system, and real user prompts. Sometimes they contain very personal and sensitive information www.404media.co/inside-proje...
404media.co
Inside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT Chats
Humans are reading ChatGPT users’ prompts to improve OpenAI’s models, and those chats can include sensitive, personal information, according to leaked internal documents and real prompts seen by 404 M...
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
“If no one bothered to create it, why should I bother to look at it?Gross. Low effort. Immediate turnoff. It gives FLACCID energy.”
forbes.com
Prompts On The Playa: AI Invades Burning Man
Silicon Valley brought sushi, Starlink and luxury camps to Burning Man. Now it’s importing something potentially even more divisive: AI slop.
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
In July, TikTok ran an ad that could have doubled as evidence in a drug bust. In it, a hand rattled a bottle of pills at the camera while smooth jazz singer Sade purred, “Is it a crime?” The pills were stamped with the code for opioid painkiller Percocet. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
forbes.com
Drug Dealers Are Advertising Cocaine, Opioids and Xanax On TikTok
The Chinese-owned social network has been flooded with advertisements pushing street drugs and prescription pills like codeine, benzos and Adderall.
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Mike Levin @mikelevin.org · 19/08/2026
Wrecking a 73-to-1 investment and sending the bill to fishermen, farmers, and families. Just crazy. www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...
forbes.com
DOGE Broke America’s Weather Machine. Now Fishermen, Insurers And Farmers Are Paying For It
Elon Musk’s DOGE gutted staffing and budgets at NOAA and the National Weather Service early last year. It left fishing fleets, farmers and insurers exposed to the fallout
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
DOGE Broke America’s Weather Machine. Now Fishermen, Insurers And Farmers Are Paying For It www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...
forbes.com
The Cost Of DOGE: America’s Environmental Intelligence Is Going Stale
Elon Musk’s DOGE gutted staffing and budgets at NOAA and the National Weather Service early last year. It left fishing fleets, farmers and insurers exposed to the fallout
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This rules.
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Richard Nieva @richardnieva.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
As Google DeepMind deals with a huge shakeup, I wrote about a quiet rivalry between folks in its London and Mountain View offices, stemming from the 2023 merger of Google Brain and DeepMind. One former employee called it the “America-fication” of DeepMind. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
forbes.com
The Hidden Rivalry At Google DeepMind: London Versus Mountain View
Even before a massive shakeup in leadership at Google’s frontier AI lab, the org had faced quiet tensions between its offices across the Atlantic.
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James Temple @jtemple.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
As Tech Review readers already knew 🤷‍♂️ www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/17/1...
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
“They stop the car in the street to say: ‘Didn’t we kill all of you in the French Revolution?’ ” says Bouzari.
forbes.com
AI's Data Dandy Is Now A Billionaire
For nearly three decades, Alex Bouzari ran a data storage stalwart for research labs at the likes of NASA. Now the AI boom has transformed his workhorse into a juggernaut, with sales on track to reach...
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ceej @ceej.online · 31/07/2026
ANTHROPIC: Our son loves humanity and for the low price of trillions and trillions of dollars will usher in an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity! OPENAI: Our horrible oafish son is hacking web sites without our permission. ANTHROPIC: (eyes narrowing) Our son is also evil
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The same U.S. startups serving as suppliers to OpenAI, Anthropic, and, in some cases, U.S. federal entities, are also supplying Beijing’s top labs. Increasingly, Silicon Valley is training both sides of the AI arms race.
forbes.com
These American Startups Are Making China's AI Smarter
The same Silicon Valley startups supplying OpenAI, Anthropic and the U.S. government are also selling AI training datasets to Chinese labs building rival models.
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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The AI arms race isn’t just being fought over Nvidia chips. Chinese labs are matching OpenAI and Anthropic by purchasing the exact same data from US vendors like Mercor and Surge AI (who also work with the US federal govt) www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 04/08/2026
My (cynical) working theory is that the White House knows that its "AI Framework" is basically a much worse version than the AI framework the Biden admin released, which caused the VC bros of Silicon Valley to go all MAGA. Keeping it private avoids the comparison.
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
you're being too generous
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
forbes.com
President Trump Appears More Involved In His Businesses Than Previously Known
For a decade, Donald Trump and his family have insisted that he stopped all management of his businesses while serving as president. He did not.
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Rashi Shrivastava @rashis.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Scoop: Flapping Airplanes, a startup that’s trying to develop ways to use less data to train AI models, is in talks to raise capital at a $5 billion valuation. With @iainmartin.bsky.social and @richardnieva.bsky.social. www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
forbes.com
AI Startup Flapping Airplanes Is In Talks To Raise Funding At A $5 Billion Valuation
The data efficiency startup is researching a better way to train AI models using less data.
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Rashi Shrivastava @rashis.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
This Indian startup is sending professional cleaners into people's homes wearing cameras on their heads to collect AI training data for U.S. labs. Founded by Anjali Sardana, 24, Pronto wants to give domestic workers in India a share in the AI gold rush. www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
forbes.com
AI Companies Are Paying This Indian Startup To Strap Cameras To Housekeepers’ Heads
Twenty-four-year-old founder Anjali Sardana wants to give domestic workers in India a share in the AI gold rush by sending them into people’s homes to collect training data for U.S. AI companies.
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The First Winners of AI Philanthropy May Be Chickens
forbes.com
Chickens Could Be Big Winners From AI’s $300 Billion Philanthropy Wave
An army of newly wealthy AI workers is searching for causes worthy of its money. Animal advocates think they may also be sitting on the future of philanthropy.
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Rashi Shrivastava @rashis.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Here comes the AI pivot: From neural signal headphones to viral presentation builders, these buzzy AI startups raised millions but later pivoted away from their initial product in a high-stakes race for survival and revenue. www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
forbes.com
AI Startups Are Pivoting From Flashy Demos To Tech That Pays The Bills
Founders who were working on neural-signal headphones and viral presentation builders are starting over in a high-stakes race for survival and revenue.
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Thomas Brewster @thomasbrewster.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
🚨NEW🚨 Well, this is a first for me: A surveillance company CEO says sorry. Flock's chief Garrett Langley says it was a "mistake" to label activists tracking the spread of its surveillance technology "terrorists." His comments come amid a rising public backlash. www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
forbes.com
Flock CEO Apologizes For Calling Activists ‘Terrorists’
As a movement against $8.3 billion Flock Safety’s license plate readers gathers momentum, company CEO Garrett Langley tells Forbes he shouldn’t have called non-violent activists “terroristic” organiza...
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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
People can't get OpenAI or Anthropic shares. Instead, they're buying used OpenAI employee sweatshirts on eBay for $250. Or used Anthropic t-shirts for $120. Inside the secondary market for AI swag. It's a bubble inside of a bubble. www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
forbes.com
The Booming Secondary Market For Used OpenAI and Anthropic Swag
You might not be able to get in on the IPO, but you can still get the hoodie. With AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic in private hands, people are paying $250 for used sweatshirts on eBay to cospla...
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
“I do think these are the vintage concert rock shirts of tomorrow. It’s geek chic. There’s going to be a day when people brag about the OpenAI double stitch shirt they got in the roaring twenties.” via @annatonger.bsky.social
forbes.com
The Booming Secondary Market For Used OpenAI and Anthropic Swag
You might not be able to get in on the IPO, but you can still get the hoodie. With AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic in private hands, people are paying $250 for used sweatshirts on eBay to cospla...
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Alan Ohnsman @aohnsman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
NEW: From Chip's beefed-up golf cart to TELO Trucks' anti-Cybertruck, a new wave of quirky, affordable EVs is coming to market #electricvehicles www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...
forbes.com
A Beefed Up Golf Cart And An Anti-Cybertruck: Cheap, Quirky EVs Are Coming
Chip Motors is taking orders for a low-speed, battery-powered “life utility vehicle,” priced from $15,000, joining a new wave of quirky EVs.
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Donald Trump, who decades ago described himself as “a bit of a P.T. Barnum,” has finally found his most lucrative act: being president. www.forbes.com/sites/danale...
forbes.com
Trump Made Even More Money Than You Thought Last Year
America’s salesman-in-chief capitalized on the most lucrative pitch of his life. Now Trump is selling something else—the myth that he doesn’t know how he made so much.
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
“Fun” one from @danalexander21.bsky.social
forbes.com
‘I’m Now Broke’: These Investors Lost Billions Buying Trump Stocks And Crypto
Desperate to rebuild his fortune, Donald Trump asked his political supporters to become his business partners. Those who trusted him most got hurt the worst.
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 30/06/2026
So very Meta: "let's make sure we can prove other AI tools are just as bad, rather than focusing our attention on making ours better."
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John Paczkowski @pczki.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
So sorry, Stacey. He was a legend and just the kindest of humans.
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