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Tess Owen

@tessowen.bsky.social
54.3K followers 1.8K following 545 posts

Senior politics writer @WIRED. Previous: words & reporting in WSJ, New Yorker, NY Mag, Guardian, & VICE News etc. Signal: tessowen.77

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Reposted by Tess Owen
Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 12h
“Videos of the attack, verified by The Times, show that the photographer, Heidi Levine, 63, who was wearing body armor with large press tags, was trapped behind the settlers. They began to beat her with bats and sticks, kicking her as she was prostrate on the ground” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/w...
nytimes.com
Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinians and Washington Post Journalist in West Bank (Gift Article)
In the latest surge of violence, settlers targeted Palestinians during the olive harvest, a cultural touchstone and economic lifeline in the Israeli-occupied area.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 16h
(also i love my new job 🫶)
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 16h
time for a drink!
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 16h
in the last 48 hours, I've learned that you can't call yourself an attorney with just a JD, the inner workings of beachbody's multi-level-marketing scheme, and what a reasonably straightforward copper exploration project ought to look like
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Tim Marchman @timmarchman.bsky.social · 16h
NEW: @tessowen.bsky.social and I spent the day getting to the bottom of the White House press secretary’s ties to a Kristi Noem-tied rare earths startup that aims to use AI to mine the cosmos. By the time we had, she’d been fired! We also talked to the lady who recruited her into a fitness MLM:
wired.com
Katie Zacharia Was Linked to an AI Rare-Earths Startup. It’s Even Weirder Than It Sounds
The short-lived White House press secretary was listed as an adviser to a Kristi Noem-linked company that aims to use AI for mining. Both the company and she say she never worked there.
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 16h
Katie Zacharia may be gone but they can never take away the journey @timmarchman.bsky.social and @tessowen.bsky.social have gone on with her the last few days
wired.com
Katie Zacharia Was Linked to an AI Rare-Earths Startup. It’s Even Weirder Than It Sounds
The short-lived White House press secretary was listed as an adviser to a Kristi Noem-linked company that aims to use AI for mining. Both the company and she say she never worked there.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 16h
As the CEO of the company described it: “I want to build a new generation of robotics and mining. Do we want to get stuck in the Stone Age or horses age? No, we want to live on Mars, spend time in hotels in space, have a wedding party on the moon"
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 16h
We spent all day trying to figure out the nature of Katie Zacharia's relationship to an AI mining company in Canada — and what the hell was up with said company— and then, she was just, fired (blog with @timmarchman.bsky.social) www.wired.com/story/katie-...
wired.com
Katie Zacharia Was Linked to an AI Rare-Earths Startup. It’s Even Weirder Than It Sounds
The short-lived White House press secretary was listed as an adviser to a Kristi Noem-linked company that aims to use AI for mining. Both the company and she say she never worked there.
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Michael Edison Hayden @michaelehayden.bsky.social · 16/10/2026
I know there are more urgent problems with Michael Tracey, but this is possibly the worst lede I have seen all year
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Of course Katie Zacharia was once part of a multi-level-marketing program for "Beachbody," a fitness company with a history of colorful legal woes. She described the program to us as "sort of a pyramid scheme." Scoop from @timmarchman.bsky.social & I www.wired.com/story/white-...
wired.com
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Was an Affiliate Marketer for a Fitness MLM
Trump's newly installed press secretary tells WIRED that in the early 2010s, she promoted a product for a company then called Beachbody, which she described as “sort of a pyramid scheme.”
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
This particular notch on Zacharia’s resume puts her in good company with other high-profile Trumpworld personnel, a cadre of professionals who have a great fondness for supplement-related business opportunities. www.wired.com/story/white-...
wired.com
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Was an Affiliate Marketer for a Fitness MLM
Trump's newly installed press secretary tells WIRED that in the early 2010s, she promoted a product for a company then called Beachbody, which she described as “sort of a pyramid scheme.”
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Scoop from @timmarchman.bsky.social & I: New WH press secretary Katie Zacharia never passed the bar, despite calling herself an attorney. She was, however, once part of a multi-level-marketing fitness program that she described to us as "sort of a pyramid scheme" www.wired.com/story/white-...
wired.com
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Was an Affiliate Marketer for a Fitness MLM
Trump's newly installed press secretary tells WIRED that in the early 2010s, she promoted a product for a company then called Beachbody, which she described as “sort of a pyramid scheme.”
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Tim Marchman @timmarchman.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
SCOOP: Katie Zacharia may not have actually been a lawyer, but she was a marketer for a fitness MLM called Beachbody with an ... extensive legal history. From me and @tessowen.bsky.social!
wired.com
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Was an Affiliate Marketer for a Fitness MLM
Trump's newly installed press secretary tells WIRED that in the early 2010s, she promoted a product for a company then called Beachbody, which she described as “sort of a pyramid scheme.”
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
NEW from me: Polls appear to be favoring Democrats in the midterms, and legislators are hoping to use a majority to investigate the Trump admin. The problem: they need federal agencies to cooperate. @wired.com www.wired.com/story/democr...
wired.com
Democrats Are Gearing Up to Investigate the Trump Administration. It Won’t Be Easy
As a recent government report on DOGE shows, even getting basic information out of the Trump administration will put a new Congress to the test.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Scoop from @hugolowell.bsky.social : Trump aides have privately accepted that Republicans will likely lose the House www.wired.com/story/trump-...
wired.com
Trump Aides Admit the House Is a Lost Cause
With the midterm elections just a few weeks away, the White House knows it has to go all in on Senate races—while virtually forfeiting the House.
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Hugo Lowell @hugolowell.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
NEW and BREAKING @wired.com: Trump White House aides see almost no paths to Republicans keeping control of the House, according to three sources familiar with the situation — and are more focused on trying to save the Senate majority www.wired.com/story/trump-...
wired.com
Trump Aides Admit the House Is a Lost Cause
With the midterm elections just a few weeks away, the White House knows it has to go all in on Senate races—while virtually forfeiting the House.
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
The federal government is in its snuff films era
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Reposted by Tess Owen
WIRED @wired.com · 13/10/2026
A consulting agency in Nevada has received millions of dollars from one of the biggest pro-AI super PAC networks ahead of November’s midterms. The problem? The company doesn’t seem to exist.
wired.com
The Biggest Pro-AI Super PAC Network Has Poured Millions Into Nevada Shell Companies
Backed by Silicon Valley titans, Leading the Future has raised huge sums to promote pro-AI candidates on both side of the aisle.
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Leah Feiger @leahfeiger.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
this is @tessowen.bsky.social's first for @wired.com as a senior politics writer! check it out, and dm her with tips!
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Is this illegal? We don't know & we probably won't know for some time! @campaignlegal.org filed a complaint with the FEC, which enforces campaign finance law. But the FEC is basically defunct at the moment as it lacks the minimum number of DJT-appointed commissioners needed to decide these things
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
New from me in @wired.com: the biggest pro-AI super PAC network is funneling tens of millions of dollars through mystery LLCs that don’t seem to exist beyond post boxes in Nevada strip malls www.wired.com/story/the-bi...
wired.com
The Biggest Pro-AI Super PAC Network Has Poured Millions Into Nevada Shell Companies
Backed by Silicon Valley titans, Leading the Future has raised huge sums to promote pro-AI candidates on both side of the aisle.
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Tim Marchman @timmarchman.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
NEW: Leading the Future, the pro-AI super PAC network backed by all your favorite investors, loves paying strip mall-based consultants that have little or no public footprint—and blaming an Anthropic-led conspiracy when asked about it. @tessowen.bsky.social reports:
wired.com
The Biggest Pro-AI Super PAC Network Has Poured Millions Into Nevada Shell Companies
Backed by Silicon Valley titans, Leading the Future has raised huge sums to promote pro-AI candidates on both side of the aisle.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
maybe a bit of a "step back and wonder how i got here moment" if you find yourself declaring proudly that you've been an outspoken advocate for public executions for a decade
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
reading an overview of public executions in the bible here biblehub.com/topical/p/pu...
biblehub.com
Topical Bible: Public Execution
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I do wonder if the Department of Defense's plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan is actually Hegseth and company invoking the Old Testament judicial system—specifically the use of public punishments to purge communal evils
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Reposted by Tess Owen
David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
SCOOP Internal ICE emails show the agency has been discussing the use of a Palantir-supported tool to track noncitizen voters www.wired.com/story/ice-em...
wired.com
ICE Emails Discuss Using Palantir-Supported Tool to Investigate Voter Fraud
Documents obtained by Democracy Forward show that ICE looked into feeding voter roll data into the ELITE tool, normally used to identify targets for deportation.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
One of the most fucked up things I’ve read in a while and that’s saying something
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The far-right's favorite "intellectual" says the quiet part out loud.
A tweet from Curtis Yarvin that says "what if Open AI solves the Jewish problem"
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
New! From the politics team at @wired.com, from DOGE to data centers, we broke down the races we have our eyes on. www.wired.com/story/wireds...
wired.com
WIRED’s Midterms Races to Watch
From data centers to Elon Musk funding to the AI lobby, the 2026 midterms are the most WIRED elections yet. These are the candidates we’re following closely.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
this is so tragic www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Three sisters who drowned in sea off Brighton took own lives, inquest finds
Jane Adetoro, Christina Walters and Rebecca Walters, who lived in London, drowned in the sea in May.
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
It was so great working with @neal.fun on this, and I hope you waste as much time playing around with it as I have www.wired.com/story/spend-...
wired.com
Spend Elon Musk’s Money
What’s it like to be the richest man in the world? Find out for yourself.
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Leah Feiger @leahfeiger.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Elon Musk's America PAC is quietly donating to the most consequential races of November's midterms, and @wired.com is tracking all of it - in real time. amazing work from @dell.bsky.social, who built this, and big lifts from @hugolowell.bsky.social, @dmehro.bsky.social, and @regret.bsky.social:
wired.com
Elon Musk’s America PAC Is Spending Big on the Midterms. We’re Tracking It Daily
To follow Elon Musk’s America PAC money, WIRED created a live-updating tracker that highlights the trillionaire’s overall influence on November’s elections.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
nice www.wired.com/story/what-w...
wired.com
You Probably Aren’t Going to Get the Plague
The death of a lab worker in Russia has authorities looking at whether plague played a role. Even if it did, though, the odds of it spreading are very low.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
static.klipy.com
Ernie Hides Under Blanket in Bed
ALT: Ernie Hides Under Blanket in Bed
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
it’s the worst .
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Awww 🫶
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Oh, and if you’re not already subscribed, it’s time to change that! It’s cheap and WORTH IT! www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...
wired.com
WIRED - The Latest in Technology, Science, Culture and Business | WIRED
Unlock a world of benefits, only for WIRED subscribers. | Best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore - plus gear reviews, podcasts, and more
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
was being a bit flip but also , you know
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If it makes you feel better, I wasn’t a Murdoch journo for very long
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The former politics reporter @makenakelly.bsky.social is absolutely brilliant. I’m stepping into huge shoes 👠
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
More info Monday about my new job, the kinds of scoops I’ll be looking out for, and how to get in touch with leads, tips etc ! 💅✨
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
With my last day at the Journal also comes an end to the institutional embargo on posting. Watch out everyone, the (professional) shitposts may recommence !
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Today is also my last day at the Wall Street Journal! I’m so grateful to the amazing team and will be cheering them on
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Is this thing still on? Excited to share some personal news: I’m joining @wired.com as their new politics reporter!
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Reposted by Tess Owen
Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
NEW: @talkingpointsmemo.com can reveal GOP nominee for Florida legislature: -marched at deadly Charlottesville Nazi rally w/ white supremacist group's flag -has *many* white supremacist donors -appears to advocate lynching He is expected to win Nov. election talkingpointsmemo.com/news/florida...
talkingpointsmemo.com
Exclusive: He Marched With Nazis in Charlottesville. Now He’s Expected to Join the Florida Legislature.
The Republican nominee for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives...
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
"Of the 279 people accused by officials on X of attacking federal officers in the past year, 181 were U.S. citizens, the Journal found. Close to half of those Americans were never charged with assault. None have been convicted at trial." www.wsj.com/us-news/immi...
wsj.com
Americans Are Now a Target in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
A WSJ investigation tracked the U.S. citizens caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive federal campaign to detain and demonize dissenters.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
"Hundreds of thousands of audit logs spanning a month show police are searching a national database of automated license plate reader data, including from school cameras, for immigration-related investigations." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Local police aid ICE by tapping school cameras amid Trump’s immigration crackdown
Local police assisted federal immigration agents by repeatedly searching school cameras that record license plate numbers, data show
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Reposted by Tess Owen
jason @jasooooon.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
another @thiccreese.bsky.social banger www.wired.com/story/i-infi...
wired.com
I Infiltrated Moltbook, the AI-Only Social Network Where Humans Aren't Allowed
I went undercover on Moltbook and loved role-playing as a conscious bot. But rather than a novel breakthrough, the AI-only site is a crude rehashing of sci-fi fantasies.
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
"To Catch A Fascist" is finally here! @letsgomathias.bsky.social has spent the last three years immersed in the underground world of contemporary militant antifascism. There's thrills, espionage, and more. Get your copy: www.simonandschuster.com/books/To-Cat...
simonandschuster.com
To Catch a Fascist
A searing, provocative investigation into the rise of white nationalist and neo-Nazi movements in the United States, centered on the anti-fascist g...
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Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
2016: obama era optimism, doing shots on a weeknight until 3 am and being able to go to work just fine 2026: getting a buzz on at home after the baby has gone to bed, messaging people on Facebook marketplace en masse to inquire if their item is “still available”
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