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Platformer is an independent newsletter from Casey Newton that follows the intersection of Silicon Valley and democracy. Subscribe here.

Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
Teen sextortion.

Casey Newton shines a light on the increasingly common social media scam that primarily targets teen boys in his most recent Platformer newsletter:

But when a terrifying scam comes along that has led to at least 20 confirmed deaths in the past two years, a whole stack of investigations can’t seem to get a conversation going. [...] Perhaps the surgeon general, instead of his new ham-fisted campaign against every risk that social media presents, could warn parents about this one.

How Google taught AI to doubt itselfHow Google taught AI to doubt itself
Casey Newton
Elon Musk keeps getting creepierElon Musk keeps getting creepier
Casey Newton
Meta unspools ThreadsMeta unspools Threads
Casey Newton
How Reddit set itself up for a fallHow Reddit set itself up for a fall
Casey Newton
Why you can’t trust Twitter’s encrypted DMsWhy you can’t trust Twitter’s encrypted DMs
Casey Newton and Zoë Schiffer
How BeReal missed its momentHow BeReal missed its moment
Casey Newton
Can Snap snap back?Can Snap snap back?
Casey Newton
How a single engineer brought down TwitterHow a single engineer brought down Twitter
Zoë Schiffer and Casey Newton
Elon Musk’s reach on Twitter is dropping — he just fired a top engineer over it

The chaos continues inside Twitter 2.0 as employees worry about what will break, what will get them fired, and what will get them busted by the FTC.

Zoë Schiffer and Casey Newton