Kate Knibbs
banner
knibbs.bsky.social
Kate Knibbs
@knibbs.bsky.social
Live in Chicago, write for Wired, got a great attitude

Send me tips: [email protected] / Signal: kateknibbs.09
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
NEW: Trump's FDA recently approved Nexplanon for five years of use, but it quietly added extra regulations that leave some providers worried about access. The agency imposed a REMS program that only exists for 73 other drugs—including medication abortion.

@garnethenderson.com in @autonomynews.co:
The FDA Quietly Slapped More Restrictions on the Birth Control Implant
The agency recently approved Nexplanon for up to five years of use—but it also imposed extra regulations that leave some providers worried.
www.autonomynews.co
February 6, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
Published my first piece at @wired.com today, about a string of AI thrillers that have bombed (most recent being the hopelessly naive Chris Pratt vehicle 'Mercy'), the backlash to Darren Aronofsky's YouTube slop take on the American Revolution, and a grotesque nostalgia-bait Super Bowl ad:
Hollywood Is Losing Audiences to AI Fatigue
Entertainment about or made with artificial intelligence has been missing the mark with viewers over the past year.
www.wired.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
February 4, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
“Utah waived a series of local regulations for Doctronic… The company’s executives, meanwhile, told STAT they have not spoken to the FDA. The case highlights policy and safety questions that loom as AI companies wade into automating clinical care without a full accounting of the risks and benefits”
AI could soon renew prescriptions without clinician help. Should the FDA make sure it's safe?
In a pilot, Utah is testing use of AI for renewing drug prescriptions. Experts ask if it should be regulated as a medical device.
www.statnews.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
SCOOP: Palantir's AI has been deployed at HHS since last March to audit grants, grant applications, & job descriptions for anything related to "DEI" or "gender ideology"

The goal was to ensure compliance with 2 of Trump's executive orders:
www.wired.com/story/hhs-is...
HHS Is Using AI Tools From Palantir to Target ‘DEI’ and ‘Gender Ideology’ in Grants
Since March of 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services has been using tools from Palantir and the startup Credal AI to weed out perceived alignment with “DEI” or “gender ideology.”
www.wired.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
As Trump’s mass deportation program unfolds, immigration policy and enforcement is shifting fast.

That’s why we’re launching Tracker, a limited-series newsletter navigating what’s happening and what’s next. Sign up for free: www.wired.com/newsletter/I...
Tracker Newsletter: ICE in Focus
As federal agents carry out Trump’s program of mass deportation, this limited-series newsletter will track what’s happening and what’s coming next.
www.wired.com
February 2, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
Among the batch of newly released emails from Jeffrey Epstein: Epstein telling Peter Thiel he would “gladly share…expenses for the Gawker suit.”

This was sent the day after @rmac.bsky.social and @mattdrange.bsky.social reported in Forbes that Thiel was behind the lawsuit that would bankrupt Gawker
January 31, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
NEW: The @wired.com Security desk put together a comprehensive guide to filming ICE—with tips for reducing risk at the forefront. No paywall, but please consider subscribing to help find these kinds of resources. And stay safe out there. www.wired.com/story/how-to...

www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...
How to Film ICE
Filming federal agents in public is legal, but avoiding a dangerous—even deadly—confrontation isn’t guaranteed. Here’s how to record ICE and CBP agents as safely as possible and have an impact.
www.wired.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
Since last year, we’ve been reporting on ICE extensively. But every week brings new information, and it’s getting harder to keep track of what’s happening, let alone remember what’s already happened.

So here’s a quick thread to help.
January 30, 2026 at 8:26 PM
X is hiring a creative writing specialist at $40 an hour to make Grok better at writing and a true LOL at the qualifications
January 30, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
This is such a touching article by Dan McQuade about how cats touch and enrich our lives. 🎁 link

defector.com/dianas-piano...
January 30, 2026 at 4:27 AM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
They know they could have called her lawyer and she would have shown up at their office.

But they ambushed her at home in the early AM. Like she's a terrorist, a mobster, a murderer or an Illinois governor who pawned off a Senate seat.

Chilling power abuse #JournalismIsNotACrime
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning

I was sent this video of agents at her door:
January 30, 2026 at 5:21 PM
another red line crossed www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
Federal Agents Arrest Don Lemon Over Minnesota Church Protest
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
Sixers hold a moment of silence for Dan McQuade.
January 30, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
A drawing by a 5-year-old girl detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas with her mother Hayam El-Gamal. “I am 5 years old” is written at the top of the page. Lower down, next to stick figures, are the words “let us go.” Courtesy of Eric Lee, Lee & Godshall-Bennett, LLP
January 29, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
This is SUCH a specific local angle and a good example of how the occupation has affected every part of local life and everything Minnesota holds dear in the collective culture

(Basically, ICE has come for the Mighty Ducks)
Ice rink was a sanctuary for this girls hockey team until ICE touched down in the Twin Cities | Strib Varsity
Hockey Across Minnesota: A youth hockey club dedicated to diversity sees attendance dip amid federal agents’ presence.
varsity.startribune.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:42 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
Incredible story by @agreenberg.bsky.social, both on the scam compound operation and how he navigated a uniquely difficult and dangerous situation for his source. This one should be required reading for journalism ethics classes: www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive
A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.
www.wired.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
Last year, a human trafficking victim trapped in a crypto scam compound in the Golden Triangle region of Laos contacted me. He then proceeded to leak to me a huge collection of the compound's internal materials.

Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.

🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive
A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.
www.wired.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:15 PM
👀
New paper- LLMs allow verbatim extraction of copyrighted works. "For Claude 3.7 Sonnet, we were able to extract four whole books near-verbatim, including two books under
copyright in the U.S.: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and 1984" arxiv.org/pdf/2601.02671
arxiv.org
January 26, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
A Billion Streams and No Fans’:

The government claims that between 2017 and 2024, Smith made over $10 million in royalties by using bot armies to continuously play AI-generated tracks on streaming platforms

This is a political playbook too

www.wired.com/story/ai-bot...
‘A Billion Streams and No Fans’: Inside a $10 Million AI Music Fraud Case
A chart-topping jazz album! Loads of Spotify and Apple Music plays! Just one problem: The success might not be real.
www.wired.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Kate Knibbs
Good afternoon from downtown Chicago, where despite heavy snowfall, thousands have gathered for an anti-ICE/CBP demonstration in solidarity with the Twin Cities. More are still streaming in.

Lt. Illinois Gov. Juliana Stratton just addressed the crowd, and called for ICE to be abolished.
January 25, 2026 at 7:37 PM