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Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari

😈Mark (of the Beast) Yarm👿 @markyarm.bsky.social · Aug 18

If you're going to sell your face to the AI company (and probably be humiliated) at least ask for more $$$.

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Aug 19

thank you!!

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Aug 18

This is from TikTok’s ad platform but several of the avatars have also been placed onto CapCut - the ones I spoke with didn’t realize that was part of the contract they signed!

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Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari

Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · Aug 18

Selling one's likeness for a mere $500 and having it talk about its sexual preferences while hawking fiber supplements is like a sad plot device that I would expect from a good science fiction novel.

But it's real, via @sapna.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...

He Sold His Likeness. Now His Avatar Is Shilling Supplements on TikTok.

www.nytimes.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Aug 17

I wrote about people who sold their likenesses to TikTok for AI-fueled advertisements. Marketers have been able to use their “avatars” to promote all sorts of products - and several regret the work. The folks I spoke with were paid as little as $500 for it www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...

He Sold His Likeness. Now His Avatar Is Shilling Supplements on TikTok.

www.nytimes.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Jul 23

“When it’s time again to pick up that phone and incinerate a few more seconds of my one life on earth, more often than not, I shovel them into Reddit.” @jwherrman.bsky.social spot on as usual! nymag.com/intelligence...

Why You Are Reading Reddit a Lot More These Days

“The front page of the web” is turning into the last refuge of the human internet. But can it survive AI?

nymag.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · May 15

no. 1 stowaway!!

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · May 15

will be covering the Cannes ad/tech/media confab this year in June... plz DM / email me if there are things i shouldn't miss while there!

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · May 14

one of my fav stories i wrote from this spring — how agencies are trying to train college athletes as the next big group of influencers on TikTok and Instagram: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/b...

They’re on the Varsity Influencer Team

www.nytimes.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · May 9

regularly shocks me that my child will only know a beautiful LaGuardia and a delightful Penn Station

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Apr 22

scoop from my colleague Michael Grynbaum: the exec producer of 60 Minutes said he would resign from the program because he had lost his journalistic independence www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/b...

Top Producer of ‘60 Minutes’ Quits, Saying He Lost Independence

The news program has faced mounting pressure from both President Trump and its corporate ownership at Paramount, the parent company of CBS News.

www.nytimes.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Apr 22

which pairs well with this deep-dive (& NYT debut!) from Caroline Kitchener on the White House's plans for persuading more American women to have babies: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/u...

seems like the folks preaching "more babies" aren't talking much about mat leave + childcare...

Trump Aides Solicit Ideas to Raise Birthrate, From Baby Bonuses to Fertility Planning

Baby bonuses and menstrual cycle classes are among the ideas pitched to Trump aides as they consider plans to try boosting the birthrate.

www.nytimes.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Apr 22

loved this wild / unexpected dispatch from a Natal Conference from @emmagoldberg.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/s...

The Women Who Think the World Needs More Babies

At a convention of the pronatalist movement, the relatively few women in attendance agreed: Motherhood needs a rebrand.

www.nytimes.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Apr 17

that’s what a lot of folks are saying. I’ll be interested to see if this actually goes into effect on May 2. to be fair though, plenty of places to continue buying cheap stuff at dollar stores, Walmart, etc. But this is def a newer and perhaps more impulsive source of it all

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Apr 16

TikTok & Reddit are filled with people worrying about the new tariffs on Shein and Temu packages set to go into effect on May 2 — and price hikes on April 25. the alarm reflects the deep inroads the apps have made into American shopping habits in recent years: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/b...

Shein and Temu Will be Hit by Trump’s China Tariffs. Americans Are Worried.

The Trump administration’s plan to add steep fees to packages from China will deal a blow to Temu, Shein and some TikTok Shop sellers, worrying American consumers.

www.nytimes.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Apr 15

🤢🤢🤢

Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Apr 15

i don't eat a ton of meat but these paragraphs are making me consider going full vegetarian... www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/u...

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Apr 15

thanks for sending! email me? [email protected]

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Apr 4

thanks! love going on squawk box!

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Mar 25

with another TikTok sale-or-ban deadline looming on April 5, the company is running a zillion ads, including one that shares the story of a young woman who found a kidney through the app... www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/t...

TikTok Ads Portray App as Force for Good as US Ban Looms

www.nytimes.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Mar 19

Oracle met with top congressional aides yesterday to talk about how it plans to work with TikTok in coming weeks, as the April 5 deadline for a deal approaches: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/t... (scooplet with david mccabe)

www.nytimes.com

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Mar 6

I saw this on 40th St a week or so ago and it has lived rent free in my head ever since! For the Bradlees hive… I know you’re out there

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Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Feb 26

Breaking News: An unvaccinated child died of measles in Texas, officials said, the first known death from an outbreak that began in January.

Unvaccinated Child Dies of Measles in Texas, Officials Say

At least 124 cases of measles have been identified in Texas since late January, mostly among children and teenagers who are either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, officials say.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari

Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · Jan 27

Charging this puppy up to make sure it still works for Flip Phone February.

(If you make up a movement, you gotta follow through on it: www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/t...)

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Sapna Maheshwari @sapna.bsky.social · Jan 24

But when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was not out of danger. “I looked up, and I was underneath the 1 train,” he said.

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/n... a must-read by @katierosman.bsky.social

‘I’ve Been Pushed, and I’m Going to Get Hit by the Train’

Joseph Lynskey was waiting for the subway in Manhattan last month when a random act of violence transformed his life.

www.nytimes.com

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