Adi Robertson
@thedextriarchy.bsky.social
Senior Editor, Tech & Policy, The Verge
so @kattenbarge.bsky.social's piece about 4chan earlier this week got an update I didn't see coming: moot briefly reemerging to deny his Epstein meeting had anything to do with founding /pol/
4chan’s creator says ‘Epstein had nothing to do’ with creating infamous far-right board /pol/
“I regret having ever encountered him at all.”
www.theverge.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:29 PM
so @kattenbarge.bsky.social's piece about 4chan earlier this week got an update I didn't see coming: moot briefly reemerging to deny his Epstein meeting had anything to do with founding /pol/
Reposted by Adi Robertson
godspeed to these folks for keeping pressure on to sort through the post-DOGE wreckage, especially in one of the places its impact is less obvious
A group seeking internal FCC docs about DOGE's role at the agency say that the FCC has acted "in bad faith" to respond to their FOIA request and is now seeking discovery. www.theverge.com/policy/87598...
FCC accused of withholding DOGE information ‘in bad faith’
The agency produced about 2,000 pages of documents for a FOIA request.
www.theverge.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:36 PM
godspeed to these folks for keeping pressure on to sort through the post-DOGE wreckage, especially in one of the places its impact is less obvious
Reposted by Adi Robertson
In 2022, I wrote a book about the history of anonymous speech because I was worried that we eventually would lose the ability to be anonymous online. I did not predict how quickly it would happen. www.theverge.com/tech/875309/...
Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month
Age verification for all.
www.theverge.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:14 PM
In 2022, I wrote a book about the history of anonymous speech because I was worried that we eventually would lose the ability to be anonymous online. I did not predict how quickly it would happen. www.theverge.com/tech/875309/...
The low quality feels like the point here, since the plausible goal with all of it is to denigrate the whole idea of craft and creativity and push people to accept less
AI-generated ads dropped the ball at this year’s Super Bowl
This year’s Super Bowl ads were a testament to how sloppy gen AI still is.
www.theverge.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:51 PM
The low quality feels like the point here, since the plausible goal with all of it is to denigrate the whole idea of craft and creativity and push people to accept less
Reposted by Adi Robertson
CORRECT
An underrated good the next Democratic administration could do with virtually zero actual political blowback from voters would be to come in with anti-trust laws like a wrecking ball and break up media and tech companies. It would fuck up The Other Side, too.
Brendan Carr is also very excited for more local broadcast TV consolidation at the hands of the right wing!
You know, to improve competition, something Carr (who has rubber stamped every desire media and telecom giants have ever had) genuinely cares about
You know, to improve competition, something Carr (who has rubber stamped every desire media and telecom giants have ever had) genuinely cares about
February 9, 2026 at 4:40 PM
CORRECT
Reposted by Adi Robertson
Props to the team at The Verge for sticking with this story, elusive doesn’t really begin to describe it
February 6, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Props to the team at The Verge for sticking with this story, elusive doesn’t really begin to describe it
Reposted by Adi Robertson
give 'em your subs! they pay me!
Your subscriber dollars at work: Aftermath has a new regular contributor and monthly columnist. Welcome @adashtra.bsky.social and @jmrivera.bsky.social to our regular rotation of writers!
aftermath.site/podcasts/after...
aftermath.site/podcasts/after...
February 6, 2026 at 8:35 PM
give 'em your subs! they pay me!
visual representation of how I described this @lopatto.bsky.social piece in an editors meeting
February 6, 2026 at 2:15 PM
visual representation of how I described this @lopatto.bsky.social piece in an editors meeting
i just got through the second of matt wesolowski's six stories series and this thing really is the novelistic equivalent of somebody holding a cat dish and going pspspspsps. teen counterculture! black-eyed kids! spooky woods! even the rare metafiction-ish twist that I actually find satisfying
February 6, 2026 at 1:25 PM
i just got through the second of matt wesolowski's six stories series and this thing really is the novelistic equivalent of somebody holding a cat dish and going pspspspsps. teen counterculture! black-eyed kids! spooky woods! even the rare metafiction-ish twist that I actually find satisfying
We're at the point where I'm almost 50/50 on there being an Epstein email that validates any possible paranoid conspiracy I could cook up. Like, one random search away from turning up a bunch of dudes cackling about funding AI to destroy the cultural power of art.
February 5, 2026 at 2:09 PM
We're at the point where I'm almost 50/50 on there being an Epstein email that validates any possible paranoid conspiracy I could cook up. Like, one random search away from turning up a bunch of dudes cackling about funding AI to destroy the cultural power of art.
Reposted by Adi Robertson
A Ron Wyden specialty: sending a letter in public that reveals he's seen some really bad classified shit that he wants an explanation for.
February 4, 2026 at 9:29 PM
A Ron Wyden specialty: sending a letter in public that reveals he's seen some really bad classified shit that he wants an explanation for.
Obviously the idea of Netflix producing the "wokest content in the history of the world" is hilarious nonsense but the open justification of blocking a business deal because a company has too many shows with trans people is just incredibly censorial
Republicans haul Netflix before Congress for being too ‘woke’
Yes, they brought up Cuties again.
www.theverge.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Obviously the idea of Netflix producing the "wokest content in the history of the world" is hilarious nonsense but the open justification of blocking a business deal because a company has too many shows with trans people is just incredibly censorial
Reposted by Adi Robertson
“People have a First Amendment right to observe, document, and communicate information about law enforcement activity,” EFF’s @mariotrujillo.bsky.social told @TheVerge.com. “There is nothing about using Signal that changes that.” www.theverge.com/tech/872493...
A community organizer’s guide to Signal group chats
Key privacy settings and best practices.
www.theverge.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:00 PM
“People have a First Amendment right to observe, document, and communicate information about law enforcement activity,” EFF’s @mariotrujillo.bsky.social told @TheVerge.com. “There is nothing about using Signal that changes that.” www.theverge.com/tech/872493...
Reposted by Adi Robertson
Just want to take a second and appreciate @sarahjeong.bsky.social, @reckless.bsky.social, and the whole team at @theverge.com for consistently meeting the moment here. Fearless reporting, pulling no punches. Proud to be a subscriber.
ICE tear gassed a bunch of children on Saturday. This was a massive escalation of force. They were shooting tear gas at the back of the crowd, it took these unmasked people maybe 3-5 minutes in the cloud of tear gas to escape in without trampling. www.theverge.com/policy/87278...
ICE is afraid of children protesting
“Next time, I’ll be back with a gas mask.”
www.theverge.com
February 3, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Just want to take a second and appreciate @sarahjeong.bsky.social, @reckless.bsky.social, and the whole team at @theverge.com for consistently meeting the moment here. Fearless reporting, pulling no punches. Proud to be a subscriber.
bring back "i found it before it was cool" 2k26
in 2026, let's bring back the concept of "selling out" and once again make it contemptible
February 3, 2026 at 7:10 PM
bring back "i found it before it was cool" 2k26
Reposted by Adi Robertson
We pulled this one out of the paywall for today so more folks can read it
From 2019: Jeffrey Epstein liked to describe himself as a “science philanthropist,” and academics liked to take his money.
As more of Epstein’s enablers are uncovered, it’s worth asking why it was so easy for him to infiltrate science in the first place.
Read more from @lopatto.bsky.social:
As more of Epstein’s enablers are uncovered, it’s worth asking why it was so easy for him to infiltrate science in the first place.
Read more from @lopatto.bsky.social:
Jeffrey Epstein infiltrated science because it was ready to accommodate him
What could “nerd tunnel vision” possibly mean?
www.theverge.com
February 3, 2026 at 7:07 PM
We pulled this one out of the paywall for today so more folks can read it
Reposted by Adi Robertson
✨🪙🐀GOLDRATPURSE🐀🪙✨
✨🪙🐀GOLDRATPURSE🐀🪙✨
✨🪙🐀GOLDRATPURSE🐀🪙✨
February 3, 2026 at 2:46 PM
✨🪙🐀GOLDRATPURSE🐀🪙✨
✨🪙🐀GOLDRATPURSE🐀🪙✨
✨🪙🐀GOLDRATPURSE🐀🪙✨
Reposted by Adi Robertson
ICE tear gassed a bunch of children on Saturday. This was a massive escalation of force. They were shooting tear gas at the back of the crowd, it took these unmasked people maybe 3-5 minutes in the cloud of tear gas to escape in without trampling. www.theverge.com/policy/87278...
ICE is afraid of children protesting
“Next time, I’ll be back with a gas mask.”
www.theverge.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:11 PM
ICE tear gassed a bunch of children on Saturday. This was a massive escalation of force. They were shooting tear gas at the back of the crowd, it took these unmasked people maybe 3-5 minutes in the cloud of tear gas to escape in without trampling. www.theverge.com/policy/87278...
Reposted by Adi Robertson
Arguably, Supernatural was an example of how technology can serve and connect people. It reached people you wouldn't expect to log in DAILY to a VR headset.
It's like saying small, dedicated communities aren't enough if they're not raking it in at scale. That makes me so sad.
It's like saying small, dedicated communities aren't enough if they're not raking it in at scale. That makes me so sad.
February 2, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Arguably, Supernatural was an example of how technology can serve and connect people. It reached people you wouldn't expect to log in DAILY to a VR headset.
It's like saying small, dedicated communities aren't enough if they're not raking it in at scale. That makes me so sad.
It's like saying small, dedicated communities aren't enough if they're not raking it in at scale. That makes me so sad.
Reposted by Adi Robertson
A phenomenon I find interesting is the yearning for corporations to launch copyright nukes on the AI companies. Which is to say there is such a feeling of hopelessness and a kind of legal void around this stuff that many people are demanding someone, anyone, do something about it in court.
Google’s new world AI model tool let me generate a bunch of Nintendo-inspired games. Including one featuring Link with a paraglider! Gift link: www.theverge.com/news/869726/...
January 29, 2026 at 5:55 PM
A phenomenon I find interesting is the yearning for corporations to launch copyright nukes on the AI companies. Which is to say there is such a feeling of hopelessness and a kind of legal void around this stuff that many people are demanding someone, anyone, do something about it in court.
Reposted by Adi Robertson
Ian's about as thoughtful, intelligent, intricate and dedicated an editor you could ever ask for. Upload's loss.
I’ve been fired from UploadVR.
January 28, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Ian's about as thoughtful, intelligent, intricate and dedicated an editor you could ever ask for. Upload's loss.
Reposted by Adi Robertson
I wrote about my childhood friend Alexi Pretti. Please read it and share it and remember him as a human being. @theverge.com
I grew up with Alex Pretti
The kind-hearted ICU nurse shot by ICE agents was my childhood best friend.
www.theverge.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:45 PM
I wrote about my childhood friend Alexi Pretti. Please read it and share it and remember him as a human being. @theverge.com
Reposted by Adi Robertson
it is absolutely backwards that the ostensible professionals paid to mount a massive armed escalation of force on an unsuspecting community are held to lower standards than the ordinary people they're descending on
It doesn’t matter if Alex Pretti had a gun
Nonviolence is a double standard.
www.theverge.com
January 25, 2026 at 6:31 PM
it is absolutely backwards that the ostensible professionals paid to mount a massive armed escalation of force on an unsuspecting community are held to lower standards than the ordinary people they're descending on