Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
@zeyiyang.bsky.social
🖊 Writing about China and Technology for WIRED. Reporting on everything because everything is computer.
✉️ zeyi_yang[AT]wired.com
💬 signal: zeyiyang.06
✉️ zeyi_yang[AT]wired.com
💬 signal: zeyiyang.06
Pinned
Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
@zeyiyang.bsky.social
· Oct 1
A Journey Into the Heart of Labubu
I made an epic trek across four countries to answer one question: Why is the world going mad for a plushie monster?
www.wired.com
In college, I'd always walk past an unremarkable store in Beijing that sold a variety of trendy, but tacky, toys. That store has turned into Pop Mart, the $45-billion Chinese toy empire behind Labubu, the biggest global fad of 2025.
This is my big story/pilgrimage trip to explain how they got here
This is my big story/pilgrimage trip to explain how they got here
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
Trump talked to Xi
November 24, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Trump talked to Xi
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
My latest: Would you replace coffee with a $100 wristband that mildly zaps you and stimulates your nerves to keep you awake?
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
A Viral Chinese Wristband Claims to Zap You Awake. The Public Says 'No Thanks’
The maker of the eCoffee Energyband says it electrically stimulates your nerves to keep you alert. Researchers are skeptical, and critics see it as a way for China’s bosses to keep workers productive.
www.wired.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:04 PM
My latest: Would you replace coffee with a $100 wristband that mildly zaps you and stimulates your nerves to keep you awake?
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
Welcome to the wild world of Chinese kids' smartwatches, where they socialize, date, shop, give out likes, buy likes, build bots for likes, and enter high society when they get over 800,000 likes.
Absolutely eye-opening. It's great to have Stephanie report this story in this week's Made in China.
Absolutely eye-opening. It's great to have Stephanie report this story in this week's Made in China.
In China, parents are buying smartwatches for children as young as five, connecting them to a digital world that blends socializing with fierce competition. www.wired.com/story/kids-i...
Kids in China Are Using Bots and Engagement Hacks to Look More Popular on Their Smartwatches
In China, parents are buying smartwatches for children as young as five, connecting them to a digital world that blends socializing with fierce competition.
www.wired.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Welcome to the wild world of Chinese kids' smartwatches, where they socialize, date, shop, give out likes, buy likes, build bots for likes, and enter high society when they get over 800,000 likes.
Absolutely eye-opening. It's great to have Stephanie report this story in this week's Made in China.
Absolutely eye-opening. It's great to have Stephanie report this story in this week's Made in China.
My latest: Would you replace coffee with a $100 wristband that mildly zaps you and stimulates your nerves to keep you awake?
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
A Viral Chinese Wristband Claims to Zap You Awake. The Public Says 'No Thanks’
The maker of the eCoffee Energyband says it electrically stimulates your nerves to keep you alert. Researchers are skeptical, and critics see it as a way for China’s bosses to keep workers productive.
www.wired.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:04 PM
My latest: Would you replace coffee with a $100 wristband that mildly zaps you and stimulates your nerves to keep you awake?
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
We originally set up an alert to track our mentions @towcenter.bsky.social - but soon found that my name cropped up a great deal, (false ‘Dr’ added), talking about the things I talk about (tech + media) but none of the quotes were real. AI slop me has been pretty busy….
We found AI produces fake ‘expert’ quotes for questionable websites - including our own director… @dmil.bsky.social @cj-robinson.bsky.social @emilybell.bsky.social
www.cjr.org/tow_center/w...
www.cjr.org/tow_center/w...
When the pink-slime researchers become the pink slime.
We love to hear when journalists engage with our research, so in October, we set up an LLM agent to sort through Google Alerts for Tow Center’s work and notify us when our research is cited in news. T...
www.cjr.org
November 20, 2025 at 11:58 PM
We originally set up an alert to track our mentions @towcenter.bsky.social - but soon found that my name cropped up a great deal, (false ‘Dr’ added), talking about the things I talk about (tech + media) but none of the quotes were real. AI slop me has been pretty busy….
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
Cops all over the country used Flock to surveil No Kings protesters, public records show: www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
Cops Used Flock to Monitor No Kings Protests Around the Country
A massive cache of Flock lookups collated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) shows as many as 50 federal, state, and local agencies used Flock during protests over the last year.
www.404media.co
November 21, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Cops all over the country used Flock to surveil No Kings protesters, public records show: www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
I wouldn't expect less from the world's first trillionaire
November 20, 2025 at 10:50 PM
I wouldn't expect less from the world's first trillionaire
Four individuals were indicted for allegedly smuggling hundreds of Nvidia chips to China and were paid nearly $3.9 million in return.
new by @peard33.bsky.social and first discovered by @courtwatch.bsky.social
new by @peard33.bsky.social and first discovered by @courtwatch.bsky.social
Four Indicted In Alleged Conspiracy to Smuggle Supercomputers and Nvidia Chips to China
A federal prosecutor alleged that one defendant boasted that his father “had engaged in similar business for the Chinese Communist Party.”
www.wired.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Four individuals were indicted for allegedly smuggling hundreds of Nvidia chips to China and were paid nearly $3.9 million in return.
new by @peard33.bsky.social and first discovered by @courtwatch.bsky.social
new by @peard33.bsky.social and first discovered by @courtwatch.bsky.social
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
We live in that devastating moment when thigs are going so much better—and so much worse!—than we ever expected. At the same time.
November 12, 2025 at 4:44 PM
We live in that devastating moment when thigs are going so much better—and so much worse!—than we ever expected. At the same time.
I'm lame enough to listen to focus music playlist on youtube but I'm not lame enough to want to "focus like a CEO"
November 11, 2025 at 7:53 PM
I'm lame enough to listen to focus music playlist on youtube but I'm not lame enough to want to "focus like a CEO"
CNN reports that the apps have been accused of carrying pornography or “vulgar content” on its platforms, according to an unnamed source. This has been a common narrative when it comes to queer online spaces, both in China and in the US.
November 11, 2025 at 5:15 PM
CNN reports that the apps have been accused of carrying pornography or “vulgar content” on its platforms, according to an unnamed source. This has been a common narrative when it comes to queer online spaces, both in China and in the US.
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
Pre-internet, you needed to know facts.
Google-era: The facts are all there, but you need to know what questions to ask to find them, and how to use them.
AI-era: The machine assures you that your questions are brilliant. You need to know some facts to evaluate its answers.
Google-era: The facts are all there, but you need to know what questions to ask to find them, and how to use them.
AI-era: The machine assures you that your questions are brilliant. You need to know some facts to evaluate its answers.
November 11, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Pre-internet, you needed to know facts.
Google-era: The facts are all there, but you need to know what questions to ask to find them, and how to use them.
AI-era: The machine assures you that your questions are brilliant. You need to know some facts to evaluate its answers.
Google-era: The facts are all there, but you need to know what questions to ask to find them, and how to use them.
AI-era: The machine assures you that your questions are brilliant. You need to know some facts to evaluate its answers.
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
new from me today: not all data centers are created environmentally equal — and building them in states with cleaner grids and more access to water could go a long way in preventing environmental catastrophe
If the US Has to Build Data Centers, Here’s Where They Should Go
A new analysis tries to calculate the coming environmental footprint of AI in the US and finds that the ideal sites for data centers aren’t where they’re being built.
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:11 PM
new from me today: not all data centers are created environmentally equal — and building them in states with cleaner grids and more access to water could go a long way in preventing environmental catastrophe
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
Tesla (TSLA) sees worst sales performance in China in years
Tesla (TSLA) sees worst sales performance in China in years
In October, Tesla (TSLA) saw its worst sales performance in China in years – down 36% year-over-year. It was its worst month of the year – even worse than when the automaker was transitioning production to the refreshed Model Y.
more…
electrek.co
November 10, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Tesla (TSLA) sees worst sales performance in China in years
ICYMI
SCOOP: China's top 2 gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, became unavailable on app stores over the weekend. Apple confirmed to WIRED that it removed the two apps following "an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China."
latest with @lmatsakis.bsky.social
latest with @lmatsakis.bsky.social
Apple Pulls China’s Top Gay Dating Apps After Government Order
The removal of Blued and Finka marks another setback for China’s marginalized LGBTQ+ community.
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:26 PM
ICYMI
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
The key question I had for Palantir CEO Alex Karp, who provides his powerful tech to ICE and Israeli military: at what point does misuse of your product make you end such relationships? Hear his answers on this and much more www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
Alex Karp Goes to War
Palantir’s CEO is good with ICE and says he defends human rights. But will Israel and Trump ever go too far for him?
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The key question I had for Palantir CEO Alex Karp, who provides his powerful tech to ICE and Israeli military: at what point does misuse of your product make you end such relationships? Hear his answers on this and much more www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
SCOOP: China's top 2 gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, became unavailable on app stores over the weekend. Apple confirmed to WIRED that it removed the two apps following "an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China."
latest with @lmatsakis.bsky.social
latest with @lmatsakis.bsky.social
Apple Pulls China’s Top Gay Dating Apps After Government Order
The removal of Blued and Finka marks another setback for China’s marginalized LGBTQ+ community.
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:27 AM
SCOOP: China's top 2 gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, became unavailable on app stores over the weekend. Apple confirmed to WIRED that it removed the two apps following "an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China."
latest with @lmatsakis.bsky.social
latest with @lmatsakis.bsky.social
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
Other big tech companies including Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia have continued their annual disclosures this year even as the Trump administration cracks down on DEI.
www.wired.com/story/google...
www.wired.com/story/google...
Google, Microsoft, and Meta Have Stopped Publishing Workforce Diversity Data
Other big tech companies including Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia have continued their annual disclosures this year even as the Trump administration cracks down on DEI.
www.wired.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Other big tech companies including Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia have continued their annual disclosures this year even as the Trump administration cracks down on DEI.
www.wired.com/story/google...
www.wired.com/story/google...
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
Hey everyone, thank you so much for the outpouring of support.
I need to pay rent, and I launched a GoFundMe spot.fund/LahutRentFund
I need to pay rent, and I launched a GoFundMe spot.fund/LahutRentFund
Click here to support Jake Lahut's story *LahutRentFund
*spotfund is the easiest place to create beautiful and free online fundraisers. It takes just minutes to start raising money today.
spot.fund
November 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Hey everyone, thank you so much for the outpouring of support.
I need to pay rent, and I launched a GoFundMe spot.fund/LahutRentFund
I need to pay rent, and I launched a GoFundMe spot.fund/LahutRentFund
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
China is reportedly behind the newly disclosed hack of the Congressional Budget Office, and it may still have access to some CBO systems: www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/p...
Congressional Budget Office hacked, China suspected in breach | CNN Politics
The Congressional Budget Office has been hacked, potentially exposing its communications with the offices of lawmakers, according to an email sent to congressional staff this week and obtained by CNN.
www.cnn.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:09 PM
China is reportedly behind the newly disclosed hack of the Congressional Budget Office, and it may still have access to some CBO systems: www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/p...
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
Jake is a resourceful political reporter with deep access to the White House; he goes out of his way to befriend everyone in the newsroom; and he is tireless at promoting our work on TV.
WIRED will carry on politics reporting with his legacy, but he deserves a better employer and platform.
WIRED will carry on politics reporting with his legacy, but he deserves a better employer and platform.
I was one of the four people who got canned.
In the interim, you can subscribe to my newsletter, Straight From The Hut. No paywall, but feel free to choose the pay to support model. I'm not going anywhere — the show goes on, and I'll be back on MSNBC Saturday night. straightfromthehut.substack.com
In the interim, you can subscribe to my newsletter, Straight From The Hut. No paywall, but feel free to choose the pay to support model. I'm not going anywhere — the show goes on, and I'll be back on MSNBC Saturday night. straightfromthehut.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Jake is a resourceful political reporter with deep access to the White House; he goes out of his way to befriend everyone in the newsroom; and he is tireless at promoting our work on TV.
WIRED will carry on politics reporting with his legacy, but he deserves a better employer and platform.
WIRED will carry on politics reporting with his legacy, but he deserves a better employer and platform.
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
A statement from Wired's Conde Union Members
November 6, 2025 at 8:19 PM
A statement from Wired's Conde Union Members
Reposted by Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅
Breaking News: Late last night Conde Nast illegally fired 4 union organizers who asked company execs to explain the downsizing of Teen Vogue and continued layoffs. We’ve filed a grievance.
November 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Breaking News: Late last night Conde Nast illegally fired 4 union organizers who asked company execs to explain the downsizing of Teen Vogue and continued layoffs. We’ve filed a grievance.