“The point is to spoil [the internet], to create the atmosphere of hate, to make it so stinky that normal people won’t want to touch it.” –Adrian Chen, in The New York Times Magazine, on Russia’s massive troll army—and their plot against him. Read the story
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Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist. Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox. * * * 1. The Agency Adrian Chen | The New York Times | June 4, 2015 | 33 minutes (8,452 words) Adrian Chen takes a […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Meet the Dogged Researchers Who Try to Unmask Haters Online
Adrian Chen talks to journalists and researchers in Sweden who are trying to unmask anonymous commenters who leave hateful messages online. Questions about privacy arise.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Longreads’ Best of WordPress, Vol. 8
We’re back with a new collection of our favorite stories from across all of WordPress, featuring writers like Hannah Richell, Adrian Chen, Eli Saslow, Kate Pickert, and more.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Laborers Who Keep Dick Pics and Beheadings Out of Your Facebook Feed
Adrian Chen travels to the Philippines, where he meets the employees who work for content moderation companies that scrub objectionable content from social media sites.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Our favorite stories of the week, featuring, The New Yorker, California Sunday, New York Times Magazine, MIT Technology Review, and Next City.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
When Content Moderators for Social Media Sites Experience PTSD
— In Wired, Adrian Chen travels to the Philippines to talk to employees who work at content moderation companies that do outsourced work for companies in the U.S., scrubbing objectionable content (sexually explicit images, gore, racism, solicitation of minors) from major social media sites. It’s a difficult job:
Posted inEditor's Pick
After 30 Years of Silence, the Original NSA Whistleblower Looks Back
Adrian Chen tracks down Perry Fellwock, also once known as Winslow Peck, whose revelations were shared four decades ago in the radical magazine Ramparts magazine: We set a new date: Noon on a Friday, at a bench outside the train station in Oceanside. Just as I was about to hang up he stopped me. “Wait, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Meeting the man behind Violentacrez, the Reddit persona responsible for forums filled with racist and pornographic content like “Creepshots” and “Jailbait”: When I called Brutsch that Wednesday afternoon and told him I knew who he was, I was a little taken aback by how calm he remained during our intense but civil hour-long conversation. I […]
