Today is my first day at
@posthog
! I'll be writing and editing on projects big and small as part of the marketing team. And, after a decade of working on stories about startups, I'm excited to get under the hood of a company with a great product and big ambitions. Onwards!
Breaking: Uber has lost a landmark gig economy case in the Supreme Court. Uber drivers must now be classified as workers and receive minimum wage and holiday pay
Throughout this process Uber has been criticised for the level of control it exerts over its drivers. The Supreme Court ruling is no different: the only way for drivers to make more money is to work longer hours. This is the UK's highest court ruling that the gig economy is a lie
The Uber case stretches all the way back to March 2015 and a pile of vomit on a street in Aldgate. Here's my story on the remarkable group of drivers who took on a gig economy giant and won
If you've enjoyed
@WiredUK
's coverage of the gig economy then why not subscribe to support what we do? You can get 3 issues of the magazine for £3 right here 👉
Millions of children are born each year with fatal neurodegenerative diseases. Now, a breakthrough treatment is offering hope of a cure where once there was only a death sentence
#longreads
There's a huge Airbnb scam hiding on the streets of London. I uncovered a network of accounts that had been pumping out fake reviews and fake listings for years. The scam encompasses more than 200 listings, 2,100 reviews. And it's really weird
As Julia, Mila’s mother told me: “No one wants to hear the story of a dying child. But when it’s told in the light of hope, people want to listen.”
Read the full story here
Personal news: I'm now deputy editor, UK for
@WIRED
. Excited to be working on building a bigger, better and more global English-language newsroom in the US and UK. Onwards!
Radio 4 getting Harry Enfield on Today to defend blackface in comedy is another horrid example of the media somehow thinking this is a 'debate' with 'two sides'. It isn't. Blackface is racist. We don't need a debate.
But this isn’t the end of Mila’s story. In the future, the mutations that cause rare, often-fatal diseases could be targeted with precision medicines just like milasen. Her legacy isn't just hope – it's the potential to cure fatal genetic diseases.
The problem isn't Facebook. Nor is it the failure of the media industry to innovate. The problem isn't Murdoch or Australia's botched regulation. The problem is that all the information in the world is disseminated by two huge advertising companies
New analysis of Parler data by me for
@WiredUK
. Between Jan 1 and Jan 10, posts on Parler mentioning terms such as civil war and insurrection were seen by 4 million people. At its peak on Jan 6, such posts were viewed by more than 500,000 people
What followed was a remarkable race against time to develop the first drug designed for just one patient. That drug, milasen, acts a bit like a genetic plaster to hide the tiny but fatal mutation that causes Batten. This is the very definition of precision medicine.
It was an incredible breakthrough. But for Mila it came too late. Batten is a brutal disease. As the months turned into years, Mila’s condition started to deteriorate again and she passed away on February 11, 2021. She was 10 years old.
Administered little more than a year after her diagnosis, milasen slowed the course of the disease and improved Mila’s quality of life. She could eat again and her seizures became shorter and calmer. With assistance, she could even walk again.
I’ve been laid off from WIRED. I’ve worked here for almost a decade in a bunch of different roles—reporter, culture editor, digital editor, news editor. It’s hard to be leaving such an incredible team.
Hi
@jsgant
and
@ConorNolan
. I'm the digital editor of
@WiredUK
. You've taken images from one of our stories without permission and used them in
@MailOnline
(and also ripped off the story). This is a breach of copyright. Please remove both the article and images immediately.
The story starts in November 2010 with the birth of Mila Makovec, an adventurous and outgoing little girl who loved the great outdoors. Before she turned four, Mila started to develop a range of concerning symptoms.
Want to understand the real impact of Airbnb on our cities?
I spent months investigating a huge Airbnb scam running riot on the streets of London. Includes guest appearances from the Catholic church and David Schwimmer's wife.
It's absolutely wild
Mila became clumsy, her speech slowed, she struggled to see. She was eventually diagnosed with Batten, a rare and fatal genetic disease that would likely take her life before she reached adolescence. Faced with this diagnosis, Mila’s mother, Julia, turned to gene therapy.
In a few short months, Batten had consumed Mila’s body. She was having 30 seizures a day. Her body was covered in bruises. She could no longer speak. She had been fitted for a G-tube in preparation for the day when she would no longer be able to swallow food.
People who believe the 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory are still attacking key workers. I've got new data showing the scale of the problem.
One person was spat on, they've now got coronavirus. Another was stabbed. There have now been 77 arson attacks
There's a clever new phishing scam doing the rounds. It uses Google Drive's sharing tool to generate emails and mobile push notifications from Google to try and trick people into clicking on malicious links
.
@WIRED
is hiring! We're looking for three brilliant journalists to join our team as we merge our UK and US editions into one. It's a really exciting time to be joining WIRED as we expand our global newsroom. Details of the jobs in the thread below...
Airbnb property moguls are furious that their businesses are collapsing in the wake of coronavirus.
In the UK, it's creating a sudden surge in bargain-basement long-term rentals. New listings on Rightmove were up 78% in Bath last week. In London, up 45%
Do YOU think 5G is linked to the coronavirus pandemic?
It isn't.
In fact, it's a dangerous conspiracy theory with links to the far-right, Vladimir Putin and people who believe the Illuminati are real.
Send this to everyone you know. End the nonsense
There's almost no evidence that contact tracing apps help slow the spread of coronavirus.
In fact, the success of contact tracing in Asia is almost entirely down to humans, not apps. Great reporting from
@mattburgess1
I'm biased, but
@WiredUK
continues to deliver some of the best coronavirus journalism out there. We're always looking for new contributors and incredible pitches. Some highlights from the past week...
Excited to announce that I've written a book!
It's about the future of medicine and the amazing people working at the frontiers of science to help us all live longer, healthier lives. It's out in March 2021 and you can pre-order it now
My partner became a British citizen today. It's taken us a decade and £10k in fees to get here. Covid meant nobody could go to her ceremony. It's an appropriate end to a horrid process. We're relieved and overwhelmed that the Home Office no longer has such power over our lives.
@carljackmiller
I'm hoping explaining in meticulous detail exactly where it came from will help:
From what I've seen, platforms are comprehensively failing to enforce policies that aren't even fit for purpose. Everyone loses.
Uber didn't "struggle to identify solutions" or decide to "turn the page". It spent years fighting tooth and nail to deny drivers basic rights enshrined in law. It's only doing this because the Supreme Court left it no choice.
Bold, tedious spin by
@dkhos
✍️ Freelance journalists!
Struggling to get stories commissioned as editorial budgets tighten?
@WiredUK
is always looking for great pitches.
First, read our contributor guidelines
Then check out how we're covering the pandemic
I'm hiring!
@WiredUK
is looking for two superbly talented journalists to join our internship scheme.
It's six months at minimum wage. Loads of writing and reporting. Previous interns now work at CNN, Vice, The Telegraph, New Statesman... and WIRED.
This is the curious tale of a man called Christian, the Catholic church, David Schwimmer’s wife, a secret hotel and an Airbnb scam running riot on the streets of London
Personal 'news': I'm taking five months away from
@WiredUK
to spend time with my new-ish child. I shall also be vanishing from the internet during this time. See you all in October.
Amazon sells 'autism cure' books that recommend parents make their children drink toxic bleach-like substances.
Amazon then directs people to where they can buy the necessary ingredients.
Amazon declined to comment on our findings.
Full story:
Last month, I reported on a huge Airbnb scam. Scores of dodgy listings were suspended. Then things got messy.
Part two of the story features strangers turning up in someone’s bedroom at 2am, the police, some wild WhatsApps and a whole lot of drama.
We're hiring!
@WiredUK
is looking for a brilliant science reporter to help us cover Covid-19, the climate crisis, space exploration and more. This is a brand new role. It's really exciting that we're growing the team and launching new things
Hi
@khaleda
. Can you speak to your editor about moving the credit and link to WIRED into the first paragraph of your story? It's not fair on our reporter who spent months on this story to have it ripped in this way . I expect a response.
.
@WIRED
and
@LHreports
gained unprecedented access to one of the world’s most sophisticated welfare fraud algorithms. Our investigation reveals a deeply flawed and discriminatory system that is ruining people's lives
I wrote a story about keeping my child a secret from Facebook and Google and how it exposes the total lack of control we all have over even our most personal, intimate data. It's in today's
@thetimes
Apple has acquired Shazam for $400m. The firm was valued at $1bn in 2015 but struggled on its oddball mission to make the world "Shazamable". It rarely made profit and an IPO never looked likely
Facebook's Australia news ban is a stark reminder of how dangerous the attention economy has become. Facebook is not a tenet of the open web, it's an advertising platform. We need to start treating it as such
One obvious upside to the Royal Wedding: it will expose quite how farcically complex and expensive it is to keep someone you love in the UK. Meghan and Harry will breeze through this process no problem, but for many it is a huge financial and emotional burden. (1/15)
🚨 WIRED is hiring! 🚨
We're looking for a science editor to join our UK newsroom. You'll work with colleagues in the UK and US to deliver big stories about everything from Covid to the climate crisis.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is building a sprawling, $100 million compound in Hawaii—complete with plans for a huge underground bunker. A
@WIRED
investigation by
@G_Scrimgeour
reveals the true scale of the project—and its impact on the local community.
I was at VivaTech when Hancock and Zuckerberg had their secret meeting. Hancock had another meeting that day with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. It was in the VIP green room. What neither of them realised was I was sitting at the other end of the table pretending not to listen...
Coronavirus has exposed the huge impact Airbnb is having on the housing market.
Here at the top year-on-year increases in new rental listings on Rightmove for w/c March 16
Bath +78%
Edinburgh +62%
Brighton +55%
Central London +45%
York +41%
Chester +35%
On Tuesday, I published an in-depth investigation into a huge Airbnb scam operating in London.
Today, as new figures show 11,200 Airbnb listings in London may be unlawful, the mayor and council leaders call for powers to clamp down on rogue operators
The conspiracy theory linking 5G to coronavirus was born out of dumb tropes about non-ionising radiation, chemtrails and "deep state" vaccine plots. Yet, somehow, it's gone mainstream.
I've uncovered exactly where this story came from. It's scary stuff
Some personal and professional news. I'm moving to Montreal, Canada later this month to take up a new role as
@WIRED
's news editor. I am beyond excited. Montreal is an amazing city and working with writers and editors across WIRED's global newsroom is a dream job. Onwards!
Today the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling against the gig economy. The ruling on Pimlico Plumbers clear: gig economy workers should get basic employment rights. This will have huge implications for Uber and Deliveroo. Here’s my story explaining why:
We’re hiring! WIRED is looking for two editorial interns to join the team for six months starting later this summer.
Previous interns have gone on to work for CNN, The New Statesman, The Telegraph and VICE. It’s an amazing opportunity. Details here
That tech journalism spent decades blindly celebrating Silicon Valley 'innovation' is one of the industry's great failings.
It's also how we've ended up with a tech industry full of very rich men who hide in private clubs and spout adolescent nonsense
4chan is partly funded by a major Japanese toy company that has a lucrative contract with Disney. Following
@Justin_Ling
's investigation, that contract has been terminated
It's been a truly horrible year. Keeping on top of the biggest story of our lifetimes has been challenging and exhausting but I'm immensely proud of the stories we've published on
@WiredUK
in 2020. Here are some highlights...
Another way to put this is Uber will only start paying drivers minimum wage when they accept a fare. The second the passenger leaves, they stop earning. That's a bit like saying you should only pay firefighters while they're tackling an inferno
Young men out for a run are by far the worst at social distancing. Everyone else seems to get it, give or take. Guys in their 20s and 30s prancing around in gym gear seem to almost run RIGHT AT YOU. Anyone else notice this?
Uber, the world's largest taxi company, owns no vehicles.
Facebook, the most popular media owner, creates no content.
Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory.
Airbnb, the largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.
-Tom Goodwin
#Technology
#Davos18
Linking the pay of individual reporters to article popularity is a spectacularly bad idea. It's editors, not reporters, who decide what stories run. If an editor assigns a boring story why should the reporter be punished with lower pay?
New: A secretive Home Office analytics unit has collected data on more than 650 million people. The "super database" includes data on ethnicity, immigration status, nationality, criminal record history and biometrics
Much of the honey sold in supermarkets is laced with sugar syrup. It's a problem that can be traced back to industrial-scale honey fraud in China. Yup, honey fraud.
The fraud has sent the wholesale price of honey tumbling. For farmers, it's a disaster
I've written a book! And it's finally back from the printers.
It's all about the amazing people working at the frontiers of science to help us live longer, healthier lives.
Released on March 25. Pre-order your copy here
Airbnb has suspended all the host accounts and listings I found while it investigates. But the scam is laughably easy to replicate. As one person in the industry told me, rules around Airbnb rentals are "basically impossible for the authorities to police". Airbnb denies this.
Today was my last day at WIRED. What an honor (honour?) to see my stupid bearded face on the cover. Thanks to all my amazing colleagues for their support and kind words. It's been an incredible nine years.
That interview with
@BPLewis
who left Shazam shortly after. For all its attempts, Shazam remains steadfastly a one trick pony. Acquisition makes sense for both sides
If you haven't read part two of the Airbnb scam story, please read part two of the Airbnb scam story.
Strangers turning up in your bedroom in the middle of the night! Police! Threats of sending over the heavies! It's bonkers.
Moronic anti-lockdown protests organised on Facebook are now happening in the UK. This is horrendous. Coronavirus conspiracy theories are having very dangerous real-world consequences