This will likely go down as the year in which technology, once envisioned as an empowering and equalizing force, finally went headlong down the path toward dystopia and oppression. Our story this summer about Google planning to return to China with censored search at first shocked Silicon Valley, but it was the dark nature of what followed — internal dissent squelched, executives dissembling, Chinese users to be closely tracked — that proved most surprising.
Other depressing developments seemed right out of an ominous sci-fi film like “Blade Runner,” whether it was reporting that revealed the National Security Agency’s prowess at voice recognition, Facebook’s plans to use artificial intelligence to predict users’ future behavior, or just how badly ultrawealthy Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was exploiting underlings. As tech enters 2019, its brightest days seem to be well behind it.
Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal
By Ryan Gallagher
The Government Wants Airlines to Delay Your Flight So They Can Scan Your Face
By Sam Biddle
Forget About Siri and Alexa — When It Comes to Voice Identification, the “NSA Reigns Supreme”
By Ava Kofman
Amazon Gets Tax Breaks While Its Employees Rely on Food Stamps
By H. Claire Brown
As Twitter Suspends Alex Jones, Should We Worry About Silicon Valley Regulating Speech?
By Briahna Gray
Amazon’s Accent Recognition Technology Could Tell the Government Where You’re From
By Belle Lin
Leaked Files Show How the NSA Tracks Other Countries’ Hackers
By Kim Zetter
Facebook Uses Artificial Intelligence to Predict Your Future Actions for Advertisers, Says Confidential Document
By Sam Biddle
Google’s “Smart City of Surveillance” Faces New Resistance in Toronto
By Ava Kofman
One Little-Watched Race Has Huge Implications for Election Hacking and Voter Suppression in Georgia
By Kim Zetter
State Election Officials Didn’t Know About Russian Hacking Threat Until They Read It in the News, Emails Show
By Sam Biddle
Can #MeToo Change the Toxic Culture of Sexism and Harassment at Cybersecurity Conferences?
By Ava Kofman
Here’s the Email Russian Hackers Used to Try to Break Into State Voting Systems
By Sam Biddle
You Can’t Handle the Truth About Facebook Ads, New Harvard Study Says
By Sam Biddle
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
This is not hyperbole.
Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
Contact the author:
Latest Stories
Chilling Dissent
They Were Serving the Longest Federal Sentence of Any 2020 BLM Protester. Then They Vanished in Prison.
Malik Muhammad’s attorney believes they were transferred for helping other incarcerated people advocate for their legal rights.
Daughter of 2028 Olympics Chair Dreams of Competing in LA — for Israel
Hollywood scion Casey Wasserman faced criticisms as Los Angeles Olympics chief for his connections to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Anthropic Says We Must Stop Authoritarian AI. But What About Its Authoritarian Investors?
Anthropic wants to keep AI away from repressive regimes. But what about its part-owner, the repressive dictatorship of Abu Dhabi?