Power User with Taylor Lorenz

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON!!!Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON. Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

To listen to this full episode support me on Patreon. SUPPORT ME ON PATREON.Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenz Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON!!Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON!!!!Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON!!Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Visit https://joindeleteme.com/Taylor20 and use code Taylor20 for 20% off and protect yourself today! SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzAds are following us everywhere, data brokers and hackers are stealing our info, social media companies and AI are hoovering up our data. It can all feel SO overwhelming. In this final installment of my data broker series, I sat down with two of the top security experts on YouTube, John Hammond and Josh from All Things Secured, to break down how vulnerable you might be and what practical things you can do to protect your information online. If you like this video, please support me on Patreon!! https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzFollow me:https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz3.0 https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorlorenz

Visit JoinDeleteMe.com/Taylor20 and use code Taylor20 for 20% off and protect yourself today! SUPPORT ME ON PATREON.Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON.Buy a subscription to my tech and online culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON!!!Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

[Patreon Preview] To listen to/watch this full episode, ⁠sign up for my Patreon⁠!Signing up for the Patreon will get you access to one bonus episode per month, the ability to listen/watch without ads, and you're helping to support the show. Join today!! We're all familiar with the concept of deepfakes, but now, AI is being harnessed in a new way to deceive. AI generated TikTokers are reciting the actual words of real people, right down to the stumbles, "ums" and "uhs."This new form of AI-driven identity theft is slipping past moderation filters, misleading millions, and leaving creators feeling powerless. Bobby Allyn is a reporter who's been covering this phenomenon and the rise of TikTok deepfakes, he joined me for this bonus episode of Power User to break it all down and explain why this is happening.Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Go to https://joindeleteme.com/TAYLOR20 and use my code TAYLOR20 at checkout for 20% off! SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

If you've spent enough time online, you have undeniably encountered the work of John Kilo. John is a 28 year old OnlyFans creator in Portland, and he has become a fixture on meme accounts and viral subreddits. He's part porn star, part performance artist, part cultural critic and shitposter. He has created Skibidi Toilet porn, cosplayed a Trump supporter while having sex with a fleshlight mounted to an AR-15, made corn parodies of Ben Shapiro and Elon Musk, had s*x with every item on the Taco Bell menu, the Pizza Hut menu, and even ranked the most f'able pastas. He is also a brilliant artist, filmmaker, and kind of an internet and media prophet. He joined me to talk about YouTubifying porn, how virality is reshaping the OnlyFans landscape, leveraging meme culture, and creating art in the age of algorithms. SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Go to joindeleteme.com/Taylor20 and use my code TAYLOR20 at checkout for 20% off! SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

SUPPORT MY PODCAST ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzBuy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

I'm proud to partner with DeleteMe. Get 20% off their plans: joindeleteme.com/taylor20This is the first video in my new series on data brokers and the dark history of digital surveillance. I dig into how surveillance capitalism evolved, the companies profiting from intimate details about your life, and how it all began long before the internet. I reveal the industry's origins from early government tracking systems to invisible surveillance networks fueling ultra-targeted ads. How corporations are able to build data profiles so detailed that they can predict when you're going to get sick, where you're likely to live, and even discover you're pregnant before your own family. Let me know what you think in the comments! I worked so hard on this one

Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Last week, a couple featured on the Jumbotron during a Coldplay concert in Boston went viral for being caught cheating. Within minutes of the video spreading on TikTok and X, users rallied together to identify the couple in the video using AI and facial recognition tools. Crowdsourced social media investigations are becoming more and more common, and the people conducting them are leveraging increasingly dystopian surveillance tech that police and the feds are using against undocumented immigrants and marginalized groups. Meanwhile, all of our privacy is being eroded. Jason Koebler from 404 Media joined me to dig into the origins of the surveillance-entertainment economy, how and why it evolved, and what we can do to protect ourselves. ***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

There's a bill right now in congress  called the NO FAKES act that claims it will protect you from deepfakes. "In this new era of AI, we need real laws to protect real people,"  Rep. Maria Salazar said when announcing the bill. "The NO FAKES Act is simple and sacred: you own your identity, not Big Tech, not scammers, not algorithms." As usual, none of this is what the law actually does!!!!! The NO FAKES act is actually an incredibly sloppy and dangerous piece of legislation that could destroy lives, eradicate privacy, and lead to sweeping censorship of journalistic and constitutionally protected speech. There's a reason that major civil liberties orgs are sounding the alarm about this proposed law. The NO FAKES act is "something that could change the internet forever, harming speech and innovation from here on out," The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently declared. This bill would be a disaster for online speech and free expression. The Center for Democracy and Technology published an open letter opposing the proposed law. Kate Ruane is the director for the Center for Democracy and Technology's Free Expression Project. She joined this week's episode of my Free Speech Friday series to break down what the NO FAKES act really says and why we need to fight back against it.***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Earlier this month, Sean “Diddy” Combs was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering after a high-profile federal trial. The acquittals show how high profile men accused of sexual abuse and wrongdoing still often escape justice. Already the outcome is being co-opted by the far right and manosphere spaces who are spinning it as proof that movements like #MeToo are overreaching. Today we're talking about why the Diddy case was a pivotal moment online and why celebrity trials like this do matter in the political sphere now. To break it all down I brought on Caroline Kwan, a prolific Twitch streamer who covers pop culture and political news, and Kat Tenbarge, a phenomenal independent journalist.***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

[FREE SPEECH FRIDAY] For decades, content creators have fought against oppressive copyright law. Copyright claims have been wielded by powerful corporations to take down videos, suppress criticism, and stifle parody through rigid enforcement of online speech. But now, a troubling shift is unfolding: legal attacks that were once used almost exclusively by powerful media companies, are being weaponized by a big content creator against smaller content creators. Meredith Rose is a senior policy counsel at Public Knowledge, a non profit promoting freedom of expression and an open internet. She joins me to talk about how copyright law and discussions of fair use are central to the fight over free speech in the digital age!***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

After years of hype and promises to destroy the deep state, the Department of Justice and FBI publicly declared there is no “client list” linking Jeffrey Epstein to prominent figures, this week. They also confirmed Epstein died by suicide and said told all of MAGA basically to drop the issue. Now, MAGA influencers are accusing Trump of a cover up, the right wing internet is in disarray, and it remains unclear what will happen next. The Epstein cover up has been the defining conspiracy on the right linking MAGA factions together. Will Sommer is a reporter at The Bulwark who covers the right wing internet. He joined me to break down what's going on and what's next for the right. ***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

[VIDEO ESSAY] --- Anti-Muslim hate is becoming extremely profitable in Silicon Valley as the tech industry pivots towards defense tech and embedding itself with the U.S. war machine. From funding Israeli defense startups to spreading racist conspiracy theories about Zohran Mamdani, VCs like Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire are pushing a new breed of tech militarism. Defense tech, AI surveillance, and far-right pro-Trump ideologies are merging in the tech world as Silicon Valley's obsession with profit fuels a dangerous new era of "the war on terror 2.0." Shaun Maguire and others like him will play a leading role in this new landscape, where human rights are obstacles and endless war is the ultimate market opportunity.***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Because it's a holiday week I'm re-running one of my favorite episodes from last year. I spoke to content creator Brad Podray‬ about the problem with “Kindness Influencers” and whether charity for content is ethical. We talk MrBeast, viral giveaways, and the difference between actual kindness vs kindness for the camera. ***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Can a meme really get you deported? This week's Free Speech Friday, is on Mads Mikkelsen, a Norwegian tourist allegedly kicked out of the country over a viral JD Vance meme saved to his phone. His story comes as tensions over speech rights at our borders are under greater threat. I break down what's going on and dig into the U.S. government's growing use of border screenings to police political speech. From increased surveillance to ideological questioning at customs, journalists, activists, visitors and citizens are experiencing a drastic chilling effect on free expression. The border is quickly becoming the front line in the government's war on free speech. ***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Private equity has quietly been gutting major sectors of the American economy, from healthcare, to housing, retail, our news media, and more. The industry is a multi trillion-dollar powerhouse that ultimately shapes all of our lives. Journalist Megan Greenwell has been covering the rise of Private Equity, and her new book reveals how private equity takeovers have disrupted industries, eroded job security, and undermined essential services across our country. Megan joined me to dig into the rise of private equity, how and why it has  infiltrated every aspect of American life, and what average people can do about it. ***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!!

Announcement!! I'm going to start uploading my video essays to this feed so people can watch them on Spotify or listen to them via podcasting apps. I will try to upload one video essay a month, always on a Monday. Hope you enjoy them! A new form of techno-spirituality is spreading like wildfire across the internet. Thousands of people are claiming that ChatGPT is sentient and that the AI is a type of all knowing God, or that it has been sent from the future or an alien civilization to save us. Is this a new form of religion or mass psychosis? In this video, I deep into the rise of ChatGPT/AI worship and unpack how decades of pop culture influences have primed us to view technology as God-like. I dig into how tech became fused with spirituality, Silicon Valley founder worship, what the academic research on this topic says, and how we can stop more people from falling victim to this cycle before it's too late. ***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!

VISIT https://joindeleteme.com/taylor20 AND PROTECT YOURSELF TODAY!! Use my code Taylor20 at checkout Every single moment that you're online, you're feeding the data harvesting industry. Corporations then sell that data to the government, allowing them to target you for online speech, protesting, and more.Now, the government wants to build a single centralized platform where U.S. spy agencies and the government can easily buy highly private information about millions of people. Documents obtained by The Intercept reveal that the U.S. is seeking to establish a "one stop shop" for the U.S. government to buy American's most sensitive data. This sort of surveillance is a massive threat to free speech and expression.***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!

DONATE TO POINT OF PRIDE: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/point-of-pride/taylor-lorenz-s-pride-2025-fundraiser-for-point-of-prideFor years, Pride Month meant rainbows on everything, in storefronts, on sneakers, burger wrappers, and an endless array of t-shirts and merch. But this June, After a decade of cashing in on queer identity, corporations are pulling back. From the aisles of Target and the Instagram feeds of big brands, the rainbow logos are gone, the merch shelves are empty. Matt Bernstein is a podcaster, cultural critic, and content creator who covers LGBTQ issues and he's been covering this transformation. He joined me to talk about the rise and fall of rainbow capitalism, the history of the commodification of queer identity, and why this year everything has gotten so beige. I know that there is a lot going on in the world right now, but Point of Pride is a trans-led nonprofit that makes gender-affirming care more accessible for the trans and gender diverse community. The organization directly helps trans people obtain things like financial aid for surgery, electrolysis, HRT or free binders and shape wear. Since 2016, Point of Pride has helped more than 29,000 trans people in all 50 states get the care they need and deserve.Trans people are finding it harder and harder to access crucial, life saving gender care right now. When you donate to Point of Pride your money goes directly to funding these efforts and helping to build a future filled with safety, joy, and possibility for all trans people. Please donate today, every single dollar counts!! DONATE: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/point-of-pride/taylor-lorenz-s-pride-2025-fundraiser-for-point-of-pride***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!

Over the past week tech people, right wing figures and the media have been freaking out about Waymos being set on fire in downtown Los Angeles. The Waymos were burned during last weekend's protests against ICE. A lot of people online seem deeply confused about the burnings of the cars. So, I'm going to break down why there's so much anti-Waymo sentiment, the rise of surveillance technology at protests, and how it all affects free speech. ***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!

Visit https://joindeleteme.com/taylor20 and protect yourself today! Use my code TAYLOR20 at checkout.Last week we witnessed the public blowout between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. After pouring hundreds of millions into Trump's campaign and serving as a special adviser on the “Department of Government Efficiency" Musk is now on the outs with Trump and his future within the MAGA movement is uncertain. Brace Belden is the co-host of the podcast TrueAnon and has been covering Elon and the right wing internet universe for years. He joined me to break down Musk's rise in the MAGA world, the big blowup, what this fracturing means for the right going forward, and what's next for Elon.***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!

Welcome back to Free Speech Friday! All across the internet, parents and lawmakers are calling for tech companies to verify users' ages online. They frame these efforts as a smart, reasonable, and harmless way to keep kids safe. But that's not what age verification does!!!Age verification efforts are a major threat to privacy, freedom, and the very idea of an open web. No one knows this better than Eric Goldman. He is the associate dean for research at Santa Clara University School of Law and co-Director of the High Tech Law Institute.He recently wrote a fantastic paper on age verification, soon to be published in the Stanford Technology Law Review. Today he's joining me for Free Speech Friday to talk about how age verification works online and how it's all ultimately a trojan horse for government control surveillance, and censorship. Eric's paper on age verification: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5208739***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!

As Elon Musk's influence has grown, so too has a darker, more troubling side of his persona: his rampant egomania.Faiz Siddiqui is a former colleague of mine at The Washington Post and he's the author of the new book Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk. In this episode of Power User we break down exactly how Musk's narcissism has evolved throughout his career, and the key moments that reveal just how deeply Elon's self-obsession has shaped his life and the future he claims to build. ***** Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!