Andrew Paul

Andrew Paul is a contributing dystopia beat writer for Input and The AV Club, with work also recently featured by Rolling Stone, MEL, Fangoria, GQ, NBC, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. He lives outside Indianapolis.

Afflicted Teenager in bed with a gadget.

TikTok's dangerous 'Blackout Challenge’ allegedly already killed seven kids

Multiple deaths are tied to the reckless, algorithmically promoted social media stunt.

Don't Try This At Home
Woman wearing protective mask using mobile phone outdoors background. To shop online, texting messag...

OkCupid under FTC lens over claims it sold user pics to facial recognition firm

OkCupid's owners at Match.com are really keen on keeping any info on the issue away from prying eyes, too.

OkCupidity
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 02: Elon Musk attends The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating "In America: An Antholo...

We need to talk about Elon Musk's breeding program

Musk confirmed (once again) that he’s spreading his seed to ‘save’ society. We can’t ignore it any longer.

Baby Factory
Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the keynote address to kick off  the F8 Facebook'...

New lawsuit claims Facebook could still access deleted user data for cops

A former employee says Meta fired him after he raised concerns about a 'protocol' allowing the company to access deleted Messenger data.

Culture

What's up with the Dilbert guy fantasizing about dead kids?

Scott Adams' introduction into the Bad Tweet Hall of Fame sheds light on a very strange motif.

Bad Tweet Hall of Fame
PLAINVILLE, GEORGIA - MAY 20: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) flexes her muscles during a Bikers ...

Marjorie Taylor Greene fell for an obviously altered pic of Highland Park shooter

Unlike past staged antics, she seemed genuinely duped by this one.

Misinfo

YouTube won't let creator correct horror video's 'For Kids' rating sans appeal

Any fan of Kris Straub's long-running cult horror project, Local 58, will know 'Show for Children' is anything but that.

Look away, kids

Gators Daily is the shitpost economy's apex predator

The Twitter account's rise to viral fame made absolute sense in the internet's ecosystem. What its creator did with it is another story entirely.

Culture
Abortion rights activists protest outside the Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Center...

Planned Parenthood's abortion scheduler shares data with Google, Facebook

Not a great look if you're an agency advocating for abortion rights.

Planned Privacy
This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April...

'Crypto winter' puts North Korea's nuke program on ice

The ongoing decline in cryptocurrency values affects everyone holding coin, including Kim Jong-Un.

Bombing
Attendees hold Ruger revolver pistols during the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meeting at ...

California accidentally lists IDs of residents with concealed carry permits

The state's botched launch of a '2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal' exposed names, ages, and addresses.

Misfire
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 23: Activists with "Rise Up 4 Abortion" demonstrate outside the U.S. Supreme C...

SCOTUS just overturned Roe v. Wade, here's how to fight back

A few suggestions for aid and support during on very dark day.

Roe vs. Wade
Elevated bridge in an industrial area with chemical factory chimneys

Tesla Powerwall owners will soon get paid to be energy mules

The Virtual Power Plant program is about as useful as it is bleak, unfortunately.

Powerplay
Teenage boys playing hide and seek in new tires in the hall.
Canon R5

Toyota recalls new bZ4X electric vehicle after wheels start falling off

A spokesperson tells Input that the Toyota is unable to verify how many times drivers experienced wheel failure while driving.

Rollout

Amazon's plan to have Alexa deepfake dead relatives is even worse than it sounds

It's hard to fully capture something so brazenly boundary-crossing, but we're going to try our best.

Hard Pass
An illustration shows a man exhaling smoke from an electronic cigarette in Washington, DC on October...

FDA bans Juul e-cigs, parents everywhere rejoice

The Food and Drug Administration is making an example out of Juul, but e-cig enthusiasts don't need to panic just yet.

Last Drag

Amazon’s newest robot is a dinky warehouse Roomba called Proteus

The company's “first fully autonomous mobile robot” has a pretty dramatic name for such a mundane job.

Robot Army
Man and soul. Yoga lotus pose meditation on nebula galaxy background. Zen, spiritual well-being. 3D ...

Lawsuit claims Google division is staffed by members of New Age 'cult'

The Fellowship of Friends apparently runs deep in the Google Developer Studio, and they'd like to keep it that way.

The Fellowship
Server racks in computer network security server room data center, 3d rendering.

Ex-Amazon employee convicted in 2019 Capital One hack after bragging online

Over 100 million people were affected by Paige Thompson exploiting Amazon Web Services in 2016.

Yikes

Visual FX legend Phil Tippett on the 30-year nightmare of making ‘Mad God’

The stop motion effects genius behind 'Star Wars' and 'Jurassic Park' talks passion projects, mental health, and existential walks to the grocery store.

Culture