Taylor Lorenz’s Power User

Taylor Lorenz

Taylor Lorenz explores how technology and the internet are upending our lives and the world around us. Each week, she explores everything from online fame to emerging platforms, viral phenomena, the creator economy, and much more. Tune in every Wednesday for regular episodes and every Friday for "Free Speech Friday," her series on tech policy and the fight for civil liberties online.

  1. 1D AGO

    [PATREON PREVIEW] Record Labels Are Buying Meme Pages for Millions

    [PATREON PREVIEW] Is Geese a Psyop? How the Music Industry Fakes Virality Subscribe to my Patreon to get this and other bonus Power User podcast episodes!! Support my independent journalism:  🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz       ⁠  🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co      The Brooklyn band Geese has sparked a massive "industry plant" controversy in 2026 after their album Getting Killed and a sold-out tour led to accusations of being a digital "psyop".   While the music has received mainstream praise, fans became suspicious of how the band took over social media feeds almost overnight. This skepticism intensified after an interview at SXSW with Chaotic Good Projects, a marketing agency that uses armies of bots and TikTok accounts to force songs into virality. Kristin Robinson is a journalist at Billboard who broke the story about Geese and Chaotic Good Projects. She joins me to discuss how meme pages are used by the music industry, how record labels manipulate online conversations and flood comment sections with positive messages, and how agencies can sway public perception of performances on SNL or Tiny Desk.  As AI-generated music begins to top the iTunes charts, the line between authentic talent and engineered "slop" continues to blur. We discuss the truth behind the Geese situation, the evolution of viral marketing, and how the music industry is changing in the age of automation. We discuss: How viral music campaigns actually work Why “industry plant” accusations keep happening How platforms like TikTok shape what you hear Whether AI artists could be the next big thing

    7 min

  2. 4D AGO

    Inside A Billionaire's AI Spy Network: The Shocking Secrets of Madison Square Garden’s Surveillance Machine

    The Billionaire Who Built a Private Surveillance State Support my independent journalism:  🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz       ⁠  🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co  Sports arenas and concert venues are becoming high-tech surveillance "deep states." In this video, I dive into the explosive Wired report by Noah Shachtman and Robert Silverman that reveals how the owner of a ton of NYC concert venues and sports arenas uses facial recognition and private investigators to track, monitor, and ban anyone he deems an enemy. From tracking trans women at Pride Night to banning lawyers and 14-year-old kids for social media posts, the level of surveillance at MSG, Radio City, and The Sphere is unprecedented.  Is this the future of privacy for sports fans and concert-goers? I sat down with Noah Shachtman to discuss the chilling secrets of the new billionaire surveillance machine. Full WIRED story: https://www.wired.com/story/madison-square-garden-jim-dolan-surveillance-machine

    24 min

  3. 6D AGO

    The Girlboss-ification of AI: How Big Tech Is Gaslighting Women Into AI w/ Kat Tenbarge

    AI companies are secretly waging a massive PR campaign targeting women. Support my independent journalism:  🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz      ⁠  🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co      In the past year, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta have launched an aggressive PR campaign to rebrand artificial intelligence for women, especially mothers and teen girls. Suddenly AI isn't an existential threat or a labor displacement machine. It's a "lifestyle accessory," a "creative tool," and your new girly best friend.   Kat Tenbarge of Spitfire News joins me to expose the AI "Hot Girl Economy" and how tech giants are using aesthetic trends to Trojan-horse AI into our daily lives. We cover everything from viral Studio Ghibli filters and the AI puppy photo craze, to how startups like Higgsfield are targeting fashion influencers.    We discuss what this "AI girly pop era" is designed to distract you from: extreme labor displacement, massive energy consumption, and the tech industry becoming increasingly intertwined with the US War Machine. SUPPORT POWER USER  💖 Patreon (bonus episodes, monthly Q&As, livestreams): ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz     📬 User Mag Substack: https://usermag.co   🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts  ⭐ Please rate and review — it genuinely helps the show get discovered!!! #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #TechNews #ChatGPT #OpenAI #GoogleGemini #WomenInTech #HotGirlEconomy #KatTenbarge #TechIndustry #Pinkwashing #SocialMediaTrends

    1h 1m

  4. APR 17

    Silicon Valley is Breaking Everything

    Is Silicon Valley actually making progress, or are they just breaking the world for profit?  Support my independent journalism:  🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz     ⁠  🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co     ⁠  In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I’m joined by legal scholar and surveillance expert Albert Fox Cahn to dismantle the "Move Fast and Break Things" ethos that has dominated tech for a decade. From the multibillion-dollar failure of the Metaverse to the "innovation theater" of the Apple Vision Pro, we explore why the most hyped technologies are often the most disastrous. We dive deep into the dark side of home security, revealing how Ring cameras have turned from safety tools into a massive surveillance network for law enforcement, sometimes even recording your most private moments without a warrant. We also tackle the "AI bubble," the myth of police body cameras, and why the "boring" analog solutions are often the safest bet for our future.  Albert is the founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) and the author of the new book, Move Slow and Upgrade: The Power of Incremental Innovation.

    30 min

  5. APR 15

    Inside Iran's Gen Z Meme Army: How LEGO Became War Propaganda

    Iranian LEGO videos mocking the US government are taking over the internet.  Support my independent journalism:  🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz    ⁠  🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co    ⁠  We are living in an era where global internet culture and meme warfare are just as influential as traditional media and LEGOs are being used to create the most effective messaging around the US-Iran war. I sat down with Areeba Fatima, a journalist for Dropsite News, who's been reporting on the team behind "Explosive Media," the group of seemingly Gen Z Iranians producing this viral content. We dive deep into how these LEGO videos are actively reshaping Americans' perceptions of modern warfare, and why this content is uniquely bridging the gap across the American political spectrum. 🔥 EXCLUSIVE BONUS EPISODE: I tracked down and interviewed a member of Explosive Media, the team in Iran behind these viral LEGO videos. To hear directly from the Iranians making these LEGO videos, watch the full bonus interview on my Patreon or Substack. 🙏 Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz⁠    ⁠  🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠    ⁠  We discuss:  How these viral LEGO videos are actively reshaping how Americans view our war with Iran. The fascinating Telegram history of Explosive Media, revealing they started as young internet natives posting about sports, exams, and movies before the war escalated. Why mainstream liberal accounts and right-wing podcasters in America are both sharing this content by the millions. How this Gen Z team uses AI to bypass sanctions, generate rap songs, and tap directly into global internet culture. The relentless cat-and-mouse game of Explosive Media getting banned from platforms like YouTube and X, only to immediately return. Support Independent Journalism: I currently have zero brand sponsors or advertising partners. My work is solely funded by viewers like you. If you value this content, please consider supporting me so I can keep producing these deep dives 🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz    ⁠  🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co    ⁠

    35 min

  6. APR 10

    The Woman Taking On Big Tech: She Fought the Government and Won

    Are we losing our right to online privacy entirely?  Support my independent journalism:  🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz   ⁠  🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co   ⁠  In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I sat down with Cindy Cohn, former head of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and author of the new book Privacy's Defender. We dive deep into the secret history of the early internet, the terrifying reality of mass online surveillance by the US government, and how "age verification" laws sweeping the US will destroy digital civil liberties for everyone.   Cindy explains how the NSA and FBI use massive legal loopholes like Section 702 to secretly access your data for domestic purposes, the massive security dangers of forcing users to upload their IDs to access apps like Discord, and why the fight to protect encryption is more crucial now than ever.  If you care about your digital rights, free speech, and the future of the open web, this is a must-watch conversation!!    Topics Covered: The 90s hacker origins of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) How the Bernstein case saved internet encryption Post-9/11 mass surveillance and the government's data grab Why the FBI and NSA's use of Section 702 threatens your privacy The truth about the government buying your personal data from private brokers Why age verification laws banning users under 16 create massive security risks How to fight back and become part of the next generation of privacy advocates

    33 min

  7. APR 8

    The Downfall of Skibidi Toilet: How Hollywood Fumbled A Powerful Fandom

    Skibidi Toilet changed how storytelling works on YouTube. But behind the scenes, things got messy. Support my independent journalism:  🙏 Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz  ⁠  🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: ⁠https://www.usermag.co  ⁠  Back in 2023, a creator named Alexey (better known as DaFuqBoom) launched a super weird, viral series about a singing head in a toilet called Skibidi Toilet. It went viral and quickly became one of the most popular online series to ever exist. Over the course of 79 episodes, it evolved into an epic, fan-favorite story about an intergalactic war.   Then, Hollywood stepped in. A traditional (or "tra-digital") entertainment company called Invisible Narratives bought the Skibidi Toilet rights. By early 2025, Alexey took a step back to become an executive producer, meaning he was no longer making the daily videos. The studio released a new spin-off series called "Emergence," but fans instantly noticed a massive change.      Now, the Skibidi Toilet fandom community is furious. After a disastrous, leaked call between the studio and popular YouTubers, fans are demanding the original creator take his show back with the hashtag #BringBackBoom. Meanwhile, Skibidi Toilet has become one of the most valuable franchises in Hollywood.   Steven Asarch is a journalist who's been covering this controversy. In this video, he joins me to break down what is going on with the Skibidi Toilet franchise, the #BringBackBoom movement's true goals, and answer the biggest question fans are all asking: is Skibidi Toilet officially dead?   We cover: How Skibidi Toilet became so popular The creator’s role and what changed The studio takeover and what it means Why fans are upset and pushing back The future of internet-created IP

    33 min

  8. APR 3

    They're Putting AI Cameras In School Busses

    AI Surveillance is taking over our schools. Support my independent journalism:🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co Kent Myrtle, a Wichita bus driver, has been blowing the whistle on AI-powered cameras being installed on school buses. From Wichita to Massachusetts, school districts are partnering with companies like Samsara and BusPatrol to implement "real-time monitoring" and "hazard detection."  But is this actually about safety, or is it a massive privacy violation? We discuss how this footage is being sent to the Amazon Web Services cloud without parental consent. We also look at the "safety" claims, like AI systems mistaking bags of chips for weapons, and how these buses are being turned into roving surveillance machines for law enforcement.

    30 min
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About

Taylor Lorenz explores how technology and the internet are upending our lives and the world around us. Each week, she explores everything from online fame to emerging platforms, viral phenomena, the creator economy, and much more. Tune in every Wednesday for regular episodes and every Friday for "Free Speech Friday," her series on tech policy and the fight for civil liberties online.

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