Mia Sato is a reporter at The Verge covering tech companies, platforms, and users. Since joining The Verge in 2021, she’s reported on the war in Ukraine and the spread of propaganda on TikTok; Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter; and how tech platforms and digital publishers are using artificial intelligence tools. Sato has written about tech platforms and communities since 2019. Before joining Vox Media she was a reporter at MIT Technology Review, where she covered the intersection of technology and the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to that she served as the audience engagement editor at The Markup. As a freelance reporter, she’s written about the subversive Hmong radio shows hosted on conference call software, online knitting activism, and the teens running businesses in Instagram comment sections. Her work has appeared in outlets like The New Republic, The Appeal, and Chicago Magazine. She is based in Brooklyn. Got a tip? Contact her at mia@theverge.com or on Signal at miasato.11.
Actor Sydney Sweeney is currently embroiled in a days-long “discourse” cycle about a campaign she shot with American Eagle. The ad — and whether it’s a eugenics dog whistle — is one thing. But I liked this Atlantic piece that zoomed out and put the outrage and online content cycle into perspective. Chat, is discourse cooked?
[theatlantic.com]
Reuters tracked a sampling of Shein prices from April to July and — surprise! — items are now more expensive. Prices spiked in April following Shein’s pre-announced price increase and then dipped slightly, Reuters found. Now they’re creeping back up: a $31 order in April would have cost $69 last week.
[reuters.com]
The left-leaning nonprofit watchdog has been a frequent target of Elon Musk and other Republicans for its reporting on the right wing media ecosystem. Its legal battles have left the group with mounting bills, concerns for staff safety, and hesitant donors, The New York Times reports.
“Unlike some major media entities that have recently caved to pressure, we understand that this battle is larger than us,” Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, said in a statement. “That’s why we continue to carry out our mission and fight in court.”
After inadvertently revealing his earnings on social media in June, podcaster Joe Budden told The New York Times that his network is on pace to earn $12 million this year in Patreon subscriptions alone. With other revenue streams, that number swells to more than $20 million. The Times piece is a rare look into the finances of big-name content creators — usually they’re cagey about money.
On The Vergecast: TV is on the decline, so celebrities are riding the subway and going to chicken shops. Plus, how Chicago became the epicenter of ‘Schedule A’ lawsuits against online storefronts.
Getting copied is devastating — but not necessarily illegal. Who owns what in an era of unprecedented mass consumption?
Or would you? The weird little toys are a nightmare to buy so we took matters into our own hands.
