Sapna Maheshwari
@sapna.bsky.social
NYT (@nytimes.com) covering TikTok and emerging media. love consumer-y business news. former retail and advertising reporter. pun fan, Tar Heel, CT native, toddler mom - contact me at [email protected] or Signal me directly @Sapna.87
Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari
If you're going to sell your face to the AI company (and probably be humiliated) at least ask for more $$$.
August 18, 2025 at 10:15 PM
If you're going to sell your face to the AI company (and probably be humiliated) at least ask for more $$$.
Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari
Selling one's likeness for a mere $500 and having it talk about its sexual preferences while hawking fiber supplements is like a sad plot device that I would expect from a good science fiction novel.
But it's real, via @sapna.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...
But it's real, via @sapna.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...
He Sold His Likeness. Now His Avatar Is Shilling Supplements on TikTok.
www.nytimes.com
August 18, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Selling one's likeness for a mere $500 and having it talk about its sexual preferences while hawking fiber supplements is like a sad plot device that I would expect from a good science fiction novel.
But it's real, via @sapna.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...
But it's real, via @sapna.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...
I wrote about people who sold their likenesses to TikTok for AI-fueled advertisements. Marketers have been able to use their “avatars” to promote all sorts of products - and several regret the work. The folks I spoke with were paid as little as $500 for it www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...
He Sold His Likeness. Now His Avatar Is Shilling Supplements on TikTok.
www.nytimes.com
August 17, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I wrote about people who sold their likenesses to TikTok for AI-fueled advertisements. Marketers have been able to use their “avatars” to promote all sorts of products - and several regret the work. The folks I spoke with were paid as little as $500 for it www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...
“When it’s time again to pick up that phone and incinerate a few more seconds of my one life on earth, more often than not, I shovel them into Reddit.” @jwherrman.bsky.social spot on as usual! nymag.com/intelligence...
Why You Are Reading Reddit a Lot More These Days
“The front page of the web” is turning into the last refuge of the human internet. But can it survive AI?
nymag.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:17 AM
“When it’s time again to pick up that phone and incinerate a few more seconds of my one life on earth, more often than not, I shovel them into Reddit.” @jwherrman.bsky.social spot on as usual! nymag.com/intelligence...
will be covering the Cannes ad/tech/media confab this year in June... plz DM / email me if there are things i shouldn't miss while there!
May 15, 2025 at 4:10 PM
will be covering the Cannes ad/tech/media confab this year in June... plz DM / email me if there are things i shouldn't miss while there!
one of my fav stories i wrote from this spring — how agencies are trying to train college athletes as the next big group of influencers on TikTok and Instagram: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/b...
They’re on the Varsity Influencer Team
www.nytimes.com
May 14, 2025 at 9:41 PM
one of my fav stories i wrote from this spring — how agencies are trying to train college athletes as the next big group of influencers on TikTok and Instagram: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/b...
scoop from my colleague Michael Grynbaum: the exec producer of 60 Minutes said he would resign from the program because he had lost his journalistic independence www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/b...
Top Producer of ‘60 Minutes’ Quits, Saying He Lost Independence
The news program has faced mounting pressure from both President Trump and its corporate ownership at Paramount, the parent company of CBS News.
www.nytimes.com
April 22, 2025 at 5:13 PM
scoop from my colleague Michael Grynbaum: the exec producer of 60 Minutes said he would resign from the program because he had lost his journalistic independence www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/b...
loved this wild / unexpected dispatch from a Natal Conference from @emmagoldberg.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/s...
The Women Who Think the World Needs More Babies
At a convention of the pronatalist movement, the relatively few women in attendance agreed: Motherhood needs a rebrand.
www.nytimes.com
April 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
loved this wild / unexpected dispatch from a Natal Conference from @emmagoldberg.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/s...
TikTok & Reddit are filled with people worrying about the new tariffs on Shein and Temu packages set to go into effect on May 2 — and price hikes on April 25. the alarm reflects the deep inroads the apps have made into American shopping habits in recent years: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/b...
Shein and Temu Will be Hit by Trump’s China Tariffs. Americans Are Worried.
The Trump administration’s plan to add steep fees to packages from China will deal a blow to Temu, Shein and some TikTok Shop sellers, worrying American consumers.
www.nytimes.com
April 16, 2025 at 2:32 PM
TikTok & Reddit are filled with people worrying about the new tariffs on Shein and Temu packages set to go into effect on May 2 — and price hikes on April 25. the alarm reflects the deep inroads the apps have made into American shopping habits in recent years: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/b...
i don't eat a ton of meat but these paragraphs are making me consider going full vegetarian... www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/u...
April 15, 2025 at 1:44 PM
i don't eat a ton of meat but these paragraphs are making me consider going full vegetarian... www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/u...
with another TikTok sale-or-ban deadline looming on April 5, the company is running a zillion ads, including one that shares the story of a young woman who found a kidney through the app... www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/t...
TikTok Ads Portray App as Force for Good as US Ban Looms
The popular video app, which could be banned in the United States next month if it is not sold to a non-Chinese owner, is portraying itself as a savior of Americans and a champion of small businesses ...
www.nytimes.com
March 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
with another TikTok sale-or-ban deadline looming on April 5, the company is running a zillion ads, including one that shares the story of a young woman who found a kidney through the app... www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/t...
Oracle met with top congressional aides yesterday to talk about how it plans to work with TikTok in coming weeks, as the April 5 deadline for a deal approaches: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/t... (scooplet with david mccabe)
www.nytimes.com
March 19, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Oracle met with top congressional aides yesterday to talk about how it plans to work with TikTok in coming weeks, as the April 5 deadline for a deal approaches: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/t... (scooplet with david mccabe)
I saw this on 40th St a week or so ago and it has lived rent free in my head ever since! For the Bradlees hive… I know you’re out there
March 6, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I saw this on 40th St a week or so ago and it has lived rent free in my head ever since! For the Bradlees hive… I know you’re out there
Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari
Breaking News: An unvaccinated child died of measles in Texas, officials said, the first known death from an outbreak that began in January.
Unvaccinated Child Dies of Measles in Texas, Officials Say
At least 124 cases of measles have been identified in Texas since late January, mostly among children and teenagers who are either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, officials say.
www.nytimes.com
February 26, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Breaking News: An unvaccinated child died of measles in Texas, officials said, the first known death from an outbreak that began in January.
Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari
Charging this puppy up to make sure it still works for Flip Phone February.
(If you make up a movement, you gotta follow through on it: www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/t...)
(If you make up a movement, you gotta follow through on it: www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/t...)
January 27, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Charging this puppy up to make sure it still works for Flip Phone February.
(If you make up a movement, you gotta follow through on it: www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/t...)
(If you make up a movement, you gotta follow through on it: www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/t...)
But when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was not out of danger. “I looked up, and I was underneath the 1 train,” he said.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/n... a must-read by @katierosman.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/n... a must-read by @katierosman.bsky.social
‘I’ve Been Pushed, and I’m Going to Get Hit by the Train’
Joseph Lynskey was waiting for the subway in Manhattan last month when a random act of violence transformed his life.
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2025 at 4:28 PM
But when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was not out of danger. “I looked up, and I was underneath the 1 train,” he said.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/n... a must-read by @katierosman.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/n... a must-read by @katierosman.bsky.social
NEW: Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban-or-sale law set to go into effect on Sunday supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
supremecourt.gov
January 17, 2025 at 3:06 PM
NEW: Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban-or-sale law set to go into effect on Sunday supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari
The CEO of TikTok, a firm set to be banned in the US on Sunday because of its Chinese government ownership, plans to attend Trump’s inauguration the next day and has been invited to sit in a position of honor on the dais. Maggie Haberman @sapna.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/u...
TikTok C.E.O. Plans to Attend Trump Inauguration
Shou Chew will join tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk at President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration as the fate of the app hangs in the balance.
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2025 at 4:31 PM
The CEO of TikTok, a firm set to be banned in the US on Sunday because of its Chinese government ownership, plans to attend Trump’s inauguration the next day and has been invited to sit in a position of honor on the dais. Maggie Haberman @sapna.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/u...
TikTok's CEO was invited to attend Trump's inauguration and sit in a position of honor on the dais:
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/u...
TikTok's inroads with Trump may be the gambit that helps the co (1) avoid complying with a new law forcing its sale to a non-Chinese company (2) avoid a ban on Jan 19
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/u...
TikTok's inroads with Trump may be the gambit that helps the co (1) avoid complying with a new law forcing its sale to a non-Chinese company (2) avoid a ban on Jan 19
TikTok C.E.O. Plans to Attend Trump Inauguration
Shou Chew will join tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk at President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration as the fate of the app hangs in the balance.
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2025 at 4:18 PM
TikTok's CEO was invited to attend Trump's inauguration and sit in a position of honor on the dais:
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/u...
TikTok's inroads with Trump may be the gambit that helps the co (1) avoid complying with a new law forcing its sale to a non-Chinese company (2) avoid a ban on Jan 19
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/u...
TikTok's inroads with Trump may be the gambit that helps the co (1) avoid complying with a new law forcing its sale to a non-Chinese company (2) avoid a ban on Jan 19
Napster... Kazaa...Limewire...RIP
Gather round kids and let me tell you a story about a real technology ban...
January 16, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Napster... Kazaa...Limewire...RIP
Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari
January 10, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari
New: Meta employees are furious about a new policy that allows users to call LGBTQ+ people "mentally ill." Some have resigned in protest. Some LGBTQ+ employees have started saying they if they are 'mentally ill' they should get leave of absences from work
www.404media.co/its-total-ch...
www.404media.co/its-total-ch...
‘It’s Total Chaos Internally at Meta Right Now’: Employees Protest Zuckerberg’s Anti LGBTQ Changes
Meta's decision to specifically allow users to call LGBTQ+ people "mentally ill" has sparked widespread backlash at the company.
www.404media.co
January 9, 2025 at 9:01 PM
New: Meta employees are furious about a new policy that allows users to call LGBTQ+ people "mentally ill." Some have resigned in protest. Some LGBTQ+ employees have started saying they if they are 'mentally ill' they should get leave of absences from work
www.404media.co/its-total-ch...
www.404media.co/its-total-ch...
Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari
Update: After publication, Meta contacted me to say that the company made a mistake in its internal guidelines reported here, and “Look at that tranny (beneath photo of 17 year old girl)" is in fact not permitted. They told me that the rest of the examples stand.
January 10, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Update: After publication, Meta contacted me to say that the company made a mistake in its internal guidelines reported here, and “Look at that tranny (beneath photo of 17 year old girl)" is in fact not permitted. They told me that the rest of the examples stand.
Reposted by Sapna Maheshwari
NEW: I've obtained internal Meta docs revealing an array of sample posts that are now allowed under new hate speech rules. Examples include calling children "trannies," “Jews are flat out greedier than Christians," and “immigrants are grubby, filthy pieces of shit”
theintercept.com/2025/01/09/f...
theintercept.com/2025/01/09/f...
Leaked Meta Rules: Users Are Free to Post “Mexican Immigrants Are Trash!” or “Trans People Are Immoral”
Facebook now allows attacks on immigrants and trans people, and posts like “Mexican immigrants are trash!” and “I’m a proud racist.”
theintercept.com
January 10, 2025 at 12:48 AM
NEW: I've obtained internal Meta docs revealing an array of sample posts that are now allowed under new hate speech rules. Examples include calling children "trannies," “Jews are flat out greedier than Christians," and “immigrants are grubby, filthy pieces of shit”
theintercept.com/2025/01/09/f...
theintercept.com/2025/01/09/f...
TikTok might face a ban on Jan. 19 (pending a Supreme Court hearing/any divestment talks) — here's how creators and marketers are preparing for an event that would reshape the social media landscape in the US www.nytimes.com/2025/01/09/b...
TikTok Creators and Brands Are Bracing for a Potential Ban
Billions in advertising flows through TikTok, which could be banned in the U.S. as soon as Jan. 19. Brands and creators are racing to prepare.
www.nytimes.com
January 9, 2025 at 3:33 PM
TikTok might face a ban on Jan. 19 (pending a Supreme Court hearing/any divestment talks) — here's how creators and marketers are preparing for an event that would reshape the social media landscape in the US www.nytimes.com/2025/01/09/b...