Matthew Champion
@matthewchampion.bsky.social
@wired.com | [email protected] | Signal matthewchampion.10 | ex-VICE News and BuzzFeed News
in text messages *sent in 2017* Jeffrey Epstein appears to position himself as a middleman between Trump’s administration and Bill Gates, even seemingly representing himself as passing on information directly from Trump to Gates through an intermediary
www.wired.com/story/jeffre...
www.wired.com/story/jeffre...
Jeffrey Epstein Claimed Intimate Knowledge of Donald Trump’s Views in Texts With Bill Gates Adviser
In text messages from 2017, Jeffrey Epstein seemingly represented himself as positioned to pass information from the Trump White House to Bill Gates through an intermediary.
www.wired.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:30 PM
in text messages *sent in 2017* Jeffrey Epstein appears to position himself as a middleman between Trump’s administration and Bill Gates, even seemingly representing himself as passing on information directly from Trump to Gates through an intermediary
www.wired.com/story/jeffre...
www.wired.com/story/jeffre...
“We follow the laws in the countries where we operate. Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only,” an Apple spokesperson said in an email.
www.wired.com/story/apple-...
www.wired.com/story/apple-...
Apple Pulls China’s Top Gay Dating Apps After Government Order
The removal of Blued and Finka marks another setback for China’s marginalized LGBTQ+ community.
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:17 PM
“We follow the laws in the countries where we operate. Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only,” an Apple spokesperson said in an email.
www.wired.com/story/apple-...
www.wired.com/story/apple-...
Reposted by Matthew Champion
SCOOP (free, as it's FOIA-based!): I obtained 1,665 pgs of documents about "Bicken Ben," a growing private school the Zuckerbergs ran illegally out of their Palo Alto compound
Neighbors complained the school for years. Then, in 2024, they reached their breaking point:
www.wired.com/story/mark-z...
Neighbors complained the school for years. Then, in 2024, they reached their breaking point:
www.wired.com/story/mark-z...
Mark Zuckerberg Opened an Illegal School at His Palo Alto Compound. His Neighbors Revolted
Neighbors complained about noise, security guards, and hordes of traffic. An unlicensed school named after the Zuckerbergs’ pet chicken tipped them over the edge.
www.wired.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:29 PM
SCOOP (free, as it's FOIA-based!): I obtained 1,665 pgs of documents about "Bicken Ben," a growing private school the Zuckerbergs ran illegally out of their Palo Alto compound
Neighbors complained the school for years. Then, in 2024, they reached their breaking point:
www.wired.com/story/mark-z...
Neighbors complained the school for years. Then, in 2024, they reached their breaking point:
www.wired.com/story/mark-z...
@carolinehaskins.bsky.social obtained 1,665 pages of documents about a neighbourhood dispute centred on an unlicensed school at the Zuckerberg compound in California
www.wired.com/story/mark-z...
www.wired.com/story/mark-z...
Mark Zuckerberg Opened an Illegal School at His Palo Alto Compound. His Neighbors Revolted
Neighbors complained about noise, security guards, and hordes of traffic. An unlicensed school named after the Zuckerbergs’ pet chicken tipped them over the edge.
www.wired.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:05 AM
@carolinehaskins.bsky.social obtained 1,665 pages of documents about a neighbourhood dispute centred on an unlicensed school at the Zuckerberg compound in California
www.wired.com/story/mark-z...
www.wired.com/story/mark-z...
“Maybe we didn’t change everything. But we changed how people imagine what’s possible.”
must read, on the inside story of Nepal's Discord revolution
www.wired.com/story/nepal-...
must read, on the inside story of Nepal's Discord revolution
www.wired.com/story/nepal-...
The Inside Story of How Gen Z Toppled Nepal’s Leader and Chose a New One on Discord
The revolution started on social media. It ended with protests, violence, and an online poll to pick the new prime minister.
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:02 PM
“Maybe we didn’t change everything. But we changed how people imagine what’s possible.”
must read, on the inside story of Nepal's Discord revolution
www.wired.com/story/nepal-...
must read, on the inside story of Nepal's Discord revolution
www.wired.com/story/nepal-...
“She also said we would never treat Tim Scott like this,” one officer tasked with escorting Nancy Mace says in the report
www.wired.com/story/nancy-...
www.wired.com/story/nancy-...
Nancy Mace Curses, Berates Confused Cops in Airport Meltdown: Police Report
At an airport in South Carolina on Thursday, representative Nancy Mace called police officers “fucking incompetent” and berated them repeatedly, according to an incident report.
www.wired.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:58 PM
“She also said we would never treat Tim Scott like this,” one officer tasked with escorting Nancy Mace says in the report
www.wired.com/story/nancy-...
www.wired.com/story/nancy-...
🚨 ICE is exploring plans to launch a privately-run, statewide transportation system in Texas, envisioning a nonstop operation that funnels immigrants detained in 254 counties into ICE facilities and staging locations across the state
www.wired.com/story/ice-is...
www.wired.com/story/ice-is...
ICE Wants to Build a Shadow Deportation Network in Texas
A new ICE proposal outlines a 24/7 transport operation run by armed contractors—turning Texas into the logistical backbone of an industrialized deportation machine.
www.wired.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM
🚨 ICE is exploring plans to launch a privately-run, statewide transportation system in Texas, envisioning a nonstop operation that funnels immigrants detained in 254 counties into ICE facilities and staging locations across the state
www.wired.com/story/ice-is...
www.wired.com/story/ice-is...
Reposted by Matthew Champion
I have no idea how Oobah Butler continues to get rich people to participate in his docs, but in this one, despite his schemes including a legal child sweatshop and luxury luggage that "looks like a bomb," he convinced VCs to give him $1 million: www.wired.com/story/oobah-...
How Prankster Oobah Butler Convinced Venture Capitalists to Give Him Over $1 Million
In his latest stunt documentary, British journalist Oobah Butler exposes the ridiculousness of internet hustle culture.
www.wired.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:36 PM
I have no idea how Oobah Butler continues to get rich people to participate in his docs, but in this one, despite his schemes including a legal child sweatshop and luxury luggage that "looks like a bomb," he convinced VCs to give him $1 million: www.wired.com/story/oobah-...
Reposted by Matthew Champion
Incredibly, the Justice Department today charged a group of alleged Cosa Nostra mobsters with using a version of the exact card shuffler hacking technique we demonstrated in the video below to rig poker games with an NBA player and coach, stealing millions. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
October 23, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Incredibly, the Justice Department today charged a group of alleged Cosa Nostra mobsters with using a version of the exact card shuffler hacking technique we demonstrated in the video below to rig poker games with an NBA player and coach, stealing millions. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
if you were wondering how and why the Trump administration seemingly suddenly pivoted to Bluesky, @makenakelly.bsky.social has the answers
www.wired.com/story/inside...
www.wired.com/story/inside...
Inside the Trump Adminstration's Bluesky Invasion
On Friday, after months of internal discussions, federal agencies began posting on the left-friendly social network. Within days, they dominated a list of the most-blocked accounts.
www.wired.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:10 PM
if you were wondering how and why the Trump administration seemingly suddenly pivoted to Bluesky, @makenakelly.bsky.social has the answers
www.wired.com/story/inside...
www.wired.com/story/inside...
Reliance on central cloud services has, in may ways, improved cybersecurity and stability around the world. But this standardisation comes with major tradeoffs—the platforms become a single point of failure for large swaths of critical services.
www.wired.com/story/what-t...
www.wired.com/story/what-t...
What the Huge AWS Outage Reveals About the Internet
Amazon Web Services experienced DNS resolution issues on Monday morning, taking down wide swaths of the web—and highlighting a longstanding weakness in the internet's infrastructure.
www.wired.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reliance on central cloud services has, in may ways, improved cybersecurity and stability around the world. But this standardisation comes with major tradeoffs—the platforms become a single point of failure for large swaths of critical services.
www.wired.com/story/what-t...
www.wired.com/story/what-t...
a hall of fame editor’s note
October 16, 2025 at 11:56 AM
a hall of fame editor’s note
Autumn Gardiner started to believe the rejected photos were being caused by her facial difference. The camera system didn’t seem to work for her, she says. “It was humiliating and weird. Here’s this machine telling me that I don’t have a human face."
www.wired.com/story/when-f...
www.wired.com/story/when-f...
When Face Recognition Doesn’t Know Your Face Is a Face
An estimated 100 million people live with facial differences. As face recognition tech becomes widespread, some say they’re getting blocked from accessing essential systems and services.
www.wired.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Autumn Gardiner started to believe the rejected photos were being caused by her facial difference. The camera system didn’t seem to work for her, she says. “It was humiliating and weird. Here’s this machine telling me that I don’t have a human face."
www.wired.com/story/when-f...
www.wired.com/story/when-f...
Reposted by Matthew Champion
NEW: In the most significant action against brutal scam compounds in Southeast Asia to date, US and UK officials have sanctioned the alleged operators of more than 10 scam centers in Cambodia.
146 entities linked to the Prince Group have been sanctioned—and $15 billion of crypto seized
146 entities linked to the Prince Group have been sanctioned—and $15 billion of crypto seized
Feds Seize Record-Breaking $15 Billion in Bitcoin From Alleged Scam Empire
Officials in the US and UK have taken sweeping action against “one of the largest investment fraud operations in history,” confiscating a historic amount of funds in the process.
www.wired.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:42 PM
NEW: In the most significant action against brutal scam compounds in Southeast Asia to date, US and UK officials have sanctioned the alleged operators of more than 10 scam centers in Cambodia.
146 entities linked to the Prince Group have been sanctioned—and $15 billion of crypto seized
146 entities linked to the Prince Group have been sanctioned—and $15 billion of crypto seized
a Gaza reconstruction plan shared with Trump admin officials features the names and logos of more than two dozen companies, but some told WIRED they had no knowledge they were involved
“This was surprising and new information for us,” an IKEA spokesperson said
www.wired.com/story/a-plan...
“This was surprising and new information for us,” an IKEA spokesperson said
www.wired.com/story/a-plan...
A Plan to Rebuild Gaza Lists Nearly 30 Companies. Many Say They're Not Involved
A presentation that has been shared with the Trump administration references Tesla, Ikea, TSMC, and more in its plan to rebuild Gaza. Some of these companies say they had no idea they were mentioned.
www.wired.com
October 14, 2025 at 8:23 PM
a Gaza reconstruction plan shared with Trump admin officials features the names and logos of more than two dozen companies, but some told WIRED they had no knowledge they were involved
“This was surprising and new information for us,” an IKEA spokesperson said
www.wired.com/story/a-plan...
“This was surprising and new information for us,” an IKEA spokesperson said
www.wired.com/story/a-plan...
Reposted by Matthew Champion
NEW: Everything's... fine... @aarianmarshall.bsky.social reports: www.wired.com/story/shutdo...
The Shutdown Is Pushing Air Safety Workers to the Limit
Federal employees say that flying is still safe despite the strain on air traffic controllers. But expect even more airport delays ahead.
www.wired.com
October 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
NEW: Everything's... fine... @aarianmarshall.bsky.social reports: www.wired.com/story/shutdo...
Reposted by Matthew Champion
ICE has deported over 100,000 people since January, double the rate of the Biden administration in 2024.
In this video @telliotter.bsky.social reports on where exactly the arrests are happening, where people are being detained, and where they’re being deported to.
youtu.be/uD9ETC80HDA?...
In this video @telliotter.bsky.social reports on where exactly the arrests are happening, where people are being detained, and where they’re being deported to.
youtu.be/uD9ETC80HDA?...
Where ICE Has Taken The Most People | On The Grid | WIRED
YouTube video by WIRED
youtu.be
October 9, 2025 at 7:47 PM
ICE has deported over 100,000 people since January, double the rate of the Biden administration in 2024.
In this video @telliotter.bsky.social reports on where exactly the arrests are happening, where people are being detained, and where they’re being deported to.
youtu.be/uD9ETC80HDA?...
In this video @telliotter.bsky.social reports on where exactly the arrests are happening, where people are being detained, and where they’re being deported to.
youtu.be/uD9ETC80HDA?...
"it seems the correct thing to do, for us to stand in a moment’s silence to honor a great warrior"
not something said at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona for Charlie Kirk's memorial, but in a derelict shed in the town of Boyle in the northwest corner of Ireland
www.wired.com/story/conspi...
not something said at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona for Charlie Kirk's memorial, but in a derelict shed in the town of Boyle in the northwest corner of Ireland
www.wired.com/story/conspi...
At a Conspiracy Conference in Rural Ireland, Charlie Kirk Was the Star
The increasingly tight links between far-right groups in the US and Europe were on full display at the Rebels Across the Pond conference in Ireland. The star of the show? Charlie Kirk.
www.wired.com
October 3, 2025 at 12:09 PM
"it seems the correct thing to do, for us to stand in a moment’s silence to honor a great warrior"
not something said at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona for Charlie Kirk's memorial, but in a derelict shed in the town of Boyle in the northwest corner of Ireland
www.wired.com/story/conspi...
not something said at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona for Charlie Kirk's memorial, but in a derelict shed in the town of Boyle in the northwest corner of Ireland
www.wired.com/story/conspi...
NEW: the Trump-Epstein 'friendship' statue that was removed from the national mall and broken up has been repaired and is back on the national mall for "a limited time"
October 2, 2025 at 7:11 PM
NEW: the Trump-Epstein 'friendship' statue that was removed from the national mall and broken up has been repaired and is back on the national mall for "a limited time"
Department of Education employees set out-of-office email responses to inform recipients they'd be unable to respond until after the shutdown
hours later, many people realised their response message had been changed to blame Senate Democrats for the entire shutdown
www.wired.com/story/govern...
hours later, many people realised their response message had been changed to blame Senate Democrats for the entire shutdown
www.wired.com/story/govern...
Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown
Some employees at the Department of Education changed their responses back to the more neutral language, only to have it changed yet again to the partisan response, multiple sources tell WIRED.
www.wired.com
October 2, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Department of Education employees set out-of-office email responses to inform recipients they'd be unable to respond until after the shutdown
hours later, many people realised their response message had been changed to blame Senate Democrats for the entire shutdown
www.wired.com/story/govern...
hours later, many people realised their response message had been changed to blame Senate Democrats for the entire shutdown
www.wired.com/story/govern...
Reposted by Matthew Champion
What if deepfakes were entertainment? Not of celebrities and public figures. Deepfakes of you.
That’s the chilling, central question at the heart of OpenAI’s new Sora app.
www.wired.com/story/openai...
That’s the chilling, central question at the heart of OpenAI’s new Sora app.
www.wired.com/story/openai...
OpenAI’s New Sora App Lets You Deepfake Yourself for Entertainment
OpenAI’s latest app encourages users to generate a personal digital avatar and scroll AI-generated videos of themselves and their friends.
www.wired.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:08 PM
What if deepfakes were entertainment? Not of celebrities and public figures. Deepfakes of you.
That’s the chilling, central question at the heart of OpenAI’s new Sora app.
www.wired.com/story/openai...
That’s the chilling, central question at the heart of OpenAI’s new Sora app.
www.wired.com/story/openai...
Reposted by Matthew Champion
VERY FUNNY SCOOP: The Onion made a 20-minute Epstein/Trump mockumentary called “Jeffrey Epstein: Bad Pedophile.” I got a sneak peek and it is gloriously dumb. Read about it/watch the trailer here: www.wired.com/story/the-on...
The Onion Made an Absolutely Unhinged Jeffrey Epstein Mockumentary
"Jeffrey Epstein: Bad Pedophile" is a very silly deep dive on a very serious issue. In the current media landscape, it’s a wonder it even got made.
www.wired.com
September 25, 2025 at 12:07 PM
VERY FUNNY SCOOP: The Onion made a 20-minute Epstein/Trump mockumentary called “Jeffrey Epstein: Bad Pedophile.” I got a sneak peek and it is gloriously dumb. Read about it/watch the trailer here: www.wired.com/story/the-on...
“I kept comparing it to a natural disaster. But it wasn’t natural. Just a stampede of wide-eyed, confused government employees moving files around and looking over their shoulders because they think maybe Elon was creeping behind them with a chain saw.”
www.wired.com/story/oral-h...
www.wired.com/story/oral-h...
The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers
WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices.
www.wired.com
September 25, 2025 at 10:30 AM
“I kept comparing it to a natural disaster. But it wasn’t natural. Just a stampede of wide-eyed, confused government employees moving files around and looking over their shoulders because they think maybe Elon was creeping behind them with a chain saw.”
www.wired.com/story/oral-h...
www.wired.com/story/oral-h...
Reposted by Matthew Champion
Throughout the summer, @wired.com reporter Kate Knibbs has been following our campaign.
From right-wing attacks to our mutual aid work to the 20 bottles of hot sauce in the campaign office, here’s what she saw: www.wired.com/story/kat-ab...
From right-wing attacks to our mutual aid work to the 20 bottles of hot sauce in the campaign office, here’s what she saw: www.wired.com/story/kat-ab...
She Fought the Far Right Online for Years. Now She Wants to Do It in Congress
Kat Abughazaleh, 26, made her name swatting down right-wing talking points on social media. Now she’s hoping internet fame can propel her to Congress.
www.wired.com
September 23, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Throughout the summer, @wired.com reporter Kate Knibbs has been following our campaign.
From right-wing attacks to our mutual aid work to the 20 bottles of hot sauce in the campaign office, here’s what she saw: www.wired.com/story/kat-ab...
From right-wing attacks to our mutual aid work to the 20 bottles of hot sauce in the campaign office, here’s what she saw: www.wired.com/story/kat-ab...