Darren Loucaides
@darrenloucaides.bsky.social
Journalist on politics/tech for WIRED, the Guardian, Rolling Stone, Rest of World
University of East Anglia creative writing MA alumnus
Tips (not PR): darren.loucaides AT protonmail
University of East Anglia creative writing MA alumnus
Tips (not PR): darren.loucaides AT protonmail
Pinned
How Telegram Became the Anti-Facebook
Hundreds of millions of users. No algorithm. No ads. Courage in the face of autocracy. Sound like a dream? Careful what you wish for.
www.wired.com
I’m a journalist who writes mostly longform at the intersection of politics and tech. One of my main beats in recent years has been investigating the messaging app and social network Telegram, including this long cover story for WIRED www.wired.com/story/how-te...
This is why we need journalists.
4 hours, few new insights – except new claim of an assassination attempt. Why not ask Durov if he saw a doctor or confirmed poisoning?
Why let Durov again use Edward Snowden's legacy & not ask about Snowden's criticism of Telegram?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjPH...
4 hours, few new insights – except new claim of an assassination attempt. Why not ask Durov if he saw a doctor or confirmed poisoning?
Why let Durov again use Edward Snowden's legacy & not ask about Snowden's criticism of Telegram?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjPH...
Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature | Lex Fridman Podcast #482
YouTube video by Lex Fridman
www.youtube.com
October 6, 2025 at 4:19 PM
This is why we need journalists.
4 hours, few new insights – except new claim of an assassination attempt. Why not ask Durov if he saw a doctor or confirmed poisoning?
Why let Durov again use Edward Snowden's legacy & not ask about Snowden's criticism of Telegram?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjPH...
4 hours, few new insights – except new claim of an assassination attempt. Why not ask Durov if he saw a doctor or confirmed poisoning?
Why let Durov again use Edward Snowden's legacy & not ask about Snowden's criticism of Telegram?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjPH...
don't see this reversing the wave of artists taking their music off Spotify. by Ek's own admission he's still at the helm just changed titles, but it provides a good spin opp www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Spotify founder Daniel Ek steps down from CEO role
Ek founded Stockholm-based music streaming company nearly two decades ago and will stay on as executive chair
www.theguardian.com
September 30, 2025 at 3:49 PM
don't see this reversing the wave of artists taking their music off Spotify. by Ek's own admission he's still at the helm just changed titles, but it provides a good spin opp www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Cool so TikTok passes from dangerously authoritarian china to authoritarians renowned for phone spyware www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Abu Dhabi royal family to take stake in TikTok US under Trump deal
MGX, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will take 15% stake, with social media firm valued at $14bn
www.theguardian.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Cool so TikTok passes from dangerously authoritarian china to authoritarians renowned for phone spyware www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Darren Loucaides
Elon Musk and Neuralink get most of the attention re brain implants, but they're building on decades of work by academic research labs like @caltech.edu's – and some experts question the "move fast break things" approach.
My latest for @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
My latest for @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Neuralink, Elon Musk, and the Race to Put Chips Into Our Brains
Though brain chips are all over TV and the news now with Neuralink, scientists have worked on the tech for decades. And some question Musk’s approach
www.rollingstone.com
September 13, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Elon Musk and Neuralink get most of the attention re brain implants, but they're building on decades of work by academic research labs like @caltech.edu's – and some experts question the "move fast break things" approach.
My latest for @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
My latest for @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Darren Loucaides
This is the brown part of Valhalla where we drink lime soda and feast on samosas
Kash Patel: "To my friend Charlie Kirk. Rest now, brother. We have the watch. And I'll see you at Valhalla"
September 12, 2025 at 8:03 PM
This is the brown part of Valhalla where we drink lime soda and feast on samosas
Elon Musk and Neuralink get most of the attention re brain implants, but they're building on decades of work by academic research labs like @caltech.edu's – and some experts question the "move fast break things" approach.
My latest for @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
My latest for @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Neuralink, Elon Musk, and the Race to Put Chips Into Our Brains
Though brain chips are all over TV and the news now with Neuralink, scientists have worked on the tech for decades. And some question Musk’s approach
www.rollingstone.com
September 13, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Elon Musk and Neuralink get most of the attention re brain implants, but they're building on decades of work by academic research labs like @caltech.edu's – and some experts question the "move fast break things" approach.
My latest for @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
My latest for @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Therapeutic retreat or deadly cult? Fascinating deep dive by @samshepedwards.bsky.social from last month into a company offering ayahuasca sessions around the globe www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ju...
‘People pay to be told lies’: the rise and fall of the world’s first ayahuasca multinational
The long read: Alberto Varela claimed he wanted to use sacred plant medicine to free people’s minds. But as the organisation grew, his followers discovered a darker reality
www.theguardian.com
August 8, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Therapeutic retreat or deadly cult? Fascinating deep dive by @samshepedwards.bsky.social from last month into a company offering ayahuasca sessions around the globe www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ju...
Reposted by Darren Loucaides
Thames Water has paid £7bn to shareholders since privatisation. Customers can’t switch companies cos it’s a monopoly. Nationalise it www.bbc.com/news/article...
Thames Water boss says turnaround to take a decade
The company's future remains uncertain as it posts losses of £1.65bn for the year to March.
www.bbc.com
July 15, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Thames Water has paid £7bn to shareholders since privatisation. Customers can’t switch companies cos it’s a monopoly. Nationalise it www.bbc.com/news/article...
ISIS, Al-Qaeda… and a group that spray painted planes
Dunno why we still pretend our politics is polarised when the there’s an authoritarian consensus on so many issues across
Dunno why we still pretend our politics is polarised when the there’s an authoritarian consensus on so many issues across
BREAKING: Palestine Action will be proscribed as a terrorist organisation, the Home Secretary has said
Yvette Cooper described the attack on RAF Brize Norton as 'disgraceful' and accused the group of a 'long history of criminal damage'
Yvette Cooper described the attack on RAF Brize Norton as 'disgraceful' and accused the group of a 'long history of criminal damage'
June 24, 2025 at 2:27 PM
ISIS, Al-Qaeda… and a group that spray painted planes
Dunno why we still pretend our politics is polarised when the there’s an authoritarian consensus on so many issues across
Dunno why we still pretend our politics is polarised when the there’s an authoritarian consensus on so many issues across
Reposted by Darren Loucaides
@darrenloucaides.bsky.social finds some troubling bedfellows. observer.co.uk/news/busines...
June 11, 2025 at 7:29 AM
@darrenloucaides.bsky.social finds some troubling bedfellows. observer.co.uk/news/busines...
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and Elon Musk are set to launch a $300m partnership via Grok that caps off a long tech bromance. My piece for the
@observeruk.bsky.social on Sunday
observer.co.uk/news/busines...
Additional reporting
@gabrielthierry
@observeruk.bsky.social on Sunday
observer.co.uk/news/busines...
Additional reporting
@gabrielthierry
June 11, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and Elon Musk are set to launch a $300m partnership via Grok that caps off a long tech bromance. My piece for the
@observeruk.bsky.social on Sunday
observer.co.uk/news/busines...
Additional reporting
@gabrielthierry
@observeruk.bsky.social on Sunday
observer.co.uk/news/busines...
Additional reporting
@gabrielthierry
Sets a worrying precedent. If the default is now to state the suspect is white to defuse misinformation, what will happen when their race cant be identified or they’re not white? Troublemakers will be able to fan flames even easier
May 26, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Sets a worrying precedent. If the default is now to state the suspect is white to defuse misinformation, what will happen when their race cant be identified or they’re not white? Troublemakers will be able to fan flames even easier
Reposted by Darren Loucaides
A must-read feature (with heart-stopping design) from the @wired.com team:
Elon Musk’s loyalists at DOGE have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies, pushed out thousands of workers, and siphoned millions of people’s most sensitive data.
What's next? Unleash the AI.
www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
Elon Musk’s loyalists at DOGE have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies, pushed out thousands of workers, and siphoned millions of people’s most sensitive data.
What's next? Unleash the AI.
www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup’
Musk’s loyalists at DOGE have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies, pushed out tens of thousands of workers, and siphoned millions of people’s most sensitive data. The next step: Unleash the AI.
www.wired.com
March 13, 2025 at 6:59 PM
A must-read feature (with heart-stopping design) from the @wired.com team:
Elon Musk’s loyalists at DOGE have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies, pushed out thousands of workers, and siphoned millions of people’s most sensitive data.
What's next? Unleash the AI.
www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
Elon Musk’s loyalists at DOGE have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies, pushed out thousands of workers, and siphoned millions of people’s most sensitive data.
What's next? Unleash the AI.
www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
Erm guess what the reply was
March 3, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Erm guess what the reply was
i just started a new band 😅
Maybe corny but it was helpful for me to hear Henry Rollins saying "this is not time to be dismayed, this is punk rock time, this is what Joe Strummer trained you for... You can be thunderous in your own life, to the eight people around you. That rubs off... Goodness is viral"
February 24, 2025 at 12:10 PM
i just started a new band 😅
I just keep thinking about the air quotes around his own name
Put aside the nastiness of this post, & the way in he attacks Zelenskyy as a dictator but says not a word about his pal Putin, & just focus on the way it is written: would you hire this weird person to work for you? Would you trust this odd person to teach your kid in school?
February 20, 2025 at 1:19 PM
I just keep thinking about the air quotes around his own name
There's literally no plan to stop this other than promoting Labour deportations with a sky-blue colour scheme
‼️ NEW | Poll suggests a MAJORITY for Reform
🟣 REF 29% (-)
🔴 LAB 23% (-2)
🔵 CON 21% (+3)
🟠 LD 12% (-1)
🟢 GRN 9% (-1)
Via Findoutnow, 12 Feb (+/- vs 5 Feb)
🟣 REF 29% (-)
🔴 LAB 23% (-2)
🔵 CON 21% (+3)
🟠 LD 12% (-1)
🟢 GRN 9% (-1)
Via Findoutnow, 12 Feb (+/- vs 5 Feb)
February 14, 2025 at 12:44 PM
There's literally no plan to stop this other than promoting Labour deportations with a sky-blue colour scheme
RFK Jr has just been confirmed as health secretary. Here’s my piece about him from earlier this week
RFK Jr epitomises the dangerous new “diagonalism” at the heart of Trump’s coalition
Me for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Me for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Robert F Kennedy Jr has mass appeal despite his extreme ideas. This theory explains why | Darren Loucaides
In just a few years, Kennedy and his dangerously popular ‘diagonalist’ politics have gone from the fringes of the web to, perhaps, the White House, says Darren Loucaides, a writer based in Barcelona a...
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2025 at 5:02 PM
RFK Jr has just been confirmed as health secretary. Here’s my piece about him from earlier this week
I had been reporting on Querdenken and similar movements for years, without knowing that @williamcallison.bsky.social and @quinnslobodian.com had coined the term diagonalism, popularised by @naomiklein.bsky.social in her excellent Doppelganger. Def read their work to know more!
RFK Jr epitomises the dangerous new “diagonalism” at the heart of Trump’s coalition
Me for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Me for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Robert F Kennedy Jr has mass appeal despite his extreme ideas. This theory explains why | Darren Loucaides
In just a few years, Kennedy and his dangerously popular ‘diagonalist’ politics have gone from the fringes of the web to, perhaps, the White House, says Darren Loucaides, a writer based in Barcelona a...
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
I had been reporting on Querdenken and similar movements for years, without knowing that @williamcallison.bsky.social and @quinnslobodian.com had coined the term diagonalism, popularised by @naomiklein.bsky.social in her excellent Doppelganger. Def read their work to know more!
RFK Jr epitomises the dangerous new “diagonalism” at the heart of Trump’s coalition
Me for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Me for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Robert F Kennedy Jr has mass appeal despite his extreme ideas. This theory explains why | Darren Loucaides
In just a few years, Kennedy and his dangerously popular ‘diagonalist’ politics have gone from the fringes of the web to, perhaps, the White House, says Darren Loucaides, a writer based in Barcelona a...
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2025 at 4:59 PM
RFK Jr epitomises the dangerous new “diagonalism” at the heart of Trump’s coalition
Me for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Me for @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Darren Loucaides
Very busy week; I missed this @darrenloucaides.bsky.social feature on Pavel Durov. Interesting nugget: a WIRED analysis found that Telegram was very likely to have more than 45 million users in the bloc. That's the threshold for a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act.
Inside the Bust That Took Down Pavel Durov—and Upended Telegram
The Russian-born CEO styles himself as a free-speech crusader and a scourge of the surveillance state. Here’s the real story behind Pavel Durov’s arrest and what happened next.
www.wired.com
February 8, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Very busy week; I missed this @darrenloucaides.bsky.social feature on Pavel Durov. Interesting nugget: a WIRED analysis found that Telegram was very likely to have more than 45 million users in the bloc. That's the threshold for a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act.
Reposted by Darren Loucaides
Last August, Telegram's boss Pavel Durov was arrested in France for alleged complicity in crimes that could land him in prison for 10 years. Ever since, I've been digging into how this all came about and the roots go back years. My latest feature for @wired.com
www.wired.com/story/pavel-...
www.wired.com/story/pavel-...
Inside the Bust That Took Down Pavel Durov—and Upended Telegram
The Russian-born CEO styles himself as a free-speech crusader and a scourge of the surveillance state. Here’s the real story behind Pavel Durov’s arrest and what happened next.
www.wired.com
February 4, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Last August, Telegram's boss Pavel Durov was arrested in France for alleged complicity in crimes that could land him in prison for 10 years. Ever since, I've been digging into how this all came about and the roots go back years. My latest feature for @wired.com
www.wired.com/story/pavel-...
www.wired.com/story/pavel-...