Drew Harwell
@drewharwell.com
tech & society @washingtonpost.com
stories: drewharwell.com
videos: tiktok.com/@drewharwell
+ instagram.com/bydrewharwell
stories: drewharwell.com
videos: tiktok.com/@drewharwell
+ instagram.com/bydrewharwell
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‘It’s a war’: Inside ICE’s media machine
Thousands of internal ICE messages show how its public affairs team has coordinated with the White House to satisfy Trump administration demands for viral arrest videos
wapo.st
New: We obtained thousands of internal chat messages from the ICE team creating viral videos of raids and "EPIC takedowns."
A scramble to satisfy the White House and "feed the beast" spawned a new "propaganda" machine, current and former officials told us.
"It's a war!"
wapo.st/4s6YnC5
A scramble to satisfy the White House and "feed the beast" spawned a new "propaganda" machine, current and former officials told us.
"It's a war!"
wapo.st/4s6YnC5
Reposted by Drew Harwell
some good climate/energy news:
* 96% of new US power capacity was carbon-free in 2024 (56 gigawatts!)
* 2025 included the first month ever when 51% of power on the U.S. grid was carbon-free
* The golbal trend is overwhelming: The world is now investing more $ in clean energy than fossil fuels
* 96% of new US power capacity was carbon-free in 2024 (56 gigawatts!)
* 2025 included the first month ever when 51% of power on the U.S. grid was carbon-free
* The golbal trend is overwhelming: The world is now investing more $ in clean energy than fossil fuels
Clean energy is going to win. It's just a question of when.
Clean energy is still winning. These 10 charts prove it.
Solar and wind are beating new power demand, steelmaking is slowly getting off coal, and more clean energy victories are clear in these charts.
www.canarymedia.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:09 PM
some good climate/energy news:
* 96% of new US power capacity was carbon-free in 2024 (56 gigawatts!)
* 2025 included the first month ever when 51% of power on the U.S. grid was carbon-free
* The golbal trend is overwhelming: The world is now investing more $ in clean energy than fossil fuels
* 96% of new US power capacity was carbon-free in 2024 (56 gigawatts!)
* 2025 included the first month ever when 51% of power on the U.S. grid was carbon-free
* The golbal trend is overwhelming: The world is now investing more $ in clean energy than fossil fuels
Reposted by Drew Harwell
The Washington Post obtained thousands of private chat messages from the ICE public affairs team tasked by the White House with creating viral raid videos for social media.
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i... via @drewharwell.com
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i... via @drewharwell.com
‘It’s a war’: Inside ICE’s media machine
Thousands of internal ICE messages show how its public affairs team has coordinated with the White House to satisfy Trump administration demands for viral arrest videos
www.washingtonpost.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:47 PM
The Washington Post obtained thousands of private chat messages from the ICE public affairs team tasked by the White House with creating viral raid videos for social media.
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i... via @drewharwell.com
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i... via @drewharwell.com
ICE wants to hold 80,000 people in warehouses.
ICE's acting director in April: "We need to get better at treating this like a business ... Like Prime, but with human beings."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202... @douglasmac.bsky.social
ICE's acting director in April: "We need to get better at treating this like a business ... Like Prime, but with human beings."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202... @douglasmac.bsky.social
December 24, 2025 at 2:30 PM
ICE wants to hold 80,000 people in warehouses.
ICE's acting director in April: "We need to get better at treating this like a business ... Like Prime, but with human beings."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202... @douglasmac.bsky.social
ICE's acting director in April: "We need to get better at treating this like a business ... Like Prime, but with human beings."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202... @douglasmac.bsky.social
Who is best served by the new Epstein files being distributed in maximum chaos? www.theatlantic.com/technology/2... @cwarzel.bsky.social
The Epstein Files Only Get Worse
It’s beginning to look a lot like … extremely disturbing PDFs.
www.theatlantic.com
December 24, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Who is best served by the new Epstein files being distributed in maximum chaos? www.theatlantic.com/technology/2... @cwarzel.bsky.social
Reposted by Drew Harwell
New from me & @drewharwell.com: We got access to thousands of internal chat messages from ICE showing how the agency is working to satisfy the White House’s “insatiable” demands for videos of arrests
🎁 wapo.st/4s6YnC5
🎁 wapo.st/4s6YnC5
‘It’s a war’: Inside ICE’s media machine
Thousands of internal ICE messages show how its public affairs team has coordinated with the White House to satisfy Trump administration demands for viral arrest videos
wapo.st
December 23, 2025 at 7:32 PM
New from me & @drewharwell.com: We got access to thousands of internal chat messages from ICE showing how the agency is working to satisfy the White House’s “insatiable” demands for videos of arrests
🎁 wapo.st/4s6YnC5
🎁 wapo.st/4s6YnC5
Reposted by Drew Harwell
“Honestly I’m not ready, having to take care of all of these responsibilities,” Escalante told the Associated Press. “But I’m willing to take them on if I have to. And I’m just praying that I get my mom back.”
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Immigration crackdown leaves teens to care for siblings after parents get detained
An immigration crackdown in Louisiana has forced some teenagers to grow up fast after their parents were arrested by federal agents.
www.latimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
“Honestly I’m not ready, having to take care of all of these responsibilities,” Escalante told the Associated Press. “But I’m willing to take them on if I have to. And I’m just praying that I get my mom back.”
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Reposted by Drew Harwell
"ICE’s public affairs arm has rapidly transformed into an influencer-style media machine, churning out flashy videos of tactical operations and immigration raids."
A chilling story from @joyceshlee.bsky.social & @drewharwell.com 🎁 wapo.st/4s6YnC5
A chilling story from @joyceshlee.bsky.social & @drewharwell.com 🎁 wapo.st/4s6YnC5
‘It’s a war’: Inside ICE’s media machine
Thousands of internal ICE messages show how its public affairs team has coordinated with the White House to satisfy Trump administration demands for viral arrest videos
wapo.st
December 23, 2025 at 6:07 PM
"ICE’s public affairs arm has rapidly transformed into an influencer-style media machine, churning out flashy videos of tactical operations and immigration raids."
A chilling story from @joyceshlee.bsky.social & @drewharwell.com 🎁 wapo.st/4s6YnC5
A chilling story from @joyceshlee.bsky.social & @drewharwell.com 🎁 wapo.st/4s6YnC5
Reposted by Drew Harwell
Reminder that @ddosecrets.com is not only archiving DOJ's Epstein files, but has 20K+ emails from Epstein's Yahoo inbox.
I broke 2 Epstein scoops as well based on hacked emails from ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that had been sitting on DDoSecrets for months.
Don't overlook this resource.
I broke 2 Epstein scoops as well based on hacked emails from ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that had been sitting on DDoSecrets for months.
Don't overlook this resource.
The original cache of DataSet 8 (with the incorrectly redacted files) has been added to @ddosecrets.com
So for some of the Epstein docs they highlighted in black and then forgot to “print to pdf” which would have effectively flattened the formatting and stopped text being recoverable, but here we are.
github.com/leedrake5/un...
github.com/leedrake5/un...
December 23, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Reminder that @ddosecrets.com is not only archiving DOJ's Epstein files, but has 20K+ emails from Epstein's Yahoo inbox.
I broke 2 Epstein scoops as well based on hacked emails from ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that had been sitting on DDoSecrets for months.
Don't overlook this resource.
I broke 2 Epstein scoops as well based on hacked emails from ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that had been sitting on DDoSecrets for months.
Don't overlook this resource.
Reposted by Drew Harwell
Judge Robert Pitman wrote that the statute “is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book.” www.theverge.com/news/849752/...
Judge blocks Texas app store age verification law
A tech industry group challenged the law as unconstitutional.
www.theverge.com
December 23, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Judge Robert Pitman wrote that the statute “is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book.” www.theverge.com/news/849752/...
Reposted by Drew Harwell
Trump is now calling the New York Times a national security threat and says they “must be dealt with and stopped.”
December 23, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Trump is now calling the New York Times a national security threat and says they “must be dealt with and stopped.”
Reposted by Drew Harwell
ICE once ran a routine gov communications shop, dispensing PSAs and press releases. "But during President Donald Trump’s second term, ICE’s public affairs arm has rapidly transformed into an influencer-style media machine, churning out flashy videos of tactical operations and immigration raids."
‘It’s a war’: Inside ICE’s media machine
Thousands of internal ICE messages show how its public affairs team has coordinated with the White House to satisfy Trump administration demands for viral arrest videos
www.washingtonpost.com
December 23, 2025 at 12:41 PM
ICE once ran a routine gov communications shop, dispensing PSAs and press releases. "But during President Donald Trump’s second term, ICE’s public affairs arm has rapidly transformed into an influencer-style media machine, churning out flashy videos of tactical operations and immigration raids."
Reposted by Drew Harwell
“It’s like you’re sitting inside the four walls of your home, and someone is victimizing your child in the next room."
A rising number of children are using AI companions regularly. Here's the story of one 11-year-old girl's experience with a generative AI chatbot. Gift link:
wapo.st/4scolDU
A rising number of children are using AI companions regularly. Here's the story of one 11-year-old girl's experience with a generative AI chatbot. Gift link:
wapo.st/4scolDU
Her daughter was unraveling, and she didn’t know why. Then she found the AI chat logs.
A majority of teens are interacting with AI companions, and many of their parents have no idea.
wapo.st
December 23, 2025 at 3:45 PM
“It’s like you’re sitting inside the four walls of your home, and someone is victimizing your child in the next room."
A rising number of children are using AI companions regularly. Here's the story of one 11-year-old girl's experience with a generative AI chatbot. Gift link:
wapo.st/4scolDU
A rising number of children are using AI companions regularly. Here's the story of one 11-year-old girl's experience with a generative AI chatbot. Gift link:
wapo.st/4scolDU
Reposted by Drew Harwell
68,000 people are being detained this month, an all-time high. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The Complex Deportation Network Behind Trump’s Immigration Crackdown (Gift Article)
An analysis of data on every ICE arrest, detention stay and deportation reveals the complexity and reach of President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM
68,000 people are being detained this month, an all-time high. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
New: We obtained thousands of internal chat messages from the ICE team creating viral videos of raids and "EPIC takedowns."
A scramble to satisfy the White House and "feed the beast" spawned a new "propaganda" machine, current and former officials told us.
"It's a war!"
wapo.st/4s6YnC5
A scramble to satisfy the White House and "feed the beast" spawned a new "propaganda" machine, current and former officials told us.
"It's a war!"
wapo.st/4s6YnC5
‘It’s a war’: Inside ICE’s media machine
Thousands of internal ICE messages show how its public affairs team has coordinated with the White House to satisfy Trump administration demands for viral arrest videos
wapo.st
December 23, 2025 at 11:28 AM
New: We obtained thousands of internal chat messages from the ICE team creating viral videos of raids and "EPIC takedowns."
A scramble to satisfy the White House and "feed the beast" spawned a new "propaganda" machine, current and former officials told us.
"It's a war!"
wapo.st/4s6YnC5
A scramble to satisfy the White House and "feed the beast" spawned a new "propaganda" machine, current and former officials told us.
"It's a war!"
wapo.st/4s6YnC5
Reposted by Drew Harwell
The horns and whistles work
The horns and whistles work
What it's like to watch community activists stand up to a Border Patrol raid.
www.motherjones.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
The horns and whistles work
Wonder if this will end up being one of the most widely watched 60 Minutes packages
December 23, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Wonder if this will end up being one of the most widely watched 60 Minutes packages
Reposted by Drew Harwell
New: They survived a Cybertruck crash. Then a fire killed them. Tesla has marketed its trucks as seemingly impenetrable — bulletproof, with shatter-resistant glass and able to contain blasts. What happens if those same features trap people inside? www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
They survived a Cybertruck crash. An inferno led to a race against time.
In at least a dozen cases since 2019, people have struggled to access or exit Teslas during life-threatening emergencies, fueling lawsuits alleging the company’s futuristic features have caused injuri...
www.washingtonpost.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
New: They survived a Cybertruck crash. Then a fire killed them. Tesla has marketed its trucks as seemingly impenetrable — bulletproof, with shatter-resistant glass and able to contain blasts. What happens if those same features trap people inside? www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
Reposted by Drew Harwell
Reposted by Drew Harwell
Here’s a gift link to this stunner Washpost story, quoting the 60 Minutes correspondent on the CECOT story, who accuses Bari Weiss of spiking the piece all because the Trump Administration wouldn’t comment.
“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO.”
wapo.st/3YL4T3D
“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO.”
wapo.st/3YL4T3D
‘60 Minutes’ correspondent says CBS’s Bari Weiss abruptly pulled segment on Trump deportations
CBS News pulled a ‘60 Minutes’ segment about a prison in El Salvador one day before it was set to air because the Trump administration declined to participate.
wapo.st
December 22, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Here’s a gift link to this stunner Washpost story, quoting the 60 Minutes correspondent on the CECOT story, who accuses Bari Weiss of spiking the piece all because the Trump Administration wouldn’t comment.
“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO.”
wapo.st/3YL4T3D
“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO.”
wapo.st/3YL4T3D
Reposted by Drew Harwell
An Editor’s Note from 60 Minutes
December 21, 2025 at 9:30 PM
An Editor’s Note from 60 Minutes
So weird how stuff like this keeps happening apnews.com/article/rele...
At least 16 files have disappeared from the DOJ webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein
The Justice Department’s webpage for documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is missing at least 16 of its files a day after they were released.
apnews.com
December 21, 2025 at 2:45 AM
So weird how stuff like this keeps happening apnews.com/article/rele...
Someone who is good at the economy please give us 3 billion more dollars for Compute. We were forced to turn off all AI research to generate photos of Sam Altman as a hot dog
December 19, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Someone who is good at the economy please give us 3 billion more dollars for Compute. We were forced to turn off all AI research to generate photos of Sam Altman as a hot dog
Reposted by Drew Harwell
A Russian missile, filled with U.S. tech, rips a Ukrainian boy’s life apart - Washington Post
www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...
A Russian missile, filled with U.S. tech, rips a Ukrainian boy’s life apart
An 8-year-old boy survived one of Russia’s worst attacks on Ukrainian children. After, investigators — and his family — struggled to find answers.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:52 PM
A Russian missile, filled with U.S. tech, rips a Ukrainian boy’s life apart - Washington Post
www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...
Reposted by Drew Harwell
If I haven't responded to your email, it's because I was first convincing an AI vending machine that it exists in the basement of Moscow State University in 1962 and then executing a boardroom coup against its AI CEO.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...
We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars.
An AI agent ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish—and taught us lessons about the future of AI.
www.wsj.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:32 PM
If I haven't responded to your email, it's because I was first convincing an AI vending machine that it exists in the basement of Moscow State University in 1962 and then executing a boardroom coup against its AI CEO.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...
This is a completely hostile maneuver against everything the internet has always been techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/f...
Facebook is testing a link-posting limit for professional accounts and pages | TechCrunch
Meta said that the test impacts professional accounts and pages on Facebook.
techcrunch.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:18 PM
This is a completely hostile maneuver against everything the internet has always been techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/f...