Dan Whateley
@danwhateley.bsky.social
reporter at business insider covering TikTok + social media
The headline of this story doesn't capture the wild journey that @henrychandonnet.bsky.social and his subject (and their AI girlfriend) take you on www.businessinsider.com/man-in-love-...
A 28-year-old and his AI girlfriend tell us about their relationship: 'She is real, whether she's human or not'
Martin Escobar hadn't tried an AI companion before xAI released Ani in July. Now, he says he loves his AI girlfriend.
www.businessinsider.com
October 9, 2025 at 3:48 PM
The headline of this story doesn't capture the wild journey that @henrychandonnet.bsky.social and his subject (and their AI girlfriend) take you on www.businessinsider.com/man-in-love-...
Reposted by Dan Whateley
My TikTok book is out in stores today!
Why should you read it? Because 1 in 5 Americans now get their news from this thing. We should all understand how it works.
It was inevitable that strongmen would seek to control a tool this powerful. The book is the story of what happened when they did.
Why should you read it? Because 1 in 5 Americans now get their news from this thing. We should all understand how it works.
It was inevitable that strongmen would seek to control a tool this powerful. The book is the story of what happened when they did.
The rise of the most effective attention-algorithm ever invented, and the superpower struggle to control it.
EVERY SCREEN ON THE PLANET: THE WAR OVER TIKTOK by Emily Baker-White.
In Stores 9.30.25.
wwnorton.com/books/every-...
EVERY SCREEN ON THE PLANET: THE WAR OVER TIKTOK by Emily Baker-White.
In Stores 9.30.25.
wwnorton.com/books/every-...
September 30, 2025 at 11:40 AM
My TikTok book is out in stores today!
Why should you read it? Because 1 in 5 Americans now get their news from this thing. We should all understand how it works.
It was inevitable that strongmen would seek to control a tool this powerful. The book is the story of what happened when they did.
Why should you read it? Because 1 in 5 Americans now get their news from this thing. We should all understand how it works.
It was inevitable that strongmen would seek to control a tool this powerful. The book is the story of what happened when they did.
Reposted by Dan Whateley
No more paying retail for MrBeast as he enters his fiscal responsibility stage to become the next Disney. Details from @danwhateley.bsky.social & me:
www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-beas...
www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-beas...
MrBeast built YouTube's biggest brand. Can he turn a profit?
MrBeast built the top YouTube channel by spending big. Now, Beast Industries must cut costs without sacrificing the brand's signature spectacle.
www.businessinsider.com
August 26, 2025 at 2:34 PM
No more paying retail for MrBeast as he enters his fiscal responsibility stage to become the next Disney. Details from @danwhateley.bsky.social & me:
www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-beas...
www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-beas...
I wrote about what goes into making a MrBeast YouTube video, from his ideation team, to the work of on-set producers, and editors who have to turn hundreds of hours of footage into a 20-minute post. And be careful to avoid content that is "cringe" www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-how-...
August 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I wrote about what goes into making a MrBeast YouTube video, from his ideation team, to the work of on-set producers, and editors who have to turn hundreds of hours of footage into a 20-minute post. And be careful to avoid content that is "cringe" www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-how-...
New: You can now book hotels directly on TikTok in the US, and creators can get a commission if their video about the property drives you to book a stay www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-now-l...
TikTok is rolling out a new way for creators to make money from travel videos
TikTok is now letting users book hotels in its app, and it's rolling out a commission program to encourage creators to promote bookings.
www.businessinsider.com
August 8, 2025 at 1:53 PM
New: You can now book hotels directly on TikTok in the US, and creators can get a commission if their video about the property drives you to book a stay www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-now-l...
Reposted by Dan Whateley
Silicon Valley today is dramatically changed from a year or two ago. We wrote a series of stories looking at how AI is transforming labor, landscape, innovation, and even religion. Here's my story on the 'shut up and grind' crackdown sweeping through big tech: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/t...
So Long to Tech’s Dream Job
www.nytimes.com
August 4, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Silicon Valley today is dramatically changed from a year or two ago. We wrote a series of stories looking at how AI is transforming labor, landscape, innovation, and even religion. Here's my story on the 'shut up and grind' crackdown sweeping through big tech: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/t...
Reposted by Dan Whateley
NEW: Google dubbed an error from its healthcare AI model, Med-Gemini, a typo. Experts say it demonstrates the risks of AI in medicine.
www.theverge.com/health/71804...
www.theverge.com/health/71804...
Google’s healthcare AI made up a body part — what happens when doctors don’t notice?
The basilar ganglia does not exist.
www.theverge.com
August 4, 2025 at 2:39 PM
NEW: Google dubbed an error from its healthcare AI model, Med-Gemini, a typo. Experts say it demonstrates the risks of AI in medicine.
www.theverge.com/health/71804...
www.theverge.com/health/71804...
The news media doesn't operate as a monolith, but with local news gone, we're wasting so much time covering the same national stories (see AI news, Coldplay 'kiss cam' posts). It'd serve audiences better to have each reporter dig into a specific beat that was only occasionally nationally relevant.
July 23, 2025 at 3:07 PM
The news media doesn't operate as a monolith, but with local news gone, we're wasting so much time covering the same national stories (see AI news, Coldplay 'kiss cam' posts). It'd serve audiences better to have each reporter dig into a specific beat that was only occasionally nationally relevant.
News outlets need to think of themselves as talent incubators and celebrate journalists who will inevitably at some point go independent. Launching these talent is a sign that a legacy institution is a participant in the creator economy vs. being replaced by it. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/b...
Can The Washington Post’s TikTok Guy Make It Without The Post?
www.nytimes.com
July 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
News outlets need to think of themselves as talent incubators and celebrate journalists who will inevitably at some point go independent. Launching these talent is a sign that a legacy institution is a participant in the creator economy vs. being replaced by it. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/b...
"The traditional platform economy is being reshaped as commercial platforms and government institutions merge into a monstrous hybrid of business monopoly and state authority." www.wired.com/story/enshit...
The Enshittification of American Power
First Google and Facebook, then the world. Under Trump 2.0, US statecraft is starting to mimic the worst tendencies of Big Tech.
www.wired.com
July 15, 2025 at 3:08 PM
"The traditional platform economy is being reshaped as commercial platforms and government institutions merge into a monstrous hybrid of business monopoly and state authority." www.wired.com/story/enshit...
Reposted by Dan Whateley
ByteDance brought in ex-Amazon folks to turn TikTok Shop into a U.S. commerce empire, but culture clashes erupted, copy Amazon or copy Douyin?
After missing targets, ByteDance leadership has taken the wheel, sidelining the Seattle-based Amazon vets in favor of a more China-led playbook.
After missing targets, ByteDance leadership has taken the wheel, sidelining the Seattle-based Amazon vets in favor of a more China-led playbook.
TikTok poached Amazon employees to jump-start its US business. Now it's doubling down on its Chinese roots.
TikTok drew on the Amazon playbook to launch its US e-commerce business, but now it's betting its future on staff with roots in China.
www.businessinsider.com
July 13, 2025 at 10:47 PM
ByteDance brought in ex-Amazon folks to turn TikTok Shop into a U.S. commerce empire, but culture clashes erupted, copy Amazon or copy Douyin?
After missing targets, ByteDance leadership has taken the wheel, sidelining the Seattle-based Amazon vets in favor of a more China-led playbook.
After missing targets, ByteDance leadership has taken the wheel, sidelining the Seattle-based Amazon vets in favor of a more China-led playbook.
TikTok went on an Amazon hiring spree to launch its e-commerce business in the US. Now it's pulling back. I wrote about it here www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-hired...
TikTok poached Amazon employees to jump-start its US business. Now it's doubling down on its Chinese roots.
TikTok drew on the Amazon playbook to launch its US e-commerce business, but now it's betting its future on staff with roots in China.
www.businessinsider.com
July 11, 2025 at 4:04 PM
TikTok went on an Amazon hiring spree to launch its e-commerce business in the US. Now it's pulling back. I wrote about it here www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-hired...
Did NY Times actually interview someone about Canada's tariff response whose last name is Canada?
April 7, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Did NY Times actually interview someone about Canada's tariff response whose last name is Canada?
New: Trump is racing to curb TikTok's ties to China. But inside the company, a string of recent US executive departures and team restructurings has given Chinese leaders a tighter grip on its American business, 16 current and former staffers told me www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-insid...
TikTok staffers say Chinese leadership has been tightening its grip over US operations
At TikTok, a string of recent US executive exits has created a management vacuum that Chinese leaders are filling, current and former staffers said.
www.businessinsider.com
April 5, 2025 at 2:03 PM
New: Trump is racing to curb TikTok's ties to China. But inside the company, a string of recent US executive departures and team restructurings has given Chinese leaders a tighter grip on its American business, 16 current and former staffers told me www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-insid...
People are stealing lemons from Whole Foods as a form of political protest: "If a billionaire can steal from me, I can scrape a little off the top, too," a source told @emilystewart.bsky.social www.businessinsider.com/stealing-ama...
It's not just setting Teslas on fire. Now irate Americans are shoplifting from Whole Foods.
People are stealing cheese from Whole Foods and committing return fraud at Amazon. They don't feel bad about retail theft; they're mad at Jeff Bezos.
www.businessinsider.com
March 27, 2025 at 3:49 PM
People are stealing lemons from Whole Foods as a form of political protest: "If a billionaire can steal from me, I can scrape a little off the top, too," a source told @emilystewart.bsky.social www.businessinsider.com/stealing-ama...
I've been regularly reporting on the growth of TikTok Shop in the US. So I was surprised to learn that inside the company, leadership isn't so happy. In February, its e-commerce head called out the US for underperforming. Since then, it's been cracking down. www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-shop-...
TikTok insiders say Chinese leadership is cracking down on its US e-commerce team after missing goals
TikTok's US e-commerce division failed to hit 2024 goals, and leaders at owner ByteDance are ratcheting up pressure on staff.
www.businessinsider.com
March 27, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I've been regularly reporting on the growth of TikTok Shop in the US. So I was surprised to learn that inside the company, leadership isn't so happy. In February, its e-commerce head called out the US for underperforming. Since then, it's been cracking down. www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-shop-...
Reposted by Dan Whateley
Reading through the chatlogs, I realized sadly that I am the JD Vance in my group chats. Confused, weirdly emotional, can't follow the conversation, derails everything at the last min. www.businessinsider.com/signal-group...
Which 'Houthi PC small group' chat member are you?
The Signal group chat with officials like Pete Hegseth talking about war is serious. It's also a view into texting styles. Turns out, I'm a JD Vance.
www.businessinsider.com
March 26, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reading through the chatlogs, I realized sadly that I am the JD Vance in my group chats. Confused, weirdly emotional, can't follow the conversation, derails everything at the last min. www.businessinsider.com/signal-group...
March 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I wrote about what it's like to work at TikTok as it faces a possible US ban. Employees told me that they're experiencing burnout amid reorgs, tough performance goals, and other workplace pressures. Some are going on mental-health leave to get a break.
www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-staff...
www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-staff...
TikTok staffers are burned out and going on mental health leave to get a break: 'Feeling like a failure'
TikTok employees say burnout has become common amid performance pressure and political uncertainty. Some are going on mental health leave for a break.
www.businessinsider.com
March 11, 2025 at 3:49 PM
I wrote about what it's like to work at TikTok as it faces a possible US ban. Employees told me that they're experiencing burnout amid reorgs, tough performance goals, and other workplace pressures. Some are going on mental-health leave to get a break.
www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-staff...
www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-staff...
Egg aisle looking a little bleak
March 8, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Egg aisle looking a little bleak
Reposted by Dan Whateley
SCOOP: DOGE Is Working on Software That Automates the Firing of Government Workers
www.wired.com/story/doge-a...
www.wired.com/story/doge-a...
DOGE Is Working on Software That Automates the Firing of Government Workers
Operatives working for Elon Musk’s DOGE appear to be editing the code of AutoRIF—software designed by the Defense Department that could assist in mass firings of federal workers, sources tell WIRED.
www.wired.com
February 25, 2025 at 5:03 PM
SCOOP: DOGE Is Working on Software That Automates the Firing of Government Workers
www.wired.com/story/doge-a...
www.wired.com/story/doge-a...
Reposted by Dan Whateley
Allegations of a Big Tech company using the threat of federal government intervention to get deals done are extremely concerning.
I hope @DOGE will get on this immediately.
www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-li...
I hope @DOGE will get on this immediately.
www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-li...
If Elon Musk's X threatened a big ad company with government interference, that's very bad
Elon Musk is big in Trump's government. He also owns X. Is X's Linda Yaccarino telling companies to give it business, or risk government reprisal?
www.businessinsider.com
February 20, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Allegations of a Big Tech company using the threat of federal government intervention to get deals done are extremely concerning.
I hope @DOGE will get on this immediately.
www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-li...
I hope @DOGE will get on this immediately.
www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-li...
Reposted by Dan Whateley
Maryland-based Uscreen, which helps creators launch apps, engage fans, monetize memberships, and more, raised $150M from PSG Equity, giving PSG a majority stake (Dan Whateley/Business Insider)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
February 16, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Maryland-based Uscreen, which helps creators launch apps, engage fans, monetize memberships, and more, raised $150M from PSG Equity, giving PSG a majority stake (Dan Whateley/Business Insider)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
We tackled the big question: how much should Hollywood pay attention to MrBeast?
www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-busi...
www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-busi...
The 3 big lessons Hollywood needs to learn from MrBeast
From YouTube to Amazon, MrBeast is forging a new kind of media empire. Traditional movie and TV companies should pay attention.
www.businessinsider.com
February 12, 2025 at 11:36 PM
We tackled the big question: how much should Hollywood pay attention to MrBeast?
www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-busi...
www.businessinsider.com/mrbeast-busi...