Michael Zelenko
@mvzelenko.bsky.social
📤 1118
📥 261
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Executive Editor, Rest of World
This morning
@restofworld.org
published the incredibly heart-breaking story of Gaza Sky Geeks, the vibrant Gaza-based tech hub that was the darling of international press through the 2010s 🧵
restofworld.org/2025/gaza-sk...
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The bombing of Gaza Sky Geeks
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war.
https://restofworld.org/2025/gaza-sky-geeks-bombing-rebuilding/
4 days ago
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Michael Zelenko
Rest of World
4 days ago
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks was a model for how tech could transform Gaza. Just days after October 7, its office was blown to pieces by an Israeli airstrike. Now, with a tentative ceasefire in place, it’s trying to rebuild. Read our new feature from
@mohamhawish.bsky.social
& Aseel Mousa:
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The bombing of Gaza Sky Geeks
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war.
https://restofworld.org/2025/gaza-sky-geeks-bombing-rebuilding/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=row-social
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reposted by
Michael Zelenko
Guan Yang
4 days ago
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war.
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The bombing of Gaza Sky Geeks
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war.
https://restofworld.org/2025/gaza-sky-geeks-bombing-rebuilding/
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Michael Zelenko
Viola Zhou
10 days ago
Very glad to see my story on AI and medicine printed in the Guardian this week! If you haven’t read it:
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
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Michael Zelenko
Eric Umansky
23 days ago
BREAKING from PP We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens* The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied: Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado
www.propublica.org/article/immi...
by
@nicolefoy.bsky.social
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More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will
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Michael Zelenko
Laura Anne Gilman
about 2 months ago
www.nytimes.com/1939/02/04/a...
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Michael Zelenko
Rina Chandran
about 2 months ago
Assad is out. Startups are in. Syria’s tech industry was put on hold by 14 years of devastating civil war and crippling economic sanctions. Now it’s roaring back to life as tech founders try to rebuild the country.
@emilywither.bsky.social
for
@restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/syria-t...
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Syria’s quest to build its own Silicon Valley
Tech founders in Damascus are rebooting a war-torn country.
https://restofworld.org/2025/syria-tech-industry
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Michael Zelenko
Lora Kolodny
about 2 months ago
“India is the world’s third-largest producer of e-waste, having generated approximately 1.75 million metric tons in the fiscal year ending 2024, an increase of nearly 75% over the last five years.”
restofworld.org/2025/india-e...
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The dirty truth behind the e-waste recycling industry
The informal recycling economy is turning global e-waste into profit — at a steep human and environmental cost.
https://restofworld.org/2025/india-e-waste-recycling-electronics/
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Michael Zelenko
Louise Matsakis
about 2 months ago
this is a really important project, and I can't think of anyone better than
@damonberes.com
to be leading it
add a skeleton here at some point
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Michael Zelenko
Swapnil Hiremath 🍁🇨🇦
2 months ago
Interesting deep dive into DeepSeek providing medical advice to a kidney patient -
@violazhou.bsky.social
mother!
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
Feat
@melhoenig.bsky.social
and
@kidneyboy.bsky.social
#NephSky
#AI
#LLM
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My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/
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Michael Zelenko
Data & Society
2 months ago
“DeepSeek is so much better than doctors.”
@violazhou.bsky.social
is unsettled by the way her mother, a kidney transplant patient in eastern China, relies on an AI chatbot for health advice. But she also recognizes that the bigger problem is a systemic one.
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
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My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/
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“DeepSeek is more humane,” my mother told me in May. “Doctors are more like machines.”
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
2 months ago
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“Our forefathers did this. … No one else can do it,” he continued. “If someone tried, he will be beaten black and blue.” The dirty truth behind the e-waste recycling industry
restofworld.org/2025/india-e...
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The dirty truth behind the e-waste recycling industry
The informal recycling economy is turning global e-waste into profit — at a steep human and environmental cost.
https://restofworld.org/2025/india-e-waste-recycling-electronics/
2 months ago
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Michael Zelenko
Techmeme
2 months ago
A reporter details how her mother, a kidney transplant patient who lives in China, bonded with DeepSeek's chatbot as her AI doctor, calling it "more humane" (Viola Zhou/Rest of World)
Main Link
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Techmeme Permalink
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Michael Zelenko
Danny Groner
2 months ago
Good listen.
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
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My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/
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Michael Zelenko
Viola Zhou
2 months ago
Not long after DeepSeek R1 launched, I discovered that my mother had started using the chatbot as her virtual doctor. I worried about her reliance on AI. But over time, I realized Dr. DeepSeek was offering something no human in her life could.
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
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My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/
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Michael Zelenko
Viola Zhou
2 months ago
In this personal essay (my first for
@restofworld.org
), I explore patients’ relationship with AI, why chatbots can’t yet replace doctors, the caretaking burden on my one-child generation, and the tech industry that promises to ease our struggles.
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
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My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/
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Michael Zelenko
Rina Chandran
2 months ago
When her mom, a kidney transplant patient in a small Chinese city, turned to DeepSeek for medical advice
@violazhou.bsky.social
asked doctors to review the chat logs. They said the AI bot was giving flawed advice. Read the firsthand account on
@restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
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My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/
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Michael Zelenko
Rest of World
2 months ago
When her mom became smitten with Dr. DeepSeek,
@violazhou.bsky.social
asked human doctors to review the chat logs. They said the AI bot is giving alarmingly flawed advice. But maybe her mom is after something more than just medical help. Read our new feature:
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
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My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/
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This week's
@restofworld.org
feature from
@violazhou.bsky.social
is really special: It's about Viola's mom, who — like so many sick and lonely people in the modern world — turned to AI as she struggled with her health.
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
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My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/
2 months ago
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Michael Zelenko
Arjun Basu
2 months ago
This is an indictment of a lot of things but I'm not sure what it's indicting the most. Probably doctors.
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My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/?utm_source=Rest+of+World+Newsletter&utm_campaign=36e9c798c9-row-newsletters-global_2025-09-02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-36e9c798c9-446247354
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reposted by
Michael Zelenko
Techmeme
2 months ago
Inside India's growing ~$1.5B e-waste recycling industry, about 95% of workers are employed informally, doing dangerous, toxic, and lawless work for meager pay (Yashraj Sharma/Rest of World)
Main Link
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Techmeme Permalink
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Michael Zelenko
Nathan Kalman-Lamb
3 months ago
An internal Israeli intelligence database reveals 83% of those killed by the IDF in Gaza were civilians, contradicting public claims to the contrary.
www.972mag.com/israeli-inte...
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Michael Zelenko
Lauren Goode
3 months ago
A couple months ago I made an unusual request to my editors at
@wired.com
: I asked if I could go work at a tech company for a few days to learn how to vibe code. Then, for some reason, the $10 billion dollar startup Notion agreed to let me embed with them. 🧵
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Michael Zelenko
Gayathri Vaidyanathan
3 months ago
The UAE plans to become the world’s testing ground for autonomous vehicles and upend the lives of 30,000 cabbies in the process. Amar Diwakar in
@restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/uae-rob...
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Dubai’s robotaxi dreams are coming for human drivers
The UAE plans to become the world’s testing ground for autonomous vehicles and upend the lives of 30,000 cabbies in the process.
https://restofworld.org/2025/uae-robotaxi-cab-driver/
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Michael Zelenko
Rina Chandran
3 months ago
Syrian tech workers who fled during the civil war are returning home and launching startups. They face poor internet, unreliable electricity, and a regulatory void, but believe tech can help rebuild their war-battered nation,
@kayagenc.bsky.social
@restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/syrian-...
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They left Syria as refugees. They’re returning to build its tech industry
After the fall of the Assad regime, tech workers are coming back to help rebuild their nation.
https://restofworld.org/2025/syrian-tech-industry/
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Michael Zelenko
Sean O’Kane
3 months ago
WOW WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING?????
techcrunch.com/2025/08/04/f...
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Foxconn sells former GM factory to mystery buyer after failing to make EVs | TechCrunch
The company has spent more than three years claiming the factory would become an "important" EV hub. But it has barely produced anything there.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/04/foxconn-sells-former-gm-factory-to-mystery-buyer-after-failing-to-make-evs/
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reposted by
Michael Zelenko
Techmeme
3 months ago
An inside look at ex-unicorn Builder.ai's demise, which oversold its AI platform's abilities and frustrated customers with delivery delays and buggy products (Varsha Bansal/Rest of World)
Main Link
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Techmeme Permalink
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Michael Zelenko
Rest of World
3 months ago
BuilderAI raised $445 million as it boasted that its AI chatbot, Natasha, would radically simplify the process of building apps and websites. When the company collapsed, one viral tweet claimed Natasha was really just 700 human engineers. In our new feature, we set out to find the truth.
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Inside the collapse of Builder.ai: Was it even an AI company?
The implosion of a white-hot startup has employees asking how it all went wrong.
https://restofworld.org/2025/builderai-ai-apps-downfall/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=row-social
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Michael Zelenko
Angela Misri
3 months ago
"...some analysts are holding up
Builder.ai
as a potential case of 'AI washing,' in which companies falsely promote products or services as AI to attract attention and funding."
restofworld.org/2025/builder...
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Inside the collapse of Builder.ai: Was it even an AI company?
The implosion of a white-hot startup has employees asking how it all went wrong.
https://restofworld.org/2025/builderai-ai-apps-downfall/?utm_source=Rest+of+World+Newsletter&utm_campaign=8cc2987122-row-newsletters-global_2025-07-29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-8cc2987122-446458058
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Michael Zelenko
Rina Chandran
4 months ago
While all eyes were on BYD overtaking Tesla, smaller Chinese EV makers quietly rolled into the global top 10. Chinese automakers now control 70% of global EV production, reports Ananya Bhattacharya for
@restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/chinese...
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BYD distracted the world while Chinese EV peers staged a coup
Even as BYD grabs headlines, a pack of Chinese automakers is quietly conquering overseas markets with aggressive pricing and localization.
https://restofworld.org/2025/chinese-ev-global-expansion-byd/
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The EV revolution has sparked a dangerous boom in illegal lithium mining in countries like Zimbabwe.
@restofworld.org
's latest feature is about a deadly example of one such case
restofworld.org/2025/zimbabw...
4 months ago
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Michael Zelenko
Rina Chandran
4 months ago
The EV boom has brought Chinese investment in Zimbabwe lithium mines. But locals feel left out, and some have turned to stealing, risking death from falls and cave-ins, as well as violent encounters with guards. Read in
@restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/zimbabwe-lithium-mining-boom
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Dangerous mines: A death at the bottom of the EV supply chain
In Zimbabwe, the EV rush has brought a surge of Chinese investment into lithium mines. But many locals feel left out — and some have turned to stealing.
https://restofworld.org/2025/zimbabwe-lithium-mining-boom
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Michael Zelenko
Liberation Technology
4 months ago
Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet
restofworld.org/2025...
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Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet
Space-based internet is remaking Earth’s orbit — and fueling a gold rush.
https://restofworld.org/2025/satellites-space-based-internet/
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Michael Zelenko
Anup Kaphle
4 months ago
Despite the billions in investment, and the thousands of satellites zipping around, it is still hard to really picture the satellite internet industry.
@khadijaalam.bsky.social
gathered data to help visualize this rapidly growing business for
@restofworld.org
.
restofworld.org/2025/satelli...
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Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet
Space-based internet is remaking Earth’s orbit — and fueling a gold rush.
https://restofworld.org/2025/satellites-space-based-internet/
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Space-based internet is remaking Earth’s orbit — and fueling a gold rush. Come gawk at our new, immersive, visual feature
restofworld.org/2025/satelli...
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Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet
Space-based internet is remaking Earth’s orbit — and fueling a gold rush.
https://restofworld.org/2025/satellites-space-based-internet/
4 months ago
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Michael Zelenko
Brian Merchant
4 months ago
AI is being used to justify firing workers at major tech companies, leaving those that remain to pick up the pieces. AI code is being shoveled into crucial Google products, replacing trainers at TikTok, and worse. This, in tech workers' own words, is how AI is killing jobs in Silicon Valley.
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AI Killed My Job: Tech workers
Tech workers at TikTok, Google, and across the industry share stories about how AI is changing, ruining, or replacing their jobs.
https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/how-ai-is-killing-jobs-in-the-tech-f39
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Michael Zelenko
Reyhan Harmanci
5 months ago
I had wondered why I was reading about Palestinean-Israeli deaths last week, seemingly disproportionately
add a skeleton here at some point
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Michael Zelenko
Anup Kaphle
5 months ago
Scarred by long hours, low pay, and a hostile work culture, many chip workers for Samsung are leaving for competitors, including American companies. Michelle Kim's reporting from Seoul for
@restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/samsung...
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Samsung is desperate to compete on chips. Workers say it comes at a cost.
Scarred by long hours, low pay, and a hostile work culture, many chip workers are leaving for competitors, including American companies.
https://restofworld.org/2025/samsung-electronics-chip-division-dysfunction/
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Awesome to see
@violazhou.bsky.social
's
@restofworld.org
Gotion feature turned into a
@planetmoney.bsky.social
episode! Read the story:
restofworld.org/2025/gotion-...
And then listen to the segment!
www.npr.org/2025/06/06/1...
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How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town
The ambitious executives at Gotion wanted to join America’s EV gold rush. Then came geopolitics.
https://restofworld.org/2025/gotion-ev-battery-us-expansion-backlash-michigan/
5 months ago
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Incredible headline/photo combo
5 months ago
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Michael Zelenko
Luke O'Neil
5 months ago
Israeli tanks and drones open fire on Palestinians gathered at aid distribution sites run by a US-backed group in Gaza, killing more than 30 people in Rafah alone.
www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...
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Updates: Israeli forces kill dozens at US-backed aid sites in Gaza
Killings come as Hamas seeks changes to a ceasefire deal proposed by the US, but Trump’s envoy has dismissed the call.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/6/1/live-israel-pounds-gaza-hamas-seeks-changes-to-us-ceasefire-proposal
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Michael Zelenko
Craig Silverman
5 months ago
There are more web-based facial recognition tools than ever. But what do we actually know about them? I uncovered surprising info about 9 services: 🔎 One is run from Iran 🔎 One uses pics of fake customers 🔎 Some won't say who owns them More
@indicator.media
:
indicator.media/p/facial-rec...
#OSINT
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Michael Zelenko
Techmeme
5 months ago
A profile of Byju's CEO Byju Raveendran, who refuses to take responsibility for the edtech company's implosion and is accused of hiding $533M from US lenders (Yudhijit Bhattacharjee/Rest of World)
Main Link
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Michael Zelenko
Michael
5 months ago
Before she left, Lily wrote this reflection on her time at
@restofworld.org
- what she built, and what she learned.
restofworld.org/inside/three...
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Three Years in Product: What I Built
I joined Rest of World in 2022 as one of the two front-end developers. Three years, one redesign, and many rounds of confetti later, I’m wrapping up—and reflecting on the projects I’m most proud of.
https://restofworld.org/inside/three-years-in-product-lily-engineer/
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Michael Zelenko
Anup Kaphle
5 months ago
BYJU’s was one of the world’s top ed-tech companies — until it was rocked by staggering allegations of fraud. Can its enigmatic founder rebuild his empire? Read our latest feature, by
@yudhijit.bsky.social
—
restofworld.org/2025/byjus-o...
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The math tutor and the missing $533 million
From Dubai, the enigmatic founder of Byju’s recounts how he made his empire — and vows to rebuild it.
https://restofworld.org/2025/byjus-owner-byju-raveendran-comeback-fraud-case/
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A global ed-tech giant collapses, $500m goes missing, and an IHOP in Florida at the heart of it. This story has it ALL. Fantastic reporting from
@yudhijit.bsky.social
who flew to Dubai to ride around in a Cadillac with Byju himself
restofworld.org/2025/byjus-o...
5 months ago
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Michael Zelenko
Data & Society
6 months ago
Speaking of scams:
@restofworld.org
reports that young Indonesians who think they are applying for tech jobs are being trafficked to scam farms, where they are forced to use AI-generated deepfakes, voice clones, and other tech to con people out of their savings.
restofworld.org/2025/fake-jo...
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AI scam factories force trafficked workers to defraud global victims
“Every day, for eight months, I deceived people”; Americans alone lost $12.5 billion last year to these sophisticated online cons.
https://restofworld.org/2025/fake-job-ads-facebook-telegram-indonesia-tech-workers/
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Fantastic to see
@restofworld.org
and
@contextnewsroom.bsky.social
win a Telly Award for our co-produced video series Gig Workers Rising. Congrats to everyone who contributed!
www.tellyawards.com/winners/2025...
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Gig Workers Rising - 2025 Bronze Winner - Telly Awards
Gig Workers Rising, 2025 Bronze Telly Awards Series Winner for Video Journalism
https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/2025/online/series-video-journalism/gig-workers-rising/337349/
6 months ago
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Michael Zelenko
ence morse
6 months ago
In early February, as many as 75% of Elon Musk's posts on X were about DOGE or U.S. politics. Recently, the figure has been more like 10%. Instead, he's posting WAY more about his companies. My latest w/
@sarahellison.bsky.social
:
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
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