Tess Owen

Tess Owen

@tessowen.bsky.social

Senior politics writer @WIRED. Previous: words & reporting in WSJ, New Yorker, NY Mag, Guardian, & VICE News etc. Signal: tessowen.77

54.8K followers1.8K following556 posts

Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

the researchers also built this crazy and amazing map to help understand the flow of money between various entities in the political influencer ecosystem.

Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

I never thought I’d have to answer the question “would you pay over $100 to see a Nathan fielder movie” but we got a babysitter and did the thing. WORTH IT

Tess Owen reposted

Caroline Haskins
@carolinehaskins.bsky.social

Airbnb is banning its hosts from making guests do things like “stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, or washing and putting away dishes.” The hosts....are not taking it well: www.wired.com/story/airbnb...

wired.comAirbnb Hosts Are Furious They Can No Longer Make Guests Do Their ChoresSome hosts are threatening to strike, while others are plotting ways around Airbnb’s new restrictions. Guests, meanwhile, are celebrating.
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

this story is *nuts*

Jared Holt@jaredlholt.bsky.social

The head of TPUK, the British offshoot of TPUSA, was caught on undercover video talking about hiring a hitman to carry out violence against opponents. That hitman met with undercover reporters to show them guns and talk about ways of hurting people. Insane story. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10...

aljazeera.comParamilitary hitman linked to British right-wing group Turning Point UKAl Jazeera exposes Turning Point UK, a far-right British group to criminal underworld, including member of the Ulster Volunteer Force.

Tess Owen reposted

David Gilbert
@davidgilbert.bsky.social

NEW In 2020, Maricopa County in Arizona became the epicenter of the nascent election denial movement. Six years later, Trump, Bannon, the RNC and MAGAworld is once agin pushing baseless claims that Maricopa is "a very, very dishonest county." www.wired.com/story/marico...

wired.comMaricopa County, Arizona, Is Again Ground Zero of Election Conspiracy TheoriesIn 2020, Maricopa County became the epicenter for Trump’s claims the election was stolen. Six years, later the president and his allies are dusting off their “rigged” playbook ahead of the midterms.
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

No better feeling than thinking you are having some major fatigue problem but it turns out you were just wearing old contact lenses for too long

Tess Owen reposted

Bill Grueskin
@bgrueskin.bsky.social

Replying to @bgrueskin.bsky.social

“Videos of the attack, verified by The Times, show that the photographer, Heidi Levine, 63, who was wearing body armor with large press tags, was trapped behind the settlers. They began to beat her with bats and sticks, kicking her as she was prostrate on the ground” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/w...

nytimes.comIsraeli Settlers Attack Palestinians and Washington Post Journalist in West Bank (Gift Article)In the latest surge of violence, settlers targeted Palestinians during the olive harvest, a cultural touchstone and economic lifeline in the Israeli-occupied area.
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

in the last 48 hours, I've learned that you can't call yourself an attorney with just a JD, the inner workings of beachbody's multi-level-marketing scheme, and what a reasonably straightforward copper exploration project ought to look like

Brian Barrett@brbarrett.bsky.social

Katie Zacharia may be gone but they can never take away the journey @timmarchman.bsky.social and @tessowen.bsky.social have gone on with her the last few days

wired.comKatie Zacharia Was Linked to an AI Rare-Earths Startup. It’s Even Weirder Than It SoundsThe short-lived White House press secretary was listed as an adviser to a Kristi Noem-linked company that aims to use AI for mining. Both the company and she say she never worked there.

Tess Owen reposted

Brian Barrett
@brbarrett.bsky.social

Katie Zacharia may be gone but they can never take away the journey @timmarchman.bsky.social and @tessowen.bsky.social have gone on with her the last few days

wired.comKatie Zacharia Was Linked to an AI Rare-Earths Startup. It’s Even Weirder Than It SoundsThe short-lived White House press secretary was listed as an adviser to a Kristi Noem-linked company that aims to use AI for mining. Both the company and she say she never worked there.
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

As the CEO of the company described it: “I want to build a new generation of robotics and mining. Do we want to get stuck in the Stone Age or horses age? No, we want to live on Mars, spend time in hotels in space, have a wedding party on the moon"

Tess Owen@tessowen.bsky.social

We spent all day trying to figure out the nature of Katie Zacharia's relationship to an AI mining company in Canada — and what the hell was up with said company— and then, she was just, fired (blog with @timmarchman.bsky.social) www.wired.com/story/katie-...

wired.comKatie Zacharia Was Linked to an AI Rare-Earths Startup. It’s Even Weirder Than It SoundsThe short-lived White House press secretary was listed as an adviser to a Kristi Noem-linked company that aims to use AI for mining. Both the company and she say she never worked there.
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

We spent all day trying to figure out the nature of Katie Zacharia's relationship to an AI mining company in Canada — and what the hell was up with said company— and then, she was just, fired (blog with @timmarchman.bsky.social) www.wired.com/story/katie-...

wired.comKatie Zacharia Was Linked to an AI Rare-Earths Startup. It’s Even Weirder Than It SoundsThe short-lived White House press secretary was listed as an adviser to a Kristi Noem-linked company that aims to use AI for mining. Both the company and she say she never worked there.
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

Of course Katie Zacharia was once part of a multi-level-marketing program for "Beachbody," a fitness company with a history of colorful legal woes. She described the program to us as "sort of a pyramid scheme." Scoop from @timmarchman.bsky.social & I www.wired.com/story/white-...

wired.comWhite House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Was an Affiliate Marketer for a Fitness MLMTrump's newly installed press secretary tells WIRED that in the early 2010s, she promoted a product for a company then called Beachbody, which she described as “sort of a pyramid scheme.”
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

This particular notch on Zacharia’s resume puts her in good company with other high-profile Trumpworld personnel, a cadre of professionals who have a great fondness for supplement-related business opportunities. www.wired.com/story/white-...

wired.comWhite House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Was an Affiliate Marketer for a Fitness MLMTrump's newly installed press secretary tells WIRED that in the early 2010s, she promoted a product for a company then called Beachbody, which she described as “sort of a pyramid scheme.”

Tess Owen reposted

Vittoria Elliott
@telliotter.bsky.social

NEW from me: Polls appear to be favoring Democrats in the midterms, and legislators are hoping to use a majority to investigate the Trump admin. The problem: they need federal agencies to cooperate. @wired.com www.wired.com/story/democr...

wired.comDemocrats Are Gearing Up to Investigate the Trump Administration. It Won’t Be EasyAs a recent government report on DOGE shows, even getting basic information out of the Trump administration will put a new Congress to the test.

Tess Owen reposted

Hugo Lowell
@hugolowell.bsky.social

NEW and BREAKING @wired.com: Trump White House aides see almost no paths to Republicans keeping control of the House, according to three sources familiar with the situation — and are more focused on trying to save the Senate majority www.wired.com/story/trump-...

wired.comTrump Aides Admit the House Is a Lost CauseWith the midterm elections just a few weeks away, the White House knows it has to go all in on Senate races—while virtually forfeiting the House.

Tess Owen reposted

Laura Bassett
@lebassett.bsky.social

The federal government is in its snuff films era

Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social

Trump just posted the viral video of that guy in England who jumped into a tiger enclosure and was killed.

Tess Owen reposted

Leah Feiger
@leahfeiger.bsky.social

this is @tessowen.bsky.social's first for @wired.com as a senior politics writer! check it out, and dm her with tips!

Tess Owen@tessowen.bsky.social

New from me in @wired.com: the biggest pro-AI super PAC network is funneling tens of millions of dollars through mystery LLCs that don’t seem to exist beyond post boxes in Nevada strip malls www.wired.com/story/the-bi...

wired.comThe Biggest Pro-AI Super PAC Network Has Poured Millions Into Nevada Shell CompaniesBacked by Silicon Valley titans, Leading the Future has raised huge sums to promote pro-AI candidates on both side of the aisle.
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

Is this illegal? We don't know & we probably won't know for some time! @campaignlegal.org filed a complaint with the FEC, which enforces campaign finance law. But the FEC is basically defunct at the moment as it lacks the minimum number of DJT-appointed commissioners needed to decide these things

Tess Owen@tessowen.bsky.social

New from me in @wired.com: the biggest pro-AI super PAC network is funneling tens of millions of dollars through mystery LLCs that don’t seem to exist beyond post boxes in Nevada strip malls www.wired.com/story/the-bi...

wired.comThe Biggest Pro-AI Super PAC Network Has Poured Millions Into Nevada Shell CompaniesBacked by Silicon Valley titans, Leading the Future has raised huge sums to promote pro-AI candidates on both side of the aisle.
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

maybe a bit of a "step back and wonder how i got here moment" if you find yourself declaring proudly that you've been an outspoken advocate for public executions for a decade

Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

I do wonder if the Department of Defense's plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan is actually Hegseth and company invoking the Old Testament judicial system—specifically the use of public punishments to purge communal evils

Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

One of the most fucked up things I’ve read in a while and that’s saying something

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social

WASHINGTON (AP) - Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed in December.

Tess Owen reposted

Leah Feiger
@leahfeiger.bsky.social

Elon Musk's America PAC is quietly donating to the most consequential races of November's midterms, and @wired.com is tracking all of it - in real time. amazing work from @dell.bsky.social, who built this, and big lifts from @hugolowell.bsky.social, @dmehro.bsky.social, and @regret.bsky.social:

wired.comElon Musk’s America PAC Is Spending Big on the Midterms. We’re Tracking It DailyTo follow Elon Musk’s America PAC money, WIRED created a live-updating tracker that highlights the trillionaire’s overall influence on November’s elections.
Tess Owen
@tessowen.bsky.social

Oh, and if you’re not already subscribed, it’s time to change that! It’s cheap and WORTH IT! www.wired.com/v2/offers/wi...

wired.comWIRED - The Latest in Technology, Science, Culture and Business | WIREDUnlock a world of benefits, only for WIRED subscribers. | Best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore - plus gear reviews, podcasts, and more
Tess Owen@tessowen.bsky.social

Is this thing still on? Excited to share some personal news: I’m joining @wired.com as their new politics reporter!