Katherine Long

Katherine Long

@klong.bsky.social

Investigations reporter at the Wall Street Journal, via Business Insider and The Seattle Times. katherine.long@wsj.com. Send tips on Signal: longka.38

17.4K followers310 following72 posts

Katherine Long reposted

Christoph Becker
@chwb.bsky.social

"Since late August, a network of 795 wallets - all funded by the fee-collecting account - have accounted for 99% of the activity on the platform... Gibraltar's gambling commissioner found ADI is in compliance with regulations" - @ceostroff.bsky.social @klong.bsky.social www.wsj.com/finance/near...

wsj.comExclusive | Nearly All Volume on FIFA-Linked Prediction Market Is Circular TradingADI Predictstreet, backed by Abu Dhabi’s royal family, paid close to $150 million for advertising rights during the World Cup.
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

I first heard about Kyla Simpson’s story close to a year ago: A surrogate who gave birth to triplets for a father in China, then was left to raise the children after he never retrieved them from the US. The full story is stranger, and sadder, than I could have imagined.

Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

A high-risk pregnancy. An unexpected child. A sudden death. Government red tape. An alleged fraudster with an ever-shifting story. Reporting this story, I found that the nation’s patchy laws do little to protect surrogates, parents or children.

Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

NEW: A college student filmed the exciting moment he won $100,000 – except the bet wasn’t real. A flood of videos showing fake trades and fake wins, is fueling Polymarket’s hype machine, our @wsj.com investigation found. It's part of a secret campaign for Americans’ attention on social media.

Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

Though Polymarket was banned from letting U.S. users trade on its website in 2022, we found the company is hiring overseas workers to make the videos of fake trades go viral in the U.S. Gift link. w/ @ceostroff.bsky.social @neilmhta.bsky.social @brennasmith.bsky.social @daptx.bsky.social & co.

wsj.comThey Looked Like They Were Getting Rich on Polymarket—but None of It Was RealThe prediction market has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators. ‘Is this just free money?’

Katherine Long reposted

Caitlin Ostroff
@ceostroff.bsky.social

1/ After seeing a lot of Polymarket videos on social media, my @WSJ colleagues and I wanted to understand Polymarket’s marketing. After watching a bunch of videos, we noticed that the website featured in them was almost, but not quite, identical to Polymarket’s actual platform.

Katherine Long reposted

Eric Lipton NYT
@ericlipton.nytimes.com

WSJ: They Looked Like They Were Getting Rich on Polymarket—but None of It Was Real The prediction market has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation Free link www.wsj.com/business/med...

wsj.comThey Looked Like They Were Getting Rich on Polymarket—but None of It Was RealThe prediction market has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators. ‘Is this just free money?’
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

NEW: We set out to learn who was making money on prediction markets. We found a small group of sharks feeding on a massive school of fish, including: > a lifetime problem gambler > a 31 y.o. in Indiana who lost $5,000 betting on sports > a Detroit man who now lives in a homeless shelter

Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social

"On Polymarket, the Journal found, 67% of profits go to just 0.1% of accounts. That means less than 2,000 accounts netted a total of nearly half a billion dollars."

wsj.comWhy Almost Everyone Loses—Except a Few Sharks—on Prediction MarketsA WSJ analysis shows a small number of accounts on Polymarket and Kalshi—often pros using data-driven algorithmic trading—take home most of the winnings.
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

NEW from @neilmhta.bsky.social: How sports leagues, tourism bureaus and other charities have transformed themselves through gambling. For more than 3,000 nonprofits nationwide, gambling constitutes more than half of their funding. www.wsj.com/business/hos...

wsj.comHow a Youth Wrestling Club Became a Multimillion-Dollar Gambling OperationThe $2 billion ‘e-tab’ gold rush hits states like North Dakota, keeping nonprofits afloat—and rich. Some are buying bars.

Katherine Long reposted

The New York Times
@nytimes.com

The U.S. Forest Service is closing 57 of its 77 research facilities in 31 states under a reorganization plan announced this week, threatening science that looked at how wildfires, drought, pests and global warming are putting pressure on forests.

nyti.msForest Service Will Close Research Stations That Study Wildfire RiskScientists say their work on fires and climate change could be lost as the agency moves its headquarters to Utah from Washington and shuts 57 research stations.

Katherine Long reposted

The New York Times
@nytimes.com

The view of Tehran’s skyline overnight on Sunday was apocalyptic: Billowing smoke and towering oil fires turned the horizon orange as Israeli strikes ignited fuel depots outside the Iranian capital. By morning, dark, oily smoke hung over the city. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/w...

Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

Isn’t the right to protest what makes America great? an American in the back of a government vehicle asked the agent who had just arrested her. No, the agent responded. Inside the Department of Homeland Security’s war on American dissent. www.wsj.com/us-news/immi...

wsj.comAmericans Are Now a Target in Trump’s Immigration CrackdownA WSJ investigation tracked the U.S. citizens caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive federal campaign to detain and demonize dissenters.

Katherine Long reposted

Philip Stafford
@staffordphilip.bsky.social

This piece is great but also insane. Polymarket has offered to pay fraternities, in exchange for signing up users, money that can be spent on throwing “epic parties”—one frat raised $30,510 over a two-week period. www.wsj.com/business/med...

wsj.com‘Is This Insider Information?’ The Prediction Market Bets Driving a Campus FrenzyKalshi and Polymarket pour money into deals with social-media influencers and students, who try to parlay rumors into cash.

Katherine Long reposted

Bobby Allyn
@bobbyallyn.bsky.social

At the center of the prediction markets boom is a bitter rivalry between two 20-something billionaire fintech bros vying for their companies to be distinct, despite everyone constantly lumping them together "For them, it's existential," a former Kalshi employee told me www.npr.org/2026/03/06/n...

npr.org2 young billionaires are behind the prediction market boom. They hate each otherThe 20-something billionaires who run Kalshi and Polymarket are battling it out to be the top prediction market company. Observers and former insiders say the feud is just heating up.

Katherine Long reposted

Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

A fraternity that counts Jeff Bezos' stepson as a member under investigation for insider trading. Parties with Polymarket-branded beer pong sets. $20,000 in funding to open a prediction market club. Here's how prediction markets are gaining ground on college campuses. www.wsj.com/business/med...

wsj.comThe Wildest Frat Party on Campus? Prediction MarketsKalshi and Polymarket pour money into deals with social-media influencers and students, who try to parlay rumors, insider info into cash.
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

A fraternity that counts Jeff Bezos' stepson as a member under investigation for insider trading. Parties with Polymarket-branded beer pong sets. $20,000 in funding to open a prediction market club. Here's how prediction markets are gaining ground on college campuses. www.wsj.com/business/med...

wsj.comThe Wildest Frat Party on Campus? Prediction MarketsKalshi and Polymarket pour money into deals with social-media influencers and students, who try to parlay rumors, insider info into cash.
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

Josh Gruenbaum is on the frontlines of U.S. foreign policy. Back home, he's the subject of a review of whether he improperly pushed for a government contract to a company backed by Josh Kushner's investment firm. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

wsj.comExclusive | How a Pencil-Purchasing U.S. Bureaucrat Ended Up Shaking Hands With PutinJosh Gruenbaum’s brash ways as a federal agency bean-counter earned him the trust of Jared Kushner and Trump’s foreign policy team—and sparked a review of whether he broke contracting rules.

Katherine Long reposted

Will Oremus
@willoremus.com

Whatever you think of the Washington Post at this moment, here's a chance to support the dedicated, hard-working journalists who were just laid off. If you have the means, your donation is most welcome. If you don't, a kind thought and maybe spreading the word to others is support enough 💙

gofundme.comDonate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel SiegelOn Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund

Katherine Long reposted

Ana Marie Cox
@anamariecox.com

Great piece. Important reporting. Gift link: wapo.st/4kpCBGc

wapo.stInside Musk’s bet to hook users that turned Grok into a porn generatorUnder pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
nitasha tiku@nitasha.bsky.social

My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power

Katherine Long reposted

Bill Grueskin
@bgrueskin.bsky.social

As Propublica’s editors note, “the policy of shielding officers' identities, particularly after a public shooting, is a stark departure from standard law enforcement protocols. “Such secrecy, in our view, deprives the public of the most fundamental tool for accountability.”

ProPublica@propublica.org

BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

propublica.orgTwo CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti ShootingThe two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

Read this story from @matthewkish.bsky.social.

ProPublica@propublica.org

We traveled to Nike’s second-largest hub and interviewed 100 workers, none of whom said they earned anywhere near 1.9 times the local minimum wage, the pay rate the company has cited as its global average over the years. With @oregonian.com

propublica.orgNike Says Its Factory Workers Make Nearly Double the Minimum Wage. In Indonesia, Workers Say, “It’s Not True.”An average worker at the foreign factories that make Nike’s goods earns 1.9 times the local minimum wage, the company says. None of the workers The Oregonian/OregonLive spoke with in Nike’s second-lar...

Katherine Long reposted

Christopher Mims
@mims.bsky.social

WSJ investigation: In the past 6 months ICE agents have fired at vehicles 13 times, leading to: * 8 people shot * 5 of which were U.S. citizens * 2 died * no victims drew a weapon The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...

wsj.comVideos Show How ICE Vehicle Stops Can Escalate to ShootingsA WSJ visual investigation found that the Minneapolis ICE killing is one of 13 incidents where federal immigration agents have used deadly force against civilians in vehicles since July.
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

Nia Trent-Wilson owes $182,889.63 in medical bills for a baby that wasn’t hers. Trent-Wilson had been a surrogate twice. But this time, the pregnancy went badly sideways, and she underwent a hysterectomy. She went home with a bill. The parents went home with the baby. www.wsj.com/us-news/surr...

wsj.comSurrogacy Is a Multibillion-Dollar Business—but Surrogates Can Be Left With Big DebtsThe booming fertility industry is largely unregulated, leaving the women giving birth with few financial or legal protections.
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

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...

wsj.comWe 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.

Katherine Long reposted

Kim Krawiec
@kimkrawiec.bsky.social

“Pellman’s decision in the confidential case … was a rare rebuke to a little-known trend in the largely unregulated U.S. surrogacy industry: Chinese elites and billionaires who are going outside of China, where domestic surrogacy is illegal, to quietly have large numbers of U.S.-born babies”.

wsj.comThe Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via SurrogateVideogame executive Xu Bo, said to have more than 100 children, and other elites are building mega-families—testing citizenship laws and drawing on nannies, IVF and legal firms set up to help them.

Katherine Long reposted

Emily Feng
@emilyzfeng.bsky.social

“An increasing number of “crazy rich” clients are commissioning dozens, or even hundreds, of U.S.-born babies with the goal of “forging an unstoppable family dynasty,” he said.” www.wsj.com/us-news/chin...

wsj.comThe Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via SurrogateVideogame executive Xu Bo, said to have more than 100 children, and other elites are building mega-families—testing citizenship laws and drawing on nannies, IVF and legal firms set up to help them.
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

A Chinese billionaire was seeking parental rights to at least four unborn children, and the court’s additional research showed that he had already fathered or was in the process of fathering at least eight more—all through surrogates. www.wsj.com/us-news/chin...

wsj.comThe Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via SurrogateVideogame executive Xu Bo, said to have more than 100 children, and other elites are building mega-families—testing citizenship laws and drawing on nannies, IVF and legal firms set up to help them.
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social

A startup called Preventive, backed by Sam Altman's family office and Brian Armstrong, is working toward a goal that has frightened and enthralled scientists for decades: Gene-editing an embryo to rid the child it becomes of disease. w/ Emily Glazer and Amy Marcus www.wsj.com/tech/biotech...

wsj.comGenetically Engineered Babies Are Banned. Tech Titans Are Trying to Make One Anyway.Silicon Valley startups are pushing the boundaries of reproductive genetics, hoping to prevent diseases as well as improve chances for a high IQ and other traits.

Katherine Long reposted

Katie Notopoulos
@katienotopoulos.bsky.social

Replying to @katienotopoulos.bsky.social

that was fast and totally unforseeable techcrunch.com/2025/09/25/v...

techcrunch.comExclusive: Neon takes down app after exposing users' phone numbers, call recordings, and transcriptsCall recording app Neon was one of the top-ranked iPhone apps, but was pulled offline after a security bug allowed any logged-in user to access the call recordings and transcripts of any other user.

Katherine Long reposted

Will Oremus
@willoremus.com

the weather in the mid atlantic today feels like someone took a 20 minute shower in a windowless bathroom and forgot to turn on the exhaust fan