An exclusive interview with TikTok’s CEO

PLUS: YouTube, Discord, and Lord of the Rings Led Police to a Teen Accused of a US Swatting Spree, and more. [View this email in your browser]( | [Manage newsletter subscriptions]( [02.01.24](   [Photo illustration showing soundwaves over shadows of a person in the middle and police officers. ]( BREAD CRUMBS | 3-MINUTE READ [YouTube, Discord, and Lord of the Rings Led Police to a Teen Accused of a US Swatting Spree]( BY DHRUV MEHROTRA AND ANDREW COUTS [For nearly two years, police have been tracking down the culprit behind a wave of hoax threats. A digital trail took them to the door of a 17-year-old in California.](   [Diagram of Beef cuts]( BOVINE UNIVERSITY | 4-MINUTE READ [Inside the Beef Industry’s Campaign to Influence Kids]( BY MATT REYNOLDS [Big Beef is wooing science teachers with webinars and lesson plans in an attempt to change students’ perceptions of the industry.](   [People wade in the Rio Grande looking for a place to crawl through razor wire after crossing the US/Mexico border]( EXTREMISM | 4-MINUTE READ [A Decapitation May Have Roots in Far-Right Border and Immigrant Paranoia]( BY DAVID GILBERT [A man charged with murdering his father and showing his decapitated head on YouTube spent years ranting about extremist conspiracies.](   [Shou Zi Chew TikTok CEO, TikTok in the Mix, Mesa, Arizona, orange]( THE BIG INTERVIEW | 19-MINUTE READ [‘Over Time the Trust Will Come’: An Exclusive Interview With TikTok’s CEO]( BY DEXTER THOMAS [A few weeks ago, Shou Zi Chew sat down with WIRED to tell us how he’s trying to make TikTok better. Is the company’s CEO for real—or just a really good politician?]( ADVERTISEMENT [GET WIRED]( [Our Winter Sale is Officially live! Subscribe to WIRED for only $29.99 $5.That includes subscriber-only content like Steven Levy's Plaintext column, plus](FREE WIRED stickers as a special bonus!   [Four pairs of white headphones in a line on a red background]( RIP TIDE | 3-MINUTE READ [Music Piracy Is Back in a Big Way—Especially From YouTube]( BY ANGELA WATERCUTTER [Visits to music piracy websites went up more than 13 percent last year, a new report says. The majority of those visits were to sites that allow users to download the audio from YouTube URLs.](   [Illustration of a map focused on India with black squares blocking out parts]( STREISAND EFFECT | 6-MINUTE READ [A Startup Allegedly ‘Hacked the World.’ Then Came the Censorship—and Now the Backlash]( BY ANDY GREENBERG [A loose coalition of anti-censorship voices is working to highlight reports of one Indian company’s hacker-for-hire past—and the legal threats aimed at making them disappear.](   [Apple Watch SE Gen 2 in silver and black]( DEALS | 3-MINUTE READ [9 Good Deals on Smartwatches, Robot Vacuums, and Video Games]( BY LOURYN STRAMPE [Happy February! Welcome the leap month with these snazzy deals on tech and games.](   [Taylor Swift singing into a microphone with a serious expression against a black background]( BLANK SPACE | 6-MINUTE READ [Taylor Swift Conspiracy Theorists Get Psyops All Wrong]( BY JUSTIN LING [Some prominent right-wing commentators say the relationship between Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is a ploy to keep President Biden in power. Psyop experts think otherwise.](   [Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap; Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok; Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X; and Mark Zuckerberg]( SECOND THOUGHTS | 3-MINUTE READ [Linda Yaccarino Says X Needs More Moderators After All]( BY VITTORIA ELLIOTT [X CEO Linda Yaccarino told US senators she’s hiring more trust and safety staffers. She didn’t mention that Elon Musk fired most people policing content on the platform when he acquired it in 2022.](   Looking for a new job? Check out these featured listings and search for openings all over the world on [jobs.wired.com](. [Pharmacist]( [Sterile Compounding of America]( Location: Little Rock, AR, USA [APPLY NOW]( [Talent Attraction, Brand and Recruitment Marketing Principal]( [The MITRE Corporation]( [Location: McLean, VA, USA]( [APPLY NOW]( ADVERTISEMENT [(image) WIRED Logo]( [(image) WIRED on Facebook]( [(image) WIRED on Twitter]( [(image) WIRED on Instagram]( [(image) WIRED on LinkedIn]( [(image) WIRED on YouTube]( [Podcasts]( [TikTok]( Have questions or comments? [Reply to this email](mailto:hello@wired.com?subject=WIRED Newsletter Questions, Comments or Feedback). This email was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our email address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( or [Manage your newsletter subscriptions]( Copyright © Condé Nast 2024. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.