‘Your Excel Skills Suck’: The Power Users Turning Spreadsheets Into a Spectator Sport

Data and finance professionals are competing in Excel obstacle courses—amassing huge followings and keeping the Microsoft program relevant.

Hot or Not Built the Internet We’re Still Swiping Through

The early website Hot or Not taught its users to rank people at scale. Twenty-six years later, dating apps are trying to escape the culture the site helped create.

Viral Disneyland Content Creator Defends Her ‘Special Friendship’ With Peter Pan

Disney superfan Toni Kulusich has been accused of stalking her favorite character, sparking discourse about boundaries with park actors. She tells WIRED the backlash is unfair.

These ‘Masturbation Consultants’ Were Hired to Pleasure Themselves With AI

Joi AI hired 10 people to masturbate using AI companions as part of a monthlong “wellness” study. The company claims the practice could help “solve male loneliness.”

People Are ‘Marrying’ Chatbots. These Lawmakers Want to Stop Them

Human-AI marriages are not currently recognized by US law. Some Republican state policymakers are drafting legislation to keep it that way.

You’re Thinking About Online Trends All Wrong

From pessimism around dating to AI reshaping culture, cyber-ethnographer Ruby J. Thelot tells WIRED why people are putting too much stock into things that go viral.

The Outlaw Chemist Teaching People How to Make Drugs From Scratch

Willy Myco has made over 120 videos showing people his exact process for making everything from LSD to DMT vapes. Not everyone’s a fan of his methods.

The ‘Manosphere’ Isn’t a Movement. It’s a Multibillion-Dollar Grievance Industry

Many young men are driven to resentment and are financially exploited as influencers sell them classes, pills, and the illusion of clout, a new report reveals.

There’s No Good Way to Talk About Celebrities and Eating Disorders

Online speculation over the weight loss of celebrities like Ariana Grande—even out of genuine concern—can make things worse for people struggling with eating disorders.

TikTok Says ‘Moderator Error’ Kept Perez Hilton Livestream Up

The gossip blogger was on TikTok covered in what appeared to be blood and wielding a knifelike object before the platform cut his stream. He’s since been hospitalized.