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Sarah Frier

@sarahfrier

In charge of big tech coverage at Bloomberg Author of NO FILTER: The Inside Story of Instagram Email me at sfrier1 at Bloomberg dot net

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27.04.2023
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Latest posts by Sarah Frier @sarahfrier

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The Startup Making Human Embryos With AI-Assisted Robots Conceivableโ€™s automated lab has helped bring 19 babies to life. Is it better at IVF than humans are?

NEW: I met the robots creating human embryos. And after two years following the company, wrote a different kind of robots versus humans story than I expected: tinyurl.com/ynt5chy7

09.01.2026 14:17 ๐Ÿ‘ 10 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures

NEW: AI โ€œrecipe slopโ€ is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Googleโ€™s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes โ€” collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.

Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

25.11.2025 15:16 ๐Ÿ‘ 1649 ๐Ÿ” 743 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 101 ๐Ÿ“Œ 568

I was so triggered while editing. What a waste of sauce!

25.11.2025 20:45 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
YouTubeโ€™s Right-Wing Stars Fuel Boom in Politically Charged Ads

By 
Davey Alba
Priyanjana Bengani
Leon Yin
Ashley Carman
Julia Love
Rachael Dottle
Elena Mejรญa Technology

Big Tech

November 20, 2025

On YouTubeโ€™s conservative airwaves, podcast hosts tout products that let people buy into the MAGA crowd: Republican Red Winery vintages for toasting the โ€œsilent majority;โ€ Black Rifle Coffee for caffeinating gun owners; XX-XY Athletics for workout clothes symbolizing opposition to the โ€œlunacy of the left social agenda.โ€

YouTubeโ€™s Right-Wing Stars Fuel Boom in Politically Charged Ads By Davey Alba Priyanjana Bengani Leon Yin Ashley Carman Julia Love Rachael Dottle Elena Mejรญa Technology Big Tech November 20, 2025 On YouTubeโ€™s conservative airwaves, podcast hosts tout products that let people buy into the MAGA crowd: Republican Red Winery vintages for toasting the โ€œsilent majority;โ€ Black Rifle Coffee for caffeinating gun owners; XX-XY Athletics for workout clothes symbolizing opposition to the โ€œlunacy of the left social agenda.โ€

The popularity of YouTube podcasts among conservatives is driving a boom in small businesses tailoring ads to their millions of listeners, paying hosts like Joe Rogan and Candace Owens to read out promotions in the hope that fans will place orders. The phenomenon has enriched both the hosts and YouTube, supporting further growth of the businesses using ideology to sell.

A Bloomberg analysis of host-read ads across nearly 1,000 videos from eight of the platformโ€™s top right-leaning podcasters found that advertisers on the shows routinely tapped into political identity in marketing. At least one host-read ad with a political message appeared in 91% of videos reviewed.

The popularity of YouTube podcasts among conservatives is driving a boom in small businesses tailoring ads to their millions of listeners, paying hosts like Joe Rogan and Candace Owens to read out promotions in the hope that fans will place orders. The phenomenon has enriched both the hosts and YouTube, supporting further growth of the businesses using ideology to sell. A Bloomberg analysis of host-read ads across nearly 1,000 videos from eight of the platformโ€™s top right-leaning podcasters found that advertisers on the shows routinely tapped into political identity in marketing. At least one host-read ad with a political message appeared in 91% of videos reviewed.

NEW: For months, my colleagues and I dug into YouTube's conservative airwaves and found a flourishing network of host-read ads on right-leaning podcasts. This phenomenon has enriched hosts, YouTube, and businesses that use ideology to sell. bloom.bg/3Kaio9w

20.11.2025 15:23 ๐Ÿ‘ 157 ๐Ÿ” 57 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 9 ๐Ÿ“Œ 4
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people have been sending me the cover of this former Meta execโ€™s upcoming bookโ€ฆ

06.08.2025 21:44 ๐Ÿ‘ 14 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

"several people are typing"

this has been the last 4 days in a nutshell

12.06.2025 19:38 ๐Ÿ‘ 9 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Is Elon Muskโ€™s Political Capital Spent? Donald Trumpโ€™s right-hand man is telling everyone he wants to get back to business. On this weekโ€™s episode of Elon, Inc., we discuss what may be behind it.

new podcast in which @sarahfrier.bsky.social and i puzzle through Trump's pulling Elon's pick for NASA, the, uh, ketamine question, and the black eye enjoy www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

03.06.2025 22:06 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

What a week!

03.06.2025 22:07 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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On the Campaign Trail, Elon Musk Juggled Drugs and Family Drama

NEW: Megan Twohey and I went deep on Elon Muskโ€™s intense drug use as he rose to political power alongside Trump last year. He was using so much ketamine that he told people it was affecting his bladder. At SpaceX, he is getting warnings ahead of drug tests www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/u...

30.05.2025 12:17 ๐Ÿ‘ 880 ๐Ÿ” 303 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 65 ๐Ÿ“Œ 58

White House responds to our story: โ€œThe drugs that weโ€™re concerned about are the drugs running across the southern border.โ€ No comment on whether Muskโ€™s been drug tested or if Trump was aware

30.05.2025 16:16 ๐Ÿ‘ 117 ๐Ÿ” 34 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 13 ๐Ÿ“Œ 8
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Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Metaโ€™s CEO has done everything he can to win over Trump, and itโ€™s not clear how much he has to show for it.

Mark Zuckerberg has done everything he can to win over Trump, and itโ€™s not clear how much he has to show for it. Read The Big Take

26.05.2025 21:05 ๐Ÿ‘ 114 ๐Ÿ” 29 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 17 ๐Ÿ“Œ 9
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Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Metaโ€™s CEO has done everything he can to win over Trump, and itโ€™s not clear how much he has to show for it.

President Biden called Mark Zuckerberg "Little Twerp" and "Fuckerbergโ€ www.bloomberg.com/news/feature... @rileyraygriffin.bsky.social @kurtwagner.bsky.social

27.05.2025 18:13 ๐Ÿ‘ 172 ๐Ÿ” 30 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 21 ๐Ÿ“Œ 17
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Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Metaโ€™s CEO has done everything he can to win over Trump, and itโ€™s not clear how much he has to show for it.

๐Ÿšจ New Businessweek Feature ๐Ÿšจ

What is behind Mark Zuckerberg's rightward swing toward President Trump?

I'd wager it's less about personal politics, and more about a finely tuned sense of self-preservation... w/ @rileyraygriffin.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

27.05.2025 18:28 ๐Ÿ‘ 35 ๐Ÿ” 14 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 7 ๐Ÿ“Œ 6

Thanks! Could be the AI-based content moderation running away with itself

24.05.2025 23:12 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Everybody's Business Business News Podcast ยท Updated weekly ยท Bloomberg Businessweek brings you a smart and fun chat show about all things...business. Hosted by award-winning business and economics journalists Max Chafkin...

A 50% tariff on Europe?! ๐Ÿง€๐Ÿ๐Ÿท How Trump uses pro-wrestling theatrics to run the economy. The latest ep of #EverybodysBusiness is out! @chafkin.bsky.social and I talk kayfabe w/ @kyla.bsky.social

Then @sarahfrier.bsky.social joins to talk AI & jobs ๐Ÿค–

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...

23.05.2025 14:19 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Wrestling with Taxes, Robots and Gold Podcast Episode ยท Everybody's Business ยท 05/23/2025 ยท 35m

New episode of everybodyโ€™s business! Featuring @kyla.bsky.social on WWEconomics and @sarahfrier.bsky.social on AI! Give us a shot and subscribe!! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

23.05.2025 13:25 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Why Apple Still Hasnโ€™t Cracked AI Insiders say continued failure to get artificial intelligence right threatens everything from the iPhoneโ€™s dominance to plans for robots and other futuristic products.

NEW: Why Apple Hasnโ€™t Cracked AI โ€” The inside story of Appleโ€™s generative AI and Siri failures, setbacks that threaten everything from the iPhone's dominance to plans for future products. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

18.05.2025 21:04 ๐Ÿ‘ 42 ๐Ÿ” 7 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Everybody's Business A smart and fun chat show about all things business. Hosted by award-winning business and economics journalists Max Chafkin (author of The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valleyโ€™s Pursuit of Power...

hey hey, me and @svaneksmith.bsky.social made a new podcast for @bloomberg.com. it's about business. its smart. its fun. we'll tell you stuff you don't know but should. it comes out each week and we NEED you to subscribe and tell your friends. link.podtrac.com/rzj316uq

16.05.2025 14:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 43 ๐Ÿ” 14 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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New podcast alert ๐Ÿšจ Iโ€™m very excited to be hosting a new podcast with the great @chafkin.bsky.social for @businessweek.bsky.social @bloomberg.com Please give a listen and let us know what you think! ๐ŸŽง (banana pudding strongly encouraged but not required)

16.05.2025 14:12 ๐Ÿ‘ 74 ๐Ÿ” 13 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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Political Pundit Hasan Piker Questioned by US Customs at Airport Hasan Piker, an online political commentator, was stopped and questioned by US Customs and Border Protection agents after returning to the country from France, he said his Twitch livestream Monday.

New: Political commentator Hasan Piker says he was briefly detained by US Customs and Border Protection, questioned about his views on Hamas and Trump. First reported by @taylorlorenz.bsky.social. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

12.05.2025 20:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 21 ๐Ÿ” 6 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Google Places Ads Inside Chatbot Conversations With AI Startups Googleโ€™s ad network has begun showing advertising within the flow of conversations with chatbots โ€” part of Alphabet Inc.โ€™s efforts to keep its edge in digital advertising as generative artificial inte...

Scoop on the Google beat: Google has begun showing advertising within the flow of conversations with chatbots, starting with AI search startups like iAsk and Liner. This means that even if Google's share of the search market dwindles, it still stands to profit. bloom.bg/436FhkR

01.05.2025 19:11 ๐Ÿ‘ 36 ๐Ÿ” 14 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4 ๐Ÿ“Œ 4
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New from me: Here's a fun lil earnings scoop ๐Ÿšจ

There was an $8 billion increase in profit in Alphabet's latest report that was just nagging and nagging at me. The accounting didn't make sense. Finally got to the bottom of it: the boost came from unrealized gains from a 2015 investment in SpaceX.

25.04.2025 00:08 ๐Ÿ‘ 53 ๐Ÿ” 15 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Guy Who Connected Donald Trump to the Manosphere John Shahidi is a big part of why young men turned out to vote for Trump.

And then @sarahfrier.bsky.social told the real story of how Trump came to the manosphere -- it wasn't Barron, it was a guy named John Shahidi, who found quite a niche for himself www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

22.04.2025 12:13 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

This is absolutely wild to see come out on record in federal court after reporting it in my book 5 years ago (Systrom has been silent on the acquisition and aftermath in that time). Details he is sharing took me months to report out and confirm.

22.04.2025 16:38 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Itโ€™s Legal to Pay US Workers With Disabilities as Little as 25ยข an Hour Whether it stays that way is up to Trump.

NEW Businessweek feature: The US gives permission to pay people with disabilities below minimum wage. Biden tried to end program. Employers urging Trump preserve it say they've gotten private signals he will.

Based on 1000s of pages of records & 150 interviews: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

17.04.2025 21:10 ๐Ÿ‘ 184 ๐Ÿ” 105 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 11 ๐Ÿ“Œ 7
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Zuckerbergโ€™s Jealousy Held Back Instagram and Drove Off Founders The Facebook CEO promised Kevin Systrom independence, but an excerpt from Sarah Frierโ€™s book No Filter shows that only lasted until Instagram started to look like the favorite son.

Hereโ€™s a gift link to the book excerpt if you need a refresher: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

15.04.2025 20:12 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Thank you!!

15.04.2025 19:16 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Zuckerberg Says He Considered Spinning Off Instagram in 2018 Mark Zuckerberg considered spinning off Instagram into a separate company in 2018 as he increasingly became concerned that the photo and video appโ€™s success was hurting the Facebook social network.

But it is crazy to see stuff I had from various sources get confirmed by internal documents/emails. Also!! This is new to me, and not in my book: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

15.04.2025 19:16 ๐Ÿ‘ 10 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Just saying, if you read No Filter, you would have known about Zuckerberg getting jealous of Instagramโ€™s growth (& why the founders left) long before this FTC trial

15.04.2025 19:14 ๐Ÿ‘ 25 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Trumpland vs. Elon vs. Tariffs Elon, Inc. ยท Episode

And hear Max, @danahull.bsky.social, @sarahfrier.bsky.social, @kurtwagner.bsky.social and others talking more Musk every week on Elon, Inc. open.spotify.com/episode/3Amn....

10.04.2025 15:04 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0