mikael-thalen

Mikael Thalen


Mikael Thalen is a tech and security reporter covering social media, data breaches, hackers, and more.

woman speaking standing holding dark grey bag/case (l) woman standing speaking caption 'Perks of corporate America' 'Humble brag' (c) woman standing speaking holding case of White Claws (r)

‘Oh to be a decent-looking, young, Caucasian woman’: Boss sends White Claws to his female employee’s house after she said she liked them, sparking debate

'100% a personality hire.'

On Sep 16, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

Kiwi Farms logo on gray background with silhouette of phone with 'Q' on screen on right

‘You should be ashamed of yourself’: Did a QAnon influencer just buy Kiwi Farms?

'I despise them, I despise the owner, personally I hate the owner.'

On Sep 16, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

Rudy W. Giuliani smiling in front of white and gray background (l) Mike Lindell smiling in front of blue background (r)

FBI seizure of Mike Lindell’s phone prompts right-wing pillow promoters to push promo codes

'Rudy Giuliani went from the guy who got NYC through the aftermath of 9/11 to a My Pillow influencer.'

On Sep 15, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

TikTok app opening on phone on half blue half red background

TikTok brags to Congress that it ‘wasn’t the platform of choice’ for Jan. 6 rioters

The company's COO appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

On Sep 14, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts

College VR lab sent suspicious package with ‘rambling’ anti-Mark Zuckerberg manifesto

The note allegedly decried the ties between academia and VR development.

On Sep 14, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

Instagram account blurred out with bio circled in red 'Managed and monitored by mom' (l) man speaking in front of purple lighted background (c) Instagram account blurred out with bio circled in red 'supervised by mum' with arrow pointing to followers and caption 'Look familiar?' (r)

‘Attention DOJ’: TikTokers spin wildly unfounded tale of child sex abuse cover-up in the wake of Patreon layoffs

The claims don't add up.

On Sep 13, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

Peiter Zatko speaking into microphone

Twitter didn’t care about having foreign spies on its payroll, whistleblower tells Congress

Peiter 'Mudge' Zatko says Twitter was 'unwilling to put the effort in' to find spies.

On Sep 13, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

Hillary Clinton speaking into a microphone.

Conspiracy theorists think this video shows Hillary Clinton leading an intergalactic space cult

Unsurprisingly, neither Satanism, cults, or intergalactic rituals are mentioned at any point in the video.

On Sep 13, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

man speaking in front of tan wall holding fingers out (l) iPhone with chain and lock on gray table (c) man speaking in front of tan wall (r)

‘Caller ID said Apple’: iPhone user sounds alarm on new Advanced Protection scam

'I went and changed my AppleID password from my iPhone just for an extra layer of protection.'

On Sep 9, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

Joe Biden

White House pledges to reform Section 230 without offering specifics

The Biden administration is once again calling for reform of Section 230.

On Sep 8, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Salisbury Train Station on Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee tour of the United Kingdom

Crypto scammers, K-Pop stans all tried to capitalize on the Queen’s death

Many accounts were posing as major news organizations such as the BBC, CNN, and Sky News.

On Sep 8, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

Oath Keepers logo over Thin Blue Line Wavy American Flag in Support of Police and Law Enforcement

At least 80 politicians were in leaked Oath Keeper membership list

81 individuals in the leak were either running for or had served in public office as of early last month.

On Sep 7, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

A Starbucks cup.

Conspiracy theorists think Starbucks is ushering in the end of the world by going cashless

As always, the actual explanation is much simpler.

On Sep 7, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

man carrying large phone with TikTok logo

The claim of a big TikTok ‘hack’ may just be internet bluster

'The code in question is completely unrelated to TikTok's backend source code.'

On Sep 6, 2022 by Mikael Thalen

stefanie sugarman American Idol tryout (l) marjorie taylor greene (r)

‘Blue Anon conspiracy’: Marjorie Taylor Greene debunks viral claims she auditioned for ‘American Idol’

A viral tweet claims the politician was rejected by Simon Cowell in 2002.

On Sep 6, 2022 by Mikael Thalen