RedNote chases U.S. expansion after its “TikTok refugee” moment fades China's Xiaohongshu has an uphill climb in a saturated market as it hires in the U.S. and launches an e-commerce portal for overseas markets.

RedNote is back restofworld.org/2026/rednote...

After spending a year or so working with me, I can almost guarantee you will know more about at least one of the following:
- how to center audiences in your journalism
- what Celiac disease is
- using data to make smarter editorial decisions
- women's sports
- astrology

A Mexican surveillance giant you’ve never heard of is now watching the U.S. border Grupo Seguritech quietly built a $1.27 billion surveillance empire. Now it's expanding into the U.S. and across Latin America.

Grupo Seguritech quietly built a $1.27 billion surveillance empire. Now it’s expanding into the U.S. and across Latin America.

Read our new investigation, written by José Olivares and produced in collaboration with @typeinvestigations.org: restofworld.org/2026/mexico-...

Winners of the 2026 Photo Contest Our 6 winning images stood out from hundreds of entries showcasing technology around the world

Rest of World is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 photo contest. We received over 300 entries from photographers in over 40 countries 📸 🌏

See the winners: restofworld.org/2026/tech-photo-contest-...

This is such an incredibly funny comment to highlight I can't believe it's the thing that finally got me to subscribe to Defector

How to watch the 2026 WNBA expansion draft on ESPN The league will hold an expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo on Friday. Portland will have the first pick after Toronto won a coin toss and chose instead to pick sixth in the standa...

Happy WNBA expansion draft day to those who celebrate! www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

If you spot ICE agents at an airport in the coming days, I want to hear from you.

Reach me via Signal at marisakabas.04

Deepfakes, disinformation, and the risks of AI amid the Gulf War Join Dr. Rachel Adams and Itika Sharma for a conversation on how tech is reshaping modern warfare on March 23, 2026

As the Gulf conflict unfolds, deepfakes and disinformation are spreading fast. We’re hosting a live conversation Monday on how to make sense the growing role of AI in modern warfare.

Join us: https://tally.so/r/1AEyyp

Wrote about that Kansas mess

Quick screenshot dump

The world is trying to log off U.S. tech Some global users are turning to services like Proton Mail and UpScrolled instead.

"I don't think this is just a phase." The backlash against U.S. tech dominance is producing real alternatives in some markets

restofworld.org/2026/big-tech-backlash-a...

Gig workers in Africa have been helping the US military. They had no idea
restofworld.org/2026/gig-wor...

Immigrant women founders face double hurdle in Silicon Valley Persistent racism and sexism in the venture capital industry are denying immigrant women founders an opportunity to participate in the AI boom.

Female founders get 2% of U.S. venture capital. For immigrant women founders, the gap is even harder to close.
restofworld.org/2026/immigrant-women-fou...

Next week at Rest of World, we're hosting an online event diving into one of tech’s most hyped frontiers.

Humanoid robots: Breakthrough or bubble? ft. Lian Jye Su and @kinlinglo.bsky.social

Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Simply love writing "the data suggests" in a report! Like sorry it's the data..... it's not me. The data suggested it :)

Alicia Boyd is responsible for this. She bought a townhouse on Sterling St. after winning a big settlement against her former landlord, and has now dedicated her life to opposing new housing in her neighborhood. Here is a sympathetic comic about it: hyperallergic.com/nyc-housing-...

U.S. politicians’ and their families are buying and selling stocks in foreign companies like TSMC, Alibaba, and Tencent — while serving on committees with the power to influence policies affecting the same companies.

Our report: restofworld.org/2026/us-poli...

One thing I see liberal outlets giving ground on that I feel the need to correct: it’s impossible to “dox” a paid public official
By simply reporting their name, institutional role, and political affiliations

My biggest barrier to spending more time here rather than Twitter is that my algorithm over there fed me a steady diet of women's basketball, animals, pop culture......... how do I get that here

IT workers in the World Trade Centre tower in Bengaluru. Dark windows of an office building.

Kailash Somwanshi, Nikhil’s uncle, at the family temple funded by his Krutrim salary.

Framed photo of Nikhil Somwanshi, an Indian tech worker, sitting on a shelf.

Agara Lake at night, in Bengaluru, where Somwanshi’s body was found.

Burnout, mass layoffs, and a series of suicides: India’s tech sector is breaking down restofworld.org/2026/india-t...

Meet UpScrolled, the anti-censorship TikTok alternative The company's CEO says users are flooding the platform after the sale of TikTok in the U.S.

The CEO of a "no censorship" TikTok competitor called UpScrolled says users are flooding the platform after the sale of TikTok in the U.S. restofworld.org/2026/upscrol...

Data workers are being forced to work on-site during earthquakes and typhoons In the Philippines, BPO and AI workers say companies require them to report in person during disasters, citing client demands and safety compliance.

“Always remember, your bosses aren’t in the Philippines. Rain, earthquake, volcano erupting … you still gotta go to work.”

Outsourced workers in the Philippines are being forced to work through natural disasters. Our new story:
restofworld.org/2026/philipp...

Six years, two presidents, and one app: TikTok’s U.S. saga explained ByteDance says a group of investors led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will set up a U.S.-focused TikTok to avoid a federal ban.

restofworld.org/2026/tiktok-...

Subscribe to Rest of World’s weekly global newsletter Be the first to read our latest stories, dispatches from our staff, what we’re reading, and more. A world of tech, right in your inbox. Every Tuesday and Friday…

Our flagship newsletter is going twice-weekly. Sign up here
https://restofworld.org/newsletters/global/

Why India’s plan to make AI companies pay for training data should go global A license fee for the use of copyrighted data can compensate creators and help AI companies avoid lengthy legal fights.

I talked to one of my favorite publications, @restofworld.org, for this piece about AI licensing in India.

restofworld.org/2026/india-a...

There’s a lot of talk about physical AI at #CES and how transformational it will be. We’re beginning to see it at scale in defence, hospitality, healthcare because there is a growing business case, and the technology is now ready. But a vital gap remains: people’s attitudes towards physical AI.

The online gambling industry has exploded in popularity since the pandemic.

Some countries are welcoming the booming business. Other countries — responding to concerns about rising scams, crippling debt and media reports linking gambling losses to suicides — want to ban it.

Governments welcomed data centers. Now they’re grappling with the fallout The boom in AI data centers is colliding with weak power grids, soaring energy demand, and growing local pushback.

Data centers were pitched as engines of growth. In many places, they’re now testing power grids, water supplies, and public tolerance
restofworld.org/2025/ai-data-centers-fal...

How much did Starlink benefit from the close relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump?

Read Rest of World’s new investigative feature:
https://restofworld.org/2025/musk-starlink-trump-doge

Big bets and broken unicorns: Tiger Global’s rise and reckoning The fast-money pandemic era helped build billion-dollar startups around the world — then brought many down just as quickly. Will the AI boom be a repeat?

The fast-money pandemic era helped build billion-dollar startups around the world — then brought many down just as quickly. Will the AI boom be a repeat? restofworld.org/2025/tiger-global-unicor...