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A blonde woman with her face blotted out — Shutterstock / The Atlantic

How ‘Karen’ Became a Coronavirus Villain

A popular joke about entitled white women is now a big pandemic meme.

Kaitlyn Tiffany

Most Popular in Technology

A pixelated GIF showing a representation of the following equation: wood + match = ? — Guillem Casasús Xercavins / Quanta

The Easy Questions That Stump Computers

What happens when you stack logs in a fireplace and drop a match? Some of the smartest machines have no idea.

John PavlusQuanta

Embroidery of the phrase "Essential AF" — Alex Stikeleather / The Atlantic

Women Are Buying ‘Essential AF’ Shirts, Candles, and Wine Glasses

The strangest pandemic souvenir is Etsy merch with sassy slogans about essential workers.

Kaitlyn Tiffany

Koya79/ Getty / Paul Spella / The Atlantic

Is the FaceTime Haircut Here to Stay?

Out-of-work hairstylists, acupuncturists, and even plumbers are seeing clients online. The transition hasn’t always been easy.

Arsh Raziuddin / The Atlantic

Pandemic Advertising Got Weird Fast

Welcome to disastertising.

Prom at Home Is Sad, but Sweet

The pandemic has canceled proms nationwide, but teens are still re-creating the joy of them on TikTok.

Kaitlyn Tiffany
The New White Lies of Lockdown

Spotty Wi-Fi, an upcoming meal, another Zoom happy hour—people are coming up with new excuses for ending social interactions.

Joe Pinsker
The World Where The Bachelor Will Never Stop Airing

Reality TV won’t be filming for the foreseeable future—except in The Sims.

Kaitlyn Tiffany
How Facebook Works for Trump

Donald Trump won the presidency by using the social network’s advertising machinery in exactly the way the company wanted. He’s poised to do it again.

Ian BogostAlexis C. Madrigal

The Supermarket After the Pandemic

The coronavirus will change grocery stores, and probably not for the better.

Ian Bogost
A New Statistic Reveals Why America’s COVID-19 Numbers Are Flat

Few figures tell you anything useful about how the coronavirus has spread through the U.S. Here’s one that does.

Robinson MeyerAlexis C. Madrigal
No, the Internet Is Not Good Again

After a few weeks of faith in the possibility of online utopia, the cracks are starting to show.

Kaitlyn Tiffany
The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

In the midst of a pandemic, it’s delightful to imagine doing whatever you like without worrying about making a living.

Ian Bogost

White Supremacy’s Gateway to the American Mind

Amazon’s self-publishing arm gives extremists and neo-Nazis banned from other platforms unprecedented access to a mass audience.

Ava KofmanMoira WeigelFrancis Tseng
America Is Thirsty for Anthony Fauci

What is it about a crisis that can turn even a 79-year-old immunologist into a heartthrob?

Kaitlyn Tiffany
Don’t Believe the COVID-19 Models

That’s not what they’re for.

Zeynep Tufekci
Here’s How to Fight Coronavirus Misinformation

Send this to the person in your life who needs to read it.

Andy CarvinGraham Brookie

There’s No Zoom Party Like a College Zoom Party

Gen Z’s impulse to congregate online and post constantly—which older adults often mock—is serving them well in self-quarantine.

Kaitlyn Tiffany
It Wasn’t Just Trump Who Got It Wrong

America’s coronavirus response failed because we didn’t understand the complexity of the problem.

Zeynep Tufekci
The Art of Comedy in Quarantine

As China enters its eighth week in quarantine, citizens turn to TikTok for a comedic reprieve.

Salima KoromaVishakha Darbha
When the Checkpoints Come

How will Americans react when restrictions on their movements are no longer voluntary?

Ian Bogost

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