TIME Reporters Accused of AI-Doomer Funding; Taylor Lorenz Pushes Back
kyliebytes · x · 2026-09-16
A dispute over whether TIME's AI coverage is compromised by funder ties:
- Critics said two reporters on the byline are funded by the Tarbell Center, an AI-doomer org controlled by Kamala Harris megadonor Dustin Moskovitz, and that TIME failed to disclose the affiliation.
- Taylor Lorenz called this "anti-EA psychosis": reporter Harry was indeed on a Tarbell fellowship when he joined TIME, but it was publicly disclosed, he became a staffer a year ago, and has since done extensive balanced coverage.
- She added that Billy Perrigo's story on Sam Altman's orb startup was supported by a Tarbell grant, disclosed both on the TIME article and in his own Substack post; Tarbell only began giving story grants in 2024, while Billy has written for TIME since 2017 with hundreds of stories.
- The third byline, Naomi Nix, she called an excellent tech policy journalist with an impeccable record.
Related event: TIME Reporters' Funding by Tarbell Center Sparks Dispute(2 posts)→
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