FULL STORY

The PR Firm Behind the AI Whistleblower

PirateWires reported that a former Anthropic researcher's viral AI risk campaign was nurtured by a doomsday PR firm, sparking debate over hidden funding from a16z and the role of PR in whistleblower campaigns.

2026-09-25 ~ 2026-09-25 · 2 episodes · 15 posts

Episode 1 · Report: AI safety whistleblower backed by doomer PR firm (2026-09-25, 12 posts)

On September 25, PirateWires published an exclusive investigation claiming that former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon has in fact been working with the PR firm DEY., which represents several prominent AI doomers including Eliezer Yudkowsky. Coxon had previously insisted he was not working with any third-party organization; the report says this does not match the facts, and his media-star trajectory is said to have been orchestrated by PR.

Confirmed

  • PirateWires published the investigative report, and multiple accounts (beffjezos, Kyrannio, soleio, etc.) relayed the same source
  • The report says DEY. has been arranging podcast appearances and other media spots for Coxon, and allegedly booked interviews for MIRI founder Nate Soares
  • OpenAI researcher Susan Zhang publicly quipped that for AI doomers, a PR firm probably doesn't count as a "third party"

Unconfirmed

  • The specifics and depth of Coxon's collaboration with DEY. come only from PirateWires's "insider" tips, with no direct response from the parties involved or documentary evidence

Why it matters

  • The exposé lands amid the fierce standoff between the e/acc and AI safety/doomer camps; beffjezos and others in the e/acc camp are framing it as hard evidence of a "regulatory psyop," likely to further escalate the PR war between the two sides
  • If true, it would undermine the narrative of independence and credibility around public figures in the AI safety camp; if false, it reflects the e/acc camp's tactic of using media leaks to attack opponents

Episode 2 · Debate erupts over whether a16z secretly funded whistleblower PR (2026-09-25, 3 posts)

Journalist Taylor Lorenz clashed with developers over MIRI's Nate Soares hiring a PR firm to amplify his whistleblower claims, questioning whether a16z secretly funded the effort without disclosure.