A history of government officials being bad at the internet

Sunday, April 27, 2025 Posted by bloggerdaddy

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Image Credits: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

You've probably heard quite a bit about how members of the Trump administration — particularly Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — have been sharing sensitive military plans over Signal. Risky and embarrassing as that may be, it's hardly the first time online tools have gotten government officials into trouble.

Amanda Silberling rounds up some of the most notable examples from recent years, including soldiers on Strava, Joe Biden's Venmo account, and a former health minister whose phone screen was caught on camera. While these snafus may feel relatable, the potential consequences are much bigger than, say, accidentally liking a photo on Instagram.

Keep reading to see what else TechCrunch is covering this weekend.

Weekend news and opinion 🤓

Image Credits: Chinga_11 / Getty Images

The best bookmarking apps to declutter your digital life: If you're someone whose browser is constantly overloaded with open tabs, these apps will help you bookmark and organize all the links and articles that you want to save. And who knows, maybe you really will come back to them later.

Meet the OpenAI mafia: It seems like there's a new mafia in Silicon Valley, as OpenAI alums have founded at least 15 notable startups. Some of them have raised funding at eye-watering valuations, seemingly without any product.

The biggest Latin American startups based on valuation: Where it may once have seemed far-fetched for public tech companies to emerge from Latin America, the region is now home to several startups that have reached valuations that are well over $1 billion. These startups also reflect the diversity of the ecosystem, coming from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay.

A Message from TechCrunch Events

Experience a full day of AI insights at TC Sessions: AI on June 5!

Be part of AI's future at TechCrunch Sessions: AI in Berkeley, California. Connect with 1,200+ leaders, VCs, and experts, and gain insights from top AI minds like Logan Kilpatrick (Google DeepMind), Jared Kaplan (Anthropic), Jae Lee (Twelve Labs), and more. Join main stage talks, roundtables, and top-tier networking. Don't wait — save $210 and register now! Or, want to make a bigger impact? Exhibit!

What else we're reading 📗

A new startup called Cluely sparked discussion earlier this week with its promise to help users "cheat on everything." The Verge looked past the marketing and actually tried the product, discovering that Cluely is slow and buggy in a way that makes any real-time cheating virtually impossible.

Also, Wired examines the impact of the Apple Watch during its first 10 years on the market.