Editor-in-chief of @semafor. Former @nytimes media columnist, @buzzfeednews EIC. "Traffic." bsmith@semafor.com, Signal semaforben.90
Joined October 2007
- Tweets 145,499
- Following 3,707
- Followers 318,663
- Likes 40,246
2,629 Photos and videos
Ben Smith retweeted
Just biked from Columbia uptown to Prospect Heights in Brooklyn & must have passed 20 outdoor World Cup & Knicks watch parties. The city is awash in orange and blue. I’ve lived most of my life in NYC and can’t remember ever seeing the whole city this captivated. @bfurnas #KNICKS
2
18
166
9,436
Ben Smith retweeted
This is wrong and misses the point, @semaforben.
If you believe Anthropic’s explanation that this is all just a big misunderstanding, then is this who you would go to in order to publicly clear up the misunderstanding with the Trump admin?
Anthropic has every right to be run by genius leftists. I’m merely suggesting that by choosing this young lady, they are showing the world—and their investors—how little they understand about their “misunderstanding.”
This isn’t some cheap political shot. It’s GR/crisis management 101, which Anthropic has failed to comprehend.
18
2
44
13,066
Extent to which White House allies are signaling that this is a culture war issue, not a technical one, is striking
I'm told Anthropic is perplexed by the situation they are facing, so they've turned to @k8em0 to do their on-the-record rapid response. These people really just don't get it....
18
74
520
193,286
Ben Smith retweeted
As discussed here w/ @MichaelLangeNYC boy are we seeing another set of New York elections where the decision of the NYT to pull its editorial board out of local endorsements is quite important
Jun 12
2/ @MichaelLangeNYC & I discussed @ZohranKMamdani’s & @AOC’s endorsements & other interesting themes, & dug into the NY-13, 7, 10, & 12 Democratic primaries.
Listen via:
-SoundCloud:
soundcloud.com/gotham-gazett…
-Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1gE…
-Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
1
3
12
6,894
Ben Smith retweeted
Looks like Hochul did too
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani scored exclusive high-priced tickets to multiple World Cup matches for free, his reps confirmed Saturday, while insisting he’s not snubbing city ethics rules.
nypost.com/2026/06/13/us-new…
12
41
262
39,347
Ben Smith retweeted
White House’s export limits on Anthropic linked to concerns about Chinese access - Scoop from @ReedAlbergotti
semafor.com/article/06/13/20…
3
8
8
24,877
.@ReedAlbergotti scoop: Concerns about specific China-linked accessed to Mythos part of the White House Anthropic move semafor.com/article/06/13/20…
5
10
36
15,644
Ben Smith retweeted
A few thoughts on the recent Mythos brouhaha: marginalrevolution.com/margi…
6
40
241
162,843
Ben Smith retweeted
Jun 12
Incredible. Publishing what appears to be (if you care to read the "evidence") a totally legitimate US program, and even citing the risks of these being used as "Russian information campaigns", Tulsi Gabbard - the gift that kept giving - presents the Kremlin with yet one more information operation.
Read our investigation from 2025 where we presented evidence that the hybrid ops unit of GRU's 29155 came up with the whole "bio-labs" concept - and co-opted Tulsi into it. theins.press/en/inv/281731
Jun 12
Today, I’m releasing never before seen intelligence revealing new evidence of past US government funding for more than 120 biolabs in over 30 countries, including Ukraine.
In support of President Trump‘s Executive Order to end federal funding of dangerous gain of function research around the world, and increase transparency and accountability, ODNI will continue working with partners across the Administration to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain, and what “research” is being conducted.
odni.gov/index.php/newsroom/…
258
2,515
9,465
996,591
Ben Smith retweeted
Really good @eshugerman piece
Have heard some of these anecdotes along the way. All true!
sfstandard.com/2026/06/13/bi…
3
26
69
21,118
Ben Smith retweeted
Jun 13
A profitable digital media company is as much a unicorn these days as a CEO that isn’t afraid to stand up for what they believe. My Latest about The Bulwark’s @SarahLongwell25 The Former GOP Operative Running a News Site for the ‘Politically Homeless’ wsj.com/business/media/the-b…
56
43
163
153,696
Ben Smith retweeted
1. This is pathetic.
2. You tried to hire us too.
36
153
4,279
449,365
15h
Great @APompliano riff on Warren Buffet as the original "finfluencer" overcast.fm/ ABVzRAhhIOY/5:1…
1
21,462
Ben Smith retweeted
Jun 13
Well, this situation is confusing.
44
14
958
83,735
Ben Smith retweeted
Jun 13
nailed it
Mar 27
if you’re an ai safety person who wants major federal action now, you should want for anthropic to lead in advancing the frontier into dangerous capabilities, because the Trump Admin will now be primed to see whatever anthropic does as “bad” and what other labs do as “good.” If anthropic hits an RSI loop first, it’s much likelier to be viewed by the admin as “weird” and “scary,” whereas if anyone else does it, it will be “normal” and “innovative.”
20
33
646
66,815
Ben Smith retweeted
Jun 12
There was a true chicken-and-egg situation with Mahan and his donors.
The donors wanted better polling before betting big dough on Mahan.
Mahan (and his IEs) wanted the money to run the ads to improve the polling.
More Matt Mahan post-mortems:
@DavidGCrane faults himself for Mahan’s campaign struggles, saying he should have secured donor money up front.
Instead, the spigot ran dry because Mahan was a “non-flame-throwing unknown candidate.”
davidcrane.substack.com/p/ho…
5
25
16,080
.@WeAreNew_Public co-director and coiner of the "filter bubble," @elipariser, joins Mixed Signals to walk through his new report on what news consumption looks like when AI takes over.
@maxwelltani and @semaforben ask Eli how soon your morning routine will change, which platforms are most exposed to AI disruption, and whether centralizing everyone's attention was actually a mistake.
3
1
5,003
Ben Smith retweeted
Jun 12
Read an adapted except from my new book The Nord Stream Conspiracy in the @WSJ.
The book will be published in the U.S. on June 16 by @HenryHolt and in the U.K. on June 18 by @PenguinUKBooks
wsj.com/world/europe/nord-st…
1
9
24
23,971