Meta is preparing to unwind its approximately $2 billion acquisition of the agentic AI startup Manus after China’s National Development and Reform Commission formally ordered the deal’s cancellation on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Beijing has given Meta and Manus a preliminary deadline of several weeks to reverse […]

Lenny Rachitsky / Lenny's Newsletter:
Q&A with Evan Spiegel on why distribution is now the most important moat in consumer tech, investing in Specs, 2026 as a “crucible” moment for Snap, and more  —  Snap's co-founder on why only two consumer apps broke through in 15 years, how every major Snapchat feature was cloned …

Financial Times:
Many US rural communities oppose adding AI infrastructure; Pew says 67% of planned data centers are rural, while 87% of existing data centers are in urban areas  —  Many rural communities are viscerally opposed to AI infrastructure, putting them at odds with the White House In Tazewell County …

Matthew Gault / 404 Media:
An analysis of Internet Archive data: by mid-2025, ~35% of newly published websites since ChatGPT's launch in November 2022 were AI-generated or AI-assisted  —  Researchers found the internet is becoming aggressively positive as AI-generated text floods the web.

Alice Hancock / Financial Times:
Kpler, an online analytics platform tracking global maritime traffic and energy flows, says it has gained millions of new users since the war in Iran began  —  Kpler reports surging demand from governments, traders and media watching ships and energy flows  —  The founder of analytics platform Kpler …