We'll realize there's no political journalism without tech journalism

"Of the ten richest men in the world on Forbes' December 2025 list, only two didn't build their fortunes by running or founding a fully tech-driven company. They are the people who now shape how we think, how we have fun, how we vote, how the economy works, and ultimately whether the world moves forward or backward: Elon Musk (X), Larry Page (Alphabet), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Sergey Brin (Alphabet), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), and Michael Dell (Dell)."

"Today it's impossible to separate technology from geopolitics, the economy, the climate crisis, extractivism and colonialism, corruption, mental health, or any issue that actually matters to democracies. In the United States and Europe, coverage of these topics has grown more sophisticated over the years, recognizing that Big Tech companies now hold a kind of power that needs to be monitored just as closely as political leaders - and often even more closely."

"In Latin America, this transformation is already obvious. Presidents in countries like Argentina and El Salvador have been tied to crypto scandals. Data centers across the region are worsening water shortages and polluting areas rich in biodiversity. Multinational companies seeking lithium and other rare earths are affecting protected natural areas and the territories of Indigenous communities. And with virtually no government regulation, children have no real digital privacy:"

Tech billionaires from companies such as X, Alphabet, Oracle, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, and Dell now hold disproportionate influence over culture, politics, and the economy. Technology is deeply entwined with geopolitics, climate, extractivism, corruption, and mental health. In the United States and Europe, reporting has started treating Big Tech like political power. Many regions in the Global South, including Latin America, still lack robust coverage of Big Tech's impact. In Latin America, crypto scandals involve presidents, data centers worsen water shortages and biodiversity loss, mining for lithium affects Indigenous territories, and children's digital privacy remains unprotected.

Read at Nieman Lab