The Most-Read WIRED Business Stories of 2018
It's been said before, but I'll say it again: 2018 was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year for Facebook.
But before Cambridge Analytica, before Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress, before we learned of Sheryl Sandberg's oppo research, before the data leaks and breaches, WIRED published an 8,000-word examination of how the company went from connecting the world to ripping it apart. That piece ends with editor in chief Nicholas Thompson and contributor Fred Vogelstein asking the persistent question that dogs the company: Is it a platform or publisher?
After this year's cavalcade of scandals, the question has shifted to something more foundational to humanity: Is Facebook a friend or foe?
Eddie Guy01Inside the Two Years That Shook Facebook—and the World
How a confused, defensive social media giant steered itself into a disaster, and how Mark Zuckerberg is trying to fix it all.
Muir McNeil02Inside the Crypto World’s Biggest Scandal
One couple thought they held the secret to building a new decentralized utopia. On the way, they plunged into a new kind of hell. A crypto-tragedy in three acts.
Kenny Smith/Getty Images03If Trump Is Laundering Russian Money, Here’s How It Works
Shell companies, pseudonyms, shady lawyers, and secrecy: The president’s and his lawyer's business practices match the classic pattern of suspicious activity.

Getty Images05Inside the Pricey War to Influence Your Instagram Feed
Instagram, YouTube—you name it. Influencers are being paid handsome sums to pitch you products in natural settings. That video you just watched? $50,000.
Getty Images06The Dirty War Over Diversity Inside Google
Advocates of greater diversity at Google say they are being harassed and targeted on right-wing websites.
Georgia Perry07The AI Cold War That Threatens Us All
Artificial intelligence could be the ultimate authoritarian tool. But one thing's for sure: Charging into an AI arms race against China is a huge mistake.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images08A Hurricane Flattens Facebook
As the Cambridge Analytica story broke over the weekend, Facebook has struggled to formulate a response.
Google09Google's New AI Head Is So Smart He Doesn't Need AI
Colleagues joke that Jeff Dean increased the speed of light. Now he's charged with taking Google's artificial-intelligence efforts in new directions.
Ian Allen10Jeff Bezos Wants Us All to Leave Earth—for Good
At Blue Origin, Amazon's space-obsessed founder is building rockets, and he hopes to someday blast humanity into an extraterrestrial future.
