Jeremy B. Merrill

Washington, D.C.

Data reporter focusing on technology

Education: Claremont McKenna College, BA in linguistics and philosophy

Jeremy B. Merrill is a data reporter on the technology desk, gathering and analyzing data to understand how technology, the internet and AI affect business, society and politics. Prior to joining The Washington Post in 2021, Merrill worked as a freelance reporter, with work published at the Markup, ProPublica and the Marshall Project. Before that, he worked at Quartz, ProPublica and the New York Times.
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Latest from Jeremy B. Merrill

Anatomy of a racist smear: How false claims of pet-eating immigrants caught on

How an anti-immigrant rumor spread from a random Facebook post to leadership of the Republican Party and the biggest influencers on social media so quickly.

September 11, 2024

Elon Musk’s X feed becomes megaphone for his far-right politics

Political tweets made up 17 percent of his feed this year — up from 2 percent in 2021.

August 12, 2024
Elon Musk arrives at the Capitol ahead of a joint meeting of Congress on July 24. Since buying the platform now known as X, Musk’s public persona has shifted from business-minded tech prodigy to right-wing firebrand.

What do people really ask chatbots? It’s a lot of sex and homework.

AI chatbots are taking the world by storm. We analyzed thousands of conversations to see what people are really asking them and what topics are most discussed.

August 4, 2024

As Meta flees politics, campaigns rely on new tricks to reach voters

Meta’s shift away from politics is forcing campaigns to change their outreach tactics, transforming the 2024 election.

April 21, 2024
A mobile billboard outside the Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Jan. 17, 2023.

Tesla drivers run Autopilot where it’s not intended — with deadly consequences

A Post analysis reveals that people have died or been gravely injured in crashes where Tesla’s software should not have been enabled in the first place.

December 10, 2023

A year later, Musk’s X is tilting right. And sinking.

The billionaire bought Twitter to revive its business and make it less “woke.” He has achieved only one of those goals.

October 27, 2023

Elon Musk’s X is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes

The delayed websites include X’s online rivals Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and Substack as well as Reuters and the New York Times, all of which Musk previously has singled out for ridicule or attack.

August 16, 2023
Characters that used to spell Twitter were removed from the company's San Francisco headquarters after Elon Musk renamed the company X.

California just opened the floodgates for self-driving cars

In a pivotal moment for the autonomous transportation industry, California chose to expand one of the biggest test cases for the technology.

August 10, 2023
A passenger yells out the window of his self-driving taxi as it takes him to his destination in San Francisco on July 11.

How right-wing news powers the ‘gold IRA’ industry

Ads for gold coins have become a mainstay on Fox News, Newsmax and other conservative outlets, even as regulators have accused some companies of defrauding elderly clients.

July 25, 2023

How to protect yourself when buying gold

Tips for navigating the gold IRA industry.

July 25, 2023
A silver coin exclusively minted for Augusta Precious Metals, where whistleblower Dale Whitaker was chief financial officer until 2017, photographed at his home office in Spokane, Wash. (Rajah Bose for The Washington Post)