# Casey Newton

> Casey Newton is a San Francisco technology journalist who founded Platformer in 2020 after reporting for The Verge, CNET and the San Francisco Chronicle. His coverage of social networks and platform governance grew into a reader-supported publication; in 2026, he and Kevin Roose formed Machine Gods Media and announced an NPR-partnered AI podcast.

- **Role:** Founder and editor at Platformer; co-founder and co-host at Machine Gods Media
- **Organizations:** Platformer, Machine Gods Media, NPR, The New York Times, The Verge, CNET, San Francisco Chronicle, The Arizona Republic
- **From:** La Habra, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism
- **Known for:** His content moderation reporting at The Verge was a finalist for the 2020 National Magazine Award for Reporting., Built Platformer from about 24,000 free subscribers at launch to more than 170,000 by January 2024., Co-hosted the New York Times technology podcast Hard Fork from 2022 until 2026.

## Career timeline

- **2002** — Graduated from Northwestern University and began his newspaper career.
- **2004-2010** — Reported for The Arizona Republic, including coverage of state politics.
- **2010** — Moved to San Francisco to cover technology for the San Francisco Chronicle.
- **2012-2013** — Worked as a senior writer at CNET.
- **2013-2020** — Covered Silicon Valley for The Verge and wrote The Interface newsletter.
- **2019** — Published The Trauma Floor and Bodies in Seats, a series on content moderation labor.
- **2020** — Founded Platformer; his Verge reporting was a National Magazine Award finalist.
- **2022** — Began co-hosting Hard Fork with Kevin Roose for The New York Times.
- **2024** — Moved Platformer from Substack to Ghost.
- **2026** — Formed Machine Gods Media with Roose and announced the NPR-partnered Machine Gods podcast.

## Achievements

- His content moderation reporting at The Verge was a finalist for the 2020 National Magazine Award for Reporting.
- Built Platformer from about 24,000 free subscribers at launch to more than 170,000 by January 2024.
- Co-hosted the New York Times technology podcast Hard Fork from 2022 until 2026.
- Established a partnership with NPR for the planned twice-weekly Machine Gods podcast.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — NPR announced Machine Gods, a twice-weekly AI podcast co-hosted by Newton and Kevin Roose, planned for October 2026.
- **2026-09** — Newton published a farewell reflection on Hard Fork at Platformer.
- **2026-04** — Platformer announced changes to its publishing schedule to allow more original reporting in the AI era.

## Links

- Website: https://cnewton.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseynewton1/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/CaseyNewton
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/hardfork
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/caseynewton.bsky.social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crumbler/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/casey-newton
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-29