Adoption moved to Facebook and a war began

PLUS: How a hashtag incited a military intervention, and inside Hollywood's economy of secrets. View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions  03.07.21 In the past, a mother placing a child for adoption often held her anguish inside, silently, secretly. Then came the internet and social media. As the process of childless people seeking to adopt moved online to sites like Facebook, a movement of people opposed to adoption also found their voice. Women who feel regret and anger about having given up their children, as well as estranged grown-up adoptees, make their hurt known—and sometimes lash out in droves against those who want to adopt. On Facebook and other sites, angry anti-adoption activists lash out at prospective adoptive parents, calling them vultures, narcissists, psychopaths, and worse. Those attacks can come as a shock to people seeking to adopt a child. Samantha M. Shapiro, who has written with great sensitivity about homeless students and child preachers, delved into this world, following the story of an adoptive couple who entered the fray and a woman whose grandson was taken by child protective services and adopted by another family. It's a moving story, one that takes place in the most tender of spaces—the love between parent and child. Vera Titunik | Features Editor, WIRED   Adoption Moved to Facebook and a War Began BY SAMANTHA M. SHAPIRO | 21-MINUTE READ As the adoption industry migrates to social media, regretful adoptees and birth mothers are confronting prospective parents with their personal pain—and anger.   How a Hashtag Went Viral—and Incited a Military Intervention BY JOE PARKINSON AND DREW HINSHAW | 15-MINUTE READ In 2014, more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped. It hardly made global headlines, until the Twitter masses brought it all the way to the White House.   Sherry Turkle Talks Going Remote, Loneliness, and Her New Book BY ARIELLE PARDES | 11-MINUTE READ In The Empathy Diaries, the pioneering computer researcher finally studies her own life. She tells WIRED why now was the right time.   How Elon Musk Convinced Gwynne Shotwell to Join SpaceX BY ERIC BERGER, ARS TECHNICA | 9-MINUTE READ Ultimately, their management styles were similar: Don't talk about doing things, just do things.   How to Remember a Disaster Without Being Shattered by It BY ERIKA HAYASAKI | 18-MINUTE READ Margaret McKinnon survived a midair catastrophe, then became a major researcher of memory and trauma. Now she's studying how the pandemic will haunt us.   Who Is R. A. Lafferty? And Is He the Best Sci-Fi Writer Ever? BY JASON KEHE | 12-MINUTE READ You've never heard of him, but your favorite writers have, and his mad-drunk prose will knock you sideways. GET WIRED Get 1 year of WIRED access for less than $1 a month. Tech news and analysis you won't find anywhere else. Subscribe now.         This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions