Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

39 Tattoos of Baby Yoda That Prove We’re All Obsessed With The Mandalorian

People are absolutely obsessed with Baby Yoda, a breakout character from the new Disney+ show, The Mandalorian. And it’s easy to see why. Baby Yoda is so adorable we just want to squeeze his little face and protect him forever. Fans are so obsessed that they’re already getting Baby Yoda tattoos, even before the first…

Movies Matt Novak Dec 5

The Mandalorian Has Been Edited to Look Like a 1980s Sitcom and It’s Strangely Perfect

The new Disney+ show The Mandalorian has been a huge success for the new streaming service, judging only by the memes. There are countless variations of Baby Yoda drinking his bone broth, Baby Yoda riding in the Tesla Cybertruck, and Baby Yoda playing with the radio. But maybe the best meme we’ve seen so far…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 4

Trump Regime Threatens 100 Percent Tariffs on French Goods to Retaliate Against Tax on Big Tech

The Trump regime is threatening to slap tariffs on over $2.4 billion worth of French goods imported into the United States as retaliation for a new digital services tax recently instituted in France. The French tax of 3 percent is applied on the revenues of about 30 Big Tech companies, most of which are based…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 3

Russia Blocks Shutterstock Website Over Photos of Russian Flag in Dogshit

The Russian government has blocked the stock photography website Shutterstock, according to the English-language news site Meduza. Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, explained that Shutterstock was blocked for “insulting state symbols” a likely reference to photos on the site showing miniature Russian flags planted in dogshit. The offending photos were created by user Aijaphoto and are…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 3

Republican Challenger to Rep. Ilhan Omar Banned From Twitter for Rhetoric Trump Uses All the Time

Danielle Stella, a Republican who’s trying to unseat Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar in Minnesota, has been banned from Twitter. Stella’s last tweet, while admittedly horrible, is pretty damn close to the kind of tweets that President Donald Trump sends on a daily basis. “If it is proven @IlhanMN passed sensitive info to Iran, she should…

Politics Matt Novak Dec 2

Viral Photo of Joe Biden Biting a Woman’s Finger Slightly Less Weird in Context

Have you seen that viral photo of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden biting or sucking on a woman’s finger? It’s a real photo, believe it or not. But the bizarre moment looks slightly less weird when you see the video. Slightly. The photo comes from an event on Saturday, November 30 in Council Bluffs, Iowa—the…

Politics Matt Novak Dec 2

This Wired Article From 2007 About Throwing Away Your Mobile Phone Makes Some Good Points

Everyone gets frustrated with their mobile phones at some point, leading many of us to fantasize about throwing our shit into the ocean and just living without one. And back in the ancient world of 2007, that was a much more reasonable possibility. A Wired article from July 31, 2007 made the case that there…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 27

Massive Explosion at Texas Chemical Plant Felt Miles Away, Damages Nearby Homes

A massive explosion rocked a chemical plant that produces petroleum products in southeast Texas overnight, sending fireballs into the air. The shockwave of the blast has damaged walls in nearby homes and even shattered windows miles away, according to early reports on social media, but the cause of the blast is still unknown. The initial…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 27

That Time Animators Brought a Guillotine to the Disney Labor Strike in 1941

Today, we often think of labor strikes as fairly mundane affairs—at least in the United States. But there was a time when labor actions were much more intense. Like in 1941, when animators supporting the strike at Disney’s studio in Burbank, California brought a guillotine to show just how upset they were with Disney management…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 26

U.S. Police Already Using ‘Spot’ Robot From Boston Dynamics in the Real World

Massachusetts State Police (MSP) has been quietly testing ways to use the four-legged Boston Dynamics robot known as Spot, according to new documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. And while Spot isn’t equipped with a weapon just yet, the documents provide a terrifying peek at our RoboCop future. The Spot robot,…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 25

Baby Yoda GIFs Are Back Online and Giphy Has Apologized to Disney for Some Reason

Last week, cute Baby Yoda GIFs started disappearing from Giphy.

Movies Matt Novak Nov 25

Uber Loses Operating License in London (Again) Over Safety and Security Issues

Uber has lost its operating license in London yet again. According to the city’s transportation regulator, Transport for London (TfL), the company has shown a “pattern of failures,” including “several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk.” Uber says it will appeal the decision. Again. “While we recognize Uber has made improvements, it…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 25

Will Elon Musk’s Cybertruck Arrive Before the Flying Car?

Building the future is hard. And nowhere was that more evident than at Tesla’s grand unveiling of the Cybertruck in Los Angeles last night. But if anyone can do it, Elon Musk can, right? Right? Unconventional design choices aside, the Tesla presentation had some really embarrassing gaffes, like when Tesla’s lead designer, Franz von Holzhausen,…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 22

Sacha Baron Cohen Says Social Media Companies Have Created the ‘Greatest Propaganda Machine in History’

Sacha Baron Cohen accepted an international leadership award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in New York last night and the comedian did not hold back when it came to the role of social media in the world. Cohen, famous for characters like Borat and Ali G, spent the majority of his speech denouncing social media companies…

Social Media Matt Novak Nov 22

Trump’s ‘I Want Nothing’ Rant Transformed Into Songs By The Ramones, Morrissey, and More

President Donald Trump went on a bizarre rant at the White House yesterday, selectively quoting from Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s damning testimony about Trump’s crimes. Countless people have pointed out that Trump’s handwritten notes from the rant looked like lyrics to a song, inspiring some people on Twitter to put those words to music. And surprisingly,…

Politics Matt Novak Nov 21

Chinese State Media Runs Facebook Ad With Bill Gates Talking About How Great China Is Doing

Xinhua News, China’s largest state-run news agency, is currently buying ads on Facebook that feature a video of Bill Gates talking about China. The video ad is a fascinating example of the ways in which the Chinese government is using Facebook, which is banned in mainland China, to spread propaganda online while headlines around the…

Social Media Matt Novak Nov 20

Iran’s Internet Has Been Shut Off For 4 Days and No One Knows When It’s Coming Back

The government of Iran shut off the internet for virtually everyone in the country on Saturday as protests over fuel prices turned violent. The internet in Iran has now been inaccessible to the general population of 81 million for almost four days, and it’s not clear when the government will turn it back on. “The…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 20

Facebook Exec Defends Breitbart’s Inclusion in News Tab, Says Facebook Also Has ‘Far Left’ News

Facebook recently announced that white supremacist propaganda site Breitbart would be considered a “high quality” news source on its platform, leading to complaints that Facebook was legitimizing hate. But it’s fine, according to one Facebook executive who gave an interview at the Code Media conference in Los Angeles on Monday, because Facebook also includes the…

Social Media Matt Novak Nov 19

T-Mobile CEO John Legere Is Stepping Down

T-Mobile has announced John Legere, the company’s CEO since 2012, will step down on April 30, 2020. Mike Sievert, current COO, will become CEO, and Legere will remain a member of the company’s board. The executive shakeup comes as T-Mobile and Sprint move to finalize a $26 billion merger. T-Mobile thanked Legere for his service…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 18

President Trump Is Terrified That Banning Flavored Vapes Might Cost Him Votes

President Donald Trump insisted back in September that he would soon ban flavored vape products in an effort to make them less appealing to children. But the ban is almost certainly dead, if the latest anonymous reports cascading out of the White House can be believed. Trump was presented with a “decision memo” on November…

Health Matt Novak Nov 18

Matt Novak

39 Tattoos of Baby Yoda That Prove We’re All Obsessed With The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian Has Been Edited to Look Like a 1980s Sitcom and It’s Strangely Perfect

Trump Regime Threatens 100 Percent Tariffs on French Goods to Retaliate Against Tax on Big Tech

Russia Blocks Shutterstock Website Over Photos of Russian Flag in Dogshit

Republican Challenger to Rep. Ilhan Omar Banned From Twitter for Rhetoric Trump Uses All the Time

Viral Photo of Joe Biden Biting a Woman’s Finger Slightly Less Weird in Context

This Wired Article From 2007 About Throwing Away Your Mobile Phone Makes Some Good Points

Massive Explosion at Texas Chemical Plant Felt Miles Away, Damages Nearby Homes

That Time Animators Brought a Guillotine to the Disney Labor Strike in 1941

U.S. Police Already Using ‘Spot’ Robot From Boston Dynamics in the Real World

Baby Yoda GIFs Are Back Online and Giphy Has Apologized to Disney for Some Reason

Uber Loses Operating License in London (Again) Over Safety and Security Issues

Will Elon Musk’s Cybertruck Arrive Before the Flying Car?

Sacha Baron Cohen Says Social Media Companies Have Created the ‘Greatest Propaganda Machine in History’

Trump’s ‘I Want Nothing’ Rant Transformed Into Songs By The Ramones, Morrissey, and More

Chinese State Media Runs Facebook Ad With Bill Gates Talking About How Great China Is Doing

Iran’s Internet Has Been Shut Off For 4 Days and No One Knows When It’s Coming Back

Facebook Exec Defends Breitbart’s Inclusion in News Tab, Says Facebook Also Has ‘Far Left’ News

T-Mobile CEO John Legere Is Stepping Down

President Trump Is Terrified That Banning Flavored Vapes Might Cost Him Votes

First Statewide Data Center Ban Passed by Maine Legislature

FCC Exempts Netgear from Foreign-Made Router Ban for Some Reason

Jamie Dornan Is Your New Aragorn in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

Trump’s Fed Pick Is Knee Deep in Tech and Crypto Investments

The First Trailer for ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Takes Terror Stateside

The Trump Phone Still Looks Like Total Trash

‘Masters of the Universe’ Really, Really Wants to Be the Next ‘Barbie’

Samsung’s Micro RGB TVs Provide So Much Color It May Be Too Much

The Crypto Bros Want to Get Their Hands on Anthropic’s ‘Super Dangerous’ Model

This Is What a Music Industry ‘Plant’ Looks Like in 2026

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice