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A South Korean lunar orbiter capturing the SpaceX rocket crash site on the moon

A South Korean lunar orbiter got the shot that virtually every telescope and spacecraft attempted to snap on Wednesday when a wayward SpaceX rocket accidentally smashed into the moon. 

The Danuri lunar orbiter recorded the site before and after the collision. It started watching the zone about 30 minutes before the crash, then adjusted its orbit to pass over the site several times, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, or KARI. Officials said the Falcon 9 rocket made moonfall at 2:34 a.m. ET Aug. 5. The spacecraft completed eight photoshoots. 

"Through this observation, changes in the terrain around the impact site and traces of ejecta spread were confirmed," the space agency said in a translated X post, referring to the debris thrown from the high-speed impact. 

The observations give researchers an unusual chance to look at changes caused by the collision. The new images will be combined with follow-up observations from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is expected to photograph the new crater from orbit, to support international research into how impacts reshape the moon. 

SEE ALSO: When AI hallucinates aliens: Some think NASA should be nervous

The roughly 4-ton Falcon 9 upper stage struck the moon after spending more than a year drifting through space. The crash was unintentional, caused by a combination of solar activity and gravity gradually pushing the stray rocket onto a collision course.

"We actively work to be as responsible as possible with hardware left in space to ensure space safety, including for more complex missions," SpaceX said in a statement. "Impacts like this are rare, but they can happen with objects in these types of orbits, and we worked with NASA on the optimal disposal solution."

Ground-based observers could not directly see the impact. But astronomers reported using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to detect a plume of material that likely came from the crash. Independent space trackers also concluded the rocket reached the predicted impact site near Einstein Crater, close to the boundary between the moon's near and far sides.

The rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Jan. 2025, carrying Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience lunar landers. After releasing both spacecraft, the spent stage remained in space as planned instead of returning to Earth. Blue Ghost later became the first privately built spacecraft to achieve a successful lunar landing, while Resilience crashed during its landing attempt.

SpaceX Falcon 9 launching Blue Ghost and Resilience lunar landers
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches two moon landers into space on Jan. 15, 2025, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: SpaceX

Coincidentally, the South Korean orbiter took the same type of ride to get to the moon. It launched on the same class of rocket — another SpaceX Falcon 9 — almost exactly four years ago, on Aug. 4, 2022. Its core mission is to map the lunar surface, measure magnetic and gamma-ray data, and identify future landing sites.

The SpaceX incident has renewed concerns about space debris around the moon as lunar missions increase. 

NASA has planned a steady stream of robotic missions in support of its Artemis program in coordination with private spacecraft operators, while both SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing lunar landers for future astronaut missions. Scientists have warned that accidental impacts could become more problematic as traffic around the moon increases.



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The Award-Winning Luminar Neo Lifetime Bundle

TL;DR: Get the award-winning Luminar Neo Lifetime Bundle for $79.99 (reg. $332) for a lifetime.

The Award-Winning Luminar Neo Lifetime Bundle
Credit: Luminar Neo

Most photos don’t need hours of editing. Instead, they just need the right tools. The Luminar Neo Lifetime Bundle is available for $79.99 (reg. $332), pairing Skylum’s AI-powered photo editor with creative assets and training that can help turn good photos into polished, professional-looking ones without a tough learning curve.

The fundamental software is Luminar Neo, an intuitive photo editing app for Windows and macOS that also works as a plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom. Its AI-powered tools can handle time-consuming edits like replacing skies, relighting scenes, removing unwanted objects, retouching portraits, and enhancing overall image quality in just a few clicks. If you’re not sure where to begin, the built-in AI Assistant can even analyze a photo and recommend edits based on what’s in the frame.

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The extras help round out the package without requiring additional purchases. Along with the software, you’ll get a nearly three-hour landscape editing course featuring 20 guided lessons and practice images so you can build confidence with the tools. The bundle also includes creative presets, LUTs, sky replacement packs, and overlays that make it easy to develop a consistent editing style or quickly change the mood of a photo.

Whether you’re touching up vacation photos, building a photography portfolio, creating social media content, or simply looking for a faster editing process, the bundle is designed for photographers of all experience levels. Beginners can rely on the AI tools to produce polished results without spending hours learning complex editing techniques, while more experienced photographers can use layers, masking, local adjustments, and creative assets to fine-tune their work and maintain a consistent visual style across an entire collection.

If your camera roll deserves more than basic filters, the award-winning Luminar Neo Lifetime Bundle is available for $79.99 (reg. $332) for a limited time.

StackSocial prices subject to change.



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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra against dark background

Last year, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 was the best foldable I'd ever tested, thanks to an extremely sleek form factor that made it by far the most comfortable phone in the category to actually hold in your hands. This year's follow-up has a new name, but it's broadly the same phone, for better and worse.

Meet the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, a re-branded follow-up to the Z Fold 7. Confusingly, there is also a phone called the Z Fold 8, but it's a totally different device. Regardless of that, Samsung's newest and most premium flagship foldable checks most of the boxes you would want it to check: It's still very comfortable in the hands, the displays are bright and vivid, and the battery has gotten a sizable boost over last year.

But, sadly, that's about it. Aside from all of that and a modest camera upgrade, you're paying $2,099 (a $100 price increase year-over-year) for a phone that's very similar to its predecessor. The Z Fold 8 Ultra might be a great get for anyone who doesn't already have a foldable, but Z Fold 7 owners can likely wait until the next big revision to upgrade.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Design and specs

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra lying flat on a table
It's a tiny bit thinner. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Starting with the phone's physical design, Samsung has not reinvented the wheel in 2026.

That might read as disappointing, but last year was such a big sea change for the Fold series that it's fine for this year's phone to carry that torch forward. There really wasn't much that needed changing. Samsung did shave one tenth of a millimeter off the total thickness, bringing it down to 4.1mm instead of 4.2mm on the Z Fold 7, but the two devices otherwise look, feel, and weigh the same.

As for colors, your options this year are fairly boring: Cream, Graphite, Violet Shadow, and Green Shadow. The last one is an online exclusive on Samsung's store.

Here are the rest of the relevant specs for the Z Fold 8 Ultra:

  • Inner display: 8-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate

  • Outer display: 6.5-inches AMOLED display 120Hz refresh rate

  • Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset

  • Unfolded dimensions: 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.1 mm

  • Folded dimensions: 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9 mm

  • RAM: 12GB to 16GB RAM

  • Storage: 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage

  • Battery: 5,000mAh battery

Compared to the Z Fold 7, most of those specs are roughly the same. The displays haven't changed much, but that's fine because they were already great. One important change Samsung did make was to up the max brightness from 2,600 nits to 3,000 nits, making the Z Fold 8 Ultra a little bit more accommodating in bright outdoor conditions. I wouldn't say that was a problem on the Z Fold 7, but it is a little bit improved here.

Samsung also packed a newer Snapdragon chip in the Z Fold 8 Ultra, which has become customary for annual phone releases on this end of the price spectrum. Perhaps the biggest upgrade is the new 5,000mAh battery, up from 4,400mAh on the Z Fold 7. We'll get into specific later, but rest assured, the new battery is much better.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Performance

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra folded with external display on
The outer display is great. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Speaking of the new chip, performance on the Z Fold 8 Ultra is rock solid. Everything loads and opens smoothly and quickly, and I never noticed an egregious amount of overheating despite the phone's thin frame. I won't say this is a big improvement over the Z Fold 7, as that phone also had great performance, but the good news is that it certainly didn't get worse.

Using the Geekbench 6 benchmarking software, the Z Fold 8 Ultra registered a multi-score score of 11,262. By comparison, the Z Fold 7 was 9,600, so it definitely seems like there's more power under the hood here, even if it's not eminently noticeable during daily use.

These new Snapdragon chips also enable the use of Samsung's proprietary AI features, as well as Gemini, but as far as I can tell, the AI experience here is largely the same as on other Samsung flagships like the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Existing features like Now Brief (a daily personalizes summary of weather and other info you might like) and Now Nudge (which reads your screen to surface relevant information when you need it) are here, but they're a little hard to test out fully during a brief review period because they need time to learn more about you.

Z Fold 8 Ultra inner display
And so is the inner one. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Still, I will say I like that you can make custom cards for things like a weather forecast in Now Brief. I was able to create a weather card with only the information I would want, like a seven-day forecast with precipitation and humidity measurements, merely by asking the phone to do that. However, I would note that a good weather app would show you these things already without any intervention by AI.

One intriguing feature I was not able to properly test was My FanCam. This is a feature for shooting videos that will lock the frame around a human subject you've chosen to highlight, you know, like a fancam. This is extraordinarily difficult to test if you don't have kids or are afraid of filming strangers in public, though, so I can't give a real verdict on it just yet. If I have one gripe, it's that it doesn't seem to work with animals at all.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Battery life

As much as I loved the Z Fold 7, battery life was its biggest downfall, by a wide margin. The 4,400mAh cell inside that thing simply wasn't good enough for a $2,000 phone. Using our normal battery testing methods (which involve playing an HD video on the display until the phone dies), I was only able to get about 20 hours of juice out of the Z Fold 7, which is well below average for a flagship phone.

Good thing Samsung fixed that. The 5,000mAh cell here gets the job done, producing about 24 hours of battery life using the same testing method. That's still not spectacular for a phone of this price, but average is better than below-average.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Cameras

One thing I feel the need to establish right away is that you really shouldn't buy a foldable phone if you want the best of the best in terms of mobile camera tech. Anyone who is serious about photography should probably go for something a bit more conventional. That said, the Z Fold 8 Ultra's camera array is totally fine.

The 200MP main shooter from last year remains, as does the 10MP telephoto lens, but Samsung upgraded the ultra-wide lens from 12MP to 50MP this year. I have to be honest: I don't know if this actually makes a huge difference in photo quality, though it does make a difference in photo file size. Still, ultra-wide photos taken at 50MP do look quite nice.

An ultrawide shot of a street in Brooklyn with multi-colored apartment buildings
Ultra-wide photos do look pretty good. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Macro photography is also still adept at capturing little details on tiny objects.

A tiny leaf as captured by the Z Fold 8 Ultra's macro lens
The amount of outdoor plants in Brooklyn makes my job easy sometimes. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

You'd think the telephoto lens (which has 3x optical zoom) would produce quality zoomed in shots. If you keep the zoom level at around 10x or lower, things do tend to look OK.

A 10x zoom shot of an illustrated tiger on an iron fence in Brooklyn
At around 10x zoom, you can still get decent-looking shots. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

But if you go beyond that, the phone's software starts filling in the blanks and things can get very ugly, very fast. I don't even know why 30x zoom exists on this device when every 30x photo I took looked like this.

An extremely ugly shot of some trees and a street light taken at 30x zoom
Gross! Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

But, aside from that, shots taken with less extreme parameters still usually come out looking colorful and pretty.

Colorful graffiti in Brooklyn
Shout out to New York's graffiti artists. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

And I'll leave you with a portrait shot of the sign outside my favorite bar.

A bar sign reading "The Evergreen"
This place has a cat. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: The verdict

I think the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra would probably still be my foldable of choice, if money weren't an object. The thin chassis, gorgeous displays, and newly improved battery go a long way towards making it a very good phone. Its cameras are also the best among the new Samsung foldables.

The only problem here is that almost all of that (aside from the battery) was also present a year ago. Sometimes I wonder if we still need to do annual updates for phones, and this is one of those times. Especially with the $100 price hike.



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Petal growing from a crack in the ground as seen in Ariana Grande's

We need to talk about Ariana Grande.

Quite literally, the recent nonstop internet discourse about Grande suggests an urgent need to name what's happening to the movie and pop star's body.

Concern mounted in recent weeks as Grande posted Instagram photos of her physique while performing on tour. Some worried the singer was disappearing before their eyes.

SEE ALSO: I tried to scrub weight loss content from my FYP. Here's what I learned.

Then Grande released the music video "Petal." The imagery in the seven-minute-long film prompted worried fans and onlookers to claim Grande has an eating disorder, though she's never shared such information. Rather, Grande has previously pleaded with the public not to comment on her body.

The furor led to an announcement from her team Sunday that she'd be "taking a step back from visibility" following the end of her tour next month.

How to respond to imagery of Ariana Grande

Eating disorder experts who spoke to Mashable say the public shouldn't judge or diagnose Grande, including on social media.

"We have no idea what's what's going on in people's lives, and I think it's very dangerous when we make assumptions," said Johanna S. Kandel, founder and CEO of the National Alliance for Eating Disorders.

The temptation to fixate on or post about Grande, even out of genuine concern, is strong. She's one of the world's most famous celebrities, adored by young girls and women who may aspire to look like her. Grande is also a businesswoman with a distinctly curated image, repping brands like Swarovski and her own cosmetics company, r.e.m. beauty. She possesses immense cultural power.

Still, there's another way to respond to the debate over the singer's health: We should name what's happening to us as a result, said Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar, regional medical director of the Eating Recovery Center.

After all, Grande's appearance and the public reaction to it can feel legitimately confusing and painful.

That's why it's important to identify how imagery of Grande, along with the related online discussion, makes us feel about ourselves and the people we love — including those who may live with an eating disorder, be in recovery from one, or face fat phobia and discrimination because they live in a larger body.

"We don't want to to squelch the conversations [about] the feelings that are being brought up in people as they're viewing these images," Wassenaar told Mashable. She added that the feelings can include concern, disgust, and even jealousy.

Those emotions are an opportunity to take stock, support loved ones particularly affected by the controversy, and learn more about eating disorders.

The relationships that really matter

Wassenaar understands the vocal concern about Grande. Some people have a parasocial relationship with her. Others fear staying silent will normalize the imagery of her.

Wassenaar believes the collective unease demonstrates concern for Grande as a human. Then there's worry for loved ones exposed to content that could potentially trigger an eating disorder relapse or curiosity about food restriction and dieting.

"So what can we do in those relationships with the people that we are actually connected to?" Wassenaar asks.

How to talk to loved ones

A mom concerned that her tween daughter might see Grande's appearance as aspirational, for instance, can spark a nonjudgmental conversation about the topic.

Wassenaar said it's OK to neutrally observe that bodies naturally change over time, gaining and losing weight for different reasons. The parent can even ask how her daughter feels about the imagery of Grande and the related discussion of her body.

Importantly, though, the conversation should shift to reassuring the tween that she doesn't need to lose (or gain) weight to make herself acceptable to others.

For people who know someone in eating disorder treatment or recovery, Wassenaar suggests supportively reaching out. They can acknowledge the general resurgence of weight stigma, partly due to GLP-1 weight loss drugs, and empathize that both the imagery and discussion of Grande might be difficult or triggering.

Kandel also told Mashable the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline is receiving an unprecedented number of calls about "body bullying." While these are unrelated to Grande, the growing and resurgent cultural obsession with thinness is contributing to bias against people in larger bodies, Kandel said.

How to handle your own feelings

For some people, regardless of whether they experience disordered eating, photos and videos of Grande may elicit jealousy or envy, Wassenaar said.

She recommends naming those feelings and the "wish" underlying them. That can include associating a certain body size with better grades, professional success, a new relationship, and personal fulfillment.

Wassenaar suggests following that "thread" to its conclusion, because changing one's body often doesn't lead to the life changes people desire.

Recognizing these dynamics "gives us a key to begin to investigate for ourselves...what about my life isn't where I want it to be, and what kind of work can I do with that?" Wassenaar said.

She also noted people should seek support if imagery of Grande triggers urges to diet or restrict food.

Fear of repeating the '90s and '00s

Kandel said there's a prominent fear that we'll repeat history if we don't talk candidly about Grande's appearance.

The mainstreaming of body inclusivity and positivity movements in the 2010s seemed to leave the unforgiving "heroin chic" beauty standards of the 1990s and 2000s behind — until the emergence of GLP-1s and the reported MAHA politicization of thinness.

For some, imagery of Grande has become a worrisome bellwether of this accelerating trend.

Kandel acknowledged the research demonstrating how imagery of thinness can increase body comparison and body checking for some. Vulnerable viewers may compare themselves to that imagery and think that's what an eating disorder looks like — and that they're not sick enough.

At the same time, Kandel said that expressing concern for Grande's size inadvertently reinforces unhelpful or even harmful judgments about people's bodies.

This tension has put many in a rhetorical bind, but both Kandel and Wassenaar offer a way out.

Instead of adjudicating Grande's size and well-being, Kandel suggests using the debate as an opportunity to learn about eating disorders in general.

The emphasis on Grande, for example, obscures the reality that men and people of color experience disordered eating, as well. Anorexia is also one of several eating disorders, including binge eating and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorders.

Wassenaar said people concerned about the broader societal implications of Grande's appearance can focus on their behavior and activism.

"We can change our experiences with our bodies, and we can influence the young people in our lives by modeling that, and that's what we can control," said Wassenaar.

If you are concerned about your eating behavior, visit the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) website for more information. You can also text CONNECT to 741741 for immediate support from a trained volunteer at the Crisis Text Line.



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A vandalized Flock camera near Washington Avenue and Westcott is photographed in Houston, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.

Flock cameras are supposed to help police track cars. In Winona, Minnesota, police are now trying to track down the cameras themselves.

All eight license plate readers operated by the Winona Police Department disappeared sometime between July 29 and Aug. 1, according to police. Officers discovered the thefts after one noticed that the system had not recorded any recent activity. When police checked the four locations where the devices had been installed, they found the mounting poles cut near the base and discarded in nearby weeds. The camera equipment was gone.

Two flock cameras had been positioned at each of the four locations along highways entering and leaving the city. Replacing every unit and its pole will cost approximately $3,000 each, leaving the department with an estimated $24,000 bill.

Winona is only the latest Minnesota community to find its Flock equipment damaged or missing.

At least five devices were stolen and another was damaged in Duluth during June and July. In Plymouth, one was found in pieces beneath its pole, while another had its power cord cut. Similar incidents have also been reported in Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, and Anoka County.

SEE ALSO: What are Flock cameras and why are they so controversial?

Most of those cases remain unsolved. One theft in Faribault, however, resulted in an arrest — prosecutors charged a 42-year-old man after he allegedly removed a reader from a 10-foot pole and brought it to a local shop. According to the criminal complaint, the man had previously told an acquaintance that the devices could "track him coming and leaving the city" and allegedly said, "I think I might take one."

Police later recovered the equipment from his garage with black tape covering its lens.

That case provides one possible explanation for why someone might target the technology, but Winona police have not connected their thefts to the larger anti-surveillance movement. Police Sgt. Nicholas Quimby told the Minnesota Star Tribune on Aug. 4 that philosophical opposition and an attempt to sell the components were both motives.

The fight over Flock is moving beyond Minnesota

The thefts arrive as Flock Safety faces growing scrutiny over the reach of its nationwide surveillance network.

Its automated license plate readers photograph passing vehicles and convert the images into searchable records. Depending on the device and agency, those records can include a car’s plate, location, make, model, color, body type, and distinguishing features such as bumper stickers or roof racks, as Mashable previously reported.

Police departments say that information can help them locate stolen vehicles, find missing people, and identify cars connected to crimes. Flock says approximately 120,000 of its devices are now used in more than 6,000 communities across 49 states.

But the scale that makes the system useful to police is also what concerns its critics. A single reader captures a car at one moment. Thousands of them can allow law enforcement agencies to piece together where someone traveled, even if that person is not suspected of committing a crime.

Questions have also emerged about who can search the information and how widely it can be shared. Investigations have found local license plate data being accessed for immigration enforcement, while mounting cases of police misuse have raised concerns about officers searching for people for personal reasons.

Those concerns are increasingly reaching city halls. Since the beginning of 2026, approximately 23 city councils have voted to cancel, reject, not renew, or deactivate Flock systems. In Minnesota, Columbia Heights voted in June to end its agreement with the company after residents objected to the technology.

The debate is spreading elsewhere. On Aug. 5, two Connecticut state senators asked cities and towns to pause new installations while the state inventories the readers already in use. Their request followed crowded public meetings and calls for greater oversight of how vehicle data is collected and shared.

At the same time, new allegations are giving residents more reasons to question who has access. Two police officers in Ohio recently resigned after internal audits uncovered possible misuse of the city’s system. Department records indicated that one officer searched the same license plate 53 times over six months, sometimes without listing a related case number.

Flock says vandalism puts communities at risk

Flock maintains that its technology gives police time-sensitive information that can help solve crimes and locate people in danger.

"People have every right to make their voices heard," spokesperson Courtney Terlecki told the Star Tribune. She argued that damaging the equipment can eliminate an investigative lead or prevent officers from receiving an alert related to an AMBER Alert, a missing-person case, or a violent crime.

Civil liberties groups are encouraging opponents to take their concerns to their local governments. On Aug. 1, the American Civil Liberties Union launched a national “Get the Flock Out” campaign with instructions for organizing through public records requests, petitions, and city council meetings.

Winona officials have not said whether the cameras will be replaced. But with more communities reconsidering Flock and lawmakers weighing new restrictions, the debate over where these cameras belong is far from over.



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When I was growing up, there were few words more devastating than "poser."

I still remember getting called one during my freshman year of high school after showing up in a pair of DC skate shoes. It didn't matter that I genuinely liked them. Someone decided I hadn't "earned" them, that I was trying on an identity that wasn't really mine. Two decades later, I still remember how much it stung.

The internet has always had a vocabulary for sniffing out inauthenticity. First, it was "poser." Then came "try-hard," "hipster," and, more recently, "NPC" and "industry plant." Now there's a new favorite: "larper."

SEE ALSO: Chat, are we cooked? A guide to internet slang in 2026.

The word originally referred to people who participate in live-action role-playing (LARP), dressing up as fantasy characters and acting out fictional worlds. But online, "larper" has taken on an entirely different meaning. Today, it's one of the internet's quickest ways to accuse someone of performing an identity instead of living it — someone who watches a single anime and suddenly presents themselves as an expert, a self-proclaimed cinephile who only knows the films everyone else loves, or a creator who adopts an entirely new personality because it's trending online.

In other words, Gen Z and Gen Alpha didn't invent the idea of calling someone fake. They just gave it a new name.

We asked you to predict what Apple will do next. See the results and find out how to get a shot at winning an Apple Watch!

So what is a "larper"?

Originally, a LARPer was exactly what the acronym suggests: someone who participates in live-action role-playing, dressing up as fantasy characters and acting out fictional stories with other participants.

There's nothing inherently negative about the term. For thousands of people, LARP is simply a hobby. It's a chance to touch grass and step into another world for a weekend.

Online, though, the definition has evolved. Calling someone a "larper" rarely has anything to do with fantasy role-playing. Instead, it's become shorthand for someone who's seen as performing an identity rather than genuinely inhabiting it.

One of the top definitions on Urban Dictionary describes a "larper" as someone who "does something that is way out of their capability but genuinely thinks they can do it," adding, "Dude, stop Larping."

The specifics change, but the accusation stays the same: You're playing a role.

How "larper" escaped fantasy

Like so much internet slang, "larper" didn't suddenly appear out of nowhere. It slowly migrated from one corner of the internet to another.

The term circulated for years in gaming communities and online forums before gradually becoming part of internet slang. By the early 2020s, it was commonly being used to describe people perceived as performing expertise, status, or entire identities — whether in politics, tech, fitness, or fandom spaces.

Eventually, the internet realized the joke worked almost everywhere. Now, almost any identity can become the subject of a "larper" accusation. Spend enough time on X, Twitch, or Reddit, and you'll eventually find someone accusing another fan of larping as a weeb, a lifelong gamer, or a movie buff because they only recently discovered the hobby.

Why "larper" feels different from "poser"

In many ways, "larper" is simply the modern evolution of "poser."

But there's an important difference. Being called a poser usually meant you didn't belong in a particular scene. Maybe you wore the wrong band shirt. Maybe you couldn't name three songs from a band you just discovered. Maybe you bought the skateboard but never learned to ollie.

"Larper" goes a step further. It doesn't just question whether you belong in a community; it questions whether your entire identity is authentic. That's a particularly powerful accusation in an internet where identity itself has become content.

A particularly powerful accusation in an internet where identity itself has become content.

Platforms don't just encourage us to share what we do. They reward us for becoming instantly recognizable. You're encouraged to cultivate an aesthetic, develop a niche, build a personal brand, and make your personality legible in the span of a few seconds.

The result is feeds full of hyper-specific identities: The person who suddenly becomes a Formula 1 expert after one season of Drive to Survive; the coffee enthusiast who buys a $500 espresso machine and starts lecturing everyone about extraction; the self-described music snob who first heard of a band a month ago but now acts like they've been there since the beginning.

Some of those identities are completely genuine. But the more polished they become, the more audiences begin looking for evidence that they're just performances. Of course, "larper" isn't always aimed at people who are obviously faking it. Across social media, that skepticism has turned into a kind of gatekeeping, where enthusiasm itself becomes suspect. New fans, beginners, and people discovering a hobby can all find themselves dismissed as "larpers" before they've had the chance to simply enjoy being new.

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The internet has become obsessed with authenticity

The rise of "larper" says less about fantasy role-playing than it does about the internet itself.

After years of influencer culture, personal branding, carefully curated aesthetics, and now AI-generated content, people have become increasingly skeptical of what they see online. It's no longer enough to ask whether a photo is edited or whether a video is sponsored. The question now is whether the person behind the account is authentic in the first place.

Ironically, that expectation has created a new kind of performance. Creators are no longer rewarded just for looking polished; they're rewarded for looking real. Vulnerability, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and carefully curated "messy" moments have become just as valuable as glossy perfection.

That's what makes "larper" such a potent insult. It's accusing someone of performing authenticity itself. Calling someone a "larper" has become one of the internet's quickest ways of saying, I don't believe the person you're pretending to be.

But aren't we all performing a little?

The problem, of course, is that the internet asks all of us to curate our identities.

Whether you're posting your latest read on Goodreads, documenting marathon training on Strava, sharing concert photos on Instagram, or building a career on LinkedIn, you're making decisions about what to share and what to leave out. Every profile is, to some degree, a performance.

So where does self-presentation end and "larping" begin?

One person's authentic passion is another person's carefully constructed persona.

There's no obvious answer. The line between genuine enthusiasm and performative identity is deeply subjective, shaped as much by who's watching as by what you're posting. One person's authentic passion is another person's carefully constructed persona.

Maybe that's why the word has exploded now. Growing up, being called a poser made me wonder whether I belonged. Being called a "larper" asks a different question altogether: not whether you belong, but whether the version of yourself you've chosen to share was ever real in the first place.

From YouTubers and TikTok stars to streamers and podcasters, Mashable talks to creators about how they built their platforms, the gear they swear by, and the trends they see coming next. Read more of our creator coverage, sign up for our Trending Now and Top Stories newsletters or get Mashable push alerts to discover the internet's most exciting voices. 



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Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you have good ideas.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

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Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

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Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

To propose.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter P.

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The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

POSIT

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.



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