WordPress and Tech Stories of The Month. Get the insights you Need Now. In this month

This Thursday, we’re diving into number stories that cut right to the heart of where tech, politics, and the WordPress ecosystem are heading.

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First, a pretty alarming investigation uncovers a 13-year backdoor campaign tied to 44 WordPress.org plugins—raising serious questions about trust, governance, and how something like this could go undetected for so long.

Then we shift gears into AI and politics, where Anthropic’s recent clash with the Trump administration isn’t just drama—it may actually be influencing adoption and sales in unexpected ways.

Back in the WordPress space, we’ll tackle a long-simmering question: should hosting companies own major WordPress products, or does that create conflicts that reshape the ecosystem in ways we’re not fully grappling with yet?

And finally, we zoom out globally to the UK’s proposed under-16 social media ban—what it could mean for platforms, parents, and the future of online regulation.

It’s a mix of security, power, ownership, and control—and how all of those forces are reshaping the internet we work on every day.

This WP-Tonic Round-Table Show Special Guest Katie Keith - https://barn2.com

#1 - Developer Traces 13-Year Backdoor Campaign Across 44 WordPress.org Plugins to a Single Operator

https://www.therepository.email/developer-traces-13-year-backdoor-campaign-across-44-wordpress-org-plugins-to-a-single-operator

#2 - Apparently, The Real Reason Anthropic’s Models Are Offline: A Six-Year-Old Trump Grudge

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/16/apparently-the-real-reason-anthropics-models-are-offline-a-six-year-old-trump-grudge/

Anthropic’s latest feud with the Trump admin may actually help it, sales data suggests

https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/16/anthropics-latest-feud-with-the-trump-admin-may-actually-help-it-sales-data-suggests/

#3 - Should Hosting Companies Own WordPress Products?

https://thewpminute.com/should-hosting-companies-own-wordpress-products/

#4 - Five big questions about the UK's under-16s social media ban

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9824zvpz9po

#5 - WP Beginner. F*cked?

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7472346782119866369/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUBiXeLrxf4