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AI ‘doomer’ PR firm worked for Jacob Coxon as he sparked furor over safety while denying third-party help: report

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Zilber, A. (2026, September 25). AI ‘doomer’ PR firm worked for Jacob Coxon as he sparked furor over safety while denying third-party help: report. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/25/business/ai-doomer-pr-firm-worked-for-jacob-coxon-as-he-sparked-furor-over-safety-while-denying-third-party-help-report/

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New York Post · collected 2026-09-25 · by Ariel Zilber

Quick Summary

A report by Pirate Wires claims that Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic who warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence, worked with PR firm DEY. Ideas + Influence after announcing his resignation on September 8. The article suggests that Coxon’s rapid rise in media coverage was likely coordinated, despite his denial of third-party involvement. Pirate Wires cites two sources and an email showing DEY.’s efforts to arrange interviews for Coxon the day after his announcement. The report also notes that DEY. has worked with other AI critics like Nate Soares, raising questions about the coordination behind Coxon’s public statements.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic, sparked controversy by warning about the dangers of advanced AI, claiming it could "kill us all by the end of the decade." He announced his resignation on September 8 and went public with these concerns. According to Pirate Wires, a PR firm called DEY. Ideas + Influence helped arrange media interviews for Coxon on September 9, describing DEY as an “AI doomer” PR firm that also worked with other AI critics like Nate Soares from the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. This report questions Coxon's claim of acting independently and highlights potential ties to a controversial PR company known for promoting negative views about AI technology.

Written for “AI Firm Controversy” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 AI Firm Controversy
Technology · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 33% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of AI risk rhetoric and do not describe the same specific incident.”
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 4 of 46 claims Outlet record 95/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of AI concerns and do not describe the same specific incident.”
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 9 of 110 claims Outlet record 95/100
“While both articles discuss Jacob Coxon's resignation and his warning about AI risks, they describe different aspects of the incident (one focusing on the resignation announcement itself, the other on subsequent PR activities).”
The Hindu
Hedges 5 of 43 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses Jacob Coxon's actions and PR efforts related to AI safety concerns, while Article B covers broader statements made by Anthropic and OpenAI regarding AI regulation and political implications.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 19 of 51 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A focuses on Jacob Coxon's public statements and the PR firm's involvement, while Article B discusses broader industry concerns about AI and biological threats.”
Los Angeles Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 7 of 30 claims Outlet record 95/100
“Article A discusses Jacob Coxon's actions and PR efforts, while Article B focuses on Anthropic's IPO prospectus detailing potential risks of AI.”
AI safety paradox Different event
Dawn
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 7 of 61 claims Outlet record 71/100
“Article A discusses Dario Amodei's call for slowing down AI development, mentioning Jacob Coxon in passing. Article B focuses on Jacob Coxon's resignation and his warnings about AI safety, involving a PR firm. They describe different aspects of the broader AI safety discourse.”
Reason
Hedges 6 of 57 claims Outlet record 67/100
“Article A discusses resignations and concerns about AI safety from multiple employees at Anthropic and OpenAI, while Article B focuses specifically on Jacob Coxon's resignation and PR activities surrounding his announcement.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 12 of 62 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses a PR firm's involvement with Jacob Coxon's public statements about AI safety, while Article B provides commentary on Coxon's announcement and its broader implications.”
TIME
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 2 of 39 claims Outlet record 59/100
“Article A discusses multiple incidents related to AI safety concerns and resignations, while Article B focuses specifically on Jacob Coxon's use of a PR firm after his resignation announcement.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
33%
7 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15307 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ariel Zilber
77 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
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Topics

Coxon DEY DEY. Ideas + Influence Pirate Wires

Subjects

Coxon PERSON · 11× DEY ORG · 7× Pirate Wires ORG · 4× Soares PERSON · 4× DEY. ORG · 2× Wired ORG · 2× the Machine Intelligence Research Institute ORG · 2× Ideas + Influence ORG · 1× Jacob Coxon PERSON · 1× Nate Soares PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Soares, president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, was recently the subject of a Post report about his relationship with Aella, an OnlyFans model and self-described sex worker who has publicly discussed their “consensual non-consent” kink and said the pair filmed porn together.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 Ideas + Influence helped book interviews for Coxon on Sept. 9 — a day after he announced his resignation and warned that people building advanced AI believe the tech “could kill us all by the end of the decade” — Pirate Wires reported Thursday, calling DEY. a “doomer” PR firm.

Claims (21 extracted, 7 hedged)

A prominent PR firm with ties to AI doomsayers worked for Jacob Coxon as the ex-Anthropic researcher made national headlines for sounding the knell of the apocalypse about artificial intelligence — even as he denied working with third parties in going public with his concerns — according to a report. uncertain
he → work → report
Ideas + Influence helped book interviews for Coxon on Sept. 9 — a day after he announced his resignation and warned that people building advanced AI believe the tech “could kill us all by the end of the decade” — Pirate Wires reported Thursday, calling DEY. a “doomer” PR firm. uncertain
Wires → help → .
The outlet cited two people familiar with the matter and an email it said showed DEY. seeking to arrange an interview for the 27-year-old techie. asserted
. → cite → techie
DEY. also worked to book media appearances for AI naysayer Nate Soares that overlapped with Coxon’s media blitz, according to the report. uncertain
that → work → report
Soares, president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, was recently the subject of a Post report about his relationship with Aella, an OnlyFans model and self-described sex worker who has publicly discussed their “consensual non-consent” kink and said the pair filmed porn together. asserted
pair → describe → porn
The Pirate Wires report raised questions about how much of Coxon’s sudden media blitz was coordinated behind the scenes. asserted
much → raise → scenes
Kicking off the barrage of coverage was a Sept. 8 social media post by Coxon that has drawn over 173 million views. asserted
that → kick → views
“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade,” he wrote on X. “This is not a marketing stunt,” he added, claiming executives and senior researchers often soften their public language while expressing greater fear privately. uncertain
executives → build → fear
Within a day, Coxon was appearing across major television networks and being interviewed by outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Axios, Time and Wired. asserted
Coxon → appear → Journal
Fox News anchor Bret Baier directly asked Coxon on Sept. 9 whether he had worked with outside parties in going public. asserted
he → ask → parties
“Did you work with any third parties as far as this whistleblowing and coming out?” the journo asked. asserted
journo → work → whistleblowing
“Not at all,” Coxon replied. asserted
Coxon → reply → ?
Still, the pace at which his doomerism entered the mainstream — with Anthropic’s own CEO Dario Amodei saying he mostly agrees with his young ex-employee — raised eyebrows. asserted
he → enter → eyebrows
“I think the groundwork for this psy op (for lack of a better term) has been prepared for a long time. asserted
groundwork → think → time
This was just the match that lit the fire,” Elon Musk wrote on X. Pirate Wires said it could not determine exactly when Coxon’s relationship with DEY. began. uncertain
relationship → light → .
Soares said on X that he put Coxon in touch with DEY. himself, after Coxon’s first post topped 100,000 likes — a milestone Pirate Wires said came within a day of its publication. asserted
Wires → say → publication
Coxon did not immediately respond to Pirate Wires’ request for comment, according to the outlet. uncertain
Coxon → respond → outlet
DEY. also did not immediately respond. asserted
. → respond → ?
The communications firm represents several prominent figures and organizations involved in debates over AI safety. asserted
firm → represent → safety
According to Pirate Wires, DEY.’s clients include Eliezer Yudkowsky, Soares’s co-author of the AI-phobic “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies,” and Timnit Gebru, whom Wired dubbed “one of AI’s fiercest critics. DEY. also advises the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, where Soares serves as president, along with Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence and Stanford Medicine, the report said. uncertain
report → accord → Intelligence
On its website, DEY. describes its work as “the ongoing work of shaping public understanding over time.” asserted
. → describe → time
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