Entertainment
Anti-Elon Musk guerrilla art vending machine goes up at SXSW in Austin
An anonymous group installed an anti-Elon Musk vending machine that dispenses the Epstein Files at SXSW 2026 in Austin, Texas, on Saturday morning.
Mashable witnessed a group of four men installing the piece of guerrilla protest art at the corner of Red River Street and 4th Street in downtown Austin. After a brief installation, passersby started collecting DVDs titled “Elon’s Epstein Files.” The vending machine is covered with anti-Elon Musk slogans, and messages on the machine say “Grok makes AI child porn free!” and “Our founder Elon Musk is in the Epstein Files.”

A group of unidentified men install an anti-Elon Musk art project at SXSW 2026.
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable
Grok has been the subject of global investigations after the AI chatbot was accused of generating nude images of children. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and the New York Times found that Grok created an estimated 3 million sexualized images, which included 23,000 images depicting children, during an 11-day period between December and January.
When Grok Imagine first launched, Mashable reported that the tool lacked basic safety guardrails to prevent sexual deepfakes.
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A QR code inside the DVD takes you to Jmail, a site that lets you search through Epstein’s emails in a Gmail-like interface. (Exercise caution when scanning QR codes from unknown sources.) Specifically, this code links to a search in Jmail that shows emails between Musk and Epstein. What Mashable has covered previously: Jmail is the brainchild of Riley Walz, a digital “prankster,” and developer Luke Igel. However, it’s unclear if this Elon Musk vending machine is associated with the Jmail project.
The men setting up the vending machine refused to say who they were or who hired them. Two men who described themselves as the “security detail” said the vending machine would be up until Wednesday. A photographer and the man installing the machine told Mashable they were hired by a company that was hired by another company, and refused to provide identifying details.
An Anti-Elon Musk vending machine appears in downtown Austin during SXSW 2026.
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable
The men installing the machine also claimed responsibility for the Epstein Walk of Shame art installation, which appeared in downtown Austin earlier in the week.
The annual SXSW festival takes place in Austin, Texas, where it runs from March 12 to 18.
Entertainment
Score up to 64% off at EcoFlow and snag free solar panels with your purchase.
SAVE 64%: Between May 6 and May 17, you can score up to 64% off at EcoFlow and snag free solar panels with your purchase.
Get up to 64% off plus a free solar panel with purchase
I live in an apartment, so I don’t exactly have a “whole home” to back up. But if there’s one thing I hate, it’s losing power. There goes the AC, the internet, the food in the fridge — it’s a total nightmare. If you actually own a house and have been putting off buying a backup power system because it’s pricey, I have some good news.
The DJI Power 1000 Mini portable power station just launched — U.S. availability is pending
Right now, EcoFlow is running a Mother’s Day Sale through May 17 with discounts as high as 64%. They’re also throwing in free hardware to sweeten the deal: All single orders between $600 and $3,000 come with a free 45W solar panel, and orders over $3,000 come with two free 160W solar panels. If you’re looking for something more portable, their RAPID Power Banks are also up to 53% off right now.
Just keep an eye on the countdown clock — it’s for the Flash Sale items that have even better, limited-time price cuts. If you miss the flash window, the standard Mother’s Day and Home Improvement deals (including a $700 installation discount for larger systems) are still valid through mid-May.
Mashable Deals
Here are a few of the best deals I’ve spotted so far:
Entertainment
Maddies Secret trailer reveals John Early as youve never seen him before
Comedian John Early makes his feature directorial debut with Maddie’s Secret, an offbeat homage to melodrama that he wrote and headlines as its eponymous heroine.
As an aspiring food influencer, Maddie Ralph (Early) is passionate about her cuisine. And at first glance, she’s got a picture-perfect life: a loving husband (Eric Rahill), a devoted best friend (Kate Berlant), and a job at a culinary content studio called Gourmaybe. But as the title suggests, there’s a side to Maddie she can’t stomach sharing with her loved ones. And this secret could kill her.
Out of the movie’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, I cheered Maddie’s Secret, writing in my review for Mashable, “The film is silly and strange, but even amid campy bits, sincere. So, you’ll laugh at its parody elements, but may well be genuinely moved by Early’s commitment to this strange and splendid film.”
I also said “John Early is a better ingénue than Sydney Sweeney,” comparing Maddie’s Secret to another earnest (but less entertaining) TIFF offering, Christy. And I stand by it.
Maddie’s Secret opens in theaters in New York on June 19, and in Los Angeles on June 26.
Entertainment
Pride is almost here! Check out the best dating apps for LGBTQ women.
We know Pride is all year round, but there is something special about the month of June. We’re not there quite yet, but if you want a main squeeze for all the parades and parties, you gotta start looking now. How about on a dating app?
As a lesbian, you probably know all about them. Lesbian Americans (along with bisexual and gay Americans) are far more likely to have ever used dating apps than straight Americans: 51 percent to 28 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.
There are a few reasons why LGBTQ people might turn to online dating more quickly than straight folks. For one, you might live in an area without a thriving LGBTQ community, and in-person dating may be hard. If you don’t know other lesbians to begin with, how can you meet more IRL to date? (Sometimes, lesbian spaces can also be co-opted by The Straights.) Unfortunately, in-person dating may also be less safe, depending on where you live.
Hookup apps for everyone
AdultFriendFinder
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readers’ pick for casual connections
Tinder
—
top pick for finding hookups
Hinge
—
popular choice for regular meetups
Thankfully, we live in a time where we can find people like us with a few swipes. Lesbians are welcome on major dating apps, and there are also niche ones specifically for lesbians and other queer women and people. But which one to choose?
How to find the best dating apps for lesbians

Niche lesbian dating apps aren’t your only option for finding love.
Credit: Stacey Zhu / Mashable
In Mashable’s recommendations below, you’ll find both general dating apps and apps specifically for queer people. As the former appeals to the general population, you’ll find more users in these spaces. The caveat, however, is that when you swipe on other women, you might find those coupled with men who are looking for another woman to have a threesome with (aka unicorn hunters). No judgment here, but that’s probably not what you’re looking for. Then again, people of all types are on dating apps like Tinder and Hinge. You never know who you may come across.
Then there are apps specifically for the community, like HER and Lex. If you yearn for a smaller dating scene, head for these apps. While there’s no “Grindr for lesbians” — we go into why in the FAQ section — these apps are more so like stepping into your neighborhood lesbian bar than an app like Bumble.
You can also try multiple dating apps, as each one below has a free version. You can filter by the gender you identify with and are looking for, and sometimes, as with OkCupid, there are many options to choose from.
Diving into the dating pool isn’t easy, but the water’s fine. Check out our guide below for the full rundown of our recommendations and dating app reviews.
