[9][10] Yglesias started blogging in early 2002, while still in college, focusing mainly on American politics and public policy issues, often approached from an abstract, philosophical perspective.

In July 2008, he announced that he would leave The Atlantic Monthly for the Center for American Progress where he wrote for its blog, ThinkProgress, because he missed "the sense of collegiality that comes from working with like-minded colleagues on a shared enterprise" and thought he could "help advance their mission.

[27] Yglesias deleted his past Twitter feed in November 2018, after controversy over tweets which defended the motivation of protesters who gathered outside the house of Tucker Carlson.

[30] According to an analysis by British digital strategist Rob Blackie, Yglesias was one of the most commonly followed political writers among Biden administration staff on Twitter.

[31] Andrew Sullivan, a fellow blogger, takes nominations on his blog for the Yglesias Award, an honor "for writers, politicians, columnists or pundits who actually criticize their own side, make enemies among political allies, and generally risk something for the sake of saying what they believe.

[34] In 2017, Vice listed Yglesias among a group of political writers who were labelled "neoliberal shills" in left-wing Twitter communities.

He cited his belief in a more assertive American foreign policy, shaped by the idea that the US should have intervened more decisively in conflicts such as those in Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Kosovo.

He was also influenced by the support of prominent political figures, including key Democratic leaders and Tony Blair, whose positions he largely deferred to.

Additionally, Yglesias acknowledged that he had underestimated the political risk for the Bush administration, even in the absence of confirmed weapons of mass destruction.