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Bonus: Did Russia Stage the Drone Attack?
The United States and Ukraine have strongly denied any involvement in an alleged drone assassination attempt against Vladimir Putin this week. According to Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, two drones were reportedly downed by Russian air defences above the Kremlin, the fortress which is the heart of the government. One Decision’s Julia Macfarlane and Sir Richard Dearlove analyze the incident, the possibility it could be a false flag operation by Russia to escalate the war, and how Moscow could retaliate against Kyiv.
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What Does a Weakened Macron Mean for the World?
French President Emanuelle Macron is in a pretty tough spot. Recent legislative elections seriously undermined his standing at a dangerous point, as he starts his second term in office. In a country where strikes and protests are common, the next one might have far reaching political consequences. Meanwhile, Europe finds itself grappling with a war on its eastern border and an increasingly aggressive Russia. Former French Ambassador Gerard Araud shares an inside perspective on the latest threats facing one of Europe's critical countries. Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, also dives into China’s efforts to undermine France’s influence in Africa, exploring what it might mean for security and stability around the globe.
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Will Vladimir Putin be president by the end of the year? Ex-MI6 head makes his predictions for 2023.
2022 was a crazy year. And our Sir Richard Dearlove says 2023 won't be any less eventful. The former head of MI6 sits down with host Julia Macfarlane to discuss what the future might hold for the war in Ukraine, the burgeoning protest movement in China, and the United States presidential race.
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The Shifting World of OSINT (with Craig Silverman)
Joseph speaks to Craig Silverman, one of the co-founders of Indicator. Indicator is a new, independent media company that Craig runs with Alexios Mantzarlis. For years Craig has covered the world of ad fraud and disinformation using all sorts of open source intelligence (OSINT) techniques. Definitely check out Indicator at Indicator.media. The site publishes its own investigations but also tips and tricks you can use yourself.
Indicator’s site: https://indicator.media
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Landing Big Scoops as an Indie Journalist (with Marisa Kabas)
Marisa Kabas is the founder of The Handbasket, an independent newsletter and website that has been breaking stories left and right about government workers, the media business, and Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Jason and Marisa share notes Marisa about doing journalism without a big newsroom, how the media business has changed over the last decade, and why sources often prefer to talk to journalists who don’t work for mainstream media.
YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/e73spvZnc9s
The Handbasket: https://www.thehandbasket.co
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The Ticketmaster Hack
So, the Ticketmaster hack got a lot, lot worse. Jason breaks down why in the first half of the show. After the break, we talk more Ticketmaster, and how scalpers have teamed up with hackers to liberate "non-transferable" tickets. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains the latest with sales of netflow data to the U.S. government.
Ticketmaster Confirms Hack in SEC Filing
The Ticketmaster Hack Is Becoming a Logistical Nightmare for Fans and Brokers
Scalpers Work With Hackers to Liberate Ticketmaster's ‘Non-Transferable’ Tickets
U.S. Nuke Agency Buys Internet Backbone Data
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The Websites An ICE Contractor is Monitoring
We start this week with Joseph's story about the 200+ sites an ICE contractor called ShadowDragon is monitoring. A lot of surprising ones on there. After the break, Emanuel explains why NASA, Yale, and Stanford scientists are considering leaving the U.S. for France. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel breaks down the fascinating reason why Super Nintendos are getting faster as they age.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/LBUsFawJ6E0
The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring
NASA, Yale, and Stanford Scientists Consider 'Scientific Exile,' French University Says
Super Nintendo Hardware Is Running Faster as It Ages
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The Disappearing DOGE Depositions
This week we start with Joseph’s series of articles about the DOGE depositions. He watched hours and hours of them, then a judge ordered them removed from YouTube. But, they’ve already been archived all over the web. After the break, Jason tells us about the AI data labelers who are fighting back. In the subscribers-only section, Jason breaks down what’s wrong with all the AI job loss research at the moment.
0:00 - Intro
0:51 - Google Street View's Unmappable City
3:40 - I Watched 6 Hours of DOGE Bro Testimony. Here's What They Had to Say For Themselves
13:24 - DOGE Deposition Videos Taken Down After Judge Order and Widespread Mockery
18:58 - The Removed DOGE Deposition Videos Have Already Been Backed Up Across the Internet
28:32 - 'AI Is African Intelligence': The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back
SUB'S STORY - AI Job Loss Research Ignores How AI Is Utterly Destroying the Internet
YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/xtMniLj_yzQ
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Cops Are Using AI Bots to Surveil People
We start this week with Emanuel and Jason's big story on Massive Blue, a company that is selling AI-powered undercover bots posing as protesters and children to the cops. After the break, Sam tells us about visiting the millennial saint. In the subscribers-only section, we talk business and the state of 404 Media.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/E98i9OFJbW4
Leaked: Palantir’s Plan to Help ICE Deport People
ICE Plans Central Database of Health, Labor, Housing Agency Data to Find Targets
This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops
I Went to See ‘God’s Influencer,’ the Millennial Saint Carlo Acutis
How 404 Media Is Navigating 'Economic Headwinds'
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People Are Modding Meta Ray-Bans to Spy On You
We have something of a Meta Ray-Bans smart glasses bumper episode this week. We start with Joseph and Jason’s piece on a $60 mod that disables the privacy-protecting recording light in the smart glasses. After the break, Emanuel tells us how some people are abusing the glasses to film massage workers, and he explains the difference between a phone and a pair of smartglasses, if you need that spelled out for you. In the subscribers-only section, Jason tells us about the future of advertising: AI-generated ads personalized directly to you.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/tAmhRnHc16Q
1:00 - A $60 Mod to Meta’s Ray-Bans Disables Its Privacy-Protecting Recording Light
18:03 - Meta's Ray-Ban Glasses Users Film and Harass Massage Parlor Workers
SUBSCRIBER'S STORY: The Future of Advertising Is AI Generated Ads That Are Directly Personalized to You
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The CrowdStrike Outage
Some weeks are just crazy. On Friday, Windows machines around the world went down due to a faulty update to CrowdStrike's security software. We discuss what happened, and why, and the impact. After the break, Sam tells us how she vaped the internet (yep). In the subscribers-only section, we describe some leaked Cellebrite documents we got, which show what phones Cellebrite can (and can't) unlock.
To Fix CrowdStrike Blue Screen of Death Simply Reboot 15 Straight Times, Microsoft Says
CrowdStrike ‘Deeply Sorry for the Inconvenience’
CrowdStrike Outage Impacted U.S. Government Agencies
I Tried to Vape the Internet
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The OSINT Hunt for a Sex Trafficking Ringleader
We're dedicating a whole episode to Sam's new narrative piece on how a ragtag group of friends hunted down a wanted sex trafficking ringleader. First we give you all the context for why this person, Michael Pratt, eventually ended up on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Then Sam breaks down the hunt for Pratt, told through the eyes of the people who were there. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains how and why hackers are "Airbnb hopping."
'She Turned Ghost White:' How a Ragtag Group of Friends Tracked Down a Sex Trafficking Ringleader
‘Airbnb Hopping’: How Hunted Hackers Stay on the Run From Kidnappers
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Replacing 404 Media with AI
Here's a fun one: Emanuel made his own ChatGPT-powered news site that ripped off our work and that of WIRED, The Verge, and others to show just how easy spinning up one of these AI click farms really is. After the break, we listen to some of the AI-generated music that has major record labels suing some startups. In the subscribers-only section, Sam tells us all about how a bunch of chatbots suddenly changed personality overnight.
I Paid $365.63 to Replace 404 Media With AI
Listen to the AI-Generated Ripoff Songs That Got Udio and Suno Sued
‘No Bot is Themselves Anymore:’ Character.ai Users Report Sudden Personality Changes to Chatbots
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Inside a Small Town's Fight Against a $1.2 Billion AI Datacenter
We start with Matthew Gault’s dive into a battle between a small town and the construction of a massive datacenter for America’s nuclear weapon scientists. After the break, Joseph explains why people are 3D-printing whistles in Chicago. In the subscribers-only section, Jason zooms out and tells us what librarians are seeing with AI and tech, and how that is impacting their work and knowledge more broadly.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/rHk580uKwHw
6:03 - Our New FOIA Forum! 11/19, 1PM ET7:50 - A Small Town Is Fighting a $1.2 Billion AI Datacenter for America's Nuclear Weapon Scientists12:27 - 'A Black Hole of Energy Use': Meta's Massive AI Data Center Is Stressing Out a Louisiana Community21:09 - 'House of Dynamite' Is About the Zoom Call that Ends the World30:35 - The Latest Defense Against ICE: 3D-Printed Whistles
SUBSCRIBER'S STORY: AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge
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The Arrest of Telegram Founder Pavel Durov
Emanuel and Jason break down the arrest of Telegram cofounder Pavel Durov, a slide deck showing "active listening" advertising based on microphone data, and a concerning new study that shows AI-generated CSAM is more common than you think.
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How to Talk to Your Friend Experiencing 'AI Psychosis'
This week we start with Sam’s story discussing something that has come up a lot but no one has really answered: how do you speak to your friend or family member falling into AI psychosis? After the break, Joseph breaks down what happened when the FBI wanted data from ProtonMail. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel tells us about the viral developers behind an app called Quittr, and how they exposed very sensitive data of hundreds of thousands of users.
1:21 - 'How to Talk to Someone Experiencing 'AI Psychosis'
27:33 - Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protester
SUBSCRIBER'S STORY: Viral 'Quittr' Porn Addiction App Exposed the Masturbation Habits of Hundreds of Thousands of Users
'How to Talk to Someone Experiencing 'AI Psychosis'
Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protester
Viral 'Quittr' Porn Addiction App Exposed the Masturbation Habits of Hundreds of Thousands of Users
YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/oRiJHLIYkkw
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404 Media Live: LA! [TEASER]
This is a recording of our live show in Los Angeles in July! In this show we spoke all about ICE's technology and our reporting on it. Facial recognition, Palantir, Flock, and more. And we take questions from the audience. Thank you to everyone who came and we hope you enjoy the discussion!
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The Video Game Industry’s Existential Crisis (with Jason Schreier)
The video game industry has had a turbulent few years. The pandemic made people play more and caused a small boom, which then subsided, resulting in wave after wave of massive layoffs. Microsoft, one of the major console manufacturers, is shifting its strategy for Xbox as the company shifts its focus to AI. And now, Electronic Arts, once a load-bearing publisher for the industry with brands like The Sims and Madden, is going private via a leveraged buyout in a deal involving Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner.
Video games are more popular than ever, but many of the biggest companies in the business seem like they are struggling to adapt and convert that popularity into stability and sustainability. To try and understand what the hell is going on, this week we have a conversation between Emanuel and Jason Schreier, who reports about video games for Bloomberg and one of the best journalists on this beat.
Jason helps us unpack why Microsoft is now aiming for higher-than-average profit margins at Xbox and why the company is seemingly bowing out of the console business despite a massive acquisition spree. We also talk about what the EA deal tells us about other game publishers, and what all these problems tell us about changing player habits and the future of big budget video games.
YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/6ydF7hD6cFI
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Microsoft Pushes Xbox Division to Hit Higher Profit Margins
EA's Deal to Go Private Could Be Good for Investors, Bad for Employees
EA Buyout Highlights Gaming Struggles as Growth Slows
The Video-Game Industry Has a Problem: There Are Too Many Games
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Zines Are Back
We start this week with news of our zine! We’re printing it very soon, and walk you through the process. Independent media is turning back to physical zines as a way to subvert algorithms. After the break, Emanuel tells us about some very weird Instagram changes. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains ICEBlock’s lawsuit against the U.S. government.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/lseEXc-ZzsQ
Timestamps:
1:37 - 1st Story - 404 Media Is Making a Zine; buy the zine here
28:01 - 2nd Story - Instagram Is Generating Inaccurate SEO Bait for Your Posts
SUBSCRIBER'S STORY - ICEBlock Creator Sues U.S. Government Over App’s Removal
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Luxury Surveillance (With Chris Gilliard)
Jason talks to Chris Gilliard, the author of the upcoming book Luxury Surveillance. Gilliard has studied the rise of companies like Ring and Flock, as well as the dynamics that lead people to surveil themselves and each other.
YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/4kBgnjn5cC0
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Telegram is Working With the Cops
We have two related stories this week. First, Joseph, Emanuel, and Sam break down their experiences with Telegram, and the social network's massive policy shift. The company says it will now process valid legal requests from law enforcement for user data. After the break, Joseph tells us how the walls are closing in on one of the most disruptive hackers in recent memory. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains why Nintendo's lawsuit against Palworld is bad, and why Nintendo will probably win.
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90T71r3h7oc
Telegram Changes Policy, Says It Will Provide User Data to Authorities
The Walls Are Closing in on the Snowflake Hacker
‘Cold-Blooded Business’: Nintendo Is Patent Trolling Palworld Because It Got Too Big
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How to Fight Back Against AI Bot Scrapers
We’re back! We start this week with Emanuel’s article about Anubis, an open source piece of software that is saving the internet from AI bot scrapers. After the break, Joseph tells us about the new facial recognition app ICE is using and which he revealed. In the subscribers-only section, we do a lightning round runthrough of a bunch of our recent stories about LLMs and how to trick them, or what they don’t understand.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/lqJL1u8UhmE
The Open-Source Software Saving the Internet From AI Bot Scrapers
ICE Is Using a New Facial Recognition App to Identify People, Leaked Emails Show
AI Models And Parents Don’t Understand ‘Let Him Cook’
Fine-Tuning LLMs For ‘Good’ Behavior Makes Them More Likely To Say No
Researchers Jailbreak AI by Flooding It With Bullshit Jargon
Thumbnail credit: Mascot by CELPHASE.
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The Epstein Email Dump Is a Mess
We start this week with a rant from Jason about how the latest dump of Epstein emails were released. It would be a lot easier to cover them if they were published differently! After the break, we talk about Joseph’s piece about a contractor hiring essentially randos off LinkedIn to physically track immigrants for $300. In the subscribers-only section, Sam tells us about a new adult industry code of conduct that has been a long time coming.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
3:08 - First Segment
34:23 - Second Segment
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/_6tVI4jh__Y
Our New FOIA Forum! 11/19, 1PM ET
Contractor Recruiting People on LinkedIn to Physically Track Immigrants for ICE, Will Pay $300
Major Porn Studios Join Forces to Establish Industry ‘Code of Conduct’
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Your Phone's Location is Exposed
Really excited about this one. We spend the entire episode talking about SS7, the fundamental network and protocol which is both at the heart of the world's telecommunications infrastructure, and crucial for governments, spy firms, and criminals to monitor people or intercept texts. In the first half we break ton what SS7 is, why it's an issue, and our nearly 10 years of experience covering it. Then, we talk about the news we revealed about a U.S. cybersecurity official breaking rank with his agency to expose SS7 attacks in the U.S. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about Axon's new ChatGPT-like tool which automatically creates narratives from police bodycam audio, and all the implications that might have.
Cyber Official Speaks Out, Reveals Mobile Network Attacks in U.S.
Here Is What Axon’s Bodycam Report Writing AI Looks Like
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A Massive Google Leak
We start this week with a massive leak from inside Google. We obtained a copy of an internal Google database the company uses to track potential privacy and security issues. It's incredibly rare to get this sort of insight into a big tech company, and we explain what's inside the data itself. After the break, Sam tells us who deepfake legislation may leave behind. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains how he tracked down the earliest known source of the All Eyes on Rafah image: a Facebook group dedicated to the AI industry.
Inside the Biggest FBI Sting Operation in History
Google Leak Reveals Thousands of Privacy Incidents
Google Contractor Used Admin Access to Leak Info From Private Nintendo YouTube Video
Laws About Deepfakes Can’t Leave Sex Workers Behind
Viral ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ Image Came From Facebook Group to Make ‘AI Industry Prosper’
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Creators Worry Porn Platform Is Falling Into ‘AI Psychosis’
We start this week with Sam’s piece about ManyVids, and how some creators believe its CEO, and the person who controls their livelihood, may be experiencing ‘AI psychosis’. After the break, Jason gives us an update on some mysterious disappearing ICE footage. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about Flock and what police are being told to do: not describe what they’re using the AI cameras for.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
2:41 - Aliens and Angel Numbers: Creators Worry Porn Platform ManyVids Is Falling Into ‘AI Psychosis’; Amid Backlash, Massive Porn Platform ManyVids Doubles Down on Bizarre, AI-Generated Posts
32:12 - DHS Says Critical ICE Surveillance Footage From Abuse Case Was Actually Never Recorded, Doesn't Matter
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/EFv0rD9F9es
Aliens and Angel Numbers: Creators Worry Porn Platform ManyVids Is Falling Into ‘AI Psychosis’
DHS Says Critical ICE Surveillance Footage From Abuse Case Was Actually Never Recorded, Doesn't Matter
Police Told to Be ‘as Vague as Permissible’ About Why They Use Flock
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Understanding Roblox’s Grooming Problem
Cecilia D’Anstasio on Roblox efforts to protect children from pedophiles.
Roblox is one of those games that is more popular than you can imagine, but unless you are of a certain age group and live in that world, you’ll rarely hear about it unless it makes the news for some terrible reason. More recently, for example, we wrote about the Tumbler Ridge shooter who created a mass shooting simulator in Roblox.
But what is Roblox, how big is it exactly, and why does it seem like it's so frequently embroiled in controversy? This week we’re joined by Cecilia D’anstasio in an attempt to answer all of these questions.
This week we’re joined by Cecilia D’Anstasio. Cecilia reports about video games at Bloomberg, and has written many important articles about the business and controversies of one of the biggest games in the world, Roblox. A few weeks ago we had Patrick Klepek on to discuss Roblox from a parent’s perspective, but today we’re going to hear about it from the perspective of a great investigative reporter and for my money the most knowledgeable journalists about Roblox.
404 Media is a journalist-founded company and needs your support. To subscribe, go to 404media.co. As well as bonus content every single week, subscribers get access to additional episodes where we respond to their best comments. Subscribers also get early access to our interview series. Gain access to that content at 404media.co.
Listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
Become a paid subscriber for early access to these interview episodes and to power our journalism. If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player.
Roblox’s Pedophile Problem
How Roblox Became a Playground for Virtual Fascists
Roblox Game-Buying Frenzy Is Turning Teens Into Millionaires
Roblox User Group Re-Creates Real-Life Mass Shooting Events
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3D Printed Guns and UnitedHealthcare
This week we start with Joseph's story about how the weapon found on the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer was a particular 3D printed design. Then Jason tells us what he found about the alleged killer Luigi Mangione through his online accounts, and why, ultimately, this kind of journalism might not matter. After the break, Sam talks about how various healthcare companies removed pages about their leadership after the murder, and what we're seeing when it comes to social content moderation around it. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about Congress getting big mad at Apple and Google after 404 Media's reporting on deepfake apps.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/HuyJp3QDTbk
404 Media Objects to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Subpoena to Access Our Reporting
UnitedHealthcare Shooting Person of Interest Had 3D Printed Glock
Luigi Mangione Played 'Among Us,' Breathes Air
Major Health Insurance Companies Take Down Leadership Pages Following Murder of United Healthcare CEO
Moderators Across Social Media Struggle to Contain Celebrations of UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Assassination
Congress Pushes Apple to Remove Deepfake Apps After 404 Media Investigation
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404 Media Live: NYC!
Here's the podcast recorded at our recent second anniversary party in New York! We answered a bunch of reader and listener questions. Thank you to everyone that came and thank you for listening to this podcast too!
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Hacking the Adderall Shortage
It feels way longer than a week since our last episode, weird. Anyway this week we start with a wild story with Emanuel, about how people in the US are paying a company, which in turn hires people in the Philippines to then call around U.S. pharmacies to check whether certain drugs are in stock. It shows just how bad the Adderall shortage in the U.S. has gotten. After the break, Sam tells us about a particularly alarming AirTags stalking case, and how the FBI flipped the script on the suspect. In the subscribers-only section, Jason breaks down a bunch of new information regarding the (alleged?) bankruptcy of media organization the Gateway Pundit.
Americans Are Hiring People in the Philippines to Help Them Find Adderall
A Suspected Human Smuggler Used AirTags to Track and Control The Woman He Brought Into the U.S.
Gateway Pundit Bankruptcy Is a 'Delay Tactic,' Election Workers Suing the Company Say
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The Life Changing Power of Lifting (feat. Casey Johnston)
For this week’s podcast, I’m talking to our friend Casey Johnston, a tech journalist turned fitness journalist turned independent journalist. Casey studied physics, which led her to tech journalism; she did some of my favorite coverage of Internet culture as well as Apple’s horrendous butterfly laptop keyboards. We worked together at VICE, where Casey was an editor and where she wrote Ask a Swole Woman, an advice column about weightlifting. After she left VICE, Casey founded She’s a Beast, an independent site about weightlifting, but also about the science of diet culture, fitness influencers on the internet, the intersections of all those things, etc.
She just wrote A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting, a really great reported memoir about how our culture and the media often discourages people from lifting, and how this type of exercise can be really beneficial to your brain and your body. I found the book really inspiring and actually started lifting right after I read it. In this interview we talk about her book, about journalism, about independent media, and how doing things like lifting weights and touching grass helps us navigate the world.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/vV0esl4LLIU
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AI Slop Summer
We start this week with Jason's couple of stories about how the Chicago Sun-Times printed a summer guide that was basically all AI-generated. Jason spoke to the person behind it. After the break, a bunch of documents show that schools were simply not ready for AI. In the subscribers-only section, we chat all about Star Wars and those funny little guys.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/P2GzbKKeAFc
Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist
Viral AI-Generated Summer Guide Printed by Chicago Sun-Times Was Made by Magazine Giant Hearst
American Schools Were Deeply Unprepared for ChatGPT, Public Records Show
Star Wars Shows the Future of AI Special Effects and It Sucks
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AI Celebs Take Over Google Image Search
Joseph is out this week, so the leftover crew considers what it means for Google image search to be taken over by AI images, talks about #finance, and discusses how an already sensationalist NY Times article about internet in the Amazon rainforest got further sensationalized.
Articles discussed:
AI Images in Google Search Results Have Opened a Portal to Hell
You Probably Unwittingly Voted to Give Elon Musk a Huge Raise
First Google Search Result for Tiananmen Square “Tank Man” Is AI Generated Selfie
‘Remote’ Amazonian Tribes Have Been Using the Internet for a Long Time
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Your Identity Hacked, Yet Verified
We start this episode talking about some exciting updates for the podcast! For the first story, Joseph explains how an ID verification service for TikTok, Uber, and X exposed driver licenses, in a sign of what may be come as more sites demand to know our real identities. After the break, Jason breaks down what the FBI found when it investigated a specific Zoom Bombing ring. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel and Joseph talk all about TLO, a powerful data tool that is being advertised on Fiverr to dox anyone for $30.
ID Verification Service for TikTok, Uber, X Exposed Driver Licenses
'Local Residents' Terrorizing City Council Meetings Were Actually Overseas, Feds Allege
Fiverr Freelancers Offer to Dox Anyone With Powerful U.S. Data Tool
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The Massive Nvidia Leak
This is a big one. Sam got hold of a massive leak of internal Nvidia emails, Slack messages, and documents which show how the tech giant is scraping YouTube and Netflix for its own purposes. In the second half of the show, Jason peels back the curtain on who is behind the wave of AI spam on Facebook and how they're doing it; finally an answer after months of investigation. In the subscribers-only section, we talk DEF CON, our experiences at the conference, and give a little preview of something DEF CON-related for our paying subscribers coming soon.
Leaked Documents Show Nvidia Scraping ‘A Human Lifetime’ of Videos Per Day to Train AI
Where Facebook's AI Slop Comes From
Hotel to Search Rooms During DEF CON Hacking Conference
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The Worst Telecom Breach Ever
Sometimes a hack just completely blows you away. Late last week we learned that hackers had taken the call and text records of "nearly all" AT&T customers. That's absolutely staggering! We break down why it matters in the first half of the show, as well as discuss one of the hackers linked to the incident. After the break, Emanuel tells us about what the new Vice President hopeful JD Vance could mean for the AI industry. In the subscribers-only section, we talk all about a site selling faces for fraud.
Hackers Steal Text and Call Records of ‘Nearly All’ AT&T Customers
American Hacker in Turkey Linked to Massive AT&T Breach
Dunking on J.D. Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Is ‘Unusual Behavior,’ Goodreads Says
AI Maxers Thrilled with Trump’s Vice President Pick JD Vance
Inside the Face Fraud Factory
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Here’s What Palantir Is Really Building
We start this week with Joseph’s article about ELITE, a tool Palantir is working on for ICE. After the break, Emanuel tells us how AI influencers are making fake sex tape-style photos with celebrities, who can’t be best pleased about it. In the subscribers-only section, Matthew breaks down Comic-Con’s ban of AI art.
0:00 - Intro
2:16 - ‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid
22:45 - Instagram AI Influencers Are Defaming Celebrities With Sex Scandals
Subscriber's Story: Comic-Con Bans AI Art After Artist Pushback
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/b-QHWpqjD-E
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A Massive Archiving Effort at National Parks (with Jenny McBurney and Lynda Kellam)
If you’ve been to a national park in the U.S. recently, you might have noticed some odd new signs about “beauty” and “grandeur.” Or, some signs you were used to seeing might now be missing completely. An executive order issued earlier this year put the history and educational aspects of the parks system under threat–but a group of librarians stepped in to save it.
This week we have a conversation between Sam and two of the leaders of the independent volunteer archiving project Save Our Signs, an effort to archive national park signs and monument placards. It’s a community collaboration project co-founded by a group of librarians, public historians, and data experts in partnership with the Data Rescue Project and Safeguarding Research & Culture.
Lynda Kellam leads the Research Data and Digital Scholarship team at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and is a founding organizer of the Data Rescue Project. Jenny McBurney is the Government Publications Librarian and Regional Depository Coordinator at the University of Minnesota Libraries. In this episode, they discuss turning “frustration, dismay and disbelief” at parks history under threat into action: compiling more than 10,000 images from over 300 national parks into a database to be preserved for the people.
YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/xrCElwgY5Co
‘Save Our Signs’ Archive and Submission Site
'Save Our Signs' Wants to Save the Real History of National Parks Before Trump Erases It
‘Save Our Signs’ Preservation Project Launches Archive of 10,000 National Park Signs
Archivists Work to Identify and Save the Thousands of Datasets Disappearing From Data.gov
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AI Avatar of Killed Man Testifies in Court
We start this week with Jason and Matthew's story about an AI avatar that testified in court. It might be a sign of things to come. After the break, well, well, well, Meta is developing facial recognition for its smart glasses. In the subscribers-only section, Jason tells us all about AI in baseball.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/Mq4gqNS0vRw
'I Loved That AI:' Judge Moved by AI-Generated Avatar of Man Killed in Road Rage Incident
Well, Well, Well: Meta to Add Facial Recognition To Glasses After All
The Simulation Says the Orioles Should Be Good
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Inside the ICE Deportation Tool
This week we start with a couple of Jason and Joseph's stories about the tool ICE uses to lookup an incredible amount of information about people. After the break, Joseph explains how he tested an AI service that calls your parents in case you can't be bothered. In the subscribers-only section, our new regular contributor Matthew Gault tells us all about the hack of 4chan and how we got here.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/gFmvCvvaB4k
Inside a Powerful Database ICE Uses to Identify and Deport People
I Tested The AI That Calls Your Elderly Parents If You Can't Be Bothered
4chan Is Down Following What Looks to Be a Major Hack Spurred By Meme War
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DARK WIRE on Whale Hunting
A something extra for our listeners this week. Joseph went on an episode of Whale Hunting to talk about his new book DARK WIRE, in which the FBI secretly ran its own encrypted messaging app to wiretap the world. Whale Hunting is a great podcast that has journalists go behind-the-scenes on their own stories. It is absolutely worth listening to if you don't already!
Whale Hunting Podcast
DARK WIRE
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The Smart Glasses That Dox Strangers
This week we start with Joseph's piece about a couple of Harvard students who cobbled together a pair of Meta's smart glasses that automatically dox people just by looking at them. After break, Sam and Emanuel talk about two Hurricane Helene stories about data and AI. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph talks about a hacked dataset that shows the prompts used on an AI companion site. Heavy content warning for that section.
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z3QcY6aGpQ
Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta's Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers
Hurricane Helene Knocked One of the World’s Largest Climate Data Archives Offline
Hurricane Helene and the ‘Fuck It’ Era of AI-Generated Slop
Hacked ‘AI Girlfriend’ Data Shows Prompts Describing Child Sexual Abuse
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Pornhub Exec Discusses Pulling Out of the South, Trad Wives, and Feet Pics
On this special guest episode of the 404 Media Podcast, Sam talks to Alexzandra Kekesi, VP of Brand and Community at Pornhub. Kekesi started in her current role in August 2023, after working for Pornhub and its parent company for more than a decade. She joined us from Montreal, where Pornhub is headquartered. They discuss the stigma facing the adult industry, Luigi Mangione porn, the trad wife to feet pics pipeline, and algorithms that shut you down for showing side boob. Kekesi also breaks down Pornhub’s choice to pull out of states in more than a third of the U.S., following regressive age verification laws.
Pornhub Sees Surge of Interest in Tradwife Content, ‘Modesty,’ and Mindfulness
Pornhub Is Now Blocked In Almost All of the U.S. South
Age Verification Laws Drag Us Back to the Dark Ages of the Internet
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OpenAI's Studio Ghibli AI: 'An Insult to Life Itself'
Jason, Sam, and Emanuel talk about Miyazaki being turned into a meme, the guys suing OnlyFans after being surprised to learn they were not actually talking to models, and the depravity of "brainrot" AI.
Articles discussed:
Hayao Miyazaki, Who Said AI Is ‘Insult to Life Itself,” Reduced to AI-Generated Meme by OpenAI: https://www.404media.co/hayao-miyazaki-who-said-ai-is-insult-to-life-itself-reduced-to-ai-generated-meme-by-openai/
OnlyFans Sued After Two Guys Realized They Might Not Actually Be Talking to Models: https://www.404media.co/onlyfans-sued-after-two-guys-realized-they-might-not-actually-be-talking-to-models/
Subscribers Only:
'Brainrot' AI on Instagram Is Monetizing the Most Fucked Up Things You Can Imagine (and Lots You Can't): https://www.404media.co/brainrot-ai-on-instagram-is-monetizing-the-most-fucked-up-things-you-can-imagine-and-lots-you-cant/
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Airlines Sold Your Flight Data to DHS—And Covered It Up
This week we start with Joseph’s article about the U.S’s major airlines selling customers’ flight information to Customs and Border Protection and then telling the agency to not reveal where the data came from. After the break, Emanuel tells us how AI scraping bots are breaking open libraries, archives, and museums. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains the casual surveillance relationship between ICE and local cops, according to emails he got.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/Auc7NPD2ig4
Our New FOIA Forum! 6/18, 1PM ET
Airlines Don't Want You to Know They Sold Your Flight Data to DHS
AI Scraping Bots Are Breaking Open Libraries, Archives, and Museums
Emails Reveal the Casual Surveillance Alliance Between ICE and Local Police
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Is Wiping a Phone a Crime?
Joseph had to use a different mic this week, that will be fixed next time! We start this week talking about a very unusual case: someone is being charged for allegedly wiping a phone before CBP could search it. There are a lot of questions remaining, but a super interesting case. After the break, we talk about Matthew’s article on an Anthropic exec forcing AI onto a queer gamer Discord. In the subscribers-only section, we all chat about the Disney and OpenAI deal.
Timestamps:
00:48 - Man Charged for Wiping Phone Before CBP Could Search It
23:02 - Anthropic Exec Forces AI Chatbot on Gay Discord Community, Members Flee
Man Charged for Wiping Phone Before CBP Could Search It
Anthropic Exec Forces AI Chatbot on Gay Discord Community, Members Flee
Disney Invests $1 Billion in the AI Slopification of Its Brand
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/tOpIpReZPoM
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Your Bluesky Posts Are Probably Training AI
We start this week with Sam's stories about multiple people building big datasets of Bluesky users' posts. People are not happy! After the break, Jason talks all about reverse-engineering Redbox machines, and a trip he took to see one being ripped up. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains two big moves the U.S. government is making against data brokers.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/i1NlQixGW2I
Your Bluesky Posts Are Probably In A Bunch of Datasets Now
The Redbox Removal Team
FTC Bans Location Data Company That Powers the Surveillance Ecosystem
U.S. Government Tries to Stop Data Brokers That Help Dox People Through Credit Data
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Fraudsters: 'We Know Where You Live'
We've got a really varied one today. First, Sam talks about the new wave of sextortion emails which send a target their home address to scare them into paying. After the break, Jason talks about the rise of the right to repair movement, but for your body and prescription drugs. In the subscribers-only section, Jason breaks down a years old Reddit mystery that is finally solved, thanks to some facial recognition tech.
Sextortion Scammers Try to Scare People by Sending Photos of Their Homes
‘Right to Repair for Your Body’: The Rise of DIY, Pirated Medicine
'Celebrity Number Six' Internet Mystery Is Solved
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The Journalist Who Tracked Epstein Island Visitors’ Phones
This week Joseph talks to Dhruv Mehrotra, a journalist and technologist at Bloomberg. Before that, Dhruv was at WIRED, where you probably saw a ton of his interesting work. Dhruv sits in a very unusual space in journalism: he is able to both write technical tools to dig through data, or collect information, or really anything else, and is also able to just write a damn good story. That is a very unique blend. The pair chat about Dhruv’s entry into journalism, how computational journalism has changed over the years, and how Dhruv uses AI too.
Jeffrey Epstein’s Island Visitors Exposed by Data Broker
‘They're Not Breathing’: Inside the Chaos of ICE Detention Center 911 Calls
Epstein’s Inbox
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Grokipedia Is Cringe
We start this week with Jason’s explanation of what Grokipedia is, and how it compares to the very much human-made Wikipedia. After the break, we talk all about the hell of updating Windows PCs and what that means specifically for Windows 10 users. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains what a16z is doing with a ‘speedrun’ to a wholly AI-generated world.
Intro0:00 - Merch drop2:38 - Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever (use code WIRE20 for 20% off)3:25 - First Contact: The Story of Our Obsession with Aliens
Stories5:00 - Grokipedia Is the Antithesis of Everything That Makes Wikipedia Good, Useful, and Human10:48 - Elon Musk's Grokipedia Pushes Far-Right Talking Points23:04 - The End of Windows 10 Support Is an E-Waste Disaster in the Making32:00 - Nathan Proctor interview
Subscriber's Stories:
a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of ‘Synthetic Influencers’ to Manipulate Social Media as a Service
a16z Is Funding a 'Speedrun' to AI-Generated Hell on Earth
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/LqYMoK7dlDA
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