The 404 Media Podcast

We start this week with our articles about Trump’s tariffs, and how they’re impacting everything from LEGO to cameras to sex toys. After the break, Emanuel explains how misfired DMCA complaints designed to help adult creators are targeting other sites, including ours. In the subscribers-only section, we do a wrap-up of a bunch of recent ChatGPT stories about suicide and murder. A content warning for suicide and self-harm for that section.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/srdUOWq_hfg

• Trump Take LEGO
• Trump Tariffs Cause Chaos on Ebay as Every Hobby Becomes Logistical Minefield
• How OnlyFans Piracy Is Ruining the Internet for Everyone
• ChatGPT Encouraged Suicidal Teen Not To Seek Help, Lawsuit Claims
• ChatGPT Answered 'High Risk' Questions About Suicide, New Study Finds

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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!

Thanks again to DeleteMe, use code 404media for 20% off

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We start this week with Joseph’s investigation into people selling custom patches for the Flipper Zero, a piece of hacking tech that car thieves can now use to break into a wide range of vehicles. After the break, Jason tells us about the new meta in AI slop: making 80s nostalgia videos. In the subscribers-only section, we all talk about Citizen, and how the app is pushing AI-written crime alerts without human intervention.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nV3qShvuoKw

• Inside the Underground Trade of ‘Flipper Zero’ Tech to Break into Cars
• 80s Nostalgia AI Slop Is Boomerfying the Masses for a Past That Never Existed
• Citizen Is Using AI to Generate Crime Alerts With No Human Review. It’s Making a Lot of Mistakes
• VICE News Presents: Vigilante, Inc.

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We start this week with Emanuel’s big investigation into the Tea app, and especially how it aggressively grew by raiding women safety groups. After the break, we talk about TikTok Shop selling GPS trackers. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains how Grok was exposing some of its AI persona prompts, and the sometimes NSFW nature of them.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/vRFaNoU-cGI

• You're Invited: 404 Media's Second Anniversary Party and LIVE PODCAST!
• How Tea’s Founder Convinced Millions of Women to Spill Their Secrets, Then Exposed Them to the World
• TikTok Shop Sells Viral GPS Trackers Marketed to Stalkers
• Grok Exposes Underlying Prompts for Its AI Personas: ‘EVEN PUTTING THINGS IN YOUR ASS’

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We start this week with Jason’s article about a CBP official wearing Meta Ray-Bans smart glasses to an immigration raid. A lot of stuff happened after we published that article too. After the break, Sam tells us about the bargain that voice actors are making with AI. In the subscribers-only section, Jason tells us how a DEA official used a cop’s password to AI cameras to then do immigration surveillance.

YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxHFsQSVRkE

• Get your subscriber code and tickets for the live event here
• A CBP Agent Wore Meta Smart Glasses to an Immigration Raid in Los Angeles
• Voiceover Artists Weigh the 'Faustian Bargain' of Lending Their Talents to AI
• Feds Used Local Cop's Password to Do Immigration Surveillance With Flock Cameras
• Congress Launches Investigation into Flock After 404 Media Reporting

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We start this week with Joseph’s story about nearly 100,000 ChatGPT conversations being indexed by Google. There’s some sensitive stuff in there. After the break, Emanuel tells us about Wikipedia’s new way of dealing with AI slop. In the subscribers-only section, Sam explains how we got to where we are with Steam and Itch.io; that history goes way back.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/mQJvOTHu61I

• Nearly 100,000 ChatGPT Conversations Were Searchable on Google
• Wikipedia Editors Adopt ‘Speedy Deletion’ Policy for AI Slop Articles
• The Anti-Porn Crusade That Censored Steam and Itch.io Started 30 Years Ago

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We start this week with Emanuel’s and Joseph’s coverage of Tea, a women’s dating safety app that was breached multiple times. After the break, Sam and Emanuel talk about how a new UK law about age verification is impacting peoples’ ability to see footage about current events. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains that LeBron James is not in fact pregnant.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/q17GRPq7K3o

• Women Dating Safety App 'Tea' Breached, Users' IDs Posted to 4chan
• A Second Tea Breach Reveals Users’ DMs About Abortions and Cheating
• UK Users Need to Post Selfie or Photo ID to View Reddit's r/IsraelCrimes, r/UkraineWarFootage
• Credit Card Companies Are Hurting the Future of Video Games
• Steam Bends to Payment Processors on Porn Games
• LeBron James' Lawyers Send Cease-and-Desist to AI Company Making Pregnant Videos of Him

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We start this week with Emanuel's wild story about Spotify publishing AI generated tracks that look like they come from artists' official accounts. One problem: those artists died a long time ago. After the break, Joseph tells us about a company that is selling data hacked from computers to debt collectors. In the subscribers-only section, we talk all about the Astronomer CEO and its privacy implications.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/lFYyNOWVJV0

• 404 Media Live in Los Angeles
• Spotify Publishes AI-Generated Songs From Dead Artists Without Permission
• A Startup is Selling Data Hacked from Peoples’ Computers to Debt Collectors
• The Astronomer CEO's Coldplay Concert Fiasco Is Emblematic of Our Social Media Surveillance Dystopia

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We start this week with a series of articles from Emanuel about a crackdown in the AI industry. After the break, Sam tells us about the ‘Save Our Signs’ campaign which hopes to preserve the history of national parks. In the subscribers-only section, Jason rants about how AI will not save the media industry. 

YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-fo7O8B_mk

• 404 Media Los Angeles event details (free for subscribers; $10 otherwise)
• a16z-Backed AI Site Civitai Is Mostly Porn, Despite Claiming Otherwise
• Hugging Face Is Hosting 5,000 Nonconsensual AI Models of Real People
• Payment Processors Are Pushing AI Porn Off Its Biggest Platforms
• 'Save Our Signs' Wants to Save the Real History of National Parks Before Trump Erases It
• The Media's Pivot to AI Is Not Real and Not Going to Work

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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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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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We start this week with Emanuel and Joseph’s coverage of ‘FuckLAPD.com’, a website that uses facial recognition to instantly reveal a LAPD officer’s name and salary. The creator has relaunched their similar tool for identifying ICE employees too. After the break, Jason tells us about a massive AI ruling that opens the way for AI companies to scrape everyone’s art. In the subscribers-only section, our regular contributor Matthew describes all the AI slop in the Iran and Israel conflict, and why it matters.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/1eieXQIaALA

• ‘FuckLAPD.com’ Lets Anyone Use Facial Recognition to Instantly Identify Cops
• Judge Rules Training AI on Authors' Books Is Legal But Pirating Them Is Not
• The AI Slop Fight Between Iran and Israel

Thumbnail credit: Photo by Sean Lee/Unsplash

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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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Much of this episode is about the ongoing anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. We start with Joseph explaining how he monitored surveillance aircraft flying over the protests, including what turned out to be a Predator drone. After the break, Jason tells us about the burning Waymos. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about the owner of Girls Do Porn, a sex trafficking ring on Pornhub, pleading guilty (a content warning for that one).

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/o8Pb9l9FPaA

• DHS Black Hawks and Military Aircraft Surveil the LA Protests
• DHS Flew Predator Drones Over LA Protests, Audio Shows
• Waymo Pauses Service in Downtown LA Neighborhood Where They're Getting Lit on Fire
• Girls Do Porn Ringleader Pleads Guilty, Faces Life In Prison

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We start this week with Sam's dive into a looming piece of anti-porn legislation, prudish algorithms, and eggs. After the break, Matthew tells us about the open source software that powered Ukraine's drone attack against Russia. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains how even pro-AI subreddits are dealing with people having AI delusions.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/daEt3CptlRU

• The Egg Yolk Principle: Human Sexuality Will Always Outsmart Prudish Algorithms and Hateful Politicians
• Ukraine's Massive Drone Attack Was Powered by Open Source Software
• Pro-AI Subreddit Bans 'Uptick' of Users Who Suffer from AI Delusions 

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This week is a bumper episode all about Flock, the automatic license plate reading (ALPR) cameras across the U.S. First, Jason explains how we found that ICE essentially has backdoor access to the network through local cops. After the break, Joseph tells us all about Nova, the planned product that Flock is making which will make the technology even more invasive by using hacked data. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel details the massive changes AI platform Civitai has made, and why it's partly in response to our reporting.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/-PTrY9x8K9c

• ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network, Data Shows
• License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows
• Civitai Ban of Real People Content Deals Major Blow to the Nonconsensual AI Porn Ecosystem

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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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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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We start this week's episode with our massive story on TeleMessage, the Signal clone the Trump administration uses to archive messages which was hacked. We have more detail than anyone else on that story. After the break, Jason tells us about another hack, this time GlobalX Air, one of the airlines used by ICE for deportation flights. In the subscribers-only section, Sam and Emanuel tell us about the shut down of Mr. Deepfakes, and what the lasting legacy of the site will be.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/J__qWnFJZgA

• The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked
• Senator Demands Investigation into Trump Admin Signal Clone After 404 Media Investigation
• GlobalX, Airline for Trump’s Deportations, Hacked
• Mr. Deepfakes, the Biggest Deepfake Porn Site on the Internet, Says It’s Shutting Down for Good

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This week we start with Sam's very in-depth story on Meta's AI chatbots, and how they're essentially posing as licensed therapists. After the break, Jason breaks down the wildly unethical AI-powered research that took place on Reddit. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains how the age of realtime deepfake fraud is here after he got a bunch of videos showing scammers do their thing.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/H5380M-hnJ4

• Instagram's AI Chatbots Lie About Being Licensed Therapists
• Researchers Secretly Ran a Massive, Unauthorized AI Persuasion Experiment on Reddit Users
• Reddit Issuing 'Formal Legal Demands' Against Researchers Who Conducted Secret AI Experiment on Users
• The Age of Realtime Deepfake Fraud Is Here

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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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Jason, Sam, and Blood in the Machine's Brian Merchant discuss how AI slop has taken over the internet, how it is a brute-force attack against the algorithms that control what we see on social media, and what we can do to fight back against it. This panel was held at Speakeasy in Austin, Texas at SXSW on March 10, 2025. Thanks to our friends at Flipboard for giving us the space and to DeleteMe for sponsoring the event.

Use code "404Media" for 20% off an annual plan of DeleteMe: https://www.404media.co/r/5d94373c?m=e247fe06-53d6-4c05-9484-be3684d4f655

Find Brian's work at Blood in the Machine: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/

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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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Earlier this week we wrote an article called “A US-Made iPhone Is Pure Fantasy." The long and short of it is that Trump’s dream of moving all high tech manufacturing to the US is extremely difficult because global supply chains are so intricate, manufacturing expertise exists primarily in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and other countries, and the components that go into a phone are often made in other countries as well.

But there is currently one smartphone that qualifies for a “Made in the USA” title from the FTC. It’s the Liberty Phone, which is made by a company called Purism. The phone is a version of Purism’s Librem 5. The Made-in-China Librem 5 costs $800, and the Liberty phone costs $2,000. It has 4 GB of memory, and reviewers say that its specs are pretty outdated. Not every single component in the Liberty Phone is made in the USA, but the company has been trying very hard to make it as American-made as possible. The fact that it exists at all is kind of a miracle, and the way that Purism is approaching manufacturing is really interesting, so I called Purism’s founder, Todd Weaver, to talk about smartphone supply chains, making tech products in the United States, and tariffs. Here’s our discussion

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We start this week with Joseph's story revealing how the FBI secretly ran a massive money laundering ring to catch drug traffickers and hackers. After the break, we run through a bunch of tariff stories and how it's going to impact everything from the Nintendo Switch to the iPhone. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains why he found the new book on Facebook particularly illuminating.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/XUAuEtirP8E

• ‘Elon Musk’ Was a Prolific Money Launderer for Hackers and Drug Traffickers. It Was Secretly the FBI
• Big Tech Backed Trump for Acceleration. They Got a Decel President Instead
• 'Sea of Idiocy:' Economists Say Trump Tariffs Will Raise Price of Switch 2 and Everything Else
• A 'US-Made iPhone' Is Pure Fantasy
• Framework Stops Selling Some of Its Laptops in the U.S. Due to Tariffs
• 'Careless People' Is the Book About Facebook I've Wanted for a Decade

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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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This week we start with the bankruptcy of commercial DNA company 23andMe, and what it means for its users' genetic data. Probably not good things! After the break, Joseph and Jason explain what 'Dogequest' is, and how people allegedly vandalizing Tesla locations have been caught. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel tells us about some fake audio of JD Vance talking about Musk, and then we all chat about the crazy Signal group chat story.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/OLh0IDigwAM

• DNA of 15 Million People for Sale in 23andMe Bankruptcy
• Did the FBI Seize My Vagina Cultures?
• ‘Dogequest’ Site Claims to Dox Tesla Owners Across the U.S.
• How Three Alleged Tesla Vandals Got Caught
• Viral Audio of JD Vance Badmouthing Elon Musk Is Fake, Just the Tip of the AI Iceberg

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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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We start this week with Emanuel's great investigation into Chinese AI video models, and how they have far fewer safeguards than their American counterparts. A content warning for that section due to what the users are making. After the break, Joseph explains how police are using AI to summarize evidence seized from mobile phones. In the subscribers-only section, we chat about an AI-developed game that is making a ton of money. But your AI-generated game probably won't.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/_Sy_nw4gJVY

• Chinese AI Video Generators Unleash a Flood of New Nonconsensual Porn
• Alibaba Releases Advanced Open Video Model, Immediately Becomes AI Porn Machine
• Cellebrite Is Using AI to Summarize Chat Logs and Audio from Seized Mobile Phones
• This Game Created by AI 'Vibe Coding' Makes $50,000 a Month. Yours Probably Won’t

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This week we start with Jason's article on how a Facebook group for Cybertruck owners is completely overrun with people flipping them off. Then Joseph explains how U.S. crypto traders are buying IDs from the tropical nation of Palau to skirt the law. Then in the subscribers-only section (with a content warning), we talk about Jason's story on a big Instagram bug that pushed really horrible stuff into ordinary peoples' feeds.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nhgK-e3AeR0

• SXSW event information
• Facebook Cybertruck Owners Group Copes With Relentless Mockery
• Buying a $250 Residency Card From a Tropical Island Let Me Bypass U.S. Crypto Laws
• Instagram 'Error' Turned Reels Into Neverending Scroll of Murder, Gore, and Violence

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We start this week's episode with Joseph finding out someone basically ripped off his book with a potentially AI-generated summary. Emanuel also updates us on some of the impact his reporting on AI in libraries has had. After the break, Sam tells us all about a Y Combinator supported startup that is straight-up dehumanizing factory workers. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about an apparent act of protest from inside the U.S. government involving an AI video of Musk and Trump.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/Smx3xHTEZiE

• SXSW event information
• A Slop Publisher Sold a Ripoff of My Book on Amazon
• Y Combinator Supports AI Startup Dehumanizing Factory Workers
• AI Video of Trump Sucking Musk's Toes Blasted on Government Office TVs

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This week we start with Jason's story about anyone being able to push updates to DOGE.gov website. Then we talk about other stories with the DEI.gov and Waste.gov sites. After the break, Sam tells us all about some lawyers who get caught using AI in a case. In the subscribers-only section, we chat about a true crime documentary YouTube channel where the murders were all AI-generated.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/wqjeDFk9LMo

• Anyone Can Push Updates to the DOGE.gov Website
• Researcher Captures Contents of ‘DEI.gov’ Before It Was Hidden Behind a Password
• Elon Musk's Waste.gov Is Just a WordPress Theme Placeholder Page
• Lawyers Caught Citing AI-Hallucinated Cases Call It a 'Cautionary Tale'
• A ‘True Crime’ Documentary Series Has Millions of Views. The Murders Are All AI-Generated
• 
  

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This week we discuss a new Microsoft study that finds using generative AI is "atrophying" people's cognition and critical thinking skills and the right's war on Wikipedia.

Articles discussed:

Microsoft Study Finds AI Makes Human Cognition “Atrophied and Unprepared”

Wikipedia Prepares for 'Increase in Threats' to US Editors From Musk and His Allies

You Can’t Post Your Way Out of Fascism

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We dedicate the whole free section of this episode to Musk’s takeover of the federal government. We got audio from a meeting in which a Musk ally laid out their plans for AI across the government, and revealed who is now the head of HR for DOGE. In the subscribers only section, we talk about how your public library probably already has a bunch of AI slop.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/fTgHpq4-psQ

• ‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government
• Musk’s DOGE Brings in HR Consultant Focused on ‘Non-Woke’ DEI 'Aligned With Our Faith’
• AI-Generated Slop Is Already In Your Public Library

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We start this week with Emanuel's rundown on the DeepSeek situation, the Chinese-made AI that has rocked stock markets and the wider AI industry. After the break, Sam explains how metadata in U.S. government memos lists Project 2025 members as the memo authors. In the subscribers-only section, Jason and Sam explain how GitHub is showing the U.S. government's purging of information in real time.

YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=351BmM2SaXY

• DeepSeek Mania Shakes AI Industry to Its Core
• Memos to Federal Employees Were Written By People With Ties to Project 2025, Metadata Shows
• Trump’s Administration Is Taking Down Sites About Gender Identity All Over the Internet
• GitHub Is Showing the Trump Administration Scrubbing Government Web Pages in Real Time

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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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We start this week with the TikTok ban: how we got here, what happened, and, most importantly, why it means we need more decentralized services. Jason runs us through it. After the break, Joseph breaks down a site called GeoSpy which is marketing geolocation technology to the cops. In the subscribers-only section, we all scroll through an archive of old Nokia (yes, Nokia) designs. Good stuff in there.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/DOXnpENi8Sg

• 02:27 Decentralized Social Media Is the Only Alternative to the Tech Oligarchy
• The U.S. Wants to Ban TikTok for the Sins of Every Social Media Company
• 27:31 The Powerful AI Tool That Cops (or Stalkers) Can Use to Geolocate Photos in Seconds
• Nokia’s Weird Y2K Designs Show the Future We Could Have Had

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We've got much more on what is happening inside Meta with the company's recent speech policy changes. Jason runs us through it. After the break, Joseph explains how thousands of apps have been hijacked to steal your location data, possibly without the app developers' knowledge. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about various stories intersecting with the LA fires, such as Amazon delivery drivers and AI images.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/ItOENEWAy3s.

• ‘It’s Total Chaos Internally at Meta Right Now’: Employees Protest Zuckerberg’s Anti LGBTQ Changes
• Meta Deletes Trans and Nonbinary Messenger Themes
• Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See the Thousands of Apps Hijacked to Spy on Your Location
• Online Behavioral Ads Fuel the Surveillance Industry—Here’s How
• People Think AI Images of Hollywood Sign Burning Are Real
• An Amazon Delivery Confirmation Photo Is the Last Time a Palisades Resident Saw Her Burnt Down House
• ‘We’re Fine’: Lying to Ourselves About a Climate Disaster

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We're back! And holy moly what a start to the year. We just published a bunch of stories. First, Jason talks about blowback inside Meta to its new board member, and Meta's subsequent censoring of those views. We also chat about those mad Meta AI profiles. After the break, Sam explains why Pornhub is blocked in most of the U.S. south. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph talks about why the government is planning to name one of its most important (and at risk) witnesses.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/avuq1NXe6DM

• Facebook Deletes Internal Employee Criticism of New Board Member Dana White
• Meta's AI Profiles Are Indistinguishable From Terrible Spam That Took Over Facebook
• Pornhub Is Now Blocked In Almost All of the U.S. South
• Government to Name ‘Key Witness’ Who Provided FBI With Backdoored Encrypted Chat App Anom

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Here's a special year in review episode! We riff on the last year in AI, media, journalism, and more. We'll be back with a normal news show in the new year!

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/t5RuHgk52MM

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This is a re-upload that was previously only for paying subscribers! It gives a lot more context on the how and why we cover AI they way we do. Subscribe at 404media.co for more bonus content like this. Here's the original description of the episode:

We got a lot of, let's say, feedback, with some of our recent stories on artificial intelligence. One was about people using Bing's AI to create images of cartoon characters flying a plane into a pair of skyscrapers. Another was about 4chan using the same tech to quickly generate racist images. Here, we use that dialogue as a springboard to chat about why we cover AI the way we do, the purpose of journalism, and how that relates to AI and tech overall. This was fun, and let us know what you think. Definitely happy to do more of these sorts of discussions for our subscribers in the future.

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This week Jason, as both a drones and aliens reporter, tells us what is most likely happening with the mysterious drones flying over New Jersey. After the break, Joseph explains how cops in Serbia are using Cellebrite phone unlocking tech as a doorway to installing malware on activists' and journalists' phones. In the subscribers-only section, Sam tells us all about an amazing art project using traffic cameras in New York City.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/T_JVUHbAzf4

• WTF Is Going on With the New Jersey Mystery Drones? Maybe Mass Panic Over Nothing
• The No-Win 'Mystery Drone' Clusterfuck
• Cellebrite Unlocked This Journalist’s Phone. Cops Then Infected it With Malware
• Traffic Camera 'Selfie' Creator Holds Cease and Desist Letter in Front of Traffic Cam

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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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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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This week we start with Emanuel's couple of stories about Niantic, the company that makes Pokémon Go, and its plan to build an AI model based on data collected by its users. After the break, Jason and Emanuel talk about their big investigation into the rise of "AI pimping." In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains why he doesn't use a mobile phone and how he uses an iPad Mini instead.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/9NhJGqEqx-U

• Pokémon Go Players Have Unwittingly Trained AI to Navigate the World
• Pokémon Go Data ‘Adding Amplitude to War Is Obviously an Issue,’ Niantic Exec Says
• Inside the Booming 'AI Pimping' Industry
• I Don't Own a Cellphone. Can This Privacy-Focused Network Change That?

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We start this week with Emanuel's story on how AI-powered ads on Buzzfeed are recommending people buy things like a hat worn by a person who died by suicide. After the break, Joseph talks about an unprecedented leak out of phone forensics tech Graykey. In the subscribers-only section, Sam tells us about HarperCollins' AI deal and how MIT Press is exploring one too.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/CAw0VvCvavA

• AI-Powered Buzzfeed Ads Suggest You Buy Hat of Man Who Died by Suicide
• Leaked Documents Show What Phones Secretive Tech ‘Graykey’ Can Unlock
• HarperCollins Confirms It Has a Deal to Sell Authors' Work to AI Company
• AI Companies Are Trying to Get MIT Press Books

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This episode is sponsored by DeleteMe. Friend of 404 Media Matthew Gault talks to Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, about the ways scammers and criminals are using AI, and how it's changing social engineering attacks.

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This week Joseph starts with his scoop on how Apple quietly introduced code that reboots iPhones, locking out cops. After the break, we all talk about the big Blue Sky migration. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about how we plan to cover, and what to cover, in the new U.S. administration.

YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNRjqqe29iE

• Apple Quietly Introduced iPhone Reboot Code Which is Locking Out Cops
• The Big Blue Sky Migration
• Why the Work Still Matters

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On Election Day in the U.S. Jason tells us about EagleAI, a piece of software that could be used to purge voter rolls in the country. After the break, Sam breaks down Microsoft's mistake around gender-predicting AI, and an experiment to test when Instagram considers a nipple as female. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph goes long on his investigation into the infostealer industry.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/JDAW53zv29g

• Inside the Plan to Use AI to Purge Voter Rolls
• Microsoft Provided Gender Detection AI on Accident
• When Does Instagram Decide a Nipple Becomes Female?
• Inside the Massive Crime Industry That is Hacking Billion Dollar Companies

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An Elon Musk-funded super PAC has expanded an advertising campaign in which it is impersonating Democrats and targeting registered Republicans with policies unpopular with conservatives they say Kamala Harris will pass if she wins the election. Plus, Sam takes us inside Northwell Health, New York's largest hospital system, which is pushing AI on its doctors.

Articles discussed in this podcast:

https://www.404media.co/elon-musk-funded-pac-supercharges-progress-2028-democrat-impersonation-ad-campaign/

https://www.404media.co/northwell-health-ai-hub-tool-chatgpt-doctors/

https://www.404media.co/scientists-and-archivists-worry-epic-games-control-of-the-3d-model-market-will-destroy-cultural-heritage/

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