Episodes
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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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In this special interview episode of the 404 Media podcast, I talked to Susanna Gibson, a nurse practitioner who ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2023 and is now a victim advocate for folks targeted by non-consensual intimate imagery online—after becoming one herself last year.
Most people probably recognize Gibson from her candidacy and the news stories surrounding it. While she was running for office, images of her having sex with her then-husband started circulating on the internet without her consent. But I had the chance to get to know her a little deeper: We got into why she became a nurse, what inspired her to enter politics, and the moment she found out about the videos. The experience changed the trajectory of her life.
We talk about her shift to advocacy with her nonprofit, MyOwn Image, which has the mission of fighting technology-facilitated gendered violence. Gibson recently introduced model legislation for states that provides a framework for addressing image-based sexual abuse.
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This week we start with a massive story about location data. Privacy advocates gained access to a tool bought by multiple U.S. agencies called Locate X, which tracks smartphones around the world. We focused on how it can be used to track abortion clinic visitors. After the break we have a special guest: Becky Ferreira, author of our recently launched column The Abstract! Becky tells us all about her journey into science journalism and a couple of the studies she's covered. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains how he found a Musk-funded PAC was targeting opposing Snapchat ads to Muslim and Jewish voters in the U.S.
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGsobtws2MU
Inside the U.S. Government-Bought Tool That Can Track Phones at Abortion Clinics
Is There Life on Europa?
This Is Exactly How an Elon Musk-Funded PAC Is Microtargeting Muslims and Jews With Opposing Messages
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We start this week's episode with the ongoing (and pretty confusing!) conflict between Wordpress.com and WP Engine. It might sound like drama, but it actually could have ramifications for the wider web. Sam talks us through it. After the break, Jason explains how he used AI to apply to more than a dozen jobs over breakfast, and how tons of other people are using these tools themselves. In the subscribers-only section, Jason talks about a presentation inside the National Archives which shows the agency's big push towards AI.
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H_E4yjTJZQ
‘The Community Is In Chaos:’ WordPress.org Now Requires You Denounce Affiliation With WP Engine To Log In
‘I Applied to 2,843 Roles’: The Rise of AI-Powered Job Application Bots
‘AI-Mazing Tech-Venture’: National Archives Pushes Google Gemini AI on Employees
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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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This is a trailer for the subscribers-only podcast for 404 Media's one year anniversary! We go long on the business, subscriber numbers, what people value, how to get our articles in front of people, and what we're looking to do next year! If you want to hear the rest, please become a subscriber at 404media.co.
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Over the past two weeks we've had a ton of stories where AI and other companies have opted users into data collection and processing by default. What the hell is going on??? They're all doing it at once! Jason starts us off with how Udemy created an 'opt-out window'. If you missed it, you're out of luck until next year. Then after the break, Sam and Joseph discuss similar stories with PayPal and LinkedIn. In the subscribers-only section, Sam talks about how a woman was essentially trapped in a driverless Waymo.
Massive E-Learning Platform Udemy Gave Teachers a Gen AI 'Opt-Out Window'. It's Already Over.
Paypal Opted You Into Sharing Data Without Your Knowledge
LinkedIn Is Training AI on User Data Before Updating Its Terms of Service
Men Harassed A Woman In A Driverless Waymo, Trapping Her In Traffic
*This show is sponsored by BetterHelp*
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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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We chime in on the developing story coming out of Lebanon about a wave of exploding pagers. Jason has some unusual expertise that is pretty relevant here. After the break, Jason breaks down why Larry Ellison's AI-powered surveillance dystopia is already here. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains how he figured out what is, and is not, happening with Snapchat's future AI selfie ads.
Experts: Lebanon Pager Explosions Likely Not Lithium Batteries Alone
Larry Ellison's AI-Powered Surveillance Dystopia Is Already Here
Snapchat Reserves the Right to Use AI-Generated Images of Your Face in Ads
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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 organization that runs National Novel Writing Month, a November challenge to write 50,000 words, said "the categorical condemnation of Artificial Intelligence has classist and ableist undertones." Does it?
Also Discussed:
NaNoWriMo Says Condemning AI Is ‘Classist and Ableist’
This Is Doom Running on a Diffusion Model
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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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