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Apple
Someone Is Trying to ‘Hack’ People Through Apple Podcasts
For months Apple Podcasts has been randomly opening spirituality and religion podcasts by itself, and one case directing listeners to a potentially malicious website.
The Abstract
A Lone Astronomer Has Reported a Dark Matter ‘Annihilation’ Breakthrough
“It was like playing the lottery,” said astronomer Tomonori Totani, adding that he hopes other scientists will verify the possible detection of a new dark matter signature.
AI Slop
'Slop Evader' Lets You Surf the Web Like It’s 2022
Artist Tega Brain is fighting the internet’s enshittification by turning back the clock to before ChatGPT existed.
Podcast
Podcast: A Massive Breach Reveals the Truth Behind 'Secret Desires AI'
A breach shows people are making AI porn of ordinary people at scale; X exposes the location of its biggest MAGA grifters; and how we contributed to the shut down of a warrantless surveillance program.
News
Arc Raiders ‘Watchlist’ Names and Shames Backstabbing Players
‘I’ll find you again, the only thing that doesn’t cross paths are mountains.’ In a game about loot, robots, and betrayal, all a raider has is their personal reputation. This site catalogues it.
FOIA Forum
Here's the Video for Our Seventh FOIA Forum: Flock
Here is the archived video of our FOIA Forum about how to do reporting on Flock.
Announcements
Please, please do our reader survey
It'll take just a minute and help 404 Media figure out how to grow sustainably.
AI
America’s Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle
The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
fortnite
Inside an ICE Defense Training on Fortnite
A group of immigrant rights organizers are helping people use Fortnite to practice what to do if they encounter ICE agents in the wild.
The Abstract
A Lost Planet Created the Moon. Now, We Know Where It Came From.
The remains of Theia are scattered deep inside the Earth and its satellite. By analyzing these remnants, scientists have proposed an origin.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: A Risograph Journey and Data Musings
This week, we discuss how data is accessed, AI in games, and more.
Flock
Cops Used Flock to Monitor No Kings Protests Around the Country
A massive cache of Flock lookups collated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) shows as many as 50 federal, state, and local agencies used Flock during protests over the last year.