Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Feeling Wowed, Getting Cozy
This week, we discuss the benefits of spending 14 hours a day on the internet, getting cozy for AI slop, and a what a new law in Sweden means for the rest of us.
News
Hacker Conference HOPE Says U.S. Immigration Crackdown Caused Massive Crash in Ticket Sales
One scheduled speaker has also pulled out of the New York-based event and specifically pointed to Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
Podcast
Podcast: AI Slop Summer
How the Chicago Sun-Times printed an AI-generated summer guide; how schools were not prepared for ChatGPT; and those funny little guys from Star Wars.
News
Student Makes Tool That Identifies ‘Radicals’ on Reddit, Deploys AI Bots to Engage With Them
The tool scans for users writing certain keywords on Reddit and assigns those users a so-called “radical score,” before deploying an AI-powered bot to automatically engage with the users to de-radicalize them.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: The Art of the 'Catharticle'
This week, we discuss Star Wars' weird little guys, catharticles, and spectacular views.
News
License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows
Flock, which has license plate readers (LPRs) all around the country, wants police to be able to “jump from LPR to person,” according to leaked audio obtained by 404 Media.
Podcast
Podcast: AI Avatar of Killed Man Testifies in Court
A killed man's AI avatar testifies in court; Meta is developing facial recognition for its smart glasses; and how AI is changing baseball.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Brainrot and Brain Power Hours
This week, we discuss the death of Mr. Deepfakes, introducing kids to the Manosphere, and working on big, difficult, high-brain-power scoops.
News
Man ‘Disappeared’ by ICE Was on El Salvador Flight Manifest, Hacked Data Shows
Ricardo Prada Vásquez was not on a government list of people sent to a mega prison in El Salvador. But hacked data shows he was booked on a flight to the country.
News
Well, Well, Well: Meta to Add Facial Recognition To Glasses After All
Meta previously lost its shit at 404 Media when we reported that someone had paired facial recognition tech with the company's smart glasses. Now Meta is building the invasive technology itself.
News
Signal Clone TeleMessage Deleted Video About How It Works—Here’s What It Said
A hacker compromised TeleMessage, a company that provides Signal chat archiving services to the Trump administration. TeleMessage has now hidden a video on YouTube that explained its Signal service.
Podcast
Podcast: The Trump Admin's Signal Clone Was Hacked
Our massive story about the TeleMessage hack; hackers targeted an airline used by ICE too; and the closure of Mr. Deepfakes.