ICE
ICE’s Facial Recognition App Misidentified a Woman. Twice
In testimony from a CBP official obtained by 404 Media, the official described how Mobile Fortify returned two different names after scanning a woman's face during an immigration raid. ICE has said the app's results are a “definitive” determination of someone's immigration status.
Tariffs
‘It's Just a Mess:' 23 People Explain How Tariffs Have Suddenly Ruined Their Hobby
"The real kick in the teeth is no matter how much manufacturing is brought back to the US these items will never be made in the USA. There is no upside."
girls do porn
Michael Pratt, GirlsDoPorn Ringleader, Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison
Michael James Pratt was sentenced to federal prison on charges of sex trafficking connected to the GirlsDoPorn crime ring. “He turned my pain into profit, my life into currency,” said one victim.
News
Instagram Account Promotes Holocaust Denial T-Shirts to 400,000 Followers
Meta decided to not ban the account and the vast majority of its racist posts even after 404 Media flagged them to the company.
News
ICE Spends Millions on Clearview AI Facial Recognition to Find People ‘Assaulting’ Officers
A new contract with Clearview AI explicitly says ICE is buying the tech to investigate "assaults against law enforcement officers."
The Abstract
The Biological Rulebook Was Just Rewritten—by Ants
Iberian harvester ant queens clone males of a different species in a never-before-seen case of reproduction and domestication.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Sleeping With Slop
This week, we discuss slop in history, five-alarm fires, and AI art (not) at Dragon Con.
girls do porn
Ahead of Sentencing, GirlsDoPorn Ringleader Michael Pratt Attempts to Seem Reformed
In sentencing memos and exhibits, Pratt's attorney paints of picture that points at Pratt's abusive father, his ADHD, his co-conspirators, the entire pornography industry, and the victims themselves.
News
This Company Turns Dashcams into ‘Virtual CCTV Cameras.’ Then Hackers Got In
A hacker has compromised Nexar, which turns peoples' cars into "virtual CCTV cameras" that organizations can then buy images from. The images include sensitive U.S. military and intelligence facilities.
Impact
Congress Pushes DHS for Details on ICE’s New Facial Recognition App
404 Media first revealed ICE’s new app, called Mobile Fortify, in June. Now members of a congressional committee are pressing DHS for more information, including ICE's legal basis for using the app inside the U.S.
News
Google AI Falsely Says YouTuber Visited Israel, Forcing Him to Deal With Backlash
YouTuber Benn Jordan has never been to Israel, but Google's AI summary said he'd visited and made a video about it. Then the backlash started.
pornhub
Pornhub Will Pay $5 Million Over Allegations of Hosting Child Sexual Abuse Material
Pornhub's parent company Aylo and its affiliates settled a lawsuit with the FTC and Utah that alleged the company "deceived users" about abuse material on the site.
AI
AI Generated 'Boring History' Videos Are Flooding YouTube and Drowning Out Real History
"These AI videos are just repeating things that are on the internet, so you end up with a very simplified version of the past."