FOIA
We Sued ICE to Get Its Spyware Contract. The Agency Is Redacting Essentially Everything
Paragon's software is capable of remotely breaking into phones and accessing messages from encrypted messaging apps. Our lawsuit aims to pry records about it from ICE.
ICE
DHS Says Critical ICE Surveillance Footage From Abuse Case Was Actually Never Recorded, Doesn't Matter
Court records reveal the incredibly sad state of ICE's evidence retention systems.
age verification
Many UK Users Soon Won't Be Able to Access Pornhub
Starting February 2, many people connecting from the UK will not be able to access the porn site and many others.
Flock
Police Told to Be ‘as Vague as Permissible’ About Why They Use Flock
The documents show law enforcement sees themselves as being consistently and universally under threat from the people it is supposed to protect.
The Abstract
Dozens of CDC Health Databases Have Gone Dark Under Trump: ‘The Consequences Will Be Dire’
Nearly half of routinely-updated CDC databases have experienced delays or shutdowns in 2025, with vaccination-related systems disproportionately affected, according to a new study.
News
Two Heads, Three Boobs: The AI Babe Meta Is Getting Surreal
The algorithm is driving AI-generated influencers to increasingly weird niches.
Podcast
Podcast: Unmasking Deepfakes Kingpins (with Kolina Koltai)
Bellingcat's Kolina Koltai talks about OSINT investigations into synthetic abuse imagery sites, and seeing them go down because of her work.
News
I Replaced My Friends With AI Because They Won't Play Tarkov With Me
What began as a joke got a little too real. So I shut it down for good.
memes
How Right Wing Influencers Used AI Slop to Turn Renee Good Into a Meme
A look at “necromemetics” and the meme economy in the aftermath of violence.
The Abstract
Scientists Discovered a Cow That Uses Tools Like a Chimpanzee
Veronika, a brown cow in Austria, uses sticks and brushes as multipurpose tools to scratch hard-to-reach spots
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Signs of the Times
This week, we discuss stances on AI, a conference about money laundering, and signs about slavery coming down.
The Abstract
Scientists Got Men to Rate Penises by How Intimidating They Are. This Is What They Found.
Why is the human penis so big? Scientists probed the evolution of penis size through sexual selection and mate competition in a first-of-its-kind study
AI Porn
Aliens and Angel Numbers: Creators Worry Porn Platform ManyVids Is Falling Into ‘AI Psychosis’
“Ethical dilemmas about AI aside, the posts are completely disconnected with ManyVids as a site,” one ManyVids content creator told 404 Media.