The 404 Media Podcast

We start this week with the TikTok ban: how we got here, what happened, and, most importantly, why it means we need more decentralized services. Jason runs us through it. After the break, Joseph breaks down a site called GeoSpy which is marketing geolocation technology to the cops. In the subscribers-only section, we all scroll through an archive of old Nokia (yes, Nokia) designs. Good stuff in there. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/DOXnpENi8Sg 02:27 Decentralized Social Media Is the Only Alternative to the Tech Oligarchy The U.S. Wants to Ban TikTok for the Sins of Every Social Media Company 27:31 The Powerful AI Tool That Cops (or Stalkers) Can Use to Geolocate Photos in Seconds Nokia’s Weird Y2K Designs Show the Future We Could Have Had Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've got much more on what is happening inside Meta with the company's recent speech policy changes. Jason runs us through it. After the break, Joseph explains how thousands of apps have been hijacked to steal your location data, possibly without the app developers' knowledge. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about various stories intersecting with the LA fires, such as Amazon delivery drivers and AI images. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/ItOENEWAy3s. ‘It’s Total Chaos Internally at Meta Right Now’: Employees Protest Zuckerberg’s Anti LGBTQ Changes Meta Deletes Trans and Nonbinary Messenger Themes Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See the Thousands of Apps Hijacked to Spy on Your Location Online Behavioral Ads Fuel the Surveillance Industry—Here’s How People Think AI Images of Hollywood Sign Burning Are Real An Amazon Delivery Confirmation Photo Is the Last Time a Palisades Resident Saw Her Burnt Down House ‘We’re Fine’: Lying to Ourselves About a Climate Disaster Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back! And holy moly what a start to the year. We just published a bunch of stories. First, Jason talks about blowback inside Meta to its new board member, and Meta's subsequent censoring of those views. We also chat about those mad Meta AI profiles. After the break, Sam explains why Pornhub is blocked in most of the U.S. south. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph talks about why the government is planning to name one of its most important (and at risk) witnesses. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/avuq1NXe6DM Facebook Deletes Internal Employee Criticism of New Board Member Dana White Meta's AI Profiles Are Indistinguishable From Terrible Spam That Took Over Facebook Pornhub Is Now Blocked In Almost All of the U.S. South Government to Name ‘Key Witness’ Who Provided FBI With Backdoored Encrypted Chat App Anom Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's a special year in review episode! We riff on the last year in AI, media, journalism, and more. We'll be back with a normal news show in the new year! YouTube version: https://youtu.be/t5RuHgk52MM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a re-upload that was previously only for paying subscribers! It gives a lot more context on the how and why we cover AI they way we do. Subscribe at 404media.co for more bonus content like this. Here's the original description of the episode: We got a lot of, let's say, feedback, with some of our recent stories on artificial intelligence. One was about people using Bing's AI to create images of cartoon characters flying a plane into a pair of skyscrapers. Another was about 4chan using the same tech to quickly generate racist images. Here, we use that dialogue as a springboard to chat about why we cover AI the way we do, the purpose of journalism, and how that relates to AI and tech overall. This was fun, and let us know what you think. Definitely happy to do more of these sorts of discussions for our subscribers in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Subscribe at 404media.co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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* Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices