delighted to have @megannicolett.bsky.social on the blog today reporting on Tinder's new little AI gambit: www.404media.co/tinder-plans...

disclosures of some kind appear to be on the way

Can’t believe I got to join @whyy.org and @samleecole.bsky.social to discuss law and policy remedies for deepfakes and why the ultimate solution isn’t legal at all: whyy.org

hitting up a rando is probably better for your mental health than any chatbot www.404media.co/chatgpt-lone...

New from 404 Media: the removed DOGE deposition videos have already been backed up across the internet. A judge ordered their removal from YouTube on Friday. By Saturday, the videos were available on the Internet Archive and as a torrent file www.404media.co/the-removed-...

Breaking: the DOGE deposition videos have been taken off YouTube. On Friday the government asked a judge to intervene, said the videos could cause reputational damage, death threats. Judge agreed, ordered them removed: www.404media.co/doge-deposit...

This is the best lede I've seen in a tech story in...years? There should be an award just for ledes.

I have watched 6 hours of a DOGE bro deposition. The whole thing, start to finish. It's a fascinating, and horrifying, look at the people who caused so much damage, didn't really achieve anything at all, while still being so sure they are right. Here's what they said: www.404media.co/i-watched-6-...

I met with AI data labelers in Kenya who are organizing their colleagues to fight the brutal working conditions and horrible pay given to the workers at the "bottom of the AI supply chain." They believe the NDAs they've signed are unenforceable so are speaking out: www.404media.co/ai-is-africa...

From Flock's nationwide surveillance to ICE tools, we are being watched. Is there anyway to go back now? "Police love telling each other about the new capabilities and tools that they've acquired, so this tech can spread from city to city very quickly." A 404 Media guide to surveillance in 2026:

this week's 404 Media pod is out! we get into how AI can drag someone from curiosity into delusion, how the FBI got protonmail data, and that extremely messy anti-porn app breach

and that thing was hauling ass

Quittr vulnerabilities exposed the masturbation habits as well as private confessional diaries of 600,000 users, including 100,000 MINORS. And didn't fix the problem despite being made aware of it more than six months ago. It's almost as if it weren't a treatment app, but a surveillance app.

New for @theverge.com: i wrote about how Kansas' trans ID law and the "age verification" systems popping up everywhere tie into larger efforts to force trans people to out themselves both IRL and online

NEW: A couple of 20-year-old developers make $500,000 a month promising to help men, including minors, to stop watching porn, but exposed their private porn watching habits. When we asked them about it in January, they lied about the huge security flaw. Here's why we're naming them now:

Sat down with @cecianasta.bsky.social, one of the best in the biz, to talk about Roblox's many controversies www.404media.co/understandin...

“ChatGPT had convinced him that all of this was so obviously true... I felt like I was talking to a cult member.” With more and more people relying on chatbots, @samleecole.bsky.social asks experts how we can help someone experiencing "AI psychosis." Read now: www.404media.co/ai-psychosis...

What do you say to someone who believes their chatbot has unlocked the keys to the universe? I talked to mental health experts who are following the 'AI psychosis' issue closely to find out: www.404media.co/ai-psychosis...

I have such sights to show you

I had some thoughts about Private Showfeet and the dangers of equating humanity with machine slop www.404media.co/behind-the-b...

The records provide insight into the sort of data that Proton Mail, which prides itself both on its end-to-end encryption and that it is only governed by Swiss privacy law, can and does provide to third parties. In this case, the Proton Mail account was affiliated with the Defend the Atlanta Forest.

AI-generated war footage is becoming a problem, X is taking a stand against it by *checks notes* demonetizing bluechecks for 90 days when they share it without a label?

episode three of Understood: Deepfake Porn Empire is out today, and I know I shouldn't have favorites among our children but I had the most fun recording this one. check it out wherever you get your pods and read more about the series: www.404media.co/cbc-podcast-...

New from 404 Media: CBP tapped into the online advertising ecosystem to track peoples' movements, according to an internal DHS document. Shows for the first time DHS tracked phones via process for putting ads in ordinary apps—video games, fitness apps, many more www.404media.co/cbp-tapped-i...

prediction markets' depravity economy is the culmination of deregulation and kleptocracy, lobbying to legalize sports gambling, the collapse of advertising markets, hustlebro culture, crypto, memestocks, ai bubble ... venn diagram of horrible: www.404media.co/with-iran-wa...

Amazon is opening its wishlists to third-party sellers, which means it can no longer control who has your delivery address. this is a huge privacy risk for sex workers, influencers, and anyone who uses public lists: www.404media.co/amazon-wishl...

Quote from Advait Paliwal, Brown dropout and co-creator of Einstein: “I think about horses. They used to pull carriages, but when cars came around, I'd argue horses became a lot more free... It would be weird if horses revolted and said ‘no, I want to pull carriages, this is my purpose in life.’”

episode two of the podcast I hosted with the CBC is out today, and it's such an important one: all about the targets of deepfakes, how they find out, and the messy, confusing, enraging aftermath www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...

Imagine a world where you can DM loved ones who have passed away over Facebook or IG using a LLM that emulates their chatting behaviors? Meta's patent is giving these researchers concern. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Story by @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social www.404media.co/metas-ai-pat...

had the great pleasure of welcoming Harlo Holmes (@freedom.press) to the pod this week! we talk privacy practices you should put to use today, AV laws, and why we need to return to the forums. listen today wherever you get your podcasts

not inspiring a lot of confidence www.404media.co/meta-directo...

New from 404 Media: how ICE and CBP are using the free walkie-talkie app Zello to coordinate their operations. We've linked multiple Zello accounts to ICE, found group chats with names referencing immigration. App previously criticized for allowing far right channels www.404media.co/how-ice-and-...

1st paper of 2026 & in my new job, out open access in Platforms & Society! With a survey amongst 100 creators of pole dance content, I found Instagram’s attempt at transparency & accountability via Account Status shadowbanning appeals was entirely performative: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10....

watching what's happening to Pinterest feels like a glimpse at the immediate future for much of the internet. AI moderation knocking down posts, people unable to talk to human beings, a flood of AI content, and hand drawn posts mislabeled as AI

Clarifying and answering some of your questions about #grok doxxing me. Thank you @noelleperdue.bsky.social and @404media.co for reporting this story. Stay safe, my friends, and FUCK GROK 💚

society went severely downhill when 4chan incel jargon started becoming a regular part of the political lexicon

as someone who has been doxxed to hell before, shout out to @siridahl.com for her strength in taking this horrifying bullshit thanks to elon musk’s bs csam chatbot and sharing her story, on her terms, with the rest of the us. read at @404media.co:

I asked 404 to publish my legal name in this article. Since grok doxxed me in early Feb, AI scrapers have reproduced my legal name on hundreds more websites, many of which have wildly inaccurate claims (my net worth is $5 million??! I wish🫩). This way I can have *some* control over the narrative.

extremely timely day to discover this

please don't talk to me about "maxxing" anything www.404media.co/we-have-lear...

Fuck Grok

Grok is doxing a porn performer, after she spent years keeping this information private. Disgusting, abusive, deliberately harmful little product Elon's got there www.404media.co/grok-doxing-...

How did journalists find the man behind the biggest deepfake porn site in the world? 404 Media’s @samleecole.bsky.social reveals how David Do, a pharmacist, was confronted at his Toronto home in her new podcast Understood: Deepfake Porn Empire on CBC. Listen now: open.spotify.com/show/69ttdE2...

“I believe that the foundation we created with Search Party, first for finding dogs, will end up becoming one of the most important pieces of tech and innovation to truly unlock the impact of our mission." www.404media.co/leaked-email...

Scoop: Ring's CEO told staff Search Party is not going to be just for dogs, according to a leaked email I obtained. Said it is "first for finding dogs" before suggesting it would be expanded to be used for crime: www.404media.co/leaked-email...

“All educational content is obsolete. Every textbook, every lesson plan, every test, all of it is obsolete because gen AI is going to be able to deliver a personalized lesson just for you." about that... www.404media.co/students-are...

NEW: ChatGPT is encouraging stalkers, telling them they share a special bond with their targets -- and to keep harassing them even after they've been asked to stop futurism.com/artificial-i...

Alpha School, an "AI-powered" private school that costs as much as $65k a year, is generating faulty lesson plans and stealing content from textbooks for training data www.404media.co/students-are...