Behind the Blog: Pickleball Drama, Auto-Generated Women, and Really Big Drone Contracts
Behind The Blog

Behind the Blog: Pickleball Drama, Auto-Generated Women, and Really Big Drone Contracts

This week, we discuss uncovering government defense contracts, revealing fake "auto-generated" female speakers, and thoughts on FOIA.
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404 Media is a new independent media company founded by technology journalists Jason Koebler, Emanuel Maiberg, Samantha Cole, and Joseph Cox. Read more about us here.
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Has Anyone on the Internet Listened to Garth Brooks’ New Album Released Exclusively on CD Through Bass Pro Shops? An Investigation
Music

Has Anyone on the Internet Listened to Garth Brooks’ New Album Released Exclusively on CD Through Bass Pro Shops? An Investigation

The best-selling country music artist of all time released a new album called Time Traveler last week. It is possible to count by hand how many people have posted on the internet about it.
TikTok Deletes 404 Media Video About The Guardian Deleting Bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’
TikTok

TikTok Deletes 404 Media Video About The Guardian Deleting Bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’

TikTok is moderating reporting and news about extremism in the exact same way that it moderates actual extremism.
Users Can't Speak to Viral AI Girlfriend CarynAI Because CEO Is in Jail for Arson
News

Users Can't Speak to Viral AI Girlfriend CarynAI Because CEO Is in Jail for Arson

“CarynAI being down has really caused an uproar within my community,” Caryn Marjorie said.
Elon Musk Is Making His Advertising Crisis a Problem for Sex Workers
advertising

Elon Musk Is Making His Advertising Crisis a Problem for Sex Workers

Adult content creators are seeing an influx of "sensitive content" labels on Twitter, which could be tied to the site's newly implemented sensitivity settings for advertisers.
Will Instagram Remove This AI Nazi Taylor Swift Image After I Post This Article?
News

Will Instagram Remove This AI Nazi Taylor Swift Image After I Post This Article?

An AI-generated image of Taylor Swift in a Nazi uniform pushing an Jewish person into an oven has been shared by an account with more than 150,000 followers. Time for an experiment.
Hackers Use Online Casinos to Gamble Mountains of Cash They Steal from Victims
News

Hackers Use Online Casinos to Gamble Mountains of Cash They Steal from Victims

Members of the wider digital underground, known as The Com, often funnel stolen Bitcoin into a variety of online casinos including Stake, material obtained by 404 Media shows.
The Guardian Deletes Osama Bin Laden's 'Letter to America' Because It Went Viral on TikTok
Guardian

The Guardian Deletes Osama Bin Laden's 'Letter to America' Because It Went Viral on TikTok

“The transcript published on our website 20 years ago has been widely shared today on social media without its original context. Therefore we have decided to take it down."
Feds Have No Idea How Many Times Cruise Driverless Cars Hit Pedestrians
FOIA

Feds Have No Idea How Many Times Cruise Driverless Cars Hit Pedestrians

'Not ideal:' NHTSA is learning about driverless car incidents from Reddit videos because its safety incident reporting form is deeply flawed, internal emails show.
Podcast: Venture Capitalists a16z Fund Nonconsensual Deepfake Porn
Podcast

Podcast: Venture Capitalists a16z Fund Nonconsensual Deepfake Porn

In this week's episode, we talk a16z's investment into AI platform Civitai, our investigation into working conditions at Labcorp, and how the "brand safety" industry is destroying media.
Rivian Pushes Software Update That Breaks Infotainment System
repair

Rivian Pushes Software Update That Breaks Infotainment System

An over-the-air software update breaks the truck's infotainment system in a way that will require an in-shop repair.
Andreessen Horowitz Invests in Civitai, Which Profits From Nonconsensual AI Porn
News

Andreessen Horowitz Invests in Civitai, Which Profits From Nonconsensual AI Porn

A16z has invested in Civitai, which a 404 Media investigation has shown profits from the creation of nonconsensual AI-generated porn of real people.
Why Does Wildlife Photographer Paul Nicklen Have Dozens of Catfish Scam Impersonators?
scams

Why Does Wildlife Photographer Paul Nicklen Have Dozens of Catfish Scam Impersonators?

People are editing Paul Nicklen into hospital bed pictures, faking his passports, and scamming fans out of thousands of dollars through social media impersonation.