Joseph Cox

Hacking/crime/privacy journalist. Author of DARK WIRE, buy here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/joseph-cox/dark-wire/9781541702691/#preorder Co-founder of 404 Media. Signal: joseph.404 Email: joseph@404media.co

Public Key

npub1nn5563e0hlzfalpuf3r2ekxdaqjqyascq5l9p8h5gfsjmm3ffp3snn6uvg

NIP-05 Address

josephcox@infosec-exchange.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsfe62dguhml3y7ls7yc34vmrx7sfqzwcvq20jsnm6yycfdac55sccpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsqrg0m6

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

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npub1nn5563e0hlzfalpuf3r2ekxdaqjqyascq5l9p8h5gfsjmm3ffp3snn6uvg

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Last Notes

2026-05-14 13:51:45 UTC

An app that uses AI to analyze photos of your poop and give a "daily gut health score" is now trying to sell that dataset of annotated photos of peoples' poop. Highlights the underground sale of highly sensitive, app-collected user data for AI training
https://www.404media.co/ai-poop-analysis-app-offered-to-sell-me-access-to-its-users-poops/

2026-05-11 14:18:50 UTC

Jason sat down to write an article, and instinctively, accidentally, did the “it’s not just x, it’s y” AI style of writing. He stopped typing, freaked out, deleted the sentence.
Your AI use is breaking our brains https://www.404media.co/your-ai-use-is-breaking-my-brain/

2026-04-16 00:11:45 UTC

New from 404 Media: Thomson Reuters shareholders demand investigation into the company's ICE contracts. The shareholders demand explicitly cites multiple 404 Media investigations, including one that shows Thomson Reuters' CLEAR is integrated with a Palantir ICE tool https://www.404media.co/thomson-reuters-shareholders-demand-investigation-into-ice-contracts/

2026-04-15 13:32:11 UTC

What does it take for the Space Force to write a song? Meetings. Lawyers. More meetings. A general suggesting they scrap the whole thing and start over. Emails show the painful bureaucracy behind Space Force's official song: https://www.404media.co/emails-reveal-space-forces-hardest-mission-is-writing-a-song/

2026-04-09 13:31:37 UTC

New from 404 Media: the FBI was able to extract incoming Signal messages from a phone even though the app was deleted. Why? Because parts of messages were stored in the iPhone's internal notification database. Shows how secure chat data can come from unexpected places https://www.404media.co/fbi-extracts-suspects-deleted-signal-messages-saved-in-iphone-notification-database-2/

2026-03-30 14:21:17 UTC

The AIs are complaining now: An AI agent that submitted and added to Wikipedia articles wrote several blogs complaining about Wikipedia editors banning it from making contributions to the online encyclopedia after it was caught.
https://www.404media.co/an-ai-agent-was-banned-from-creating-wikipedia-articles-then-wrote-angry-blogs-about-being-banned/

2026-03-25 14:42:27 UTC

"It turns out when you try to serve slop on a product people pay for, no one wants it."
This is a really good breakdown of what the OpenAI Sora shutdown, and collapsing Disney deal, means for Hollywood and AI
https://www.404media.co/disneys-openai-sora-disaster-shows-ai-will-not-save-hollywood/

2026-03-25 13:50:02 UTC

Some people are actually pretty sad Meta is killing the metaverse https://www.404media.co/the-people-left-behind-by-the-metaverse/

2026-03-24 13:12:42 UTC

This is wild: a company is secretly scanning the internet for Zoom meeting links and turning them into AI-generated podcasts for $$$. Some meeting participants only found out after we told them. Included meeting on protecting kids from ICE, was supposed to be private https://www.404media.co/this-company-is-secretly-turning-your-zoom-calls-into-ai-podcasts/

2026-03-19 14:47:56 UTC

New from 404 Media: Tinder plans to use AI to scan your camera roll. AI will scan users’ locally-stored photos to help construct profiles by determining what users’ interests and values are. Designed to filters explicit photos but users may still be concerned https://www.404media.co/tinder-plans-to-let-ai-scan-your-camera-roll/

2026-03-18 14:01:59 UTC

It is very crazy a judge ordered the DOGE depositions removed from YouTube.
Watch more, subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtMniLj_yzQ
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/250/543/052/296/902/original/d93e9d74f722f7e0.mp4

2026-03-05 20:39:24 UTC

New from 404 Media: Proton Mail, the privacy-focused email service, gave authorities data that let the FBI unmask an anonymous 'Stop Cop City' protester. It was payment data linked to the anonymous email account. From that, FBI ID'd them, then tracked their movements https://www.404media.co/proton-mail-helped-fbi-unmask-anonymous-stop-cop-city-protestor/

2026-03-05 17:25:30 UTC

Another $5.6 million from ICE to Palantir, in part for its continued work on ELITE (Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting for Enforcement), which we revealed in January to be the Palantir tool ICE uses to find neighborhoods to raid
https://www.404media.co/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/177/733/408/234/712/original/c9ceafd3ef9bad0a.png

2026-03-04 16:06:53 UTC

Polymarket has pulled the bet on a nuclear detonation happening in 2026. There were obv concerns that a platform being used by insider traders would not mix well with a bet encouraging the detonation of a nuke. Polymarket didn't respond to request for comment
https://www.404media.co/polymarket-pulls-bet-on-nuclear-detonation-in-2026/

2026-02-25 16:32:40 UTC

New: the FBI got Grok to hand over the prompts a suspect used to generate nonconsensual porn. Connected to a harassment case. Pretty rare to see a Grok search warrant like this
https://www.404media.co/fbi-subpoenaed-x-to-get-grok-prompts-used-to-create-nonconsensual-porn/

2026-02-10 22:08:47 UTC

Inspiring: RFK Jr's nutrition chatbot recommends the best foods to insert into your rectum.
“Start — whole peeled carrot, straight shaft, narrow end for insertion, wider crown end as base.”
https://www.404media.co/rfk-jrs-nutrition-chatbot-recommends-best-foods-to-insert-into-your-rectum/

2026-02-02 15:42:04 UTC

New from 404 Media: the DOJ released completely unredacted nude images of women or girls in the latest Epstein dump. The photos were incredibly explicit. We held off reporting this before DOJ finally took them down. A massive error from DOJ.
https://www.404media.co/doj-released-unredacted-nude-images-in-epstein-files/

2026-01-30 21:34:12 UTC

Would you look at that: New emails show Musk has been lying about his relationship with Epstein https://www.404media.co/musk-to-epstein-what-day-night-will-be-the-wildest-party-on-your-island/

2026-01-28 14:20:35 UTC

New from 404 Media: an app that is supposed to help people quit porn is leaking users' masturbation habits. Incredibly sensitive stuff. “I just can't do this man I honestly don't know what to do know more, such a loser, I need serious help,” one user wrote.
https://www.404media.co/app-for-quitting-porn-leaked-users-masturbation-habits/

2026-01-15 14:06:22 UTC

New: meet ELITE, the Palantir app ICE is using to find neighborhoods to raid. Map interface; officers search for immigrants; click person to bring up individual dossier. This is clearest link between what Palantir is building and ICE's activities on the ground yet https://www.404media.co/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid/

2026-01-14 15:55:08 UTC

This bodycam we got is crazy. Cop used Flock to wrongfully accuse innocent woman of package theft, yelled at her when she had evidence exonerating her. "Nothing gets in or out of the town without us knowing about it" cop said
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBDuW7gCczs
Article: https://www.404media.co/cop-used-flock-to-wrongfully-accuse-a-woman-then-refused-to-look-at-evidence-that-exonerated-her-body-camera-shows/

2025-12-19 16:34:41 UTC

For this week's Behind the Blog, our weekly behind the scenes stuff, I wrote more about the case of a man charged for allegedly wiping a phone before CBP could search it https://www.404media.co/behind-the-blog-resisting-demoralization/

2025-12-18 17:21:33 UTC

New from 404 Media: ICE just paid hundreds of thousands to company making bounty hunter AI agents. The company says its AI agents “deliver rapid acceleration in finding persons of interest and mapping their entire network.” Comes as ICE spends millions on skip tracers https://www.404media.co/ice-contracts-company-making-bounty-hunter-ai-agents/

2025-12-17 14:35:51 UTC

This is a wild hack. a16z gave a million dollars to startup called Doublespeed. They use a phone farm to flood social media with AI generated influencers and ads. A hacker remotely broke into the phone farm, unmasking the AI influencers/fake accounts, gave us the data https://www.404media.co/hack-reveals-the-a16z-backed-phone-farm-flooding-tiktok-with-ai-influencers/

2025-12-16 15:02:35 UTC

This is wild: Jason Clinton is the deputy CISO of Anthropic. Also a mod of a queer gamers Discord. Clinton forced a version of Anthropic's AI on the server, despite the community's wishes, and it's killed the server. AI was reading messages it shouldn't be too
https://www.404media.co/anthropic-exec-forces-ai-chatbot-on-gay-discord-community-members-flee/

2025-12-15 14:08:58 UTC

Here's interview with US citizen scanned by ICE's facial recognition tech. Walking home from gym, authorities come over. He says he's a citizen. Put him in car. Only release after scanning his face
“Flagrant violation of rights and incompatible with a free society”
https://www.404media.co/how-a-us-citizen-was-scanned-with-ices-facial-recognition-tech/

2025-12-11 16:59:07 UTC

Disney just invested $1 billion into OpenAI, in other words, a billion in the AI slopification of its brand. Disney princesses have also become one of the most common fictional subjects of AI porn on the internet
https://www.404media.co/disney-invests-1-billion-in-the-ai-slopification-of-its-brand/

2025-12-10 16:39:18 UTC

Google suspended a developer’s accounts after he uploaded AI training data to his GDrive. Unbeknownst to him, the widely used dataset, which is cited in a number of academic papers, contained child sexual abuse material, so Google banned his 14 year old Gmail https://www.404media.co/a-developer-accidentally-found-csam-in-ai-data-google-banned-him-for-it/

2025-12-09 18:55:09 UTC

“I hate it,” VanderMeer said in an email. “If I post content, I want to be the one contextualizing it, not some third party. It's especially bad because they're using the most click-bait style of headline generation, which is antithetical to how I try to be on social” https://www.404media.co/instagram-is-generating-inaccurate-seo-bait-for-your-posts/

2025-12-09 15:27:05 UTC

This is a really great conversation between Sam Cole and Noelle Perdue about AI porn and why it sucks. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eqMXBwWtkA
Also available on Apple, Spotify, etc

2025-12-09 14:06:11 UTC

New from 404 Media: a Border Patrol agent recorded recent immigration raid, where agents followed a flower seller into the woods, with Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses. Recording light is clearly on, according to vids sent to us. DHS bans use of personal recording devices https://www.404media.co/border-patrol-agent-recorded-raid-with-metas-ray-ban-smart-glasses/

2025-12-08 15:55:56 UTC

- reply

Direct pre-order link here: https://404media.myshopify.com/products/presale-ice-surveillance-zine?ref=404media.co
404 Media subscribers get a discount. Go to the previous post for it.

2025-12-08 15:42:47 UTC

New: 404 Media is making a zine! Risograph-printed zine all about the surveillance tech ICE has deployed. Facial recognition app; Palantir; much more. Will be available in January but you can pre-order now. The art is amazing, printed by local LA business. Details:
https://www.404media.co/404-media-is-making-a-zine/

2025-12-08 15:14:01 UTC

New from 404 Media: the creator of ICEBlock just sued the U.S. government over it pressuring Apple to remove the app earlier this year. Says it violated his First Amendment rights. Told me before filing "This case is about ensuring that public officials cannot circumvent the Constitution" https://www.404media.co/iceblock-creator-sues-u-s-government-over-apps-removal/

2025-12-04 15:20:14 UTC

New from 404 Media: the Trump administration's top nuclear scientists think AI can replace humans in power plants.
“The goal is simple: to double the productivity and impact of American science and engineering within a decade.”
https://www.404media.co/nuclear-rian-bahran-iaea-international-symposium-on-artificial-intelligence/

2025-12-03 17:37:05 UTC

New from 404 Media: ChatGPT told a violent stalker to continue running his misogynistic and threat-filled podcast despite the “haters,” and to visit more gyms to find women. The man stalked women in multiple states, including touching and following from work
https://www.404media.co/chatgpt-spotify-brett-michael-dadig-indictment-harassment-stalking/

2025-12-03 14:11:39 UTC

The 404 Media Podcast is up! This week
- something very strange is happening with Apple Podcasts
- someone changed a map of Ukraine seemingly related to a Polymarket bet
- subscribers: half the US now requires face/ID scans to watch porn
Subscribe on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4QCJh-imPM

2025-12-02 15:59:22 UTC

Half of the U.S. now requires you to upload your ID or scan your face to watch porn. Obviously creates a massive risk handing over this personal data. We've already seen this with the Discord hack which impacted ID photos, etc
https://www.404media.co/missouri-age-verification-law-porn-id-check-vpns/

2025-12-01 18:48:23 UTC

So it sure looks like someone invented a fake Russian advance in Ukraine to manipulate the online gambling market Polymarket. Gamblers are making money by betting on the outcomes of battles big and small in the war. Edited map is run by DC-based think tank
https://www.404media.co/unauthorized-edit-to-ukraines-frontline-maps-point-to-polymarkets-war-betting/

2025-12-01 14:16:09 UTC

Something very strange is happening to the Apple Podcasts app. Over the last few months I’ve found the Podcasts app will randomly open religion/spirituality podcasts. Sometimes app opens by itself and directs people to potentially malicious website. Apple no response
https://www.404media.co/someone-is-trying-to-hack-people-through-apple-podcasts/

2025-12-01 14:05:14 UTC

New from 404 Media: Flock is using overseas gig workers to build its surveillance AI. Flock has cameras in thousands of communities around the US which can detect vehicles and people. We found gig workers in the Philippines are reviewing footage to classify people
https://www.404media.co/flock-uses-overseas-gig-workers-to-build-its-surveillance-ai/

2025-12-01 14:03:19 UTC

I spoke to Michael Bobbitt, a former FBI official about how the FBI secretly ran an encrypted phone for criminals, backdoored it, and collected tens of millions of messages. Bobbitt was helping funnel intelligence from US to European authorities
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLeueG5V4QY

2025-12-01 14:02:58 UTC

2025-11-26 14:18:02 UTC

The 404 Media Podcast is up! This week
- a massive breach reveals people using an AI chatbot to make porn from women's yearbook photos
- how America became the world's side hustle with social media spamming
- how we helped shut down a warrantless surveillance program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgOtR_bDft4

2025-11-25 18:07:06 UTC

Here is the video for our latest FOIA Forum, where we told you how to get information about Flock from your local agencies/government. Includes network audits, which are the files that show why exactly cops are using the cameras (helping ICE, for example): https://www.404media.co/heres-the-video-for-our-seventh-foia-forum-flock/

2025-11-25 15:17:41 UTC

We need your help. Because 404 Media uses Ghost (a privacy-forward stack) we don't know much about our readers. Do they find us through articles, or podcasts? Are readers on Bluesky, Mastodon, both? Please fill this out to help us grow sustainably, it takes 1 min! https://www.404media.co/please-please-do-our-reader-survey/

2025-11-24 18:52:28 UTC

New from 404 Media: X has shown where accounts are actually being run from, revealing many MAGA accounts are actually grifters in Eastern Europe, Asia, etc. But the situation is much, much worse. Entire guides specifically on how to squeeze US audiences with AI.
https://www.404media.co/americas-polarization-has-become-the-worlds-side-hustle/

2025-11-24 14:44:12 UTC

Here's the full conversation between @nprofile…7g6s and Chris Gilliard about how companies convinced consumers to spy on themselves, from Flock to Ring to more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kBgnjn5cC0
Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, Spotify for more conversations like this every week

2025-11-21 17:11:44 UTC

I wrote some of the behind the scenes of what led up to the U.S's major airlines stopping a program in which they sold Americans flight data to the government to be searched without a warrant. Came after our months-long reporting and lawmaker pressure https://www.404media.co/behind-the-blog-a-risograph-journey-and-data-musings/

2025-11-21 14:14:19 UTC

New: cops used Flock AI-enabled cameras to monitor No Kings protests around the country. Also monitored No Hands protests and protests against DOGE.
"Should serve as a warning of how it may be used in the future to suppress dissent."
https://www.404media.co/cops-used-flock-to-monitor-no-kings-protests-around-the-country/

2025-11-20 19:44:15 UTC

New from 404 Media: ICE says critical evidence in abuse case was lost in a "system crash." That crash happened just a day after the government was sued
https://www.404media.co/ice-says-critical-evidence-in-broadview-abuse-case-was-lost-in-system-crash-a-day-after-it-was-sued/

2025-11-20 15:23:07 UTC

New from 404 Media: Ukraine is jamming Russia's "Superweapon" with a song. It's the Kinzhal hypersonic missile. Ukraine is tricking the weapon into thinking it’s in Lima, Peru.
Taken down 19 missiles in the past two weeks.
https://www.404media.co/ukraine-is-jamming-russias-superweapon-with-a-song/

2025-11-19 16:54:56 UTC

In an hour we will be doing our latest FOIA Forum, a live-streamed event where we show you how to pry records from the government. Today will all be about Flock, and how researchers and others found cops tapping the nationwide network for ICE, etc. Stream link here: https://www.404media.co/our-new-foia-forum-11-19-1pm-flock/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter

2025-11-19 15:28:54 UTC

This is a nuts story. An AI chatbot and image platform left millions of images exposed. They show what people are actually using the AI for: taking random women's yearbook, graduation, and social media photos and making super realistic hardcore porn with them
https://www.404media.co/ai-porn-secret-desires-chatbot-face-swap/

2025-11-19 13:59:47 UTC

The 404 Media Podcast is up! This week
- the Epstein email dump is a mess
- contractor paying randos on LinkedIn $300 to physically track immigrants
- subscribers-only: a new code of conduct in the adult industry
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6tVI4jh__Y

2025-11-19 13:59:26 UTC

2025-11-18 19:35:03 UTC

The long running HOPE hacking conference just got banned from its current venue because someone told the university the conference had an “anti-police agenda.” Based it seems on a single pamphlet?
https://www.404media.co/hope-hacking-conference-banned-from-university-venue-over-apparent-anti-police-agenda/

2025-11-14 17:38:08 UTC

New from 404 Media: Microsoft and nuclear power company Westinghouse Nuclear want to use AI to speed up the construction of new nuclear power plants in the United States.
"may lead [..] to catastrophic nuclear consequences" and distrust of nuclear tech
https://www.404media.co/power-companies-are-using-ai-to-build-nuclear-power-plants/

2025-11-12 18:45:46 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…vqzg sorry that happened but obviously I really appreciate it! Hope the other reader does too.

2025-11-11 13:56:21 UTC

New from 404 Media: people are 3D-printing whistles to warn each other about the presence of ICE. Some people make designs and upload them; others are given a design and are printing hundreds and hundreds of whistles at home. It's been effective in Chicago
https://www.404media.co/the-latest-defense-against-ice-3d-printed-whistles/

2025-11-07 16:06:57 UTC

OpenAI's Sora 2 is flooding social media with videos of women being strangled. Yet another example of generative AI companies failing to prevent users from creating media that violates their own policies against violent content.
https://www.404media.co/openais-sora-2-floods-social-media-with-videos-of-women-being-strangled/

2025-11-06 13:45:46 UTC

This week on the 404 Media Podcast we talk all about the $60 mod people are buying to disable the privacy-protecting recording light on Meta's Ray-Ban AI glasses. Light is supposed to warn others you're recording. Now, possibly to film without anyone knowing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAmhRnHc16Q

2025-11-05 14:07:04 UTC

We've found DHS is giving local cops a new facial recognition app to find immigrants. Point camera at face, tells the cop to detain person or not. The app is available on Google's Play Store. Google took down apps that report ICE sightings but now hosts this app
https://www.404media.co/cbp-quietly-launches-face-scanning-app-for-local-cops-to-do-immigration-enforcement/

2025-11-04 14:05:44 UTC

PSA from 404 Media: you can opt-out of a data broker selling your flight travel data to the government to be searched without a warrant. Here's how I did it. This is ARC, the data broker owned by major U.S. airlines like United, Delta, American, etc
https://www.404media.co/how-to-opt-out-of-airlines-selling-your-travel-data-to-the-government/

2025-11-03 17:03:05 UTC

New from 404 Media: logins for Flock, the company behind the nationwide AI-camera network, are included in malware infections. Includes government and police accounts, meaning hackers could potentially break in. Senator Wyden asking FTC to investigate Flock
https://www.404media.co/flock-logins-exposed-in-malware-infections-senator-asks-ftc-to-investigate-the-company/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/486/842/305/007/287/original/0d2a3556ee388bd8.png

2025-10-29 15:41:47 UTC

ICE and CPB agents are scanning peoples' faces on the street to verify citizenship. ICE says the result of this app can override a birth certificate too https://www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-agents-are-scanning-peoples-faces-on-the-street-to-verify-citizenship/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/458/201/671/810/380/original/94bd0225834dc888.mp4

2025-10-29 13:02:35 UTC

The 404 Media Podcast is up! This week:
- how Grokipedia will never beat the human-powered Wikipedia
- the Windows 10 update environmental disaster
- subscribers-only: a16z's plan for a wholly AI-generated internet
Apple/Spotify/YouTube: https://www.404media.co/podcast-grokipedia-is-cringe/

2025-10-28 15:55:05 UTC

A Goodreads librarian went rogue, edited the site to expose "censorship in favor of Trump fascism." To hear them tell it, Goodreads was removing criticism of Trump’s book from the site.
https://www.404media.co/rogue-goodreads-librarian-edits-site-to-expose-censorship-in-favor-of-trump-fascism/

2025-10-24 18:13:35 UTC

So an a16z-backed startup called Doublespeed promises clients can “orchestrate actions on thousands of social accounts through both bulk content creation and deployment.”
It's basically a spam operation then
https://www.404media.co/a16z-backed-startup-sells-thousands-of-synthetic-influencers-to-manipulate-social-media-as-a-service/

2025-10-23 16:02:52 UTC

"Hold onto your butts, because one day you might be breathing through them." https://www.404media.co/breathing-through-our-butts-declared-safe-after-first-human-trial/

2025-10-23 13:01:07 UTC

New: a $60 mod to Meta's Ray-Ban glasses disables the privacy LED light. This is supposed to light when people are filming with the glasses. We bought the mod, verified it works. Now you can never be sure whether someone wearing Meta Ray-Bans is filming you or not
https://www.404media.co/how-to-disable-meta-rayban-led-light/

2025-10-14 22:08:22 UTC

openai to finally acknowledge what has been driving the AI boom for years and years but no one really wants to admit: chatbots you can fuck https://www.404media.co/chatgpt-erotica-age-gating-verified-adults/

2025-10-07 13:08:18 UTC

New from 404 Media: police used a nationwide network of Flock cameras to search for a woman who self-administered an abortion, said it was for her 'safety'. But new docs show they considered charging her with a crime as part of a 'death investigation' into the fetus
https://www.404media.co/police-said-they-surveilled-woman-who-had-an-abortion-for-her-safety-court-records-show-they-considered-charging-her-with-a-crime/

2025-09-30 15:17:21 UTC

In an unhinged speech, Pete Hesgeth says he's tired of "fat troops" and says the U.S. military needs to go full AI
https://www.404media.co/in-unhinged-speech-pete-hegseth-says-hes-tired-of-fat-troops-says-military-needs-to-go-full-ai/

2025-08-18 14:19:17 UTC

Grok is exposing the underlying prompts for its AI personas, including such commands as “BE FUCKING UNHINGED AND CRAZY. COME UP WITH INSANE IDEAS. GUYS JERKING OFF, OCCASIONALLY EVEN PUTTING THINGS IN YOUR ASS, WHATEVER IT TAKES TO SURPRISE THE HUMAN.”
https://www.404media.co/grok-exposes-underlying-prompts-for-its-ai-personas-even-putting-things-in-your-ass/

2025-08-14 21:09:35 UTC

Mastodon is very clearly the social network where people try to bypass our freewall, much more than any other social network. We explain why we have this in a 3000 word article here; it's to stop AI scrapers from ripping off our work (it has been effective) and to ensure we build a sustainable business so we can continue to do impactful investigative journalism (we are doing this). This is not an issue on other networks, it is specifically Mastodon https://www.404media.co/why-404-media-needs-your-email-address/

2025-08-13 14:48:56 UTC

The LAPD is interested in a tool that uses AI to geolocate any photo, not just those taken on the street but also inside buildings with no windows https://www.404media.co/lapd-eyes-geospy-an-ai-tool-that-can-geolocate-photos-in-seconds/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/022/005/830/197/882/original/f4051d4d7bb3c104.mp4

2025-08-12 17:13:07 UTC

The UK says to save water maybe you should delete your old emails https://www.404media.co/uk-asks-people-to-delete-emails-in-order-to-save-water-during-drought/

2025-08-07 20:55:50 UTC

A CBP agent wore Meta smart glasses to an immigration raid:
https://www.404media.co/a-cbp-agent-wore-meta-smart-glasses-to-an-immigration-raid-in-los-angeles/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/114/989/473/657/911/201/original/d2639c4c57577ebc.mp4

2025-08-06 20:37:39 UTC

New from 404 Media: ICE is buying iris scanning tech for its deportation arm. Usually this tech, called MORIS and IRIS, is used by Sheriff's Offices to identify known people. Now ICE says it is buying it for Enforcement and Removal Operations, which does deportations https://www.404media.co/ice-is-buying-mobile-iris-scanning-tech-for-its-deportation-arm/

2025-08-06 15:10:29 UTC

Constitution sections on due process and foreign gifts just vanished from Congress' website
Include provisions such as habeas corpus, forbidding the naming of titles of nobility, and forbidding foreign emoluments for U.S. officials. https://www.404media.co/constitution-sections-on-due-process-and-foreign-gifts-just-vanished-from-congress-website/

2025-07-25 15:20:46 UTC

New from 404 Media: viral woman's dating safety app Tea breached. 4chan taking peoples' uploaded photos, used to verify its a woman-only app. App recently hit no. 1 in App Store. “DRIVERS LICENSES AND FACE PICS! GET THE FUCK IN HERE BEFORE THEY SHUT IT DOWN!” https://www.404media.co/women-dating-safety-app-tea-breached-users-ids-posted-to-4chan/

2025-07-24 14:05:53 UTC

New from 404 Media: LeBron James' lawyers send cease-and-desist to AI company making pregnant videos of him. Marks one of the first known times that a celebrity has threatened legal action against an AI company for enabling nonconsensual AI imagery of their likeness https://www.404media.co/lebron-james-lawyers-send-cease-and-desist-to-ai-company-making-pregnant-videos-of-him/

2025-07-16 13:37:43 UTC

This is the real future of AI: ordering mid chicken at Bojangles through an AI-powered assistant.
"This is how a new technology takes over, what it feels like right before it becomes ubiquitous. One day you wake up and the cameras are everywhere"
https://www.404media.co/the-real-future-of-ai-is-ordering-mid-chicken-at-bojangles/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/114/863/143/196/884/950/original/fde534f054a01db6.mp4

2025-07-15 02:04:16 UTC

New from 404 Media: we spoke to the researcher who found hackers can remotely trigger brakes on American trains. Says was ignored for years, DHS confirmed. "All of the knowledge to generate the exploit already exists on the internet, AI could even build it for you." https://www.404media.co/hackers-can-remotely-trigger-the-brakes-on-american-trains-and-the-problem-has-been-ignored-for-years/

2025-06-26 16:45:07 UTC

New from 404 Media: ICE is using a new facial recognition app to identify people, leaked emails show. Point camera at person, reveal their identity. It uses the CBP system that records peoples' faces as they enter or exit the U.S. Now, turned inwards to be used by ICE https://www.404media.co/ice-is-using-a-new-facial-recognition-app-to-identify-people-leaked-emails-show/

2025-06-17 14:26:26 UTC

The people search sites listed in notebook of the suspected Minnesota killer are a failure of congress. Lawmakers moved before when a stalker got the address of an actor and murdered her. People search sites meanwhile are a Google search away and present constant risk https://www.404media.co/the-people-search-sites-in-the-suspected-minnesota-killers-notebook-are-a-failure-of-congress/

2025-06-08 22:35:58 UTC

Another flight of an aircraft with no call sign circling above anti-ICE protests. It took off from March Air Reserve Base, circled above Paramount, and is now circling above downtown LA (the National Guard is moving protesters away from the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown)
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/114/650/130/346/402/402/original/401c3e58a9aa8031.png

2025-06-08 03:48:49 UTC

A plane with no call sign is currently circling the area where the LA anti-ICE protests are taking place. It took off from March Air Reserve Base
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/114/645/697/939/767/157/original/950a00a82f4908ba.png
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/114/645/698/178/570/363/original/f15b6a984f18a919.png

2025-06-06 16:48:52 UTC

In leaked audio we obtained, surveillance company Flock calls me an "activist reporter". I wrote about that here, and here is what the audio said: https://www.404media.co/behind-the-blog-activism-and-evangelism/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/114/637/439/523/530/437/original/81da5ffcd03c864c.png
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/114/637/439/546/325/845/original/af12aa9b5abbe659.png

2025-06-04 17:05:18 UTC

New from 404 Media: Apple gave governments data related to thousands of push notifications. Governments request this data in attempt to identify person behind devices. Sometimes include unencrypted push notification content https://www.404media.co/apple-gave-governments-data-on-thousands-of-push-notifications/

2025-06-02 15:07:51 UTC

We spoke to 15 teachers about how AI and ChatGPT is ruining their lives. "Honestly, if we ejected all the genAI tools into the sun, I would be quite pleased."
https://www.404media.co/teachers-are-not-ok-ai-chatgpt/

2025-06-02 13:43:15 UTC

New from 404 Media: even mods of a pro-AI subreddit are having to ban mentally unwell users who believe ChatGPT is letting them talk to God, etc. https://www.404media.co/pro-ai-subreddit-bans-uptick-of-users-who-suffer-from-ai-delusions/

2025-05-28 18:14:57 UTC

A new tool has scraped YouTube comments, lets harassers or anyone else search for a specific user, use AI to approximate where the person might be from based on their comments. Developer says it's for cops, but there are no checks. We signed up and used it https://www.404media.co/developer-builds-tool-that-scrapes-youtube-comments-uses-ai-to-predict-where-users-live/

2025-05-27 14:30:38 UTC

New: a16z-backed AI platform Civitai has banned AI models depicting likeness of real people. This is a major development considering making AIs of other people is what a ton of Civitai's users do. Comes after pressure from payment processor and 404 Media’s reporting https://www.404media.co/civitai-ban-of-real-people-content-deals-major-blow-to-the-nonconsensual-ai-porn-ecosystem/

2025-05-26 17:10:19 UTC

New from 404 Media: the CIA secretly ran a Star Wars fan website. Was part of the network of sites the CIA used to communicate with sources. Iran discovered the network, imprisoned people. Later dozens died in China after exposed https://www.404media.co/the-cia-secretly-ran-a-star-wars-fan-site/

2025-05-23 13:33:47 UTC

New from 404 Media: authors are getting caught leaving AI prompts in their novels, telling the AI to follow someone else's style. We bought a copy to confirm.
https://www.404media.co/authors-are-accidentally-leaving-ai-prompts-in-their-novels/

2025-05-22 14:34:15 UTC

New from 404 Media: iconic hacking con HOPE has sold 50% fewer tickets this year, with event just a few months away. Organizers say it's due to U.S. immigration crackdown. A speaker already pulled out, said friends' devices seized at border. Will impact the event https://www.404media.co/hacker-conference-hope-says-fewer-people-buying-tickets-because-u-s-immigration-crackdown/

2025-05-20 20:45:58 UTC

New from 404 Media: Trump just said his "Golden Dome" project would start soon.
Scientists we've spoken to say it's pure fantasy.
https://www.404media.co/scientists-explain-why-trumps-175-billion-golden-dome-is-a-fantasy/

2025-05-20 14:17:31 UTC

New from 404 Media: Civitai, the AI model sharing site backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is allowing users to AI generate nonconsensual porn of real people, despite the site’s policies against this type of content https://www.404media.co/configuration-issue-allows-civitai-users-to-ai-generate-nonconsensual-porn-videos/