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: [email protected]

Public Key

npub1n2yd9u680fy6ux6uf7sdkrh387yv3f8jfn5mp4q5ffpuw8mm88uqucqlcl

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsf4zxj7drh5jdwrdwylgxmpmcnlzxg5neye6ds6s2y5s78raann7qpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsl028as

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1n2yd9u680fy6ux6uf7sdkrh387yv3f8jfn5mp4q5ffpuw8mm88uqucqlcl

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-05-15 16:06:44 GMT

ArXiv is going to ban researchers for a year if they are caught submitting AI slop. ArXiv told us it's a one strike rule: do it once, you're out.
https://www.404media.co/new-arxiv-rules-ai-generated-papers-ban/

2026-03-19 14:47:56 GMT

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/

2026-03-05 20:39:24 GMT

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/

2026-02-18 17:44:09 GMT

New from 404 Media: Palantir says the immigration crackdown may hurt its ability to hire talent. This is while Palantir, at the same time, provides the technological infrastructure powering the Trump administration's mass deportation effort, including tools for ICE https://www.404media.co/palantir-which-is-powering-ice-says-immigration-crackdown-may-hurt-hiring/

2026-01-27 17:12:30 GMT

Many (most?) UK users soon won't be able to access Pornhub at all, in response to the country's age verification law. “We have seen six months of failure out of the United Kingdom, [...] because the law is failing.”
https://www.404media.co/uk-pornhub-blocked-age-verification-vpn/

2026-01-20 17:43:35 GMT

Feds have created a drone no fly zone that will stop people from filming ICE. It's not just above stationary facilities, but convoys of vehicles too.
https://www.404media.co/feds-create-drone-no-fly-zone-that-would-stop-people-filming-ice/

2026-01-20 17:41:14 GMT

Here's our interview with Wikipedia's CTO on how the crucial resource will survive in the age of AI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39LR9ouJR3c

2026-01-19 14:31:42 GMT

New from 404 Media: ICE's facial recognition app, which the agency is using to decide who to detain and deport, misidentified a woman. Twice.
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
https://www.404media.co/ices-facial-recognition-app-misidentified-a-woman-twice/

2026-01-16 17:42:33 GMT

I wrote more about putting the puzzle of Palantir and ICE together, why it feels like we're all dealing with different corners of the jigsaw
https://www.404media.co/behind-the-blog-putting-the-puzzle-together/

2026-01-15 19:19:42 GMT

There's a lootboox with rare Pokemon cards sitting in the Pentagon food court. Thanks to a company called Lucky Box Vending, anyone passing through the center of American military power can pay to win a piece of randomized memorabilia from a machine https://www.404media.co/theres-a-lootbox-with-rare-pokemon-cards-sitting-in-the-pentagon-food-court/

2026-01-15 14:36:48 GMT

New from 404 Media: lawmakers are proposing legislation that would dramatically rein in ICE's facial recognition app Mobile Fortify. Scan face, queries government databases to verify citizenship. Legislation in response to us revealing the app's existence last year
https://www.404media.co/new-legislation-would-rein-in-ices-facial-recognition-app/

2026-01-15 14:06:22 GMT

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 16:59:15 GMT

When self-employed software engineer Nick Benson put out the call for dashcams online, he thought he’d get maybe 10 people to donate. More than 500 have shown up on his front porch. Here's how one guy crowdsourced 500+ dashcams for Minneapolis to film ICE https://www.404media.co/how-one-guy-crowdsourced-more-than-500-dashcams-for-minneapolis-to-film-ice/

2026-01-14 15:55:08 GMT

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/

2026-01-14 14:27:57 GMT

Here is our breakdown of Webloc, the phone surveillance tool ICE has bought which lets the agency track phones in entire neighborhoods. See phones it has data on in an area, follow them home or to work, see the exact route they took https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rurJo6vPhUY

2026-01-13 15:54:37 GMT

New from 404 Media: police have unwittingly unmasked millions of their surveillance targets because of a Flock redaction error. Police didn't redact specific license plates in public record releases. A site is now making that information searchable, 2.3 million plates https://www.404media.co/police-unmask-millions-of-surveillance-targets-because-of-flock-redaction-error/

2026-01-09 15:27:16 GMT

In Musk's latest masterful gambit, instead of putting a stop to the wave of sexual abuse imagery generated by Grok, he's attempting to monetize it instead by only letting paying subscribers generate images in replies. This isn't curbing abuse, it's profiting off it https://www.404media.co/x-premium-grok-paywall-images-ai-generator/

2026-01-08 14:03:56 GMT

New from 404 Media: we've obtained material explaining how an ICE surveillance system, called Webloc, works. Draw shape on a map, see all phones available there, follow them home. All without warrant
“This is a very dangerous tool in the hands of an out-of-control agency.” https://www.404media.co/inside-ices-tool-to-monitor-phones-in-entire-neighborhoods/

2026-01-07 22:27:13 GMT

New: DHS is lying to you.
At least four videos show what really happened when ICE shot a woman in Minneapolis. Shots clearly fired while vehicle already turning away from the officer. But DHS lied. Trump lied. Noem lied. Even judges have catalogued DHS' serial lying
https://www.404media.co/dhs-is-lying-to-you-about-ice-shooting-a-woman/

2026-01-07 15:22:49 GMT

Grok is being used to remove clothes from random peoples' photos. Journalists think they got the chatbot to 'apologize'. What are you doing? An LLM cannot apologize. It doesn't know what is happening. Journalists doing this is a form of AI psychosis. Full ep here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT9lEyHnZIk
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/854/497/475/338/185/original/f15a3a3a570efeb3.mp4

2026-01-06 14:05:00 GMT

Today ICE is allowed to resume using Medicaid data in deportation cases. The transfer of Medicaid data to ICE was unprecedented and put on hold. It's now back. We've uploaded the data sharing agreement here: https://www.404media.co/here-is-the-agreement-giving-ice-medicaid-patients-data/

2026-01-05 23:15:00 GMT

The Hilton Hotel that refused reservations from DHS officials has now backpedalled and said it will accommodate them. Came after DHS X account posted emails. For years the right coalesced around businesses being able to refuse customers of certain demographics
https://www.404media.co/hilton-hotel-that-refused-dhs-reservations-backpedals/

2026-01-05 22:25:33 GMT

I was hoping when large media covered Mobile Fortify, the ICE facial app we revealed in June, it would add substantial information. Instead this front page WSJ piece rehashes our reporting, presents it as new attributed to officials, and forgets to capitalize M in 404 Media.
I have covered this app for months, showing where it gets data from, how it is being used on American streets, and DHS's plan to roll out a stripped down version to local police. You wouldn't get that impression from reading this piece, it would appear new to you.
You can read our original coverage here (this is about half of it):
https://www.404media.co/ice-is-using-a-new-facial-recognition-app-to-identify-people-leaked-emails-show/
https://www.404media.co/you-cant-refuse-to-be-scanned-by-ices-facial-recognition-app-dhs-document-says/
https://www.404media.co/inside-ices-supercharged-facial-recognition-app-of-200-million-images/
https://www.404media.co/cbp-quietly-launches-face-scanning-app-for-local-cops-to-do-immigration-enforcement/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/844/836/200/731/277/original/abdea4dd89a539cd.png

2026-01-05 15:13:12 GMT

We finally bought 404media.com. We couldn't afford this when we launched a couple of years ago, but it recently became available. You can read the transcript of some of the group call here: “This is so fucking stressful.” Only possible thanks to our subscribers.
https://www.404media.co/we-bought-404media-com/

2026-01-05 14:13:02 GMT

I recently interviewed Craig Silverman, a journalist who has covered fraud, disinformation, and scams for years. He often uses very interesting OSINT techniques. We talked all about that and how AI has shifted the OSINT landscape.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmj42F6HrPo

2025-12-23 00:01:07 GMT

https://www.404media.co/archivists-posted-the-60-minutes-cecot-segment-bari-weiss-killed/

2025-12-22 16:12:11 GMT

New from 404 Media: Flock exposed some of its AI-powered cameras to the internet. We know because we tracked ourselves with them. These cameras zoom in on passersby, sometimes so close we could read a random person's phone screen. Required no login to view cameras
https://www.404media.co/flock-exposed-its-ai-powered-cameras-to-the-internet-we-tracked-ourselves/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/764/095/638/464/327/original/e364560bea76963a.mp4

2025-12-19 16:34:41 GMT

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 20:54:50 GMT

Really good that the Oversight Democrats releasing Epstein dumps pushed out the latest photos with a Dropbox comment section that people are piling on
https://www.404media.co/the-government-added-a-comments-section-to-the-epstein-photo-dump/

2025-12-18 17:21:33 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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/

2025-12-13 15:50:19 GMT

New: here's how a U.S. citizen was scanned with ICE's facial recognition tech. Jesus Gutiérrez was stopped in Chicago by agents, he said he was a citizen. Still detained, put in a car. Only after they scanned his face did they let him go. From 404 Media and Reveal: https://www.404media.co/how-a-us-citizen-was-scanned-with-ices-facial-recognition-tech/

2025-12-11 20:34:17 GMT

You may have just heard about Anom, the FBI's secret startup for criminals, on an episode of the Search Engine podcast that aired last week. Coincidentally, the book all about that is on sale. DARK WIRE tells that story from the agents and crooks who were there https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Wire-Incredible-Largest-Operation/dp/1541702700
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/702/830/657/346/581/original/8a56d33c4d77e7e8.png

2025-12-11 16:59:07 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

“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 GMT

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 15:06:39 GMT

New from 404 Media: a man has been charged for allegedly wiping a Google Pixel phone before CBP could search it. Search was by a CBP Tactical Terrorism Response Team, which ACLU says "interrogate innocent travelers." Man is described as an activist online
https://www.404media.co/man-charged-for-wiping-phone-before-cbp-could-search-it/

2025-12-09 14:06:11 GMT

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 GMT

- 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 GMT

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 GMT

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/

2025-12-05 17:12:41 GMT

New from 404 Media: DHS’s immigrant-hunting app just got removed from the Google Play Store. Let’s local cops do facial recognition on people, app says to contact ICE or not. I’m told Google workers took issue with app in an internal report. We revealed app in Nov
https://www.404media.co/dhss-immigrant-hunting-app-removed-from-google-play-store/

2025-12-04 15:20:14 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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

2025-11-26 14:18:02 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 15:14:59 GMT

Players are roleplaying in Fortnite to teach each other their rights when encountering ICE officials
“I would slip [the warrant] under the door, but there’s no space under the door,” the agent says.
The civilian pauses. “Well. Sounds like a personal problem.”
https://www.404media.co/ice-defense-training-on-fortnite-new-save-collective/

2025-11-24 14:44:12 GMT

Here's the full conversation between @npub1nn0…qf5k 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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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 GMT

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

2025-11-18 20:57:42 GMT

- reply

this is only happening the past couple of days because our social person is AFK? I'm doing multiple jobs at the moment.

2025-11-18 19:35:03 GMT

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/

2025-11-18 18:44:43 GMT

New: the airlines (Delta, United, American, etc) will shut down a program in which it sold hundreds of millions of your flight records to government agencies, including ICE, FBI, ATF, more. Comes after intense lawmaker-pressure and 404 Media's months-long reporting
https://www.404media.co/airlines-will-shut-down-program-that-sold-your-flights-records-to-government/

2025-11-18 17:03:30 GMT

New: DHS claimed in court proceedings that nearly two weeks worth of surveillance footage from ICE’s Broadview Detention Center in suburban Chicago has been “irretrievably destroyed” and may not be able to be recovered. ACLU of Illinois said "Hoping DHS can explain"
https://www.404media.co/two-weeks-of-surveillance-footage-from-ice-detention-center-irretrievably-destroyed/

2025-11-18 16:07:58 GMT

New from 404 Media: IRS accessed a massive database of Americans flights without a warrant. Shows where and when someone flew, the credit card used. Hundreds of millions records; the airlines sell this data to the government through a broker they own
https://www.404media.co/irs-accessed-massive-database-of-americans-flights-without-a-warrant/

2025-11-18 15:08:54 GMT

New from 404 Media: a contractor is paying random people $300 to physically track immigrants for ICE. Spoke to people briefed on plans. This isn't licensed PIs/bounty hunters. These are just former police/military; members of public
"Something doesn't sound right"
https://www.404media.co/contractor-paying-random-people-300-to-physically-track-immigrants-for-ice/

2025-11-17 14:54:38 GMT

This was a really great conversation between 404 Media's Emanuel Maiberg and Bloomberg's Jason Schreier about the existential crisis facing the video game industry, and especially what is happening with Microsoft/Xbox https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ydF7hD6cFI

2025-11-17 14:31:23 GMT

New: this app lets ICE track vehicles and owners across the country. ICE uses phone to scan license plates, add to a database of billions of records. Thomson Reuters then enriches that with marriage, voter, other info. Can predict where a car will be in the future
https://www.404media.co/this-app-lets-ice-track-vehicles-and-owners-across-the-country/

2025-11-14 17:38:08 GMT

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/

2025-11-13 14:11:07 GMT

New: Google has chosen a side in Trump's mass deportation campaign. Google is hosting a CBP facial recognition app to hunt immigrants; no indication Google will remove. At same time Google takes down apps for reporting ICE sightings
“Big tech has made their choice”
https://www.404media.co/google-has-chosen-a-side-in-trumps-mass-deportation-effort/

2025-11-12 18:45:46 GMT

- reply

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

2025-11-12 17:54:46 GMT

Completely fake, and yet horrific, AI-generated videos of ICE raids are going viral on Facebook. This is what happens when the Facebook algorithm rewards AI slop. Here's an example, more in here: https://www.404media.co/ai-generated-videos-of-ice-raids-are-wildly-viral-on-facebook/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/538/005/490/675/960/original/01447ad9e18bb40e.mp4

2025-11-12 16:31:24 GMT

New: a judge has ruled that Flock surveillance images are public records that can be requested by anyone. Shows that at least in some cases, police cannot withhold the data collected by its surveillance systems.
https://www.404media.co/judge-rules-flock-surveillance-images-are-public-records-that-can-be-requested-by-anyone/

2025-11-12 16:09:05 GMT

New from 404 Media: ICE plans to spend as much as $180 million on bounty hunters to physically locate and stalk immigrants. I spoke to multiple private investigators/skip tracers. Some horrified. Others said they will do this work. "Money is money."
https://www.404media.co/ice-plans-to-spend-180-million-on-bounty-hunters-to-stalk-immigrants/

2025-11-12 14:34:23 GMT

The 404 Media Podcast is up! This week:
- inside a town's fight against a $1.2 billion AI data center
- how people are 3D-printing whistles to fight ICE
- subscribers: AI's war on knowledge
YouTube here. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, etc too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHk580uKwHw

2025-11-11 17:10:04 GMT

Behold: you can now see all 23 years of BYTE magazine in all its glory, all at once. Every issue on a single zoomable interface
https://www.404media.co/byte-magazine-zoomable-map-archive/

2025-11-11 15:22:55 GMT

DHS is deploying a powerful surveillance data sharing program at college football games
https://www.404media.co/dhs-is-deploying-a-powerful-surveillance-tool-at-college-football-games/

2025-11-11 15:17:23 GMT

DARK WIRE is in paperback today! The true story of how the FBI secretly ran a tech company for criminals to wiretap the world. "A tense, deep, beautifully told tale that could be a top-notch techno thriller... except it's all true." Available everywhere https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/joseph-cox/dark-wire/9781541702707/?lens=publicaffairs
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/531/724/260/526/202/original/15078384f9301a95.png

2025-11-11 14:03:26 GMT

A Danish Redditor was sentenced for posting nude scenes from copyrighted films. Was similar to massive subreddit r/WatchItForThePlot, where people post clips of nude scenes—almost always featuring female actors—out of context https://www.404media.co/danish-redditor-charged-klammerefyr-sedetforplottet/

2025-11-11 13:56:21 GMT

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/

2025-11-10 17:01:50 GMT

Our new FOIA Forum is next week, Weds 19th! In this hour+ live-streamed event, we'll show you how researchers got Flock "network audits," which show what cops are tapping into Flock's nationwide network of AI surveillance cameras for, including helping ICE
Details: https://www.404media.co/our-new-foia-forum-11-19-1pm-flock/

2025-11-10 14:49:44 GMT

New from 404 Media: a small town is fighting a $1.2 billion AI datacenter for America's nuclear weapon scientists. It is fighting the construction of a "high-performance computing facility" that would service a nuclear weapons laboratory 1,500 miles away.
https://www.404media.co/a-small-town-is-fighting-a-1-2-billion-ai-datacenter-for-americas-nuclear-weapon-scientists/

2025-11-10 14:15:30 GMT

DHS has built a facial recognition app for local cops to scan peoples' faces in an attempt to find immigrants. Says whether to detain the person or not https://www.404media.co/cbp-quietly-launches-face-scanning-app-for-local-cops-to-do-immigration-enforcement/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/525/819/350/614/393/original/b1aa71fd539558b1.mp4

2025-11-10 14:09:55 GMT

Here's our interview with the creators of Save Our Signs, a project to archive signs and placards from national parks as the Trump administration attempts to rewrite history by having many removed.
YouTube here, subscribe for an interview like this every week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrCElwgY5Co

2025-11-07 16:06:57 GMT

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/

2025-11-07 14:48:10 GMT

Today is last chance to get 20% off the paperback of my true crime book DARK WIRE, about how the FBI secretly ran a tech company for criminals to wiretap the world.
In a couple hours 404 Media subs will get the discount emailed to them. Buy here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/joseph-cox/dark-wire/9781541702707/?lens=publicaffairs
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/508/961/589/997/640/original/bc903650b83c1571.png

2025-11-06 16:27:52 GMT

Librarians told 404 Media they are being inundated with new pitches for AI library tech and catalogs are being flooded with AI slop books that they need to wade through. AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, academics
https://www.404media.co/ai-is-supercharging-the-war-on-libraries-education-and-human-knowledge/

2025-11-06 15:16:35 GMT

The FBI is trying to unmask the owner of infamous archiving site Archive.is, according to a subpoena the site posted. No other information given, the site quietly posted the document a few days ago. FBI telling domain registrar to hand over all sorts of ID'ing info
https://www.404media.co/fbi-tries-to-unmask-owner-of-infamous-archive-is-site/

2025-11-06 13:45:46 GMT

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 15:54:28 GMT

In less than a week (Nov 11) the paperback of DARK WIRE goes on sale. Updated epilogue with more details. The true story of how the FBI secretly ran a tech company to wiretap the world. 404 Media readers have a 20% discount code in email or on our podcast https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/joseph-cox/dark-wire/9781541702707/?lens=publicaffairs
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/497/897/700/194/619/original/017afe97e9094d70.png
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/497/897/703/317/881/original/718dc9f47142dfbd.png

2025-11-05 15:43:19 GMT

Essentially every time we write about abuse of Meta's Ray-Ban AI glasses, Meta tries to convince us the glasses are no different from an iPhone. Here's a helpful guide for Meta PR about the difference between AI glasses and phones 😊
https://www.404media.co/whats-the-difference-between-ai-glasses-and-an-iphone-a-helpful-guide-for-meta-pr/

2025-11-05 14:13:54 GMT

The 404 Media Podcast is up! This week
- the $60 mod that disables the privacy-protecting light in Meta Ray-Ban smartglasses
- how people are harassing others with the glasses
- subscribers: the future of AI powered advertising
Apple/Spotify/Youtube: https://www.404media.co/podcast-people-are-modding-meta-ray-bans-to-spy-on-you/

2025-11-05 14:07:04 GMT

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 17:44:50 GMT

New from 404 Media: CBP has quietly launched a facial recognition app for local cops to do immigration enforcement. Scans their face, tells cops whether to contact ICE about this person or not. A truly rapid expansion of ICE's facial recognition app to local cops
https://www.404media.co/cbp-quietly-launches-face-scanning-app-for-local-cops-to-do-immigration-enforcement/