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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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
• 
  

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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

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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?

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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

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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.

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