I Almost Lost My Mind in the Bridal Algorithm
As a #2026Bride, the constant, aggressive content started to make me feel like I was losing sight of what mattered. And I'm far from alone.
News
FAA Scraps Civil and Criminal Penalties for Flying Drones Near ICE Vehicles
You won’t go to jail for filming ICE with a drone, but the government may still shoot it down and it expanded the list of protected agencies to include the Department of Justice.
The Abstract
The Destroyed Remnants of a Lost World Are Falling to Earth, Scientists Discover
A rare class of meteorites called angrites likely come from a strange protoplanet that was catastrophically destroyed in the early solar system, leaving only fragmentary remnants.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Jazz and Journalism
This week, we discuss the Madonna-whore algorithm, reader tips, and jazz.
Deepfakes
App Stores Push Users Toward Nudify Apps, New Research Shows
Findings from the Tech Transparency Project claim that Google and Apple’s app stores not only host harmful apps that can undress images of women, but encourage users to find them.
I Almost Lost My Mind in the Bridal Algorithm
As a #2026Bride, the constant, aggressive content started to make me feel like I was losing sight of what mattered. And I'm far from alone.
Impact
Thomson Reuters Shareholders Demand Investigation into ICE Contracts
The shareholders explicitly cited multiple 404 Media investigations, including one that showed Thomson Reuters' CLEAR is integrated with a tool ICE uses to find neighborhoods to target.
News
Ukraine Says Russians are Surrendering to Robots
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pitching his country as a global leader in robots for war and defense. Will the world listen?
FOIA
Emails Reveal Space Force’s Hardest Mission Is Writing a Song
Internal Space Force emails obtained by 404 Media show the work it takes to have a government agency make a new theme song. A general even wanted to start the whole thing over again.
Podcast
Podcast: How the FBI Extracted Deleted Signal Messages
How a phone's notification database can store messages deleted elsewhere; the continued data center pushback; and Marathon, Marathon, Marathon.
ICE
Thomson Reuters Fired Worker For Speaking Out About ICE, Former Employee Says
“When I saw evidence that our products were being used to harm people and undermine the law, I did what anyone should do—I raised the alarm. Thomson Reuters’ response was to fire me.”
AI
Airbnb Hosts Don't Want to Talk to Guests Anymore, Are Outsourcing Messages to AI
An entire industry of companies offers Airbnb hosts AI to speak to guests on their behalf. 404 Media poked around the industry after one AI tool offered a guest a recipe for French toast.
News
Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out, According to an Independent Audit
“This is the Strait of Hormuz in the data economy. If you want to make a change, this is where you cut it off. Anything short of that is theatrical political posture.”