Jason Koebler

Jason Koebler

Jason is a cofounder of 404 Media. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Motherboard. He loves the Freedom of Information Act and surfing.
310 posts
Trump Fires National Archives Director Colleen Shogan
archives

Trump Fires National Archives Director Colleen Shogan

“This evening, President Trump fired me. No cause or reason was cited."
'For Immediate Compliance': FEMA Workers Responding to Wildfires Ordered to Say 'Alien' Instead of 'Immigrant'
FEMA

'For Immediate Compliance': FEMA Workers Responding to Wildfires Ordered to Say 'Alien' Instead of 'Immigrant'

"This is the most 1984 email I've ever seen," one worker said.
National Archives Workers Unsure If Marco Rubio Has Secretly Been Their Boss for Weeks
archives

National Archives Workers Unsure If Marco Rubio Has Secretly Been Their Boss for Weeks

The current Archivist of the United States held an all-hands this week in which she still seemed to be in charge, 404 Media has learned.
DOGE Employees Ordered to Stop Using Slack While Agency Transitions to a Records System Not Subject to FOIA
DOGE

DOGE Employees Ordered to Stop Using Slack While Agency Transitions to a Records System Not Subject to FOIA

Employees at Elon Musk's agency have been told "OMB is asking us to stop generating new slack messages starting now."
‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government
News

‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government

404 Media has obtained audio of a meeting held by Thomas Shedd, a Musk-associate who is now heading a team of government coders. In the call one employee pushed back and said one of the planned moves is an “illegal task.”
Here's a PDF Version of the CIA Guide to Sabotaging Fascism
open source

Here's a PDF Version of the CIA Guide to Sabotaging Fascism

A 404 Media reader made a PDF version of the World War II-era manual that's going viral right now.
‘Forbidden Words’: Github Reveals How Software Engineers Are Purging Federal Databases
Github

‘Forbidden Words’: Github Reveals How Software Engineers Are Purging Federal Databases

A project called "Remove-DEI" shows the tweaks used to remove "forbidden words" from a database about childhood school readiness.
The CDC’s Website Is Being Actively Purged to Comply With Trump DEI Order
News

The CDC’s Website Is Being Actively Purged to Comply With Trump DEI Order

“CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders.“
Musk’s DOGE Brings in HR Consultant Focused on ‘Non-Woke’ DEI 'Aligned With Our Faith’
News

Musk’s DOGE Brings in HR Consultant Focused on ‘Non-Woke’ DEI 'Aligned With Our Faith’

“It’s simply just a non-woke version, offering employers an alternative approach to diversity and inclusion.”
'Everything I Say Leaks,' Zuckerberg Says in Leaked Meeting Audio
Meta

'Everything I Say Leaks,' Zuckerberg Says in Leaked Meeting Audio

"There are a bunch of things that I think are value-destroying for me to talk about, so I’m not going to talk about those."
Archivists Work to Identify and Save the Thousands of Datasets Disappearing From Data.gov
Data.gov

Archivists Work to Identify and Save the Thousands of Datasets Disappearing From Data.gov

More than 2,000 datasets have disappeared from data.gov since Trump was inaugurated. But analyzing exactly what happened and where it went is going to take some time.
Trump Admin Deletes Video Explaining Grammatical Concept of Pronouns in War Against DEI
archiving

Trump Admin Deletes Video Explaining Grammatical Concept of Pronouns in War Against DEI

Github is also revealing a widespread, scattershot effort to nuke not only "DEI" but things that have nothing to do with it.