Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Brainrot and Brain Power Hours
This week, we discuss the death of Mr. Deepfakes, introducing kids to the Manosphere, and working on big, difficult, high-brain-power scoops.
News
Man ‘Disappeared’ by ICE Was on El Salvador Flight Manifest, Hacked Data Shows
Ricardo Prada Vásquez was not on a government list of people sent to a mega prison in El Salvador. But hacked data shows he was booked on a flight to the country.
News
Well, Well, Well: Meta to Add Facial Recognition To Glasses After All
Meta previously lost its shit at 404 Media when we reported that someone had paired facial recognition tech with the company's smart glasses. Now Meta is building the invasive technology itself.
News
Signal Clone TeleMessage Deleted Video About How It Works—Here’s What It Said
A hacker compromised TeleMessage, a company that provides Signal chat archiving services to the Trump administration. TeleMessage has now hidden a video on YouTube that explained its Signal service.
Podcast
Podcast: The Trump Admin's Signal Clone Was Hacked
Our massive story about the TeleMessage hack; hackers targeted an airline used by ICE too; and the closure of Mr. Deepfakes.
Impact
Senator Demands Investigation into Trump Admin Signal Clone After 404 Media Investigation
404 Media reported on Sunday a hacker had got users' messages and group chats from TeleMessage. Now Senator Ron Wyden is demanding an investigation.
News
GlobalX, Airline for Trump’s Deportations, Hacked
Hackers say they have obtained what they say are passenger lists for GlobalX flights from January to this month. The data appears to include people who have been deported.
News
The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked
TeleMessage, a company that makes a modified version of Signal that archives messages for government agencies, was hacked.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: The News Hits Different
This week, we discuss eyebrow-raising apps, more media mess, and lovingly gazing at AI slop.
News
Mike Waltz Accidentally Reveals Obscure App the Government Is Using to Archive Signal Messages
A photograph of Trump administration official Mike Waltz's phone shows him using an unofficial version of Signal designed to archive messages during a cabinet meeting.
News
‘TheTrillionDollarDinner.Gov’ Registered Around Time of Trump’s Pay-to-Play Memecoin Dinner Announcement
Other official government domains included DinnerForAmerica.gov and TheTrillion.Gov, and signal that there may have been plans to incorporate official government internet infrastructure with the meme coin investment dinner.
Podcast
Podcast: Meta's AI Chatbots Are a Disaster
Meta's wild AI chatbots; a wildly unethical piece of research on Reddit; and the age of realtime deepfake fraud is here.