Podcast
Podcast: This is It. The Deepfake Reckoning
This week we have a banger episode on AI and what the future holds in a potential overcorrection of the space. Then we talk about how an Iranian linked drug trafficker hired a Hells Angel member to perform a hit on U.S. soil. Yep.
News
Binance Code and Internal Passwords Exposed on GitHub for Months
A takedown request said the GitHub account was “hosting and distributing leaks of internal code which poses significant risk to BINANCE.”
News
How a Single ‘Pig Butchering’ Scam Netted $40 Million
Pig butchering scams—in which fraudsters continuously extract money from a target—are a multibillion dollar epidemic. Court records show that just one scam operation can make at least tens of millions of dollars.
News
Encrypted Phone ‘Sky’ Linked to Murder-for-Hire Plot in Maryland
Sky was an encrypted phone used by drug traffickers and other criminals. Now, those phones are linked to a murder-for-hire scheme on U.S. soil involving an arm of the Iranian state.
Announcements
We Need Your Email Address
AI stealing our work. The collapse of social networks. The need to pay journalists to produce impactful journalism. Here is why we are asking for your email address to read 404 Media.
Podcast
Podcast: Why Google Is Shit Now
This week we go long on Google News and AI, and why Google Search is worse now. We also discuss a phone spy tool that can monitor billions.
Features
Inside a Global Phone Spy Tool Monitoring Billions
A wide-spanning investigation by 404 Media reveals more details about a secretive spy tool that can tracks billions of phone profiles through the advertising industry called Patternz. Google has taken action in response to 404 Media's inquiries.
News
Feds Charge Alleged ‘TLO’ Underground Data Broker
In August we revealed the secret weapon hackers can use to dox nearly anyone in America for $15. Now, authorities have targeted at least one of the data sellers.
News
Google News Is Boosting Garbage AI-Generated Articles
404 Media reviewed multiple examples of AI rip-offs making their way into Google News. Google said it doesn't focus on how an article was produced—by an AI or human—opening the way for more AI-generated articles.
Podcast
Podcast: Google Finally Endorses Right to Repair
This week we talk right to repair, an online dating lawsuit, and a follow-up to the spread of AI-enabled surveillance cameras around the country.
News
Is Your Local Police Department Using Fusus AI-Enabled Cameras? Find Out Here
404 Media has obtained a new dataset which shows the spread of Fusus cameras across the country. Check the map to see if your local law enforcement agency has signed up.
News
Hackers Break into AI Hiring Chatbot, Could Hire and Reject Fast Food Applicants
Chat logs sent to 404 Media show the chatbot automatically denying at least one applicant on certain criteria.