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.
The Abstract
The Dude Whose Brain Turned to Glass
He was hanging out in an ancient Roman port town 2,000 years ago, when something struck him (a deadly volcanic eruption).
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Stunt Blogging and the 'Fuck It' Paradigm
This week, we discuss stunt blogging, Signal pains, and murderous Reels.
Streaming
The Digital Packrat Manifesto
DRM and big tech's war on ownership has led me to make my own media libraries, and you should too.
News
Alibaba Releases Advanced Open Video Model, Immediately Becomes AI Porn Machine
It took about 24 hours for Alibaba’s Wan 2.1 to become popular in the AI porn community.
Instagram 'Error' Turned Reels Into Neverending Scroll of Murder, Gore, and Violence
“Today’s algorithm showed me around 70 murders, 100+ accidents, and around 115 violence videos, is anyone on Instagram noticing it?”
News
AT&T Hacker Tried to Sell Stolen Data to Foreign Government
A court document reviewed by 404 Media says Cameron John Wagenius also searched for “U.S. military personnel defecting to Russia.”
DeFlock
Flock Threatens Open Source Developer Mapping Its Surveillance Cameras
The surveillance camera company Flock sent DeFlock a cease-and-desist. DeFlock is fighting back.
Bluesky
Bluesky Deletes AI Protest Video of Trump Sucking Musk's Toes, Calls It 'Non-Consensual Explicit Material'
Bluesky has deleted the most viral post reporting on an internal government protest agains the President of the United States and the world's richest man.
Podcast
Podcast: The Rise of AI Book Ripoffs
A rip off summary of Joseph's book, an AI startup dehumanizing workers; and a very particular AI video of Musk and Trump.
AI
Y Combinator Supports AI Startup Dehumanizing Factory Workers
Optifye.ai's pitch includes a video where a "boss" yells at a "worker" by calling him a number, and sarcastically saying he's having a bad month.
Elon Musk
Former Heritage Foundation Staffer Orders Treasury Employees to Respond to Elon Musk’s Email
Treasury workers don't know who the person is or why he is sending emails from a "Secretary of the Treasury" email address.
Donald Trump
AI Video of Trump Sucking Musk's Toes Blasted on Government Office TVs
“LONG LIVE THE REAL KING," said the video showing an AI-generated Musk getting his feet sucked by Trump.