News
Iran Is Winning the AI Slop Propaganda War
“White House videos—AI or otherwise—are like group-chat in-jokes aimed at keeping cohesion.”
FOIA
The Air Force Bought a Surveillance-Focused AI Chatbot
The chatbot, which has entered a test phase, is designed for intelligence analysts to ask questions about aerial and surveillance imagery.
Baltimore
The Amateur Bridge Engineers Have Logged On
In Baltimore, we have a mix of official information, verifiable information obtained via reporting, random speculation from well-meaning experts, random speculation from well-meaning amateurs, actively bad conspiracy theories.
Announcements
404 Media Now Has a Full Text RSS Feed
We paid for the development of full text RSS feeds for Ghost-based publishers. Now we can offer them to our paid subscribers, and other Ghost sites can use the service too.
News
Samsung-Backed AI Image Generator Produces Nonconsensual Porn
Leonardo AI, which recently raised $31 million and is one of the most popular AI image generators online, can easily be used to produce nonconsensual porn.
Most Popular Reddit User of All Time Posts Hundreds of Lewd Waifus Per Day
The most popular Redditor of all time exclusively posts anime art on small subreddits.
age verification
Age Verification Laws Drag Us Back to the Dark Ages of the Internet
Invasive and ineffective age verification laws that require users show government-issued ID, like a driver's license or passport, are passing like wildfire across the U.S.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Coffee in Keyboards and Venture Capitalists
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss coffee in keyboards, OSINT and cybersecurity tools, and what venture capitalists will be left with once they've bought up all the good websites.
Texas Sues xHamster and Chaturbate
Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the porn sites after having also sued Pornhub, complaining that the sites are not complying with Texas' age verification law.
Apple
Green Bubble Vindication: DOJ Antitrust Lawsuit Says Apple Is Causing Android Users 'Social Stigma'
"This social pressure reinforces switching costs and drives users to continue buying iPhones—solidifying Apple’s smartphone dominance not because Apple has made its smartphone better, but because it has made communicating with other smartphones worse."
Court documents
Here's the U.S. Government's Antitrust Case Against Apple
Here are the court documents for the DOJ's antitrust case against Apple.
Deadspin
Deadspin Is Becoming a Gambling Referral Site
"We aim to be able to support delivery of this via partnerships within the sports betting industry."
News
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Discriminates Against Short Kings, Gamers Lose Their Minds
A 690 posts-long Steam discussion accuses players of pedophilia and “woke subversion.”