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.”
News
AI-Generated Kara Swisher Biographies Flood Amazon
Why Read Swisher’s Burn Book when you can read KARA SWISHER : The Heroic Biography of a defining force in Tech Journalism (The Silicon Valley’s most powerful tech journalist).
tumblr
Tumblr and WordPress to Sell Users’ Data to Train AI Tools
Internal documents obtained by 404 Media show that Tumblr staff compiled users' data as part of a deal with Midjourney and OpenAI.
News
Ghost Kitchens Are Advertising AI-Generated Food on DoorDash and Grubhub
Reality bending, AI-generated cheesesteaks and pasta dishes are flooding food delivery services.
Podcast
Podcast: Byron Tau on the New U.S. Surveillance State
We're trying out a new interview episode for the podcast! Our first guest is investigative journalist and author Byron Tau on the adtech surveillance industry.
pornhub
Texas Sues Pornhub, Claiming It’s Ignoring Age Verification Law
Attorney General Ken Paxton said he "looks forward" to preventing minors from seeing "harmful, obscene material" on the internet.
FOIA
Police Bodycam Shows Sheriff Hunting for 'Obscene' Books at Library
Body camera footage from Idaho reveals a sheriff hunting for a YA book he could use for a political stunt.
AI
Romance Authors Riled by 'From Meet-Bot to AI-Do' Writing Workshop
A chapter of the Romance Writers of America organization planned a program called “From Meet-Bot to AI-Do: Crafting Romances in the Realm of AI," but it's since been scrubbed from the site after backlash from authors.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: VICE’s Legacy and the Idea That ‘The Internet Is Forever’
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 reflect on VICE's legacy, archiving, and whether the internet is really forever.
FOIA Forum
Our Third FOIA Forum! 3/6, 2PM EST
We are hosting our third FOIA Forum at the start of March. Join the livestream, file FOIAs with us, get tips, and more.
Reddit: 'We Are in the Early Stages of Monetizing Our User Base'
Reddit's filing with the SEC makes clear that training AI with user posts is a core part of Reddit's new business model.
Courtwatch
Darknet Drug Dealers Arrested After Packages of Meth-Laced Adderall Repeatedly Returned to Sender
'Professional Paper Filing Inc.' was a fictitious name. But the return address went to a real, uninvolved business.
Impact
FTC Fines Avast $16.5 Million For Selling Browsing Data Harvested by Antivirus
I previously revealed that Jumpshot, part of the cybersecurity company Avast, was selling products based on users’ browsing data harvested by its antivirus software. Now the FTC has issued a multimillion dollar fine in response.