News
Bodycam Shows Moment Cops Arrested a Man for Speaking Too Long at Data Center Meeting
We spoke to Darren Blanchard, the man arrested while speaking out against data centers at a community meeting. He's sharing the bodycam footage of his arrest for the first time with 404 Media.
Labor
‘No Laughing Matter:’ Clowns Sue Clowns.com for Wage Theft
Former employees of the party entertainer company say they are victims of stolen wages and misclassification. The federal lawsuit details claims of QAnon conspiracy theorist bosses and retaliation for discussing allegedly illegal practices with colleagues.
Podcast
Podcast: These Companies Say They're Using Microphone Audio to Target Ads
On this week's episode we discuss how marketers might actually be listening to conversations through smart devices. Here's everything we know.
AI
Largest Dataset Powering AI Images Removed After Discovery of Child Sexual Abuse Material
The model is a massive part of the AI-ecosystem, used by Stable Diffusion and other major generative AI products. The removal follows discoveries made by Stanford researchers, who found thousands instances of suspected child sexual abuse material in the dataset.
News
Verizon Gave Her Data to a Stalker. ‘This Has Completely Changed My Life’
A stalker haphazardly posing as a cop demanded sensitive data from Verizon. Verizon complied, and the stalker drove to an address armed with a knife. 404 Media spoke to the victim.
AI
Facebook Is Being Overrun With Stolen, AI-Generated Images That People Think Are Real
The once-prophesized future where cheap, AI-generated trash content floods out the hard work of real humans is already here, and is already taking over Facebook.
AI
Company Brags About Using Smart Device Microphone Audio to Target Ads on Their Podcast
MindSift is the tiny company that says it’s using device microphone data to target ads.
Twitter Now Showing Ads For Nonconsensual 'AI Undress' Apps
Elon Musk's X scrapes straight through the bottom of the barrel, continues digging.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Marketing Company Claims It's Listening To Your Convos
This week, we discuss the media giant that claimed to have technology that can actively listen to consumers through their devices.
News
Marketing Company Claims That It Actually Is Listening to Your Phone and Smart Speakers to Target Ads
“What would it mean for your business if you could target potential clients who are actively discussing their need for your services in their day-to-day conversations? No, it's not a Black Mirror episode—it's Voice Data, and CMG has the capabilities to use it to your business advantage.”
Security
Ubiquiti Users Somehow Being Fed Access to Strangers' Security Cameras
"This is not expected behavior," Ubiquiti said on Reddit.
medicine
Freezing My Eggs Felt Like Spinning a Slot Machine With My Ovaries
The cost of medications, testing, retrieval, and storage involved in egg freezing is just one series of numbers in a process and procedure that feels like a combination of math, alchemy, and luck.
inflation
Hackers Popped a Porn Site for Inflation Fetishists
InflateVids went down after it was hacked in what administrators say was a random attack.