Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Resisting Demoralization
This week, we discuss history repeating itself, a phone wipe scandal, Meta's relationship with links and more.
News
In Unhinged Speech, Pete Hegseth Says He's Tired of ‘Fat Troops,’ Says Military Needs to Go Full AI
The Secretary of War lectured America’s generals on fitness standards, beards, and warriors for an hour.
advertising
Google Just Removed Seven Years of Political Advertising History from 27 Countries
Ahead of the European Union's Regulation on Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising, Google's Ad Transparency Center no longer shows political ads from any countries in the EU.
AI
18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It
Lawyers blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more.
News
Reddit Mods Sued by YouTuber Ethan Klein Fight Efforts to Unmask Them
Klein has attempted to subpoena Discord and Reddit for information that would reveal the identity of moderators of a subreddit critical of him. The moderators' lawyers fear their clients will be physically attacked if the subpoenas go through.
News
Landlords Demand Tenants’ Workplace Logins to Scrape Their Paystubs
Screenshots shared with 404 Media show tenant screening services ApproveShield and Argyle taking much more data than they need. “Opt-out means no housing.”
Features
How Ruby Went Off the Rails
What happened to RubyGems, Bundler, and the Open Source drama that controls the internet infrastructure.
The Abstract
Humanity’s Toxic Wreckage Is Teeming With Life, Scientists Discover
Though they leach toxic chemicals, submerged explosives from World War II attract algae, mussels, and fish in high numbers.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Behind 404 Media's ICE Lawsuit
This week, we discuss being journalism dorks, our new lawsuit against ICE, and working on bullshit.
The Abstract
Earth Was Mysteriously Thrown Off-Kilter In 2015. Now, Scientists Think They Know Why.
The sudden reduction in the Chandler wobble, a deviation between Earth’s axis and crust, may primarily originate in a powerful La Niña event, reports a new study.
david lynch
Pissed-off Fans Flooded the Twin Peaks Reddit With AI Slop To Protest Its AI Policies
Moderators reversed course on its open door AI policy after fans filled the subreddit with AI-generated Dale Cooper slop.
SIM Farm
The SIM Farm Hardware Seized by the Secret Service Is Also Popular With Ticket Scalpers
The tech the Secret Service claims can be used to "disable cell phone towers" is very commonly used by ticket scalpers to game Ticketmaster.
News
How Surveillance Firms Use ‘Democracy’ As a Cover for Serving ICE and Trump
Multiple Palantir and Flock sources say the companies are spinning a commitment to "democracy" to absolve them of responsibility. "In my eyes, it is the classic double speak," one said.