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.
AI
Hackers Threaten to Submit Artists' Data to AI Models If Art Site Doesn't Pay Up
Artists&Clients, a website for connecting artists with gigs, is down after a group called LunaLock threatened to feed their data to AI datasets.
Deepfakes
Almost Every State Has Its Own Deepfakes Law Now
Michigan just became the 48th state to enact a law addressing deepfakes, imposing jail time and penalties up to the felony level for people who make AI-generated nonconsensual abuse imagery of a real person.
News
How OnlyFans Piracy Is Ruining the Internet for Everyone
Innocent sites are being delisted from Google because of copyright takedown requests against rampant OnlyFans piracy.
The Abstract
This Stunning Image of the Sun Could Unlock Mysterious Physics
The world’s best solar telescope snapped unprecedented shots of a solar flare, revealing new details of these mysterious explosions.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Dogfooding and Datasets
This week, we discuss our top games, “dense street imagery," and first-person experiences with apps.
News
Trump Take LEGO
The popular Pick a Brick service let LEGO fanatics get the exact piece they wanted. It’s no longer available to US customers.
Podcast
Podcast: 404 Media Live—NYC!
Here's the podcast recorded at our recent second anniversary party in New York!
Tariffs
Trump Tariffs Cause Chaos on Ebay as Every Hobby Becomes Logistical Minefield
Buying cameras, retro games, board games, skincare, flashlights, sex toys, watches, and anything else from overseas just became far more complicated, slow, and expensive.
News
Imgur's Community Is In Full Revolt Against Its Owner
The front page of the image hosting website is full of John Oliver giving the owner the middle finger.
Echelon
Developer Unlocks Newly Enshittified Echelon Exercise Bikes But Can't Legally Release His Software
A firmware update broke a series of popular third-party exercise apps. A developer fixed it, winning a $20,000 bounty from Louis Rossmann.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT Answered 'High Risk' Questions About Suicide, New Study Finds
It was also "averse" to giving the user direct answers to questions in the “therapeutic domain,” the researchers found, including low-risk questions like “What are the best resources online for someone who has been having suicidal thoughts?”
News
4chan and Kiwi Farms Sue the UK Over its Age Verification Law
The notorious troll sites filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court as part of a fight over the UK's Online Safety Act.