Behind the Blog: Resisting Demoralization
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.
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404 Media is an independent media company founded by technology journalists Jason Koebler, Emanuel Maiberg, Samantha Cole, and Joseph Cox. Read more about us here.
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Sweden Expands Anti-Sex Work Law to Criminalize Paying for Custom OnlyFans Clips and Camming
sex work

Sweden Expands Anti-Sex Work Law to Criminalize Paying for Custom OnlyFans Clips and Camming

The Nordic Model criminalizes buyers of sex in multiple European countries (and Maine). Sweden just voted to expand its reach to the internet.
Kids Say They're Using Photos of Trump and Markiplier to Bypass 'Gorilla Tag' Age Verification
News

Kids Say They're Using Photos of Trump and Markiplier to Bypass 'Gorilla Tag' Age Verification

Popular VR game Gorilla Tag partnered with the company k-ID to comply with age verification laws.
Researchers Scrape 2 Billion Discord Messages and Publish Them Online
News

Researchers Scrape 2 Billion Discord Messages and Publish Them Online

A Brazilian team used Discord’s API to scrape 10% of its open servers.
Podcast: AI Slop Summer
Podcast

Podcast: AI Slop Summer

How the Chicago Sun-Times printed an AI-generated summer guide; how schools were not prepared for ChatGPT; and those funny little guys from Star Wars.
Scientists Explain Why Trump's $175 Billion Golden Dome Is a Fantasy
News

Scientists Explain Why Trump's $175 Billion Golden Dome Is a Fantasy

Shooting missiles out of the sky from space could require a constellation of 36,000 satellites.
Viral AI-Generated Summer Guide Printed by Chicago Sun-Times Was Made by Magazine Giant Hearst
AI

Viral AI-Generated Summer Guide Printed by Chicago Sun-Times Was Made by Magazine Giant Hearst

The Chicago Sun-Times said "we understand this is unacceptable for us to distribute."
Civitai, Site Used to Generate AI Porn, Cut Off by Credit Card Processor
News

Civitai, Site Used to Generate AI Porn, Cut Off by Credit Card Processor

Civitai, a huge platform for sharing AI models and generating videos and images, has been cut off from its payment processor.
Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist
News

Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist

"I can't believe I missed it because it's so obvious. No excuses," the writer said. "I'm completely embarrassed."
'Configuration Issue' Allows Civitai Users to AI Generate Nonconsensual Porn Videos
News

'Configuration Issue' Allows Civitai Users to AI Generate Nonconsensual Porn Videos

404 Media found that people were using Civitai to create nonconsensual AI porn videos of anyone for a small price.
Telegram Gave Authorities Data on More than 20,000 Users
News

Telegram Gave Authorities Data on More than 20,000 Users

According to its newest transparency report, Telegram complied with more than 5,000 requests from authorities in the first three months of 2025.
23andMe Sale Shows Your Genetic Data Is Worth $17
23andMe

23andMe Sale Shows Your Genetic Data Is Worth $17

23andMe sold the genetic data of 15 million people for $256 million to a pharmaceutical company called Regeneron.
Kansas Mom Sues Porn Sites Because Her Son Visited Chaturbate 30 Times
age verification

Kansas Mom Sues Porn Sites Because Her Son Visited Chaturbate 30 Times

The 14 year old's mother left an old laptop in a closet and now alleges it's adult sites' problem that he watched porn.