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PODCAST

The 404 Media Podcast

Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading

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All Episodes

36:50

An Open Source Search Engine to Replace Google

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/02/14

We've got a real variety this week. First, Emanuel talks about Paradox.ai, a tool that massive brands like McDonald's, CVS, and FedEx are using to screen job applicants. It uses a bit of AI, but really this is more of a labor story. Then Jason breaks down Stract, an open source search engine that is trying to do search better than the increasingly bad experience of Google. In the subscribers-only section, the group goes long on how a viral story about a botnet of toothbrushes turned out to not be

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46:33

Inside a Fraud Factory

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/02/07

This week we start with Joseph's investigation into OnlyFake, an underground website that lets anyone generate convincing photos of fake IDs at the click of a mouse. Joseph successfully used one of these to bypass the identity verification process at a cryptocurrency exchange. This really will have massive implications for crime and cybersecurity more generally. After the break, we have a double feature with a story about AI audio porn and then a likely low tech response to the ongoing deepfake

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49:23

This Is It. The Deepfake Reckoning

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/02/01

(I went in and fixed the audio issue! Please make sure your podcast client has the latest version downloaded. Okay, back to working on an investigation now, thank you for bearing with us) This week's episode is a banger. First, we go long with Sam and Emanuel, the two journalists who have followed deepfakes and generative AI more closely than anyone. Their latest piece talks about what is going to happen next: a clampdown in the AI and social media industries that may be an overcorrection, with

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49:02

Why Google Is Shit Now

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/01/25

We're doing something a little different this episode. For the whole free section of the podcast, we're talking all about the degradation of Google. That includes AI-generated articles making their way onto Google News, and how researchers found that, yes, Google search really is getting worse. This is a long, rich, and fun discussion. Then in the subscribers-only section, Joseph breaks down his latest investigation into a phone spying capability that is monitoring billions. Google (to their credit)

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32:57

Google Finally Endorses Right to Repair

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/01/17

Well, that was a pleasant surprise: Google has formally endorsed right to repair! Jason not only broke this news but then had a long conversation with Google about why it made the change (spoiler: it was the concerted effort of consumers, activists, and journalists). Jason explains why this change matters in the first part of the show. After the break, Sam takes us through a pretty unusual court case and what it means for online dating. Then in the subscribers-only section, Joseph talks about a new

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37:15

Deepfaked Celeb Scam Ads Are All Over YouTube

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/01/10

Jason decided to publish our first story minutes before recording, so here is some hot off the presses material. That piece was about scam ads on YouTube involving deepfaked celebrities. After the break, Sam discussed a very bizarre FOIA response from Texas. Then in the subscribers-only section, Jason tells the long and very entertaining saga of the Polish hackers who fixed a bunch of trains, and faced legal threats in response.Deepfaked Celebrity Ads Promoting Medicare Scams Run Rampant on

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36:06

Inside a $7 Million Airbnb Scam

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/01/04

We are back for 2024! We hit the ground running this week with a story about charges against a man for allegedly orchestrating a massive, nationwide Airbnb scam. Then Sam speaks about how Pornhub is blocking access to visitors in North Carolina and Montana, who are now (predictably) using VPNs as a workaround. Then in the subscribers-only section we talk about the life and death of the encrypted app Wickr. RIP Wickr.Real Estate ‘Visionary’ Allegedly Behind Massive, Viral Airbnb Fraud ChargeI

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44:48

These Companies Say They're Using Microphone Audio to...

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/12/21

In this week's show, we start with a couple of articles about how companies might *actually* be listening to conversations through smart device microphones to target ads. Plenty of questions remain, but we discuss everything we know so far. After the break, Sam explains a new Stanford study which has resulted in one of AI's most important datasets being taken offline (check the article itself for a clarification on Google's connection to the story which we learned after recording). In the

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37:13

How Did a 'Russian Economist' Fly into LAX With No...

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/12/13

A really bizarre mystery this week. We broke the news that a man somehow flew into LAX without a ticket or passport and DHS is totally stumped. Who knows how he got there? No one, apparently. Then Sam breaks down the latest Patreon ban hammer against a misunderstood community. In the subscriber's only section, Joseph explains a massive mistake by Verizon potentially put a person's physical safety at risk, and what this means for why he doesn't use a phone.Civitai and OctoML Introduce Radical New

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45:41

a16z Funded AI Platform Generated Images That “Could...

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/12/06

A content warning for the free section of this episode. Emanuel explains a massive investigation of his into how Civitai, the a16z funded AI platform, generated images that “could be categorized as child pornography,” according to internal Slack chats and more. This is a difficult, complicated, but important story. I'll leave it at that. Then in the subscriber's only section, we talk about Jason's investigation into pickleball turf wars. Remember to check out the video archive of our recent FOIA

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47:54

Male Tech Conference Founder Runs Popular...

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/11/29

So much drama this episode but with an important message behind it all. For the first half, Sam and Jason break down their stories about Eduards Sizovs, a tech conference founder who listed a fake, "auto-generated" woman as a conference speaker. Sizovs is also behind a highly popular woman-in-tech account. There are layers here.After the break, Jason explains how Plex is leaking users' viewing habits to one another. Then in the subscribers-only section, Joseph runs us through how an established

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40:26

OpenAI, Harry Potter Fanfic, and Hackers Who Gamble

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/11/23

Well that was a lot of drama in the world of OpenAI. Fear not, we have a unique angle on how the person in the running to be OpenAI's new CEO was a character in a Harry Potter fanfic that was written deliberately as a recruiting tool to the effective altruist movement. That's definitely a sentence. After the break Sam talks about how Twitter is pushing sex workers into a black hole, then in the subscribers-only section Joseph explains how he found that SIM swappers are gambling stolen Bitcoin at

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36:12

Venture Capitalists a16z Fund Nonconsensual Deepfake...

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/11/15

We recorded this immediately after publishing some breaking news: we discovered that venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is funding Civitai, an AI marketplace we've repeatedly shown is an engine for nonconsensual AI porn. Just this week Emanuel reported Civitai had introduced a "bounty" system, that financially rewards people for making AI-models of specific targets. We talk about both stories in the first section of the podcast. Then after the break of this episode of "The Emanuel

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34:46

How AI-Powered Cameras Took Over One Small American Town

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/11/08

This week goes in all sorts of directions. First, Joseph runs through his in-depth article on Fusus, a surveillance company that took over one small American town with AI-powered cameras. Now, they're everywhere, both in the U.S. and increasingly abroad. After the break, Sam tells us how attendees of an NFT conference got more than they bargained for, and ended up getting (temporarily) blinded (literally). In the subscribers-only section, Joseph and Jason discuss their just published piece about a

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44:59

YouTube Profiting from a Drug Market, and SIM...

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/11/01

We're shaking things up with a new format! As well as the two stories available to all listeners, we have a third discussion at the end which is only for paying subscribers. We explain why at the top of the show.As for this week's articles, first Emanuel explains how YouTube is making money off a livestream of an open air drug market. After the break, Jason and Emanuel discuss their two stories about Israel-Palestine and the lack of archiving efforts and freedom of information. In the subscriber's

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40:09

OSINT, Twitter, and a $30 Million Bitcoin Ring

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/10/25

For the first half of the show, we talk about a couple of stories around the Israel-Palestine conflict. First, Instagram "sincerely apologizes" to Sam for its auto-translations which added the word "terrorist" to sentences containing the word "Palestinian." Then, Joseph and Emanuel talk about their article about how verified Twitter accounts have taken the term "OSINT" and used it to spread their own garbage information. After the break, Joseph takes us through another story of his: a fascinating

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43:08

AI is Muddying the Horrors of War, and a Film...

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/10/18

Content warning for the first half of the episode because it touches on violent themes. Emanuel takes us through how so-called AI detectors are, instead of clearing up the fog of misinformation around the Israel-Palestine conflict, may actually be making everything much worse. A crucial story for these ongoing events. Then after the break, we change gears and Jason explains a trademark dispute in the film photography community. Spoiler: everyone is mad.AI Images Detectors Are Being Used to Discredit

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40:22

SpongeBob, AI, and a Crisis Among Ticket Sellers

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/10/11

This episode is a fun one. First, Sam takes us through her story about generating images of SpongeBob and 9/11 with Bing's AI. Why? Because a bunch of people found a way to create similar images even though they shouldn't be possible under Microsoft's own policies. After the break, we turn into an economics podcast. Jason breaks down what exactly happened when a bunch of credit card maxers (people who try to gather as many credit card points as possible) over saturated the market for Travis Scott

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39:45

A Glitch Is Hiding Porn on YouTube, and Food Delivery...

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/10/04

This week we start with a super interesting set of stories about how a small community has found a glitch in YouTube. It lets the group upload basically anything it wants to the platform with little fear of the clip being deleted. That includes explicit videos which were on YouTube for weeks at a time. Emanuel spoke to those responsible.After the break, Jason explains how he got emails showing that the LAPD wants a "partnership" with food delivery robots. The reason? These robots are constantly

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54:18

Ticket Scalpers, The New Frontier of AI Chat Bots,...

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2023/09/27

Holy moly that's a big ol' episode. Jason is back and tells us how ticket scalping actually works on a technical level, and how Ticketmaster benefits from scalping. Sam then explains how AI chatbots with no limits are letting people explore their sexuality safely (please note a content warning for that one for discussions on sexual themes and violence).After the break, Joseph talks about a TikTok account that may be the next evolution in clout-chasing: an account that uses facial recognition tech to

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