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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

43:37

The OSINT Hunt for a Sex Trafficking Ringleader

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/08/14

We're dedicating a whole episode to Sam's new narrative piece on how a ragtag group of friends hunted down a wanted sex trafficking ringleader. First we give you all the context for why this person, Michael Pratt, eventually ended up on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Then Sam breaks down the hunt for Pratt, told through the eyes of the people who were there. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains how and why hackers are "Airbnb hopping."'She Turned Ghost White:' How a Ragtag Group of

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48:11

The Massive Nvidia Leak

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/08/07

This is a big one. Sam got hold of a massive leak of internal Nvidia emails, Slack messages, and documents which show how the tech giant is scraping YouTube and Netflix for its own purposes. In the second half of the show, Jason peels back the curtain on who is behind the wave of AI spam on Facebook and how they're doing it; finally an answer after months of investigation. In the subscribers-only section, we talk DEF CON, our experiences at the conference, and give a little preview of something DEF

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50:30

Signal's Meredith Whittaker on Backdoors and AI

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/08/02

This is a special interview episode with Meredith Whittaker, the president of the Signal Foundation. I'm sure you all know, and maybe even use, the Signal messaging app. Here we sat down with Whittaker to talk all about the state of Signal today, the threat of AI to end-to-end encryption, what backdoors actually look like, and much more. This is a wide-ranging discussion where one of the few journalists who has revealed new details about backdoors (Joseph) gets to speak to one of the most important

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46:35

Google, Reddit, and the Robots.txt Rebellion

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/07/31

We've got a bumper episode today. First off, a whole series of stories about robots.txt and its increased use against AI, as well as Reddit only being available in Google results now (and not other search engines like DuckDuckGo). Then after the break, Sam discusses her amazing scoop which showed that multibillion dollar company Runway scraped videos from individual YouTube creators. In the subscribers-section, everyone educates Joseph on what Skibidi is.The Backlash Against AI Scraping Is Real

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40:44

The CrowdStrike Outage

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/07/24

Some weeks are just crazy. On Friday, Windows machines around the world went down due to a faulty update to CrowdStrike's security software. We discuss what happened, and why, and the impact. After the break, Sam tells us how she vaped the internet (yep). In the subscribers-only section, we describe some leaked Cellebrite documents we got, which show what phones Cellebrite can (and can't) unlock.To Fix CrowdStrike Blue Screen of Death Simply Reboot 15 Straight Times, Microsoft Says CrowdStrike

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42:54

The Worst Telecom Breach Ever

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/07/17

Sometimes a hack just completely blows you away. Late last week we learned that hackers had taken the call and text records of "nearly all" AT&T customers. That's absolutely staggering! We break down why it matters in the first half of the show, as well as discuss one of the hackers linked to the incident. After the break, Emanuel tells us about what the new Vice President hopeful JD Vance could mean for the AI industry. In the subscribers-only section, we talk all about a site selling faces for

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42:59

The Ticketmaster Hack

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/07/10

So, the Ticketmaster hack got a lot, lot worse. Jason breaks down why in the first half of the show. After the break, we talk more Ticketmaster, and how scalpers have teamed up with hackers to liberate "non-transferable" tickets. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains the latest with sales of netflow data to the U.S. government.Ticketmaster Confirms Hack in SEC Filing The Ticketmaster Hack Is Becoming a Logistical Nightmare for Fans and Brokers Scalpers Work With Hackers to Liberate

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43:50

Your Identity Hacked, Yet Verified

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/07/03

We start this episode talking about some exciting updates for the podcast! For the first story, Joseph explains how an ID verification service for TikTok, Uber, and X exposed driver licenses, in a sign of what may be come as more sites demand to know our real identities. After the break, Jason breaks down what the FBI found when it investigated a specific Zoom Bombing ring. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel and Joseph talk all about TLO, a powerful data tool that is being advertised on Fiverr

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47:07

Replacing 404 Media with AI

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/06/26

Here's a fun one: Emanuel made his own ChatGPT-powered news site that ripped off our work and that of WIRED, The Verge, and others to show just how easy spinning up one of these AI click farms really is. After the break, we listen to some of the AI-generated music that has major record labels suing some startups. In the subscribers-only section, Sam tells us all about how a bunch of chatbots suddenly changed personality overnight.I Paid $365.63 to Replace 404 Media With AI Listen to the

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46:26

AI Celebs Take Over Google Image Search

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/06/19

Joseph is out this week, so the leftover crew considers what it means for Google image search to be taken over by AI images, talks about #finance, and discusses how an already sensationalist NY Times article about internet in the Amazon rainforest got further sensationalized.Articles discussed: AI Images in Google Search Results Have Opened a Portal to Hell You Probably Unwittingly Voted to Give Elon Musk a Huge Raise First Google Search Result for Tiananmen Square “Tank Man” Is AI Generated

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47:34

Hacking the Adderall Shortage

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/06/12

It feels way longer than a week since our last episode, weird. Anyway this week we start with a wild story with Emanuel, about how people in the US are paying a company, which in turn hires people in the Philippines to then call around U.S. pharmacies to check whether certain drugs are in stock. It shows just how bad the Adderall shortage in the U.S. has gotten. After the break, Sam tells us about a particularly alarming AirTags stalking case, and how the FBI flipped the script on the suspect. In

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31:30

DARK WIRE on Whale Hunting

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/06/06

A something extra for our listeners this week. Joseph went on an episode of Whale Hunting to talk about his new book DARK WIRE, in which the FBI secretly ran its own encrypted messaging app to wiretap the world. Whale Hunting is a great podcast that has journalists go behind-the-scenes on their own stories. It is absolutely worth listening to if you don't already!Whale Hunting Podcast DARK WIRE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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41:28

A Massive Google Leak

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/06/05

We start this week with a massive leak from inside Google. We obtained a copy of an internal Google database the company uses to track potential privacy and security issues. It's incredibly rare to get this sort of insight into a big tech company, and we explain what's inside the data itself. After the break, Sam tells us who deepfake legislation may leave behind. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains how he tracked down the earliest known source of the All Eyes on Rafah image: a Facebook

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45:44

Google Somehow Got Even More Shit

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/05/29

We revisit our Why Google Is Shit Now episode with something of an update: Google got worse! Of course we're talking about the embarrassing rollout of Google's AI-powered answers. Jason explains the supply chain of data, and especially how it comes from Reddit posts. After the break, Emanuel continues the Google theme with a Google researcher written study which shows that AI is now a leading disinformation vector. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about Sam's and Emaunel's piece on

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37:37

Your Phone's Location is Exposed

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/05/22

Really excited about this one. We spend the entire episode talking about SS7, the fundamental network and protocol which is both at the heart of the world's telecommunications infrastructure, and crucial for governments, spy firms, and criminals to monitor people or intercept texts. In the first half we break ton what SS7 is, why it's an issue, and our nearly 10 years of experience covering it. Then, we talk about the news we revealed about a U.S. cybersecurity official breaking rank with his agency

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41:46

Why the Solar Storm Broke Tractors and GPS

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/05/15

We've got something of a John Deere special episode this week. We start with Jason's piece on how the recent solar storm knocked out GPS for John Deere tractors, having a direct impact on farming across the country. After the break, Jason breaks down his deep dive into the various walls closing around John Deere's right to repair monopoly. In the subscribers-only section, we've got two wild Amazon stories: one on the bots used by Amazon workers to book time off, and another on "Swag Bucks," Amazon's

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45:42

Facebook is the 'Zombie Internet'

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/05/08

Apologies for some audio issues this week, they'll be fixed next time, but for now we have a super packed episode! We start with Jason's months-long deep dive into what Facebook has become with all of that AI-generated garbage on the site. It's not the dead internet, it's something much worse. After the break, Emanuel explains how Pokemon Go players are manipulating mapping technology to cheat at the game. Then in the subscribers-only section, Jason breaks down the latest cat and mouse game between

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43:18

A Lost Media Mystery

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/05/01

We start this week's episode with a mystery: where did a 17-second music snippet that has puzzled online sleuths for years really come from? Sam breaks it down. After the break, Joseph explains how an online service was scraping and selling Discord server messages for as little as $5. Then in the subscribers-only section, Jason takes us into the world of influencers who are using AI livestream apps, complete with fake audiences, and how they're being used to target women.Long Lost Song Hunted By

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45:18

The Humane Ai Pin Is a Disaster

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/04/24

This is a long one! First Joseph previews his upcoming book, DARK WIRE. Go to the link below and enter "DW20" for 20% off! Also make sure to redeem your preorder behind-the-scenes bonus content. As for this week's stories, we start off with Jason explaining why we can, we must, dunk on the Humane Ai Pin, a piece of hardware that is AI's Juicero moment. After the break, Emanuel shows that Instagram is advertising deepfake nudify apps, the sort that are being abused right now in schools. In the

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38:58

The Xz Backdoor and the AI Peer-Review Crisis

The 404 Media Podcast ·

2024/04/03

This is a super fun episode with a lot of labor themes throughout. Jason starts off by describing the totally wild Xz backdoor which, in a way, was an open source labor issue. Then Emanuel takes us through how AI might be sneaking into the peer-review process. Then in the subscribers-only section, Sam explains why a major journal has decided to stop the use of an infamous image in its papers.The Xz Backdoor Highlights the Vulnerability of Open Source Software—and Its StrengthsChatGPT Looms Over the

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