Hero scientists invent method to make cold brew coffee in 3 minutes instead of 24 hours, and also invent something called 'cold espresso' which I simply must have right now:

404media.co/scientists-use…

can't believe I nearly sent a professional email with an accidental copy paste of the cover of The Sopranos: Road to Respect on PlayStation 2

New: Google has removed two websites providing “DIY” hormone replacement therapy used in gender-affirming care from search results at the request of the UK government, according to legal letters viewed by 404 Media. Also spoke to one of the site's operator 404media.co/google-delists…

The 404 Media Podcast is up!
- why Facebook is 'zombie internet'
- Pokemon Go players messing with OpenStreetMap to catch certain pokemon
- subscribers-only: how ticket brokers are transferring 'untransferable' Billie Eilish tickets

Apple/Spotify etc: 404media.co/404-media-podc…

Facebook / Instagram, which are doing absolutely horrible, horrible, horrible jobs of moderating AI content of all sorts, is either tricked by or celebrating AI generated pics of Katy Perry

404media.co/generative-ai-…

New from 404 Media: Billie Eilish's upcoming concert tickets are supposed to be 'untransferable' to stop reselling. Multiple brokers now explain what they plan to do to circumvent these protections (Apple/Google wallet, meetups, throwaway accounts, more) 404media.co/billie-eilishs…

Ticket scalpers are selling Billie Eilish's supposedly 'untransferrable' tickets, designed to prevent scalping. I explain how they're doing it, and how untransferrable tickets are transferred all the time:

404media.co/billie-eilishs…

This new tool shows the approximate physical location of many Telegram users. It uses the API for Telegram's 'Find People Nearby' feature, which is opt-in. But the tool lets you search for locations globally (I did on multiple cities around the world) 404media.co/this-tool-show…

New from 404 Media: Pornhub's top adult content creator is promoting an AI nonconsensual 'nudify' app. Pornhub told us product placement is allowed if the creator indicates the video is sponsored (we didn't see such a label). 404media.co/pornhubs-bigge…

This week’s Behind The Blog is up! The time of the week we go a bit behind the scenes of 404 Media

- me on learning Python again
- Jason on making our merch
- Emanuel on getting back into covering video games
- Sam on earlier space reporting

404media.co/behind-the-blo…

New from 404 Media: an open database leaked submissions to Utah’s transphobic ‘bathroom bill’ snitch form. We verified it's real by submitting a meme, seeing it pop up in the database immediately 404media.co/utah-bathroom-…

Utah set up a snitch form to try to enforce its transphobic 'bathroom bill,' and left a database that exposed people's submissions wide open. oops! 404media.co/utah-bathroom-…

The NYPD produced a dramatically edited propaganda video about Columbia University arrests within 24 hours. I am still waiting on basic FOIA responses from them and Mayor Adams' office years after I've filed them

404media.co/there-is-no-tr…

Volunteer maintainers of the widely used OpenStreetMap are battling Pokémon Go players who are creating fake beaches to catch Wigletts. 404media.co/pokemon-go-pla…

The publisher of a small imprint of roleplaying games magazines/speculative fiction shuts down after 22 years because their submissions have been flooded with AI to the extent they cannot wade through it all

404media.co/bards-and-sage…

I've spent four months looking at AI spam on Facebook. I've messaged hundreds of people commenting on the bizarre images trying to determine if they are real, and to understand what's happening.

Facebook isn't the 'Dead Internet.' It's something worse:

404media.co/facebooks-ai-s…

'There’s a scene in there where they’re running out of phones, and the FBI has to fly a Gulfstream jet across to Europe with duffel bags full of Google Pixels, because they’re like, “Crap, we’ve run out of stock, we’re too hot.”'