New: Police in Wisconsin used Flock to create a pretext to search a man's car for weed. Their justification? He drove from Wisconsin to Michigan, a “known source state for marijuana as it is legal there,” and Flock showed he "travels to Michigan frequently." www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...

Cops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines to Create Pretext to Search His Car for Weed

"The vehicle travels to Michigan frequently which is a known source state for marijuana as it is legal there," a probable cause justification reads.

404media.co

Microsoft is introducing budget limits for AI spend and says it's not aiming for "tokenmaxxing." Keep in mind that Microsoft is selling AI tools to other companies, so it benefits from maximalist AI use. www.404media.co/microsoft-te...

Microsoft Tells Engineers ‘Tokenmaxxing Is Not What We Are Optimizing For’

Microsoft is introducing budget limits for AI use but says it still wants to be an ‘AI-first’ company.

404media.co

Steve Herman@newsguy.bsky.social · yesterday

"While I was silent, others were happy to write my story for me. No more." - David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/op...

love that the bit they chose to highlight from Peace Walker is Snake yelling at an nuclear equipped LLM trained on his mentor's speeches

The Snakes Saga Trailer

YouTube video by Konami

youtube.com

is that op-ed with the interesting headline really an article? or have you been tricked into clicking on a podcast transcript again?

Exclusive: We obtained a leaked playbook that Flock gives to cops to coach them on "how to speak to city council" to avoid getting their contracts canceled. Includes strategies like "own the narrative" by talking to mayor "before public comment periods" www.404media.co/own-the-narr...

‘Own the Narrative’: Leaked Flock Guide Shows How It Teaches Cops to Promote Its Tech

"This document shows a coordinated effort from Flock Safety to compel law enforcement agencies to convince our elected leaders to represent their interests as a company rather than the interests of co...

404media.co

you know it's gonna be a bad day when he's Patriot posting

James@gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social · 3d ago

it can only good happen it can only good happen it can only good happen it can only good happen it can only good happen

Jonathan Paz’s job was to convince cities to buy Flock cameras. After initially being enthusiastic about the company, he started to get disillusioned.

Why a Flock Worker Quit: ‘They Lied’

Jonathan Paz’s job was to convince cities to buy Flock cameras. After initially being enthusiastic about the company, he started to get disillusioned.

404media.co

New: here's why a Flock employee quit. Says he was 'lied to' Jonathan Paz's job was to convince cities to buy Flock cameras. But then something changed and he realized he needed to get out of the company. Watch the full conversation here and subscribe for more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKYY...

Update: Google just sent me a statement saying it is “rolling back” this AI feature that let anyone make completely bullshit satellite images. Comes after our demos of the tool and those from OSINT researchers. One of the worst AI tools I’ve ever seen bsky.app/profile/jose...

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 5d ago

New from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...

Took me seconds to make an image showing 'protesters' around Google buildings, using Google Earth's new AI generation tool. You can make bomb blasts, protesters, drone strikes, nuclear plants. How on earth did Google think this was a good idea www.404media.co/google-earth...

seems bad!

Google Earth’s New AI Lets Anyone Fabricate Completely Bullshit Satellite Images

"Tonight I typed just one sentence into Google Earth and put refugees near the Mexican border. Then I planted a nuclear plant in Iran. Then I put a fatal crash on a street in Amsterdam."

404media.co

"We don't train AI models, and we never have. The page was a test of market interest; no such service was ever brought to life. We've taken the page down."

Company Offering Printed Books to Train AI Stops After 404 Media Coverage

Citing backlash, ISBNdb removed its webpages about training AI, denied ever buying, scanning, or selling a book for AI training, and said the site was a "test of market interest."

404media.co

come and learn how to find secrets

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 6d ago

This is happening in just over 30 minutes!!! At 1PM ET We're going to show you how to pry records from the government. This one is especially focused on city councils. Subscribers get the link here: www.404media.co/our-new-foia... Not a sub? Sign up now to get in

NEW: The website once owned by Cambridge Analytica (!) is now an AI content farm. Rebranded as "CA Privacy Watch," the site is littered with plagiarism and weird errors. It's also utilized at least one fake writer whose face seems to have been stolen from a random guy. futurism.com/artificial-i...

Cambridge Analytica's Website Is Now an AI Slop Farm

Cambridge Analytica has returned, in a very 2026 way: CambridgeAnalytica.org is now an AI-powered content farm.

futurism.com

How a group of 20-something YouTubers created a supplement empire on TikTok Shop by spamming it with AI content with stolen scripts and wild claims that targeted the "elderly." The company's products have been recalled by the FDA and now they're being sued: www.404media.co/inside-an-ai...

Inside an AI TikTok Shop Slop Factory That Shills Supplements Recalled By the FDA

How a company called Rosabella used AI content to market its supplements: "If you’re trying to sell health products to a 50-year-old, well, make your avatar 50 years old."

404media.co

behold the magic of the new world

LinkedIn Introduces a 'Seems Like AI Slop' Button

Following 404 Media's reporting on how LinkedIn is full of AI slop, the platform is giving users a chance to report it when they see it.

404media.co

how are the non-nuclear deterrence nerds doing?

I spoke with Lux, the high school teacher arrested for clapping at a data center zoning meeting in Kansas. some very interesting twists and turns in this one

“Clapping Is a First Amendment Right:” An Interview With the Person Arrested for Clapping at a Data Center Meeting

"I have a right to speak. I'm here to speak. I have a right to clap, and if you want me out, you're going to have to drag me out."

404media.co

fix your hearts

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · last wk.

so fucking tired of how socially acceptable it is, even encouraged, to film random people for no good reason at all other than clout and post it online. I cover surveillance all day every day and this shift sometimes scares me the most watch more/subscribe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0Sb...

the more I look into data centers, the more I find a couple of issues that drive me insane. just basic physics-style issues. the power generation problem is one of them

Data Centers Are Easy to Build. Powering Them Is Complicated, Slow, and Expensive

A new AI data center can be up and running in a year. Building new energy infrastructure to power it could take a decade.

404media.co

I got flocked.

Flock Came to My Town. Here’s What I Did

YouTube video by 404 Media

youtube.com

New: I spoke to Samuel Tunick, the man the U.S. is charging with allegedly wiping his GrapheneOS phone before CBP could search it. “I hope people understand that the charges against me are meant to intimidate people against protecting their data and their privacy.” www.404media.co/the-governme...

‘The Government Hopes To Set a Precedent’: An Interview With the Man Charged for Allegedly Wiping His GrapheneOS Phone

The U.S. government has charged Samuel Tunick with allegedly typing in a passcode to wipe his phone before officers could search it. “I hope people understand that the charges against me are meant to ...

404media.co

really wild footage from a city meeting last week where the council had a person arrested for clapping

Person Opposing Data Center Arrested for Clapping at City Meeting

Police refused to release the arrest report, saying it could "could interfere with ongoing investigative efforts."

404media.co

Substack introduced a feature to detect AI generated writing on its platform. That makes some people really really mad! www.404media.co/substackers-...

Substackers Say New AI Detection Tool Is a ‘Witch Hunt’

“I’m not going to apologize for using AI in the creation process.”

404media.co

if you aren't very careful then the people in your phone become the only people you believe exist

Katherine Alejandra Cross@quinnae.com · last wk.

In other words, you become so Online that you presume the far-right hate campaign against The Odyssey must've been somehow provoked, as if this isn't what these people do for every single thing ever on the flimsiest pretexts.

really wild footage from a city meeting last week where the council had a person arrested for clapping

Person Opposing Data Center Arrested for Clapping at City Meeting

Police refused to release the arrest report, saying it could "could interfere with ongoing investigative efforts."

404media.co

sorry, decadence but no pleasure

Haus of Decline@hausofdecline.bsky.social · last wk.

As long as we're descending into a seedy, unwholesome reality of omnipresent casinofication, can we please bring back smoking in restaurants?

As tech backlash hits the mainstream, the ‘Summer of Ludd’ proves we don’t need social media to hang out and have a good time.

Being a Luddite Is Fun Again

As tech backlash hits the mainstream, the ‘Summer of Ludd’ proves we don’t need social media to hang out and have a good time.

404media.co

feeling very