Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 5hCops are able to break into locked iPhones, including those that have been rebooted by Apple's own reboot security feature Watch more, subscribe here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpzC... 24322
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 12hLaw enforcement investigation into two people with magazines saying "I hate the police" and "Are we free yet." Cops also found dozens of 3D printed pistol frames and 3D printed grenade housings. www.documentcloud.org/documents/28... 2202
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 06/10/2026We spoke to the family that made the AI avatar of a killed man. They said the point of the video was to sway the judge. “Isn’t that what you want human connection to be?” The convicted man in the case is now being resentenced because of the use of the AI video www.404media.co/her-ai-gener...404media.coHer AI-Generated Video Swayed the Judge. The Court Said it Carried 'Undue Emotional Weight'"Chris’ sentiment does not change," said the sister who created an AI avatar of her slain brother Christopher Pelkey to speak in court. 312026
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 05/10/2026New: in the immediate lead up to Muse's launch, Meta scrambled to fix multiple serious vulnerabilities in the AI agent, including a VM escape that could have let a hacker break out of Muse and into Meta's own sensitive databases. It was escalated to Zuckerberg www.404media.co/meta-rushed-...404media.coMeta Rushed to Fix Muse ‘VM Escape' Vulnerability Immediately Before LaunchThe vulnerability could have let a Muse user access sensitive internal Meta databases. 1115541
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 02/10/2026This is huge: a judge ruled a Flock search was 'indiscriminate mass surveillance' and unconstitutional. Says the search by a cop, who did it because a passing car had a plate from a different state, violated the driver's rights. Meaning, Flock should require a warrant www.404media.co/federal-judg...404media.coFederal Judge Rules a Flock Search Was ‘Indiscriminate Mass Surveillance’ and UnconstitutionalFlock’s nationwide network is quickly “approaching dragnet-type law enforcement practice” and the cop should have got a warrant, the judge wrote. 6746253
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Wrote about how tips I get in my email inbox from ordinary ppl are increasingly AI generated. words like "evidence packet". I think this is how ChatGPT/Claude *thinks* journalists talk, but it's not. Because most tips to journos are not public so can't be scraped www.404media.co/behind-the-b...404media.coBehind the Blog: Freaking OutThis week, we discuss inbox slop, Claude cults, and more. 27817
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 01/10/2026New: iPhones have an automatic reboot feature which quietly reboots the phone after a certain time; cops were freaking out about this when we revealed it in 2024. Now, phone hackers have a way around it, according to a leaked video www.404media.co/cops-can-byp...404media.coCops Can Bypass iPhone’s Automatic Reboot to Get Into Locked Phones, Leaked Video ClaimsMagent Forensics, the owner of the GrayKey phone unlocking tool, says it can bypass an iPhone rebooting feature that was locking cops out. 15417
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 30/09/2026People who believe LLMs are conscious are having one of the biggest AI meltdowns yet because someone is running a Saw-like torture chamber for LLMs on GitHub. Just before we published, GitHub took it down. GitHub hasn't said why www.404media.co/someone-tort...404media.coSomeone ‘Torturing’ LLMs in a Robot Prison Has Triggered the Dumbest Debate in AI YetThe "AI Torture Chamber" has opened an upsetting and absurd window into the effective altruist obsession with "model welfare." 1727170
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 30/09/2026We broke the news of the massive FBI hack and saw the data itself. Here's why this is one of the most significant data breaches probably ever: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrni...youtube.comThe FBI Was Hacked. We’ve Seen the DataYouTube video by 404 Media 06621
Reposted by Joseph CoxKashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Talking Meta glasses with the great @josephcox.bsky.social on the @404media.co podcast: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUFn...youtube.comMeta's Pervert Glasses Are Going to End PrivacyYouTube video by 404 Media 13010
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 30/09/2026New: USPS is to put cameras in its trucks that continuously record. This is to gather data on roads, signage, and to improve "community safety," the agency tells me. The cameras are marketed to capture passing license plates too, but don't run ALPR software www.404media.co/usps-to-put-...404media.coUSPS To Put Cameras in Trucks That Scan Roads for ‘Community Safety’USPS says the cameras, put on USPS truck dashboards, will scan roads, signs, and more. 46365153
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Readers of our daily email—where we send you our scoop of the day—will have seen we're mixing stuff up. Now we email you a chunk of the main story, but also other stuff we've written and wild/whacky shit we're seeing across the web. People are loving it, sign up here: www.404media.co/surveillance...404media.coSurveillance Finds a WayCEO who wants to add facial recognition to Flock cameras says it's "the way the world will have to be." 15412
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 29/09/2026New from 404 Media: a surveillance company is telling cops it wants to add facial recognition to Flock cameras. Flock doesn't do face rec, but that doesn't stop other companies doing it. "This is the way the world is going, the way the world will have to be" www.404media.co/surveillance...404media.coSurveillance Company Tells Cops It Wants to Add Facial Recognition to Flock CamerasA surveillance company wants to "close the gap" that Flock won't do, by pitching facial recognition on its cameras. 78957
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Some tech workers in San Francisco hooked up ChatGPT to a Toyota Corolla and got it to drive around a parking lot “We just thought: ‘Is there a way we can get LLMs to drive a car now?” www.404media.co/these-tech-w...404media.coThese Tech Workers Made ChatGPT Drive a Toyota CorollaThe team used frontier LLMs with no prior training data navigate a simple parking lot course. 115812
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 28/09/2026New from 404 Media: the group that hacked the FBI and stole data on "all FBI employees" says it won't publish the data. The group gave the FBI a one week countdown. Now says won't publish at all. Still represents a massive national security/counterintelligence risk www.404media.co/fbi-hackers-...404media.coFBI Hackers Say They Won’t Publish Massive Trove of FBI Employee DataShinyHunters, the group that stole data on “all FBI employees” including addresses and details on their spouses, told 404 Media on Monday “Since the very beginning we had made our decision that we wou... 79531
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 28/09/2026DHS says it is upgrading its ground control station to allow one team to control multiple MQ-9As (Predator style drones) at once in a new document www.dhs.gov/sites/defaul... 32611
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Crucially these contractors are not hired to filter out offensive content. They are hired to report whether Copilot successfully made a good AI image. So if the request is, make this person's breasts larger, they have to review based on whether it did or not. Insane www.404media.co/humans-readi... 118851
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 28/09/2026New from 404 Media: when you upload images to Copilot, they're not private. Human contractors are reviewing Copilot users' prompts/images, according to internal docs we got And they're horrified at what they're seeing. Bombarded with requests to make sexual AI images www.404media.co/humans-readi...404media.coHumans Are Reading Copilot Prompts — And They're HorrifiedHuman contractors are reviewing Copilot users’ prompts and uploaded images, according to internal documents obtained by 404 Media. The contractors are also bombarded with users’ requests for sexual AI... 14668348
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 23/09/2026New: from 404 Media. The catastrophic FBI hack also exposed the FBI's own hacking unit. The Remote Operations Unit is a highly secretive part of the FBI, responsible for making tools to break into peoples' devices. Some of their names and addresses are in the data www.404media.co/fbi-hack-exp...404media.coFBI Hack Exposed FBI’s Own Hacking UnitThe FBI's Remote Operations Unit (ROU) is a highly secretive team of hackers making exploits and tools to break into target’s devices. Some of its members just got exposed. 13325130
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Watch a woman get arrested and dragged away after quietly speaking about Flock at a city council meeting. This comes just before experts will speak to the Senate today about ALPR Read more here: www.404media.co/woman-arrest... 610450
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Updated: FBI tells me it is investigating the claims of this breach. Also the hackers said the FBI previously made "false allegations" about it in a report. The group says it is giving the FBI one week to remove those claims www.404media.co/we-hacked-th... 110417
Reposted by Joseph Cox404 Media @404media.co · 22/09/2026NEW: A high profile hacking group claims it has breached multiple FBI-related services and stolen data “on all FBI employees and applicants.” A representative of the hacking group told 404 Media the data includes FBI agents’ names, home addresses, phone number, and information on their spouse.404media.co‘We Hacked the FBI:’ Hackers Say They Have Data on All FBI EmployeesA sample of 5,000 alleged agents seen by 404 Media includes names, addresses, phone numbers, and details on FBI employees' spouses. 25825291193
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 22/09/2026I have dug into some of the sample with open source info and previously compromised data. It shows people in this FBI breach are U.S DOJ personnel www.404media.co/we-hacked-th... 222233
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 22/09/2026New from 404 Media: Meta announced Muse, its AI agent that can book restaurants for you. We've seen internal Meta messages showing Meta is actually testing having these calls being made by human beings in call centers. In those tests its not AI, it's just a person www.404media.co/meta-tests-m...404media.coMeta Tests Muse AI Agent Calls That Are Actually Made By Humans in a Call Center"This has potential for so much negative PR. It could portray us as ‘their AI is not good enough so they still need humans’ kind of coverage for this launch." 23422175
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 22/09/2026New: hackers say they have personal data on all FBI employees and spouses. I got a sample of 5,000 alleged employees, including name, physical address, phone number, and in some cases spouses. Could be a massive national security and counterintelligence risk www.404media.co/we-hacked-th...404media.co‘We Hacked the FBI:’ Hackers Say They Have Data on All FBI EmployeesA sample of 5,000 alleged agents seen by 404 Media includes names, addresses, phone numbers, and details on FBI employees' spouses. 1351368582
Reposted by Joseph Cox404 Media @404media.co · 22/09/2026404 Media has found multiple contractors hired to improve OpenAI’s models have been fired for using AI to train the AI. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Read the story by @josephcox.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/people-train... 36663249
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 22/09/2026New: OpenAI has thousands of contractors improving its AI, including reading ChatGPT users' prompts We've found many of those contractors have been fired for themselves using AI to train the AI. People using AI "all the time and people are let go for it all the time" www.404media.co/people-train...404media.coPeople Training OpenAI’s AI Fired for Using AI to Train the AIOpenAI has thousands and thousands of contractors helping improve the company's AI models. Multiple contractors have been fired for using AI to train the AI. 20367131
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 21/09/2026we need your help getting info on how cops are using Axon license plate reader cameras. get the request here: www.404media.co/is-your-city... 213156
Reposted by Joseph Cox404 Media @404media.co · 21/09/2026404 Media is filing public records requests around the country to find out how cops are using Axon's ALPRs. Here is how you can do that too.404media.coIs Your City Using Axon License Plate Cameras? We Need Your Help404 Media is filing public records requests around the country to find out how cops are using Axon's ALPRs. Here is how you can do that too. 318582
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 21/09/2026These are Axon activity reports. They are equivalent to Flock's network audits that let us reveal cops were doing Flock lookups for ICE, and a cop searched Flock nationwide for a woman who self-administered an abortion. You can now get this for Axon www.404media.co/is-your-city... 211443
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 21/09/2026New: we are starting to get data showing what cops are using Axon's license plate cameras for, which are replacing Flock around the country. But we need your help: is your city using Axon? We have written the request you need to get this data yourself. Get it here: www.404media.co/is-your-city...404media.coIs Your City Using Axon License Plate Cameras? We Need Your Help404 Media is filing public records requests around the country to find out how cops are using Axon's ALPRs. Here is how you can do that too. 7744434
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 18/09/2026OpenAI and Microsoft admitted LLMs are predatory tech built on “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions,” and the “largest theft of labor in human history.” An internal Microsoft document said AI has created a “doom loop” that is killing “the entire web.” www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...404media.co‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft"Millions of people around the world will soon consider large models ‘hoovering up’ all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions." 401523709
Reposted by Joseph CoxEmanuel Maiberg @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social · 17/09/2026it is shockingly easy to post AI generated music under the name of real artists on Spotify. It took us five minutes to do. You can do it to small bands, dead artists, even Taylor Swift. This is a giant loophole in digital music distribution that's widely abused www.404media.co/spotify-ai-m...404media.coI Hijacked a Real Artist's Spotify with AI Music. It Was Disturbingly EasyA glaring loophole in digital music distribution makes it very easy to piggyback on the talent of real artists with AI generated music. 11288108
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 17/09/2026New from 404 Media: Georgia State has rescinded a job offer given to Samuel Tunick, the activist who allegedly wiped his GrapheneOS phone before DHS could search it. Tunick says the case is "textbook political repression". Now can't study or work at the university www.404media.co/university-r...404media.coUniversity Rescinds Job Offer to Activist Who Allegedly Wiped Phone Before DHS Could Search ItSamuel Tunick allegedly wiped his GrapheneOS phone before CBP officials could search it, in what has become a high profile civil liberties case. Now Georgia State University has rescinded a job offer ... 531348631
Reposted by Joseph CoxJason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Anyone can upload AI slop music to anyone's Spotify page. We tested it, and it's trivial to do: www.404media.co/spotify-ai-m...404media.coI Hijacked a Real Artist's Spotify with AI Music. It Was Disturbingly EasyA glaring loophole in digital music distribution makes it very easy to piggyback on the talent of real artists with AI generated music. 19131
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Here's our AI-generated song, pushed to the official Spotify page (and other platforms) of a punk band. “I just listened to the song. It’s appalling. The fact that you were able to do that is insane,” Gage Allison, Lathe of Heaven’s vocalist, told us. Audio here: www.404media.co/spotify-ai-m... 1292
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 17/09/2026This is wild: scammers are hijacking real artists' official Spotify pages with AI slop to make $$$. We know this because we did it. We made AI music and put it on a real band's page. It was shockingly easy. There is a gaping hole in how music is digitally distributed www.404media.co/spotify-ai-m...404media.coI Hijacked a Real Artist's Spotify with AI Music. It Was Disturbingly EasyA glaring loophole in digital music distribution makes it very easy to piggyback on the talent of real artists with AI generated music. 1122795
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 16/09/2026humans are reading your ChatGPT prompts. I've seen the prompts myself, they can included sensitive information. Watch the whole conversation and subscribe here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyPu... 39235
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 16/09/2026ICE plans to spend millions more dollars on Tangles, and specifically Webloc. As we revealed, this is a tool that ICE can use to monitor entire neighborhoods. www.404media.co/inside-ices-... 6193108
Reposted by Joseph CoxAndrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 16/09/2026NEW: When @dmehro.bsky.social at @wired.com and @josephcox.bsky.social at @404media.co both got handed the full contents of a Flock camera, we worked together to figure out what it revealed. (WIRED’s below, 404’s version here: www.404media.co/hackers-stol...)wired.comHackers Got Inside a Flock Camera. Its Data Shows How the System Really WorksA hacker collective pulled down a Flock camera and dumped its data. The files included thousands of videos and logs showing that the device captured 1.6 million images of 50,000 vehicles in 21 days. 07034
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 16/09/2026New: hackers tore down a Flock camera and managed to extract the software running on it. We then analyzed the data to find how a Flock camera really track cars and people. The amount of data this single camera gathered in a short period was huge, 50,000+ vehicles www.404media.co/hackers-stol... 3325115
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Stop getting your AI agent to email us. It's not impressive, it's lame as fuck, and you look like an idiot doing it. Our inboxes are full of this crap. www.404media.co/theres-a-100...404media.coThere’s a 100% Chance AI Agents Are Already Ruining the Internet“AI agents” now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying online. 210517
Reposted by Joseph Cox404 Media @404media.co · 14/09/2026EXCLUSIVE: Humans are reading ChatGPT users’ prompts to improve OpenAI’s models, and those chats can include sensitive, personal information, according to leaked internal documents and real prompts seen by 404 Media.404media.coInside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT ChatsHumans are reading ChatGPT users’ prompts to improve OpenAI’s models, and those chats can include sensitive, personal information, according to leaked internal documents and real prompts seen by 404 M... 29815435
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026The New York District Attorney announced on Monday that it has seized 12 websites hosting AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery, primarily of celebrities and public figures. We were there for the announcement in person. www.404media.co/new-york-dis...404media.coNew York Seizes 12 Celebrity Deepfake WebsitesNew York District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a press conference on Monday that the sites included 1,200 people’s likenesses in “hyper-realistic” sexual imagery. 05112
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Anthropic confirmed it is doing much the same thing too, and is using human reviewers www.404media.co/inside-proje... 311728
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Here is the setting you need to turn off if you don't want a human potentially reading through your ChatGPT conversations. I've seen some of the prompts; these ChatGPT users clearly have no idea a human is reading www.404media.co/inside-proje... 719059
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Cops are searching thousands of Flock cameras for very important law enforcement investigations, with given reasons like "LMAO," "IDK," and "Hehe." www.404media.co/cops-search-...404media.coCops Search Thousands of Flock Cameras for Reasons of ‘LMAO,’ ‘IDK,’ ‘Hehe,’ and ‘asdfg’The EFF found cops writing “idiot,” “WEIRD KID,” "blah," "leave me alone," and button mashing in Flock's 'reason' box. 410344
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026So.... is AI really going to kill us in the next ten years??? Watch more and subscribe here: youtu.be/eMNBkqIjibc 0130