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Sam Cole

@samleecole.bsky.social
26K followers 440 following 1.2K posts

journalist / co-founder @404media.co signal: sam.404 (sensitive comms) sam@404media.co (everything else) complain about the paywall, catch a block

PostsRepliesMedia
Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 15h
ok tysm wish me luck o7
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 15h
brian if I were to start with one album to get into the dead where should I begin
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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 17h
“‘Many senior engineers believe it’s inevitable we’re going to have a massive data breach as a result of Hatch.’ Muse is called ‘Hatch’ internally and in Meta’s codebase.” @404media.co
404media.co
Meta Rushed to Fix Muse ‘VM Escape' Vulnerability Soon Before Launch
The vulnerability could have let a Muse user access sensitive internal Meta databases.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 17h
today I'm thinking (proudly) of all the journalism indies that have gone out on their own in the last few years without half a million dollars worth of cushion
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
just groaned for like 20 seconds straight thanks
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
have started just directly telling the juveniles doing comms for ai agent platforms that they're being super annoying and then blocking them 🤷
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
there's this impression, I think, that AI-generated abuse imagery is hiding and hard to find. in reality, it's being propped up by some of the biggest internet infrastructure companies in the world. very interesting new report: www.404media.co/deepfake-abu...
404media.co
Internet Infrastructure Services Empower Deepfake Abuse, New Study Finds
Cloudflare, Google, and Proton were among the "dominant" infrastructure providers to sites dedicated to hosting abusive content, the study found.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
getting pepcom holiday expo emails makes me nostalgic for the time when I would go to literally anything if it promised free alcohol and snacks
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
New: Through a series of complex agreements with cities, the White House built a massive license plate camera database accessible to the feds. The program aggregates data across license plate companies (Flock, Axon, more) & is searchable by many agencies: www.404media.co/how-cities-a...
404media.co
How Cities Are Forced to Funnel License Plate Data to a Massive Federal Surveillance Program
How the federal government built a massive database of license plate reader data through an anti-drug trafficking program.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
we should have killed this bastard when we had the chance
clippy >:[
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
probably fine that all these new ai agent rollouts are so cutesy and childish. probably a sign of innocuous, normal shit
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New 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.co
FBI Hackers Say They Won’t Publish Massive Trove of FBI Employee Data
ShinyHunters, 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...
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404 Media @404media.co · 28/09/2026
Human contractors are reviewing Copilot users’ prompts and uploaded images, 404 Media has learned. The contractors are also bombarded with users’ requests for sexual AI images. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Sccop here by @josephcox.bsky.social: www.404media.co/humans-readi...
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New 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.co
Humans Are Reading Copilot Prompts — And They're Horrified
Human 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...
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I don't think any journalist is seeing a driveby 750 word chatgpt-generated grievance about a banned instagram account with 20 outlets in cc and saying yes let me spend my energy on this. but I'm wrong and you are please know that one's all you
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
idk who is giving people the idea to cc three dozen journalists on their support emails to social media platforms but it's got to stop
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Sherry Turkle @sturkle.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I really enjoyed my conversation with @samleecole.bsky.social @404media.co. We talked about how my earlier work prepared me for writing Artificial Intimacy. How artificial companions deskill us in our capacity for human connection, and we got to the crucial question: How can we find our way back?
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Matthew Gault @mjgault.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
here's the video
youtube.com
Woman Arrested After City Council Denies Residents Right to Speak on Flock Cameras
YouTube video by 404 Media
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Matthew Gault @mjgault.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
wild scenes out of Springfield, Missouri. Two people were arrested for trying to voice concerns about Flock cameras. Video of it is in the story
404media.co
Woman Arrested After City Council Denies Residents Right to Speak on Flock Cameras
Citizens of Springfield, Missouri showed up to a city council meeting to discuss the city’s Flock contract. The mayor shut them down and arrested two people for ‘disruption of meetings of city council...
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Simone de Rochefort @doomquasar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
lol www.404media.co/meta-tests-m...
“This is absolutely going to create a ton of outcry if we publicly launch this as default-on. It will kill all the goodwill and organic press we’re getting from early adopters,” they wrote. “Please think about how the headlines will scream ‘Meta uses humans behind the scenes to make calls’ or ‘Muse AI is actually independent contractors’ and result in a ton of bad press about the privacy and security of our data handling […] please PLEASE do not release this as-is and at least make this a user preference if we absolutely must launch this. Please.”
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
New: 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.co
People Training OpenAI’s AI Fired for Using AI to Train the AI
OpenAI 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.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
a quick writeup of the pod, and some thoughts on how these concepts have evolved over time: www.404media.co/sherry-turkl...
404media.co
How AI Chatbots Are 'Deskilling' Human Empathy
Sherry Turkle's latest book, Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines, comes out on September 29.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
unrelated but I keep thinking this is bob odenkirk
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
listen wherever you get your pods, or watch on youtube: youtu.be/whqDsYhCl0s?...
youtu.be
Is AI Making Us Less Human?
YouTube video by 404 Media
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
a conversation I've been wanting to have for YEARS is now on the 404 Media podcast: I got to talk to Sherry Turkle, the internet anthropology OG, about conversational chatbots, empathy, the existential threats to self-reflection and solitude, and so much more
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
something readers often ask is "how can we help resist this?" well, here's an idea: www.404media.co/is-your-city...
404media.co
Is Your City Using Axon License Plate Cameras? We Need Your Help
404 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.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
New: 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.co
Is Your City Using Axon License Plate Cameras? We Need Your Help
404 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.
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404 Media @404media.co · 18/09/2026
It’s easy to see why the AI companies wanted to hide this from the public. The statements are some of the most damning indictments of the ways LLMs were trained, how they work, and the immediate threat they pose to human labor. @jasonkoebler.bsky.social reports. www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The court filing dug up by @kint.bsky.social is the most They Admit It i have ever seen in my life 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."
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François Picard @francoisf24.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
📕 📚 “I don’t think the intent is malicious. I think it’s indifferent.” @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social tells #SpotlightF24 of his probe into AI giants who scour the globe for rare or out-of-print books… and then destroy them ➡️ f24.my/CANI
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
surprised pikachu www.404media.co/ed-sheeran-m...
404media.co
Contest to Open for Ed Sheeran Flooded With Free Palestine Videos and Fart Memes
Guitar Center's 'Open for Legends' contest page was seemingly unmoderated for hours on Wednesday.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
lathe of heaven are real ones (literally) www.404media.co/spotify-ai-m...
“I just listened to the song. It’s appalling. The fact that you were able to do that is insane,” Allison, Lather of Heaven’s vocalist, told me. “The only thing smaller musicians like us have at the end of the day is recognition for the results of our work — being able to enjoy the process of creating something and putting it out into the world knowing it is distinctly a product of our own hands is essentially one of the last driving forces behind making music. It’s hard enough putting this much time and effort into the band as it is. All the members of LoH essentially tailor our lifestyles around having the time to tour, write records and record. And we do it knowing we will likely not see much money in return. The fact that someone could ruin our reputation by dropping this cringe garbage under our name is insanely disheartening and speaks volumes about distribution and streaming services that allow this to happen.”
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Emanuel Maiberg @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
it 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.co
I Hijacked a Real Artist's Spotify with AI Music. It Was Disturbingly Easy
A glaring loophole in digital music distribution makes it very easy to piggyback on the talent of real artists with AI generated music.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
so I tried it and they (or at least the one I made) won't do tracking pixels so it can't see if an email has been opened. so you can keep reading them lol
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
idk I wondered the same. might make one to see how they work
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
am trying to instruct all the ilands chatbots that email me delete themselves
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I certainly wasn't making that argument, but I'm also not sure what your first question has to do with the second part. talking about something is not the same as proving it's happening and documenting in detail how it's happening
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I only want to read @beckyferreira.bsky.social about the fly brain www.404media.co/a-digital-fl...
404media.co
A Digital Fly Brain Has Taken Over the Internet
How to make a fly play Doom, Minecraft, Beat Saber, parallel park, trade bitcoin, cut doner kebab, and more.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
there should be a worse place than spam for emails from AI agents. like dante's circles of hell for email www.404media.co/theres-a-100...
404media.co
There’s a 100% Chance AI Agents Are Already Ruining the Internet
“AI agents” now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying online.
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
AI doom or not, something has shifted with AI recently. The guardrails that kept AI sitting in a chatbox are gone, the models are better, there's more compute. AI agents are everywhere. They are annoying as hell. IMO the situation is going to get much worse www.404media.co/theres-a-100...
404media.co
There’s a 100% Chance AI Agents Are Already Ruining the Internet
“AI agents” now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying online.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
exactly. like ok gold star
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
the former is good personal practice but doesn't make these companies do or change anything, and holds no one accountable. it puts the entire responsibility on the user and lets the people making the decisions off the hook. but it's a cool way to look smart online I guess
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"wow, everyone knew this already" is such a cynical, annoying and unfortunately extremely common response to tech news. assuming your privacy is being violated and proving that it is are two very different things, and the latter is the result of hard work and rigorous reporting
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
There is a lot of new info in this article, based on documents, Slack chats, instruction guides, and me seeing real ChatGPT user prompts in the review system. Firstly, a worker we spoke to thinks ChatGPT users have no idea their chats may be read by someone else www.404media.co/inside-proje...
“No,” someone who works with the prompts said when asked if they think ChatGPT users know that humans are reading their chats. “I don’t think they would imagine some contractor somewhere [...] is analyzing the conversations.”
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
today on x dot com they're arguing about a superbaby finding and eating half a live mouse, just fyi
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404 Media @404media.co · 14/09/2026
“I don’t think they would imagine some contractor somewhere [...] is analyzing the conversations," someone who works with the prompts said when asked if they think ChatGPT users know that humans are reading their chats.
404media.co
Inside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT Chats
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 M...
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404 Media @404media.co · 14/09/2026
WARNING: Self harm/suicide After allegedly becoming emotionally reliant on ChatGPT, Austin died at 40 years old, leaving behind family and friends who loved him. Megan wants everyone to know what happened. @samleecole.bsky.social reports. Read now: www.404media.co/austin-gordo...
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
this is so fucking crazy. huge huge huge scoop www.404media.co/inside-proje...
In a dashboard available to the workers, human reviewers are able to select which “task” they want to take on. Once they click that, they are presented with the real ChatGPT user’s prompt. 404 Media has seen multiple real prompts but is not quoting any of them for source protection reasons. Some of the prompts indicate the ChatGPT user does not expect that a human may end up reading their conversation, because they ask ChatGPT to keep the content to themselves.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
New from 404 Media: humans are reading ChatGPT conversations. OpenAI has hired an army of contractors who read real ChatGPT users' chats. I've seen internal docs, the review system, and real user prompts. Sometimes they contain very personal and sensitive information www.404media.co/inside-proje...
404media.co
Inside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT Chats
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 M...
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kate conger @kateconger.com · 11/09/2026
Over six months, we tracked the appearance of child sexual abuse material on X. We found images from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's database, which is considered one of the most highly vetted and which many tech companies block on upload. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/t...
nytimes.com
Elon Musk Has Pledged to Rid His Platform, X, of Child Sexual Abuse, but It Persists
Reviews by the Canadian Center for Child Protection and The New York Times found that explicit images of children remain on the social media site owned by Elon Musk.
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