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It's time for a quick weekly roundup, in case you needed something to bring to the table. On the podcast this week: a massive leak from an AI chatbot and image generator platform, and how a recent change on X exposed a bunch of grifters all around the world. In the section for subscribers at the Supporter level, we talk about how our reporting contributed to the shut down of a warrantless surveillance program. If you couldn’t attend our Flock-themed FOIA Forum live, the recording is now up, here. Subscribers at the Supporter level get access to the livestream so you can chat and ask questions during the forum, and the recording to revisit after. Check your subscriber status here. Have you taken our reader survey yet? It’ll help us learn more about our audience and what you want to see more of from 404 Media. If you’ve taken it already, we’re very grateful!
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WHERE WE DROPPIN?In a Simpsons-themed Fortnite lobby on November 21, members of a new 500-person gaming group gathered to practice what they would do if ICE agents came knocking at their doors in real life. The group, New Save Collective, is an effort to organize people in the gaming world who have more progressive ideas but no place to discuss them. “ Our hypothesis since we started this project has been that opposition forces like corporations and the military and the far right have done a really good job at weaponizing the social features of gaming,” said one of the organizers. “ They’re building institutions in the gaming landscape, which is the biggest entertainment industry in the world, lest people forget.”  Redacted screenshots via Fortnite ‘HOW TO CREATE USA CHANNEL’A new feature on X is making people suddenly realize that some large portion of the divisive, hateful, and spammy content designed to inflame tensions or, at the very least, is designed to get lots of engagement on social media, is being published by accounts that are pretending to be based in the United States but are actually being run by people in countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, Russia, and other countries. Inauthentic viral accounts on X are just the tip of the iceberg, though, as we have reported. A huge amount of the viral content about American politics and American news on social media is from sock puppet and bot accounts monetized by people in other countries.  Screenshots via Youtube ‘5../XEWE2'""""onclic…’ IS MY FAV PODCASTSomething very strange is happening to the Apple Podcasts app. Over the last several months, for some users, the iOS and Mac versions of the Podcasts app will open religion, spirituality, and education podcasts with no apparent rhyme or reason, or the podcast app launches itself and presents one of the bizarre podcasts. At least one of the podcast pages in the app includes a link to a potentially malicious website. “The most concerning behavior is that the app can be launched automatically with a podcast of an attacker’s choosing,” Patrick Wardle, a macOS security expert and the creator of Mac-focused cybersecurity organization Objective-See, told 404 Media.  Photo by Jimmy Jin on Unsplash. READ MOREReplying to A Lone Astronomer Has Reported a Dark Matter ‘Annihilation’ Breakthrough, Marc writes: “Thanks for this very interesting article. It highlights the best things about science. Investigation, observation, building on previous work, deduction, hypothesis, and fearlessly welcoming scrutiny. Keep up the great work, Becky!”
And replying to Please, please do our reader survey Chloe writes: “Maybe not useful for advertisers, but my reasons for subscribing:
1) lots of open discussions about editorial decisions
2) very chill vibes on the pod and in the newsletters. big fan of nerdy BTS stuff, slop-related digressions, and complaints about the meta PR department
3) the emphasis on original reporting & impact articles–I know my money is helping 404 do important work
4) 404 is my only source for serious & consistent reporting on the adult industry & how AI is being used for non-consensual pornography. I really can't wrap my head around how rare this reporting is
5) crazy scoops. very jealous
6) you guys devoted a whole segment of the pod to discussing how often you call your moms 🫡
7) last year, before I was really following 404, I sent a bunch of tech journalists a tip and Sam was the only person who got back to me with an actual message, not just ‘send link’ and then ghosting. That's when I really started listening to the pod”
This is so nice and indeed very helpful, thank you! Behind the Blog will be back next week. Have a restful weekend!
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