Joseph Cox
@josephcox.bsky.social
Hacking/crime/privacy journalist. Author of DARK WIRE, buy here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/joseph-cox/dark-wire/9781541702691/#preorder Co-founder of 404 Media. Signal: joseph.404 Email: joseph@404media.co
Pinned
Joseph Cox
@josephcox.bsky.social
· Oct 8
Today's the day: DARK WIRE, my book on how the FBI secretly ran a tech company for criminals and wiretapped the world, coming to paperback. Updated with many more details. An Economist and FT book of the year. 404 Media subs: you just got 20% to your email www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/josep...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
Feel like this is a good lesson to keep generative AI far from your editorial process as a matter of policy. Ars is a great website. If it can happen there it can happen to anyone that allows these tools in
Ars Technica Pulls Article With AI Fabricated Quotes About AI Generated Article
A story about an AI-generated article contained fabricated, AI-generated quotes.
www.404media.co
February 15, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Feel like this is a good lesson to keep generative AI far from your editorial process as a matter of policy. Ars is a great website. If it can happen there it can happen to anyone that allows these tools in
The Tumbler Ridge shooter created a mall shooting simulator in Roblox. “We have removed the user account connected to this horrifying incident as well as any content associated with the suspect,” Roblox told 404 Media www.404media.co/tumbler-ridg...
Tumbler Ridge Shooter Created Mall Shooting Simulator in Roblox
Roblox said it’s “committed to fully supporting law enforcement in their investigation.”
www.404media.co
February 12, 2026 at 10:15 PM
The Tumbler Ridge shooter created a mall shooting simulator in Roblox. “We have removed the user account connected to this horrifying incident as well as any content associated with the suspect,” Roblox told 404 Media www.404media.co/tumbler-ridg...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
What types of jobs will automation bring the labor market? Here's one: DoorDash delivery drivers being paid to close Waymo's doors left open by previous customers. @evystadium.bsky.social has more.
Story by @josephcox.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/waymo-is-get...
Story by @josephcox.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/waymo-is-get...
February 12, 2026 at 8:41 PM
What types of jobs will automation bring the labor market? Here's one: DoorDash delivery drivers being paid to close Waymo's doors left open by previous customers. @evystadium.bsky.social has more.
Story by @josephcox.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/waymo-is-get...
Story by @josephcox.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/waymo-is-get...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
the future of labor is armies of gig workers babysitting robots? www.404media.co/waymo-is-get...
Waymo Is Getting DoorDashers to Close Doors on Self Driving Cars
The companies have launched a pilot program in Atlanta, where “during the rare event a vehicle door is left ajar, preventing the car from departing, nearby Dashers are notified, allowing Waymo to get ...
www.404media.co
February 12, 2026 at 7:35 PM
the future of labor is armies of gig workers babysitting robots? www.404media.co/waymo-is-get...
New: Waymo is getting DoorDashers to close doors on self driving cars that people have left open. One Dasher got a job recently asking them to close a Waymo door. Reached out to company, they confirmed its a program in Atlanta. Even with AI, need a person here www.404media.co/waymo-is-get...
Waymo Is Getting DoorDashers to Close Doors on Self Driving Cars
The companies have launched a pilot program in Atlanta, where “during the rare event a vehicle door is left ajar, preventing the car from departing, nearby Dashers are notified, allowing Waymo to get ...
www.404media.co
February 12, 2026 at 7:36 PM
New: Waymo is getting DoorDashers to close doors on self driving cars that people have left open. One Dasher got a job recently asking them to close a Waymo door. Reached out to company, they confirmed its a program in Atlanta. Even with AI, need a person here www.404media.co/waymo-is-get...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
This tech is pretty common now but I don't think people fully understand what it means that anyone including police can use it www.404media.co/cops-are-buy...
Cops Are Buying ‘GeoSpy’, an AI That Geolocates Photos in Seconds
404 Media has obtained a cache of internal police emails showing at least two agencies have bought access to GeoSpy, an AI tool that analyzes architecture, soil, and other features to near instantly g...
www.404media.co
February 12, 2026 at 2:22 PM
This tech is pretty common now but I don't think people fully understand what it means that anyone including police can use it www.404media.co/cops-are-buy...
New from 404 Media: we've confirmed cops are buying access to GeoSpy, an AI that can geolocate photos in seconds. Doesn't use metadata, but clues in the photo like soil, architecture, to pinpoint where social media photos taken. Being used in investigations www.404media.co/cops-are-buy...
Cops Are Buying ‘GeoSpy’, an AI That Geolocates Photos in Seconds
404 Media has obtained a cache of internal police emails showing at least two agencies have bought access to GeoSpy, an AI tool that analyzes architecture, soil, and other features to near instantly g...
www.404media.co
February 12, 2026 at 2:17 PM
New from 404 Media: we've confirmed cops are buying access to GeoSpy, an AI that can geolocate photos in seconds. Doesn't use metadata, but clues in the photo like soil, architecture, to pinpoint where social media photos taken. Being used in investigations www.404media.co/cops-are-buy...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
Court battle over surveillance footage at the Broadview ICE detention center reaches new levels of kafkaesque absurdity: The DOJ claimed it *couldn't afford* hard drives to put video footage on. Plaintiffs bought THE US GOVERNMENT hard drives. ICE "lost" them.
www.404media.co/government-l...
www.404media.co/government-l...
Government Loses Hard Drives It Was Supposed to Put ICE Detention Center Footage On
A Kafkaesque saga in which the government has failed to produce critical video footage has reached new levels of absurdity.
www.404media.co
February 11, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Court battle over surveillance footage at the Broadview ICE detention center reaches new levels of kafkaesque absurdity: The DOJ claimed it *couldn't afford* hard drives to put video footage on. Plaintiffs bought THE US GOVERNMENT hard drives. ICE "lost" them.
www.404media.co/government-l...
www.404media.co/government-l...
Discord recently announced that many more users will need to scan their face or upload ID, verifying their age so they can continue to access parts of the platform. Someone quickly made a tool that they say bypasses it with a simple 3D model you control
www.404media.co/free-tool-sa...
www.404media.co/free-tool-sa...
Free Tool Says it Can Bypass Discord's Age Verification Check With a 3D Model
The tool presents users with a 3D model they can then manipulate to, the creator says, bypass Discord's age verification system.
www.404media.co
February 11, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Discord recently announced that many more users will need to scan their face or upload ID, verifying their age so they can continue to access parts of the platform. Someone quickly made a tool that they say bypasses it with a simple 3D model you control
www.404media.co/free-tool-sa...
www.404media.co/free-tool-sa...
In the latest episode of 'what happened to that CCTV footage from within an ICE detention center', the government now says it lost hard drives it was supposed to put the footage on
www.404media.co/government-l...
www.404media.co/government-l...
Government Loses Hard Drives It Was Supposed to Put ICE Detention Center Footage On
A Kafkaesque saga in which the government has failed to produce critical video footage has reached new levels of absurdity.
www.404media.co
February 11, 2026 at 8:33 PM
In the latest episode of 'what happened to that CCTV footage from within an ICE detention center', the government now says it lost hard drives it was supposed to put the footage on
www.404media.co/government-l...
www.404media.co/government-l...
Here's an interview with a woman targeted by AI-nudifiers using Grok, who then made an OnlyFans account of her
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans: www.404media.co/grok-nudify-...
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans: www.404media.co/grok-nudify-...
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans
Kylie Brewer isn't unaccustomed to harassment online. But when people started using Grok-generated nudes of her on an OnlyFans account, it reached another level.
www.404media.co
February 11, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Here's an interview with a woman targeted by AI-nudifiers using Grok, who then made an OnlyFans account of her
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans: www.404media.co/grok-nudify-...
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans: www.404media.co/grok-nudify-...
Ring launched a feature to track down lost dogs by turning a neighborhood's cameras into an active surveillance net. What happens after dogs? More here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JK-...
February 11, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Ring launched a feature to track down lost dogs by turning a neighborhood's cameras into an active surveillance net. What happens after dogs? More here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JK-...
The 404 Media Podcast is up!
- Ring is back and with a feature freaking people out
- how we bought a Super Bowl ad
- subscribers: why the FBI was unable to get into a journalist's phone
Watch/subscribe here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JK-...
- Ring is back and with a feature freaking people out
- how we bought a Super Bowl ad
- subscribers: why the FBI was unable to get into a journalist's phone
Watch/subscribe here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JK-...
Ring Is Back and Scarier Than Ever
YouTube video by 404 Media
www.youtube.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:24 PM
The 404 Media Podcast is up!
- Ring is back and with a feature freaking people out
- how we bought a Super Bowl ad
- subscribers: why the FBI was unable to get into a journalist's phone
Watch/subscribe here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JK-...
- Ring is back and with a feature freaking people out
- how we bought a Super Bowl ad
- subscribers: why the FBI was unable to get into a journalist's phone
Watch/subscribe here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JK-...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
Inspiring: RFK Jr's nutrition chatbot recommends the best foods to insert into your rectum.
“Start — whole peeled carrot, straight shaft, narrow end for insertion, wider crown end as base.”
www.404media.co/rfk-jrs-nutr...
“Start — whole peeled carrot, straight shaft, narrow end for insertion, wider crown end as base.”
www.404media.co/rfk-jrs-nutr...
RFK Jr's Nutrition Chatbot Recommends Best Foods to Insert Into Your Rectum
Realfood.gov will happily give you the worst possible advice.
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Inspiring: RFK Jr's nutrition chatbot recommends the best foods to insert into your rectum.
“Start — whole peeled carrot, straight shaft, narrow end for insertion, wider crown end as base.”
www.404media.co/rfk-jrs-nutr...
“Start — whole peeled carrot, straight shaft, narrow end for insertion, wider crown end as base.”
www.404media.co/rfk-jrs-nutr...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
NEW: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff ‘joked’ with employees who had traveled to the United States for a Salesforce all-hands meeting that ICE agents were in the building keeping tabs on them, 404 Media has learned.
Marc Benioff 'Jokes' ICE Is Watching Salesforce Employees Who Traveled to the U.S.
"Employees are going absolutely apeshit in internal Slack about how completely awful it was."
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 7:40 PM
NEW: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff ‘joked’ with employees who had traveled to the United States for a Salesforce all-hands meeting that ICE agents were in the building keeping tabs on them, 404 Media has learned.
Reposted by Joseph Cox
New: marc benioff told international employees who traveled to a major salesforce meeting in Vegas that ICE is watching them. Cool joke.
"employees are going absolutely apeshit about how completely awful it was"
Read the Slacks:
www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
"employees are going absolutely apeshit about how completely awful it was"
Read the Slacks:
www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
Marc Benioff 'Jokes' ICE Is Watching Salesforce Employees Who Traveled to the U.S.
"Employees are going absolutely apeshit in internal Slack about how completely awful it was."
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 7:33 PM
New: marc benioff told international employees who traveled to a major salesforce meeting in Vegas that ICE is watching them. Cool joke.
"employees are going absolutely apeshit about how completely awful it was"
Read the Slacks:
www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
"employees are going absolutely apeshit about how completely awful it was"
Read the Slacks:
www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
New: Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, just 'joked' ICE is watching Salesforce employees who travelled to the U.S. We got a bunch of internal Slacks.
'If you’re visiting from outside the United States, please stand … ICE is keeping track of that' www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
'If you’re visiting from outside the United States, please stand … ICE is keeping track of that' www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
Marc Benioff 'Jokes' ICE Is Watching Salesforce Employees Who Traveled to the U.S.
"Employees are going absolutely apeshit in internal Slack about how completely awful it was."
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 7:35 PM
New: Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, just 'joked' ICE is watching Salesforce employees who travelled to the U.S. We got a bunch of internal Slacks.
'If you’re visiting from outside the United States, please stand … ICE is keeping track of that' www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
'If you’re visiting from outside the United States, please stand … ICE is keeping track of that' www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
Ring is a wildly dangerous company. Always has been. But it has sort of flown under the radar the last couple years as it tried to soften its image. Make no mistake that this is an extremely dangerous surveillance dragnet:
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet
Ring's 'Search Party' is dystopian surveillance accelerationism.
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Ring is a wildly dangerous company. Always has been. But it has sort of flown under the radar the last couple years as it tried to soften its image. Make no mistake that this is an extremely dangerous surveillance dragnet:
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
With Ring, American consumers built the surveillance dragnet. Ring's Super Bowl ad, which highlighted a feature to find lost dogs, showed Ring is still, again, and always will be in the business of leveraging its network of luxury surveillance consumers www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet
Ring's 'Search Party' is dystopian surveillance accelerationism.
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 3:45 PM
With Ring, American consumers built the surveillance dragnet. Ring's Super Bowl ad, which highlighted a feature to find lost dogs, showed Ring is still, again, and always will be in the business of leveraging its network of luxury surveillance consumers www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
had a great time talking with @patrickklepek.bsky.social about parenting, screen time, roblox, and more. Please listen so I can do more mommy blogging on 404 Media www.404media.co/the-screen-t...
The Screen Time Panic Sets Parents Up to Fail
Patrick Klepek on the reality of parenting in the age of Roblox and YouTube.
www.404media.co
February 9, 2026 at 7:53 PM
had a great time talking with @patrickklepek.bsky.social about parenting, screen time, roblox, and more. Please listen so I can do more mommy blogging on 404 Media www.404media.co/the-screen-t...
"The chatbots also generated information that was just wrong or incomplete, including focusing on elements of the participants’ inputs that were irrelevant, giving a partial US phone number to call, or suggesting they call the Australian emergency number." www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
Chatbots Make Terrible Doctors, New Study Finds
Chatbots provided incorrect, conflicting medical advice, researchers found: “Despite all the hype, AI just isn't ready to take on the role of the physician.”
www.404media.co
February 9, 2026 at 4:34 PM
"The chatbots also generated information that was just wrong or incomplete, including focusing on elements of the participants’ inputs that were irrelevant, giving a partial US phone number to call, or suggesting they call the Australian emergency number." www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
Reposted by Joseph Cox
Reposted by Joseph Cox
WE BOUGHT A SUPER BOWL AD
February 9, 2026 at 2:33 AM
WE BOUGHT A SUPER BOWL AD
404 Media just had an ad during the #SuperBowl! We Googled "smallest TV markets in the United States" and bought an ad for $2,550 that only ran in Ottumwa, Iowa, population 25,000. That still counts
www.404media.co/watch-404-me...
www.404media.co/watch-404-me...
Watch 404 Media’s Super Bowl Ad
WE BOUGHT A SUPER BOWL AD.
www.404media.co
February 9, 2026 at 2:48 AM
404 Media just had an ad during the #SuperBowl! We Googled "smallest TV markets in the United States" and bought an ad for $2,550 that only ran in Ottumwa, Iowa, population 25,000. That still counts
www.404media.co/watch-404-me...
www.404media.co/watch-404-me...