The 404 Media Podcast

• AI Slop Is Breaking the Internet as We Know It (Live at SXSW)

  Jason, Sam, and Blood in the Machine's Brian Merchant discuss how AI slop has taken over the internet, how it is a brute-force attack against the algorithms that control what we see on social media, and what we can do to fight back against it. This panel was held at Speakeasy in Austin, Texas at SXSW on March 10, 2025. Thanks to our friends at Flipboard for giving us the space and to DeleteMe for sponsoring the event. Use code "404Media" for 20% off an annual plan of DeleteMe: https://www.404media.co/r/5d94373c?m=e247fe06-53d6-4c05-9484-be3684d4f655 Find Brian's work at Blood in the Machine: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/ Become a paid subscriber for access to bonus content: https://404media.co/membership Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Inside the ICE Deportation Tool

  This week we start with a couple of Jason and Joseph's stories about the tool ICE uses to lookup an incredible amount of information about people. After the break, Joseph explains how he tested an AI service that calls your parents in case you can't be bothered. In the subscribers-only section, our new regular contributor Matthew Gault tells us all about the hack of 4chan and how we got here. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/gFmvCvvaB4k Inside a Powerful Database ICE Uses to Identify and Deport People I Tested The AI That Calls Your Elderly Parents If You Can't Be Bothered 4chan Is Down Following What Looks to Be a Major Hack Spurred By Meme War Subscribe at 404media.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• How a $2,000 'Made in the USA' Phone Is Manufactured

  Earlier this week we wrote an article called “A US-Made iPhone Is Pure Fantasy." The long and short of it is that Trump’s dream of moving all high tech manufacturing to the US is extremely difficult because global supply chains are so intricate, manufacturing expertise exists primarily in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and other countries, and the components that go into a phone are often made in other countries as well. But there is currently one smartphone that qualifies for a “Made in the USA” title from the FTC. It’s the Liberty Phone, which is made by a company called Purism. The phone is a version of Purism’s Librem 5. The Made-in-China Librem 5 costs $800, and the Liberty phone costs $2,000. It has 4 GB of memory, and reviewers say that its specs are pretty outdated. Not every single component in the Liberty Phone is made in the USA, but the company has been trying very hard to make it as American-made as possible. The fact that it exists at all is kind of a miracle, and the way that Purism is approaching manufacturing is really interesting, so I called Purism’s founder, Todd Weaver, to talk about smartphone supply chains, making tech products in the United States, and tariffs. Here’s our discussion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• The FBI Secretly Ran a Massive Money Laundering Ring

  We start this week with Joseph's story revealing how the FBI secretly ran a massive money laundering ring to catch drug traffickers and hackers. After the break, we run through a bunch of tariff stories and how it's going to impact everything from the Nintendo Switch to the iPhone. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains why he found the new book on Facebook particularly illuminating. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/XUAuEtirP8E ‘Elon Musk’ Was a Prolific Money Launderer for Hackers and Drug Traffickers. It Was Secretly the FBI Big Tech Backed Trump for Acceleration. They Got a Decel President Instead 'Sea of Idiocy:' Economists Say Trump Tariffs Will Raise Price of Switch 2 and Everything Else A 'US-Made iPhone' Is Pure Fantasy Framework Stops Selling Some of Its Laptops in the U.S. Due to Tariffs 'Careless People' Is the Book About Facebook I've Wanted for a Decade Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• OpenAI's Studio Ghibli AI: 'An Insult to Life Itself'

  Jason, Sam, and Emanuel talk about Miyazaki being turned into a meme, the guys suing OnlyFans after being surprised to learn they were not actually talking to models, and the depravity of "brainrot" AI. Articles discussed: Hayao Miyazaki, Who Said AI Is ‘Insult to Life Itself,” Reduced to AI-Generated Meme by OpenAI: https://www.404media.co/hayao-miyazaki-who-said-ai-is-insult-to-life-itself-reduced-to-ai-generated-meme-by-openai/ OnlyFans Sued After Two Guys Realized They Might Not Actually Be Talking to Models: https://www.404media.co/onlyfans-sued-after-two-guys-realized-they-might-not-actually-be-talking-to-models/ Subscribers Only: 'Brainrot' AI on Instagram Is Monetizing the Most Fucked Up Things You Can Imagine (and Lots You Can't): https://www.404media.co/brainrot-ai-on-instagram-is-monetizing-the-most-fucked-up-things-you-can-imagine-and-lots-you-cant/ Become a paid subscriber for access to bonus content: https://404media.co/membership Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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