404 Media 🕸️

This week, the creature from the Pangean lagoon, casket shopping for Disney princesses, a horror show in ancient Somerset, and “Martifacts.”

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss our top games of the year, air traffic control, and posting through it.

Anthropic created an AI jailbreaking algorithm that keeps tweaking prompts until it gets a harmful response.

Artists, merch sellers, and journalists making and posting Luigi media have become the targets of bogus DMCA claims.

Air traffic control audio reviewed by 404 Media shows 11 aircraft near New Jersey reporting people shining lasers at them during the ongoing drone panic.

To political grifters boosting their profiles, government inaction is unacceptable, and government action cannot be trusted. There is no acceptable explanation.

What is probably happening with all those drone sightings; Cellebrite used as a doorway to malware; and an art project and a cease and desist.

The Department of Homeland Security knows which countries SS7 attacks are primarily originating from. Others include countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Longtime WordPress contributors ask: “Where are the adults in the room?”

A new report from Amnesty International reveals multiple cases where Serbian authorities used Cellebrite devices to access targets' mobile phones before loading them with spyware.

Don’t panic…yet. Also: A baby galaxy with a bedazzled name, tiny poops with big potential, and an ancient ritual compound in a secret cave chamber.

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss archiving nostalgia, newsworthiness, and plans for 2025.

The New Jersey drone situation is very interesting. We've also seen this story before.

Traffic Cam Photobooth lets you take a capture from NYC surveillance camera. The city's Department of Transportation does not like that.

YouTube’s rollout of AI tools shows nonsensical AI-generated audience engagement and AI slop thumbnails.

Automattic is ordered to undo several of the actions of its CEO Matt Mullenweg in its ongoing legal battle with WP Engine. “It's hard to imagine wanting to continue to working on WordPress after this," Mullenweg said in a community Slack message.

“With premium original content, precise ad-targeting capability, and an AI-powered, innovative engaging viewing experience, TCL’s content service will continue its double-digit growth next year.”

This week we talk about the weapon used by the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer; the sad state of OSINT after a suspect's name is released; how health insurance companies have tried to scrub leadership from the web; moderation challenges on Reddit; and deepfake apps.

The ritualized rifling through old internet accounts usually muddies the story more than it informs the public.