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New format alert! We are experimenting with publishing additional interview episodes! These will not replace the normal weekly show. Rather, we'll upload an interview with people we find interesting whenever we feel a good opportunity comes up. Subscribers as usual get early and ad-free access. This episode is with Byron Tau, an investigative journalist and author of the new book Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government is Creating a New American Surveillance State. Joseph's and Byron's work on location data has bounced off each others' for years. Finally, the pair sit down and talk all about the adtech surveillance industry.

• Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government is Creating a New American Surveillance State

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A ton of stuff to talk about this week. We start with Jason and Emanuel's dive into how a deepfake nudify app rocked a high school. We got a copy of the police report, and more than anything else it shows we're simply not ready for what deepfakes will mean for ordinary people. Then Joseph talks about uncovering a network of fake funeral livestream scams on Facebook. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about Jason and Sam's very serious investigation into whether a certain brand of vibrator is actually delivering malware or not.

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We've got a real variety this week. First, Emanuel talks about Paradox.ai, a tool that massive brands like McDonald's, CVS, and FedEx are using to screen job applicants. It uses a bit of AI, but really this is more of a labor story. Then Jason breaks down Stract, an open source search engine that is trying to do search better than the increasingly bad experience of Google. In the subscribers-only section, the group goes long on how a viral story about a botnet of toothbrushes turned out to not be true, and how we've dealt with similar stories before.

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This week we start with Joseph's investigation into OnlyFake, an underground website that lets anyone generate convincing photos of fake IDs at the click of a mouse. Joseph successfully used one of these to bypass the identity verification process at a cryptocurrency exchange. This really will have massive implications for crime and cybersecurity more generally. After the break, we have a double feature with a story about AI audio porn and then a likely low tech response to the ongoing deepfake crisis. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel tells us about how he investigated the Instagram ad to investment scam pipeline.

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(I went in and fixed the audio issue! Please make sure your podcast client has the latest version downloaded. Okay, back to working on an investigation now, thank you for bearing with us) This week's episode is a banger. First, we go long with Sam and Emanuel, the two journalists who have followed deepfakes and generative AI more closely than anyone. Their latest piece talks about what is going to happen next: a clampdown in the AI and social media industries that may be an overcorrection, with impacts for everyone. Keeping with AI, Emanuel then explains how the founder of the extremism group The Base told his followers to use uncensored AI. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph talks about how an Iranian linked drug trafficker hired a member of the Hells Angel to carry out a hit on U.S. soil. Yes, that's the sentence.

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We're doing something a little different this episode. For the whole free section of the podcast, we're talking all about the degradation of Google. That includes AI-generated articles making their way onto Google News, and how researchers found that, yes, Google search really is getting worse. This is a long, rich, and fun discussion. Then in the subscribers-only section, Joseph breaks down his latest investigation into a phone spying capability that is monitoring billions. Google (to their credit) cut-off a linked company in response to our inquiries. 

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Well, that was a pleasant surprise: Google has formally endorsed right to repair! Jason not only broke this news but then had a long conversation with Google about why it made the change (spoiler: it was the concerted effort of consumers, activists, and journalists). Jason explains why this change matters in the first part of the show. After the break, Sam takes us through a pretty unusual court case and what it means for online dating. Then in the subscribers-only section, Joseph talks about a new map we just published showing which local police departments and public agencies have invested in the AI surveillance platform Fusus. Is your police department one of them? Take a look.

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Jason decided to publish our first story minutes before recording, so here is some hot off the presses material. That piece was about scam ads on YouTube involving deepfaked celebrities. After the break, Sam discussed a very bizarre FOIA response from Texas. Then in the subscribers-only section, Jason tells the long and very entertaining saga of the Polish hackers who fixed a bunch of trains, and faced legal threats in response.

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We are back for 2024! We hit the ground running this week with a story about charges against a man for allegedly orchestrating a massive, nationwide Airbnb scam. Then Sam speaks about how Pornhub is blocking access to visitors in North Carolina and Montana, who are now (predictably) using VPNs as a workaround. Then in the subscribers-only section we talk about the life and death of the encrypted app Wickr. RIP Wickr.

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