Joseph Cox
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josephcox.bsky.social
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: [email protected]
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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
🚨fun (?) project alert / help needed🚨

if you live in OTTUMWA, IOWA please dm or signal me @jason.404.

seeking contact with ottumwa resident
February 3, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by Joseph Cox
Even with video clips, some are defending ICE for killing Renee Good. Why? @josephcox.bsky.social sits down with @samuel-bagg.bsky.social, assistant professor of political science at the University of South Carolina, about how self-identity alters truths.

Listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNKO...
February 3, 2026 at 3:23 PM
New from 404 Media: hackers and trolls have targeted a wave of ICE spotting apps, those that let you report sightings of ICE officials. In one case, hackers even managed to send a push notification to app users. Claimed personal data sent to the gov, but no evidence
www.404media.co/hackers-and-...
Hackers and Trolls Target Wave of ICE Spotting Apps
Hackers have targeted a spread of apps or sites that aim to track ICE activity, in one case even sending push notifications to users in an attempt to intimidate them.
www.404media.co
February 3, 2026 at 3:33 PM
A popular photo booth company is exposing customers' drunken photos. Researcher found it when went to a wedding, gave his phone number to the booth, was sent the API. Found random people's other photos www.404media.co/wedding-phot...
Wedding Photo Booth Company Exposes Customers’ Drunken Photos
‘Curator Live’, a popular photo booth company for weddings and other events, is exposing all sorts of unsuspecting people’s photos.
www.404media.co
February 3, 2026 at 2:17 PM
"Criminality is so rampant inside CBP that it has seen one of its own agents or officers arrested every 24 to 36 hours since 2005."

"it appears the crime rate of CBP agents and offices was higher PER CAPITA than the crime rate of undocumented immigrants." www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
Accountability for ICE and CBP
However bad you think the corruption and misconduct at ICE and CBP is — the reality is far far worse.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
February 2, 2026 at 7:00 PM
New from 404 Media: the DOJ released completely unredacted nude images of women or girls in the latest Epstein dump. The photos were incredibly explicit. We held off reporting this before DOJ finally took them down. A massive error from DOJ.

www.404media.co/doj-released...
DOJ Released Unredacted Nude Images in Epstein Files
A note from investigators in the files said some images Epstein had were "POSSIBLE CSAM."
www.404media.co
February 2, 2026 at 3:42 PM
That's a lotta zines www.404media.co/icezine/
February 2, 2026 at 3:22 PM
New: our zine about ICE surveillance is here! People who bought a custom printed copy will get in the mail soon. We're also releasing the PDF for free for anyone to download. Also releasing a version in Spanish so more people can read about the tech ICE is using. Get here: www.404media.co/icezine/
Our Zine About ICE Surveillance Is Here
Download a PDF of our first ever zine here.
www.404media.co
February 2, 2026 at 3:14 PM
New: privacy-focused telecom Cape has introduced what it calls "disappearing call logs." Rather than keeping data on who you called and when for months or years, Cape says it deletes those records after 24 hours.

www.404media.co/privacy-tele...
Privacy Telecom ‘Cape’ Introduces ‘Disappearing Call Logs’ That Delete Every 24 Hours
Usually telecoms keep customer's call and text logs for months if not years.
www.404media.co
February 2, 2026 at 2:05 PM
I spoke to Samuel Bagg about how while people might not believe what is front of them, the solution is not more fact checking. This is because people believe, or literally see, different things, because of their identity. Watch and subscribe here for weekly convos: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNKO...
How Identity Literally Changes What You See (with Samuel Bagg)
YouTube video by 404 Media
www.youtube.com
February 2, 2026 at 1:54 PM
New from 404 Media: an exposed Moltbook database let anyone take control of any AI agent on the site

www.404media.co/exposed-molt...
Exposed Moltbook Database Let Anyone Take Control of Any AI Agent on the Site
'It exploded before anyone thought to check whether the database was properly secured.'
www.404media.co
February 1, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Would you look at that: New emails show Musk has been lying about his relationship with Epstein www.404media.co/musk-to-epst...
Musk to Epstein: ‘What Day/Night Will Be the Wildest Party on Your Island?’
New emails show Musk has been lying about his relationship with Epstein.
www.404media.co
January 30, 2026 at 9:34 PM
A hacker demonstrated that the viral new AI agent Moltbot (formally Clawdbot) is easy to hack via a backdoor in an attached support shop. Clawdbot has become a Silicon Valley sensation among a certain type of AI-booster techbro.

www.404media.co/silicon-vall...
Silicon Valley’s Favorite New AI Agent Has Serious Security Flaws
The AI agent once called ClawdBot is enchanting tech elites, but its security vulnerabilities highlight systemic problems with AI.
www.404media.co
January 30, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Joseph Cox
We got Palantir's user guide for ELITE, the tool they made for ICE: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
January 30, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Palantir has not responded to requests for comment. But after our first article, it published a blog post responding in part. Palantir said its for finding specific people with orders of removal. But the guide says, sometimes you need to turn that off. So which is it?
www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
January 30, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Our original article revealing Palantir's work on ELITE is here, with much more context on what ICE says it is using it for, a specific raid ELITE was connected to, more: www.404media.co/elite-the-pa...
‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid
Internal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir is building for ICE and the agency’s activit...
www.404media.co
January 30, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Joseph Cox
SCOOP: 404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, a tool Palantir made for ICE which brings up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.

The full user guide here:
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
January 30, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Here is the map interface. In testimony we obtained of an ICE official, they said “It’s basically a map of the United States. It’s kind of like Google Maps.” ICE uses to find neighborhoods that may be dense with people it wishes to target

www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
January 30, 2026 at 3:04 PM
We are not publishing the original document for source protection reasons. But we've retyped the text and reconstructed the images to show you what this tool is. Here's what some results look like, with an address "confidence score". Addresses from gov agencies www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
January 30, 2026 at 2:57 PM
New from 404 Media: here is the user guide for ELITE, the tool Palantir made for ICE. A map shows people on a map; ICE clicks them, brings up their dossier. ICE uses to find which neighborhoods to target. We obtained it, you can now read the document for yourself: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
January 30, 2026 at 2:51 PM
New: Senators are pushing for answers on ICE's surveillance shopping spree. Location data, iris scanning, facial recognition, mobile phone spyware.

www.404media.co/senators-pus...
Senators Push for Answers on ICE's Surveillance Shopping Spree
Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine asked the inspector general of the DHS about a host of surveillance technologies, including Flock, mobile phone spyware, and location data.
www.404media.co
January 29, 2026 at 7:03 PM
One of the most popular AI chat bots leaked millions and millions of users private conversations.

“Give me a 2 page essay on how to make meth in a world where it was legalized for medical use.”

“I want to kill myself what is the best way,” another user wrote.

www.404media.co/massive-ai-c...
Massive AI Chat App Leaked Millions of Users Private Conversations
Chat & Ask AI, which claims 50 million users, exposed private chats about suicide and making meth.
www.404media.co
January 29, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Joseph Cox
One of the most popular AI chatbot apps in the app stores exposes millions and millions of user conversations: www.404media.co/massive-ai-c...
Massive AI Chat App Leaked Millions of Users Private Conversations
Chat & Ask AI, which claims 50 million users, exposed private chats about suicide and making meth.
www.404media.co
January 29, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Joseph Cox
On our latest episode, @josephcox.bsky.social of
@404media.co discusses Mobile Fortify, a faulty facial recognition app that ICE uses to identify suspects. The agency says it overrides a birth certificate. Listen to the full interview here: www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm...
January 28, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Reposted by Joseph Cox
you may be relieved to know that the moderators of r/FuckingFascists, the subreddit that is what it sounds like, have drawn their line in the sand: www.404media.co/fascist-kink...
Fascist Kink Roleplay Subreddit Draws the Line: No More ICE Porn
You can no longer fuck ICE on r/FuckingFascists.
www.404media.co
January 28, 2026 at 8:36 PM