@indicator.media
Indicator.media publishes original reporting, in-depth investigations, and practical tutorials on OSINT tools & techniques. We provide engaged citizens and professionals with the knowledge they need to fight digital deception.
In today's free @indicator.media I do my best to set aside the hypocrisy of X launching a fact-checking policy and the State Department applauding it -- and assess the merits of the policy itself.
Check out the latest episode of @indicator.media Show & Tell!
Maldita.es has been doing some incredible work investigating scams, disinformation, and worse on the biggest tech platforms.
So Craig and I got @cjimenezcruz.bsky.social to walk us through three of them, spreadsheets in hand.
For those thinking of using Telegram for conflict reporting, image gathering, and source searching, here’s a guide I put together for @indicator.media:
indicator.media/p/the-indica...
Toronto's @thestar.com sent a cease and desist letter to the creator of the podcast network that @indicator.media wrote about on Wednesday. He has promised to reverse course.
www.thestar.com/opinion/publ...
“Indicator’s findings suggest news media outlets are ever more vulnerable to the systematized scraping of their articles for the generation of derivative content.” Generative #AI audio incl voice & music is everywhere but less clocked than visual
imagery. #podcasting indicator.media/p/this-ai-ge...
Here's a video about my recent investigation into more than two dozen accounts using AI-generated doctors and health professionals to push dubious advice and sell products on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube: indicator.media/p/ai-generat...
thanks for the flag!
Thanks so much for the shoutout, Zack!
GenAI is why Kant developed the Categorical Imperative.
Ask: What if everyone did this? Could the world still function? Would I accept that?
And here is the best example in living color 11,000 episiodes per day of AI slop.
indicator.media/p/this-ai-ge...
the outlets I pay for:
@tampabaytimes.bsky.social for local news
@hellgatenyc.com for NYC local news
@theonion.com for fishwrap (only eat fish once a month)
@garbageday.email for internet trash
@indicator.media for scammin' knowlege
NEW on @indicator.media:
I found an AI-generated podcast network that has published 350,000 episodes in the past month. That's 11,000 episodes a day, or about one year's worth of audio content.
You'll be shocked to find out it's not generating original material.
I learned a new term today: Industrialized user generated content.
“Users scroll through feeds filled with manufactured drama and self-interested advice, unable to distinguish between genuine recommendations and paid promotions.”
indicator.media/p/crying-gir...
Ecommerce fraud is rampant. It's also easy to launch and hard to trace.
My new guide to investigating ecommerce sites covers how to ID the store platform, trace ownership, analyze traffic, do a safe test purchase etc. I also found a few free, new-to-me tools: indicator.media/p/the-indica...
Just updated @indicator.media's AI Notes dashboard and
"cyborg" AI-written/human-notes are starting to show up on X.
Still only ~20 rated helpful for now. Unclear how many are actually getting significant human input based on the visible notes (see screenshots).
indicator.media/ai-community...
Last week I speculated that by the end of the year a majority of “helpful” Community Notes on X could be AI-generated.
To monitor this sorry milestone (and rate my forecasting abilities), I decided to build a free dashboard that tracks the share of AI notes. Check it out on @indicator.media
World's colliding for me on #techpolicy and SF city politics, with @mantzarlis.com interviewing the City Attorney. Great to see that accountability on AI nudifiers can mobilize in some form or fashion, because don't hold your breath for effective legislation anytime soon.
New on @indicator.media: I speak to San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu about his office's landmark lawsuit against 22 AI nudifiers.
"Crying girls will make you rich."
That's the actual pitch from a marketer selling packages of emotional videos that brands use to flood TikTok with undisclosed ads.
I just published an investigation into industrial UGC campaigns. What I found is troubling. 🧵 indicator.media/p/crying-gir...
X has taken one more step towards handing Community Notes over to the machines.
I understand the motive and don't even think it is net negative from a quality perspective.
But for a project meant to bring content moderation into the hands of users, this is the wrong direction of travel.
I pulled more than 2,000 offers for sale to calculate average prices across five countries, monetized status, and follower count.
indicator.media/p/how-much-d...
Today on Indicator: How much does a TikTok account cost?
Well, it depends. But on one prolific marketplace I track, you can get a handle for anywhere from 95¢ to $235.
Craig and I were tired of going to the Bar for Newsletter Dudes and getting asked "Bros, do you even *have* a podcast?" -- so we launched one.
Our first guest is @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social of "Facebook Files" fame. Jeff loves LinkedIn and handling bees.
Check out Show & Tell from @indicator.media:
Sulla piattaforma di Elon Musk Grok ha di fatto sostituito le Community Notes. E questa non è per niente una buona notizia.
Leggi l'analisi di @indicator.media👇
Indicator's weekly Briefing is free and includes all the news, tools, and research you need to know to keep up with our broken online information ecosystem.
Give it a spin:
We are grateful to @theguardian.com for citing Indicator's findings on AI nudifier ads running on Meta.
Reporters at the newspaper found 150 Telegram channels that trade in nonconsensual deepfake nudes. Here's their full article: www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
