404 Media is an online publication that focuses on technology and internet reporting.[1][2] It covers topics such as hacking, sex work, niche online communities, and the right-to-repair movement.[3][4] The publication is worker-owned by its reporters.[5]
History
Three founders of 404 Media (left to right): Samantha Cole, Joseph Cox, and Emanuel Maiberg.
404 Media was founded in 2023 by former staff members of Vice Media's Motherboard after it filed for bankruptcy.[6][7] Among the founding members of 404 Media were Jason Koebler, the former editor-in-chief of Motherboard, senior editors Emanuel Maiberg and Samantha Cole, and writer Joseph Cox.[1][3]Fast Company summarized the outlet's creation as "bootstrapp[ing] a spartan setup consisting of a Stripe account and the Ghost web-hosting platform".[8]
In November 2024, 404 Media entered an agreement with Wired to co-publish two of its articles a month on the magazine's website.[9]
Business model
404 Media, incorporated in California as Dark Mode, LLC,[10] is reporter-owned, a model that was inspired by organizations such as Defector Media and Hell Gate.[3] The company offers two paid subscription tiers, $100 and $1,000 annual plans.[8]
In January 2024, the website began requiring email addresses to deter Artificial Intelligencearticle spinners from scraping its content. As of February 2024, the company reported profitability.[11]
Notable reports and coverage
In January 2024, the outlet reported AI-generated rewrites of 404 Media articles had begun to show up on search engines, with some of these AI-generated stories prioritized over the original article on Google Search.[12][13]
In February 2024, 404 Media released a report alleging that Tumblr and WordPress were selling users' data to AI companies OpenAI and Midjourney for training purposes.[2]404 Media has also covered how so-called "ghost kitchens", delivery-focused restaurants on apps such as UberEats and DoorDash that sell food from other restaurants, have utilized generative AI to create product images.[14]
Reception
In an article about 2024 media industry layoffs, the Financial Times highlighted 404 Media as a successful new media venture amid an "existential crisis" in the industry. The article stated that the publication has been recognized for "publishing an eye-catching range of stories about the tech sector." They also highlighted 404 Media's profitability: "Not only is it producing good stories but its founders say it is breaking even."[12]
On 25 July 2024, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced 404 Media would receive one of three 2024 EFF Awards for their "incisive investigative reports, deep-dive features, blogs, and scoops about topics such as hacking, cybersecurity, cybercrime, sex, artificial intelligence, consumer rights, government and law enforcement surveillance, privacy, and the democratization of the internet."[15]
