Derek Mead

This finding (from Axios' 2025 Annual Media Trends Report) is important to keep in mind as national storylines continue to shift towards starting social-first (rather than traditional news outlet-first).

App for outing Charlie Kirk’s critics leaked its users’ personal data An app for anonymously reporting individuals accused of speaking ill against conservative Charlie Kirk leaked personal data about its users.

The app Cancel the Hate was set up to let users report people who spoke negatively about Charlie Kirk after his assassination. But then the app leaked personal data about its users, per @mikaelthalen.bsky.social's investigation. san.com/cc/app-for-o...

Where’s Congress? Capitol Hill empty one week out from government shutdown The United States Senate was in session for a total of 29 seconds on Monday; that’s 29 seconds longer than the House of Representatives.

Where is everybody? "The United States Senate was in session for a total of 29 seconds on Monday; that’s 29 seconds longer than the House of Representatives." san.com/cc/wheres-co...

App for outing Charlie Kirk’s critics leaked its users’ personal data An app for anonymously reporting individuals accused of speaking ill against conservative Charlie Kirk leaked personal data about its users.

NEW: An app launched by Cancel the Hate, a website for anonymously reporting those accused of speaking ill against Charlie Kirk, was leaking user data.

Cancel the Hate declined to respond to my inquires & removed the app from its website shortly after.

san.com/cc/app-for-o...

Your health care data is for sale. Here's how Big Pharma is using it. Straight Arrow News investigates how both doctor and patient data are collected, sold and utilized through a little-known $9B industry.

SAN investigated the $9 billion industry of heathcare data reselling, in which Big Pharma buys doctor and patient data to target advertising and IRL sales pitches to doctors who don't prescribe their drugs. Few doctors even know how advanced this industry actually is: san.com/cc/health-in...

Americans think local government is boring. Social media could fix that. Fewer people are attending public meetings for local government nationwide. A social media push is trying to get more people involved.

Local governments are jazzing up their social presence to try to increase civic participation. Good marketing, but what can be done to actually increase access? san.com/cc/americans...

'Hollywood of the South' loses Marvel productions to UK Marvel Studios is moving production from Georgia to the U.K., a shift that highlights rising costs in the U.S. film industry.

We can’t afford massive film companies like Marvel abandoning the U.S. for cheaper options overseas.

Bringing back our greatest export is a bipartisan issue with bipartisan solutions.

'Hollywood of the South' loses Marvel productions to UK Marvel Studios is moving production from Georgia to the U.K., a shift that highlights rising costs in the U.S. film industry.

Marvel is leaving Atlanta and heading to the UK, citing rising costs.

Labor costs are less expensive in the U.K., and universal health care means studios wouldn’t have to subsidize workers’ medical expenses.

This move alone could cost Atlanta up to 20,000 jobs.

san.com/cc/hollywood...

‘Impressive island’: Ex-Israeli prime minister’s hacked emails reveal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein Emails hacked from the inbox of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak reveal discussions with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

New Epstein emails dropped: san.com/cc/impressiv...

Interactive ‘ICE Detention Map’ shows 71% of detainees have no criminal record The detention map extracts immigration data that ICE is legally required to publish to let anyone see stats on detainees across the country.

NEW: ICE is legally required to publish detention statistics every 2 weeks. But the data is complex.

That's why the interactive "ICE Detention Map" automatically scrapes & visualizes ICE's data, which shows, among other things, that 71% of detainees have no criminal record.
san.com/cc/interacti...

Texans want to form a new town. A $5 billion Bitcoin company wants to stop it In Hood County, Texas, residents’ efforts to form their own municipality has brought them into conflict with a $5 billion Bitcoin company.

People seeing energy prices go up vs. the endless demand for data centers: Who comes out on top? san.com/cc/texans-wa...

Is there a word for when two sequential pages of a book have the same word in the same location on both pages? Syncroverbumpagination?

What DC was like first night of federal takeover: SAN reporter hits the streets Straight Arrow News gives a first hand look at DC as the Trump administration takes control of the Metropolitan Police Department.

What was the first night of the DC federal takeover like? We hit the streets! san.com/cc/what-dc-w...

Exclusive: SAN reporter's inquiry into Texas' Bitcoin mines triggers lawsuit The Public Utility Commission of Texas wants to block the release of data on Bitcoin mining, citing terrorism concerns.

We just wanted to know how much bitcoin mining is straining the Texas electric grid, and PUCT sued to prevent the freedom of information request: san.com/cc/exclusive...

Exclusive: Confidential informants exposed in Louisiana sheriff's office hack Data stolen by a ransomware gang has exposed highly sensitive information from a Louisiana sheriff’s office, including names of informants.

A ransomware gang stole the identities (including SSNs) of the confidential informants of a Louisiana sheriff's office, amongst other data: san.com/cc/exclusive...

'Green' burials are helping restore Texas land. Not everyone digs the trend. A growing number of Americans are choosing “green” burials – in biodegradable coffins or burial shrouds, in low-density cemeteries.

Chuck me right in a hole in the ground and help restore some critical habitat. Just don't tell the neighbors... san.com/cc/green-bur...

Could US ban on farmland sales to China fix Oklahoma's illegal pot problem? The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a new ban on the purchase of American farmlands by Chinese buyers.

I can't get over how Oklahoma weed farms are changing how politicians look at land ownership in the US san.com/cc/us-to-ban...

'Save Our Signs' Wants to Save the Real History of National Parks Before Trump Erases It Trump wants to erase any "negative" content from educational sites at National Parks. A group of data preservationists asks visitors to help them document placards and monuments, before they disappear...

next time you're in a national park, take some photos of the signage and upload it to help these archivists www.404media.co/save-our-sig...

Exclusive: Evidence of cell phone surveillance detected at anti-ICE protest Mobile network anomalies consistent with cell phone surveillance were detected at a July 4 protest at an ICE field office in Washington state.

EXCLUSIVE: I discovered evidence that an IMSI-catcher, commonly called a Stingray, was used during a July 4 protest at an ICE facility.

Using an advanced detection tool called Marlin, I scanned cellular traffic & found hundreds of anomalies indicative of surveillance san.com/cc/exclusive...

Exclusive: Evidence of cell phone surveillance detected at anti-ICE protest Mobile network anomalies consistent with cell phone surveillance were detected at a July 4 protest at an ICE field office in Washington state.

Big scoop from @mikaelthalen.bsky.social: he built a Stingray detector and found evidence of ICE conducting cell phone surveillance at a protest: san.com/cc/exclusive...

I enjoyed these nice pictures from the Wente 8 Hour (or in my case, the Wente 5.7 Hour)

Okay finally you make something I'll buy

I'm convinced I could do a lot of good for the world if I were on Cameo

I quite like genAI imagery becoming the clipart of our time as it's fun to see the creativity of people zhuzhing up their invites to local kickball leagues and whatnot

Researchers puzzle over rash of baby monkey kidnappings Young, male capuchin monkeys have started kidnapping the babies of nearby howler monkeys. Why? Maybe boredom.

Young, male capuchin monkeys have started kidnapping the babies of nearby howler monkeys. Why? Maybe boredom.

An 'AI arms race' is reshaping how people find and apply for jobs Employers have used AI for years to sift through job applicants. Now that AI job bots let candidates apply en masse, it's an AI arms race.

AI is gumming up the entire job search industry in ways that make me think the way we hunt for jobs is going to completely break and (hopefully!) be reborn san.com/cc/an-ai-arm...

Where Walmart is 'the only game in town,' a bellwether for Trump's tariffs Walmart is the world's largest retailer, and can feel like the only store in town for many. How will Walmart deal with tariff price hikes?

In many parts of America, Walmart, Dollar General, etc are the only store in town. That makes them a bellwether for tariffs: san.com/cc/where-wal...

Inside a Powerful Database ICE Uses to Identify and Deport People The database allows filtering according to hundreds of different categories, including visa status, “unique physical characteristics (e.g. scars, marks, tattoos),” “criminal affiliation,” license plat...

NEW: 404 Media has seen parts of a Palantir-powered ICE database that allows for highly specific filtering of people, which allows for searches of students, people with tattoos, from specific countries, by visa status, etc:

www.404media.co/inside-a-pow...

It feels incredibly good to be able to pay for subscriptions to so many publications owned and operated by the people who make the publication, especially so many smart, thriving niche pubs. This has historically been the norm for the rich American journalism tradition, and I hope it continues.

Receive compliments much?