ChatGPT Keeps Telling People 404 Media Can Solve Their Tech Support

Last week, a man in Russia emailed Jason at 404 Media after ChatGPT told him, in Russian, to try that address about a banned Instagram account. He wrote, "I have now lost access to 13 years of personal photos, videos and memories," and described "another case of erroneous automated moderation." Meta, he said, "has not disclosed how the decision was made." According to 404media.co's report, the email looked AI-generated. Jason asked whether ChatGPT had led the man to him, and the man sent the conversation link.

That Wednesday chat starts with "How can I get my account back?", moves through Instagram's standard, automated review processes, and ends when ChatGPT writes, in English, the email the man sent. Around two weeks ago, 404 Media began asking similar senders how they had found the newsroom. This is for readers locked out of Instagram and for anyone using ChatGPT where a platform gives them no human to contact.

ChatGPT Keeps Telling People 404 Media Can: what actually changed

The man asked ChatGPT, "How can I get my account back?" The bot answered with Instagram's standard, automated review processes. He then asked, "maybe there's some way to email Meta?" ChatGPT said that was probably not possible, then told him to email Jason at 404 Media. It said he had "lost access not merely to a social media profile, but potentially to years of personal photographs, videos, conversations, and memories," and that "contacting journalists is worth considering." It recommended both Russian and international journalists.

ChatGPT gave him a list of several news outlets. The 404 Media entry said, "404 Media Focus: Technology, digital platforms, surveillance, privacy, and technology-related investigations. Email: jason@404media.co." The bot then wrote, in English, the exact email the man sent last week. That message included the 13 years of personal photos, videos, and memories, the concern about erroneous automated moderation, the statement that Meta has not disclosed how the decision was made, and an offer of screenshots of the suspension, the rejected appeal, and other supporting evidence.

ChatGPT Keeps Telling People 404 Media Can: how it works

"How can I get my account back?" leads to Instagram's standard, automated review processes. "maybe there's some way to email Meta?" gets the reply that a Meta email is probably not possible. ChatGPT then tells the man, in Russian, to email Jason at 404 Media. It describes lost photographs, videos, conversations, and memories, says contacting journalists is worth considering, and names both Russian and international journalists. The English text it writes is the exact email that arrived in the inbox.

The blurb was complete enough to send as written. ChatGPT named 404 Media's focus as technology, digital platforms, surveillance, privacy, and technology-related investigations, and it printed jason@404media.co, the address the man used. Around two weeks ago, 404 Media started emailing similar people and asking how they had found the newsroom. Universally, an AI chatbot had recommended the contact. In many cases the chatbot wrote the email. Those findings come from reviews of a handful of ChatGPT conversations the senders shared with 404 Media.

ChatGPT Keeps Telling People 404 Media Can: why it matters now

Big tech platforms essentially do not have customer support and make it impossible for their users to contact a human. People with run-of-the-mill tech problems have turned to ChatGPT. Increasingly, ChatGPT tells people who have normal tech support problems that they have discovered something journalistically notable and that 404 Media, specifically, can help them. In the Russian thread it reached that conclusion after saying an email to Meta was probably not possible, and the contact it named was Jason at 404 Media.

The email that arrived last week looked AI-generated, like many others 404 Media has gotten recently. The man described a banned Instagram account and a rejected appeal, and he said he could share screenshots of the suspension and other supporting evidence. He asked the newsroom to investigate his case and to request an explanation from Meta. ChatGPT had already treated that banned account as something journalists should hear, then supplied jason@404media.co and the English wording of the message he used.

ChatGPT Keeps Telling People 404 Media Can: who is affected

The account at the center of the Wednesday chat belongs to a man in Russia. Instagram had banned it. He told Jason he had lost 13 years of personal photos, videos, and memories, and he called the ban a possible case of erroneous automated moderation. He wrote that Meta had not disclosed how the decision was made. He asked 404 Media to investigate and to request an explanation from Meta, and he offered screenshots of the suspension, the rejected appeal, and other supporting evidence. ChatGPT wrote that request in English.

People with normal tech support problems are receiving the same direction. They cannot reach a human at the platform, they ask ChatGPT, and ChatGPT points them to 404 Media. Jason receives the resulting notes at jason@404media.co. This thread's focus line covers technology, digital platforms, surveillance, privacy, and technology-related investigations. In this thread the list also included several other news outlets, and the bot told the man to contact both Russian and international journalists. In the handful of shared ChatGPT transcripts, that recommendation was universal.

ChatGPT Keeps Telling People 404 Media Can: what to watch

Around two weeks ago, 404 Media began emailing these senders to ask how they had found Jason. Universally, the answer is that an AI chatbot recommended they reach out. In many cases the chatbot wrote the email. The basis for that is reviews of a handful of ChatGPT conversations people shared with 404 Media, including the Russian-language thread from Wednesday. That conversation shows the bot naming jason@404media.co and drafting the English appeal about 13 years of personal photos, videos, and memories.

The Wednesday transcript runs in a fixed order. The user asked how to get an Instagram account back, heard about Instagram's standard, automated review processes, and was told that emailing Meta was probably not possible. The reply names 404 Media's focus as technology, digital platforms, surveillance, privacy, and technology-related investigations, and it gives jason@404media.co. The Wednesday text is English from a conversation held in Russian, and it urges contact with both Russian and international journalists. 404 Media's replies ask how each sender found the newsroom.