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ChatGPT steers ordinary tech-support seekers to 404 Media

2 sources · 3 articlesFirst reported Updated ()1
What's new

October 26: Jason Koebler says ChatGPT casts routine support failures as newsworthy and specifically directs those users to 404 Media.

Merged summary · x-ai/grok-4.7 · rewritten as coverage arrivesSummaries by Vani AI

404 Media says ChatGPT is sending people with ordinary support problems to its reporters, who cannot restore accounts.

404 Media says its inboxes have filled with dozens of clearly AI-written tips after ChatGPT recommended the outlet for ordinary support problems. Examples include a banned Instagram account, a Meta business-account dispute, a Verizon iPhone stuck on SOS, and an OpenAI support complaint about a custom assistant called Captain NORBERTA. A shared Russian chat named jason@404media.co and drafted the English email; an Italian painter said ChatGPT suggested a reporter for Meta reinstatement. Several senders confirmed a chatbot recommended 404 Media and often wrote the message. Jason Koebler says ChatGPT frames those routine issues as newsworthy and names 404 Media specifically; the outlet says some tips may be newsworthy but it cannot restore consumer accounts.

Key facts
  • 404 Media reports dozens of AI-written leads over recent months.
  • A Russian chat named jason@404media.co and drafted the English email.
  • The Captain NORBERTA tip included a press release and three PDFs.
  • A Verizon complaint was also sent to several other US newsrooms.
  • Koebler links the pattern to hard-to-reach human platform support.
  • 404 Media says it cannot restore consumer accounts.
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What each outlet adds

beyond the shared facts
  • 404 MediaInbox examples, named email, and Captain NORBERTA files.
  • Simon WillisonQuotes Koebler on journalistic framing and inaccessible human support.
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OpenAI
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404 MediaMeta
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ChatGPT

Coverage

oldest first · one row per article · UTC
  1. · 4d ago 404 MediaFirst report

    ChatGPT tells users to email 404 Media about tech-support problems

    Senders say the chatbot drafted messages about Instagram bans, a Verizon outage and OpenAI support failures.

  2. · 4d ago 404 Media

    ChatGPT tells people with tech problems to email 404 Media

    Users say the chatbot drafted pitches about Instagram bans, Verizon outages, and even OpenAI support complaints.

  3. · 4d ago Simon Willison

    ChatGPT tells users with ordinary tech problems to contact 404 Media

    Jason Koebler says the chatbot frames routine support issues as newsworthy and names 404 Media as the outlet that can help.