These are the hardest working people in the business right now. They are entitled to making a decent living and the least folks can do is sign up for a free account. 😅

https://www.404media.co/why-404-media-needs-your-email-address/

we noticed that articles […] were being scraped by bots, run through an AI article “spinner” or paraphraser, and republished on random websites.

they’ve said multiple times that they require email as a way to combat against their work being scrapped by bots and getting published elsewhere. They are a small team doing great work they need money to keep running. I don’t see what the issue is.

you don’t need to pay to read 404 media articles tho you just login with a free account

They’re a small outlet doing great journalism, they deserve to eat.