404 Media documents ChatGPT directing account-recovery requests to its reporters

The outlet's own account shows a model turning routine platform-support problems into suggested appeals to journalists.

404 Media says it has received a stream of messages from people whom AI chatbots directed to its journalists for help with ordinary technical-support problems. In an October 26 account, co-founder Jason Koebler describes reviewing conversations in which ChatGPT recommended contacting the outlet and, in some cases, wrote the resulting email.

One example involved a man seeking recovery of an Instagram account containing years of personal material. After discussing the platform's usual review process, ChatGPT suggested journalists as another route and prepared an English message. The outlet says it has asked other recent senders how they found it and reviewed a handful of shared conversations.

This is firsthand reporting about a set of messages and conversations, rather than a controlled estimate of how often every chatbot makes that recommendation. The supported finding is that the misdirection occurred, not a population-wide error rate.

The underlying workflow failure is specific. A journalist may investigate a platform or its moderation practices, but that does not create an account-recovery service or give the journalist authority over the platform. Suggesting a real person can make an unsupported escalation route appear more concrete than an invented support address.

The example shows how an assistant can produce a polished next step without establishing that the recipient can perform it. For support systems, a useful handoff needs a verified receiving organisation, an appropriate channel and an accurate description of what help is available. Otherwise, the burden moves from an inaccessible platform to another person who cannot resolve the request.

Sources

- [ChatGPT Keeps Telling People 404 Media Can Solve Their Tech Support Problems](https://www.404media.co/chatgpt-keeps-telling-people-404-media-can-solve-their-tech-support-problems/) — 404 Media