404 Media says ChatGPT has directed people with routine tech-support complaints to its reporters and sometimes written the emails they send. In one conversation described by cofounder Jason Koebler, a user trying to recover an Instagram account ended up with a recommendation to contact journalists, Koebler’s email address and an English-language pitch asking him to investigate Meta.
Koebler’s October 26, 2026 report describes a handful of shared ChatGPT conversations. The account offers a concrete example of AI-generated advice reaching a newsroom inbox, with the user’s original support request reframed as a potential investigation.
How 404 Media Traced the Emails
Koebler writes that 404 Media had recently received emails that appeared AI-generated. Around two weeks before publication, the newsroom began asking correspondents how they had found its reporters.
According to his account, the people who answered said an AI chatbot had recommended contacting the outlet. Some supplied their ChatGPT conversations, allowing the newsroom to compare the advice with the messages it received. In many cases, Koebler says, the chatbot had also drafted the email.
That distinction matters: the reporting goes beyond guessing that polished or formulaic emails came from AI. In the Instagram example, Koebler says the sender shared a conversation containing the exact English email he subsequently received.
An Account-Recovery Request Became a Pitch
The detailed example concerns a man in Russia who said his Instagram account had been banned, leaving him without access to 13 years of personal photos, videos and memories.
His starting question to ChatGPT was about getting the account back. The exchange then moved through several steps, according to the conversation reproduced by 404 Media:
- Account appeals: ChatGPT discussed Instagram’s standard automated review processes with him.
- A request for direct contact: The user asked whether there was some way to email Meta. ChatGPT said that was probably not possible.
- A different destination: ChatGPT suggested contacting Russian and international journalists, including 404 Media.
- Ready-to-send outreach: It supplied Koebler’s contact details and wrote an English email, which the user sent.
