monkey abuse The “online monkey torture video” arrests just keep coming Authorities continue the slow crackdown. Nate Anderson – Jun 14, 2025 7:00 am | 34 Credit: Getty Images Credit: Getty Images Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Today's monkey torture videos are the products of a digitally connected world. People who enjoy watching baby animals probed, snipped, and mutilated in horrible ways often have difficulty finding local collaborators, but online communities like "million tears"—now thankfully shuttered—can help them forge connections. Once they do meet other like-minded souls, communication takes place through chat apps like Telegram and Signal, often using encryption. Money is pooled through various phone apps, then sent to videographers in countries where wages are low and monkeys are plentiful. (The cases I have seen usually involve Indonesia; read my feature from last year to learn more about how these groups work.) There, monkeys are tortured by a local subcontractor—sometimes a child—working to Western specs. Smartphone video of the torture is sent back to the commissioning sadists, who share it with more viewers using the same online communities in which they met. The unfortunate pattern was again on display this week in an indictment the US government unsealed against several more Americans said to have commissioned these videos. The accused used online handles like "Bitchy" and "DemonSwordSoulCrusher," and they hail from all over: Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. They relied on an Indonesian videographer to create the content, which was surprisingly affordable—it cost a mere $40 to commission video of a "burning hot screwdriver" being shoved into a baby monkey's orifice. After the money was transferred, the requested video was shot and shared through a "phone-based messaging program," but the Americans were deeply disappointed in its quality. Instead of full-on impalement, the videographer had heated a screwdriver on a burner and merely touched it against the monkey a few times. "So lame," one of the Americans allegedly complained to another. "Live and learn," was the response. So the group tried again. "Million tears" had been booted by its host, but the group reconstituted on another platform and renamed itself "the trail of trillion tears." They reached out to another Indonesian videographer and asked for a more graphic version of the same video. But this version, more sadistic than the last, still didn't satisfy. As one of the Americans allegedly said to another, "honey that's not what you asked for. Thats the village idiot version. But I'm talking with someone about getting a good vo [videographer] to do it." Arrests continue In 2021, someone leaked communications from the "million tears" group to animals rights organizations like Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates, which handed it over to authorities. Still, it took several years to arrest and prosecute the torture group's leaders. In 2024, one of these leaders—Ronald Bedra of Ohio—pled guilty to commissioning the videos and to mailing "a thumb drive containing 64 videos of monkey torture to a co-conspirator in Wisconsin." His mother, in a sentencing letter to the judge, said that her son must "have been undergoing some mental crisis when he decided to create the website." As a boy, he had loved all of the family pets, she said, even providing a funeral for a fish. Bedra was sentenced late last year to 54 months in prison. According to letters from family members, he has also lost his job, his wife, and his kids. In April 2025, two more alleged co-conspirators were indicted and subsequently arrested; their cases were unsealed only this week. Two other co-conspirators from this group still appear to be uncharged. In May 2025, 11 other Americans were indicted for their participation in monkey torture groups, though they appear to come from a different network. This group allegedly "paid a minor in Indonesia to commit the requested acts on camera." As for the Indonesian side of this equation, arrests have been happening there, too. Following complaints from animal rights groups, police in Indonesia have arrested multiple videographers over the last two years. Nate Anderson Deputy Editor Nate Anderson Deputy Editor Nate is the deputy editor at Ars Technica. His most recent book is In Emergency, Break Glass: What Nietzsche Can Teach Us About Joyful Living in a Tech-Saturated World, which is much funnier than it sounds. 34 Comments

Rita HouJunior EditorRita HouJunior EditorPublished06 June 2025TagsArt-To-Experience Contest: A Creative Challenge by Emperia and 80 LevelJoin TodaySlime Lab playtests will start soon.Indie developer Retrocell has shared a clip from their upcoming VR game called Slime Lab, developed for Quest 2, Quest 3/3s, and PCVR. The footage showcases precise and satisfying cutting and dying mechanics: As the owner of a slime lab, you'll need to fulfill customer orders and match them as best as you can. Besides headphones, there might be other things to make, like the slime cake shown in this video. The end of the clip literally makes me laugh when you slap the cake onto the customer's face and give yourself a big thumbs-up for doing so. Here's another video demonstrating color mixing in our VR slime game. It gives the sensation of blending different colored doughs and watching them slowly transform into a new color. "Experiment with fluid physics to create endless combinations using unique colors and charms," reads the game's description. Like in reality, you can also add glow effects and tweak the stickiness. Your tools need to be upgraded, and more supplies should be ordered in a timely manner. The better your setup, the more you can create.The developer says that they're looking for playtesters. If you’re interested, join its Discord server to apply when the playtest is ready and don't forget to wishlist the game on your preferred platform.Don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.

Crowdfunding a game you like is a common practice, but be careful with where you send your money. Zarya is an upcoming cozy narrative simulator telling the story of a rural driver in a post-Soviet setting, clearly inspired by Disco Elysium. Developed by SBSR, it needs support like any other game, but the creators don't ask for money online, so if you've seen their game on Indiegogo, be aware that this is a scam.One of the game's developers, Anton Surkov, went to Reddit to warn potential players about this fake page, saying that SBSR didn't create it and never planned to run a crowdfunding campaign. "Someone just stole our game name, visuals, and text, and started collecting money under our name. It’s not just upsetting – it’s terrifying."The worst part is that they might have never learned about it if not for emails offering “advice” and “coaching” to improve crowdfunding results that they started receiving after the page's launch.SBSR has already contacted Indiegogo but hasn't received a reply yet. "We’re just three people working late nights on something we care about. Watching someone try to exploit that… it sucks. But we’re not giving up."If you're interested in Zarya, wishlist it on Steam and find all the relevant information there, not on some crowdfunding site. Here is some information about the game so you can decide if this is something you'd like to play when it gets released.SBSR"Immerse yourself in the life of Vasily, a local driver striving to breathe new life into his village. Assist the villagers, transport packages, tow cars. Do everything within your power! Deliver cargo across endless fields, country roads, and overgrown paths. Upgrade your vehicle, turning it into an indefatigable iron steed."SBSRYou'll get to talk to people living far from civilization and see their views on the world. "Grill kebabs with the guys in the garages, go fishing with Petrovich, take the harvest to the market, tow cars, and try not to end up in a pit, as the last time a tractor was seen in the village was 30 years ago."There are plenty of "authentic post-Soviet clichés" and the warm atmosphere of the good old days.SBSRSign in for a playtest and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.

Solo game developer Joyen has shared great news with the community. Loya, an open-world survival crafter with a walking, buildable fortress that they've been working on for the past seven years, has received its first gameplay trailer.Actually, back in 2022, this Unity project had attracted our attention with its procedurally generated bridge and interiors. Fast forward to now, the game has evolved greatly and received a Steam page with a detailed introduction about its gameplay and features. So let's take a closer look. The highlights of Loya include a walking fortress, giant bosses, exploration, defense, and multiplayer. In this game, players must defeat giants to collect their cores. In order to achieve this, you'll need to build and upgrade the walking fortresses and equip them with powerful weapons.  The materials are not easily obtained; there will be fierce battles to get ready for. The vast open world in Loya appears vibrant, allowing you to explore it at your own pace. The walking fortress can not only walk but also fly, allowing you to ascend high into the air and navigate. Also, you can attach towers to it so it can automatically attack the enemies.JoyenIf you're impressed by the gigantic rocky Golem in the trailer, the solo developer has more great news: there will be four such giants, each on a unique biome. Whether you enjoy exploring and battling solo or prefer teaming up with friends, Loya provides the flexibility you need. You can play along with friends or connect to a dedicated server that holds up to 25 players or more. While sharing the new trailer, Joyen also noted that a playtest is underway, allowing testers to experience the complete first biome, which offers approximately 10 to 20 hours of gameplay. Other biomes include a snowy environment and a desert, with the last one to be revealed later. If Loya looks interesting to you, don't hesitate to add the game to your Steam wishlist and follow Joyen on X/Twitter to check out more in-game footage and receive future updates. Join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.

🔗FAB Marketplace - Ocean, Swim and Water Plugin https://www.fab.com/sellers/CGDealers 🔗 Support this channel and get access to all my files and the Swim and Water System: https://www.patreon.com/CGDealers 🔗 Youtube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyXWTdwLotz55o1oOkU0-4g/join 🔗FREE VIDEO - How To Create The Landscape Auto Material: https://youtu.be/rw8qDmFGsRo 🔗 Full Free Video on how to add RVT Auto Landscape Material: https://youtu.be/NzqFHdBhl8k 🔗 MY SOCIAL MEDIA: Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/coldwave Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/CGDealers Telegram: https://t.me/YTcgdealers Leartes Entire Store 210+ Assets on 30% Discount: 🔗 https://gumroad.com/a/39658451 30% Discount Coupon Code: CG30 🔗 GET MY UNREAL 5 - BLUEPRINTS MASTERCLASS COURSE: Udemy: https://bit.ly/3WqNQSL 🔗 GET ONE MONTH FREE SKILLSHARE SUBSCRIPTION: https://skl.sh/3CwwFH2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this video I will show you the progress on the Water System. It supports Multiplayer. #unrealengine5 #blueprints #ue5tutorial #openworld #openworldgames #gamedevtutorial #gamedevelopment #unrealengine #unrealenginetutorial #unrealengine #gamedesign #rvt #runtimevirtualtexture #realtimerendering #ai #aianimation #animation #pcg #unrealpcg #unrealenginetutorial #blender #gamedevelopment #unrealenginetutorial -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vivid Storm Interactive, developers of the Combat Extended mod for RimWorld, have been working on a colony sim game called Ascent of Ashes for a while now. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia where you take on the role of leader of a team of survivors, busy with various tasks. "Build and defend your base. Manage your survivors. Engage raiders, aliens, Remnant soldiers and other factions in real-time-with-pause combat. Or use stealth to outwit them. Explore the massive world. Survive at all costs," reads the game description. Unlike other games in the genre, in Ascent of Ashes, you are capable of restoring and driving vehicles, which are helpful tools to help you move faster and explore more efficiently in the expansive, procedurally generated world, filled with rich biomes and points of interest. The enemies in the game, powered by dynamic AI, will have different levels of intelligence. "Taking on a disorganized band of raiders will play very differently from fighting a squad of well-trained Remnant soldiers." Your role not only tests your ability to win in deep tactical combats, but also to properly find and recruit survivors who can strengthen your team to deal with challenges, and remember to keep everyone happy, secure, and motivated along the way. As a team that "has its roots in mod-making," they've created the game with an engine that’s highly extendable and mod-friendly to provide the support that modders need. "Ascent of Ashes is a game developed by modders, for modders."The developers have been synchronizing development progress through monthly updated dev logs on Steam, so if you're curious about what's going on in the game and what to expect next, don't hesitate to check it out.Ascent of Ashes will be released in Early Access on July 21. To learn more about the game and watch more gameplay footage, check it out on Steam and the official account on X/Twitter. Join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.

Hey Guys! I made a tutorial a while back on making looping flipbooks from videos. the above GIF doesn’t really do it justice, you can watch it on my personal Telegram channel here and you can watch the tutorial on my Youtube Make Looping Flipbooks From Non-Loop Videos! cheers XD 1 post - 1 participant Read full topic

Elon Musk's startup xAI is paying Telegram $300 million to roll out its Grok chatbot.

This week we're fielding your burning tech questions, as well as diving into a bunch of AI web browser news. Opera has started testing its fully agentic AI browser, the Browser Company is dumping the Arc browser in favor of something AI related and Mozilla is getting in a bit of hot water with experimental AI preview summaries. Try as we might, we just can't escape AI. Subscribe! iTunes Spotify Pocket Casts Stitcher Google Podcasts Topics Listener Mailbag: How to set up an Xbox account for your kids, will screens be obsolete, and more – 1:34 Web browsers go AI ‘agentic’: The Browser Company leaves Arc behind. Opera and Firefox debut new features – 25:37 xAI is paying Telegram $300m this year to use Grok – 54:04 Apple’s self repair program extends to iPads – 56:30 Apple might switch its OS numbering next year, iOS26 could be on the way – 58:57 Working on – 1:02:41 Pop culture picks – 1:09:26 Credits  Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Ben EllmanProducer: Ben EllmanMusic: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/engadget-podcast-who-needs-an-ai-web-browser-124547429.html?src=rss

Telegram has forged a deal with Elon Musk’s xAI to weave Grok AI into the fabric of the encrypted messaging platform.This isn’t just a friendly collaboration; xAI is putting serious money on the table – a cool $300 million, a mix of hard cash and equity. And for Telegram, they’ll pocket 50% of any subscription money Grok pulls in through their app.This leap into the world of AI couldn’t come at a more interesting time for Telegram. While CEO Pavel Durov is wrestling with some pretty serious legal headaches, and governments in certain corners of the globe are giving the platform the side-eye, the company’s bank balance is looking healthy.In fact, Telegram is gearing up to raise at least $1.5 billion by issuing five-year bonds. With a rather tempting 9% yield, these bonds are also designed to help buy back some of the debt from their 2021 bond issue. It seems big-name investors like BlackRock, Mubadala, and Citadel are still keen, suggesting they see a bright future for the messaging service.And the numbers do tell a story of a significant comeback. Cast your mind back to 2023, and Telegram was nursing a $173 million loss. Fast forward to 2024, and they’d flipped that on its head, banking a $540 million profit from $1.4 billion in revenue. They’re not stopping there either, with optimistic forecasts for 2025 pointing to profits north of $700 million from a $2 billion revenue pot.So, what will Grok actually do for Telegram users? The hope is that xAI’s conversational AI will bring a whole new layer of smarts to the platform. This includes supercharged information searching, help with drafting messages, and all sorts of automated tricks. It’s a play that could help Telegram unlock fresh monetisation opportunities and compete with Meta bringing Llama-powered smarts to WhatsApp.However, Telegram’s integration of AI is all happening against a pretty dramatic backdrop. Pavel Durov, the man at the company’s helm, has found himself in hot water.Back in August 2024, Durov was arrested in France and later indicted on a dozen charges. These aren’t minor infringements either; they include serious accusations like complicity in spreading child exploitation material and drug trafficking, all linked to claims that Telegram wasn’t doing enough to police its content.Durov was initially stuck in France, but by March 2025, he was given the nod to leave the country, at least for a while. What happens next with these legal battles is anyone’s guess, but it’s a massive cloud hanging over the company.And it’s not just personal legal woes for Durov. Entire governments are starting to lose patience. Vietnam, for instance, has had its Ministry of Science and Technology order internet providers to pull the plug on Telegram. Their reasoning? They say the platform has become a hotbed for crime. Vietnamese officials reckon 68% of Telegram channels and groups in the country are up to no good, involved in everything from fraud to drug deals. Telegram, for its part, said it was taken aback by the move, insisting it had always tried to play ball with legal requests from Vietnam.Back to the xAI partnership, it’s a clear signal of Telegram looking to the future and seeing AI as a core pillar of it. The money involved and the promise of shared revenues show just how much potential both sides see in getting Grok into the hands of Telegram’s millions of users.The next twelve months will be a real test for Telegram. Can the company innovate its way forward while also showing it can be a responsible player on the global stage?(Photo from Unsplash)Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.