Our Best Stuff on Donald Trump, Joe Exotic, and the Xi-Putin Summit

Plus: Deepfakes are here and it’s going to get crazy.

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on March 4, 2023, in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Hello! I hope you have had a good weekend. Did you spend it celebrating that Donald Trump was cooling his heels in a New York City jail after being arrested by the NYPD?

No, of course you didn’t. Because you’re smart and you know that Trump was not arrested last week. But more than a few people fell for images that appeared to show just that. As we noted in a fact check we published on Friday, a man named  Eliot Higgins used a tool called Midjourney, which generates images based on written commands, to create a number of photos showing Donald Trump running from and fighting with the NYPD. (And he clearly identified them as fake.)

We’ve been hearing warnings about deepfake technology for years, but the emergence of artificial intelligence tools has made it a reality a little quicker than I thought it might.

I gotta say, the timing could be better.

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  1. Jim S

    Aside from the obvious issue with deepfakes presenting a reality that never happened, we will have to contend with “real” video/audio being derided as deepfakes. It is not going to be good.

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  2. Pete

    The rapid creep of AI and the ability to manipulate images, video and audio in real time is going to accelerate the partisan divides by producing convincing fakes that will fan the flames of division on both sides. Imagine Donald Trump denouncing Pro-Life proponents, arguing for higher taxes on rich and saying that schools should prevent parents from meddling in curriculum in a live interview. That is just around the corner. Non-critical thinkers will lap up everything produced and presented on the Internet, true or false. Fox News has laid the groundwork.....

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  3. BadgerBill

    I like Scott L’s stuff, but I don’t need him to tell me if Elizabeth Warren says anything about economics or banking, it’s wrong.

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      JohnM.

      Why not? He's right, after all.

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  4. Chipwatkins

    Joe Maldonado and 693 of his closest friends . . . When I checked the FEC website a few days ago, 694 people had filed to be a candidate for President in 2024. Of course, only a handful will raise or send any significant amount of money. But hey, "I ran for President in 2024!"

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    Electricrook

    "But we don’t live in such a time, and we don’t have that kind of media industry."

    Oh Rachel, you're so precious my dear.

    As recently as 2016, the San Francisco teacher's union was actually teaching the children under their tutelage that Hillary Clinton won the 2016 presidential election.

    As recently as 2020, the media found 50+ CIA officials to sign a letter stating that Hunter Biden's laptop story bore all the earmarks of a Russian misinformation campaign.

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      Julie from Texas

      I'm weighing in here not on the stories but this: "Oh Rachel, you're so precious my dear." Please treat this grown woman, accomplished journalist, and fellow human being with respect rather than condescending sexism. And if the ethics of using respect are not enough to convince you, then at least recognize that it's more effective in communicating your points and persuading others.

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      Mudskipper

      You have the CIA story backwards. The 50+ CIA officials wrote and signed the letter of their own accord and then found a media outlet to publish it.

      And as for the SF teacher's union, I don't believe it. If you have a credible source, link to it.

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      Pat Riot

      I think you wasted a hundred bucks.

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      JohnM.

      "As recently as 2016, the San Francisco teacher's union was actually teaching the children under their tutelage that Hillary Clinton won the 2016 presidential election"
      Can you please provide evidence of this claim? Thanks.

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      1. Jaybrown

        Yeah, he can't. The crazies here are unfortunately becoming more numerous.

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        1. Goatprairie

          “Hillary Clinton Maintains 2016 Election ‘Was Not On the Level’: ‘We Still Don’t Know What Really Happened”

          How’s that?

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            Stephanie

            Do you have a link with a date for that?

            Just curious. She did write a book after losing, going into all the factors that influenced the election (besides the actual political issues voters should have been focusing on) while not claiming she actually won.

            Some things are nuanced.

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          2. Jaybrown

            Meh. More accurate, I suppose, but still irrelevant to anything.

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          JohnM.

          And it's very disheartening.

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          1. Jaybrown

            Yep, on both sides.

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    Dave Conant - MO

    Outstanding wrap-up Rachael, even by your standards. If media outlets begin to follow your advice, perhaps those of us in the audience can assist by being less credulous and also by canceling subscriptions to those who can't seem to tell the difference.

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      Rachael Larimore vertical-nib Author

      Thank you so much!

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  7. Rs60420

    The tragic underlying issue is that the illiberal atheistic leftists have completely subsumed and radicalized the American public education system ; and when one adds that the cost of a private school education(the only place where a student can get a real education free of propaganda) has left the arena of a realistic expense for the average blue collar worker family; does anyone have any ideas how anyone can afford $1000 monthly per child?. And that number does not approach costs of private education in or near non rural locations.

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    1. Karin

      A private school is the last place that I would look for a propaganda free education? Perhaps you mean that with private schools, parents can pick the propaganda they want?

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      1. Rs60420

        you are likely right.

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      Pat Riot

      I see recent grads of public schools all of the time. They are just fine. And in polling you'll see the most people like their local school (even if millions are convinced that "all of the other ones except mine" are terrible). You can't believe everything you hear on Fox News.

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      1. Rs60420

        I see them as well and many of them do not understand the truth nor the reality, because the schools have twisted their concept that all of humanity is racist.

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          Rachael Larimore vertical-nib Author

          And just in our district I’ve seen parents try to claim the schools are teaching critical race theory because they assign a few books by black authors. Or claim that they are teaching pornography because there is minor and mild sexual content in books assigned to high school honors students that are on much deeper topics.

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          Pat Riot

          Where do you live? Fantasyland?

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      DougAz

      The tragic underlying issue is that the illiberal ChristoFascist Right have completely subsumed and radicalized the American public education system Canceling Art, Music and Science for..Football. The Right Runs Away. Afraid, or incompetent, or selfish in rheir ability to work with Teachers and School Systems.

      Public education should absolutely not be funded by Property Tax. That intrinsically drives suburn flight, discriminations.

      Public education is proven to be an arena where local decisions and funding are very suboptimal.

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        JohnM.

        You are both wrong. The school districts in my entire quadrant of the state are not like this at all. This is what we get when extremists on both sides throw out partisan accusations.

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          DougAz

          I agree. I just wanted the person to experience the mirror image of his vitriol.

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    4. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
      Rachael Larimore vertical-nib Author

      All of our children are in public school and we’ve been very happy with their education. There are districts that have leaned heavily into a progressive agenda but we’ve not experienced anything like that.

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    Show Jay Janney the 🚪!

    I dunno, if a deepfake video of my lectures showed me with a tan I’d probably not complain too much.

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    1. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
      Rachael Larimore vertical-nib Author

      😂

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  9. Nansan0508

    Wouldn’t it be great to see media outlets pledge to do this? “….clearly labeling reporting and opinion pieces (and keeping opinions out of reported pieces)”
    What a great first step to regaining trust.

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