Fake celebrity endorsements become latest weapon in misinformation wars, sowing confusion ahead of 2024 election
CNN
False claims about the 2024 campaign have exploded on social media in the run up to the election, according to researchers at the News Literacy Project.
Taylor Swift didn’t endorse former President Donald Trump last weekend. Ryan Reynolds wasn’t photographed wearing a pro-Kamala Harris shirt. And the Communist Party USA never backed President Joe Biden’s now-defunct campaign. But these false claims about the 2024 campaign, and dozens of other posts with similar fake endorsements, have exploded on social media in the run up to the election, according to researchers at the News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education group that launched a new database Thursday chronicling more than 550 unique instances of election-related misinformation. The latest and most visible example these bogus claims emerged Sunday, when Trump shared a post on his Truth Social platform containing images created with the use of artificial intelligence that suggested a groundswell of support from Swift fans calling themselves “Swifties for Trump.” In response to the implied endorsement from the pop icon, Trump wrote, “I accept!” Swift, who previously assailed Trump as “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism” during his presidency, endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 but has not yet backed a presidential candidate in the 2024 race. While one image in the collage posted by Trump, showing Swift in an “Uncle Sam” outfit, was obviously doctored, another showing a young woman at a rally appeared to be authentic. The other images purporting to show large groups of smiling fans celebrating Trump contained some of the hallmarks of AI-generated images, according to Lucas Hansen, co-founder of CivAI, a nonprofit that raises awareness about the growing capabilities and dangers of AI.
Former Barclays boss Jes Staley had sex with a member of serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s staff, the banker said in court as he appeals against a proposed financial services ban.
It started with tariffs, but the trade war is quickly escalating beyond import taxes into a broader tit-for-tat battle.
Walmart is getting caught in the middle of an escalating trade war between the United States and China.
Intel has named a new chief executive, as the chipmaking giant attempts to recover from several bruising years that saw the one-time industry leader fall behind most of its rivals.
Two months ago, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon defended President Donald Trump’s tariff policy with a curt message: “Get over it.” But with stock markets lower and cracks appearing to form in the US economy, Dimon himself might not be over it.
The US Federal Trade Commission asked a federal court in Seattle on Wednesday to delay a September trial in its case alleging Amazon misled consumers over its Prime subscription service, citing “severe resource shortfalls in terms of both money and personnel.”
There may be some cracks forming in the egg market.
Ruth Marcus, who recently resigned as a Washington Post columnist after four decades, said she parted ways with the paper following a spiked opinion piece on the paper’s billionaire owner because her job is to tell readers “what I think, not what Jeff Bezos thinks I should think.”
CNN is tracking price trends for various household staples each month as new factors threaten to increase costs.
Inflation slowed in February for the first time in four months, but that progress may be short lived as President Donald Trump ramps up his trade war, which threatens to increase prices for Americans.
With his chaotic trade policy, President Donald Trump is digging himself into an economic and political hole so deep, it may prove impossible to climb out.
American consumers – and their wallets – are the engine of the economy. But they’re now showing the strain of inflation, President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a stock market plunge.
Elon Musk has secured a major win in India by signing two back-to-back deals to bring SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet services to the country.