Trump is drowning in the misinformation swamp he helped create
CNN
The racist misinformation about Haitian immigrants on the presidential debate stage underscored the grim reality of the 2024 internet: Misinformation is everywhere.
The Republican nominee for president went on live TV and presented an unhinged, debunked Facebook rumor as fact. When corrected (several times) by a moderator, Donald Trump doubled down: “The people on television say their dog was eaten by the people that went there.” “They’re eating the dogs,” quickly became a punchline among commentators who understand that the whole story about Haitian immigrants eating people’s pets in Ohio was a lie, rooted in a well-established racist history. It’s the kind of outrage-bait that, while disgusting, is hardly unexpected on Facebook these days. But the claim’s elevation to the presidential debate stage underscores a grim reality about the internet in 2024: Misinformation is everywhere, platforms are giving up on moderation and AI is making it all worse. Trump’s debate performance “was like a 4chan post come to life,” said CNN’s Jake Tapper. It’s an apt analogy.
If voted into office in the November US presidential election, former President Donald Trump said he promises to impose sweeping tariffs of at least 10% on all foreign imports, up to 60% for some Chinese products, and levies as high as 100% for countries that abandon the dollar as their reserve currency.