TOI correspondent from Washington: Most MAGA folks find it funny. Many libs are furious. Whether people find it jokey or juvenile seems to depend on their political inclination. More than a few on both sides are fatalistic, hoping this too shall pass, but it looks more than likely the social media disinformation disease will spread, with unforeseen consequences for the worldAmerica is in full-on troll mode, led by the troll-in-chief Donald Trump. The US President hit a new infantile low according to his critics – or comical high for his supporters — with doctored AI-generated social media posts mocking Democrat leaders whom he blamed for the government shutdown over budgeting priorities. On Wednesday evening, Trump posted with a video depicting house minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, a black Democrat from Brooklyn, NY, in a sombrero and exaggerated mustache, standing next to Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, whose voice was doctored to “acknowledge” how everyone hated Democrats because of their “woke-trans bullshit,” among other “confessions.” When Democrats condemned the doctored videos as “racist,” and “bigoted,” Trump ramped up the attack, posting another AI-generated video showing himself playing mariachi, a distinct style of Mexican folk music characterized by the use of string and brass instruments. His followers generated even more AI generated videos on the theme they called “sombrero shutdown.”The Trump administration also gave official imprimatur to the antics, playing the deepfake videos on loop in the White House briefing room, leaving some observers wondering at what point this tactic would be used against foreign leaders who disagree with the US President. While Trump himself did not elaborate on the trolling, vice president JD Vance shrugged it off as “funny,” saying the sombrero memes will stop if Jeffries agrees to re-open the government. It did not take Democrats long to hit back. California governor Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 Democratic Presidential candidate soon posted a meme comparing Trump to the French monarch Marie Antoinette, trolling him for his decision to continue construction on his much-talked of White House ballroom while the rest of the country faces uncertainty amid the government shutdown. “NO HEALTH CARE FOR YOU PEASANTS, BUT A BALLROOM FOR THE QUEEN!” the caption read, parodying the president’s trademark all-caps writing style on social media. Dems also released videos showing Vance speaking in an infantile voice, providing updates on the government shutdown.While late night comics have been lampooning US Presidents – and Trump in particular – for many years now, what is concerning for commentators is the MAGA supremo’s use of social media to destroy political norms and control the narrative, sometimes resorting to AI-generated deep fakes. The latest AI-generated video for instance, doctored Democrat leader Schumer’s voice to make him say things that he did not, words that were antithetical to his position. Some are even wondering how long before other countries take the cue and generate deepfakes to have leaders of enemy countries “say” things that they really did not on sensitive subjects. “This is dangerous. I cannot express to you the concern and absolutely bafflement and fear of our European allies asking me, ‘Is this stuff really going on?’” former vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz asked in a post on X. “When you are born in this world you are given a ticket to a freak show,” the comedian and social commentator George Carlin said. For good measure, he added, “In America, you get a front row seat.”
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