Trump finds himself submerged in the misleading information savannah that he aided in developing
"People are feasting on dogs," became a popular jest among commentators, recognizing that the whole story distorting Haitian migrants consuming pets in Ohio was fake news, stemming from a deeply ingrained prejudiced background.
This type of sensationalism, though repelling, has become commonplace on Facebook these days.
However, the escalation of this falsehood to the presidential debate stage highlights a stark reality about the web in 2024: Misinformation proliferates, platforms renounce moderation, and AI exacerbates the issue.
Trump's debate conduct was described by CNN's Jake Tapper as "a 4chan post brought to life."
It's an apt comparison.
4chan, a previously harmless online forum for anime aficionados in the early 2000s, serves as a testament to what happens when you eradicate checks and balances from a social media site, allowing only a small community to regulate it. Over the years, 4chan transformed into a breeding ground for violence, conspiracy theories, and its unique form of "rebel white supremacy," as The Verge termed it.
Browsing through Facebook or X, it's challenging not to notice some of this disorder bleeding into mainstream content.
As my associate Clare Duffy wrote last week, Facebook spam is on the rise, and, in severe cases, it's used to swindle and dupe people — a trend that coincides with Facebook's deliberate tactic to diminish news and politics while boosting insipid, AI-driven content into users' feeds.
On X, which Elon Musk acquired in 2022 and subsequently minimized moderation efforts, hate speech and violent threats have become acceptable.
A representative from Meta, Facebook's parent company, declared last week that they strive "to remove and minimize the distribution of spammy content to guarantee a favorable user experience" and "take action against those who attempt to manipulate traffic through misleading engagement."
Musk, who dismissed Twitter's communication team when he seized control of the platform, failed to respond to a request for comment.
Without a doubt, provocative and counterfeit content has always existed on social media. The distinction now is how swiftly it evolves into false information, often fueled by human-like AI text and images, with fewer personnel dedicated to monitoring and tackling deceitful information. In the past, one had to navigate a meticulous process, overseen by human moderators, to acquire a "verified" badge on Twitter; now, anyone advocating for a specific agenda can readily procure it.
In essence, Trump's political ascent parallels the growth and deterioration of social media during the last decade. The former celebrity championed his political rise partially by leveraging social media's ability to popularize untruths and conspiracy theories among the masses, starting with his racist "birther" allegations against President Barack Obama.
With his pet-eating falsehood at the presidential debate, he may have journeyed so deeply into the online quagmire that he can't see beyond it.
Merely a few weeks ago, the ex-president posted an AI-generated image on his Truth Social platform, suggesting Taylor Swift had backed him. "I accept," he added to the post.
Unsurprisingly, it was a fake picture — the same kind of transparent AI garbage that has overwhelmed Facebook and X. Either Trump remained unaware of the image's inauthenticity, or he didn't mind deceiving his supporters and promoting the phony endorsement.
Neither scenario suggests he's overly concerned about the online misinformation issue.
For her part, Taylor Swift is troubled. In endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, Swift wrote that the scenario with the AI-generated images of her "clinched my apprehensions around AI, and the perils of spreading misinformation."
She concluded the post by self-identifying as a "childless cat lady" — a reference to widely-mocked remarks from Trump's vice-presidential nominee, JD Vance.
In response, Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO who also shared the dog-eating fallacy on X this week, interjected to remind everyone of his platform's policy that allows free expression, regardless of how disrespectful or intimidating it may be towards a woman who has never publicly acknowledged him.
"Fine, Taylor ... you win ... I will give you a child and protect your cats with my life."
This incident highlights the rampant misinformation on social media platforms, particularly on Facebook and X, which is often fueled by AI-generated content. (business of spreading misinformation)
The influx of misleading information on these platforms has led to a decrease in the emphasis on news and politics, while promoting insipid content instead. (business of promoting AI-driven content)
