I’m David Gilbert, a reporter on WIRED’s Politics desk covering disinformation and online extremism. I’m filling in for Makena this week, and wanted to talk about reality. Not in the sense of whether we’re living in a simulation or not (obviously we are), but in how we perceive the world …
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Over the past 18 months, Elon Musk’s X has become a hive of disinformation, particularly around breaking news events, such as the Gaza conflict and the Baltimore bridge collapse. But after Thursday’s presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump, the expected torrent of disinformation and conspiracies …
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The Republican online ecosystem has gone into overdrive ahead of the first US presidential debate. Lawmakers and influencers are pushing wild conspiracy theories about President Joe Biden, and instead of coming up with anything new, they are recycling tired old allegations that have already been debunked—including claims that Biden will …
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Tonight, President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump will face off in what has traditionally been one of the most important events of each election cycle—the first presidential debate. For decades, these major television events have driven news cycles and provided the largest opportunities for candidates to speak directly …
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In recent weeks, as so-called cheapfake videoclips suggesting President Joe Biden is unfit for office have gone viral on social media, a Kremlin-affiliated disinformation network has been promoting a parody music video featuring Biden wearing a diaper and being pushed around in a wheelchair. The video is called “Bye, Bye …
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won’t be on the presidential debate stage next week to answer questions, but he is fielding them on TikTok Live. On Thursday night, a group of TikTok creators livestreamed a town hall with Kennedy titled “The Sickening of America.” For around an hour, Kennedy, a noted …
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Last month, former president and convicted felon Donald Trump announced that his campaign would accept donations in cryptocurrency. In the weeks that followed, the cybercrime detection firm Netcraft found dozens of scam websites seeking to target Trump supporters and swindle them out of their crypto, according to a report shared …
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Today on WIRED Politics Lab, we're digging into AI chatbots. In a bizarre turn of events, two AI chatbots are running for elected office for the first time—ever. VIC is campaigning for mayor in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and AI Steve is running for Parliament in the UK. Reporter Vittoria Elliot interviewed …
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Years after being accused of swinging a baseball bat at police officers during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, Edward “Jake” Lang is now using encrypted messaging channels to create a nationwide network of armed militias in all 50 states. Though he has been in prison for …
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Victor Miller is running for mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming, with an unusual campaign promise: If elected, he will not be calling the shots—an AI bot will. VIC, the Virtual Integrated Citizen, is a ChatGPT-based chatbot that Miller created. And Miller says the bot has better ideas—and a better grasp of …
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