NEWS: AI Influencers Disinforming MAGA, Trump Abandons Afghan Allies
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Here’s what you may have missed:
Surveillance/Privacy
The New York Times, As Midterms Near, A.I.-Generated MAGA Influencers Flood Social Media
In the runup to the midterms, hundreds of AI-generated pro-Trump accounts have flooded social media, posting flirtatious avatars who rant about the “radical left” while claiming to be ordinary Americans. The Times tracked at least 304 TikTok accounts alone, some with tens of thousands of followers and posts drawing more than half a million views. Trump himself has reposted content from at least one of these avatars, a platinum blond who made unfounded claims about California’s governor. Researchers found no comparable left-leaning network, and while it is unclear who is behind the operation, each post costs as little as $1 to $3 to generate, making mass deployment trivial for content farms, marketing firms, or foreign influence operations.
Why this matters: Synthetic influencers manufacture the illusion of grassroots consensus, nudging real voters toward a movement that may not exist at the scale it appears. When the president amplifies these fakes and platforms struggle to catch them, the information environment voters rely on to make decisions is being corrupted in real time.
WIRED, Inside James Dolan’s Surveillance Machine at Madison Square Garden
MSG owner James Dolan has built one of the most aggressive private surveillance operations in American corporate life, using facial recognition and biometric tracking to monitor visitors to his venues. WIRED’s investigation documents how Dolan’s security chief John Eversole obsessively tracked a trans woman’s movements to the second over two years, added a New York City police officer to a watchlist, flagged a child at the Sphere, and compiled dossiers on the roughly 1,500 lawyers barred from Dolan properties simply for working at firms involved in litigation against him. Eversole’s team allegedly performed full background checks on fans who booed the Knicks or cursed Dolan on social media, dispatched local police to a 14-year-old’s home in Colorado over a tweet, tailed a state liquor authority investigator to his house, and bought surveillance equipment to eavesdrop on a woman who had sued Dolan. The face-recognition system now in use at MSG has been sold to sports and entertainment venues across North America and will be deployed at SoFi Stadium for eight World Cup games this summer.
Why this matters: A single billionaire has built a private intelligence apparatus capable of punishing critics, chilling litigation, and harassing ordinary fans, and the technology powering it is being rolled out to stadiums nationwide. When corporate surveillance can be weaponized this casually against anyone who annoys the owner, the line between private security and private secret police collapses, and so does any meaningful expectation of privacy in public life.
Corruption
Popular Information, The media blackout of Jared Kushner’s historic, ongoing corruption scandal
Jared Kushner is leading U.S. diplomatic negotiations with Iran while collecting more than $110 million in management fees from a $2 billion Saudi government investment in his private equity fund. Further, Kushner is reportedly seeking billions more from the Saudis even as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has lobbied Trump to start and continue the war. Popular Information reviewed 202 articles published between February 28 and April 19 by nine major outlets covering Kushner’s diplomatic role, and found that only six mentioned the conflict of interest — five in the New York Times and one Foreign Policy piece republished by the Washington Post. The Wall Street Journal, AP, CNN Wire, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times collectively produced dozens of stories on Kushner’s role in the war without once noting the Saudi payments, even though the Journal broke the original story on the $2 billion and the Post broke the story on MBS lobbying Trump to start the war. Congressman Jamie Raskin has opened an investigation demanding Kushner’s communications with Saudi officials and with the White House, arguing MBS’s desire to prolong the war creates direct financial pressure on Kushner to do the same, and none of the outlets analyzed has covered the probe.
Why this matters: The president’s son-in-law is running wartime diplomacy while on the payroll of the foreign government pushing for that war, and the newsrooms with the resources to make this a national scandal are declining to connect the dots. When the press treats a textbook conflict of interest as unmentionable, voters lose the ability to hold anyone accountable for decisions that cost American lives and tens of billions of dollars a week.
Truthout, Palantir Posts Manifesto Lamenting Post-War “Neutering” of Nazi Germany
Surveillance giant Palantir has published a 22-point manifesto calling for mandatory military service, expansion of German and Japanese military power, and tech companies to address violent crime while denigrating “subcultures” using racist language. The document states that “the postwar neutering of Germany and Japan must be undone” and argues that “some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive.” The manifesto pushes for Western “hard power” over soft power and argues that free societies must prioritize military needs above all else. Palantir’s stock has more than doubled in Trump’s first year as it secured over $11 billion in federal contracts, giving the company decision-making powers in wartime, widespread surveillance capabilities over immigrants and Americans, and access to Medicaid data through ICE partnerships.
Why this matters: A major government contractor with billions in federal surveillance contracts has openly argued in defense of Nazi Germany and imperial Japan while promoting white supremacist talking points. When companies with this level of government influence publish manifestos cheering for military authoritarianism and racial hierarchy, they’re signaling how they plan to use the surveillance tools taxpayers are funding. Palantir is motivated to push for more death and destruction as means of making more money.
404 Media, Forbes Prediction Market Gamifies Story About Mass Shooting of 8 Children
Forbes embedded a prediction market widget in its story about a Louisiana man who killed eight children, asking readers to bet tokens on whether Congress would pass stricter gun laws by the end of 2026. The “ForbesPredict” feature, launched in January as part of an effort to reverse declining traffic from AI-driven search changes, allows users to spend tokens (not real money) to predict outcomes and earn status within the platform’s ecosystem. Users start with 800 tokens and can spend 100 to make predictions, with the system giving an 18% chance that Congress will act on gun control following the weekend massacre in Shreveport. Forbes built the platform with a company called Axiom to gamify news consumption and keep users engaged longer on the site, offering “gambling without the stakes and payout.”
Why this matters: Major media outlets are turning mass tragedy into entertainment by layering gambling mechanics onto stories about dead children. When established news brands gamify mass shootings to boost website metrics, they normalize treating violence as content to be monetized rather than human tragedy to be reported with dignity.
Elections/Democracy
Brennan Center for Justice, Survey Finds Election Officials Remain Concerned About Safety, Lack of Government Support
A new survey of 834 local election officials finds ongoing concerns about safety, political interference, and lack of government support heading into the 2026 midterms, with 75% reporting their state or local government has not provided additional resources to address federal cuts to election security services. Thirty-two percent said they had been threatened, harassed, or abused, with nearly a quarter worried about being assaulted at home or work, while half expressed concern about political leaders interfering with their jobs and 45% worried about politically motivated investigations. The Trump administration has escalated pressure through executive orders attempting to seize control of election administration, DOJ demands for complete voter rolls, and the FBI seizure of hundreds of ballot boxes from Fulton County, Georgia. Despite these challenges, 89% of officials plan to coordinate with other agencies for safe elections and 71% have planned for disruption scenarios.
Why this matters: Election officials are reporting systematic intimidation and resource starvation while the federal government actively undermines their work through investigations, ballot seizures, and executive overreach. When the people who run elections fear for their safety and lack basic support, the foundation of democratic governance itself becomes vulnerable to collapse.
The New Republic, How Trump Accidentally Handed Dems Their Big Win in Virginia
Virginia voters approved a referendum allowing Democrats to redraw up to four House seats before the midterms. The “vote yes” campaign featured Trump in 100% of its final ads, with messaging like “Trump is rigging elections so he can hold onto power—Virginia, we can stop him,” capitalizing on Trump’s own summer directive for Texas Republicans to gerrymander aggressively. News coverage is portraying Democratic redistricting as hypocrisy, but Democrats passed a 2021 House bill that would have ended gerrymandering for both parties and Republicans blocked it in the Senate. In a Bluesky post, writer Greg Sargent notes that mainstream news accounts are “straining to portray the Virginia move as a betrayal of Dems’ principled opposition to gerrymandering.” when Democrats have consistently supported ending the practice for both sides, while Republicans want exclusive rigging rights.
Why this matters: Democrats used Trump’s own image and gerrymandering push against him to win redistricting power, showing that voters understand who started the current rigging war and don’t want Republicans to have exclusive say over election outcomes. When mainstream media portrays Democratic self-defense as equivalent to Republican aggression, it obscures the fundamental difference between wanting fair rules for everyone versus demanding special privileges to cheat.
Bolts, Your State-by-State Guide to the 2026 Supreme Court Elections
Voters in 32 states will decide over 60 state supreme court seats this year, with abortion, redistricting, and ballot access hanging in the balance. Justices who struck down abortion bans in Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, and New Mexico are up for reelection or retention, while those who upheld restrictions face voters in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas. Democrats aim to retain their 6-1 majority in Michigan and gain footholds in Georgia and Texas, while Republicans could flip Montana’s court from liberal control and extend dominance in North Carolina and Ohio. High-stakes races include Alabama, where an attorney who conceived through IVF is challenging a justice who ruled frozen embryos are children, and Virginia, where a referendum already passed allowing Democrats to redraw up to four House seats after Trump’s image dominated pro-redistricting ads. These elections will reshape courts that routinely decide voting rights, criminal justice, and democracy cases.
Why this matters: State supreme courts are democracy’s last line of defense against authoritarian overreach and these elections will determine whether voters retain judicial backstops against gerrymandering, voter suppression, and abortion bans.
ICE/Immigration
CBS News, Wife of active-duty U.S. Army sergeant detained by ICE in Texas at immigration appointment
ICE detained the wife of a 27-year Army veteran during a routine immigration appointment in El Paso, despite her protected status and pending application for military spouse deportation protections. Sgt. First Class Jose Serrano said his wife, Deisy Rivera Ortega, was arrested April 14 while applying for a program that offers deportation protections to military spouses in the U.S. without legal status. Rivera Ortega has been in the U.S. since 2016 and was granted protection under the Convention Against Torture in 2019, which blocks deportation to El Salvador but allows removal to third countries like Mexico, where she has no ties. DHS called her a “criminal illegal alien” based on a federal misdemeanor conviction for illegal entry. Such detentions of military family members have increased under the second Trump administration, which eliminated Biden-era limits on ICE operations and expanded who is eligible for arrest.
Why this matters: ICE is detaining the family members of active-duty soldiers who are following legal immigration processes. When the government breaks its historical practice of protecting military families from immigration enforcement, it signals that no one is safe from Trump’s deportation machine.
The New York Times, Trump Is Said to Be in Talks to Send Afghans Who Aided U.S. Forces to Congo
The Trump administration is negotiating to send over 1,100 Afghan allies to the Democratic Republic of Congo after halting their U.S. resettlement. The Afghans have been living in limbo at a former U.S. military base in Qatar for over a year after being evacuated for helping American forces during the 20-year war. Congo is experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, already hosting over 600,000 refugees amid ongoing conflict with Rwanda. AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver said the proposal amounts to forcing a choice between “certain death” under the Taliban or transfer to another crisis zone, and that most Afghans are refusing the Congo option. The plan follows Trump’s November freeze of the special visa program after a shooting in Washington by an Afghan immigrant, and represents the administration’s strategy of moving people to distant countries with poor human rights records.
Why this matters: The U.S. is abandoning Afghan allies who risked their lives for American forces by offering them a false choice between Taliban execution and exile to a war-torn country already overwhelmed by refugees. When America breaks its promises to those who served alongside U.S. troops, it signals to future partners that American protection is worthless, undermining national security and moral credibility worldwide.
CBS Minnesota, Operation Metro Surge drained hundreds of millions of dollars from Minnesota’s economy, court filing says
A University of California San Diego survey found that Operation Metro Surge, the three-month federal immigration crackdown that ended two months ago, drained $610 million from Twin Cities businesses and caused over $240 million in lost wages for residents who couldn’t go to work. Minneapolis police extended 500 shifts and canceled 1,000 vacation days to deal with calls for help, racking up over $6 million in overtime, while St. Paul police spent nearly $5 million directly tied to federal immigration activity. The operation canceled conventions at the Minneapolis Convention Center, forcing the city to lose millions in hospitality revenue, and caused 66% of Minneapolis residents who encountered federal agents to avoid urgent hospital care. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, along with Minneapolis and St. Paul, filed an amended lawsuit against the federal government arguing that state and local agencies were forced to spend massively without warning, with the damage falling unfairly on local taxpayers.
Why this matters: Federal immigration raids transferred hundreds of millions in costs to local communities while devastating the Twin Cities economy and public health system. When the federal government weaponizes immigration enforcement to bankrupt sanctuary cities, it creates a systematic financial punishment for jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with mass deportation.
Public Health
Bloomberg, As Measles Takes Toll on Kids, Anti-Vaxxers Have Change of Heart
Measles outbreaks are driving some anti-vaccine parents to embrace the MMR shot, with vaccination rates jumping significantly in outbreak zones as parents confront the deadly realities of the disease. South Carolina saw a 170% increase in MMR shots at free clinics in January, Texas saw a 15% jump before declaring its outbreak over, and Utah has recorded increased immunizations since last summer. Former anti-vaccine influencers like Katie Jennings and Heather Simpson have publicly documented their conversions after witnessing children die from measles, with Jennings vaccinating all six of her children and posting viral TikTok videos encouraging others to “change your mind.” The trend represents a potential crack in RFK Jr.’s MAHA movement, as parents who once rallied around his vaccine misinformation are choosing shots when measles arrives in their communities.
Why this matters: Parents are abandoning anti-vaccine ideology when faced with actual disease outbreaks, suggesting that disinformation campaigns lose power when confronted with medical reality. The willingness of former true believers to publicly document their vaccine conversions creates permission structures for other hesitant parents to follow suit.
The Washington Post, CDC won’t publish report showing covid shots cut likelihood of hospital visits
The CDC has blocked publication of a report showing that COVID-19 vaccines reduced emergency department visits and hospitalizations among healthy adults by about half this past winter, raising concerns that the Trump administration is suppressing vaccine effectiveness data. The report had cleared the agency’s scientific review process and was scheduled for publication March 19 in the CDC’s flagship journal, but Jay Bhattacharya, who is temporarily overseeing the CDC, first delayed and then killed the study over purported methodology concerns. The methodology in question has been routinely used by the CDC to evaluate vaccine effectiveness for respiratory viruses including influenza, and a flu vaccine report using identical methods was published just a week earlier. Former CDC officials say stopping an MMWR report after scientific clearance is highly unusual, with one former director saying he couldn’t recall it ever happening during his eight-year tenure. The decision comes as Health Secretary RFK Jr., who once called COVID vaccines “the deadliest vaccine ever made,” faces political pressure over his anti-vaccine agenda ahead of midterm elections.
Why this matters: Federal health agencies are now censoring their own scientists to hide evidence that vaccines work, representing a dangerous politicization of public health data that undermines disease surveillance and pandemic preparedness. Science is being subordinated in favor of anti-science extremism at the expense of public health.
Media/Journalism
Agents of Influence, I Was Falsely Accused of “Censorship” in The Free Press. Then Their Editors Censored The Truth.
Disinformation researcher Renee DiResta documents how The Free Press published a false story claiming she had pressured The Baffler to censor a book review. After Jacob Siegel wrote a book attacking DiResta and other researchers, DiResta requested corrections to false claims in reviews of Siegle’s book, including one in The Baffler that falsely stated her Election Integrity Partnership “plotted to censor 22 million tweets.” Siegel claimed DiResta’s attempt to correct the record was more evidence that she was orchestrating censorship. The Free Press published Siegel’s accusation with no fact-checking. Despite having evidence that completely undermined their headline premise for two weeks, The Free Press has never updated the article or acknowledged the truth to readers.
Why this matters: Conservative media outlets are systematically protecting partisan narratives over basic journalism standards, refusing to correct demonstrably false stories when presented with exculpatory evidence. The Free Press reveals itself as a partisan propaganda operation rather than legitimate news source.
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