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Tech NewsThat Viral Video of an ‘Apple Car’ Parking Is Totally Fake
Have you seen that sleek Apple Car video that’s currently going viral on TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube? The car has bizarre spherical wheels and can self-park, if you can believe your lying eyes. The video has racked up over 5 million views on Twitter alone, but it’s totally fake, in case you had any doubt. … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsNo, There Isn’t a ‘Glitch’ in Michigan Election Software That Flipped Thousands of Trump Votes
Dispelling every bullshit election conspiracy that’s inundated the internet this week would be a full-time job in and of itself, but one particularly insidious theory has blown up to such a ridiculous degree that it deserves to be set straight. Michigan GOP Chairwoman Laura Cox claimed at a press conference Friday that an election software … Continued
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Tech NewsThat Viral Video of CNN Hiding Its Pornhub Tab Is Completely Fake
Have you seen that viral video of CNN host John King sheepishly hiding a Pornhub tab while announcing election results? The video has been seen by over 6.5 million people as of Friday morning. But it’s completely fake. Many people on Twitter noticed it was fake long before the original video was spotted by a … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsViral Video of Man Burning Trump Ballots Is Totally Fake
Have you seen that viral video of a man supposedly burning about 80 ballots marked for Donald Trump? The footage has been circulating on Twitter and Facebook over the past 48 hours and the president’s son, Eric Trump, even retweeted the video. But it’s completely fake. The viral video, which was first debunked by CNN, … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsSocial MediaFacebook Sues Two Companies It Caught Selling Fake Instagram Followers
As part of Instagram’s ongoing crackdown on the scourge of fake followers leaving fake likes on the accounts of equally fake influencers, parent company Facebook announced earlier today that it filed two separate lawsuits targeting four individuals whose stock and trade was selling fake engagement. The post notes that Facebook had previously sent multiple cease … Continued
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Tech NewsThis Company Is Inventing the Blue Checkmark for Photos
If you were on Twitter yesterday, you may have seen the photo of Senator Cory Booker, a hair’s breadth from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s mouth, making the rounds thanks in part to Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who tweeted: “Masks?” The implication was that the image was taken at Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing, but … Continued
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Tech NewsCBP Seizes Batch of ‘Counterfeit AirPods’ That Appear to Just Be Legit OnePlus Buds [Updated]
“THAT’S NOT AN 🍎,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection tweeted on Sunday night. The federal agency was crowing about its latest bust and claiming it had “seized 2,000 counterfeit Apple AirPods from Hong Kong,” estimated to have carried a retail value of $398,000. The only problem is that the CBP shared photos of perfectly normal … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsThat Viral Video of a Trump Boat Sinking Is Old (No, Not That One, the Other One)
President Donald Trump, America’s most prominent white supremacist, has celebrated the so-called “Trump boat parades” that have popped up across the country, a frightening symbol of 21st century fascism and the people who are normalizing it. But just like everything else tinged with politics in 2020, there’s a lot of fake information floating around on … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsComedian Sued For Creating Fake ‘Antifa’ Events on Facebook
The mayor of Lafayette, Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against a 28-year-old comedian who created three fake events on Facebook that claimed “antifa” was coming to the town. Police responded to one of the fake events in late August with at least 30 squad cars and heavily armed officers, shutting down a shopping mall and … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsAdobe Wants to Make Photoshop a Tool For Spotting Fake Photos
For 30 years, savvy pixel-pushers have been using Photoshop to manipulate and edit imagery, but now that computers can create doctored photos all on their own using advanced AI, Adobe wants to leverage its image-editing tools to help verify the authenticity of photographs. As Wired reports, Adobe partnered with a handful of companies last year … Continued
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Tech NewsRepublican Senator’s Campaign ‘Accidentally’ Photoshops Jewish Opponent With Larger Nose
Republican Senator David Perdue of Georgia has been called out for running a Facebook ad campaign that featured a digitally manipulated photo of his opponent, Democrat Jon Ossoff, with a bigger nose. Ossoff is Jewish and depictions of cartoonishly large noses have been a staple of anti-Semitic propaganda for over a century. Senator Perdue’s re-election … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsThat Viral Photo of Ernest With Jeffrey Epstein Is Actually Fake
Have you seen that photo of beloved actor Jim Varney, famous for the Ernest movie franchise, standing next to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein? The photo has been doing the rounds on Twitter today, but we’re here to tell you Ernest isn’t canceled. The image is photoshopped. The real photo shows Varney with the late comedian … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsTrump’s New Facebook Ad Uses Protest Photo From Ukraine in 2014, Not U.S. in 2020
President Donald Trump’s latest Facebook ad campaign uses a photo of protesters clashing with police, and suggests there will be “chaos and violence” if the president isn’t re-elected in November. Facebook users who see the new ad will probably assume the photo was taken in the United States sometime this year. In reality, the photo … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsThis Grotesque Viral Photo of President Trump Is Actually Fake
A particularly disturbing photo of President Donald Trump has been making the rounds on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit recently. But is the image authentic? No, the photo is totally fake. But it’s close enough to the very real (and quite grotesque) look of the president that people could be forgiven for thinking it’s an … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFox News Tries to Make Seattle Protests Seem Scarier With Crappy Photoshopping
After failing to find photos sufficiently terrifying enough to support its fearmongering narrative about ongoing protests, Fox News apparently made its own. On Friday, the outlet published images of a demonstration in Seattle on its homepage that had been digitally altered to make activists protesting police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death appear … Continued
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Tech NewsNo, Americans Aren’t Getting Multiple Ballots in the Mail to Commit Voter Fraud
Charlie Kirk, the leader of a right-wing advocacy organization called Turning Point USA and a frequent guest on Fox News, sent out a tweet yesterday with a shocking claim. Kirk posted a photo showing someone in New Mexico who had been sent “multiple ballots multiple times,” and suggested it was evidence of voter fraud. The … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsPat Robertson Didn’t Actually Blame America’s Coronavirus Crisis on Oral Sex
There’s a new quote from Pat Robertson circulating on social media that supposedly shows the far-right pastor blaming the coronavirus pandemic on oral sex. Robertson is quoted as saying, “Some of these young uns are doing all kinds of unnatural things with their sex organs.” Admittedly, it sounds like something Robertson would say in real … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsThis VFX Team Made a Tupac Deepfake to Rap with Snoop Dogg
I’m going to go ahead and file that under “headlines I never imagined I’d be writing in 2020.” For his newest music video, rapper Snoop Dogg commissioned the production studio Corridor Digital to bring Tupac Shakur back to life through the wonders of technology. His vision: Splicing a deepfake Tupac into the rapper’s final interview … Continued
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Tech News‘Artist’ Apologizes For Telling Plane Passengers He’s Infected With Coronavirus For Viral Video
A Canadian man who announced he was infected with the new coronavirus during a WestJet flight from Toronto to Jamaica on Monday says he was trying to make a viral video, according to a new report from Canada’s Global News. The plane turned around after the man, identified as 28-year-old James Potok, stood up and … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsThat Video of Farts Captured by Thermal Cameras Looking For Coronavirus is Totally Fake
Have you seen that viral video of people farting in public, captured by China’s thermal imaging cameras that are on the hunt for coronavirus? It’s completely fake. China’s state media outlet the Global Times tweeted out the video, suggesting it showed people at train stations and airports in China, where health authorities are monitoring people … Continued
By Matt Novak