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GOP Committee Posts An AI Deepfake Of James Talarico Reading His Old Tweets—And Makes People Love Him Even More
And the rest of the GOP is getting in on the act.
Politico’s Adam Wren noted in October that deepfakes are not being used equally by Democrats and Republicans. AI generated attacks have become central to GOP campaigns.
The Senate GOP’s official social media account posted an attack ad with an AI-generated version of Texas Democratic state Representative James Talarico, who recently won the state primary to become the Democratic candidate for the Senate seat currently held by Republican John Cornyn.
The deepfake video, posted to X on March 11 by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) account, shows a somewhat realistic version of state Representative Talarico’s appearance and voice, making the marking of AI generated videos crucial to avoid the spread of lies and misinformation. The video includes the watermark AI GENERATED in the bottom right corner.
X users also quickly added a flag for AI content via a community note.
You can see the NRSC post and attached community note here:
The NRSC decided the best attack against Representative Talarico was having his AI version read his old tweets, as so many old comments by Republicans have been used to hoist them on their own petard and highlight their waffling and hypocrisy.
The tweets they chose include Representative Talarico identifying the threat of White nationalism based on multiple mass shootings during a short timespan, supporting women's reproductive freedom, and demonstrating that trans rights are human rights.
Unfortunately for the NRSC, the audience for their ad wasn't outraged by Representative Talarico’s mostly pre-2023 tweets even without any context. The post has largely generated the opposite, causing more people to support him now that the GOP has made his stances on key issues known—even if one tweet is over a decade old.
The NRSC got savaged in their own comments, with many calling them out for using deepfakes.
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Talarico's Republican opponent in November is as yet undecided, being forced to go to a runoff between incumbent Texas GOP Senator John Cornyn and controversial Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Trump posted on Truth Social on March 3 that he intended to endorse one of the two remaining Republican candidates "soon."
Trump "truthed":
"The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas, a State I LOVE and won 3 times in Record Numbers (the HIGHEST vote ever recorded, by far!!!), cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer."
"IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT!"
"My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable! It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas! I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!"
"Is that fair? We must win in November!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP"
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
The Texas GOP runoff is slated for May 26.
Trump has yet to endorse either candidate. Neither remaining candidate has stated if they will drop out if Trump doesn't endorse them.
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Woman Who Bought An Old Church For Under $40k To Live In Explains How She Did It
It all started with a few innocent videos that featured her home, an old church in her state, as her video background, with occasional comments about repurposing an old church as her home thrown in. Questions began pouring in about how this was possible, and Houliston realized she had a new mission on her hands: to educate people publicly about how to do the same.
In a video responding to a question about how it was possible to find and purchase a church with the intention of living in it, Houliston pointed out that the initial process is actually very simple and affordable. There are hundreds of old churches listed for sale in the United States, with most of them including the option to re-zone for residential property readily available, and these listings start as low as $30,000 to $40,000.
You can watch the video here:
Of course, there's going to be more to it than simply purchasing the church and moving in, specifically regarding zoning and insurance. If the church property first has to be re-zoned as a residential space, the new owners will have to wait to move their belongings and start sleeping there after the re-zoning has been officially completed and filed.
Insurance can also be quite a hurdle to cross, as Houliston has admitted that it would cost "close to $1 million" to recover the property if disaster were to strike.
You can watch a video about zoning and insurance here:
If these bureaucratic steps do not make potential buyers shy away, there are other factors to consider, as well. While the initial purchase of the home is affordable, there are other home-owning factors to consider, like renovations and heating costs.
Some properties will be in greater disrepair than others, which is something to consider, but some people will want to live in a home that feels more like a "home" than a "church," which could require significant remodeling, if zoning and permits allow it.
Some TikTokers pointed out how extreme it seemed that the heating bills would be, and Houliston admitted that it was very expensive for her and her husband in the beginning, until they figured out a method that worked for them.
You can watch a video about heating costs here:
Many fellow TikTokers could see the appeal of living in a church themselves.
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With how difficult and expensive it's become to find and and be able to afford a home, it's worth getting creative and thinking about what else might be out there.
The process of making an old church a home will be enough to turn many people away—but for those willing to go through the trouble of buying, re-zoning, and renovating, they could have a much larger home that's sure to be a conversation starter.
Pentagon Just Banned Press Photographers Over 'Unflattering' Photos Of Pete Hegseth—And The Internet Got To Work
Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
On March 2, just four days after the Trump administration authorized strikes on Iran, the Defense Department held a press briefing that marked the first time Hegseth had spoken from the Pentagon briefing room podium since June 26.
Several major outlets, including the Associated Press, Reuters, and Getty Images, sent photographers to cover the briefing. But after the agencies distributed their images, which are widely licensed to news organizations around the world, members of Hegseth’s staff complained internally that they disliked how Hegseth appeared in the photos.
According to two people familiar with the matter, his aides then barred photographers from the next two Pentagon briefings, held March 4 and March 10.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson issued the following statement:
“In order to use space in the Pentagon Briefing Room effectively, we are allowing one representative per news outlet if uncredentialed, excluding pool. Photographs from the briefings are immediately released online for the public and press to use."
"If that hurts the business model for certain news outlets, then they should consider applying for a Pentagon press credential.”
People immediately set out to post the most unflattering photos of Hegseth they could find—and can you blame them?
And others just have thoughts on this weird new policy.
The Pentagon has tried to control reporters in the past, sparking criticism from press advocacy organizations and news organizations alike.
Last year, hundreds of credentialed Pentagon reporters returned their press badges and dozens walked out after refusing to sign a policy that barred journalists from seeking information not explicitly authorized by the government.
The New York Times and one of its reporters, Julian E. Barnes, have since filed a lawsuit against the government, arguing the policy violates constitutional protections for press freedom and due process. The case remains ongoing, with a federal judge in Washington currently considering motions for summary judgment after hearing oral arguments on Friday.
Woman's Video Shooing Kid At Disneyland Away From Her Service Dog Sparks Heated Debate
In a video that she has since taken down, TikToker @pluto_theservicedog caught a young girl approaching her, likely to pet Pluto, when she told the girl, "No, thank you," and sent her away. The TikToker watched as the girl went back over to her family but still seemed interested in approaching her dog.
This opened up a conversation on the TikToker's page about present parenting, always keeping an eye on children in public spaces, and obviously, not petting a stranger's dog without asking first, especially when that dog is a clearly-marked service dog like Pluto.
Some might call that a productive conversation, at least until the girl's mother, TikToker @ali.fragster, came across the video.
The mother explained that the day that she and her extended family decided to go to Disneyland, it was an incredibly crowded day at the park, adding to the stress that they had multiple children in their family to look after, in a place none of them had been to in a very long time, if ever.
At the time the content creator recorded her video, the family had to sit themselves across multiple tables at the restaurant across the way, so the children of the family were walking back and forth to socialize with their parents, aunts, and uncles. According to TikToker @ali.fragster, they were socializing with their various family members, rather than being left unattended.
The TikToker points out that she and her sister are pregnant and postpartum, and she describes them both as "walking zombies" who needed to sit down and take a break at the park. While she calls them both "imperfect" parents, she also does not see the reason to apologize for needing a break.
She also called out TikToker @pluto_theservicedog, who admitted that the young girl did not touch or disturb her dog. The mom questioned what the point was in making the video, then, besides shaming a toddler for even approaching in the first place.
The mom also pointed out that her niece immediately listened to the woman when told, "No," and the family also spoke to her niece about approaching strangers and dogs she hasn't met after the fact, so the video was as educational as the TikToker made it out to be.
Most importantly, TikToker @ali.fragster pointed out that @pluto_theservicedog recorded her family without consent.
While TikToker @pluto_theservicedog does not want her picture taken or to appear in videos in case she might be having an episode that her service dog might be helping her with, she did not give @ali.fragster's family the same grace.
While she technically blurred the children's faces out of the video, her blurring was not consistent, so the children's faces can still be seen pretty frequently throughout the original video. These children also come from a family in which they do not appear online or on social media at all, and yet they suddenly are stars in a viral video.
TikToker @ali.fragster received a barrage of negative comments about allowing her niece to wander and the fact that it was illegal to distract a service dog. She has since turned the comments off and deleted her video.
Most of the comments have been angry, blaming the family for allowing the child to approach, and some have even suggested that the family should put their children on leashes.
Since then, TikToker @thatflippingagent has stepped in, pointing out that the hate is being directed at the wrong person.
While TikToker @pluto_theservicedog is perfectly valid in needing a service dog and wanting personal space in public spaces, it's also important to point out that this is far from the first time that she's called out families at Disneyland and recorded children without blurring them out and without their family's consent.
It's also interesting to note that TikToker @pluto_theservicedog has a partnership with Disneyland, so it's in her interest to create sensational content that goes viral to improve her views, which will earn her more money from her partnerships.
You can watch TikToker @thatflippingagent's video here:
Fellow TikTokers appreciated the nuanced take.
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Service dogs and the people they protect absolutely deserve space, recognition, and the same boundaries we would all like to see respected.
However, families, especially children who may not be able to advocate for themselves, deserve respect as well, especially when it comes to something as serious as appearing in viral content.
The greatest message here just might be the fact that you should always consider the motivations behind a video before fully taking it at face value.
