Tuesday, September 1, 2026

A war on the truth, powered by Trump and AI

Donald Trump's escalation against Iran took on a peculiar new face this week.

A video posted to Truth Social this week appeared to mark a new phase in the war. Footage showed exploding oil drums and refinery infrastructure being lit up by rising flames.

The caption read "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens."

In fact, it was so convincing that the Pentagon had to put out a clarification: The video was an AI fakery job. No such attack on Kharg Island, a hub of Iran's energy sector eyed as a potential U.S. target for months, had taken place.

Such videos are commonplace on social media these days. Dubbed AI "slop", the content is loathed by many perpetually-online Americans. Experts have warned that AI-generated images and video run the risk of severely challenging users' ability to discern what is real from what is fake, especially when presented as news.

But what happens when it's the president of the United States spreading that "news?"

"It’s not a matter of breaking trust in government. It breaks trust in society as some people swallow his claims and others don’t,” Quinten Langley, a crisis communications expert who serves as an educator-at-large at Yeshiva University and other New York-area institutions, tells The Independent.

Read more here.

By John Bowden

Reading list

James C. Reynolds: Trump considering new strikes to stop Strait of Hormuz attacks as president threatens to ‘smack’ Tehran
Ariana Baio: Natalie Harp named in lawsuit to stop early access to Trump’s social media posts

Daily briefing

Andrew accused of committing sex crimes in US, Congress hears

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was among a list of names read out this week by Republican Thomas Massie on the floor of the House of Representatives, who he described as “co-conspirators” of pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Nick Lester has more.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough, and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, on when the U.S.-Canada trade war will end.

What else you need to know

Dat-a-Lago: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a suggestion for the president after Trump posted on Truth Social bashing localities around the U.S. where Americans are signaling their opposition to data center developments: What about a facility on the grounds of his pristine Florida club? Josh Marcus is following this story.
Luddites unite: A member of the president's own party in the House took Ocasio-Cortez's side against Trump, declaring himself to be "backwards and poor" in acceptance of the president's condemnations. Ariana Baio reports on how this issue is dividing Republicans.

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