In the never-ending saga that is Elon Musk’s social media antics, this past weekend provided yet another episode that left many people scratching their heads and others slamming their fists on their keyboards. Musk, the billionaire known for his ventures into technology, space, and, apparently, misinformation, posted an AI-doctored video of Vice President Kamala Harris on X-formerly-known-as-Twitter. The video, which has been viewed hundreds of millions of times since its posting on July 26, shows a manipulated version of Harris boasting about being “The ultimate diversity hire.” According to the fake-Harris, being a woman and a person of color means that any criticism directed at her is inherently sexist and racist. Classy, right?
The interesting—or perhaps alarming—part of this social media debacle is that Musk made no effort to clarify that the video was doctored. When he shared it, he didn’t provide any disclaimers, thus seemingly violating X’s own rules against sharing “Synthetic, manipulated or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm.” As of now, the video remains up, three days and counting, with Musk remaining tight-lipped about it. However, he had plenty of time over the weekend to post more of his typical content, including misinformation suggesting that Democrats are “importing” undocumented individuals to vote illegally and that the party controls Google.
While Musk is enjoying his social media escapades, the Harris campaign has been far from silent. They issued a statement to CNN, asserting that the American people deserve genuine freedom, opportunity, and security as offered by Vice President Harris, rather than the “fake, manipulated lies” promoted by Musk and others. It’s clear that the Harris campaign is not taking this lightly, seizing the opportunity to call out the disinformation.
One can’t help but ponder the blatant double standards at play here. Imagine, if you will, the uproar that would ensue if a Democratic donor were to share a doctored video of former President Donald Trump without disclosing its manipulated nature. You can almost hear the cries of outrage and the calls for justice from Musk and his companions. Yet, when the tables are turned, it seems that ethical standards are conveniently thrown out the window. But then again, hypocrisy isn’t exactly a rare commodity in today’s political and social landscape.
In this tangled web of social media, technology, and politics, one thing remains certain: the line between reality and fiction continues to blur, often with significant consequences. Whether Musk will eventually address the controversy or simply let it fade into the digital void remains to be seen. In the meantime, the rest of us are left to navigate this murky terrain, armed with the knowledge that not everything we see—especially online—is what it appears to be.
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