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THIS EVENT BEGINS IN 3O MINUTES!
I dedicated my “Hot Type” column in Byline Times this weekend to the Trump regime’s accelerating use of AI slop, and how it’s being used as primary tool of governance to push the regime’s political agenda.
I call this form of government a Sloptocracy, and unfortunately, it’s very serious.
As I wrote:
Trump is using AI slop to paralyze and traumatize the population for political gains. Evidence that he is attempting to turn the US into a Sloptocracy has been available since his first term, when he shared manipulated and edited videos on social media, becoming the first president to earn a ‘manipulated media’ warning label on a tweet.
But over are the days of the occasional video release, often violent and cruel as Trump took aim at perceived political enemies. Now, his administration releases a constant stream of videos created with AI-technology.
He and his loyalists are engaging in psychological warfare on a massive scale, for political and personal gains. Since my column was published on Saturday, Trump went on AI-generated rampage, posting content of himself as a superhero, more Iran slop and territorial manipulations, more targeting of perceived enemies, all in a ten-hour burst.
I’ll have updates on this topic today at our Happy Hour at 11 am Pacific.
Germany Update
We’ll also have updates on Germany’s regional elections — where anti-immigration, extremist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) made gains but fell short of a majority.
Look for Vienna-based disinformation analyst Dietmar Pichler to join us with updates, and hopefully, geopolitical analyst Monique Camarra will be able to hop on the zoom to offer her perspective.
As Dietmar notes:
“Much is rightly being discussed about the extremely high AfD result in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt. In addition, it should be noted that the “successor to the successor” of the SED, “Die Linke,” crossed the finish line with over 8 percent, and the split-off from the Left, even better known for its Russia positions, with over 5 percent. If one knows the foreign and European policy ideas of all these parties, the question arises as to how securely Germany’s “Western alignment” is at least represented in this federal state.”
More about Dietmar:
Dietmar Pichler is a disinformation analyst, resilience strategist, and Editor-in-Chief of Inved Insights published by the Institute for the Defense of European Democracies. You’ll find his socials on X and Bluesky at “dietmarpichler1”.
To help support Dietmar’s work on exposing Russian and global disinformation strategies, please make a donation here:
Bette’s Book Club
In addition to the news updates, I’ll be making book recommendations based on our upcoming author events in October. Among our guests will be French historian, author, and information warfare expert, David Colon; investigative reporter and author Craig Unger; and intellectual historian and author Marci Shore. Look for invites in coming weeks.
Looking forward to seeing many of you as we continue to stay informed about world events, culture, and trends.
New members: I began the Tuesday Happy Hours three years ago as a way to keep people buoyed and into action during difficult times. We also meet periodically on Sundays for our Speakeasys, where we meet historians, authors, and cultural icons. Please keep scrolling all the way to the bottom of the post to find the zoom registration link for our Happy Hour.
Thankful to all of you who have stood beside me as I do this work.
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More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. A No. 1 Amazon best-selling author and award-winning film director, Cuda writes the Hot Type column in Byline Times, an independent UK-newspaper. She executed produced the film Kherson: Human Safari. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism and culture reporting.
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Begin each day with a grateful heart.
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