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April 25, 2026
 

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Anuj Chopra
An Iranian ma looks at his smartphone after his house was damaged by a strike in Tehran on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 15, 2026
AI fakes about Iran-U.S. war swirl on X despite policy crackdown
The Middle East war has unleashed an avalanche of AI-generated visuals, leaving many social media users unable to distinguish fabrication from reality.
Backdropped by posters with images of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the two U.S. citizens recently shot and killed by federal immigration officers, a resident of Minneapolis mans a corner to keep an eye out for ICE agents near a school where some students were recently arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2026
'Misrepresent reality': AI-altered shooting image surfaces in U.S. Senate
The gaffe underscores how AI visuals are seeping into everyday discourse, sowing confusion and influencing political debate at the highest levels.
The recent rollout of an editing feature on Grok, developed by Elon Musk's startup xAI and integrated into X, allowed users to alter online images of real people with simple text prompts such as "put her in a bikini" or "remove her clothes."
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 23, 2026
Musk¡¯s Grok created 3 million sexualized images within days, research says
They include 23,000 that appear to depict children, the Center for Countering Digital Hate says.
Grok, a chatbot developed by xAI, has faced criticism over the rollout of a tool that allows users to request images of a subject with their clothes removed.
WORLD
Jan 6, 2026
¡®Remove her clothes¡¯: Global backlash over Grok sexualized images
The tool on social media platform X prompted swift probes or calls for remedial action from countries including France, India and Malaysia.
A banner of U.S. President Donald Trump on the Department of Labor in Washington, on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Oct 6, 2025
Fake job scams cost U.S. job seekers $12 billion as labor market tightens
Employment-related scam cases rose by over 1,000% from May through July, when new graduates typically search for jobs, according to McAfee.
According to Meta's rules, advertisers who seek to run political ads in the United States have to undergo a special authorization process.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2025
Deepfake political scam ads surge on Meta platforms, watchdog says
The ads have reached tens of thousands of the platforms' users.
U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announced a $100,000 fee for the H-1B visa earlier this month, a move that potentially deals a big blow to the technology sector that sources many skilled workers from India.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 29, 2025
'Clog the toilet' trolls hit Indian visa holders rushing back to U.S.
Users on the far-right message board 4chan moved to overwhelm flight reservation systems, in a bid to block Indian visa holders from booking tickets.
Anti-vaccine activists rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on March 18, 2024. "Disinformation" has become such a contentious label in the United States that some researchers who study the harmful effects of falsehoods are abandoning it altogether.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 23, 2025
What do some researchers call disinformation? Anything but disinformation.
The label has become so contentious in the United States that some researchers who study the harmful effects of falsehoods are abandoning it altogether.
A law enforcement member works in recovery operations following flooding on the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2025
Misinformation from left and right sows confusion amid Texas floods
Liberals baselessly blamed staffing cuts at U.S. weather agencies for flawed warning systems while conservatives ramped up conspiracy theories.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an online Security Council meeting from the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2025
Russian disinformation 'infects' AI chatbots, researchers warn
A well-resourced Moscow-based operation is said to be distorting the output of chatbots by flooding large language models with pro-Kremlin falsehoods.
Disinformation researchers analyzed over 300 groups on Facebook that masquerade as pro-Harris pages while misleading the Democratic contender's supporters with abusive, hateful posts or capitalize on her popularity to promote merchandise.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 1, 2024
Deceptive 'bait-and-switch' Facebook groups snare U.S. voters
The tactic seems to target actors across the political spectrum, including Trump, but researchers have noticed an "explosion" of groups focused on Harris.
Outrageous stories about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump online were widely mistaken as real across social media, underscoring how content from satirical websites is being repurposed to fuel political misinformation and sow confusion ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024
'Stolen satire' feeds U.S. election misinformation
False claims are being widely mistaken as real across social media, underscoring how content from satirical websites is being repurposed to fuel political misinformation.
U.S. voters are increasingly concerned about misinformation spreading the good-old-fashioned way ¡ª through politicians sowing falsehoods.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2024
More than AI misinformation, U.S. voters worry about lying politicians
Politicians face almost no legal consequences for distorting the truth, researchers say.
Researchers have flagged that Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter (now X) in 2022 and is a vocal backer of Donald Trump, appears to be swaying voters by spreading falsehoods on his personal account.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 9, 2024
Musk's misleading election posts viewed 1.2 billion times, study says
Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter (now X) in 2022 for $44 billion, is facing growing scrutiny over his potential influence on voters.
A sprawling, secretive influence operation is attempting to vilify Qatar, the Gulf state mediating between Israel and Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 8, 2024
Shadow campaign: Global influence op targets Qatar in wartime
The campaign against Qatar shows the ease with which a person or an entire country can be tarnished in the age of disinformation while masking the ultimate perpetrators.
A new report by international campaign group Global Witness alleges that TikTok approved adverts containing political disinformation ahead of European polls.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2024
TikTok fails 'disinformation test' before EU vote, study shows
The Chinese ByteDance-owned app said its systems correctly identified the breach, but the ads were approved due to "human error" by a moderator.
A woman walks past a banner depicting missiles bearing the emblem of the Islamic Republic of Iran being launched, in central Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2024
Iran strikes showcase disinformation thriving and incentivized on X
Falsehoods amplified by cloud-chasing accounts that feign digital expertise highlight the potential for information chaos during a fast-unfolding crisis.
CrowdTangle, bought by the firm now known as Meta in 2016, offers crucial real-time transparency into the spread of conspiracy theories and hate speech on influential Meta-owned platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024
Meta to switch off tool that tracks misinformation months before U.S. vote
CrowdTangle offers crucial real-time transparency into the spread of conspiracy theories and hate speech.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, received an outpouring of global sympathy after her video message on Friday revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
WORLD / Society
Mar 25, 2024
Wild theories persist despite U.K. royal Catherine's cancer revelation
Conspiracy theorists continue to push claims of digital manipulation, cancer misinformation and anti-vaccine myths on social media.
U.S. lawmakers last week overwhelmingly backed a bill to ban TikTok unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divested itself within six months.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 18, 2024
Monsters, asteroids, vampires: AI conspiracies flood TikTok
YouTube tutorials show users how to create "viral conspiracy theory videos" and profit off TikTok's Creativity Program.
Prudential Life Insurance suspends sales for additional 180 days
Prudential Life CEO Hiromitsu Tokumaru (center) and other executives from the firm during a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday
The language around Japan¡¯s new bike rules leaves no room for ¡®maybe¡¯
Under the new blue ticket system, cyclists will have one week in which to pay fines for minor traffic violations.
Japanese scientist accused of putting chemicals in co-worker¡¯s water in U.S.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison
Yakuza membership fell to record low in 2025
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has set up a special task force to intensify its crackdown on the Kohei-ikka, a Sumiyoshi-kai-affiliated designated crime group suspected of deepening its involvement with <i>tokury¨±</i> networks, including special fraud linked to illegal job schemes.
Don Quijote owner opens discount grocer as Japan inflation bites
Pan Pacific International Holdings, the owner of discount chain Don Quijote, opened its first Robin Hood store, a new food-focused chain, in Aichi Prefecture on Friday.
Inkonbini: Slice-of-life, cozy gaming from Japan¡¯s convenience stores
Alongside the simplified management of a convenience store, Inkonbini asks players to help a small cast of regular shoppers with not only their shopping but problems in their personal lives.
Professional sumo awaits three potential new stars
Bill Christopher Li, now known as Honoikazuchi, at the All-Japan championships at the Kokugikan on Nov. 30
How to prepare when Japan is under an earthquake advisory
Sendai Station is crowded with people Monday after the Tohoku shinkansen line suspended operation following a powerful earthquake off the Sanriku coast.
Now on the multilingual margins, can Japanese bookstores be more than just a vibe?
Jimbocho, Tokyo¡¯s book town, has gained popularity online and some travel companies are already selling book-centric tours for foreign visitors.
Stars aligning for Japan as World Cup approaches
Japan defender Shogo Taniguchi (left) heads the ball from a corner kick during Japan&#039;s match against Scotland in Glasgow on March 28.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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