Category: News

Digital misinformation has become common, and the Met Gala 2024 was not spared as numerous AI-generated photos of absent celebrities were widely shared on social networks, including images of Katy Perry that managed to fool… her own mother!

Met Gala: BBC Verify examines fake Katy Perry AI-generated image https://t.co/LobdD9UO8T

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 7, 2024

Katy Perry and Rihanna, among others, were misrepresented at the Met Gala through very realistic, but entirely fake images. And it’s this aberrant realism that raises the question of the need for legislation on the use of images generated by artificial intelligence.

A photo of Rihanna, smiling in front of photographers in an evening gown, circulated online, disconcerting many, as the star, absent from the event, was ill with the flu.

https://twitter.com/everymovieplug/status/1787631378592420199

The scenes from the event that were used to create the images made them look so real that they fooled a majority of admirers. The fake images were given credibility by details such as the appearance of the dresses and the celebrities’ previous appearances at the gala. The outfits were in keeping with the gala’s 2024: The Garden of Time theme, making it very difficult to demystify the real from the fake.

Perry’s AI-generated floral dress was convincing enough that even her mother was fooled, according to an funny Instagram exchange posted by the singer.

The singer found it amusing that her mother was fooled by the fake images, but understand the risk associated with this kind of practice are obvious.

Indeed, these incidents provoke both concern and amusement. Users and social media platforms will have to be extra vigilant to spot content generated by AI, whose technology is rapidly evolving.

All the more so as this time, the aim was to produce aesthetically pleasing images with no negative consequences, but it should be remembered that it is also possible, conversely, to create content that can propagate other, far less positive, types of message.

The Georgia Court of Appeals has agreed to review a lower court’s decision refusing to remove prosecutor Fani Willis as supervisor in the election interference case involving former President Donald Trump.

It’s a victory for the former president, who is seeking delays in the impending trial related to the electoral fraud charges against him.

Georgia appeals court says it will consider Trump's effort to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from the state's election subversion case https://t.co/Ep4uzUFDIQ

— CNN (@CNN) May 8, 2024

This decision comes against a complex and controversial legal backdrop, adding a new dimension to this widely publicized case. The controversy concerns past links between Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which Trump’s legal team considered likely to compromise the fairness of the trial. Nathan Wade withdrew from the case in the wake of these allegations, but Judge Scott McAfee allowed Fani Willis to remain involved, provided Wade withdrew.

Trump’s legal team has appealed this decision, and their appeal will eventually be considered.

While some believe that the prosecutor should also have been disqualified, others believe that this appeal is merely a tactic to delay the trial until after the presidential elections.

The trial date has not yet been set, the appeals process is underway, and this represents a victory for the former president, who is seeking delays for the trial.

A security guard was shot and seriously wounded in Toronto’s upscale Bridle Path neighborhood early Tuesday morning. The violent incident drew attention not least because of its unusual location, right next to rapper Drake’s mansion, reports CBC.

Of course, the immediate question on many people’s minds is whether the event could be linked to the much-publicized conflicts within the rap scene that have been making a lot of headlines recently, namely the now-infamous beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

A shooting outside Drake's Toronto mansion early Tuesday morning left one person seriously injured, police say. https://t.co/Lxg6IUyG1e

— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 7, 2024

Police reports indicate that the incident took place at 2:10 a.m., near an intersection very close to Drake’s home. Emergency services quickly arrived on the scene and found an adult male with gunshot wounds.

The victim was immediately transported to the nearest hospital. Although seriously wounded, his life is not believed to be in danger.

The suspects are believed to have fled in a car, the description of which has not yet been released by Toronto police. However, officers have reportedly quickly surrounded the successful rapper’s home and will be patrolling the surrounding area throughout the day.

The shooting occurred very shortly after the rapid acceleration of the conflict between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

In just a few weeks, the frequency of outbursts has multiplied and tension is now at its highest between the two rappers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6m73NuOo8k/

However, there is no evidence to suggest that the incident early Tuesday morning was related to this musical feud.

The investigation is still ongoing, and the local community and Drake fans around the world are understandably concerned about the violence.

Tensions are escalating in the rap world, with Drake and Kendrick Lamar exchanging increasingly virulent diss tracks in recent weeks. Here’s a chronological look at the events.

Shawn Michaels Invites Drake, Kendrick Lamar To Settle Rap Beef In WWE Ring | Click to read more 👇 https://t.co/SBCbVrAQls

— TMZ (@TMZ) May 6, 2024

Kendrick and Drake’s rivalry dates back to 2013, when Lamar attacked Drake and other rappers on Control. Although he explained in an interview that this was to encourage friendly competition, and despite their past collaborations, tensions escalated when Drake declared that Lamar was an extremely hungry underdog, but that he now had to prove his consistency.

At the BET Hip-Hop Awards, Kendrick takes aim at Drake in a freestyle…

In 2017, Kendrick Lamar issued a subtle criticism of Drake in The Heart Part 4, but the situation changed last March when Lamar amplified their rivalry with his verses in Like That, a collab by Lamar with Future and Metro Boomin.

In Like That, Kendrick Lamar attacks the affiliation between Drake and J. Cole in 2023’s First Person Shooter.

Then, in mid-April, Drake responds to Lamar by releasing two tracks on the same day: Push Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle.

In Push Ups, Drake raps that Kendrick isn’t part of the Big Three and criticizes his enemy’s recording contract. He also mocks his collaborations with Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift, among others.

On the same day, Drake released Taylor Made Freestyle. The song has since been removed from streaming platforms, as it contained artificial intelligence impersonations of Snoop Dogg and Tupac, leading to its blocking by Tupac’s estate.

At the end of April, Lamar released a diss entitled Euphoria, launching one attack after another against Drake.

A few days later, Lamar reinforces his attack with 6:16 in LA.

A few hours later, Drake retaliates against Kendrick by accusing him of abuse in Family Matters, claiming that Lamar had physically assaulted his fiancée, Whitney Alford.

On the same day, Kendrick Lamar releases Meet the Grahams, a scathing response to Drake, in which he addresses Drake’s son Adonis, as well as his parents.

Lamar also talks about an 11-year-old daughter whom Drake has allegedly failed to recognize publicly. In the diss track, Lamar also refers to allegations of abuse aimed at Drake, declaring that the rapper should be in prison for life, just like Harvey Weinstein…

The following day, Lamar reinforces the serious accusations against Drake in Not Like Us, where he advises the girls in Drake’s entourage to be careful…

The next day, Drake releases The Heart Part 6, where he denies Lamar’s allegations, even suggesting that they were fabricated by his own clan in an attempt to trap him.

After several weeks of heated exchanges, some feel that the feud between the two rappers is coming to an end, while others await Lamar’s response to Drake’s final attacks.

Then, on the morning of May 7, 2024, a shooting broke out very close to Drake’s Toronto mansion, seriously wounding a security guard and casting doubt on the motive behind the crime and its potential links to the whole saga.

Madonna’s Celebration Tour ended with an exceptional performance on a famous beach in Rio de Janeiro, where the star drew an unprecedented crowd, breaking a record in the process!

Leave it to #Madonna to go out with a bang!

See more 👉 https://t.co/Z0h83utiqg pic.twitter.com/rEis9dVIKV

— TMZ (@TMZ) May 5, 2024

Rio’s Copacabana beach was transformed into the world’s largest dance floor when Madonna, offering the closing concert of her tour free of charge, drew 1.6 million fans!

This historic event, the largest ever independently staged at the iconic venue, surpassed the Rolling Stones’ record set during a concert on the A Bigger Bang tour in 2006, which drew 1.5 million fans!

It’s worth remembering that the star kicked off his world tour in October 2023, in London. The tour, designed to celebrate Madonna’s 40 years in the music industry, featured a collection of her greatest hits, as well as fan favorites.

The concert in Rio de Janeiro marked the culmination of an extended, action-packed tour celebrating the singer’s 40-year career.

A triumphant end, in contrast to the shaky start to the tour…

Kim Kardashian faced an unwelcoming crowd when she took to the stage for the Netflix special The Roast of Tom Brady, broadcasted live from Los Angeles. Audience members booed her for most of her speech.

Kim Kardashian Mercilessly Booed & Skewered at Tom Brady's Roast | Click to read more 👇 https://t.co/sWuGlv73OF

— TMZ (@TMZ) May 6, 2024

The event, part of the Netflix Is a Joke Fest, was billed as the first ever live, uninterrupted roast featuring former NFL star Tom Brady. Although Kim Kardashian tried to be funny during her speech, the audience chose to boo her loudly.

The clearly frustrated reality TV star held her ground despite the booing from the audience. She bravely cracked several jokes to calm the atmosphere, eventually managing to turn the booing into laughter.

One of her jokes was about the rumors surrounding her relationship with Tom Brady.

Tom Brady himself didn’t let the opportunity to make fun of Kim Kardashian pass him by. He joked that Kim was scared to be there, just because her kids had to be looked after by their father (Kanye West).

A strange evening in general, with a few hits, many misses and several cringe moments, but a particularly difficult one for poor Kim Kardashian, who was the victim of several misogynistic comments at the event, to say the least.

Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter behind series such as The West Wing and The Newsroom, as well as the film about Mark Zuckerberg and the creation of Facebook, The Social Network, has revealed that he is considering directing a sequel exploring Facebook’s role in the events of January 6, 2021.

Aaron Sorkin is writing another Facebook movie after "The Social Network" because “I blame Facebook for January 6.”

“Facebook has been, among other things, tuning its algorithm to promote the most divisive material possible." https://t.co/OhGJ8Bljss

— Variety (@Variety) April 27, 2024

Aaron Sorkin told The Town podcast that he believes Facebook played an important role in the spread of false information that led to the Capitol Hill riots. These events inspired his upcoming project, which will provide an in-depth analysis between social media and democracy.

Aaron Sorkin severely criticizes Facebook and its business practices. He highlights two main aspects. Firstly, he claims that Facebook’s algorithm encourages user engagement by promoting content likely to provoke conflict or discord, indicating that the platform places excessive importance on stimulating engagement, even to the detriment of content quality.

Secondly, Sorkin points out that Facebook seems to prioritize the growth and expansion of its business without concern for the ethical consequences of its actions, suggesting that the platform is more focused on its own profits than on the well-being of society.

These two critical points reveal a pessimistic view of Facebook’s impact on society, calling into question its influence.

Sorkin has long hinted at a sequel to The Social Network, wishing that such a film would only be made with director David Fincher. However, it seems that the screenwriter is finally determined to bring his ideas, which he has been developing since 2020, to life.

Aaron Sorkin won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on The Social Network, based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. The film explores the conflicts surrounding the creation of Facebook under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, reflecting the realities of technological entrepreneurship. What follows could reveal the unforeseen effects this kind of power can have on society.

Sorkin has long voiced his concerns about Facebook’s growing impact on society, and the increasingly important role social media plays in politics is certainly a crucial topic to tackle in The Social Network 2.