Happy Monday!

Today, I have some thoughts on the federal government’s posts amid nationwide “No Kings” protests. Also in this newsletter, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard’s weird anniversary post, Twitch streamer Emiru attacked at Twitchcon, the Friend AI founder joins in on protest against his product, and more.

Plus, a playlist to scare the hoes 👻

While Americans across the country participated in “No Kings” protests over the weekend, the Department of Homeland Security X account was once again proving why people are marching in the first place. I’ve previously shared a couple instances of DHS stealing likenesses to promote ICE and mass deportation, including an unauthorized use of the Pokémon theme song and podcaster Theo Von’s face. This most recent problematic post is perhaps the worst yet.

The DHS falsely implicated that a Black TikTok creator called for violence against ICE officers. An official government agency posted an edited version of his TikTok with a caption that says, “ICE We’re on the way. Word in the streets cartels put a $50k bounty on y’all.” Ironically, the actual video, posted in June, had a pro-America, anti-Iran message responding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s calls for American intervention in its conflict with Iran. (Although, the creator said even that was a “joke” and “just content.”) The facts, of course, are of no relevance to the DHS and its agenda. 

Now, the creator says he’s getting threats over a video caption he didn't write. The DHS, which received 34 million views on its post, had written that “we will hunt you down and you will find out, really quick.” This has fueled fears that online disinformation — propelled by edits and AI — will be used to persecute marginalized communities. Commenters have accused the DHS of trying to incite violence against Black Americans. 

“Now I’m a threat to the government for something that I didn’t do,” the creator said in a response video. 

The agency has doubled down on its use of the video, getting into fights with random X users over its validity and calling them Democratic operatives. Unlike Nintendo or Theo Von, this TikTok creator is relatively small with only 42,000 followers. What kind of legal resources does he have to stop DHS from using his likeness in this way? It is typical of this administration to punch down, but this feels like a warning for things to come. There are no limits to what Trump or his allies are willing to do to perpetuate their propaganda — and ordinary people are the ones caught in the crossfire of the culture wars. 

In the comments under his response video, the creator said he’s looking for a lawyer and ex-MSNBC host Joy Reid wrote that she’d connect him to Ben Crump. Will a lawsuit be enough to deter the DHS from continuing to post slop like this with impunity? 

I am fascinated by the administration’s communication strategy of attacking and dunking on regular Americans online. It seems to serve only diehard MAGA loyalists, teenage trolls, and Trump’s ego. The DHS is not the only part of the Trump apparatus to deliberately — and in this next case, literally — shit on the American people over the weekend. Elsewhere online (on Truth Social), Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video of him wearing a crown, piloting a fighter jet, and dumping diarrhea on left-wing influencer Harry Sisson and “No Kings” protestors. 

As we have seen over and over again, the Trump administration loves to use AI. It can create whatever reality suits its agenda at the press of a button. While most of what it has created with AI, including this literal shitpost, has been slop, I am wary of its enthusiastic adoption of the technology coupled with its propensity to spread disinformation. AI will likely supercharge its ability to falsify incidents and demonize everyday people, such as in the case of the TikToker above.

After reading On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder recently, I am reminded of the importance of upholding truth in a “post-truth” world. Every time I see a new lie from an official government account, I think of a quote from lesson #10 in the book: “To abandon facts is to abandon freedom.” I mourn all the ways we have gutted and defanged our media industry to maintain access to power. I commend all the people in the replies of fictitious posts for continuing to call out falsehoods. As trite as it may seem to call a blatant lie exactly that, it is critical in maintaining a sense of reality at a time when those lines are being intentionally blurred.

Every Monday letter gets a playlist. Since some people are celebrating Halloween this weekend, here’s some music to scare the hoes. 

In this week’s playlist:

Other things I want to share with you.