Anuj Chopra
@anujchopra.bsky.social
Disinformation correspondent, AFP. New America Fellow. Based in Washington D.C. Past lives: New York, Riyadh, Kabul, Hong Kong, Pune. Ex-Knight Bagehot and Dart Center Ochberg Fellow at Columbia University. Scoops, food recs? anuj.chopra@afp.com
Full story from me and @anujchopra.bsky.social: www.barrons.com/news/us-bett...
US Betting Firm Sponsorships Spark Election Integrity Fears
A US mayoral race triggered a flood of misinformation from online influencers sponsored by betting companies -- exposing a new threat analysts warn could undermine the integrity of future elections.
barrons.com
Paid partnership tags for prediction markets still appear on several posts casting doubt on California's election, including from: - Top disinformers - People charged over the January 6 insurrection - An account that once admitted to taking money to share fakes linked to Russian disinformation
New with @anujchopra.bsky.social: Liz Benz still believes the distressed caller's voice was her son's -- the tone, enunciation and cadence all matched her 16-year-old. But it was an AI clone, making her yet another victim of a growing wave of impersonation scams. www.barrons.com/news/20-minu...
'20 Minutes Of Terror': AI Boosts US Voice Impersonation Scams
Liz Benz still believes the distressed caller's voice was her son's -- the tone, enunciation and cadence all matched her 16-year-old.
barrons.com
So true. "Our ability to participate in witnessing, to corroborate each other's commonsense... is a threat to the administration's assumption of total power, not only over events but over how those events are interpreted." www.newyorker.com/culture/on-t... — Vinson Cunningham in the New Yorker
Witnessing Another Public Killing in Minneapolis
Videos of Alex Pretti’s fatal shooting, rapidly disseminated on social media, reveal a brazen display of brute power.
newyorker.com
NEW with @anujchopra.bsky.social: After the fatal shooting in Minneapolis, AI fakes of the ICE agent, the victim and a woman mistaken as the victim flooded X. One X user prompted Grok to undress an image of Renee Good's body slumped in her car after she was shot. www.rfi.fr/en/internati...
After Minneapolis shooting, AI fabrications of victim and shooter
Hours after a fatal shooting in Minneapolis by an immigration agent, AI deepfakes of the victim and the shooter flooded online platforms, underscoring the growing prevalence of what experts call "hall...
rfi.fr
America has 925 billionaires as of this year. Collectively they have a record $6.9 trillion in wealth. The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth. When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.
"'If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient,' Ms. Alfonsi wrote." {gift link} www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
‘60 Minutes’ Pulled a Segment. A Correspondent Calls It ‘Political.’
nytimes.com
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5
"Trump peddles disinfo on & offline to boost his own image, attack his adversaries & control public discourse. For someone like him, unregulated generative AI is the perfect tool to capture people's attention & distort reality." Thnx @anujchopra.bsky.social @afp.com www.barrons.com/news/ai-pres...
'AI President': Trump Deepfakes Glorify Himself, Trash Rivals
In a parallel reality, Donald Trump reigns as king, fighter pilot, and Superman, and his political opponents are cast as criminals and laughingstocks -- an unprecedented weaponization of AI imagery by...
barrons.com
Honored to join such an inspiring group of writers and filmmakers and to connect with the incredible policy minds at @newamerica.org as a #NewAmericaFellow.
New America@newamerica.org · last yr.🎊 We’re thrilled to announce the Class of 2026 New America Fellows! The Fellows Program selected 10 immensely talented Fellows from hundreds of applicants & will support 9 book projects and 1 film project. 🔗 Meet the 2026 #NewAmericaFellows: https://go.newamerica.org/new-america-fellows-current-5
🎊 We’re thrilled to announce the Class of 2026 New America Fellows! The Fellows Program selected 10 immensely talented Fellows from hundreds of applicants & will support 9 book projects and 1 film project. 🔗 Meet the 2026 #NewAmericaFellows: https://go.newamerica.org/new-america-fellows-current-5
New story from @anujchopra.bsky.social on AI-powered 'nudify' apps, with additional reporting by me and Sonia González Fernández. Deeply concerning that these apps -- which rose to prominence targeting celebrities -- are being increasingly weaponised against children www.yahoo.com/news/ai-powe...
AI-powered 'nudify' apps fuel deadly wave of digital blackmail
After a Kentucky teenager died by suicide this year, his parents discovered he had received threatening texts demanding $3,000 to suppress an AI-generated nude image of him.His parents told US media t...
yahoo.com
Proud to see @benmshultz.com / @americansunlight.org's work referenced in this excellent article from @anujchopra.bsky.social detailing the attacks on the counter-disinfo space in Trump's first 100 days www.france24.com/en/live-news...
US anti-disinformation guardrails fall in Trump's first 100 days
From slashed federal funding for disinformation research to the closure of a key agency combating foreign influence operations, the United States has dismantled vital guardrails against falsehoods wit...
france24.com
“Who other than a liar would cancel misinformation research?” www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump’s team, often accused of spreading misinformation, slashes misinformation research
Hundreds of grants axed in a field where the United States was a global leader
science.org
New from me and @anujchopra.bsky.social for @afpnews.bsky.social Looksmaxxing influencers have surged in popularity across social media, capitalising on the insecurities of young men eager to boost their attractiveness to women. www.france24.com/en/live-news...
'Toxic beauty': Rise of 'looksmaxxing' influencers
Hankering for a chiseled jawline, a male TikTok influencer strikes his cheekbones with a hammer -- highlighting the rise of "looksmaxxing," an online trend pushing unproven and sometimes dangerous tec...
france24.com
NEW: A grant to research farm-grown feminine hygiene products was axed after US officials falsely labeled it a study on transgender menstrual cycles. @anujchopra.bsky.social and I spoke to 5 people close to the project about the impact of its lie-driven cancelation. www.yahoo.com/news/real-lo...
'Real loss': US officials axe grant over false transgender claim
A $600,000 federal grant to research feminine hygiene products was axed after US officials falsely labelled it a study on transgender menstrual cycles, underscoring the way that misinformation is unde...
yahoo.com
The bloodletting at US universities continues. "Federal Cuts Prompt Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers" www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...
Federal Cuts Prompt Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers
The university, a leader in scientific research, has been hard hit by the Trump administration’s cuts, which will slash at least $800 million from its budget.
nytimes.com
"The threats facing Ellis ... highlight the real-life impact of disinformation for transgender people at a time when there has been a sharp uptick in the political rhetoric against them." Important story from @anujchopra.bsky.social 👇
'Vilified as boogeyman': Disinformation ensnares US trans pilot
Gingerly placing a gun on her kitchen counter, American trans pilot Jo Ellis said she no longer leaves her apartment without a firearm after false online claims about her involvement in a fatal air cr...
yahoo.com
A deluge of disinformation about a flu-like virus called HMPV is stoking anti-China sentiment across Asia and spurring unfounded concerns of renewed lockdowns, @tommywang.bsky.social and @anujchopra.bsky.social report
Virus disinformation drives anti-China sentiment, lockdown fears
A deluge of disinformation about a flu-like virus called HMPV is stoking anti-China sentiment across Asia and spurring unfounded concerns of renewed lockdowns, despite experts dismissing comparisons w...
uk.news.yahoo.com
Harsh! Imagine working in the federal government under Musk—where loyalty is tested, cruelty is rewarded, and nobody is safe. A former Twitter exec, @ruchowdh.bsky.social , who lived through it speaks out.
I really don't want to be the person who habitually reposts tragicomic headlines, but I must somehow diffuse the psychic injury this caused.
Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com · 2y agoThe White House said Elon Musk will determine if there are conflicts of interest between his work reviewing federal spending and his overlapping empire of six companies
NYT EXPLAINER: Trump Wants to Play Real Estate Developer with Gaza, one-time home to 2 million. Turns out Trump family already has a load of real estate deals in the Middle East. A NYT rundown. (My second explainer of the day) www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/u...
What to Know About the Trump Family’s Deals in the Middle East (Gift Article)
The region has become a hot spot for the family’s business. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, noted last year that “Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable.”
nytimes.com
"The spectacle of powerful media organizations debasing themselves before Mr. Trump has become so familiar that it is beginning to feel like scheduled programming." www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/o...
Opinion | Settlements With Trump Are Weakening Press Freedoms
Media institutions and technology companies are offering obscene sums of money to settle feeble or frivolous lawsuits.
nytimes.com
Donald Trump has sought to make "condoms for Gaza" a poster child for wasteful US aid spending. The only problem? The United States sent no condoms to any part of the Middle East since 2019. @afpnews.bsky.social www.barrons.com/news/aid-exp...
Aid Experts Dismiss Trump's 'Gaza Condoms' Spending Claim
barrons.com
NEW: @anujchopra.bsky.social and I spoke to a mother whose teen daughter was targeted by a deepfake nude scandal at school. The girl was mortified by the fakes. Her mother worries they could resurface as she applies to college, starts dating or enters the job market. www.rfi.fr/en/internati...
'Damaging' AI porn scandal at US school scars victims
Her voice tinged with anger, an American mother worried about what the future holds for her teenage daughter, just one of dozens of girls targeted in yet another AI-enabled pornography scandal that ha...
rfi.fr
"You wouldn't rely on just anyone to stop your toilet from leaking, but Meta now seeks to rely on just anyone to stop misinformation from spreading on their platforms." Disinformation experts slam Meta decision to end US fact-checking, via @anujchopra.bsky.social: www.barrons.com/news/disinfo...
Disinformation Experts Slam Meta Decision To End US Fact-checking
Tech giant Meta's shock announcement that it is ending its US fact-checking program triggered scathing criticism Tuesday from disinformation researchers who warned it risked opening the floodgates for...
barrons.com
