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Local Sweden
5 days ago
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Swedish Moderates pull plug on AI site after it sends greetings to Hitler and Idi Amin
When the Moderates set up a new AI tool ahead of the election, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson accidentally sending personal greetings to Adolf Hitler wasn't what they had in mind. Advertisement The Moderates launched the tool with the intention that users could send AI messages from Kristersson to encourage others to join the party ahead of the 2026 election. But the service wasn't given any limitations or filters, which broadcaster TV4 Nyheterna reports generated greetings to dubious figures including German Nazi leader Hitler, former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik. In one video clip, Kristersson is seen talking about the importance of the upcoming election, while holding an AI-generated sign that reads 'We need you, Adolf Hitler'. Underneath the clip, Hitler is asked if he wants to become their new colleague. The service was switched off on Thursday. 'It was brought to our attention that it was possible to abuse our new campaign by writing inappropriate names. We therefore shut down the site as soon as we became aware of it,' said operational campaign manager Maria Sognefors. Advertisement She said they were talking with the service provider to understand what went wrong. 'Previous campaigns in the same vein have for example had a blacklist that has prevented this kind of abuse,' Sognefors told TV4 Nyheterna in a message. 'It's sad that there are people who do this kind of thing.'
Straits Times
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Theatre review: Astonishing puppets, flat storytelling in The Finger Players' take on Animal Farm
Animal Farm The Finger Players Drama Centre Theatre May 15, 4pm The best thing about The Finger Players' adaptation of Animal Farm, English author George Orwell's classic 1945 novella, are Loo An Ni's astonishing puppets. Each operated by a single puppeteer, the exo-skeletons with just masks and feet to identify the individual animal characters are a marvel of inventive construction. Especially impressive are the four-legged puppets, which usually would have taken at least two operators to manoeuvre around the stage. The technical polish of this staging is not in doubt, with a clever onstage sequence of the farm's vaunted windmill being built by the animals. But this straightforward adaptation, commissioned for the Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa), also feels flat, with some character arcs getting short shrift with the need to condense the cast for a more manageable staging. Some of this can be attributed to the source material. Orwell's story is a political allegory in which characters are representations of political positions rather than fully fleshed personalities. The animals on Mr Jones' Manor Farm decide to rebel against the drunken farmer. The successful rebellion is followed by a brief period of freedom, which soon ends when bullying pig Napoleon (Ric Liu) chases out idealistic pig Snowball (Rachel Nip), and takes over as self-appointed supreme leader. He is aided in his rise by Squealer (Tan Rui Shan), a porcine propagandist along the lines of German Nazi politician Joseph Goebbels. Some of Orwell's animal characters are conflated – wise old donkey Benjamin (Yazid Jalil) inherits mare Mollie's vanity about her ribbons, and the dogs Jessie and Bluebell (both played by Vanessa Toh) are mother and son rather than the progenitors of Napoleon's feared canine security force. The species and names are clear signifiers in Orwell's tale. What reads like powerful minimalist metaphors on the page, however, can look like simple caricatures on stage. And unfortunately, this is true here. Writer-director Oliver Chong, who is capable of sophisticated, nuanced theatrecraft, seems more preoccupied here with staging the beats of the story than exploring the heart of the tale. The first 30 minutes feels rushed as the set-up pelts through the rebellion and the characters. Squealer has the meatiest speeches, delivered with winning guile by Tan, as he literally rewrites Napoleon's crimes. But there is no sense of why Squealer is so eager to do Napoleon's dirty work, and Squealer's eloquence also deprives Napoleon of airtime as he stands around waiting for Squealer to explain and defend him. The Finger Players' adaptation of Animal Farm opened the Singapore International Festival of Arts on May 15. PHOTO: MOONRISE STUDIO The hardworking and loyal horse Boxer (Darren Guo) and the rebellious hen Henna (Jo Kwek), who leads a short-lived revolt against Napoleon, are the two most fully formed story arcs. Yet, their tragic fates – Boxer is sold to a knacker while Henna is starved and forced into a false confession – feels a tad perfunctory. There are also some odd choices in the staging. For example, Mr Pilkington (Guo), a conflation of all the human collaborators working with the pigs, speaks with a Chinese accent that borders on offensive caricature. The Finger Players has demonstrated before that it is capable of making magnificent, subtle theatre. The company's Oiwa – The Ghost Of Yotsuya (2021), also commissioned by Sifa, swept five The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards including for Production of the Year. But this Animal Farm feels more like prep work for students studying the text rather than a deep dive, which is a pity as Orwell's political satire is more relevant than ever in the age of American President Donald Trump and fake news. Book it/Animal Farm Where: Drama Centre Theatre, 03-01 National Library, 100 Victoria Street When: May 16, 8pm; May 17, 4 and 8pm; and May 18, 4pm Admission: From $48 Info: Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Temple University student defends antisemitic incident at Barstool bar
A Temple University student on Tuesday defended his part in an antisemitic incident that took place over the weekend at a Barstool Sports bar in Philadelphia. Mo Khan, 21, identified himself as the Temple student who on Saturday posted a video of a woman who appears to be a server at Barstool Sansom Street in Center City holding a sign bearing an antisemitic message. In a video posted on X on Tuesday night, Khan lashed out at Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who is Jewish and has repeatedly posted about the incident to his millions of social media followers. 'They have no right to destroy my life over free speech and ultimately something that was an edgy joke,' Khan said in the video. 'Frankly, they're more worried about destroying and uprooting me than the thousands of people getting destroyed and uprooted in genocide.' 'That sign had no effect in terms of killing any Jews. However, Israel kills thousands of people on a daily basis,' the student added. 'Dave Portnoy and the greater Jewish community are acting as if they are the victims, when this whole time I am the victim.' After posting the hateful video of the sign, Khan called himself a citizen journalist and shared information about a GiveSendGo fundraiser he started after the incident. He also urged Portnoy to apologize and asked for restitution. 'He is lynching me, absolutely canceling me in any way possible and ruining my life,' Khan said. On Tuesday night, Portnoy posted a video of his own on social media accusing Khan of initially taking responsibility and then backtracking. Portnoy also said he rescinded his offer to Khan and another person involved in the incident to send them to Auschwitz, the notorious German Nazi concentration camp in Poland, to learn about the Holocaust. 'You f---ing antisemitic piece of s---,' Portnoy, 48, said. 'And I tried to show grace. ... I tried to actually, now I feel dumb, to make it right. And now he does this video, blaming it on me.' Also on Tuesday night, Khan appeared on the internet show "Stew Peters Live" to defend his actions. Peters is known for promoting antisemitic beliefs and misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. On the show, Khan said that he was trying to raise awareness about the Israeli military's actions in the war in Gaza. The profane banner Khan showcased in his initial video attacked Jews but did not mention Israel or its policies. Many Jews have expressed their opposition to or concerns about Israel's actions in Gaza. 'It was clearly provocative, because it reminds people of what Israel's actions are doing across the country,' Khan said. 'So, I recorded it, uploaded it, didn't expect much backlash.' Khan also argued that his free speech rights are being violated. The Constitution protects undue regulation on speech by government. Barstool Sports and Temple are both private entities. The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed on Sunday that it was investigating the incident, but offered no updates on Tuesday. Khan has not been charged with any crime. Temple University on Sunday confirmed that it suspended a student, but did not name the student. On Wednesday, the university's president, John Fry, appeared to condemn Khan's interview on "Stew Peters Live." "Yesterday, we became aware that a student participated in an interview with a media personality who has a history of producing extreme antisemitic and racist content," Fry said in a statement. "The content of this interview was both appalling and deeply offensive. Antisemitism is not tolerated at Temple." Fry added that students who are found to be in violation of the university's conduct code could face expulsion. The incident comes amid the Trump administration's efforts to strip some universities, including Harvard and Columbia, of federal funding over criticisms that the universities are not doing enough to combat antisemitism on their campuses. This article was originally published on
NBC News
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Temple University student defends antisemitic incident at Barstool bar
A Temple University student on Tuesday defended his part in an antisemitic incident at a Barstool Sports bar in Philadelphia. Mo Khan, 21, identified himself as the Temple student who posted a video of a woman who appears to be a server at Barstool Sansom Street in Center City Philadelphia holding a sign bearing an antisemitic message on Saturday. In a video posted on X Tuesday night, Khan lashed out at Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who is Jewish and has frequently posted about the incident to his millions of social media followers since the video went viral. 'They have no right to destroy my life over free speech and ultimately something that was an edgy joke,' he said in the video. 'Frankly, they're more worried about destroying and uprooting me than the thousands of people getting destroyed and uprooted in genocide.' 'That sign had no effect in terms of killing any Jews. However, Israel kills thousands of people on a daily basis,' he added. 'Dave Portnoy and the greater Jewish community are acting as if they are the victims, when this whole time I am the victim.' After posting the hateful video of the sign, Khan called himself a citizen journalist and shared information about a GiveSendGo fundraiser he started after the incident. He also urged Portnoy to apologize and asked for restitution. 'He is lynching me, absolutely canceling me in any way possible and ruining my life,' Khan said. Portnoy, 48, posted a video of his own on social media on Tuesday night, where he accused Khan of initially taking responsibility for his part in the incident before backtracking. Portnoy also said he rescinded his offer to Khan and another person involved in the incident to send them to Auschwitz, the notorious German Nazi concentration camp in Poland, to learn about the Holocaust. 'You f---ing anti semitic piece of s---,' Portnoy, 48, said. 'And I tried to show grace. ... I tried to actually, now I feel dumb, to make it right. And now he does this video, blaming it on me.' On Tuesday night, Khan also appeared on the internet show Stew Peters Live to defend the incident. Peters is known for promoting antisemitic beliefs and misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. On the show, Khan said that he was trying to raise awareness about the Israeli military's actions in the war in Gaza. The profane banner Khan showcased in his initial video attacked Jews but did not mention Israeal or its policies. Many Jews have expressed their opposition to or concerns about Israel's actions in Gaza. 'It was clearly provocative, because it reminds people of what Israel's actions are doing across the country,' Khan said. 'So, I recorded it, uploaded it, didn't expect much backlash.' Khan also argued that his free speech rights are being violated. The constitution protects undue regulation on speech by government. Barstool Sports and Temple are both private entities. The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed Sunday that it is investigating the incident but offered no updates on Tuesday. Khan has not been charged with any crimes. Temple University confirmed Sunday that it suspended a student, but did not name the student. On Wednesday, the university's president, John Fry, appeared to condemn Khan's interview on Stew Peters Live. "Yesterday, we became aware that a student participated in an interview with a media personality who has a history of producing extreme antisemitic and racist content," Fry said in a statement. "The content of this interview was both appalling and deeply offensive. Antisemitism is not tolerated at Temple." Fry added that students who are found to be in violation of its conduct code could face expulsion. The incident comes amid the Trump administration's efforts to strip some universities, including Harvard and Columbia, of federal funding over criticisms that the universities are not doing enough to combat antisemitism on their campuses.
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
PM Modi to skip Russia's Victory Day parade, Rajnath Singh to attend May 9 celebrations in Moscow
Almost a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited for the Victory Day celebrations on May 9 in Moscow, India has decided that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be attending the event, sources said on Wednesday. Government sources said, 'An invitation was extended to the prime minister to attend the Victory Day Parade at Moscow. The Russian side was informed earlier that India would be represented by Defence Minister Singh.' This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's Red Army's victory over German Nazi forces in the Second World War. In January 1945, the Soviet Army launched an offensive against Germany. The commanders-in-chief on May 9 signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany which ended the war. Earlier this month, the Ministry of External Affairs' official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, when asked about the Russian invitation, had said that India has received an invitation, and it will be announcing its participation at the 'appropriate time'. Modi has already travelled to Russia twice last year for an annual summit with President Vladimir Putin in July and to attend the BRICS Summit in Kazan in October. During his last visit, Modi invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit India and he is expected to travel to India this year as part of the established framework for reciprocal annual engagements between the leaders of the two nations. However, the dates of Putin's visit have not been announced yet.
