Latest news with #MediaMatters
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trump claims he never ‘wrote a picture.' His sketchy Epstein lie has now been exposed
President Donald Trump has strongly pushed back against the bombshell Wall Street Journal report that alleged he drew a 'bawdy' sketch in a birthday message to celebrate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday. 'I never wrote a picture in my life,' he said in a rebuttal to the newspaper, vehemently denying having anything to do with the card. In a Truth Social tirade late Thursday, the president declared, 'I don't draw pictures.' Trump is accused of writing a cryptic note that made mention of a 'wonderful secret' in his note to the disgraced financier. The Journal reported that the text was surrounded by a drawing of a naked woman, punctuated by a squiggly 'Donald' that mimicked pubic hair. Analysts were quick to pounce on Trump's denial, including Media Matters chief Angelo Carusone, who told MSNBC, 'I can think of three [Trump sketches] off the top of my head that were auctioned.' This sketch Trump did in 2005 of the Manhattan skyline was sold at auction in 2017 (Heritage Auctions) At least five sketches from the late 1990s and early 2000s have been sold at auction. Trump's take on the Empire State Building, scribbled in his signature black marker pen, from his days as a Manhattan real estate mogul when he was pursuing the prized property, went up for auction back in 1995. The 12-by-nine-inch piece was etched from his Mar-a-Lago estate for a charity auction, according to Julien's Auctions. The signed sketch sold in 2017 for $16,000, according to The New York Times. There was another marker and pencil drawing from the early 2000s, in which Trump depicted dollar bills falling from a spiral-leafed tree, punctuated by a large gold signature. A placard on the back read that 'The Donald' was known for his 'outspokenness and media exposure,' along with his 'distinct comb over.' The 'Money Tree Drawing' sold at the North Carolina-based auction house Lealand Little in December 2020 for $8,500, the website reads. The president has repeatedly attempted to downplay the Epstein case, to the dismay of some MAGA allies (Reuters) In October 2003, Trump drew the 'Cityscape Skyline,' this time entirely in gold marker pen, originally done for a celebrity art auction to benefit the Capuchin Food Pantry. Dated 2004, the Art of the Deal author depicted a scene reminiscent of the Riverside South development project in Manhattan. The drawing was sold in January for $15,000, according to Sotheby's auction house. Trump drew a more minimalist rendition of his New York City skyline piece in 2005, which sold at Nate D. Sanders auctions in 2017 for $29,000. The auction house stated that there was an additional variant of the drawing. In 2006, Trump scrawled the George Washington Bridge in black marker. That drawing, which was sold by Julien's auctions for $4,480 in April 2019, was described as an 'original ink illustration on paper' and 'signed in black ink by Donald Trump lower center.' In his 2010 book Trump Never Give Up, the president boasted, 'Each year I donate an autographed doodle to the Doodle for Hunger auction at Tavern on the Green.' 'Art may not be my strong point,' he admitted.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Trump claims he never ‘wrote a picture.' His sketchy Epstein lie has now been exposed
President Donald Trump has strongly pushed back against the bombshell Wall Street Journal report that alleged he drew a 'bawdy' sketch in a birthday message to celebrate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein 's 50th birthday. 'I never wrote a picture in my life,' he said in a rebuttal to the newspaper, vehemently denying having anything to do with the card. In a Truth Social tirade late Thursday, the president declared, 'I don't draw pictures.' Trump is accused of writing a cryptic note that made mention of a 'wonderful secret' in his note to the disgraced financier. The Journal reported that the text was surrounded by a drawing of a naked woman, punctuated by a squiggly 'Donald' that mimicked pubic hair. Analysts were quick to pounce on Trump's denial, including Media Matters chief Angelo Carusone, who told MSNBC, 'I can think of three [Trump sketches] off the top of my head that were auctioned.' At least five sketches from the late 1990s and early 2000s have been sold at auction. Trump's take on the Empire State Building, scribbled in his signature black marker pen, from his days as a Manhattan real estate mogul when he was pursuing the prized property, which went up for auction back in 1995. The 12-by-nine-inch piece was etched from his Mar-a-Lago estate for a charity auction, according to Julien's Auctions. The signed sketch sold in 2017 for $16,000, according to The New York Times. There was another marker and pencil drawing from the early 2000s, in which Trump depicted dollar bills falling from a spiral-leafed tree, punctuated by a large gold signature. A placard on the back read that 'The Donald' was known for his 'outspokenness and media exposure,' along with his 'distinct comb over.' The 'Money Tree Drawing' sold at the North Carolina-based auction house Lealand Little in December 2020 for $8,500, the website reads. In October 2003, Trump drew the 'Cityscape Skyline,' this time entirely in gold marker pen, originally done for a celebrity art auction to benefit the Capuchin Food Pantry. Dated 2004, the Art of the Deal author depicted a scene reminiscent of the Riverside South development project in Manhattan. The drawing was sold in January for $15,000, according to Sotheby's auction house. Trump drew a more minimalist rendition of his New York City skyline piece in 2005, which sold at Nate D. Sanders auctions in 2017 for $29,000. The auction house stated that there was an additional variant of the drawing. In 2006, Trump scrawled the George Washington Bridge in black marker. That drawing, which was sold by Julien's auctions for $4,480 in April 2019, was described as an 'original ink illustration on paper' and 'signed in black ink by Donald Trump lower center.' In his 2010 book Trump Never Give Up, the president boasted that 'each year I donate an autographed doodle to the Doodle for Hunger auction at Tavern on the Green.' 'Art may not be my strong point,' he admitted.
The Verge
02-07-2025
- The Verge
Racist videos made with AI are going viral on TikTok
Racist videos that appear to be created with Google's AI video generation tool Veo 3 have raked in millions of views across TikTok, according to findings from the nonprofit media watchdog Media Matters. The AI-generated videos uncovered by the organization are filled with racist tropes, many of which target Black people. Media Matters determined that the videos — one of which received 14.2 million views — were generated with Google Veo 3 because of the 'Veo' watermark in the corner of the clips. Some users also listed hashtags, captions, or usernames pertaining to Veo 3 or AI, according to Media Matters. Each clip found by the organization lasted just eight seconds, or was 'composed of multiple clips each lasting no more than 8 seconds,' which tracks with Veo 3's eight-second limit. Veo 3, launched by Google in May, allows users to generate AI video clips and audio with just a text prompt. On its website, Google says it will 'block harmful requests and results.' TikTok's rules similarly state that 'hate speech and hateful behavior has no place on TikTok,' and that the platform 'will not recommend content that contains negative stereotypes about a person or group with a protected attribute.' The Verge found some of the videos highlighted by Media Matters were also on YouTube but with fewer views, while Wired also discovered similar, racist AI-generated videos on Instagram. Other videos found by Media Matters contain anti-Semitic content and racist depictions of immigrants and Asian people. It's not clear whether TikTok has removed the videos flagged by Media Matters or if Google is aware of Veo 3's harmful outputs. Neither Google nor TikTok immediately responded to The Verge's request for comment.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Media Matters' lawsuit against the FTC is likely to be important
One of the more unsettling developments of Donald Trump's second term involves the number of investigations that have been launched against Democrats and organizations affiliated with progressive politics. That includes Media Matters, a media watchdog organization, which found itself facing a Federal Trade Commission probe in late May. This week, as The New York Times reported, the group pushed back — in court: Media Matters, a liberal advocacy organization, sued the Federal Trade Commission on Monday, claiming that the agency was waging a 'campaign of retribution' against the group on behalf of the Trump administration and Elon Musk. ... Media Matters said in its lawsuit that the Federal Trade Commission had employed 'sweeping governmental powers to attempt to silence and harass an organization for daring to speak the truth.' Media Matters' filing argued that the FTC's tactics were intended to restrict the organization's First Amendment rights, and it asked a federal court in Washington, D.C., to block the federal probe. Angelo Carusone, Media Matters' president, said in a statement, 'The Trump administration has demonstrated that it will not hesitate to abuse the powers of the federal government to undermine the First Amendment and stifle dissent. This highly politicized FTC investigation is part of that playbook. This is a significant free speech issue, and Media Matters will not back down from this fight. If the Trump administration is allowed to use this unlawful investigation to punish legitimate reporting on behalf of a political ally, then there is nothing to stop it from targeting anyone who stands up and exercises their rights.' For its part, the FTC hasn't commented, but we have a sense of the agency's perspective. Indeed, when the commission opened its investigation last month, the Times reported that the FTC's letter to Media Matters said it was exploring whether the organization 'illegally colluded with advertisers.' And this appears to be the heart of the matter. Trump's top campaign donor, Elon Musk, first sued the progressive media watchdog a couple of years ago, raising similar allegations, accusing Media Matters of playing a role in advertisers steering clear of the Musk-owned social media platform. It was against this backdrop that the Trump administration not only launched an investigation into the group but also asked Media Matters to turn over all the documents related to Musk's litigation. I won't pretend to know where all of this is headed, but it's a case worth watching. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on
The Hill
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Hill
Media Matters fights back against FTC
The Big Story Media Matters for America sued the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday to block the agency's investigation into the progressive media watchdog group, arguing the probe amounts to unlawful retaliation. © AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File The group received a request from the FTC last month for documents and communications related to several advertising and watchdog groups, as well as its legal battle with Elon Musk's social platform X. 'Media Matters faces an ongoing campaign of retribution for exercising its First Amendment rights,' the lawsuit reads. 'For the third time, Media Matters must ask this Court to halt this 'government campaign of retaliation.'' X sued the watchdog group in 2023 over a report that outlined how the social media site had placed ads for mainstream brands next to hateful content. The report, combined with controversial comments from Musk at the time, prompted advertisers to halt their spending on the platform. Texas and Missouri followed suit, opening investigations into Media Matters and requesting documents from the group that were later blocked in court. 'Now the Federal Trade Commission seeks to punish Media Matters for its journalism and speech in exposing matters of substantial public concern,' the group wrote in its complaint. 'The campaign of retribution against Media Matters must stop.' Media Matters argues the FTC's request is 'overbroad and designed to be maximally burdensome. The FTC did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. Read more at Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: Ford recalls 197,000 cars over issue that can trap passengers Ford has recalled more than 197,000 Mustang Mach-Es because of an issue that can leave passengers trapped inside vehicles. The hazard affecting model years 2021-2025 is especially dangerous for children, who could end up stuck in the back seat during extreme heat, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The issue affects door latches inside the electric vehicles. If the car's battery gets … Anthropic wins ruling on AI training in copyright lawsuit but must face trial on pirated books In a test case for the artificial intelligence industry, a federal judge has ruled that AI company Anthropic didn't break the law by training its chatbot Claude on millions of copyrighted books. But the company is still on the hook and must now go to trial over how it acquired those books by downloading them from online 'shadow libraries' of pirated copies. U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco said in a ruling … WhatsApp banned on House staffer devices Messaging app WhatsApp has been banned on congressional staffers' government devices, the House's chief administrative officer confirmed Monday. 'Protecting the People's House is our topmost priority, and we are always monitoring and analyzing for potential cybersecurity risks that could endanger the data of House Members and staff,' Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor said in a statement … The Refresh News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: Crypto Corner Senate takes steps toward market structure bill © Greg Nash Welcome to Crypto Corner, a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington. The Senate is slowly but surely taking steps toward making its market structure bill a reality. Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) released a set of 'principles' Tuesday to guide the development of legislation that seeks to divvy up oversight of the digital asset market. This includes: The principles are meant to serve as 'an important baseline for negotiations on this bill,' said Scott, who serves as chair of the Senate Banking Committee. 'I'm hopeful my colleagues will put politics aside and provide long-overdue clarity for digital asset regulation,' he added. The movement on market structure legislation comes after the Senate passed the GENIUS Act last week, which aims to create a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The Trump administration and GOP lawmakers have made passing stablecoin and market structure legislation a key priority, with hopes of getting both across the finish line by August. The Hill Jobs Interested in exploring a new career? Visit The Hill Jobs Board to discover millions of roles worldwide, including: Director of Government and Political Affairs — National Mining Association, Washington, D.C. Apply Federal Policy Director — AAHOA, Washington, D.C. Apply Deputy Policy Director — U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), Washington, D.C. Apply Partner, Government Relations — Forward Global, Washington, D.C. Apply Click here to get your job mentioned What Others are Reading Two key stories on The Hill right now: Trump's 'both sides' approach to Israel, Iran comes into question President Trump's strategy of playing both sides is coming into question as he fumed over Israel and Iran's continued fighting while demanding peace … Read more House torpedoes Rep. Al Green's effort to impeach Trump over Iran strikes The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly torpedoed an effort by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) to impeach President Trump over the U.S. strikes on Iran, underscoring … Read more What Others are Reading Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here
