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A previously unreported network of hundreds of X accounts is using artificial intelligence to automatically reply to conservatives with positive messages about Trump administration officials, researchers say.
But with the MAGA movement split over the administration’s handling of files involving deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the accounts’ messaging has broken, offering contradictory statements on the issue and revealing the AI-fueled nature of the accounts.
The network, tracked for NBC News by both the social media analytics company Alethea and researchers at Clemson University, consists of more than 400 identified bot accounts, though the number could be far larger, the researchers say. Its accounts offer consistent praise for key Trump figures, particularly support for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
As often is the case with bot accounts, those viewed by NBC News tended to have only a few dozen followers, and their posts rarely get many views. But a large audience does not appear to be the point. Their effectiveness, if they have any, is in the hope that they contribute to a partisan echo chamber, and that en masse they can “massage perceptions,” said Darren Linvill, the director of Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub, which studies online disinformation campaigns.
“They’re not really there to get engagement. They’re there to just be occasionally seen in those replies,” Linvill told NBC News.
A man was dragged from his car by enraged bystanders and shot after he plowed a vehicle into a crowd outside a nightclub in Los Angeles, leaving seven people critically injured and at least 23 others hurt, police say.
Videos showed the moments after the car rammed into the busy street early Saturday morning. Multiple people could be seen bloodied and on the ground, some screaming. Others could be seen running away from the scene. A woman who had blood running down one of her legs said she couldn’t feel either of them.
The incident appears to have been intentional, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Two law enforcement sources familiar with the situation said the suspect was kicked out of the venue for being intoxicated and disruptive.
Police said they arrested the driver, Fernando Ramirez, 29, who was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He is currently hospitalized and has not been booked into jail, the LAPD said.
A team of about 70 researchers, armed with high-tech sensors and specially outfitted vehicles, set out across the nation this spring and summer to chase dozens of thunderstorms, hoping to unravel the remaining mysteries of how hail forms, whether hail storms are getting bigger in a warming climate and how to prevent damage.
The federally funded project, known as ICECHIP, is the first comprehensive field study of hail in four decades. It’s meant to fill in critical gaps in hail forecasting capabilities: connecting a storm’s complex, internal dynamics to the amount and the size of hail it will produce. That data could help modelers develop better predictors of storm damage, as well as aid in developing building materials, like roofing, that can stand up to hailstones.
The use of caffeine pouches among teens is still relatively rare, but some experts and educators have concerns that that could soon change as teen-friendly marketing spreads on social media, with some explicitly promoting the product to students.
The pillow-shaped pouches, which can contain more than 200 milligrams of caffeine, are placed between the lip and gums to quickly deliver a hands-free hit of caffeine. Caffeine pouch startup Wip and its competitors are pitching them as a convenient, portable and affordable alternative to caffeinated drinks.
Rob van Dam, a professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, voiced concerns about the potency of some pouches on the market, particularly for consumers who are not used to them.
“It may be a bit different than coffee,” he said. “It may hit faster, and you may overdose, in a way, more quickly.”
Scottie Scheffler won his first British Open title, now giving him three of golf’s four majors.
Scheffler, who closed with a 3-under 68 for a four-shot victory, already won the PGA Championship by five shots this year. He won the Masters last year by four shots and the Masters in 2022 by three shots.
This is the second straight year a player has won two majors, after Xander Schauffele won the PGA Championship and British Open last year.
“I don’t think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon, and here’s Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance,” said Schauffele, who tied for seventh.
The children have always held me together. They’re still holding me together.
A loose network of first responders, volunteers and good Samaritans have fanned out across Kerr County to help reunite Texans with the cherished belongings, family heirlooms and everyday household knickknacks that were swept away when floods ripped through the region over Fourth of July weekend, killing more than 130 people.
Nick Duffy is a platforms editor for NBC News.
Amina Kilpatrick is a weekend platforms editor for NBC News.
Jeremy Mikula is the weekend director of platforms for NBC News.
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MAGA bots split over Jeffrey Epstein, and a driver is shot after intentionally plowing into a crowd: Weekend Rundown – NBC News
