Truth, Lies, AI, and Beef
Life during Trumptime 4/13/26 - 4/19/26
Over the past 100 years, American journalists have had unprecedented access to the front lines of its various conflicts. Independent and Pentagon-approved embedded journalists told stories about what was happening in the wars and the world had a steady stream of stories about various warzones.
The Iran War is being fought without much on the ground media coverage. It’s a strange feeling to be deluged 24/7 by social media feeds filled with information but little original reporting. Tehran heavily restricts the internet and the leadership of both the US and Iran are less than forthcoming with journalists. But people want to know what’s going on and a cottage industry of people “monitoring the situation,” which often amounts to posting unvetted Telegram videos and sharing official state propaganda without context.
AI is making the situation worse. Not just because bad actors can create passable fake photos and videos at scale but because it gives people an excuse not to believe what’s in front of them. When the US Navy posted photos of lavish meals served to Sailors in an effort to counter stories of starving troops, I saw a lot of folks pour over the images looking for signs of AI-generation.
There were none, as far as I can tell. It reminded me we should be careful about what we want to believe.
4/13/26
Trump posts an AI-generated picture of himself as Jesus healing a sick man at 2:49 AM.
The picture was originally posted on Instagram and X by right-wing influencer Nick Adams on February 4, 2026. Adams’ picture depicted an angelic figure floating above Jesus-Trump’s head. When Trump posted it on Truth social, the image had been altered slightly to transform the angel into the demon Bael, a popular figure in Iranian propaganda about the United States.
Trump deleted the post, but the damage was done. Depicting himself as Jesus Christ was a bridge too far for some Christians. Trump has posted images like this many times over the past decade—he posted an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope a year ago, but this image dominated a newscycle in a way others haven’t. In my opinion, the rebuke from a portion of the electorate that would normally wave off this kind of thing is an indication that people are looking for an excuse to stop supporting him.
Later that day, Trump received a DoordDash order from McDonald’s at the White House and talked to reporters about the picture. “I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor,” he said.
CENTCOM officially began blockading Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,” CENTCOM said in a press release.
4/14/26
America’s blockade, it seems, was not super effective. The Pentagon claimed zero ships traversed the Strait, but maritime tracking showed some vessels had slipped through. The ceasefire continued and multiple news outlets and Trump said that negotiations would resume in Islamabad soon.
4/15/26
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered remarks at a Pentagon prayer breakfast and appeared to recite lines from Pulp Fiction as if they were a real prayer. This was the framing in much of the press, which referred to the Pulp Fiction prayer as a “blunder.” An op-ed in CNN claimed that Hegseth “trampled all over” the administration’s efforts to resolve a feud between Trump and the Pope.
As much as I dislike the Secretary of War I find myself in the unenviable position of defending him.
In the preamble to the Pulp Fiction quote, Hegseth made it clear he’d been handed the prayer by a member of the combat search and rescue team that rescued the down pilot in Iran. “This prayer was recited by Sandy-1, which is one of the Sandies, to all Sandies, all those A-10 crews prior to all CSAR missions, but especially this CSAR mission that happened in real time. They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17,” Hegseth said.
So the Secretary of War is reciting something a troop read out before going on a mission which happens to be a quote from Pulp Fiction they probably thought sounded cool. This kind of thing happens all the time in the American military. Troops adopt stuff from pop culture they like. The first time I ever picked up a phone for a story was to call Air Force pilots to ask about a My Little Pony squadron patch.
It’s unclear if Hegseth knew he was quoting Pulp Fiction, but I’m sure he didn’t think he was quoting the Bible. The Secretary was just reciting something he thought was cool that a Sandy also thought was cool.
I was, once again, reminded to be careful about what I want to believe.
4/16/26
USA Today published a story that shared photos of troop’s meals taken aboard the USS Tripoli and the USS Abraham Lincoln. The two images showed strange gross meats and half-empty plates and went viral online. Hegseth and the Navy denied the reporting. “My team confirmed the logistics stats for the Lincoln & Tripoli. Both have 30+ days of Class I supplies (food) on board. NavCent monitors this everyday, for every ship,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “Our sailors deserve—and receive—the best.”
The sad plates of the US troops fighting the war in Iran was a reflection of other troop food stories that permeated more military minded news outlets in late February. Military folklore has it that the Pentagon always serves troops a heavy meal before a deployment and just before the start of this latest war, Sailors and Marines on social media shared images of steak and lobster dinners.
4/17/26
The Atlantic dropped a report on FBI director Kash Patel that painted him as a drunk.
“Several officials told me that Patel’s drinking has been a recurring source of concern across the government. They said that he is known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication, in many cases at the private club Ned’s in Washington, D.C., while in the presence of White House and other administration staff. He is also known to drink to excess at the Poodle Room, in Las Vegas, where he frequently spends parts of his weekends. Early in his tenure, meetings and briefings had to be rescheduled for later in the day as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights, six current and former officials and others familiar with Patel’s schedule told me.”
“On multiple occasions in the past year, members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated, according to information supplied to Justice Department and White House officials. A request for “breaching equipment”—normally used by SWAT and hostage-rescue teams to quickly gain entry into buildings—was made last year because Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors, according to multiple people familiar with the request.”
Patel would go on to file a defamation lawsuit against the magazine.
4/18/26
The US Navy posted a photoshoot with fancy foods on X in an attempt to counter the story earlier in the week about Sailors and Marines choking down grey meats aboard deployed ships. People on social media went over the photos with an appraiser’s eye, looking for tell-tale signs of AI-generation and fakery. The truth is the photos were probably staged but there’s no reason to believe they were made with AI.
Obsession over the food of soldiers is a popular pastime in America and is one of the reasons we have the Food and Drug Administration. Popular history has it that Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle is responsible for a push to clean up America’s food supply. But the US Army Beef Scandal was just as influential. During the Spanish American war, more soldiers died due to bad meat than gunfire and America accused the military of feeding its troops “embalmed beef.”
4/19/26
The United Arab Emirates is asking America to ease financial burdens caused by the war in Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“UAE Central Bank Gov. Khaled Mohamed Balama raised the idea of a currency-swap line with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Treasury and Federal Reserve officials in meetings in Washington last week, the officials said. The Emiratis emphasized that they had so far avoided the worst economic effects of the conflict but might still need a financial lifeline, the officials said.”
“Treasury officials invited Gulf countries on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington last week to outline their needs for repairing infrastructure and rebuilding their economies, promising to put them at the front of the line if assistance is needed.”
The Fed used swap lines heavily used during the 2008 financial crisis, buying the currency of other borrowing central banks with dollars and later selling it back. It also used swap lines to support foreign central banks after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Since the war began I’ve spent some time on r/UAE, a message board that caters to people “visiting, living, and working in UAE.”
In a war that’s beset by so much misinformation, AI-slop, and outright lies on all sides, the subreddits dedicated to various Gulf coast countries is an interesting place. Without tracking down the author of each individual post, it’s impossible to verify any post, but I find the stories told here more interesting and telling than any video I’m seeing on X or Telegram.
Show note:
Sorry for the delay getting this out. I have pneumonia. (yes, really) How did I get it? From eating too much salsa. (yes, really) The body has many mysteries and aspiration pneumonia is one I have now revealed to myself.