Propaganda and Disinformation - The Art of the Prank

March 16, 2026March 16, 2026

You Say You Want a Revolution

Now, with AI, you can have one.

Cascade of A.I. Fakes About War With Iran Causes Chaos Online, by Stuart A. Thompson and Alexander Cardia, The New York Times, March 13, 2026

A torrent of fake videos and images generated by artificial intelligence have overrun social networks during the first weeks of the war in Iran..

The videos — showing huge explosions that never happened, decimated city streets that were never attacked or troops protesting the war who do not exist — have added a chaotic and confusing layer to the conflict online.

The New York Times identified over 110 unique A.I.-generated images and videos from the past two weeks about the war in the Middle East. The fakes covered every aspect of the fighting: They falsely depicted screaming Israelis cowering as explosions ripped through Tel Aviv, Iranians mourning their dead and American military vessels bombarded with missiles and torpedoes. Read the whole article here.

March 2, 2026March 2, 2026

The US Department of Hate

George Orwell was right…

“The US Department of Hate” by Coco Fusco, Noah Fischer, Pablo Helguera, Hyperallergic, February 20, 2026.

The Siren is back for a fourth edition. Read, ponder, and rise up before it’s too late.

The editors of The Siren have been thinking about the parallels between our current political moment and the dystopian world of George Orwell’s novel 1984 for quite a while, but the escalating efforts by the Trump Administration to wage war against immigrants and silence critics compelled us to devote our latest issue to highlighting those connections. After witnessing the killing, torture, and forced expulsion of immigrants by federal agents, as well as the execution of US citizens and the criminalization of activists, we have no choice but to conclude that Orwell’s “Hate Week” has arrived.

We’ve done our best to bring the perspectives of those who are under attack, and who have survived totalitarian regimes, to the foreground. Writers Junot Diaz, Enrique Del Risco, and Pamela Sneed shed light on the ways that authoritarianism is taking over our world. Political cartoonists hailing from Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, the Philippines, and the Americas offer their perspectives on the impact of tyrannical forces in our lives. Read the whole article here.

December 12, 2025

Truth Seekers Beware!

Emperor Trump only wants you to hear what he wants you to hear.

“State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing ‘censorship’,” by Shannon Bond, NPR, December 4, 2025.

The State Department is instructing its staff to reject visa applications from people who worked on fact-checking, content moderation or other activities the Trump administration considers “censorship” of Americans’ speech.

The directive, sent in an internal memo on Tuesday, is focused on applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, which are frequently used by tech companies, among other sectors. The memo was first reported by Reuters; NPR also obtained a copy.

“If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible” for a visa, the memo says. It refers to a policy announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May restricting visas from being issued to “foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans.” Read the whole article here.

November 12, 2025February 16, 2026

The New Art Critic – Conform or Go Away

The upcoming scrotum exhibition will probably be cancelled as well.

“School Nixes Exhibition Criticized by Turning Point USA,” by Isa Farfan, Hyperallergic, October 16, 2025.

The Fletcher Exhibit of political art was hosted at East Tennessee State University for 11 years until it came under attack from right-wing figures.

A long-running art exhibition of political artwork at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) was not invited to return to the school this year after a wave of right-wing backlash, including from a Tennessee chapter of Turning Point USA.

The Fletcher Exhibit of Social and Politically Engaged Art, held annually at ETSU’s Reece Museum since 2013, came under intense scrutiny from conservatives during and after the November 2024 presidential election. The show has been organized by the family of Fletcher Dyer, who was an art student at ETSU when he died in a tragic accident in 2009, for over a decade.

Read the whole article here.

October 6, 2025

Trump Promotes a Revolutionary Cure-all

Your cure is just a dream away. Dream on.

“Trump shares apparent AI video promoting ‘medbed’ conspiracy theory,” by Kevin Liptak, Donie O’Sullivan, CNN, September 28, 2025.

President Donald Trump on Saturday shared an apparently artificially created video of himself promoting a cure-all bed with origins in conspiratorial corners of the internet.

The video, which has since been deleted, was intended to resemble a Fox News segment on the show hosted by the president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, featured an AI version of Trump promising access to new medical technology. This segment has never aired on the network.

“Every American will soon receive their own medbed card,” said the false rendering of Trump. “With it, you’ll have guaranteed access to our new hospitals led by the top doctors in the nation, equipped with the most advanced technology in the world.”

Read the whole article here.