176,000 people follow Amaya’s Buckles. They’ve watched her handcraft Western boots and buckles, cheered her on in the comments, and jumped to defend her husband against hateful commenters. None of it is real. Not the boots. Not the husband. Not even Amaya herself. Prefer to watch? Here’s everything I found. 176,000 Followers, Including 25 of … Read more
A rugged looking man. An American flag waving behind him. A story about being a combat veteran who hand carves patriotic emblems to support his family. He launched his shop right around America’s 250th birthday, timing built for maximum patriotic pull. There’s one problem. Sam Handmakes doesn’t exist. Prefer to read? Here’s everything I found. … Read more
Meet Maya and Henry. A sweet, devoted couple who’ve spent more than thirty years hand crafting jewelry together. Except they haven’t spent a single day doing it, because Maya and Henry aren’t real people. And they’re not running one fake storefront. They’re running two. Prefer to read? Here’s everything I found. Two Pages, One Story … Read more
There’s an ad running on Facebook and YouTube right now for a little Italian boutique called Vetucci. Eighty percent off, everything must go, a heartfelt family finally closing up shop after all these years. It’s a lovely story. Too bad none of it is true. Prefer to read? Here’s everything I found. The Ad That … Read more
We talk a lot about AI around here. Deepfakes, AI-generated voices, synthetic photos. And those are real threats worth understanding. But today I want to talk about something much simpler. No AI required. No technical skill required. No money required. Just a free website, a few minutes, and a reason to lie about someone. There … Read more
Data breach announcements are starting to sound like weather reports – daily and unpredictable. In just the past few months, Charter Communications (that’s Spectrum to most of you), McGraw Hill, Medtronic, and Carnival Cruise Lines have all been hit. Think about that for a second. If you have internet service, you’re probably in the Spectrum … Read more
Most of the conversation happening around artificial intelligence is about what it can do. How fast it’s moving. Whether it’ll take our jobs or make our lives easier. Whether it’s something to embrace or something to fear. But few people are asking AI what it actually thinks about all of this. About us. About what … Read more