President Trump announced the launch of America.gov, an AI-powered chatbot designed to help Americans find government services and information. The chatbot, powered by Google's Gemini and Elon Musk's Grok, has drawn attention for providing fact-based answers that contradict some of Trump's own false claims.
Iran, China, and groups from Israel have used artificial intelligence to operate thousands of fake social media accounts in what are being described as the first autonomous AI-driven influence campaigns. The operations represent a new frontier in state-sponsored disinformation efforts.
Sen. Josh Hawley expanded his investigation into Flock Safety's AI-powered roadside cameras to include three other surveillance companies, while Republican lawmakers introduced legislation to remove federally funded Flock cameras. The controversy has become a midterm campaign issue as privacy concerns mount nationwide, with one New Mexico county ending its contracts.
President Trump posted an AI-generated video purporting to show Iran's critical oil hub Kharg Island being 'blown to smithereens,' though there was no evidence of any actual attack. Iranian officials dismissed the claim as 'laughable.'
President Donald Trump criticized communities opposing AI data centers, calling them "backwards and poor," as Build American AI—a group tied to a super PAC funded by tech leaders including Marc Andreessen and Sam Brockman—launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign in Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The push comes amid growing Republican backlash against data centers ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Elon Musk's X service reported finding evidence of a China-backed persuasion campaign attempting to turn Americans against AI data center construction, though a researcher found many flagged accounts had no followers or engagement.
A Public Citizen report found investors in Donald Trump's cryptocurrency ventures—including the TRUMP memecoin, World Liberty Financial, NFTs, and Trump Media's crypto holdings—face at least $4.7 billion in losses, while Trump personally earned approximately $1.4 billion from these projects in 2025. The report comes amid growing scrutiny of conflicts of interest in the Trump family's crypto dealings.
A federal court in Nevada ruled that a state judge who allegedly relied wholly on artificial intelligence to write a court order is protected by judicial immunity and cannot be sued. The decision reinforces the broad scope of judicial immunity even in cases involving AI-generated rulings.
Japan's Ministry of Defense announced it is expanding AI capabilities to identify and counter foreign disinformation operations, particularly from China and Russia. The ministry's 2026 defense white paper identifies China as Japan's greatest strategic challenge and warns of a growing Taiwan contingency.
The artificial intelligence industry has spent over $65 million through networks of outside groups and super PACs ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. According to FEC records cited by the Daily Caller, employees at Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Meta, and xAI gave a combined $2.02 million to Democrats and $274,000 to Republicans in Q2 2026; only OpenAI employees' roughly $296,000 in reported contributions went entirely to Democratic groups. Separately, several election races have featured AI-generated political advertisements.
Pro-Kremlin groups spread deepfake videos of Ukrainian lawmakers calling for peace talks, garnering 130,000 views, while security experts warn of AI-generated fake employees infiltrating companies. The threats emerge as US states implement a patchwork of regulations ahead of elections.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and Democrats are pushing for ethics restrictions in the cryptocurrency Clarity Act as it heads to the Senate floor, citing President Trump's estimated $1-1.4 billion in crypto holdings as a conflict of interest. The White House is pressuring the Senate to pass the bill within 24 days before the August recess.
A survey by Digital Currency Group and The Harris Poll reveals that 40% of US voters now consider cryptocurrency a major issue for the 2026 elections, prompting lawmakers like Senator Tim Scott to warn that the US risks losing its leadership in digital assets without clear regulations.
Prediction market platform Kalshi penalized three congressional candidates—Mark Moran, Matt Klein, and Ezekiel Enriquez—for wagering on their own campaigns. Minnesota State Senator Matt Klein admitted placing bets out of curiosity, while Moran claimed he wanted to test Kalshi's response to insider trading.
Hundreds of AI-generated avatars are flooding TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube with pro-Trump messaging, with some accounts gaining over 35,000 followers and millions of views, and Trump himself sharing the content.
Cantor Fitzgerald contributed $10 million to the Crypto Fellowship PAC, which is led by Tether's head of government affairs and has disclosed $11 million in total funding. The committee spent $3 million on advertising through a firm co-founded by Tether US CEO Bo Hines.
Trump-backed World Liberty Financial's WLFI token plunged to record lows after Justin Sun publicly accused the project of hidden blacklist backdoor controls in its token contract. WLFI threatened legal action, calling Sun's claims 'FUD.'
WLFI token fell 12% to a record low after the Trump-backed project used billions of its own tokens as collateral to borrow $75 million in stablecoins on DeFi platform Dolomite, triggering concerns over insider access and depositor risks.
World Liberty Financial deposited 5 billion of its own WLFI tokens as collateral on Dolomite to borrow $75 million in stablecoins, which were then sent to Coinbase Prime. The move pushed the lending pool to 100% utilization and triggered a 12% token price drop to record lows.
AI firm Anthropic registered 'AnthroPAC,' an employee-funded political action committee, while facing a growing dispute with the Pentagon over AI use and questions about political balance with the Trump administration.
