"Imma keep it real with you, a Black woman said in a viral TikTok post, I get over $2,500 a month in stamps. I sell 'em, $2,000 worth, for about $1,200-$1,500 cash. Another Black woman ranted about taxpayers' responsibility to her seven children with seven men, and yet another melted down after her food stamps were rejected at a corn-dog counter."
"Visible watermarks stamped some videos as AI-generated apparently, too faintly for the racist commentators and hustlers more than happy to believe the frenzy was real. You got people treating it like a side hustle, selling the stamps, abusing the system, the conservative commentator Amir Odom whinged. Fox News reported on the Snap deepfakes as if they were authentic, before issuing a correction."
Generative AI produced viral fake videos portraying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients claiming to sell food stamps and exhibiting stereotyped behavior, sparking outrage and false narratives. Some videos carried faint AI watermarks yet were widely believed and amplified by commentators and media outlets that initially treated them as authentic. Conservative hosts framed the clips as evidence of welfare abuse before issuing corrections. The phenomenon exemplifies digital blackface—commodifying Blackness for non-Black expression—which has surged with accessible generative video tools and draws on long-standing racist and sexist tropes targeting Black women.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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