Chris Cuomo, a host on NewsNation and former CNN anchor, faced significant backlash after sharing a deepfake video of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Instagram. The unmistakably deepfake video appeared to depict Ocasio-Cortez delivering bizarre statements on the floor of Congress. These comments were in response to an ad campaign that recently ran with actress Sydney Sweeney.
This is situation in which Cuomo created and disseminated the deepfake—or rather, an artificial intelligence-generated facsimile—of Ocasio-Cortez to misrepresent her as claiming the ad was racist. Realizing the firestorm he had set off with those questions, he admitted he was wrong in a second post, “I was wrong…but what’s right?” His admission did little to hush the criticism he received. Most were quick to note that he’d been duped by a video that clearly was a very sophisticated AI generated parody.
Cuomo’s actions were widely mocked across social media, especially by none other than Ocasio-Cortez herself. She responded directly to his post, urging him to utilize critical thinking skills and suggesting that he was merely reposting social media memes instead of engaging in serious journalism.
“This is a deepfake dude. Please use your critical thinking skills. At this point you’re just reposting Facebook memes and calling it journalism.” – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Despite admitting that the video was indeed a deepfake, Cuomo tried to redirect the discussion again by returning to his complaints about Ocasio-Cortez. He simply replied, “You’re right…we know that was a deepfake (though it actually sounds just like you). But now to the central claim: show me you calling on Hamas to surrender or addressing the bombing of a car in St. Louis belonging to the IDF American soldier?…dude?”
The escalating war of words between Cuomo and Ocasio-Cortez reveals a more troubling trend in our political conversation. It spotlights the growing dangers of misinformation and deepfake technology. Cuomo’s attacks on Ocasio-Cortez have drawn equally barbed responses from the freshman rep, like this notice on his apologies are lame.
“You seem to struggle with knowing how to write an apology. Do you need help? Maybe you should call someone.” – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
This latest controversy comes at a particularly tumultuous moment for Cuomo. In 2021, he was forced out of CNN after news broke that he had advised his brother, Andrew Cuomo, on sexual harassment charges. Andrew Cuomo recently lost a Democratic primary to challenger Mamdani but will face him again in November as an independent candidate.
Chris Cuomo might be one of the few who’s successfully sailing through the dramatic upheaval of the opinion tide. His recent blunder underscores the unique challenges that misinformation poses in an age of mass communication.