🦾 Axios PM: The deepfake election

🧤 Plus: Winter weather wanes | Monday, January 22, 2024

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Amazon   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Jan 22, 2024 👋 Good afternoon. Today's PM — edited by Sam Baker — is 586 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit. 🚨 Scoop: Israel has proposed a deal that would include a two-month pause in fighting in exchange for Hamas releasing all hostages still held in Gaza, two Israeli officials tell Axios' Barak Ravid.     1 big thing: AI's threat to '24 Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photos: Jacquelyn Martin/pool, David Dee Delgado/Getty Images   Experts have been warning for months that deepfakes and AI-generated content have the potential to wreak havoc on the 2024 election by persuading voters of things that aren't true — and undermining confidence in things that are. It's already happening. 📞 Driving the news: Some New Hampshire voters have been getting robocalls from a fake Joe Biden, encouraging them not to vote in tomorrow's primary. It's not Biden. But it sounds like him, down to using the word "malarkey." Some voters believed the president was calling them, NBC News reports. It's unknown who did it. 🚫 Separately, OpenAI shut down a tool created by supporters of long-shot Democratic candidate Dean Phillips. "DeanBot" used ChatGPT to simulate the experience of chatting with Philips. ChatGPT's terms of service prohibit political campaigning. 💡 Our thought bubble, from Axios AI+ co-author Ryan Heath: We can expect a wave of faked robocalls — and also video content — from now through Election Day. Go deeper: How to spot an AI-generated image.     2. 🥶 Brutal cold is almost over Map showing national estimated snow cover as of Jan. 21. Photo: NOAA Almost 60% of the continental U.S. was covered in snow last week — the highest total in about 20 years, Axios' Ben Geman and Andrew Freedman report. Some of the snow fell in areas not typically accustomed to it: Nashville saw 7.6 inches for the month, most of it in one day. That's more than New York City saw for the whole month. Portland, Oregon, experienced a deadly ice storm that cut power to some neighborhoods for days. 😎 What's next: This cold snap is about to end. February will bring milder-than-average temperatures to much of the U.S. Share this story.     A message from Amazon Amazon helps small businesses save time and money     Sylvia started USimplySeason in Layton, Utah, to help people spice up their meals. When demand grew, she turned to Amazon to help with shipping. More info: Fulfillment by Amazon costs 70% less on average than comparable two-day shipping options, which lets Sylvia invest in her local business. See more.     3. Two SEALS lost at sea Navy SEALs Christopher Chambers (left) and Nathan Gage Ingram were killed during an operation off the coast of Somalia. Photos: Defense Department The Pentagon today identified two Navy SEALs who went missing at sea earlier this month and were pronounced dead over the weekend. Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher Chambers, 37 (above left), and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram, 27, were reported missing Jan. 11. The two vanished during a raid in which the U.S. military seized a cache of Iranian-supplied missile parts and other weaponry bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen. President Biden said in a statement: "Jill and I are mourning the tragic deaths of two of America's finest — Navy SEALs who were lost at sea while executing a mission off the coast of East Africa last week. ... These SEALs represented the very best of our country, pledging their lives to protect their fellow Americans." Get the latest.     4. Catch me up Dexter Scott King in 1997. Photo: Helen Comer/The Jackson Sun via AP Dexter Scott King, the youngest son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died today from prostate cancer. He was 62. Full obit. 🇨🇳 Experts largely agree that China couldn't pull off a full-scale invasion of Taiwan, Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian writes. 🛒 Macy's rejected a $5.8 billion takeover offer, possibly setting up a hostile bid, Axios Pro Rata author Dan Primack reports.     5. 📸 1 for the road Photo: Armando Franca/AP Maya Gabeira of Brazil rides a wave today during the Nazaré Big Wave Challenge surfing tournament in Nazaré, Portugal. 🌊 Gabeira set a world record in 2020 for the tallest wave ever surfed by a woman — breaking the record she set in 2018. Both records were set at Nazaré, whose giant waves you may recognize from the HBO documentary "100 Foot Wave."     A message from Amazon Amazon connects small businesses with new customers     When Daniel and Eileen started their houseplant business, they struggled to find customers. The solution: They used Amazon's marketing tools to find new customers across the country from their home in Apopka, Florida - the indoor foliage capital of the world. See how Amazon helps small businesses.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: