Chris Cuomo Falls for Deepfake AOC Video, Sparking Controversy and Debate on AI in Media

Chris Cuomo mocked for response after falling for deepfake AOC video

Cuomo also used the moment to attack Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over Hamas and defend himself in a NewsNation segment The US television host Chris Cuomo has been pilloried for falling for a clearly marked parody AI video of the congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. On Wednesday Cuomo, a host on NewsNation and formerly of CNN, took to Instagram to share a video that was prominently watermarked as a "deepfake" video, made using AI technology. It depicted a fake Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arguing on the floor of Congress that a recent Sydney Sweeney ad, which advertised her "great jeans", was racist. Cuomo retorted under the video: "Nothing about hamas or people burning jews cars. But sweeney jeans ad? Deserved time on floor of congress? What happd to this party? Fight for small business ... not for small culture wars." Ocasio-Cortez responded to the post, stating: "This is a deepfake dude. Please use your critical thinking skills. At this point you're just reposting Facebook memes and calling it journalism." Cuomo then deleted the post, but in response to Ocasio-Cortez on social media he doubled down on his criticism of her, writing: "You are correct...that was a deepfake (but it really does sound like you). Thank you for correcting. 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?" "I'm going to assume you were trying to reply to me and burped this tweet into the ether instead," Ocasio-Cortez responded. "You seem to struggle with knowing how to write an apology. Do you need help? Maybe you should call someone." Cuomo took his non-apology tour to NewsNation, stating in a post: "I was wrong...but what is right?" Later, on air, he protested: "She ignored the part of the tweet that mattered." And he followed up yet again by complaining about Ocasio-Cortez: "Correcting a mistake is simple...explaining why you dont call on terrorists to surrender is as well." Cuomo's blunder and unapologetic follow-up was roundly mocked online. His fellow television personality Piers Morgan posted: "Oh dear Chris Cuomo - perhaps spend less time bitching about me and more time trying to spot obvious fakes." Ocasio-Cortez endorsed and has continued to publicly back Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race. Mamdani defeated Cuomo's brother, Andrew Cuomo, in the Democratic primary, and will face him again in November, with Cuomo now on the ballot as an independent. Chris Cuomo was fired by CNN in 2021 after the news channel discovered new information about his involvement in aiding his brother's defense to sexual harassment allegations.

Chris Cuomo mocked after falling for deepfake video of AOC slamming...

Veteran newsman Chris Cuomo apparently can't tell the difference between AOC and an AI-OC. The NewsNation anchor was mercilessly mocked -- including by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -- after he fell for a deepfake video of the progressive firebrand denouncing Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad campaign as "Nazi propaganda." Cuomo posted a video to his X account Wednesday showing the New York pol making crude references to female body parts while speaking about Sweeney's photo shoot on the House floor. In his post accompanying the ersatz video showing a AOC wearing a black blazer and with her hair in bun, Cuomo denounced the Democrat for having misplaced priorities. "Nothing about hamas or people burning jews cars. But sweeney jeans ad? Deserved time on floor of congress? What happd to this party? Fight for small business ...not for small culture wars," he wrote. Cuomo failed to notice that the AI-generated video bore a clear watermark stating it was "parody 100% made with AI. The supposed hard-hitting journalist also apparently forgot that Congress is not in session. The real Ocasio-Cortez quickly called out the brother of New York mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo. "This is a deepfake dude. Please use your critical thinking skills. At this point, you're just reposting Facebook memes and calling it journalism," she replied to Cuomo's post. American Eagle's ad campaign features Sweeney making a tongue-in-cheek reference to having "great jeans," using wordplay between the denim wear and genetics. It has sparked a culture war online between "woke" commentators and right-leaning social media users. After the embarrassing gaffe, Cuomo acknowledged his error and removed the original post. However, his response attempted to shift focus back to his original criticism of the congresswoman regarding the Israel-Hamas war. "You are correct... that was a deepfake (but it really does sound like you). Thank you for correcting. 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?" he wrote. Cuomo was referring to a recent incident in Clayton, Mo., where several cars outside the home of an American who once served in the Israeli military were set on fire and defaced with "Death to the IDF" graffiti in what authorities are investigating as a hate crime and act of antisemitic intimidation. The congresswoman, who has criticized Israel's military action in Gaza to root out Hamas terrorists following the Oct. 7 massacre, delivered a sharp response. "You seem to struggle with knowing how to write an apology. Do you need help? Maybe you should call someone," she replied. "I was wrong," Cuomo admitted. "AOC gave me a smack today because I tried to give her a smack first." But again he went on to insist that the lawmaker "also ain't right" because she "ignored the part of the tweet that mattered" -- namely his demand that she "call on Hamas to surrender to end the war they started" as well as to condemn the Clayton, Mo. incident. Cuomo's protestations did little to shield him from being mercilessly mocked online. Piers Morgan, the British media personality who like Cuomo is a former CNN prime time host, suggested Cuomo should focus less on personal conflicts and more on identifying obvious fakes. "Oh dear," Morgan wrote on X, adding several laughing hysterically emojis. He urged Cuomo to "perhaps spend less time bitching about me and more time trying to spot obvious fakes..." Cuomo replied to Morgan, writing: "You got me...silly clip i didnt pay attn to....and I wont block you for saying so...see how easy that is, my yappy friend?" Tim Miller from the "Never Trump" publication The Bulwark expressed concern about the larger implications, writing on X: "It doesn't auger well for our societal AI future if a professional news anchor gets tricked by a video that has a "100% parody" watermark." The Post has sought comment from Cuomo, Ocasio-Cortez and NewsNation. In June, Chris Cuomo blasted Ocasio-Cortez as "deranged" after the New York City mayoral candidate that she endorsed in the Democratic primary, State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, defeated his brother.