Instead of sanctions, Donald Trump announces a summit with Russia
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The Independent
a minute ago
- The Independent
Trump's new AI chatbot keeps fact-checking him
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Donald Tump's new AI-powered search engine has been contradicting the US president on some of his core policies since launching last week. The Truth Search AI feature, which is integrated into the web browser of Mr Trump's social media platform Truth Social, is designed to deliver 'direct, reliable answers', according to its creators. The chatbot's responses typically draw from right wing and pro-Trump news sources like Fox News and Newsmax, however it did not support recent statements made by Trump. On Friday, Mr Trump said that his tariff policy has had a 'huge positive impact' on the stock market, but the AI tool responded saying 'the evidence does not support this claim'. First reported by The Washington Post , Truth Search AI also called the US president's claim that the 2020 election was stolen as 'baseless'. When asked about a recent post by Mr Trump on Truth Social about crime in Washington, D.C., the AI bot responded that it is 'not totally out of control'. Users on social media also shared instances of the new AI bot claiming that Barack Obama is the most popular president of the century, and that the Trump family's crypto projects pose a conflict of interest. Trump Media said in a press release unveiling the new feature that its mission was to 'end Big Tech's assault on free speech by opening up the internet and giving people their voice's back'. The AI feature is developed by the controversial artificial intelligence company Perplexity, which recently faced criticism after security firm Cloudflare alleged that it was secretly scrape websites without their permission. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said the company was acting 'like North Korean hackers', however Perplexity dismissed the claims. Trump Media did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent .
The Independent
a minute ago
- The Independent
Saved from militants, Timbuktu's famed manuscripts return home after 13 years in Mali's capital
Your support helps us to tell the story Read more Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more The Malian military government on Monday started returning home the historic manuscripts of Timbuktu, which were spirited out of their fabled northern city when it was occupied by al-Qaida-linked militants more than a decade ago. Islamic radicals destroyed more than 4,000 manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th century, after they seized Timbuktu in 2012, according to the findings of a United Nations expert mission. They also destroyed nine mausoleums and a mosque's door — all but one of the buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The majority of the documents dating back to the 13th century — more than 27,000 — were saved by the devotion of the Timbuktu library's Malian custodians, who carried them out of the occupied city in rice sacks, on donkey carts, by motorcycle, by boat and four-wheel drive vehicles. The first batch of the manuscripts were brought to Timbuktu by plane from the capital of Bamako, authorities said, adding that the return was necessary to protect them from the threats of Bamako's humidity. The shipment consisted of more than 200 crates and weighed some 5.5 tons. The rest would be shipped in the coming days, officials said. About 706 kilometers (439 miles) from Bamako, Timbuktu sits on the edge of the Sahara desert and has a dry climate. For years, the local municipal and religious authorities have asked for the return of the manuscripts. Diahara Touré, Timbuktu's deputy mayor, said the famous documents are important to the local people as they "reflect our civilization and spiritual and intellectual heritage.' 'This is the first stage" of the return, said Bilal Mahamane Traoré, a local official. In February, the military government made a commitment to return the manuscripts, according to Bouréma Kansaye, the Malian Minister of Higher Education. He described them as as a 'legacy that bears witness to the intellectual greatness and crossroads of civilization' of the city of Timbuktu — 'a bridge between the past and the future.' 'We now have a responsibility to protect, digitize, study, and promote these treasures so that they continue to enlighten Mali, Africa, and the world,' Kansaye said during Monday's return ceremony. The manuscripts, which UNESCO has designated as part of the World Cultural Heritage, cover a myriad subjects, from Islamic theology and jurisprudence, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, history, and geography. They are a testimony to the rich cultural heritage of the Mali and Songhai empires in West Africa. Mali, along with neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, has long battled an insurgency by armed militants, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following two military coups, the ruling junta expelled French troops and instead turned to Russia for security assistance. Still, 13 years after the occupation of Timbuktu, the security situation in Mali remains precarious and analysts say it has worsened in recent months. Although the city is back under government control, militants continue attacking its surroundings, including as recently as last month. ___ AP's Africa coverage at:
The Herald Scotland
6 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon memoir reveals letters from Donald Trump
In 2019, a judge ruled Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd had to pay the legal bills incurred by the Scottish Government following his unsuccessful challenge. Ms Sturgeon has never met the US President – a fact she said she is not 'unhappy about'. Following the dispute over wind farms, the now-President also sent Ms Sturgeon cuttings of newspaper articles about the 'evils of wind power' around 2018 while building his Aberdeenshire golf course. She said he had underlined passages, writing 'CRAZY!!!!' in 'all thick black Sharpie'. While Ms Sturgeon has not met Trump, she said she received a 'green ink' letter – a term used to describe eccentric views. Read more: Nicola Sturgeon memoir: Why former first minister cried for Boris Johnson 'I hated it': Sturgeon on the SNP's #ImWithNicola branding He had taken 'umbrage' to a proposed offshore windfarm amid fears it would ruin the view from his Aberdeenshire golf course. 'He sent me cuttings of newspaper articles about the evils of wind power,' she writes. 'He underlined passages and scrawled single words followed by multiple exclamation marks in the margins – 'CRAZY!!!!' for example, all in thick black Sharpie.' Later, Ms Sturgeon had a phone call with Trump ahead of his first inauguration in January 2017. Ms Sturgeon was in her constituency office in Govanhill for the phone call and described the exchange ranking 'amongst the most absurd of my entire time in office'. She said she felt she had to 'say her piece' immediately and emphasised the need for the 'longstanding' relationship between Scotland and the US continue. But she also condemned some of the rhetoric used during his presidential campaign and said she hoped policies like a Muslim ban would not be part of his administration. She also asked about his Scottish businesses. 'I doubt he heard a single world,' she said. The President then launched into a 'monologue', according to the former first minister. Paraphrasing the President, she said he asked whether Ms Sturgeon was aware he was Scottish on his mother's side, before describing Scotland as having a 'mad obsession' with wind farms. 'Had I noticed what had happened to the US economy since his election?' she writes. 'No President had ever created since a strong economy and he wasn't even in office yet. His popularity ratings were soaring too. It was unprecedented. And his sons? Did I know he had the smartest sons any father had ever had? And so it went on.' Ms Sturgeon then said: 'When the call ended, I wondered if I had just woken from a very bad acid dream.' A few minutes after that call, Ms Sturgeon's chief of staff, Liz Lloyd received a call from President Trump's national security adviser General Mike Flynn. He was calling to 'ask Liz if it was true that the President-elect had just spoken to the First Minister, and if so, could she tell him what had been discussed? It seemed that he had known nothing about it.' The bizarre exchange comes as the President made a parting dig at Ms Sturgeon following his visit to Scotland last moth. He praised John Swinney but said he did not "have a lot of respect" for the "woman that preceded him", adding that she was a "terrible first minister".
