I was shocked to read that Haitian immigrants were reportedly eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Most likely because it never happened. However, AI made memes quickly made a huge hit on the internet even before real reporters had a chance to say, “Wait a second.”
First there was an AI made movie of Donald Trump holding a kitten and writing “Save the Cats!” in the background while AI made Haitians with pitchforks watched. In another deepfake a cat was wearing a hard hat and was working and hoping that it wouldn’t turn into a blanket. It was a mess of memes. It didn’t matter that the whole thing was fake. It was already too much fun for the internet.
The Rise of AI-Generated Political Satire
There have always been political drawings. Just think about it over the top characters’ deep comments and artists using humor to show how powerful people really are. For a long time these drawings were the best tool in the news toolbox. They were both funny and honest. George Orwell went so far as to say that political language was used to “make pure wind look solid.” Kids’ shows? The balloon went off.
But AI is already here and it doesn’t need a degree in art to take over. You just need a computer, some directions and a strong desire to find humor. There are a lot of memes made by AI that are driving out humor. They’re quick, cheap and often funny. But what’s wrong? The original goal of the media was to find the truth but now there is a lot of fake news made by AI.
Memes Have Taken Over The Conversation
Fans of the internet have loved memes for a long time. Sometimes they’re terribly true, sometimes they’re just funny. Memes are like a language to Gen Z. They are full of snark eye rolls and pure digital chaos. But there is a bad side.
The truth doesn’t matter when everything is a story. It gets around if it is funny and catchy. People do not stop to look at the facts. The pictures and movies made by AI that are popular online don’t just show politics, they change it. Not only do they mock, they make things. A lot of what people call “news” these days is just half truths wrapped in catchy headlines.
The Danger of Over-Irony
David Foster Wallace, an author , told people not to use irony too much. His group was tired of old customs and stories that always went the same way so they reacted by making everything humorous. The standard became pessimistic and disrespectful. But the revolt itself got boring after a while.
“A lot of the problem now is that many of the shticks of postmodernism (irony , cynicism and irreverence) are now part of whatever it is that makes the culture dull,” Wallace told Charlie Rose in 1997. This means that when everything is ironic nothing makes sense.
And that is exactly where we are with political jokes made by AI. They’re not just changing the truth. Everything is being turned into one big joke and the punchline is that nothing really matters. Does Trump save cats from Haitian migrants? It is funny. Are Trump and Kamala Harris holding hands on the beach? It ‘s silly. But it is also all fake.
The Future of News in an AI-Saturated World
Apathy is the real threat, not just false information. People lose touch with reality when there is a lot of material made by AI on the internet. It doesn’t make sense to believe anything if everything seems fake. Who cares about the news if the internet is just a never ending stream of irony?
Now we need to ask ourselves: Are we okay with a world where AI ideas have more of an impact on politics than facts? Where parody is more important than journalism? Because at this rate we’re not just laughing at jokes made by AI, we’re letting them take the place of real life. The real question is will we still care about the truth or are we just here for the memes?
Final Thoughts
The way we think about politics, the media and even truth has changed because of AI made comedy. When we use these digital things they’re convenient and fun but they also make us less trusting of reality. We might lose track of what is real if every title turns into a meme and every story into a joke. Journalism was created to find facts but AI humor could drown it out. It is clear what the challenge is: we need to stay critical, check the facts and fight the urge to see everything as just another joke. Because if we don’t the truth might end up being the biggest joke of all time.
