In the wake of Taylor Swift facing an AI smear campaign alleging her support for Donald Trump, fans are more wary than ever when unexpected endorsements come down.
Celebrities have always been protective of their images, a particularly prevalent defensiveness in the era of deepfakes and surprisingly convincing AI generated images. It’s not easy to trick those among the public who are paying attention — the porcelain skin and uncanny nature of AI still needs some polishing — but for those looking to confirm their own bias, it’s easy to put aside common sense and believe anything.
As a result, hundreds of people have been taken in over recent months by the use of AI images, most prominently by the Trump camp. When Elon Musk shared distinctly (and overtly obvious) images of Kamala Harris in full Communist garb, the public rolled their eyes and told him to grow up. But when Trump himself shared fake images of the one and only T-Swizzle allegedly endorsing him, it prompted a furor online. Few people believed those images, either, but it sparked widespread debate about the use of AI to rob someone of their actual voice, and about the increasing research required when disseminating information online.
It’s become harder and harder to know just what to believe online. Back in the day, it was easy to separate fact from fiction, but with each passing year the line blurs further. AI is getting better, bots are getting smarter, and people in the real world seem to be getting dumber. As a result of all this chaos and confusion, a recent Trump endorsement, supposedly from Bill Murray, is baffling fans as they work to determine what is real, and what is a desperate fabrication.
Is the Bill Murray endorsement another pathetic ploy?
Outside of occasional allegations of being difficult to work with, and his irascible nature, Murray is a well-liked fixture of Hollywood. He can be a bit of a diva, he’s known as “moody” and occasionally irritable, but allegations of misconduct — which typically reference Murray’s temper and argumentative nature — never equaled out to the damaging claims that have tanked so many Hollywood careers.
All the reports of Murray’s nature add up an average, if easily incensed, dude, particularly for one born in the ’50s. And a lifetime of contributions to cinema, paired with his typically pleasant nature, pushed many people to doubt a recently-released endorsement, alleging Murray as the latest famous supporter to throw his weight behind Donald Trump.
It all came about due to a clip of Murray, in which careful editing makes it appear he’s endorsing Trump. In the clip, shared to Instagram, Murray can be seen explaining that, seemingly in relation to Trump, “he’s just such a different character than anyone who’s ever been a president of the United States,” before a cut abruptly jumps to an accurate breakdown from Murray of the issues disillusioning American voters. Noting that “the country is dissatisfied with the way that Washington has worked for the last few decades,” Murray goes on to explain that our politicians increasingly seem to be “about inhibiting the other side, they’re not about working together at all.”
Everything Murray says in that clip is true, and with careful editing and the insertion of a photo of Donald Trump, it was successfully made to look like an endorsement of the Republican candidate. In reality, however, Murray made his thoughts on Trump clear a long time ago, and it seems the 74-year-old wouldn’t be caught dead endorsing “Hitler wanna-be” Donald Trump.
Back in 2016, when Trump was running for his first term, Murray made his thoughts on the candidate clear. Noting that he didn’t really like any of the candidates running for president, aside from Bernie Sanders, Murray compared the 78-year-old to Hitler and dismissed his campaign as one that feeds “on the hate and paranoia” running rampant in the country.
So no, Bill Murray did not endorse Donald Trump. He isn’t big on endorsing anyone, but that carefully edited clip does not an endorsement make. Instead, it serves as an excellent reminder of how easy it is to manipulate the words of respected figures, and how vital it is to peruse anything you see on the internet with a cautious eye.
