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Pakistan's Top Court Orders Release of Imran Khan; Israeli Airstrike Kills Head of Islamic Jihad's Rocket Unit; Trump Repeats Election Lies, Dodges on Ukraine and Abortion Ban; Turkish President Faces Major Electoral Challenge; The Rise of AI and the 2024 U.S. Elections. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 11, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I'm Eleni Giokos, live from Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
Coming up this hour, Pakistan's supreme court rules that Imran Khan's arrest is illegal.
A third day of the Israeli strikes in Gaza as hundreds of rockets are fired by Palestinian militants.
Donald Trump repeats his election fraud lies at CNN's town hall.
Later this hour, into the line, put one foot into the Champions League final. That's coming up.
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GIOKOS: Pakistan's top court has ordered the release of Imran Khan. A short time ago, the country's supreme court says the arrest of the former
prime minister is illegal. That sudden and dramatic arrest triggered violent protests across the country.
Sophia Saifi is live for us from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
Dramatic images of Khan being arrested. We've seen the protest action and now he's on a path of being set free. Tell us what the next step are after
the supreme court's ruling.
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Eleni, as the sun sets here, it has been a very tumultuous 48 hours in Pakistan. Khan was summoned before the supreme
court today, his lawyers had gone and filed an appeal to the supreme court to overturn the ruling by Islamabad's high court, which is a lower court,
that the ruling was illegal and that his arrest was illegal.
That is exactly what the three-member jury at the supreme court have done. They have issued release orders for Khan. We have been told by his aides
that the orders include a series of orders that Khan will now be in the custody of the supreme court.
He, will no longer be within the custody of the national accountability bureau (ph), which is an anticorruption watchdog. We've also been told that
he is not allowed to go back to his residence. He will have to stay within the police compound in a guest house. He's allowed to have 10 visitors a
day.
Tomorrow, he'd have to reappear at the Islamabad high court in the capital. So a lot has happened. He is still within the supreme court compound. He
hasn't officially left that compound. His supporters have been milling around that compound, which is in the red zone of the city.
The red zone, for your understanding, is where all of the embassies are, the diplomatic enclave is, the parliament is. It's a very high security
area of the capital so people aren't really allowed to go there on a regular basis anyway.
Khan's party had asked for supporters to calm down, to not protest. We also being told that, you know, there is a sense of unease in the country right
before (INAUDIBLE) the information minister came out and said, very explicitly, that there is favoritism by the courts in the favor of Khan.
She also said that if he is released, then the country will burn (ph). We just have to wait to see what the reaction by the nation, by his supporters
will be to his eventual release from the supreme court. We'll just have to know that in the next couple of hours. Eleni.
GIOKOS: Sophia Saifi, thank you very much. This is a story that is developing and we will keep a close watch on everything.
Israel's prime minister has released an ominous warning to those who he calls terrorists in Gaza.
"We will choose the time and place to attack you."
Benjamin Netanyahu speaking before Israel launched a third straight day of airstrikes, killing the head of Islamic Jihad's rocket unit. He is the
fourth Islamic Jihad commander killed this week. Top officials in Gaza say 21 others have been killed.
[10:05:00]
GIOKOS: Israel says at least four of those, including three children, were killed by Islamic Jihad rockets that fell short. The militant group called
this claim a lie.
Islamic Jihad has responded to the airstrikes by firing more than 540 rockets toward Israel. Israel's military say a few of them reached
populated areas, causing damage in Ashkelon and Herat.
Elliott Gotkine joins me live from Jerusalem.
Elliott, tumultuous few days. Give us the latest.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest -- and this is the last few minutes -- you said that Israel had killed four Islamic Jihad commanders.
That has gone up to five. The head of the rocket unit was killed this morning in an airstrike. His deputy, Ahmed Abu-Deka, has now been killed as
well in an airstrike.
The IDF announced just in the last few minutes. They also say he was partially responsible for this barrage of more than 500 rockets in the last
couple days and the previous rocket attacks toward Israel in the past.
Overall, Israel's saying about a dozen militants from Islamic Jihad have been killed so far since this round of fighting began, about half of those
killed, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Israel also saying that a fifth of all rockets, that Islamic Jihad has fired toward Israel, from the Gaza Strip, have fallen short. As you
mentioned in your introduction, with some of, them IDF said they were 100 percent sure that it was Islamic Jihad rockets that fell short and killed
those four civilians, including the three children.
Islamic Jihad is refuting. Now Egypt was trying to broker a cease-fire. There were hope and rumors swirling last night that a cease-fire was likely
to be imminent. That came to naught. The negotiations and attempts to bring about a cease-fire are still ongoing.
Again, that is expected to happen at some point and is expected to be very much involving the Egyptians as well. Israel is also keeping the U.S.
abreast of developments. Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, he spoke with his counterpart in the United States, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
last night.
Even though Gallant's mother passed away overnight, he remains very much in control of this operation, which, for now at least, shows no signs of
ending.
GIOKOS: Look, what really is going to be important here is the ability to secure some kind of cease-fire, the willingness for both sides to get to
the negotiating table.
With these rumors that were swirling that Egypt tried to broker some kind of, deal, what is the likelihood of that been reignited?
GOTKINE: Egypt's efforts remain ongoing, reports that a delegation is heading to Tel Aviv, trying to help push this cease-fire forward. Certainly
in previous flare-ups, whether it's just been Islamic Jihad or with the much larger Hamas, which also controls the enclave, it has always been
Egypt that has managed to secure a cease-fire.
So I don't think anyone doubts that there is going to be a cease-fire at some point. The question is, when that will happen. I suppose it will take
Israel to decide it's achieved its objectives and Islamic Jihad will try to secure some kind of victory in its eyes in order to agree to a cease-fire
as well.
But there is no sign of that right now. But these things can change very quickly. But I think at some point, everyone expects a cease-fire brokered
by Egypt. But then at some point, there will be another flare-up, that everyone expects at some point in the future. Eleni.
GIOKOS: Thank you so much for that update.
RADM Daniel Hagari is the Israeli Defense Forces chief spokesperson joins me now from Tel Aviv.
Sir, great to have you with us. As we've seen, a number of civilians have died since the air raids began. Since Tuesday, this has included women and
children. We know the IDF says that the Islamic Jihad rockets have failed and striking within Gaza and that caused some of the civilian deaths.
Even if that is true, the IDF is responsible for killing innocent women and children this week.
The question becomes, is this the best way for you to achieve your military aims in Gaza?
REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, CHIEF SPOKESPERSON, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: Hi, Eleni. Thank you for the opportunity to talking to CNN. I would like to
start where it all started, a week ago when the Islamic Jihad, especially the ones that we have striked (sic), have made an act of terror. They have
fired 102 rockets to the city in the middle of the day --
[10:10:00]
HAGARI: -- when women and their children are going back from school. They have been doing this for a couple of weeks. And we now have had the
information that they were intending to do that in the following days, keeping shooting rockets.
And they were also unstabilizing (sic) the Gaza Strip. It might have brought us to a further escalation, a bigger escalation in the area. So we
have made our decision in order to prevent further terror attacks.
And we aimed on exactly on the Islamic Jihad. We have collected the intel on those terrorists and we did a precise attack on those terrorist. After
this precise attack, we have kept on looking at the Islamic Jihad, other infrastructure, rockets, et cetera, et cetera.
I will give you an example for one act that we've done in the last hour. We have seen the deputy commander of the rocket branch of Islamic Jihad.
Yesterday he fired more than 500 rockets toward Israel. We had 1.5 million citizens in shelters; 500 rockets have been fired on Israel just yesterday.
So we have been following for a couple of days. We could've killed him two days ago. He was with his six children in a flat. But we have followed him
and we decided not to kill him although we risked our own citizens.
We've been waiting for days. This day, we saw him moving to another flat. We've been waiting for him to be alone and we used only one missile --
(CROSSTALK)
HAGARI: -- in the last hour and he's dead (ph).
GIOKOS: Admiral, I have to ask you this. You talk about these pinpoint strikes. I know that a lot is at stake. As you said, you've intercepted
hundreds of rockets that have been coming into Israel.
But in those precise locations that you are now explaining, how come there has been so much collateral damage?
Was it that you've used?
Could you explain how this could happen?
HAGARI: Yes, I will explain. You have to know the facts and numbers. If we want to talk about it, I'll be happy to tell you the facts and numbers.
Since it all began, three days ago, the numbers are like that.
Islamic Jihad have fired more than 500 rockets; 25 percent of these rockets are falling down in the Gaza Strip. Four citizens of Gaza Strip, two
teenagers and one girl, and a man at the age of 51 has died because of Islamic Jihad launches. The numbers are this.
They are 13 combatants that have died in this attack by Israeli attack and there are 14 noncombatants that have died. Among them there are women and
children. Four of them have died because of Islamic Jihad failed launches, meaning there are only 10 noncombatants that have died with women and
children. There are 14, 13 or 14 combatants. This is the ratio of the numbers that we're talking these three days when Islamic Jihad is firing
more than 500 rockets to Israel and is putting women and children in shelters --
(CROSSTALK)
GIOKOS: But 10 is a lot.
(CROSSTALK)
GIOKOS: If we tally up the numbers, if we tally up the numbers, and we're looking at the civilians, because of airstrikes, it is still a number that
shouldn't exist.
How can you make things better? You hold the keys to Gaza, right?
So how can you become a lot more precise in your aims?
The world has called on those civilian casualties.
HAGARI: Let's talk about the Gaza Strip. OK, let's talk about the Gaza Strip. We want it to be quiet. We want it to be economically successful and
quite, especially for our own civilians, for the south.
But they choose a different strategy. You have to understand that, inside the Gaza Strip, we have Hamas and we have Islamic Jihad. We do not see
Hamas firing. We only see Islamic Jihad firing. This is why we're aiming only on Islamic Jihad.
What is Islamic Jihad?
It's Iranian 100 percent financed. The problem with Islamic Jihad is its leaders are sitting in Syria and in Beirut, in hotels and in --
(CROSSTALK)
GIOKOS: -- what I'm curious about is that you're saying Hamas is not, involved but Hamas says it is involved.
Why do you insist that Hamas is not involved?
HAGARI: Because we are defining this, between declarations and between operations. And we don't see Hamas operating. We don't see them launching,
we don't see them doing anything aggressive. So we are defining between declarations and operations.
GIOKOS: You say that you want the Gaza Strip to be calm, economically prosperous.
So does that mean you are ready to talk about a cease-fire?
[10:15:00]
GIOKOS: There were a lot of conversations that the Islamic Jihad and Egypt were in conversation wanting to broker some kind of deal.
Are you in for a deal, for a cease-fire?
HAGARI: I think a cease-fire is a welcome thing. Israel is a peaceful country. It has peace agreements. Cease fires are a great thing for us.
This is what is the problem with the cease-fire is the number of the actors in the Gaza Strip.
You have Hamas, Islamic Jihad. Like I told you, Islamic Jihad inside the Gaza Strip is not the only one that makes the decision. The problem is
those that make the decisions live in hotels in Beirut and in Syria.
And they give directions to the field: keep on fighting, keep on bleeding. We want Gaza bleeding. We want the conflict with Israel because it's good
for Iran. Iran is a negative actor in the region. It is an aggressor. It takes out tankers in the Gulf; it sends Shaheds to Ukraine (sic). It does
aggression entrenchment (ph) in Syria.
(CROSSTALK)
GIOKOS: Admiral, is the U.S. pressing Israel for a cease-fire?
Is the U.S. pressing Israel for a cease-fire?
We know that your defense minister met with the U.S. counterpart as well.
What kind of conversations are being had there?
Is the U.S. also concerned about civilian deaths?
HAGARI: I think the U.S. is a main actor in the region. And it does a great thing for Israel and for all the region. I think most of the talks,
as I know, are conducted by Egyptian and we are not in all those talks. But those talks are between Islamic Jihad and Hamas and Egyptians.
And we hope that a cease-fire will come and we will follow agreements. But until it's not a formal agreement, we have to keep and being strong on
defense and on offense as well.
GIOKOS: Look, as we say, a lot is at stake here. Today is, you know, one year ago, Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist, was killed by an IDF bullet.
There still has been no justice or responsibility taken for her death.
Is the IDF willing to apologize?
Ready to apologize?
HAGARI: I think it's an opportunity for me to say here that we are very sorry of the deaths of the late Shireen Abu Akleh. She was a journalist, a
very established journalist. In Israel, we are a democracy and, in democracy, we see high value in journalism and in free press.
And we want journalists to feel safe in Israel, especially in wartime. And even if they criticize, us we want them to feel safe. It's all about
democracy. And we are a legal democracy.
GIOKOS: Very quickly, you know there is so much concern this could escalate further.
How are you seeing this playing out in the next few days?
HAGARI: It's hard to know. Gaza is a complex problem with many actors. We have to be ready to all possibilities. We hope a cease-fire will come but,
until it comes formally, we have to be ready, in offense, on defense and I hope it will come fast.
GIOKOS: Admiral Hagari, thank you very much for your time and for your insights. Thank you. We appreciate it.
HAGARI: Thank you. Thank you.
GIOKOS: Up next on CONNECT THE WORLD, the first town hall of the U.S. presidential race, Donald Trump, at his early stage, by far the Republican
front-runner. Some of the shocking claims he made, that's coming up.
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GIOKOS: The U.S. is bracing for a flood of migrants to cross the Mexican border starting 14 hours from now. That is when Title 42 expires. It is the
law that allows the U.S. to quickly expel migrants as part of the public health emergency due to COVID.
Officials expect tens of thousands of migrants to try to cross the southern border once Title 42 expires. Even though officials have put new rules in
place to try to control the surge.
The first town hall of the U.S. presidential race included a string of false and preposterous claims from Republican front-runner, Donald Trump. A
hint that his third bid for the White House will probably fell a lot like the first two.
The former president repeated his false accusations of widespread fraud in the 2020 election and he refused to answer a number of questions, like does
he support a federal ban on abortion?
And would he rather see Ukraine or Russia win the war?
He also resorted to insults as he is known to do. He called CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins a nasty person when she called him on untruths and pressed
him for answers.
The crowd of Republicans and right-leaning independents in the state of New Hampshire was very friendly to the former U.S. president, often loudly
cheering after some of his inflammatory remarks. Many of them appear to support his repeated claims that the 2020 presidential election, that he
undeniably lost, was rigged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: A lot of the people in this audience and probably, maybe a couple that don't, but most people understand what happened. That was a rigged
election. And it is a shame that we had to go through it.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Can you publicly acknowledge that you did lose the 2020 election?
TRUMP: Let me -- let me just go on. If you look at true the vote, they found millions of votes on camera, on government cameras, where they were
stuffing ballot boxes. So with all of that I think it's a shame that what happened. I think it's a very sad thing for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Trump also talked about the ongoing legal investigations on him. That could give his lawyers some new headaches. I want to bring in U.S.
national politics reporter Eva McKend, who joins us.
Great to have you on. So much news coming out of that town hall. Tell me about what Donald Trump's thinking and, most importantly, what we have been
seeing with regards to some of the run-ins with the law that he could be facing.
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Eleni, the former president really true to form last night, repeatedly lying, as noted, about
the outcome of the 2020 election.
Even in one instance, shamelessly telling the audience a previously held position on the debt ceiling no longer held because he's not the president
anymore. Not quite sure that that works.
You, know as I spend time on the campaign trail, the primary role for candidates, especially if they've been on the scene for quite some time,
like Trump, is to engage new voters, try to grow their coalitions.
It's not clear last night that that served that purpose for him. But the American public did learn what a second term of president Trump could look
like. If reelected, he said he would pardon a large portion of his supporters who rioted at the Capitol on January 6th. He declined to say if
he'd sign a national abortion ban.
That, of, course is an issue of deep consequence in this country, as we grapple with a post-Roe America. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Would you sign a federal abortion ban into law?
TRUMP: What I'll do is negotiate so that people are happy.
(APPLAUSE)
COLLINS: (INAUDIBLE) ban into law?
TRUMP: I said this. I said this. I want to do what's right. And we're looking.
COLLINS: If they send it to your desk, would you sign it?
TRUMP: Some people are at six weeks, some people are at three --
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: President Trump is going to make a determination what he thinks is great for the country and what's fair for the country.
COLLINS: I just want to give you one more chance, though, because you did not answer whether or not you would sign a federal abortion ban or how many
weeks into pregnancy you believe abortion should be banned.
TRUMP: Yes, but I --
COLLINS: Can you answer either of those tonight?
TRUMP: -- I've given you the answer probably four times already.
COLLINS: Which one -- ?
[10:25:00]
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I'm looking at a solution that's going to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKEND: Eleni, he also declined to call Russian president Vladimir Putin a war criminal over the killing of Ukrainian civilians. He even declined to
say whether he wants Ukraine or Russia to win the war. So a lot of eye raising moments last night to be sure.
GIOKOS: Right. Eva, thank you so very much, great to see you.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): Let's get you up to speed on some of the stories that are on our radar right now.
Emirates Group has reported its most profitable year ever. The group which includes Dubai's flagship airline Emirates posted $3 billion in profit.
That is compared to a loss of $1 billion last year. This comes after a strong return in travel demand and an expansion of the group's airline
operations.
Authorities say that a blast that caused a big fire in central Milan was not a terrorist attack. They say a truck carrying oxygen canisters caught
fire and exploded. The fire spread to nearby vehicles and buildings, to a truck, where a driver was burned but is expected to survive.
As many as 10 firefighters and two police officers have been injured in an explosion and fire at a high-rise in Germany. It happened in the city of
Ratingen West. It is still not clear what led to the blast. German state media reports a security operation is ongoing, with snipers in place
nearby.
Support is building behind a main opposition candidate in Sunday's Turkish elections. We take a look at the man making a challenge to president Recep
Tayyip Erdogan.
And the 2024 U.S. election cycle could be the first way artificial intelligence plays a key role in influencing voters. Why experts say this
could be a cause for concern. We'll be back, right after this short break.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Here are your headlines this hour.
A third day of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza has killed the head of Islamic Jihad's rocket unit. And within the last hour his deputy, according to the
IDF health officials in Gaza, saying at least 26 people have been killed there since the strikes began, including women and children.
Islamic Jihad has fired more than 540 rockets toward Israel, with a few of them hitting populated areas.
Pakistan's supreme court is ordering the release of former prime minister Imran Khan. Earlier, the country's top court ruled that his arrest on
corruption charges was illegal. The dramatic arrest by paramilitary troops sparked deadly protests across Pakistan.
Now there are just hours to go until there is major change in how the U.S. handles migrants crossing the Mexican border. Officials are bracing for a
flood of migrants who expect the new rules to make it easier to apply for asylum.
GIOKOS: Turkiye's president and former prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set for what could be the toughest election fight of his career this
weekend. Support is building his main opponent. Kemal Kilicdaroglu and one candidate has even pulled out ahead of Sunday's vote, potentially boosting
the odds for Mr. Erdogan's chief rival.
Jomana Karadsheh has this look at the man who could be Turkiye's next president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sea of supporters rally around their leader and never has Recep Tayyip Erdogan needed them
more.
It's a razor thin race, the toughest he's ever faced. And this is the man who may end his 20 year grip on power.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu often addressing people in these videos from his modest kitchen. The soft spoken and calm former civil servant is everything
Erdogan is not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't imagine two men who would be as close as different as these two. The campaigns are different, too. Erdogan is
promising to make Turkiye great again and really rolling out these big weapons systems, Turkiye's homegrown defense industry and all of that.
And Kilicdaroglu is pledging to be a uniter and with a real focus on diversity.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Kilicdaroglu siege peace (ph) Turkiye's main opposition party. It's never won a presidential election against Erdogan
but this time he's the candidate of a united opposition. A diverse six party coalition of secularists, conservatives, defectors from the ruling AK
Party and nationalists backed by Kurds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an exceptional moment where finally we have a Turkish opposition that is able to move beyond the limitations of identity
politics, which always works to the benefit of President Erdogan, because you can count on the largest bloc awards in the Turkish culture war
sensitivities.
And now they are fragmenting it with a much more inclusive agenda and a vision for the future.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): With campaign videos promising, quote, "spring will come again," Kilicdaroglu and his coalition are promising to reverse
years of one-man rule, with a return to a parliamentary system, from a presidential one they say has eroded freedoms, hollowed out government
institutions and plunged Turkiye into deep economic trouble.
KARADSHEH: For many, this goes beyond campaign promises. It's about moving away from divisive rhetoric. It's about softening positions and a call for
unity in this bitterly polarized country.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The 74-year-old stunt Turks with this video that has been viewed more than 100 million times, a call for setting differences
aside and for the first time speaking openly about his Alevi identity, a long persecuted minority sect.
KEMAL KILICDAROGLU, TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): We will no longer talk about identities. We will talk about achievements.
We will no longer talk about divisions and differences; we will speak of our commonality and our common dreams.
Will you join this campaign for this change?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not asking Turks to pick him as the leader. He's asking Turkish citizens to pick a team that will lead Turkiye in to
democracy and economic transition.
I think there's an overwhelming desire for change in society. That you can see with young people, women. What we don't know is whether they think this
is the time and Kilicdaroglu is the guy.
[10:35:00]
KARADSHEH (voice-over): And on Sunday, Turks will decide whether they are ready for change, if they are ready to end the era of Recep Tayyip Erdogan
-- Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Turkiye.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: For more on Turkiye's elections and what they mean for the region, please check out our "Meanwhile in the Middle East" newsletter. You can
find it by scanning the QR code or by going to cnn.com/mideastnewsletter. Please stay tuned for more about Turkiye's election coverage in the next
hour.
I will be seeking with opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu's chief foreign policy adviser and former ambassador. We will be back right after
this.
And just ahead in sports, a convincing win in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, where one club in Milan looking up at the
other.
And the U.S. is preparing for an AI election when voters cannot trust their eyes or their ears.
What can they trust?
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GIOKOS: The U.S. 2024 presidential election season is ushering in the use of artificial intelligence in campaigns. Republicans were first out of the
gate with this AI ad, depicting President Biden as the leader of a dystopian society. This is the advertisement.
(VIDEO CLIP, REPUBLICAN AI GENERATED CAMPAIGN AD)
GIOKOS: So will voters be able to know what's real and what is fake?
CNN's Brian Todd looks at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: Hey, it's Tucker Carlson.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just days after being fired from Fox News, right wing provocateur Tucker Carlson announced a new show
on Twitter with a conspiratorial take on the news we consume.
CARLSON: At the most basic level, the news you consume is a lie. You are being manipulated.
TODD (voice-over): This from the man who repeatedly laid out baseless theories on his Fox show.
CARLSON: FBI operatives were organizing the attack on the Capitol.
TODD (voice-over): The man whose platform Carlson could soon be joining, Twitter CEO Elon Musk, tweeted that they haven't signed a deal yet after
earlier tweeting, quote, trust nothing, not even nothing.
Seemingly reflective of what "Axios" in a new article calls the new "trust- nothing" era of American politics.
DARRELL WEST, TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS ANALYST, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: There's going to be a tsunami of disinformation in this election. It's
going to be hard to know what to trust. Viewers are not going to be able to distinguish the real from the fake.
TODD (voice-over): Take a recent ad produced by the Republican National Committee in response to President Biden's announcement that he's running
for reelection. Images in the ad were generated by artificial intelligence, AI and tick through a series of imagined dystopian scenarios if Biden wins.
RNC AD: This morning, an emboldened China invades Taiwan.
RNC AD: Financial markets are in freefall as 500 regional banks have shuttered their doors.
[10:40:00]
TIA MITCHELL, "THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION": TIA MITCHELL, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Right now, it's the wild, wild west, which
we saw in the RNC ad. Now if the RNC was transparent that it was AI but again the concern is other people won't be as transparent.
TODD (voice-over): AI and the potential that it will spread misinformation is such a concern that the White House recently hosted the CEOs of top AI
companies and warned them of the perils AI poses to the public.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What you're doing has enormous potential and enormous danger.
TODD (voice-over): These days, there are deep fakes all over social media, from a computer-generated Mark Zuckerberg, to fake news anchors from China.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy supposedly surrendering and counterfeit clips of Trump and Biden.
DARRELL WEST, AUTHOR, "POLICYMAKING IN THE ERA OF AI": The sophisticated AI tools for creating fake videos is available to everybody. You don't need
to be a coder or a technical person in order to use these types of techniques. Anybody can engage in disinformation and a lot of people will
be engaging in disinformation.
TODD (voice-over): What can the average voter do in this election cycle to avoid falling for campaign misinformation?
MITCHELL: Going into the 2024 election, people are going to have to be really judicious about their news sources.
TODD: And if the Russia probe stemming from the 2016 election taught us anything, it is how easily bad actors, like nation states or others who
want to undermine American elections, can use social media to spread misinformation and put their thumb on the scale to manipulate American
voters -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says it should be unthinkable for the U.S. to default on its debt. Speaking at a meeting of G7 finance
ministers, Yellen urged Congress to increase the debt ceiling and allow the Treasury to continue to borrow money.
She warned that a default would be an economic and financial catastrophe that would trigger a global economic downturn.
(SPORTS)
[11:00:00]
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