Government Officials Once Stopped False Accusations After Violence. Now, Some Join In.; The New York Times, December 25, 2025

Steven Lee Myers, The New York Times ; Government Officials Once Stopped False Accusations After Violence. Now, Some Join In.

"A churn of disinformation after a major news event is hardly a surprise anymore, but its spread after the Brown killings was not limited to the dark fringes of the internet. It was fueled by prominent figures in business and government whose false statements or politically charged innuendo compounded public anger and anxiety.

That has raised new alarms about the nature and quality of public discourse — and whether there is any consequence for those who degrade it or for the social media platforms that reward it."

MAGA Official Slammed for Clobbering the Living Christmas Lights Out of AI Santa Claus; The Daily Beast, December 28, 2025

Will Neal, The Daily Beast; MAGA Official Slammed for Clobbering the Living Christmas Lights Out of AI Santa Claus

[Kip Currier: I was curious about Indiana State Sen. Chris Garten's values and background when I saw this story. So it's eye-opening to see his own descriptor of himself on his Facebook page:

"My name is Chris Garten. I am a Christian, husband, father, Marine Corps veteran..."

https://www.facebook.com/GartenforSenate/

Though Garten's military service is commendable, nowhere in the Bible would the Christian Jesus condone the kinds of actions that Garten portrays himself performing in these AI-generated images of himself brutalizing Santa Claus. How do such images advance one of Jesus's greatest Commandments to "love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31)?

How does a person who self-identifies as a Christian justify such depictions to others, as well as when he prays? Especially when Jesus stands for helping the "least among us" (Matthew 25:40) and says that "the last shall be first" (Matthew 20:16).

Even in jest, do these images convey a sense of good judgment or an elected official who is a positive role model in a free and democratic society?]

[Excerpt]

"A MAGA official has branded his critics “snowflakes” after marking this year’s holiday season by sharing his apparent fantasy of whaling on a defenseless Saint Nick on the steps of Indiana’s State Capitol building.

State Senator Chris Garten shared the AI-generated images on X on Christmas Day. One of the four pictures features the two-term Republican state senator, decked in a sleeveless suit à la WWE, kicking a bewildered Santa Claus squarely on the chin to send the beloved, age-old children’s folk character sailing backwards through the air.

A second shows the MAGA official launching himself forward with the apparent intention of following up with a flying punch to the jaw. A third shows him further brutalizing the trembling, mythic gift-giver as he writhes in agony on the floor...

“Lots of intolerance, swearing, and outrage on display over a few AI pics I had a blast designing with my kids,” he wrote in a subsequent post. “Some of you clowns are just insufferable. Hopefully your negativity stays in the comments and not directed at your families.” 

“Merry Christmas, snowflakes,” Garten added, accompanied by another AI-generated photo of himself in a Santa suit, pointing at an oversized snowflake."

Hurricane Helene conspiracy theories collide with election misinformation; The Guardian, October 4, 2024

Rachel Leingang , The Guardian; Hurricane Helene conspiracy theories collide with election misinformation

“Elon Musk, the owner of X and key Trump ally, claimed Fema was blocking flights trying to aid the area, calling it “belligerent government incompetence”. The transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, responded: “No one is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn’t block legitimate rescue and recovery flights. If you’re encountering a problem give me a call.”

An AI-generated image of a young girl holding a puppy, looking devastated as she sat in a boat in the rain, seemingly fleeing the flood waters, spread widely. It was rightly flagged as AI-generated, but some didn’t seem to care.

“This picture has been seared into my mind,” Amy Kremer, an RNC national committeewoman from Georgia, posted on X. She later added: “Y’all, I don’t know where this photo came from and honestly, it doesn’t matter,” saying it was “emblematic” of the reality people were facing.

One myth amplified in the last few days suggests Fema is out of money because it has spent money on migrants instead, a claim that Trump and many of his allies have amplified. The story was on the cover of the New York Post.”

After 25 years, Miami-Dade’s Ethics Commission remains a guardian of the public trust | Opinion; Miami Herald, November 19, 2021

RADIA TURAY, Miami Herald; After 25 years, Miami-Dade’s Ethics Commission remains a guardian of the public trust | Opinion

"“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis

Twenty-five years ago, the voters of Miami-Dade County spoke up and did something. They used the power of their vote to amend the county’s home rule charter to create the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust.

Their vote was based on the basic truth that government should serve the governed, not the governing. They believed that local government employees and government officials had a special duty to abide by a standard of ethics in order to maintain the trust of those they serve. The Ethics Commission was created to serve as the guardian of the public trust. As a result of the referendum, the County Commission enacted the Miami-Dade Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance and other ethics laws that every local government official and government employee must abide by in Miami-Dade County.

The Code establishes a minimum standard of ethical conduct and behavior, and its provisions promote transparency in government and protect against cronyism and self-dealing."