Let’s not mince words. In journalism, we are taught to be precise, objective, and clear. Yet, watching the media grapple with the latest AI-generated video of the US President is like watching esteemed chefs describe a pile of dung using only the language of gourmet cuisine. They are failing, and their failure is a disservice to the public.
The video, a sophisticated deepfake tearing through social media, is being described with a sterile, almost academic vocabulary. It’s “digitally manipulated,” a piece of “synthetic media,” or the most cowardly of all, a “malicious piece of disinformation that lacks context.” These terms are technically true, but they are profoundly useless. They are the equivalent of telling someone their house is undergoing a “rapid, unscheduled thermal event” when the roof is on fire.
What the video shows, in stark, undeniable metaphorical terms, is the President of the United States pooping on America.
The Unmistakable Symbolism of Desecration
This isn’t hyperbole; it is the most accurate description of the video’s symbolic content and intent. The creators of this digital poison didn’t choose to show the President making a policy gaffe or stumbling over his words. They chose an act of ultimate desecration. The act of defecation is universally understood as one of contempt, of soiling something, of declaring it worthless. By superimposing this act onto symbols of American nationhood—the flag, the Constitution, a revered national monument—the video’s message is not a political critique. It is a declaration of total contempt.
Here in India, if a similar video emerged showing our Prime Minister defiling the Tiranga or the Ashoka Chakra, our news anchors wouldn’t be calmly debating the nuances of “synthetic media.” There would be righteous, unfiltered outrage. It would be called treasonous, a national insult, a desecration. Because that’s what it would be. Why, then, are American news outlets performing such delicate linguistic gymnastics to avoid stating the obvious?
A Crippling Adherence to False Neutrality
The reason is a crippling adherence to a broken model of journalistic neutrality. News outlets are so terrified of being labelled partisan that they refuse to describe an explicitly vile act with appropriately vile language. In their quest for a non-existent middle ground, they neutralize the truth.
By calling it “disinformation,” they place it in a safe category of political tit-for-tat. But this isn’t about a misleading statistic on an inflation report. This is a psychological weapon designed to demoralize and degrade a nation by showing its leader symbolically defecating on it.
The Danger of Polite Language
This refusal to call a spade a spade has dangerous consequences. It normalizes the unspeakable and allows the perpetrators of this information warfare to frame the debate. They win the moment the media agrees to discuss the “technical manipulation” rather than the “visceral insult.” The public, in turn, is left confused, unable to grasp the severity of the attack because the watchdogs of society are barking in hushed, polite tones.
The age of AI-driven propaganda is upon us. The old rules of engagement are obsolete. Clarity is the only antidote. News outlets must find their courage and their vocabulary. This video is not merely “doctored” or “false.” It is a calculated, symbolic act of defecating on a country. Until our media colleagues are willing to describe the President’s AI video for what it is, they are complicit in letting the stench spread.
