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National

One video shows multiple Black women screaming and pounding on a door with the caption "store under attack." Another captures distraught Walmart employees of color being loaded into an ICE van. 

Why it matters: These AI-generated viral videos aren't just perpetuating racism —  they're influencing political discourse.

The big picture: Creating a fake AI-generated video is easy. Come up with a prompt of what you want to see (it can even include typos) and apps like OpenAI's Sora and Google's VEO 3 can easily spit one out.

It used to be easy to spot fake AI content — think about the hands with 7 fingers and the like — but the technology is getting increasingly better.

The trend replicates digital blackface, which is the practice of a non-black person creating a Black or brown character online for social currency such as likes and reposts or malicious disinformation campaigns. 

And because TikTok and other social media platforms now allow users to generate revenue based on interactions, the trend is likely to get worse.

What they're saying: "It's more of the outrage farming that we've always seen," Rianna Walcott, associate director at the Black Communication and Technology (BCaT) Lab told Axios. 

"It doesn't even have to be interesting or accurate content, it just has to generate viewership."

"If you are a person who's just trying to make a quick buck or do whatever for nefarious reasons, this is the best way to do so," she added.

Case in point: Several fake viral videos of Black women talking about abusing their SNAP benefits during the government shutdown caused users to celebrate the pain families felt from losing those dollars.

The videos not only continued the racist stereotype that Black women are "welfare queens" relying on the government for "free money," but also seemingly influenced users in the comments to turn against the SNAP program overall.

Reality check: Most SNAP recipients are predominantly non-Hispanic white people. 

One user ID'd a video they shared as fake, but still encouraged others to share it because it justified their viewpoints about alleged SNAP fraud.

Zoom in: "Even if somebody knows that an image is false, it still goes into their psyche," Michael Huggins, of the racial justice organization Color of Change, told Axios in a phone interview. 

 "The consequences of these images getting out there is that these harmful stereotypes seep into people's brains," said Huggins, deputy senior director of government affairs.

"So many people get more of their news from social media. And my worry is that it could have a huge impact on how people perceive the upcoming midterm elections, and even the impact on the 2028 election." 

The other side: Companies have taken some precautions to prohibit racism and reduce misinformation on their platforms.

A deluge of disrespectful videos of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. caused OpenAi to stop allowing users to replicate his likeness. Plus, particularly offensive language like slurs or graphic violence are banned on Sora, according to their policy page. 

A spokesperson for OpenAI added that Sora-generated videos include "visible, moving watermarks" and that they "take action when we detect misuse or receive reports of violations."

A. spokesperson for Veo 3 maker Google pointed Axios to their use policy, which prohibits hatred, hate speech, the incitement of violence and misinformation.

The bottom line: It's easy to think these videos are just fun and games, but that's exactly what it makes it so "harmful," organizational psychologist Janice Gassam Asare told Axios.

"It is that deep and everything is that serious," she said. 

"I would just encourage people to be a little bit more cautious when they see something on social media, and ask yourself, 'how do I know that this is actually real?'" 

Go deeper: AI's next big thing is world models

Racist AI fakes are now a business — and a political tool

Fake content is influencing how people see government programs, race, and potentially even elections.

Illustration of a cursor stylized like the hood of a Ku Klux Klan member. 

Artificial Intelligence

Cybersecurity

Immigration

Race and Equity

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Latest news on Wall Street, Corporate America and financial regulation.

Business

For Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, the North's civil rights story has lived too long in the shadows. The noted civil rights organization's new museum in Harlem is its push to bring that history into the light — permanently.

Why it matters: The Urban Civil Rights Museum will be New York City's first museum dedicated to the American civil rights movement, and uniquely focused on the North — housing discrimination, policing, education, economic exclusion and the grassroots organizing that shaped modern Black political power.

Driving the news: The museum will anchor the newly dedicated Urban League Empowerment Center, a $300M development that includes 170 units of affordable housing, minority-owned business space, and the Whitney M. Young Center for Leadership.

The museum opens in 2026, timed to the nation's 250th anniversary.

It will feature an interactive permanent installation, rotating exhibitions, and community spaces aimed at turning visitors into what Morial calls "agents of change."

Marc Morial at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s National Town Hall in Washington, D.C. (Leigh Vogel / Getty Images)

Marc Morial at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's National Town Hall in Washington, D.C. (Leigh Vogel / Getty Images)

What they're saying: Morial told Axios the museum is arriving at a time when efforts to erase or sanitize history are intensifying.

"The assault on truth in museums and libraries is absolutely racially motivated," he said. "It's erasure — but it won't work. People are more determined than ever to tell our story."

Urban Civil Rights Museum in Harlem. Exhibition Design by Local Projects.

Context: Morial's argument lands in a political climate where Americans are increasingly anxious about democratic instability and the erosion of civil rights. 

Against that backdrop, he sees the museum not just as a historical archive but as a counterweight to present-day efforts to restrict rights, suppress history and narrow who counts as fully American.

Zoom out: Harlem has long been a center of civil rights infrastructure. The NAACP, the National Urban League, and CORE all built critical capacity out of New York. 

Leaders like A. Philip Randolph, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Ella Baker used Harlem as a staging ground for labor rights, voting access, economic justice and community organizing that predated and shaped the Southern movement.

Zoom in: Today, the museum sits within a larger ecosystem inside the Empowerment Center — including cultural partners like the Studio Museum in Harlem, the United Negro College Fund, Virginia Union University and, soon, Jazzmobile and 100 Black Men of New York — designed to fuse housing, culture, history and leadership development under one roof.

Morial also casts the new Conference Center as a place designed for the next phase of the movement.

"This is where ideas will be born, where movements will be nurtured, and where the future of equity will be shaped," he said.

Between the lines: Morial pointed to book bans, attacks on DEI programs, and political efforts to dismantle civil rights protections as evidence of a coordinated rollback.

"How the hell do you ban Toni Morrison's books?" he said. "You think by banning them from a library you'll keep people from reading them? It's backfiring. More people want to understand Black history, not less."

He frames the Empowerment Center as both a response to — and a rebuke of — the current moment.

"This is a declaration that we will not be erased," he said at the dedication. "Our communities deserve investment — not neglect."

The bottom line: Morial calls the project "a model of inclusive development" that ties Harlem's legacy to its future.

"The civil rights story didn't just unfold in the South — the North was a battlefield, too," he said. "Harlem shaped the movement, and this museum makes sure no one can pretend otherwise."

efforts to erase or sanitize history are intensifying

Harlem civil rights museum highlights the North's forgotten history

The Urban Civil Rights Museum will be New York City's first museum dedicated to the civil rights movement and focused on the North.

Museum exhibit with large maps titled "Transatlantic Slave Map" and "Migration and the Trade Map" displayed on wooden panels; visitors observe the displays in a spacious room.

Several members of President Trump's national security team have taken on unusually large public profiles — with frequent on-camera appearances, dramatic pronouncements and even eyebrow-raising wardrobe choices.

Why it matters: It's no secret that Trump prefers his appointees to appear straight out of "central casting." But in national security roles, showmanship can quickly become a liability.

FBI director Kash Patel, for example, has seized the spotlight far more than his predecessors — often for all the wrong reasons.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seems to be merging his old job as a media personality with his new one running America's military.

And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has cast herself as the star of a well-funded media campaign — often pictured in tactical gear despite her bureaucratic role.

What they're saying: Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson told Axios it's no accident that Hegseth has become "the most public-facing" secretary ever.

"Since taking office, he has communicated directly with the American people rather than through the distorted lens of a media hell-bent on his destruction," she said. "Compared to the previous administration, our social media presence is direct, engaging and unmatched."

A spokesperson for DHS said Noem "wears her agency's uniforms to honor the men and women she leads, who wear them daily in the line of duty."

The FBI didn't respond to a request for comment.

Driving the news: In two of the most high-profile incidents to cross his desk as director — the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the shooting at Brown University — Patel took to social media to trumpet an arrest, only for it to emerge that the perpetrator remained at large.

Given the scrutiny over his handling of the Brown case, it was particularly bad timing when a soft-focus podcast interview (taped before the shooting) was released in which Patel and his country singer girlfriend discussed their long-distance relationship.

Patel's unusually large media presence and his rush to seize the spotlight have rankled some in the bureau's rank and file.

One recently retired agent told Axios that Patel's tendency to appear before the cameras in FBI windbreakers had prompted internal eye rolls: "You're the director of the FBI. Wear a f***ing suit," they said.

Patel has faced a string of unflattering headlines in recent days, including news that the FBI hired his personal publicist and ordered a new fleet of armored BMWs to transport him.

Behind the scenes: A source familiar with the planning for one recent FBI operation said it included an unusual topic: what to do if the boss shows up.

Patel's office always sought advance notice for any newsworthy arrests, and agents wondered if he might appear at the scene.

They were advised to keep their heads down and not engage, according to the source. In the end, he didn't turn up.

Hegseth also appears on camera regularly — perhaps unsurprisingly given his background as a TV host. Both "Saturday Night Live" and "South Park" have lampooned him.

From his sartorial selections — patriotic pocket squares, military-themed socks — to his zingers on physical conditioning ("fit not fat") and "woke" ideology, Hegseth leans into the performative aspects of his job.

"I know something about filling cable news segments," he said earlier this month at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. "You've got to do it."

The Pentagon pumps out a steady supply of videos featuring Hegseth, while cutting back on press briefings. One video shared earlier this year showed the secretary, sleeves rolled up, turning the screw on new "DEPARTMENT OF WAR" signage.

The climax — at least thus far — was Hegseth's culture war speech to America's top generals and admirals, flown from across the world to Quantico, Virginia, in September.

Meanwhile, Noem has literally made herself the face of Trump's immigration policy — starring in a $200 million ad campaign on social media and the airwaves.

The high-visibility media blitz has fueled a nearly year-long rumor mill that Noem is interested in using Trump's immigration agenda to promote herself for a future political campaign.

One of the ad makers, Strategy Group, previously worked on Noem's gubernatorial campaigns. 

Noem also earned the tabloid nickname "ICE Barbie" for her frequent ride-alongs with ICE, Border Patrol and the Coast Guard, dressed up in the uniforms of those units.

The intrigue: It was a truism in Trump's first term that the best way to ensure longevity was to stay out of the spotlight, though none of the three appear to be on particularly thin ice.

One of the first high-profile departures from Trump 2.0 is another publicly pugnacious official, deputy FBI director Dan Bongino.

Trump offered well wishes to Bongino, saying the ex-podcaster "wants to go back to his show."

Trump's Cabinet of main characters

Even the bureaucrats are dressed for action.

Photo illustration of Kristi Noem, Kash Patel and Pete Hegseth surrounded by abstract strokes of paint and texture. 

Photo Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Michael M. Santiago, and Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

Get ready for more at-home wellness perks, nostalgic design nods and eco-friendly upgrades, according to industry pros.

Why it matters: These trends indicate what American homes may look like in 2026.

State of play: "Wellness features" are now being mentioned 33% more often in Zillow listings compared to a year ago, per the real estate site's 2026 Home Trends Report.

Mentions of spa-inspired bathrooms are up 22%.

Meanwhile, "traditional" and Art Deco styles are back — part of a bigger retro revival, according to Houzz, a design and remodeling site.

Think: Curves, arches and scalloped edges throughout the home, detailed woodwork, and earth tones reminiscent of the English countryside and modern Tudors.

Plus, opulent marble and mirrored surfaces, metallic accents and jewel tones inspired by the 1920s and 1930s.

Behr, Valspar and Sherwin-Williams already announced their picks for the next big paint colors, a mix that includes '70s sunbaked hues and calming blues and greens.

Mentions jumped on Zillow for certain energy-efficient homes (+70%), whole-home batteries (+40%) and EV charging (+25%), suggesting buyers want "eco-conscious living options that save them money and reduce their environmental impact," per the report.

What we're watching: Buyer favorites like home offices, fully fenced yards and walk-out basements remain hot, according to Realtor.com's analysis of this year's top home trends.

Axios

Saturday's top stories

Racist AI fakes are now a business — and a political tool

Harlem civil rights museum highlights the North's forgotten history

Trump's Cabinet of main characters

The next big home-design features

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