No humans were harmed in the making of the True Crime Case Files YouTube channel. Why? Because all the murder victims and storylines in 150 videos with names like “Sheriff Murdered After Affair With His Secretary Got Exposed” and “Wife Secret Affair with Neighbor’s Teenage Daughter Ends in Grisly Murder” were AI-generated. @404mediaco spoke to the founder of the channel, which had millions of views before it was taken down, about where he got the idea, and what he was trying to achieve (he claims a noble goal).

https://www.404media.co/a-true-crime-documentary-series-has-millions-of-views-the-murders-are-all-ai-generated/

#Tech #Technology #TrueCrime #Television #Entertainment #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Rotting logs contain multitudes. @KnowableMag reports on how they’re home to critters, bacteria, fungi and more — and scientists are only scratching the surface of how the vital ecological process of breaking down wood works.

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2025/rotting-logs-mini-ecosystems-habitat-and-food

#Science #Ecology #Biology #Forests #Fungi ##Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has a history of removing elected officials from office or suspending them if they don’t comply with his agenda. It’s only getting worse as President Trump’s immigration crackdown kicks into gear. “This is a governor that looks for any reason to remove people when he can,” state Representative Anna Eskamani, a Democrat, told @bolts “It speaks to a trend of the consolidation of power among the few. It is incredibly unsettling to have that happen to our democracy.”

https://boltsmag.org/florida-republicans-immigration-deal/

#Florida #RonDeSantis #Immigration #Deportation #USPolitics #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

President Donald Trump is promising to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine — with the participation of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but without Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that’s not acceptable to him. @timkmak’s Counteroffensive looks at another country, Finland, which preserved its independence 80 years ago after war with Russia by giving up land and declaring neutrality. Will Ukraine be forced to do the same? https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/will-ukraine-be-forced-to-become

#Ukraine #Finland #UkraineRussia #Trump #Putin #Zelenskyy #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Of the 94 movies at the recent Sundance Festival, three came from Africa. For @thecontinent, Wilfred Okiche looks at Kenyan documentary “How to Build a Library,” Tunisian coming-of-age story “Where the Wind Comes From,” and “Khartoum,” which was made by four Sudanese filmmakers and a Brit, and tells the stories of five people who escaped to East Africa after the military coup in their home country.

https://continent.substack.com/p/review-africa-at-sundance-libraries

#Film #Documentary #Entertainment #Movies #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Are you marking Valentine’s Day this year? @TheConversationUS looks at how Victorian London went gaga for greeting cards. Back then, you were expected to send a Valentine in return regardless of your feelings, which meant you could buy cards with messages that proclaimed mutual admiration, encouraged patience, or politely discouraged future attention.

https://theconversation.com/how-valentines-day-was-transformed-by-the-industrial-revolution-and-manufactured-intimacy-247441

#History @histodons #ValentinesDay #GreetingCards #Lifestyle #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

Lastly, nobody reacted to this when our @CultureDesk shared the story but we thought it was fascinating. Back in the early 2000s, American elementary school students used to stack cups in gym class, and it was all down to a clown-turned-teacher named Bob.

https://defector.com/if-you-ever-stacked-cups-in-gym-class-blame-my-dad

#LIfestyle #UnitedStates #School #Education #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

@Flipboard @TheConversationUS nope

@Flipboard @TheConversationUS

Looking at thyself within the glass,
You appear lost in admiration;
You deceive yourself, and think, alas!
You are a wonder of creation.

😁 The Valentine for a narcissist !

@erikcats Same here!