Police raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk’s social media company X on Tuesday amid a wide-ranging probe into allegations that X has allowed sexually explicit deepfakes on its platform and has abused its algorithms. The Paris prosecutor’s office sent a cybercrime unit to X’s offices and summoned Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino to appear for a hearing in Paris on April 20, Reuters reported. France’s investigation into X began last year with the European country looking into alleged bias in the social media platform’s algorithms. That investigation has now expanded as prosecutors in Paris are investigating allegations that pornographic deepfakes, including child pornography, and Holocaust denialism have been allowed to spread on X. Prosecutors are also seeking to interview X managers to gain more information into the platform’s operations, NBC News reported. The European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol also commented on the raid, saying it involved “a range of suspected criminal offenses linked to the functioning and use of the platform, including the dissemination of illegal content and other forms of online criminal activity.” X’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, has been criticized for allowing users to generate sexually explicit images and videos. The chatbot also allows users to upload images to alter or to make into videos. Musk’s platform warns users against “depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner.” Musk has not commented on the Paris raid directly, but the X owner shared multiple posts from other X users who slammed France over the raid. Musk also shared a House Judiciary GOP report on Tuesday, which found that the European Union began pressuring American social media companies to censor political posts that it opposed as early as 2015. House Judiciary GOP said that in the past ten years, the European Union “successfully pressured social media platforms to censor true information in the United States; Targeted U.S. political content for censorship; and Interfered in elections across Europe.” The raid on X’s offices in Paris comes as European countries continue to pressure American social media companies to crack down on certain posts. In December, the European Union fined X $140 million under its expansive internet accountability regulations. The European Union accused X of failing to meet advertising transparency requirements in violation of the Digital Services Act, which was put into place to clamp down on what the bloc views as illegal content and misinformation on social media. Europe’s actions have also drawn criticism from President Trump and his administration. After the European Union fined X, Trump told reporters that “Europe has to be very careful.” “They’re doing a lot of things. … Europe is going in some bad directions. It’s very bad for the people,” he added. In December, the State Department announced that it would bar some of the people involved in Europe’s tech censorship effort from entering the United States. “For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Svedka Vodka will make history on Sunday when it debuts the first ever Super Bowl commercial that’s made mostly from AI generated video. Despite not having any living actors, a spokesperson for the brand Sazerac (owner of Svedka) insisted that the overall messaging is very “pro-human.” “We always knew we were signing up for risk because a vodka ad in the Super Bowl is polarizing to a certain degree,” Sara Saunders, chief marketing officer at Sazerac, told The Hollywood Reporter. “So the rest of it was ‘we might as well create conversation.’” Saunders said the message of the ad was really about reducing tech usage and meeting people the old fashioned way, like through dancing. This is shown through an AI-generated robot short circuiting after drinking Svedka. “The entire idea of the campaign is that the robots have returned to remind the humans to be more human,” Saunders said. “Our message is ultimately pro-human.” Though AI is recognized for having the ability to cut costs dramatically, which could be impactful considering how much it costs to run a Super Bowl commercial in the first place, the marketing exec insisted money wasn’t the driving force behind the AI ad. “For us it’s never been an efficiency play, it’s been a storytelling play; that’s why we’ve always had strong hands on the keyboard,” she told THR. The outlet noted that other Super Bowl commercials, including the “Jurassic Park” themed ad, will use AI elements, but noted that Svedka will be the first and only ad that’s almost completely created with AI. The ad is currently available on YouTube. In it, Svedka’s robot character that was popularized over a decade ago is seen dancing with a new robot friend at a human party. “After 12 years in sleep mode, I’m back online. And also apparently on advertising’s biggest stage,” the YouTube description says. “My agenda is simple: More fun. More dancing. More human connection. More cocktails. Leave your texts on read. Mute your notifications. Stretch out your tech neck. The future isn’t going anywhere (I know, I’ve been there). Neither is your phone.” “It’s hard to worry about tomorrow when you’re getting ‘super freaky’ on the dance floor. Join me,” it concludes. “Shake your bots off with SVEDKA.” Comments on the video have been turned off.

The U.S. military downed an unmanned Iranian drone as it “aggressively approached” the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, according to the U.S. military. U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said the Iranian Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the USS Abraham Lincoln “in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board.” The USS Abraham Lincoln was reportedly 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast when the drone approached with “unclear intent” despite de-escalatory measures taken by American forces. Hours later, forces with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated foreign terror organization, harassed a U.S.-flagged and crewed oil tanker, Stena Imperative, that was passing through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Hawkins, two Iranian boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the American vessel “at high speeds and threatened to board the tanker,” per CENTCOM. The USS McFaul, a guided-missile destroyer, was in the area and escorted the vessel along with “defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force” to de-escalate the situation. “CENTCOM forces are operating at the highest levels of professionalism and ensuring the safety of U.S. personnel, ships, and aircraft in the Middle East,” Hawkins said. “Continued Iranian harassment and threats in international waters and airspace will not be tolerated. Iran’s unnecessary aggression near U.S. forces, regional partners and commercial vessels increases risks of collision, miscalculation, and regional destabilization.” The USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group, which recently arrived in international waters near Iran, adds roughly 5,700 U.S. service members to the region. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its three Arleigh Burke-class destroyer escorts are among the 10 U.S. warships believed to be operating in the area. The arrival of the strike group — along with additional vessels and aircraft — marks a broader military buildup as tensions between President Donald Trump and the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to escalate over the regime’s violent crackdown on protesters, with death toll estimates reaching as high as 36,000. Despite the rising tensions, U.S. officials are still expected to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday.

Given the code of conduct

'Did we get everything we wanted, hell no'

Holy smokes...

'We must bring justice to every fascist'

A New York man pleaded guilty Tuesday to laundering over $8 million in health care fraud profits through a U.S. bank on behalf of a transnational criminal organization (TCO), according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. Renat Abramov, 36, used his position as a “relationship manager” at a Bank of America branch in […]

'Its orbit provided the U.S. a new vantage point'

News Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Trailer Releases a Kaiju Kraken Sometimes you need monsters to fight monsters. (It’s Kong. I’m talking about Kong… and also Godzilla.) By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on February 3, 2026 Credit: Apple TV Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Apple TV The second season of Apple TV’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is premiering later this month, and today we’ve got a trailer that sets the stakes. In it, we see a monster named Titan X that puts a blue whale to shame comes through the rift thanks, it seems, to a decision by Cate Randa (Ann Sawai). Kong doesn’t like it, and I’m guessing Godzilla isn’t a fan either. Humans are very certainly not enthused about it, as it eats a ship with ease in the trailer and heads to Japan to cause damage and threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. We also see in the 1950s timeline that this beast might have been here before? The mystery gets more mysterious! Here’s an official description for season two of Monarch: Season two will pick up with the fate of Monarch—and the world—hanging in the balance. The dramatic saga reveals buried secrets that reunite our heroes (and villains) on Kong’s Skull Island, and a new, mysterious village where a mythical Titan rises from the sea. The ripple effects of the past make waves in the present day, blurring the bonds between family, friend and foe—all with the threat of a Titan event on the horizon. Monarch will see the return of Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Joe Tippett, and Anders Holm. Takehiro Hira, Amber Midthunder, Curtiss Cook, Cliff Curtis, Dominique Tipper, and Camilo Jiménez Varón will also guest star. The show is just the beginning of Apple TV’s proposed Monsterverse; a prequel spin-off starring Wyatt Russell as a young Lee Shaw is already in the works, and there are reportedly “multiple series” also in development.   The first episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season two will premiere on Apple TV on Friday, February 27, 2026. New episodes will be released every Friday until May 1, 2026. Check out today’s trailer below. [end-mark] The post <i>Monarch: Legacy of Monsters</i> Trailer Releases a Kaiju Kraken appeared first on Reactor.