Sheinbaum’s morning: between ‘media hits’ and deepfakes on TikTok
Well, here we are again. Tuesday the 13th, a day that historically gives a bad feeling, and Claudia Sheinbaum arrives at the National Palace for her morning conference. The menu of the day: a portion of criticism of the media, a main course of regulatory promises and a dessert warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence. A combo that has everything but boredom.
The president began by saying the phrase of the moment: she accused some media outlets of carrying out “media coups”. Sounds strong, doesn’t it? As if the news were an army planning an uprising. But he quickly clarified – almost as if asking that the tweet not be taken out of context – that in his government there are no “past practices” against media companies. In other words, no old habits. Everything new, everything fresh.
The center of his speech was what sounds great but is sometimes difficult to see in practice: the right to information. Sheinbaum assured that “a process is coming” to guarantee it, thanks to a change in the law that is already constitutional. The idea, according to her, is that in a few months any citizen can stand up – I imagine with a cell phone in hand – and claim: ‘Hey, you are not informing me properly.’ It sounds empowering, almost like giving superpowers to the public against bad headlines.
“The right to hearings must be guaranteed… And a process is coming where in a few months they must have all the guarantees so that any citizen can say: ‘you are not informing me adequately’.”
But this is where the script takes a sci-fi movie type turn. Because if the president warned about anything, it was the frauds carried out with artificial intelligence. Yes, those deepfake videos that look real but are faker than a Monopoly ticket. He said it’s “a very good debate” how to ensure people know when content was generated by AI.
And she gave scary examples: on platforms like TikTok fake videos circulate of supposed members of the Armed Forces calling to attack drug trafficking… or even of herself asking to invest in Pemex. In other words, your timeline could be full of ghost authorities giving orders that never existed. The level of digital dystopia is reaching worrying levels.
“They look real. The topic of artificial intelligence is a very good debate, how to ensure that people know that it was generated by artificial intelligence,” Sheinbaum commented, acknowledging how difficult this topic becomes.
The regulatory dilemma: who bells the digital cat?
The president was clear about something: this has to be better regulated to protect people. “It has to be better regulated to ensure that people know that it is false information,” he said. But he also admitted the obvious: “regularization has its complications.” Translation: Setting rules for the internet is like trying to tame a tornado with a butterfly net.
And what about those directly affected? Sheinbaum briefly mentioned voice actors – those voices behind your favorite movies – who have seen how their work can be cloned or supplanted by AI. Regarding that, he said that progress has already been made on the issue, although without giving many details. There remains that feeling of we will tell you more soon.In the end, the message is a mix between promise and warning. On the one hand, the government promises a process to empower audiences over traditional media. On the other hand, it warns us about a digital landscape where you can no longer trust what you see or hear because it could be the product of a malicious algorithm.
It is the perfect reflection of our times: we strive to have more access to real information while we navigate a deepening ocean of manufactured misinformation. A true generational challenge.
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