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684 lines
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<title>06 March, 2023</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>An Anniversary of Destruction, Loss, and Bravery in Ukraine</strong> - Ukrainians have responded with remarkable dignity and courage, but there is little to romanticize one year into the Russian invasion. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/an-anniversary-of-destruction-loss-and-bravery-in-ukraine">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How the Government Cancelled Betty Ann’s Debts</strong> - For a ninety-one-year-old law-school graduate, the Department of Education discharged more than three hundred thousand dollars in student debt. Could relief be that simple? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-government-forgave-betty-anns-debts">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Is Ron DeSantis Doing to Florida’s Public Liberal-Arts College?</strong> - DeSantis is not simply inveighing against progressive control of institutions. He is using his powers as governor to remake them. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/what-is-ron-desantis-doing-to-floridas-public-liberal-arts-college">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Law Professor Flying Surveillance Drones in Ukraine</strong> - When the first rockets struck outside Vasyl Bilous’s apartment building, in Kharkiv, he was already at the front. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-law-professor-flying-surveillance-drones-in-ukraine">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Maria Pevchikh, Putin’s Grand Inquisitor</strong> - A deputy to Alexey Navalny discusses his near-fatal poisoning, her own probe of Kremlin corruption, and battling Moscow from exile. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/maria-pevchikh-alexey-navalny-vladimir-putin">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>The Delphi murders were a local tragedy. Then they became “true crime.”</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="A tall, aging metal railroad bridge on concrete pillars spans a shallow, rocky stream, with wooded riverbanks on either side." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KiNPOkCAhgPCqha-Fb_BqSZUvx0=/238x0:4035x2848/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72042309/shutterstock_64657693.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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The Monon High Bridge in Delphi, Indiana, where Abigail Williams and Liberty German were murdered in 2017. | Stephen B. Goodwin/Shutterstock
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The investigation into the murders of Liberty German and Abigail Williams sums up the messy state of true crime.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qoFEg5">
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In my inbox sit three eerie, unsolicited photographs of a crime scene.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1lptHI">
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The photos, not graphic but disturbing all the same, were allegedly taken at the scene of the <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/liberty-german">Delphi murders</a> — the double homicide of two best friends, Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in rural Delphi, Indiana, in 2017. The whistleblower who sent them to me, as he calls himself, runs one (or several) of a slew of anonymous accounts who’ve recently been contacting reporters, YouTubers, and true crime podcasters in an effort to get someone to publish these allegedly exclusive photos. The assumption is that as a reporter who covers these stories, and an admitted true crime fan myself, I’d be interested.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="w40Qyb">
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I’m not, but this is one of the things that happens when a murder, or murders, in America stops being a local tragedy and becomes “true crime.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bmdo0B">
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It’s extremely difficult to describe Delphi — “Delphi” here encompassing the murders, the town, the investigation, the online community of true crime enthusiasts following it, and all of their complex interactions with one another. It’s too vast and tragic to put into words, and also too messy and complicated. Of all the recent “big” cases, Delphi has developed an entire true crime ecosystem of communities — all wanting justice for two tragically murdered girls, and all too often at odds with each other in their pursuit of it.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2hYOLS">
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It’s easy to see why it has gotten so big and complex. With both images and audio of the alleged killer made quickly available to the public, this was a case primed for virality — and all that goes with it. Six years, two separate witness sketches, a long chain of hotly debated suspects, multiple side investigations into different crimes, a massive online sideshow, and one strangely unsatisfying arrest later — of a local man who made himself known to police on the very first day — Delphi is still a troubling, disturbing mystery.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qBwGCG">
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As difficult as Delphi is to stare directly at, however, it’s worth making the attempt. Because as eerie and ugly as it is, this case is significant, not just for the complex ecosystem that has formed around it, but because, in all its messiness, it points the way toward the complicated future of true crime itself.
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</p>
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<div id="tpN0Fi">
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<div class="volume-video" id="volume-placement-435">
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</div>
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<div class="caption">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Monon High Bridge, Delphi, Indiana; Courtesy of <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/search/filmmaker?filmmaker=Nexstar%20-%20WXIN%2C%20Indianapolis" target="_blank">Nexstar/WXIN, Indianapolis</a></p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<h3 id="kmqa7G">
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“Down the hill”
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9Qs9BG">
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Carroll County, Indiana, where tiny Delphi, population 2,972, is located, is as rural as it gets. Near the northern edge of town lies the Monon High Bridge Trail, an easy walking path that runs southeast to the Monon High Bridge. An abandoned railroad trestle, it’s a massive, 853-foot-long structure, the second-tallest bridge in the state, and it has no railing: A slip and a fall, a tumble through one of the many <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alR-YGWXPYs">missing railroad ties</a> on the bridge, and it’s a sheer drop of 63 feet to the creek below.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NVgABI">
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While the terrifying bridge is technically off-limits to the public, in reality it’s a cool hangout spot.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VL5uHU">
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On February 13, 2017, a sunny Monday afternoon, best friends Abby Williams and Libby German asked German’s older sister to drop them off at the trail. <a href="https://people.com/crime/liberty-german-abby-williams-slain-indiana-teens-two-weeks-missing/">According to</a> German’s grandmother, German and her older sister frequently hung out at the bridge, hiking and taking photos, so it wasn’t a concern for big sis to drop the two girls off, shortly before 2 pm, and be on her way.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CG2vtX">
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German’s father intended to pick them up in an hour or two, after he was done with his afternoon errands. As the girls were crossing the bridge, German turned back and posted several photos to Snapchat, including one of Williams minding her steps — with an ominous figure in the distance.
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</p>
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<div>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wGzb7t7Et7VraGXKYkxMsW1vVaA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24469044/libby_abby_bridge.jpg"/> <cite>Snapchat via Facebook</cite>
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<figcaption>
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One of the last photos taken from Liberty German’s phone, posted to Snapchat.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BtaUX5">
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The girls walked to the southeast end of the bridge, at which point the trail effectively ends, petering out into the undergrowth. German’s camera briefly captured footage of a burly man in a blue coat and jeans, walking along the bridge toward them. As German <a href="https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/police-delphi-murder-victims-spoke-of-man-behind-them-in-audio-played-for-family/531-4391eb86-9939-41c4-a921-501e7af81ca6">continued recording</a>, what started out as speculation turned to fear. As a 2022 arrest <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23321732-probable-cause-affidavit-filed">affidavit</a> eventually revealed, one of them, likely Williams, murmured, “Gun,” as the man approached.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0AgKiB">
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Trapped between the man and the woods, with a steeply sloping hill on either side and no way back across the bridge, the girls were effectively cornered.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I11UnQ">
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“Guys,” he ordered them, “down the hill.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X5N7YG">
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A 2017 <a href="https://interactive.wthr.com/pdfs/logan-warrrant.pdf">search warrant</a>, revealed in 2022, confirmed the existence of a chilling 43-second video of almost total silence following these words, during which the girls were seemingly marched to their deaths. By the time German’s father <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2dc5pk04Yc">reportedly</a> called her at 3:11 pm to say he was on his way to pick them up, the girls had likely already been abducted. The families quickly formed search parties; at 5:20 pm, German and Williams were officially reported missing.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0FOZBE">
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Numerous people were on the High Bridge Trail that day. Several of them came forward that same afternoon, but none of them reported seeing what happened to Williams and German.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PRJoXu">
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Around noon the next day, Valentine’s Day 2017, the girls were found lying about a half-mile from the bridge, across a stretch of private property by the creek. The widely accepted but as yet unconfirmed details of what happened to them are horrific and bizarre, with some authorities believing the bodies could have been “<a href="https://www.wishtv.com/news/i-team-8/fbi-agent-bodies-moved-and-staged-in-delphi-murders-suspect-took-clothing/">moved and staged</a>.” This has prompted theories that the girls were placed in the creek after the initial searches on the 13th were called off for the evening.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fBH2iQ">
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But this is just one of the myriad speculations in a case that became a many-headed hydra of warring beliefs, agendas, and endless theories, with few answers.
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</p>
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<h3 id="VlNClB">
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A frustrating conundrum: An abundance of leads, and no suspect in sight
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GSg9Og">
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The Delphi murders should have been easy to solve. Law enforcement had a full, if blurry, video of the perpetrator, plus a recording of his voice. Surely, someone in such a small community would recognize him immediately. Right?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vEsU3s">
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That’s not what happened.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HTO3QS">
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Using the footage German captured of the abduction in-progress, police quickly <a href="http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/help-isp-identify-this-man-who-was-on-the-walking-trails-monday-near-delphi?_ga=2.34667681.1203828117.1676262820-1296537285.1676262820">released</a> the now-famous double photo of the man the internet has dubbed “Bridge Guy.”
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ku99mnn9XkXsLhQCxMi4I3eI0ZM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24469048/libby_bg2.png"/> <cite>Indiana State Police</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Stills of footage of “Bridge Guy,” believed to be the suspect in the murders of Liberty German and Abigail Williams, taken from German’s phone on February 13, 2017.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="91GUGn">
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Nine days after the murders, <a href="https://www.wrtv.com/news/crime/updates-expected-today-on-delphi-teen-killings">police released</a> an audio recording of Bridge Guy, now officially named a suspect, saying, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftnAPuBrwDM">Down the hill.</a>”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dqDMrb">
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This was arguably the moment when Delphi stopped being solely a hometown tragedy and entered the annals of true crime fame — when the eerie disembodied audio, complete with the pixellated image of the killer, swept across media outlets nationwide, galvanizing interest in the tragic story of two young friends who died brutally, side by side. The day after the release of the recording, police had to divert tips in the case to a national call center run by the FBI’s Major Case Contact Center. By early March, the case had <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2017/03/09/evansdale-indiana-double-homicide-links-coincidental-indiana-state-police-say/98956208/">received</a> over 11,000 leads from across the country.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eiJdnh">
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“I consider Delphi to be the first case that hit that land speed record in terms of [generating] interest in it at once,” defense attorney Bob Motta, who hosts the <a href="https://defensediaries.com/"><em>Defense Diaries</em></a> podcast, tells Vox. This is the rare case that law enforcement <em>wanted</em> to go viral. Police turned to the wider public in the hope of generating leads, and when public interest waned, they kept the case on the national media radar by doling out new tidbits of information.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WSrPB3">
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At the same time, the police seemed to clamp down hard when it came to providing vital context for the info they shared. Even six years later, there’s scant information on the official ISP <a href="https://www.in.gov/isp/crime-reporting/delphi-homicide-investigation/">tip page</a>. (A spokesperson for the Indiana State Police was unable to comment on the investigation due to a recent court gag order.) The little information the police did reveal was often confusing, baffling, even contradictory. This limbo left the public with no real guidelines for how to be helpful — which may have rendered them anything but.
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</p>
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<h3 id="Fx8Ipc">
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The first police sketch, and the chaos it awakened
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="foPYNu">
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On July 17, 2017, authorities <a href="https://www.jconline.com/story/news/crime/2017/07/17/new-details-released-delphi-double-homicide-investigation/483717001/">released a sketch</a> of a suspect based on an eyewitness sighting. ISP Sgt. Kim Riley informed the public at a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_oZ51DmANo">press conference</a> that authorities believed this to be “the same person” captured in the stills from German’s video, a.k.a. Bridge Guy.
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</p>
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<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang">
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QyVsMy4jj0RE_LszCMF41je6ZqY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24469098/delphi_bg1.png"/> <cite>Indiana State Police</cite>
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<figcaption>
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The first released sketch of a man believed to be “Bridge Guy.”
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iE0wJf">
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This sketch opened the floodgates for online guesswork. Just two days after the sketch’s release, ISP was <a href="https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/isp-to-facebook-users-stop-armchair-sleuthing-on-delphi-murders/507-457927682">cautioning</a> “armchair sleuths” to stop posting side-by-side images of the suspect sketch and random men on social media. Online, suspicion was often aimed at the victims’ family members as well as unaffiliated Delphi residents and men across the US — anyone and everyone who bore a passing resemblance to the sketch. Two Delphi residents who have the same name both experienced intense harassment after multiple true crime podcasts hinted at the involvement of one of them, again based on nothing more than speculation.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z88Rq4">
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Multiple people I spoke with lamented the current state of online sleuthing around the case, but blamed the pointed but incomplete information coming from law enforcement for leading to the anarchy online. “I don’t think of myself as having been drawn to the online community in this case so much as having been ‘pushed’ to the online community due to law enforcement being so tight-lipped,” Robby Coleman, a 36-year-old Indianapolis websleuth, tells Vox. “This was the only avenue for learning <em>anything</em> for years.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="dstkNO">
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The second sketch, and a trail going cold
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3w6Vrn">
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Despite this frenzy of interest in the case, for the next two years, there were no significant developments. Then, on April 22, 2019, authorities unveiled an onslaught of information. Among the reveals was an amended <a href="https://www.heraldbulletin.com/news/newly-released-audio-in-delphi-murders/audio_3463bf8e-651f-11e9-8111-a3596f4bc66c.html">audio clip</a> of the killer, in which he could be heard saying one extra word; “Guys, down the hill,” and a two-second video clip of the image they’d previously provided stills of. Both clips raised more questions than answers.
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</p>
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<div id="oCEX5I">
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<div style="width: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;">
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</div>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p2tLYH">
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The most puzzling reveal was a new suspect sketch, reportedly drawn early in 2017. Authorities presented it as a replacement for the old sketch, eventually <a href="https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2019/04/24/2-sketches-delphi-murders-case-not-same-man-indiana-state-police-say/3564467002/">clarifying</a> that this was an entirely new suspect — a man in his mid-20s to 30s, where “Bridge Guy” appeared to be 40-50. Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter described the investigation as “shift[ing] gears to a different investigative strategy,” without specifying what that strategy was.
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</p>
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<div class="c-float-right c-float-hang">
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CN-FG98vJVUVEonIcqUvEQnYfow=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24469099/delpthi_ybg.jpg"/> <cite>Indiana State Police</cite>
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<figcaption>
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The second released sketch of a man believed to be “Bridge Guy.”
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ixg0G0">
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After two years, was the case back to square one?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uhuMt6">
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Any hope that this about-face would lead to renewed momentum quickly faded: Another two years passed before there was a significant update in the case — or at least one that seemed significant at the time.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fMTsog">
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||
In December 2021, authorities arrested a man named <a href="https://www.wishtv.com/news/crime-watch-8/man-behind-anthony_shots-account-charged-for-child-porn-docs-dont-tie-him-to-delphi-case/">Kegan Kline</a>, a 27-year-old resident of nearby Peru, Indiana, who had been linked to an <a href="https://www.wrtv.com/news/public-safety/detectives-looking-for-information-related-to-social-media-account-in-connection-to-abby-and-libby-investigation">online catfishing account</a>. Although authorities have never named Kline as a person of interest in the Delphi investigation, they made it clear they believed there was a connection. Kline was subsequently prosecuted for <a href="https://www.wishtv.com/news/indiana-news/judge-dismisses-five-child-pornography-charges-against-kegan-kline/">25 charges</a> related to possession of child sexual abuse material and child exploitation; his trial is currently scheduled for May 2023.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RkjLNY">
|
||
In early February 2022, the ISP’s Carter <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/police-speak-directly-unknown-delphi-killer-today-day/story?id=82375198">did an interview</a> with ABC in which he stated — in what was certainly news to those following the case — that police “know a lot” about the killer, without saying anything about what, or who, that might mean.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="FGkqDZ">
|
||
A cold trail gets hot online
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c0QTCt">
|
||
Following Carter’s interview, ambivalence from law enforcement again enabled the websleuths to fill in the gaps with chaos. On numerous <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DelphiMurders/">subreddits</a> and other forums, hordes of “leakers” tout exclusive insider intel and spout arcane theories built around regional gossip and local politics: law enforcement cover-ups, drug ring conspiracies, sheriffs with tunnel vision, former prosecutors with vendettas, officers maligned for doing their jobs too well, an investigation driven more by the vicissitudes of local elections rather than a pursuit of justice — every “murder in a small town” trope you can foist onto one crime.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jI9Reh">
|
||
To even be able to read most of the Delphi forums, you have to learn a glossary of acronyms and shorthand lingo — BG (Bridge Guy), FSG (Flannel Shirt Guy, one of the witnesses seen on the bridge), OBG (Old Bridge Guy), YBG (Young Bridge Guy), LE (law enforcement), MBW (“Muddy and Bloody” Woman — we’ll get to her), and an endless parade of other people referred to only by their initials. Anyone who surmounts that barrier to entry is already more likely to be invested in the case — and more likely to find themselves joining in the rampant, furious finger-pointing that accompanies it.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5H4xRE-o0SfBUMflmYUpkgA3uRo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24470188/1244396301.jpg"/> <cite>Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Carroll County Sheriff Tobias Leazenby speaks during a press conference on the murders in 2022.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P2sTpr">
|
||
One of the most polarizing constituents is <a href="https://murdersheetpodcast.com/"><em>The Murder Sheet</em></a>, a podcast by a husband-and-wife team who originally met and bonded over true crime. Áine Cain, a former senior retail reporter at Insider, and Kevin Greenlee, an attorney and practicing law clerk, wanted to bring their professional roles to the podcast. In an interview, Cain says the show focuses on journalism that “furthers your understanding of the case.” They’ve arguably been successful; they’ve gotten several exclusives, like excavating the 2017 <a href="https://interactive.wthr.com/pdfs/logan-warrrant.pdf">search warrant</a> of the property where the girls were found. (Suspicions against the property owner, Ronald Logan, have lingered and continue to run rampant; Logan was never named a person of interest and <a href="https://heavy.com/news/ronald-ron-logan-delphi-murders/">reportedly</a> died in 2022.)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d6xAWx">
|
||
Online, however, despite Cain’s long journalism career, and perhaps because they began as true crime fans, some sleuths <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrimePodcasts/comments/wwhjeb/is_murder_sheet_worth_it/">see them</a> as <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/LibbyandAbby/comments/xzed3h/murder_sheet_discussion_thread/#irn6wrn">little more</a> than glorified redditors. Then there’s the issue of money. The podcast is self-sustaining (“just barely”), and Cain and Greenlee have recently gone full-time. That move, in turn, invites <a href="https://twitter.com/libertyg_sister/status/1526283798190645250">criticism</a> that the podcasters are exploiting tragedy for personal gain. Yet <em>The Murder Sheet</em> is far from the only monetized true crime project focused on this case. One <a href="https://beyondhighbrow.com/delphi/">forum</a> advertises a secretive community with exclusive access to private information from law enforcement ($20 to join; the owner told Vox he<strong> </strong>has made over $5,000 from the entry fees alone). The <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2022/10/31/the-big-business-of-true-crime/">massive growth</a> of the true crime industry means more people than ever are engaging in the space — and not always ethically. One popular podcast courted controversy when it aired a series of episodes in which the hosts put forth speculation about a random Delphi resident with no known connection to the crime.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r4wC4u">
|
||
<em>The Murder Sheet</em>’s biggest find arguably came in 2022: <a href="https://www.wishtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tx-statement-Kegan-Kline-10-19-2-FINAL-VERSION-Redacted-1.pdf">a transcript</a> of a police interview with Kegan Kline. The interview contained a wealth of new information. Yet the pair came under fire from other <a href="https://www.thefalllinepodcast.com/episodes/2022/5/25/true-crime-revolution-sarah-turney-part-2">podcasters</a> and onlookers for leaking info and reportedly initially leaving in an unredacted identifying detail. The transcript, however, provided the first substantiated link between Kline and the murders. Kline admitted in it to having previously interacted with Libby German.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SdOw4u">
|
||
This flurry of online activity stood in stark contrast to the radio silence from law enforcement. By 2022, even the victims’ families were voicing their frustrations. “They don’t know what they’re doing,” German’s mother <a href="https://www.953mnc.com/2022/05/27/delphi-victims-mom-growing-weary-frustrated-with-lack-of-case-progress/">told reporters</a> in May.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aAWFD8">
|
||
In October of that year, however, the state of the case abruptly changed — with a surprising, confounding arrest.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="f4xOkm">
|
||
A sudden arrest and a whole new set of questions
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pkVlpm">
|
||
On October 26, 2022, <a href="https://www.wrtv.com/news/delphi/arrest-made-in-delphi-murder-investigation-sources-say">authorities arrested</a> a Delphi resident: <a href="https://www.wrtv.com/news/delphi/who-is-richard-allen-suspect-in-murders-of-libby-abby-is-pharmacy-tech-and-longtime-delphi-community-member">Richard Allen</a>, a 50-year-old CVS pharmacy employee with no criminal record.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1M4lAm">
|
||
A few days later, authorities confirmed the arrest in a frustratingly brief press conference. It took another month for the <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23321732-probable-cause-affidavit-filed">arrest affidavit</a> to be unsealed, revealing the stunning truth behind the arrest: Allen had actually gone to police in 2017, shortly after the murders, and <a href="https://www.wishtv.com/news/crime-watch-8/source-investigators-have-known-for-years-that-the-delphi-suspect-was-on-the-monon-high-bridge-the-day-abby-and-libby-were-killed/">identified himself</a> as having been on the bridge on February 13.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="atwlWD">
|
||
Why had it taken so long to find him? Media reports <a href="https://www.wane.com/news/clerical-error-may-have-led-police-to-overlook-richard-allen-in-delphi-case-source-claims/">blamed the snafu on the FBI</a>, hinting that a filing error by “a civilian FBI employee” led to the delay. Was it really that simple? Did the investigation spin its wheels for five years for no reason at all?
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-right">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vCpi76T4klZfJIuoveBCKw9qG3U=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24469109/delphi_allen.jpg"/> <cite>Indiana State Police</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A mug shot of Richard Allen, charged in the Delphi murders.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DuPKaB">
|
||
The most overwhelming evidence for Allen’s guilt is that he placed himself on the bridge and he looks like Bridge Guy. According to the affidavit, Allen’s self-identified outfit of a blue jacket and jeans matched that of the suspect. This could, on the one hand, be highly damning circumstantial evidence; if he didn’t realize Libby German had caught him on camera, he’d think nothing of placing himself on the bridge. Then again, he was arguably wearing one of the most generic outfits in Indiana: a blue Carhartt jacket and jeans.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="a1mP0j">
|
||
The multiple eyewitness sightings of Bridge Guy are consistent with Allen. One woman claimed to have seen a man who fits Allen’s description looking “muddy and bloody.” Then there are the ballistics. According to the affidavit, an unspent shell casing was found lying between the bodies of the victims — a casing investigators were able to match to Allen’s gun. There’s no mention in the affidavit of DNA, so this could be the best forensic evidence the state presents.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d6ihqA">
|
||
There are several problems with this, however. For starters, the entire field of ballistics evidence is increasingly considered to be <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-field-of-firearms-forensics-is-flawed/">subjective pseudoscience</a> rather than legitimate forensics. And even among already-shaky ballistics, matching an individual gun cartridge to an unspent casing is an extremely rare type of evidence. In <a href="https://art19.com/shows/murder-sheet/episodes/39ba2b53-ce09-4a22-a2ff-e5715ee768ad">an interview</a> with <em>The</em> <em>Murder Sheet</em>, one anonymous criminal defense attorney said he’d never seen an unspent shell casing presented as evidence in a trial.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z4Efy4">
|
||
The probable cause affidavit has divided followers of the murders into camps; Allen’s defense released a strongly worded <a href="https://www.wthr.com/article/news/crime/delphi-girls-murdered/delphi-murders-hearing-richard-allen-defense-attorneys-speak/531-612e9590-ace8-4b93-8f7c-a674228d71c6">rebuttal</a> to it, pointing out the many gaps in the investigation. Meanwhile, the case is under a <a href="https://www.wthr.com/article/news/crime/delphi-girls-murdered/special-judge-decision-public-court-documents-released-delphi-indiana-murders-abby-williams-libby-german-richard-allen/531-2e2a1a98-8d49-4a0c-88e8-9623ad7e6193">gag order</a>, which means no more information will be forthcoming until trial. The first hearing was recently <a href="https://www.wrtv.com/news/delphi/delphi-murders-trial-hearing-scheduled-for-friday-is-postponed">delayed</a> because the prosecution had yet to <a href="https://www.wane.com/news/indiana/defense-asks-for-delay-in-feb-17-bail-hearing-for-delphi-murder-suspect-richard-allen/">turn over</a> all of its evidence to the defense.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="klFd38">
|
||
If Allen is Bridge Guy, then his role in the crime raises numerous questions. Was he acting alone or — as prosecutors have <a href="https://people.com/crime/accused-delphi-killer-not-only-actor-involved-prosecutor/">claimed</a> — with others? Is Kegan Kline still somehow connected to the murders? If Ronald Logan was the original hot choice for Bridge Guy, as indicated in the search warrant for his property, why didn’t law enforcement pursue him as a person of interest more diligently? And why did Allen continue living in Delphi, even keeping his clothes from the day of the homicides, as though nothing had happened?
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ornZKb">
|
||
If there’s little forensic evidence tying Allen to the crime, then the abundance of alternate suspects could present a gold mine for his defense. Meanwhile, websleuths continue pursuing their own agendas — to the point that, even if Allen is found guilty, there will likely be plenty who reject the verdict. “You need to accept that Ron Logan is Bridge Guy,” the whistleblower tells me. When asked about the lack of evidence, he retorts, “I don’t care about evidence, there’s no such thing as evidence.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xGZBWC">
|
||
He has a point: If there’s anything true crime teaches us, it’s that facts, circumstances, evidence, proof, doubt, and truth are all often in the eye of the beholder. “There’s a million Scott Petersons out there,” <em>Defense Diaries’</em> Motta says, referring to the convicted family annihilator whose guilt has lately been a <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23506125/casey-anthony-evidence-where-the-truth-lies-how-true-or-false">trendy topic</a> of debate. “If people start digging they’re going to find warts on every single case.” He feels there likely will be no narrative resolution. “It’ll always be left for us to wonder.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RF35jw">
|
||
And yet, ironically, as C.J. Hoyt, news director of the Indianapolis news stations Fox59 and CBS4, points out, if Allen is guilty, it won’t be in any way because of the years of obsessive work by armchair detectives.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ANso29">
|
||
“I think any exposure can be good,” he said, “but there are elements that can clearly be harmful, especially to the victims’ families. An example of that would be the person trying to sell crime scene photos. But like most cases, the online community didn’t factor in at all when it came to solving it — if Allen is, in fact, the killer.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt="Two young girls, their faces blurry in the dark, wear light-up glow stick glasses as the sun sets behind them." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kB4IffARRbdpWRixPs21rmsmNcA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24469113/libby_abby_via_fb.jpg"/> <cite>Facebook</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Liberty German, left, and Abby Williams.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V1iJrd">
|
||
And that might be the biggest irony of all — because however obstructing, counterproductive, or messy their efforts are, every websleuth I spoke to says they do it not because of the game, the thrill of the chase, or the clout, but because of Abby and Libby — the girls who had a sleepover the night before and awoke early that morning, excited about having a day off school. They helped Libby’s grandmother with filing papers in exchange for pocket money; they wanted to go shopping later that afternoon, after the bridge.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sDwA4j">
|
||
“Last year, I took my own kids to the bridge,” Coleman told me. “I didn’t tell them what happened. They thought it was just a neat hike. They noticed the teddy bears and the memorials and asked, but I kept it at arm’s length. But I needed that to keep perspective. To make it real. A lot of the people in these groups need their own moment like that.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PvlfQd">
|
||
And even those furthest down the rabbit hole say they are doing it for the girls.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e0TH3K">
|
||
“I believe the girls are watching this,” the whistleblower tells me. “I believe the girls are helping.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="96DGao">
|
||
Still, the empathy only extends so far. When he talks about the mother of one of the victims, he’s derisive. “She’s blocked, we don’t care about her.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="u4uOt3">
|
||
Then he tosses in an aside: He wants me to know he knows who killed <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Natalie-Wood">Natalie Wood</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt="A vertical photo of the length of an old, disused railroad bridge, surrounded by the tops of trees." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AaMlvqPG3LKZt9Uo6aMKDwV_yj4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24469043/libby_monon.jpg"/> <cite>Snapchat via Facebook</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
One of the last photos taken from Liberty German’s phone, posted to Snapchat.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JQFB2K">
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>Silicon Valley’s AI frenzy isn’t just another crypto craze</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5suZmOD6gmRyvYSBwqunMyWXbwo=/0x0:1024x768/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72042202/DALL_E_2023_03_03_11.34.50___An_image_of_someone_sitting_behind_a_computer_and_creating_music__art__graphs__and_code_out_of_their_device._It_should_reflect_the_excitement_and_fear__1_.0.png"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
An image autogenerated by DALL-E, OpenAI’s text-to-image tool, when given the instructions to make: “an image of someone sitting behind a computer and creating musical notes, art, and code. It should reflect the excitement and fear about the power of generative AI.” | DALL-E
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
It isn’t theoretical. Millions of people are already using apps like ChatGPT to write books, create art, and develop code.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XUKCOe">
|
||
It’s going to be the “<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-chatgpt-sam-altman-ai-greatest-force-for-economic-empowerment-2023-2">greatest force for economic empowerment</a>” society has ever seen. It’s going to <a href="https://time.com/5876604/machines-jobs-coronavirus/">take away our jobs</a>. It’s going to “<a href="https://gizmodo.com/henry-kissinger-warns-that-ai-will-fundamentally-alter-1839642809">generate a new form of human consciousness</a>.” It’s going to <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/02/thats-just-the-next-step-in-evolution-silicon-valley-is-ready-for-robots-to-kill-us-all">kill us all</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eiFjv3">
|
||
Generative AI — or the new artificial intelligence that can create original content, including essays, fine art, and software code — is the talk of the town in Silicon Valley.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iAftZl">
|
||
If you’re one of the over 100 million people who have used <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2023/1/5/23539055/generative-ai-chatgpt-stable-diffusion-lensa-dall-e">ChatGPT</a>, or created a pop art-style illustrated portrait of yourself <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/lensa-ai-app-art-explainer-trnd/index.html">using Lensa</a>, the popular image-generating app, you know what the latest version of this technology looks like in action.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LXByXU">
|
||
Apps like ChatGPT, created by the Microsoft-backed startup OpenAI, are just the beginning of generative AI’s full range of capabilities, according to its boosters. Many believe it’s a once-in-a-lifetime technological breakthrough that could impact virtually every aspect of society and disrupt industries from medicine to law.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="L3nQHx">
|
||
“AI had a ‘wow’ moment” in November with the release of ChatGPT, said Sandhya Venkatachalam, a partner at the prominent VC firm Khosla Ventures, which was an early investor in OpenAI. She compared recent advancements in generative AI to the creation of the internet itself.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RmCSI0">
|
||
“I think this is absolutely on the same order of magnitude. That’s a personal belief.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EitLK0">
|
||
For the past two decades, Silicon Valley has lacked a true technological breakthrough. In the ’80s, we had the advent of the personal computer; in the ’90s, the internet; and in the 2000s, the mobile phone and the suite of apps built on it. Since then, the tech world has been waiting for the next big invention (some are still bullish it <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22907072/web3-crypto-nft-bitcoin-metaverse">could be Web3</a> or AR/VR). Now, many are seeing generative AI as a contender.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-right">
|
||
<aside id="HkIp1f">
|
||
<q>“AI had a ‘wow’ moment” —Sandhya Venkatachalam, partner at Khosla Ventures, an early investor in OpenAI</q>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jxgixk">
|
||
But people in Silicon Valley are prone to making grand proclamations about new technologies. If you’ve watched the rise and fall of <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/23071245/bitcoin-price-crypto-ethereum-nfts-defi-stablecoin">crypto</a> or heard grandiose plans about how we would all be living in the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22799665/facebook-metaverse-meta-zuckerberg-oculus-vr-ar">metaverse</a> by now, you may be wondering: Is the excitement about generative AI just hype?
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Iw4vCa">
|
||
The answer is that while there’s plenty of inflated hype about generative AI, for many people, it’s much more real than Web3 or the metaverse has ever been. The key difference is that millions of people can — and already are — using generative AI to write books, create art, or develop code. ChatGPT is setting records for how quickly it’s been adopted by users — it took the app only five days to reach 1 million users (by contrast, it took Instagram 2.5 months and Twitter two years to hit the same milestone), according to a recent Morgan Stanley report. Even though it’s a nascent technology, almost anyone can quickly grasp the potential of generative AI technology with apps like ChatGPT, DALL-E, or Lensa. Which is why so many businesses, giant and small, are jumping to capitalize on it.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oQbGCX">
|
||
In just the past few months, we’ve already seen how generative AI is setting the business agenda for major tech companies. Google and Microsoft — which are fiercely competing with each other — are rolling out their own chatbots and baking generative AI into their core products like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ceo-plans-to-bring-generative-ai-to-gmail-products-2023-2">Gmail</a> and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/10/23593980/microsoft-bing-chatgpt-ai-teams-outlook-integration">Microsoft Word</a>. That means billions of new users could soon be using the technology not just in one-off chatbot conversations, but in the apps we rely on every day to work and communicate with each other. Other major tech firms <a href="https://twitter.com/shiringhaffary/status/1630634865887703041">Meta</a>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/27/23614959/snapchat-my-ai-chatbot-chatgpt-openai-plus-subscription">Snap</a>, and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/instacart-joins-chatgpt-frenzy-adding-chatbot-to-grocery-shopping-app-bc8a2d3c">Instacart</a> are fast-tracking generative AI into their main apps, too.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jkhm5K">
|
||
It’s not just the tech giants. The buzz around generative AI has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/07/technology/generative-ai-chatgpt-investments.html">kick-started a new wave of investment</a> into smaller startups at a time when money in Silicon Valley is more tight than it used to be: The <a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/north-american-startup-funding-q4-2022/">North American tech industry overall saw a 63 percent drop in startup deals</a> in the last quarter of 2022 compared to the year prior, according to Crunchbase News.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="D1diQN">
|
||
The most convincing evidence that generative AI is more than hype is that all kinds of people, including many who wouldn’t think of themselves as tech experts, are using ChatGPT for unexpected reasons. College students are <a href="https://stanforddaily.com/2023/01/22/scores-of-stanford-students-used-chatgpt-on-final-exams-survey-suggests/">using the technology to cheat</a> on essay exams. Job seekers are using it to avoid the <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/debug/chatgpt-cover-letter/">dreaded task of writing a cover letter.</a> Media companies like BuzzFeed are using it to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/buzzfeed-to-use-chatgpt-creator-openai-to-help-create-some-of-its-content-11674752660">generate listicles</a> and help with the reporting process.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zx3ZWM">
|
||
“There used to be this question about ‘is this technology ready for building useful products for people?’” said OpenAI director of product and partnerships Peter Welinder. “What ChatGPT really showed is that people are using it for all sorts of use cases, and people in various professions are finding it useful in all parts of life.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kPX0fx">
|
||
There are plenty of questions and concerns about the new technology. If left unchecked, generative AI could <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/04/1013294/google-ai-ethics-research-paper-forced-out-timnit-gebru/">perpetuate harmful biases</a>, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7axa/how-i-broke-into-a-bank-account-with-an-ai-generated-voice">enable scammers</a>, spit <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/3ad3ey/bings-chatgpt-powered-search-has-a-misinformation-problem">out misinformation</a>, cause <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/chatgpt-ai-economy-automation-jobs/672767/">job loss</a>, and — some fear — even pose an existential <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23447596/artificial-intelligence-agi-openai-gpt3-existential-risk-human-extinction">threat to humanity</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Wgmj8B">
|
||
Here’s what to make of all the excited, nervous buzz around generative AI.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="3OEumL">
|
||
Separating hype from reality
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XUmCWv">
|
||
From VC cash to industry events to hacker houses filled with 20-somethings working on their next AI project, generative AI has sparked a frenzy in tech at a time when the industry needed some excitement.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="44NBoz">
|
||
In 2022, investors poured more than $2.6 billion into 110 deals toward generative AI startups — a record high for investment in the field, according to a <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/generative-ai-funding-top-startups-investors/">recent report</a> from business research firm CB Insights. Some of the biggest investments in this space have been from major tech companies: Microsoft invested <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-23/microsoft-makes-multibillion-dollar-investment-in-openai">$10 billion in OpenAI in January</a>, and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/583ead66-467c-4bd5-84d0-ed5df7b5bf9c">Google invested $300 million</a> in the generative AI startup (and OpenAI competitor) Anthropic in February.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v6U9Wk">
|
||
“We get one of these technology waves every 14 years,” said James Currier, co-founder and partner at technology venture capital firm NFX. Currier’s firm has invested in eight generative AI companies in the past several years, and he’s personally talked to around 100 generative AI startups in the past two months. “It’s going to change everything a little bit.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uTvpWw">
|
||
But despite the increase in overall funding in this space, many generative AI startups are on tight budgets, and some don’t have any funding at all. Among the 250 generative AI companies the report identified, 33 percent have zero outside equity funding, and another 51 percent were Series A or earlier, which shows how young many of these companies are.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-right">
|
||
<aside id="JFRu2W">
|
||
<q>“We get one of these technology waves every 14 years” —James Currier, co-founder and partner at technology venture capital firm NFX</q>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c0BbjT">
|
||
A big challenge facing these AI upstarts: The cost of training a single large AI model can be millions of dollars. Because of increasing volumes of data on the internet, the average cost of training the kinds of machine learning models that generative AI runs on could grow as large as $500 million to train a single model by 2030, according to a recent report by <a href="https://epochai.org/blog/trends-in-the-dollar-training-cost-of-machine-learning-systems">advanced AI research group EpochAI</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DwIDJo">
|
||
“We are not experts in training 200 billion-parameter models. It’s a sport of kings,” said Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO of Neeva, an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/technology/google-neeva-executive.html">advertising-free search engine</a> that recently launched an AI version of its product. “You need lots of money that we don’t have.” Instead, Ramaswamy said that startups like his can win by focusing on specific use cases — in his, search — but that before building a product, startups “need to figure out, ‘Is this a fad? Or is it creating unique user value?’”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yk9Ugr">
|
||
None of these hurdles seems to be dampening the excitement surrounding the new AI and its potential. In recent months in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, there’s been a boom in generative AI meetups, co-working spaces, and conferences that feels like a return to the excitement of the mobile startup boom of the late aughts. In February, San Francisco hosted a generative AI focused hackathon, women in AI lunch, and “Building ChatGPT from scratch” workshop, among dozens of other AI-focused events. Young tech founders have nicknamed the San Francisco neighborhood <a href="https://sfstandard.com/technology/what-is-cerebral-valley-san-franciscos-nerdiest-new-neighborhood/">Hayes Valley “Cerebral Valley”</a> because of a sudden concentration of AI-related events and companies in the area.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="StElfd">
|
||
“I’m very bullish on this whole AI wave because it feels like it’s at the level of the app store being released,” said Ivan Porollo, co-founder of the Cerebral Valley <a href="https://cerebralvalley.ai/">newsletter and AI community</a>. Porollo is a tech entrepreneur who recently moved back to San Francisco. “It just feels different. It feels like a generation of technology that’s going to affect our future for the remainder of our lives.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IpfUc5">
|
||
At a sold-out conference of over 1,000 people on Valentine’s Day in San Francisco that was hosted by Jasper, a startup that uses generative AI to create marketing copy, the atmosphere was charged with optimism and excitement. Attendees largely ignored the stunning waterfront views of the Bay Bridge as they stared at the stage, listening intently to executives speak from some of the top generative startups like OpenAI, Stability AI, and Anthropic.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YyOlKC">
|
||
“I think this is going to rewrite civilization,” said Nat Friedman, the former GitHub CEO turned investor, sitting cross-legged onstage for an interview. “Buckle up.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0Yj4gX">
|
||
Friedman was one of many speakers that day who were adamant that recent advancements in AI are revolutionary, even if they weren’t perfect yet.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-right">
|
||
<aside id="Y5ESre">
|
||
<q>“I think this is going to rewrite civilization. Buckle up.” —Nat Friedman, former GitHub CEO</q>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LzY8oG">
|
||
Many of the founders I’ve been talking with at these generative AI events have promising ideas, like a platform for architects to generate designs based on written descriptions of the style of building they want to build, or an app that generates a daily email of all the top social media posts you want to read based on your interests. But most of their startups are still extremely early-stage, with either just an idea, or a rough demo, to show.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="W3HSma">
|
||
So far, one of the more developed use cases for generative AI is for creating marketing and other media content. Jasper is one of the biggest examples of that. The two-year-old company creates marketing copy like blog posts, sales emails, SEO keywords, and ads using AI. In 2021, the company said it made <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/18/ai-content-platform-jasper-raises-125m-at-a-1-7b-valuation/">$35 million in revenue</a>, and as of December, had close to <a href="https://www.streetinsider.com/PRNewswire/Jasper+Achieves+Unprecedented+Growth+in+2022+with+~100%2C000+Customers+and+Over+100%25+Increase+in+ARR/20941596.html?classic=1">100,000 paying customers</a>, including brands like Airbnb, IBM, and Harper Collins. In November, the company <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/18/ai-content-platform-jasper-raises-125m-at-a-1-7b-valuation/">raised $125 million in funding</a> at a $1.5 billion valuation. Jasper did not disclose its costs to Recode — so we don’t know if it’s making a profit.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zdcM4A">
|
||
Some media companies like <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/we-quiz-buzzfeeds-ceo-about-ai/id1080467174?i=1000599631598">BuzzFeed have also started using OpenAI</a> to create personality quizzes and help staffers brainstorm. And open source generative AI firm Stability AI says it has paying clients in the film industry who use its software to autogenerate images.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mjEFrS">
|
||
But the bigger promise of generative AI is that it will change our world beyond writing ads. The tech’s biggest proponents hope it will transform fields like medicine and law by diagnosing disease or arguing cases in court better than humans can. Leading academic experts caution we’re very far from that, and some question if we’ll ever get there.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fTDK6j">
|
||
“I’m not convinced that some of the really fundamental problems with these [AI] systems, like their inability to tell if something is true or false … I’m not sure that those things are going to be so easy to fix,” said Santa Fe Institute professor Melanie Mitchell, who specializes in AI and cognitive science. “I think these problems are going to turn out to be harder than some people think.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ACuZAw">
|
||
Some regulators also have their doubts. The FTC recently <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/02/keep-your-ai-claims-check">published a blog post</a> warning tech companies to “keep your AI claims in check,” and “not to overpromise what your algorithm or AI-based tool can deliver.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ri5OHh">
|
||
“If you think you can get away with baseless claims that your product is AI-enabled, think again,” the post stated, echoing a critique of <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/5/18251326/ai-startups-europe-fake-40-percent-mmc-report">recent AI buzz</a> that many companies are simply tacking “AI” onto whatever they’re doing just to capitalize on the hype.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MFvNuc">
|
||
AI hype has existed for a while. In 2019, a VC firm’s <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/5/18251326/ai-startups-europe-fake-40-percent-mmc-report">study found</a> that 40 percent of European “AI startups” didn’t really use AI in their main businesses. Now, with the recent fanfare around generative AI in particular, some critics worry the AI buzz is mostly hype. It doesn’t help that some attempts by major companies to integrate AI have backfired, like Microsoft’s Bing AI chatbot <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/15/23599072/microsoft-ai-bing-personality-conversations-spy-employees-webcams">giving unhinged responses</a> to people, or tech publication CNET’s botched attempt to automate financial columns that ended up <a href="https://futurism.com/cnet-ai-plagiarism">widely plagiarizing</a> other people’s work and publishing misinformation.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p9i1r9">
|
||
I asked the venture capitalist James Currier whether he thought there was a risk in overhyping generative AI.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HDMQIX">
|
||
“I think this is the sort of cultural issue that people have with Silicon Valley, which is that we like drinking the Kool Aid,” he told me. “We <em>should </em>be drinking the Kool Aid and getting excited about stuff, and thinking hard about what we can create. Because at this point, the technology is just waiting for us to catch up to it.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="cTVMez">
|
||
The limitations and dangers of generative AI
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8mnWCo">
|
||
For all its potential, generative AI also has major limitations and poses serious risks. I would put those risks in three categories: making factual errors, promoting offensive content, and taking over human beings’ livelihood or autonomy. Now that major tech firms Google and Microsoft are in a race to beat each other at this technology, we’re seeing this tech rolled out to the masses while it still has problems.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="reeRpi">
|
||
To the first point, generative AI can get the facts wrong. A lot. Upon release, Microsoft’s version of ChatGPT, BingGPT — equipped with a freshly updated index of the entire internet — couldn’t tell you when the new <em>Avatar</em> movie would be playing near you (it recently insisted that <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/world/ai-asks-user-to-apologise-after-argument-over-avatar-2-show-timings-says-they-are-not-good-12173542.html"><em>Avatar 2</em> was not yet in theaters</a>). And Google’s demo of its to-be-released chatbot, Bard, gave an <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/8/23590864/google-ai-chatbot-bard-mistake-error-exoplanet-demo">incorrect answer</a> about who invented the first telescope.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E2sLw1">
|
||
“These systems are extremely good at some things, but they often will make these weird, very un-human-like errors and really show that they are not thinking the way that humans think,” said Mitchell.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o0Uphb">
|
||
For the past several years, it was hard to gauge just how advanced generative AI was because much of its development was done in private. Google — which employs some of the world’s leading AI scientists — was long considered the industry leader in the field. But aside from research papers and some behind-the-scenes work, the public couldn’t really see Google’s generative AI capabilities.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="48Z2a5">
|
||
Everything changed when OpenAI partnered with Microsoft to fast-track its own latest generative AI technology, ChatGPT, to the masses. Fanning the flames, <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2023/1/26/23571710/microsoft-open-ai-chatgpt-google">Microsoft plugged into the underlying ChatGPT</a> technology to build its own standalone “BingGPT” chatbot, challenging Google’s dominance in search and setting off a technological arms race.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T6V54k">
|
||
“I hope that with our innovation, [Google] will definitely want to come out and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23589994/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-bing-chatgpt-google-search-ai">show that they can dance,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella</a> told The Verge last month. “And I want people to know that we made them dance, and I think that’ll be a great day.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="j3L6BK">
|
||
Google, under immense pressure to show its own generative AI capabilities, announced it will <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2023/2/6/23588308/google-bard-chatbot-chatgpt-ai-testing-public">be releasing its own AI chatbot, Bard</a>, in the coming weeks. The company says it has taken longer than some of its competitors to release generative AI technology publicly because it wants to make sure it’s doing so responsibly.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RJfCl3">
|
||
“The strategy we’ve chosen is to move relatively slowly in the space of a release in these models,” Douglas Eck, Google director of research on its AI-focused Brain team, recently told Recode. “I think history will tell if we’re doing the right thing.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bnPIEY">
|
||
Google’s caution until this point is for good reason: If left unchecked, generative AI can do worse than just getting the facts wrong. The AI can reflect racist and sexist biases from the data it’s trained on, as seen with the image-generation app Lensa <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/lensa-artificial-intelligence-csem/">sexualizing its female avatars</a>. On a macro level, it can create economic instability by replacing jobs at an unpredictable scale.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="677kwG">
|
||
AI can also be intentionally misused. One recent example: A reporter used an audio generative AI tool to<a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7axa/how-i-broke-into-a-bank-account-with-an-ai-generated-voice"> create a fake recording of his own voice,</a> then called his bank and successfully hacked into his account using the recording. Another: Microsoft’s AI chatbot left New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/technology/bing-chatbot-microsoft-chatgpt.html">reporter Kevin Roose “deeply unsettled</a>” when, during the course of a lengthy philosophical conversation, the chatbot told Roose it wanted to be alive, professed its love for the reporter, and encouraged him to leave his wife.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rDYv29">
|
||
The worry is that AI could be used to manipulate people’s emotions and sense of reality, whether that’s on purpose (like a scammer using AI to impersonate someone else) or through unintended behavior from the AI itself (such as in the case of BingGPT going “unhinged” with its emotionally loaded responses).
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vcndDJ">
|
||
Going 10 steps further: Some of generative AI’s most ardent proponents also worry it can one day outsmart humans, posing an existential threat to humanity. OpenAI, which originally began as a nonprofit, was created in large part because of a fear of what’s called “AGI” — <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-artificial-general-intelligence/">artificial general intelligence</a> — which is the idea that AI will reach a general intelligence level that matches or surpasses human abilities.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DtxkRm">
|
||
When Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, was asked at a recent tech event about the best and worst case scenario for AI, he said that the “the bad case — and I think this is important to say — is, like, lights out for all of us.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uTRKjA">
|
||
Many preeminent scientists are still debating this idea.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d7wBKO">
|
||
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race,” <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30290540">Stephen Hawking told the BBC in 2018</a>. It’s an idea that may seem far-fetched but, as my colleague <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23447596/artificial-intelligence-agi-openai-gpt3-existential-risk-human-extinction">Kelsey Piper wrote</a>, is increasingly plausible to the people who are actually building this technology.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q2Zr5N">
|
||
“Since the beginning of AI, people have kind of fantasized about, ‘Will we have these robots that are like the ones in the movies that can really do everything a human can do and even more?’” said Mitchell. “But we don’t have a set of criteria that we can say, ‘Well, it’s achieved these 10 things, and we know it’s fully intelligent.’”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FfxVAH">
|
||
Although we might be far from the world of killer AI robots seeking revenge over their human overlords, the fact that creators of generative AI worry about its misuse is another reason we should take it seriously.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-right">
|
||
<aside id="967M3g">
|
||
<q>“Will we have these robots that are like the ones in the movies that can really do everything a human can do and even more?” —Melanie Mitchell, professor at the Santa Fe Institute</q>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lkWy15">
|
||
The major tech players in generative AI — big tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Meta, as well as OpenAI — also have internal policies and teams weighing the harms of these products. But critics say that tech companies’ business interests can go against its ethical ones. Google <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22465301/google-ethical-ai-timnit-gebru-research-alex-hanna-jeff-dean-marian-croak">shook up its ethical AI team</a> in early 2021 after two of its leaders, Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell, said they were pushed out <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/12/4/22153786/google-timnit-gebru-ethical-ai-jeff-dean-controversy-fired">over concerns that the company was censoring</a> their critique of bias in large-language models.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DBbuoW">
|
||
Many — including some tech companies themselves — have called for outside regulators to step in with guardrails. While government has historically been slow to catch up to developing areas of technology, some states and cities have already passed legislation limiting certain kinds of AI, like <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/7/18/20698307/facial-recognition-technology-us-government-fight-for-the-future">facial recognition</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/12/10/20996085/ai-facial-recognition-police-law-enforcement-regulation">policing algorithms</a>. We might start seeing the same kind of patchwork regulation around generative AI.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RUUudf">
|
||
In many ways, this new form of AI is easier to understand than other recent tech trends, like blockchain or the metaverse — which are very conceptual — because it’s tangible. You don’t need a $400 VR headset or a crypto wallet to see what generative AI can do. All you need is to load up a ChatGPT screen or type in some words that spit out art like DALL-E.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K2wwNJ">
|
||
For better or worse, generative AI has major potential to reshape our concept of creativity, and the proof is in the products. Which is why I can say that it will probably be more than just a trend. If you don’t want to take my word for it, try it out yourself.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>El Salvador’s massive new prison and the strongman behind it, explained</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="Shirtless inmates with tattoos, photographed from above. Extremely crowded conditions with bodies pressed against each other. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qgrfxjeYyCDuyX1QT99QIVyQJ90=/374x0:6347x4480/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72040862/1247488065.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Suspected gang members arrive at the new prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on February 25, 2023. | Press Secretary Of The Presidency Of El Salvador/ Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
President Nayib Bukele promised to end gang violence. It may come at the expense of human and civil rights.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4FINg4">
|
||
El Salvador’s autocratic President <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/09/12/the-rise-of-nayib-bukele-el-salvadors-authoritarian-president">Nayib Bukele</a> brought the first 2,000 prisoners into the country’s new high-volume prison, built ostensibly to house members of gangs, including MS-13 and two factions of Barrio 18, that have terrorized the Central American nation. The prison, officially called the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT), has reignited serious concerns about Bukele’s government, including possible human rights violations and subversion of democratic institutions.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cYhyvv">
|
||
El Salvador has long struggled to contain the brutal gang violence that has dominated daily life for many of its people for decades; extortion, kidnapping, murder, smuggling, and other brutalities have persisted, to some degree, <a href="https://insightcrime.org/el-salvador-organized-crime-news/el-salvador/#History">since the late 1990s </a>due to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/El-Salvador/The-postconflict-era">social, economic, and political instability</a> left by the civil war, which ended in 1992. Successive presidential administrations have taken different approaches — many have adopted the <em>mano dura</em>, or “iron hand” tack, instituting harsh crackdowns to mitigate the violence. But Bukele is on an entirely different level; his administration has imprisoned tens of thousands, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/12/07/we-can-arrest-anyone-we-want/widespread-human-rights-violations-under-el">many arbitrarily</a>, repeatedly extended a <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/02/el-salvador-evidence-serious-abuse-state-emergency">state of emergency</a> severely curtailing the rights of ordinary citizens, and attacked and even detained his critics in the press.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7EVcAc">
|
||
Bukele showed off the prison with <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1629165213600849920">a slickly produced, if dystopian, video</a> on his Twitter feed. Each cell is to hold <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-crime-caribbean-nayib-bukele-el-salvador-7bcd686097e9e22a0fbf0e3abe2e3e13">100 prisoners</a>, with only <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/2/27/photos-inside-el-salvadors-new-mega-prison-for-gangster">two sinks and two toilets</a> for the group — due to the militarized police force and remote location of the prison, it’s a situation that could become combustible when the facility reaches its <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1550300348073607168">capacity of 40,000 inmates</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JFTCvR">
|
||
What’s more, Bukele’s tough tactics appear to be popular with Salvadorans overwhelmed by years of living under the brutal rule of gang violence. Using <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/">underhanded media tactics</a>, Bukele manipulates the fear of the populace and the violence it’s endured to consolidate his grip on power, while all but eliminating transparency surrounding his security strategy and alleged cooperation with gang members.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="97beot">
|
||
Bukele offers security after decades of conflict and violence
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0jVFdP">
|
||
Bukele is not the first Salvadoran president to institute hard-line anti-violence policies, but he is perhaps the most aggressive. Under Bukele’s rule around 65,000 people have been incarcerated for gang activity, Noah Bullock, the executive director of Cristosal, a human rights organization focused on Latin America, told Vox in an interview. Those arrests have come during a state of emergency, or state of exception, that Bukele declared last March after MS-13 and two different factions of Barrio 18 <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/gang-murder-rampage-sends-shockwaves-through-el-salvador-government/">murdered 87 people in the span of 72 hours. </a>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i17G2T">
|
||
“During the last 20 years, in different moments, El Salvador has been the most violent country in the world,” Bullock told Vox in an interview. “The presence of organized criminal groups in communities has impacted people’s lives almost totally, absolutely, and created conditions of violence, levels of violence, that compare to armed conflict.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wzpaC3">
|
||
The gang violence follows <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/El-Salvador/Civil-war">a brutal civil war,</a> which lasted from 1979 to 1992 and killed around 75,000 people, as well as decades of military dictatorship. The civil war forced between 20 and 25 percent of the Salvadoran population to flee — many to the US, where <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mara-Salvatrucha">MS-13</a> was born in the 1980s. Some members of MS-13 and <a href="https://insightcrime.org/el-salvador-organized-crime-news/barrio-18-profile/">Barrio 18</a>, which like MS-13 began in the Los Angeles area, were deported back to El Salvador, where they could operate with relative impunity, even from prison. And with weapons left over from the war, <a href="https://insightcrime.org/el-salvador-organized-crime-news/el-salvador/#Criminal%20Groups">gang members on the street </a>could engage in extortion, kidnapping, and murder, as well as make money through the illicit drug and human trafficking trades.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8Y4ZvL">
|
||
“People never experienced the freedoms promised by liberal democracy,” Bullock said. “They never experienced what rule of law meant.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4dUf7u">
|
||
It’s now widely understood that the Bukele government has been negotiating with gangs — which in itself isn’t a bad thing, as <a href="https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence">José Miguel Cruz</a>, an expert on Latin American gangs at Florida International University, told the United States Institute for Peace’s Mary Speck in October.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ozbiQu">
|
||
According to Cruz, the problem with <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0519">Bukele’s negotiations</a> is that they don’t actually work to dismantle the gangs and incorporate the members into society — they just put low-level actors in prison where they can reorganize. “They also did it clandestinely, so you don’t know what arrangements were made,” he said, speaking to the lack of transparency around Bukele’s entire security strategy, called the Territorial Control Plan.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g0xwZU">
|
||
While the mass incarceration has coincided with a significant drop in violent crime and homicides, there’s evidence, particularly through <a href="https://elfaro.net/en/202108/el_salvador/25670/Criminal-Investigation-Found-the-Bukele-Administration-Hid-Evidence-of-Negotiations-with-Gangs.htm">the reporting</a> of <a href="https://gijn.org/member/el-faro-el-salvador/">El Faro</a><em>, </em>an investigative digital outlet, that the spikes and drops in violence are the results of negotiations with the gangs, rather than the success of Bukele’s Territorial Control Plan, which has never been made public in full. “Nobody’s ever been able to look at it, we can’t monitor its implementation, we can’t verify its results,” Bullock said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="z1nKg9">
|
||
Human rights and democracy get in the way of security
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GpGh1Q">
|
||
Over the past year under the state of exception — which has been extended many times and<strong> </strong>suspends basic rights like the freedom to assemble<strong> </strong>and makes it easier to arrest people — the prison population has doubled, hence the need for the massive new prison. On Bukele’s watch, El Salvador has claimed<strong> </strong>the highest rate of incarceration in the world — around 2 percent of its adult population, according to<a href="https://icg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2022-10/096-el-salvadors-prison-fever.pdf"> a report by the International Crisis Group</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aSevHi">
|
||
El Salvador’s prisons are already notoriously violent and under-resourced; previous crackdowns and mass arrests have given gang members the chance to reorganize and recruit new members. Before the crackdown, prisons were already operating at 120 percent of their capacity, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-crime-caribbean-nayib-bukele-el-salvador-7bcd686097e9e22a0fbf0e3abe2e3e13">Associated Press</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="01KNY5">
|
||
“In the prisons themselves during the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-el-salvador-violence-idUKKCN0WX08T">Sánchez Cerén administration</a> they began to declare states of emergency, in which prisoners were locked down 24 hours a day, denied access to lawyers, healthcare, weren’t able to participate in the trials against them — basically spent four or five years in lockdown in prison cells,” Bullock told Vox. “And that becomes a new norm, that is aggravated by the numbers of people incarcerated, the overcrowding in prisons which in El Salvador has been one of the most overcrowded in the world.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fVJVO7">
|
||
Bukele has bragged that detainees in the new prison will live at the facility for decades and will be isolated from the outside world. But prisoners in El Salvador rely on their families for support, even for basic items like food and underwear, as Jonathan Blitzer explained in <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/09/12/the-rise-of-nayib-bukele-el-salvadors-authoritarian-president">the New Yorker last year</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8P6dWj">
|
||
The new prison will be a harsh, punitive structure, with little opportunity for growth or reform, as Rev. Andreu Oliva, rector of the Central American University in San Salvador, told the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-crime-caribbean-nayib-bukele-el-salvador-7bcd686097e9e22a0fbf0e3abe2e3e13">Associated Press</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="orXlNh">
|
||
“It shook me to see punishment cells where the people are going to be in total darkness, total isolation, sleeping on a concrete slab,” he said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aHOcfj">
|
||
“In the state of exception that was put into place last year, there’s been a series of new norms that have been generated,” Bullock told Vox. “Effectively, the state of exception has transformed the criminal justice system entirely,” essentially negating the possibility of fair trials.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Rcy9df">
|
||
For one thing, there simply aren’t enough public defenders assigned to the thousands of people in pretrial detention, Bullock said. But the bigger problem, according to Bertha María Deleón, an attorney from El Salvador, is the justice system itself.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2GzSNx">
|
||
“Bukele also controls the Attorney General’s Office, the institution in charge of public criminal defense,” she told Vox. “What’s more, the attorney general says that there are no cases of arbitrary detentions. The human rights attorney does not do her job either.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dlCK5o">
|
||
According to Deleón, prisoners must wait in detention, “in overcrowded and subhuman conditions” as their criminal trial plays out, for as long as three years. “Many have died,” she told Vox, “and they do not allow an autopsy.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OM01CN">
|
||
There is muted opposition to the crackdown, mostly from the families — particularly mothers — of people arbitrarily swept up in the mass arrests, Bullock said. “In some cases, those groups have begun to organize,” presenting over 4,000 habeas corpus claims to El Salvador’s Supreme Court over the past year.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E19THr">
|
||
Under Bukele’s rule, people might not have to worry that much about gang violence and extortion, but that doesn’t mean they live without fear. Bullock recounted a conversation with a Salvadoran friend, a taxi driver in the outskirts of the capital, about life under the state of exception.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GlZgeW">
|
||
“He said, ‘It’s great, I don’t have to pay extortion, I don’t worry about the gangs.’ I said to him, ‘Do you worry about getting detained?’ He said, ‘Every day.’”
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Axlrod and It’s My Time impress</strong> -</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Southern Force and Measure Of Time work well</strong> -</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Smith to lead Australia in fourth Test as Cummins stays home to be with his unwell mother</strong> - Nathan Ellis has replaced injured Jhye Richardson in the Australia squad for ODIs</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Border-Gavaskar trophy | Don’t believe in the hype around pitches in India: Kasprowicz</strong> - Most of the experts, including former Australian captain Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh, too have been critical of the pitches, especially the Indore track.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Djokovic withdraws after failed bid to play Indian Wells</strong> - With Djokovic out, Nikoloz Basilashvili moved into the Indian Wells draw.</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ahead of polls, Mysuru DC holds meeting with Wayanad officials</strong> - Seeks support from the border district in Kerala towards trict enforcement of model code of conduct which will come into effect once the elections to the State assembly are announced</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CFTRI scholar wins ‘AWSAR’ prize</strong> -</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sanjay Raut compares ED and CBI with al-Qaeda and Taliban</strong> - The way the Central Government is ‘terrorising’ its opponents with ED and CBI raids is “more than fascism and not democratic”, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said on Monday</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>PM must seriously look into concerns of opposition leaders on misuse of Central agencies: Sharad Pawar</strong> - NCP chief says he sensed ‘a desire for political change’ among the people of Maharashtra as he toured the State</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Maharashtra’s Nashik witnesses unseasonal rainfall, crops damaged</strong> - The sky remained cloudy the entire day, while strong winds started blowing in the evening, leading to disruption in the power supply in the area</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Russia’s Wagner boss suggests ‘betrayal’ in Bakhmut battle</strong> - “What if they [the Russian authorities] want to set us up?” the Russian mercenary boss asks.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Turkey earthquake: Survivors living in fear on streets</strong> - Train carriages, volleyball courts and public roads - families now find shelter wherever they can.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Greek train crash: PM Mitsotakis seeks forgiveness from families</strong> - His plea comes as protesters angry over the deadly disaster clash with police in the capital Athens.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Russian reservists fighting with shovels - UK defence ministry</strong> - Troops are likely engaging in hand-to-hand combat in Ukraine, Britain’s defence ministry says.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Toblerone: Swiss rules mean chocolate bar to drop Matterhorn from packaging</strong> - Production of some of the chocolate is moving outside Switzerland so the Alpine peak can no longer be used.</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The gold rush for the next round of military launch contracts has started</strong> - Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about military launch procurement. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1920109">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>HBO’s The Last of Us episode 8 ruins one of the game’s best villains</strong> - Joel and Ellie barrel through a grisly speedbump on the way to the finale. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1921436">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>As Kenya’s crops fail, a fight over GMOs rages</strong> - Faced with extreme drought, Kenya’s president okayed a controversial new crop. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1921888">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The sketchy plan to build a Russian Android phone</strong> - A Russian tech giant plans to launch new Android phones and tablets. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1921838">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Do masks work? It’s a question of physics, biology, and behavior</strong> - A recent review from a prominent scientific source has reignited the debate over masks. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1921845">link</a></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I accidentally said “Gazuntite” after my crush sneezed.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Now she’s staring at the bushes wondering who said that.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/-WontLoversRevoltNow"> /u/-WontLoversRevoltNow </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11jkw87/i_accidentally_said_gazuntite_after_my_crush/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11jkw87/i_accidentally_said_gazuntite_after_my_crush/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I stabbed a vampire, beat zombies to death and killed devil itself…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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my wife rushes through the room and shouts, “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO GIVE THEM CANDIES, FRANK”
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Mo_Jack"> /u/Mo_Jack </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11jo32y/i_stabbed_a_vampire_beat_zombies_to_death_and/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11jo32y/i_stabbed_a_vampire_beat_zombies_to_death_and/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I got to a party and the host said, “Make yourself at home”, so I got comfortable.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Turns out English was not his first language, and he was asking me to leave.
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/porichoygupto"> /u/porichoygupto </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11iwobg/i_got_to_a_party_and_the_host_said_make_yourself/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11iwobg/i_got_to_a_party_and_the_host_said_make_yourself/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What do you call a fake Sudanese person?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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… a <em>pseudonese</em>
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/lone_wolf1991"> /u/lone_wolf1991 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11j1gsf/what_do_you_call_a_fake_sudanese_person/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11j1gsf/what_do_you_call_a_fake_sudanese_person/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>My wife says she’s leaving me because of my unhealthy obsession with poker.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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I think she’s bluffing.
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/HiddenOutsideTheBox"> /u/HiddenOutsideTheBox </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11j981f/my_wife_says_shes_leaving_me_because_of_my/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11j981f/my_wife_says_shes_leaving_me_because_of_my/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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||
</ul>
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