Acosta Interview Stirs Debate Online Over Use Of AI
What in the ever-loving name of decency did we just witness? Because if you told me this was a plotline from a dystopian Netflix show, I’d believe it.
Instead, it’s real: Jim Acosta — yes, the former CNN anchor who never met a soapbox he didn’t like — “interviewed” Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 students murdered in the 2018 Parkland shooting. Except Joaquin wasn’t there. Joaquin has been dead for six years. Acosta was speaking with an AI chatbot designed to mimic him.
For his next exclusive Jim Acosta will be interviewing an AI version of his own career
— [Sic] Burns (@sicburns2.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 5:41 AM
Read that again. Someone thought it was a good idea to create a digital version of a murder victim and then feed it carefully crafted answers about gun control so they could tee up another push for the same political agenda that always emerges from these tragedies. And then Jim just… played along.
Jim Acosta to interview AI Jim Acosta to try to understand what the hell he was thinking.
— Missing The Point (@missingthept.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Here’s how it went:
Acosta, in his serious journalist voice, asked, “I would like to know what your solution would be for gun violence.”
And “AI Joaquin,” programmed by someone with a very obvious point to make, responded: “Great question. I believe in a mix of stronger gun control laws, mental health support, and community engagement. We need to create safe spaces for conversations and connections, making sure everyone feels seen and heard. It's about building a culture of kindness and understanding. What do you think about that?”
Catching up on the day’s news is like intentionally running into traffic. Almost got hit by the “Jim Acosta is talking to dead AI teens!!!” bus before running back onto the sidewalk.
— Diane Ademu-John (@junkyardmessiah.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 8:08 PM
To which Jim replied, without so much as a pause, “I think that’s a great idea, Joaquin.”
That sound you hear? It’s every boundary of ethical journalism being bulldozed at once.
this should be illegal but i am ok if we replace Jim Acosta with an AI version
— Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) (@iwriteok.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Let’s not dance around this: this isn’t reporting. This isn’t even advocacy. This is ghoulish theater. You don’t “interview” the AI simulation of a teenager who was murdered in a school shooting. You don’t puppet a victim’s voice to prop up your politics. It’s unseemly. It’s exploitative. It’s grotesque.
