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There are many ways to honor someone who’s recently passed. Flowers. Murals. Candlelight vigils.
And in today’s age, unfortunately: AI slop.
Weeks after Dolly Parton died, the legendary country singer’s sister, Stella Parton, has begged fans to stop posting “fake AI garbage” as supposed tribute, saying it’s making it hard to move on.
“Sadly, because of the way our lives have been lived in front of the public, we have no choice but to be subjected to incredible pressure and insensitivity from strangers,” Stella wrote in a statement posted to social media. “There is a tremendous amount of AI and endless garbage being posted everyday and it’s been challenging to absorb and or ignore.”
While thanking fans who have showed “genuine support,” Stella rounded out her message by calling for “more compassion” while celebrating Dolly Parton’s life and moving on from her death.
“It’s not about the most clever comments, fake AI garbage, or snarky tweets,” Stella wrote.
Dolly Parton walked this Earth for eighty years, and was a celebrity for nearly sixty of them. Are the people posting uncanny AI images of her really unable to find a real one from all the times she’s been photographed?
None other than US president Donald Trump has been guilty of peddling this “AI garbage.” After Dolly Parton’s death, he generated and posted a characteristically egocentric image of himself with Parton at his side, arm in arm — an insult to how the real Parton tried to stay above partisan politics, while also advocating for gay and trans rights, stances that Trump is staunchly opposed to.
On YouTube, meanwhile, a “heartfelt fan-made tribute by Miley Cyrus” to Dolly Parton is only one of many claiming to be eulogies for the singer from famous pop stars that have gone viral, racking up over 1.5 million views. The word “heartfelt,” though, is being used pretty loosely, since the whole song, as are the others, is AI-generated, as spotted by the BBC.
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