Maine’s Senate Race Implodes, Meta’s Threads Rivals Musk’s X, and the Trump Phone Arrives

Today on Uncanny Valley, we unpack the political debacle unfolding in Maine surrounding the campaign of Democratic candidate Graham Platner.

AI companies are spending hundreds of millions on the midterms, and they want one thing
AI companies are spending hundreds of millions on the midterms, and they want one thing

AI companies and their backers are pouring vast sums into the 2026 US midterms through super PACs. The spending runs into the hundreds of millions across the sector, CNBC reports, and their central demand is remarkably consistent. They want a single na…

France plans to triple penalties for AI-driven election disinformation
France plans to triple penalties for AI-driven election disinformation

French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced a bill to sharply increase penalties for spreading false content during elections. He set out the plan in the Senate on 8 July, according to Public Sénat, in response to a question about AI in the c…

ICE agents are making house calls for online critics
ICE agents are making house calls for online critics

A few hours after checking into a hotel in New York City, David Streever woke up to a call from the front desk saying someone was looking for him. Streever had just landed on a return trip from Finland, where he’d vacationed with his daughter. Though Streever didn’t know it yet, while he’d been away, […]

Federal Investigators Say Certain DOGE Records Were Deleted

A government report claims DOGE didn’t access sensitive systems. It also says the agency deleted records that would show if they had.

The $28 Million Mistake That Inspired Estonia’s AI “Fuckup Finder”

A single wording mistake cost the government millions. Now Estonia is using AI to spot legal errors before they become law—and to automate more of the state.

Republicans Gleefully Celebrate Midterms Chaos in Maine

Political operatives in Trumpworld hope that US Senate candidate Graham Platner stays in the race as long as possible.

ABC tells the government to get out of its newsrooms
ABC tells the government to get out of its newsrooms

ABC is firing back at the Federal Communications Commission after the agency opened an investigation into The View’s airtime of political candidates. In a letter to the FCC on Tuesday, ABC argues that the agency’s actions pose a risk to editorial independence by targeting programs “perceived as unfriendly to the current administration,” as reported earlier […]

Infuriating Google commercial imagines the founding fathers embracing AI
Infuriating Google commercial imagines the founding fathers embracing AI

“Group project, but make it 1776.” That’s how a new commercial for Google Workspace opens. And things only get cringier from there. The clip imagines what it would be like if the founding fathers turned to Google’s collaboration tools and Gemini to help them draft the Declaration of Independence. Ben Franklin texts Thomas Jefferson to […]

White House deletes thousands of webpages about energy conservation as heatwave slams US
White House deletes thousands of webpages about energy conservation as heatwave slams US

The US Department of Energy reportedly deleted about 6,000 pages related to energy conservation as a historic heatwave tears across the country. The deletion was suspiciously timed, following Republican outrage over Mayor Zohran Mamdani asking New Yorkers to help reduce strain on the grid by setting their AC to 78 degrees. Republicans like Ted Cruz […]