Happy Friday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,071 words…4 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Melania, Vanity Fair & the AI Cover Chaos, Korea’s Hologram Cops, Rubio Blocks Palestinian Delegation, Kel’s Burger Fest, Thai PM Ousted, Alibaba’s AI Chip … & much more!
🚨 Watch For:
China’s SCO Summit in Tianjin: Aug 31st - Sep 1st
Trump to address the United Nations General Assembly: Sep 23rd
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
🎬Melania, Vanity Fair & the AI Cover Chaos
What started as an internal leak at Vanity Fair (VF), spiraled into a political meme war starring Melania Trump, MAGA influencers, and Gavin Newsom.
The spark: Vanity Fair’s new editorial director, Mark Guiducci, floated the idea of putting Melania Trump on the cover - the First Lady and arguably a very beautiful woman.
Far-left staffers reportedly flipped, with one editor swearing they’d “walk out the motherf***ing door.” Cue headlines about Condé Nast’s internal civil war.
Enter the trolls: Conservative YouTube channel Next News Network decided to seize the opportunity to “troll the left”.
They dropped a deepfake, AI-generated VF cover—Melania in a crown with the tagline “The American Queen” and “Silent Revolution.”
MAGA world (Laura Ingraham, Charlie Kirk, etc.) blasted it out, thinking it was real, with the caption, “Let the meltdown begin.”
The image went viral with thousands of MAGA supporters celebrating it.
Plot twist: It wasn’t real. But by the time the truth dropped, the hoax had already been memed into existence and the prank massively backfired.
Trolling the Troll: California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom jumped in with his own parody VF cover—“American King” and “Vocal Revolution”—mocking both the fake and its believers.
So what about the REAL cover? No word on that front. But the New York Post did run an article the next day, quoting sources saying, the First Lady wasn’t interested.
⚡ Bottom Line: A floated idea turned into staff drama → AI fakery → MAGA hype → governor-level trolling. In today’s media climate, the covers don’t need to exist—just the memes do.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
South Korea’s hologram cops in action.
👻👮 South Korea’s Ghost Cop Patrol
Seoul is testing hologram police—life-sized, glowing blue officers to deter crime; and it’s spooking both criminals and joggers.
A full-size holographic officer, 5'7" tall appears nightly in Jeo-dong 3 Park in central Seoul.
Delivers a pre-recorded warning message every two minutes, then vanishes into thin air.
Since October, crime in the area has dropped 22%, convincing officials to expand the pilot program (although, this could be attributed to people avoiding the “haunted” park altogether.)
Public reactions? Somewhere between Black Mirror and Scooby-Doo. Locals call it a “glowing scarecrow” for crime—effective, if unintentionally “nightmare fuel.”
💡 Bottom line: Seoul accidentally created the world's most effective crime deterrent—existential dread.
🚫🌐Rubio Blocks Palestinian Delegation from UNGA
In a historic first, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied visas to Palestinian Authority (PA) and PLO leaders—including Mahmoud Abbas—for next month’s UN General Assembly.
The reason? Citing U.S. law against the PA’s “pay for slay” policies funding terrorists.
The PA’s UN mission staff can still stay—thanks to the fine print in the HQ agreement. But the big speeches at the UNGA? Cancelled.
💡 The goal: Crush any Palestinian effort to unilaterally declare statehood that could boost Hamas propaganda and derail Gaza ceasefire talks.
⚖️Thailand Ousts Another Shinawatra PM
Thailand’s Constitutional Court booted PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Aug. 29, ruling she breached ethics after a leaked call with ex-Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
In the tape, she criticized a Thai general and sounded conciliatory during a border flare-up—fuel for charges she undermined sovereignty.
Her cabinet dissolved, protests erupted in Bangkok, and Parliament now scrambles for a successor.
She’s the 5th PM toppled by the court since 2006—and the 4th from the Shinawatra clan.
💡 Bottom Line: Democracy in Thailand? Still under “judicial review.”
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
The iconic Nickelodeon duo Keenan and Kel on their “Good Burger” set.
🥤🍔 Kel Mitchell Flips into Burger Fest
Millennial Nickelodeon legend Kel Mitchell—aka Ed from Good Burger—is hosting his first-ever Kel’s Burger Fest on Aug. 30 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The one-day bash at BK Backyard Bar serves up smashburgers and Instagrammable creations from top vendors like Fat Sal’s (California), Oh Boy. (Williamsburg) and Lacey Burger (Bushwick), among others.
The fest doubles as a 90s nostalgia trip: Orange soda chug-offs, retro video games, flea markets, and a even a dance battle!! VIPs even snag burgers + a Kel meet-and-greet.
⚡ Bottom Line: Kel’s pitch: Burgers + nostalgia = pure millennial joy.
👮 Trump Cuts Kamala’s Secret Service Detail
President Trump has yanked Kamala Harris’ extended Secret Service protection, ending it Sept. 1—just as she launches a 15-city 107 Days book tour.
Her protection was initially slated to end July 2025 (official span of 6 months after a new administration takes over.)
Biden had quietly extended her coverage through July 2026; so Trump revoked it, citing “no credible threat.”
Critics call it risky and vindictive, noting Harris’ prominence as a woman-of-color ex-VP in a polarized climate.
💡 Bottom Line: Question remains, should taxpayers fund the ‘extended’ security detail for a government official if there are ‘no credible threats’?
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
🤖 Alibaba’s AI Chip Play
Alibaba just dropped a new AI inference chip—built fully in China—to cut reliance on Nvidia amid U.S. export bans.
Unlike Nvidia’s training GPUs, Alibaba’s chip powers inference (running trained models) across cloud + AI services.
Stock popped 10% on launch.
⚡ Big picture: Beijing’s billions in AI R&D are fueling a homegrown chip race, even as U.S. firms brace for market share hits.
🤖 TikTok Levels Up DMs
TikTok now lets users send voice notes (up to 60 seconds) and share up to 9 images/videos in one-to-one or group chats.
The move pulls TikTok closer to WhatsApp + Instagram, positioning it as more than an entertainment feed.
Safety rules block media in first messages, restrict under-16s, and AI filters screen nudity.
⚡ Big Picture: The rollout supports TikTok’s push to become a social hub, not just a video feed.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
Hell, Norway
Norway’s Hell
There’s a town in Norway called Hell, and yes, it freezes over in winter.
💀 THE ROAST
Because World Leaders Beg To Be Dragged
