ATLANTA — Racially charged AI-generated videos are spreading misinformation on social media following the end of SNAP benefits.
Known as “digital blackface,” these videos have surfaced as people began losing their benefits due to the government shutdown.
“It is blinding people in our decision-making capabilities and making the right judgements,” Emory University professor Rajiv Garg told Channel 2’s Audrey Washington. “We tend to believe whatever is on the internet.”
One of the bogus videos shows a Black woman wearing a bonnet and screaming about losing her EBT benefits. Another shows a woman using her benefits card to buy fast food.
“This trope of the welfare mother being associated with Black women has been incorrectly perpetuated for decades now,” said Dr. Adria Welcher, sociology professor at Morehouse College. “What we know is Black women are not the largest representatives of Americans who are receiving SNAP benefits.”
Welcher emphasized the damaging impact of these stereotypes, noting that they further divide populations that need support rather than fostering collaboration.
According to the Pew Research Center, 62 percent of SNAP recipients are White, while 27 percent are Black, and Asian Americans make up just under 4 percent.
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