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Don’t blame AI for Jim Acosta’s high-profile interview flop

Poynter · Amaris Castillo · last updated

Jim Acosta, former CNN chief White House correspondent, ignited a firestorm Monday after teasing an interview with an artificial intelligence version of a Parkland shooting victim — created by the victim’s family to raise awareness about gun violence.

The move sparked outcry over AI usage, journalistic taste and whether Acosta, six months after leaving CNN and launching a Substack, is trying too hard to stay in the spotlight.

“At 4p ET/1p PT, I’ll have a one of a kind interview with Joaquin Oliver,” Acosta wrote on Bluesky. “He died in the Parkland school shooting. But his parents have created an AI version of their son for a powerful message on gun violence.”

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