ChatGPT and the news: perfect together

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First, the story that triggered this post; then we get to the fun part

Ethiopian Migrant Executes Three, Tells Court He Was Treated Unfairly Because He’s Black

A migrant from Ethiopia shot and killed, execution-style, three staffers at the apartment complex where he lived in Minnesota over a dispute over canceling his parking pass. The New York Post reports that Tsegaab Binessu, 30, told interrogators that he "hated the American system," and court documents stated that he believed "he was treated unfairly because he is black and an immigrant."

That’s horrific, but look at how our mass media ignored it, and then what happened when I tried to verify this X’ers claim:

First, I inquired of Google, and found plenty of references to the story reported by various news outlets, but no results for any of the organizations listed in the X post. Rather than conduct an individual search of each of them, I tried to turn the matter over to ChatGPT. Here’s what happened:

Q: a post on X, referring to a Monday July 20 2026 "incident" where an individual murdered three people was not reported in by the following news agencies: 3 people were just executed in St. Paul, MN by Tsegaab Binessu. Is that true? 0 AP stories about the executions 0 PBS stories about the executions 0 NYT stories about the executions 0 NPR stories about the executions 0 WSJ stories about the executions 0 BBC stories about the executions

(First) Chat answer:

Based on the information I could verify, the claim is not established as true.

Here's why:

  • I could not verify that an incident matching the description ("three people were just executed in St. Paul, MN by Tsegaab Binessu" on July 20, 2026) occurred from reliable public reporting. My search did not locate wire reports or other authoritative coverage identifying such an event or suspect.

  • Because I could not first confirm the underlying event from reliable sources, I also cannot conclude that the Associated Press, PBS, The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, or the BBC all failed to cover it.

  • Claims on social media that list "0 AP stories," "0 NYT stories," etc., are often based on limited searches, specific time windows, or no evidence at all. To substantiate such a claim, you'd need to:

    1. Confirm the incident occurred as described.

    2. Search each outlet's archive over a defined time period.

    3. Account for the possibility that an outlet relied on AP coverage, local reporting, or published the story later.

So the most accurate assessment is:

  • The claim is not verified.

  • I could not confirm either the reported triple homicide or the assertion that all six news organizations ignored it.

If you're trying to fact-check a specific X post, I can also help trace where the name "Tsegaab Binessu" originated and determine whether the post is referring to a real case, a misidentified suspect, or a fabricated claim.

So I tried again:

Q:

Well, here's what Google turned up: Disgruntled tenant 'executed' 3 leasing office workers over ... WSMV https://www.wsmv.com › 2026/07/22 › disgruntled-ten... 16 hours ago — The suspect allegedly confessed to his roommate, saying he “argued with apartment management and ended up killing three people.” Suspect charged with killing three people in St. Paul ... MPR News https://www.mprnews.org › story › 2026/07/21 › suspe... 23 hours ago — The charges state the shooting was captured on surveillance video and claim that Tsegaab Ademassu Binessu also confessed to his roommate. Missing: CNN ‎| Show results with: CNN PURE EVIL AT WORK Tsegaab Binessu wanted to cancel his ... Facebook https://www.facebook.com › groups › posts OCR: Save America Tsegaab Binessu 30 from Ethiopia has killed three of his leasing agents over a garage rental. He blames the "American system" for not ... St. Paul triple homicide charges: Suspect 'executed' victims ... FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul https://www.fox9.com › News › Crime and Public Safety 24 hours ago — A man has been charged after authorities say he "executed" three property managers at his apartment building over a dispute about a $65 ... Triple homicide suspect arrested in Virginia after St. Paul ... WDIO News https://www.wdio.com › top-stories › triple-homicide-s... 24 hours ago — A suspect who police believe shot and killed three people at a St. Paul apartment building was arrested Monday night after he fled to the ...Read more Disgruntled tenant 'executed' 3 leasing office workers over ... WEAU https://www.weau.com › 2026/07/22 › disgruntled-tena... 16 hours ago — (WCCO) - A disgruntled tenant is accused of killing three workers in his Minnesota apartment complex's leasing office over a parking garage ...Read more Disgruntled tenant 'executed' 3 leasing office workers over ... WBAY https://www.wbay.com › 2026/07/22 › disgruntled-tena... 16 hours ago — (WCCO) - A disgruntled tenant is accused of killing three workers in his Minnesota apartment complex's leasing office over a parking garage ...Read more Tenant accused of executing 3 people inside leasing office ... WKRC https://local12.com › news › nation-world › tsegaab-bin... 15 hours ago — Three Davern Park Apartments employees were fatally shot inside the leasing office before police arrested the suspect. St. Paul triple homicide charges: Suspect 'executed' victims ... Yahoo https://www.yahoo.com › news › articles › st-paul-triple... 24 hours ago — A man has been charged after authorities say he "executed" three property managers at his apartment building over a dispute about a $65 ... Disgruntled apartment tenant executed 3 over parking ... Channel 3000 https://www.channel3000.com › national-and-world-news

Chat - oh!

Thanks—that changes the picture.

Your Google results show that the underlying event is real. It was reported by local and regional outlets beginning July 21, and by July 22 it had been picked up by a number of television affiliates and national-oriented news sites. The suspect, Tsegaab Ademassu Binessu, was charged with three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the killings at the Davern Park Apartments leasing office in St. Paul.

The narrower claim in the X post, however, is that AP, PBS, NYT, NPR, WSJ, BBC had zero stories. That's a different question.

Based on what I can verify:

  • AP: I could not find an AP story as of the time I checked.

  • PBS: I could not find a PBS News story.

  • The New York Times: I could not find a NYT story.

  • NPR: I could not find an NPR story. (Minnesota Public Radio, MPR News, is not the same organization as NPR, even though it is an NPR member station.)

  • Wall Street Journal: I could not find a WSJ story.

  • BBC: I could not find a BBC story.

And it continues to defend its wrong answer:

That said, there are two important caveats:

  1. Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence. Search indexes are imperfect, and outlets sometimes publish later, update existing articles, or syndicate wire copy without making it easy to find.

  2. The story was very new. On July 21–22 it had extensive local coverage (MPR News, KSTP, Star Tribune, FOX 9, WCCO/CBS Minnesota) and was being syndicated through television affiliate networks such as CNN Newsource.

So the most accurate characterization would be:

  • ✅ The triple homicide occurred and was widely reported by Minnesota media and television affiliates.

  • ✅ At the time of checking, I could not verify coverage by AP, PBS, NYT, NPR, WSJ, or BBC.

  • ❌ But stating categorically that those outlets had "0 stories" requires a comprehensive archive search at a specific point in time, which is stronger than what ordinary web searches can establish.

“The X post is therefore correct about the existence of the crime, but its media-coverage claim should be treated as "not verified" rather than established fact unless someone has systematically searched each outlet's archive as of a defined timestamp.”

Conclusion: ChatGPT’s no better than Snopes when it researches politically inconvenient stories. In fact, it’s really just Snopes dressed up in glitzy techno-gear.

UPDATE: after mulling it over, I wrote back to the algorithm:

Thinking about it, I'm disturbed at your answer to my first inquiry. I try very hard to verify claims and posts I see on the Internet before republishing on my own blog, and I've been relying on ChatGPT for much of that verification. I initially did a quick search using Google, came up with literally dozens of news stories on the incident, then used CNN's own search feature and found no reference to the story. Rather than conduct a laborious, individual search of each of the remaining news organizations mentioned in the post I was attempting to verify, I turned the task over to you, and got a garbage, wrong answer. Only when I provided you with what Google found in a second did you come up with a more accurate answer but even then you attempted to defend your first answer with lame excuses like, of it happened so recently — the murders occurred Monday, this is now Wednesday evening. What happened, and how should I frame my questions to you to get better ansers?

You’re right to be disturbed. My first answer was bad, and the problem was not the way you asked. Your question was sufficiently clear for me to investigate properly.

What went wrong

I made several serious verification errors:

  1. I failed to establish the basic event before assessing coverage.
    A competent search should have tried the suspect’s full and shortened names, the location, “St. Paul triple homicide,” “Davern Park Apartments,” “leasing office,” and the dates July 20–22. Your ordinary Google search immediately demonstrated that the event was extensively reported.

  2. I treated my failure to find something as evidence that it might not exist.
    “I did not locate it” is not the same as “the event could not be verified.” I should have widened the search before drawing any conclusion.

  3. I cited an irrelevant source.
    The YouTube citation in my first response did not substantiate the claims I made. That alone should have made the answer unacceptable as a fact-check.

  4. I did not perform the task you actually assigned.
    You wanted the six named organizations checked. I should have searched each outlet separately—using site-restricted searches, outlet search pages where accessible, alternate spellings, and broader event descriptions—and reported the results outlet by outlet.

  5. My second answer was too defensive.
    Saying the story was “very new” did not excuse the first failure. By Wednesday evening, approximately two days after the killings and after charges and numerous reports, it was plainly possible to verify the event. Recency might explain why some national outlets had not covered it, but it did not explain why I failed to find the many existing reports.

  6. I overstated what I had verified in the corrected answer.
    “I could not find” should have been accompanied by the exact searches performed, the cutoff time, and distinctions such as NPR versus MPR. Without that audit trail, the answer was not strong enough for publication decisions.

Him and 300 million more of us (Updated)

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And it will only get worse; here’s Britain’s latest Prime Minister of the Weak Week:

SUCKING IN THE SEVENTIES: Burnham sets out 1970s vision for Britain.

Andy Burnham has revealed a 1970s-style vision for Britain, saying his appointment as Labour leader was “the most significant change” in politics in the past 40 years.

In a speech on Friday, Mr Burnham said the country had taken “a series of wrong turns in the 1980s”, adding that he wanted “more power to reindustrialise”, and the public ownership of utilities and council houses.

* * * * * * * *

Mr Burnham promised to end the post-Thatcher consensus on privatisation and central government control, arguing that while politicians had called for the public to “take back control… they were the ones who gave it away in the first place”.

He said: “We must recognise that this generation of politicians – myself included – have failed to challenge a political culture and an economic model that simply doesn’t work well enough for ordinary people.

“Four decades of the neoliberalism that began in the 1980s have not been kind to the places that built our party, nor to the communities across the UK in rural and coastal areas. So we pledge today to them to be better.”

Drawing on his experience defending Hillsborough disaster victims, he said political power had been used “viciously against them to protect vested interests”, while “economic power [was] cruelly stripped with the deindustrialisation of the 1980s”.

His pitch was also an implicit rejection of the New Labour years, when Mr Burnham made his early political career in the Cabinets of Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

What could go wrong?

The past may be, as L. P. Hartley wrote, another country, but it’s rarely as foreign as Britain in the 1970s. Viewed from the United Kingdom of 2005, the day before yesterday is a banana republic without the weather. Inflation was up over 25 percent, marginal tax rates were up over 90 percent, and the only thing heading in the other direction was the pound, which nosedived so suddenly in 1976 that the chancellor of the exchequer, en route to an International Monetary Fund meeting, was summoned back from the departure lounge at Heathrow to try to talk his currency back up to sub-basement level. Her Majesty’s government had itself applied for a $4 billion loan from the IMF. Were the Britain of thirty years ago to re-emerge Brigadoon-like from the mists, it would be one of those basket cases that Bono hectors Bush about debt forgiveness for.

Such great Britons as the era could muster—Roger Moore, Michael Caine—had decamped to Switzerland and Beverly Hills. As if to underline the national decline, every flailing industry flew the moth-eaten flag: British Steel, British Coal, British Leyland. They were all owned by the state—even the last, which was the national automobile manufacturer. The government had taken all the famous British car marques—Austin, Morris, Rover, Jaguar, Triumph—and merged them into one. That’s right: the government made your car. Or, rather, a man called Red Robbo did, when he was in the mood, which wasn’t terribly often. He was the local union man at the Leyland plant in Birmingham, though he seemed to spend more time outside the gate, picketing. In Britain union leaders were household names, mainly because they were responsible for everything your household lacked. In the seventies if you opened The Times (when the print unions weren’t on strike) or watched the BBC news (when the miners weren’t on strike and the government hadn’t ordered the TV to close down mid-evening to conserve electricity), it was a parade of eminences from strange, unlovely acronyms such as ASLEF and SOGAT and NATSOPA and NACODS being received by the prime minister as if they were heads of state, which in a sense they were. Britain’s system of government in the seventies was summed up in the phrase “beer and sandwiches at Number Ten”—which meant the union leaders showing up at Downing Street to discuss what it would take to persuade them not to go on strike, and being plied with the aforementioned refreshments by a prime minister reduced to the proprietor of a seedy pub, with the cabinet as his barmaids. The beer and sandwiches went only so far, and would usually be followed a day or two later by chaotic scenes on the evening news of big, burly blokes striking for their right to continue enjoying the soft, pampering workweek of the more effete Ottoman sultans.

UPDATE:

HARD TO BELIEVE THESE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ONCE RULED A QUARTER OF THE GLOBE (Lots of good reading at the InstaPundit link)

Oh, that Glenn Reynolds is such a card

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(Actual, unretouched photo courtesy of FWIW and Grok)

Pending in Old Greenwich

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33 Center Drive, listed at $1.095 million but the 12-day period between listing and pending status suggests it will be going for more. My guess is that the buyer will turn out to be a builder, but the house itself is quite nice, albeit only 1,312 sq. ft., and there’s essentially no back yard; Center Drive is a good street with, in my experience, good neighbors, so I could see a young family bidding up on this to obtain a starter home. I hope that’s the case, just from a selfish desire to keep the town a bit more economically-mixed than current trends seem to be leading, but markets are markets, so ….

Win some, lose some

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Converted via ai to white, and all other pictures removed from the internet, I’ve also used aI to return it to its original yellow, (slightly enhanced in hue).,

4 Cherry Blossom Road, priced at $9.650 million in April, 2024, has sold for $7.2. Built new in 2006 and put on the market at $13.5 million, it eventually sold in 2007 for $10.750 million, was resold in 2016 for $7.1 and those buyers, in turn, sold to these owners for $7.5 million in 2021.

Because socialism/communism is based solely on jealousy, resentment and anger,

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Future corporate titans of America!

(Seen in Ed Morrissey’s HotAir column)

Nate Silver:

The DSA sweet spot: highly educated, downwardly mobile

Education and economic security are usually correlated. But where the relationship breaks down is fertile territory for the new left.

Based on this grid, what is the most Democratic voting group in America? It’s voters with postgraduate degrees but lower-to-middle household incomes of $30K to $60K per year.

This is very much also the sweet spot for the DSA. In the group’s most recent member survey in 2021, 80 percent of members aged 25 or older had bachelor’s degrees, but 45 percent had household incomes below $60,000 per year.

This is unusual, because education and income are usually substantially positively correlated. In the composite CES data, only 19 percent of Americans with bachelor’s degrees or higher had household incomes of $60K or below. The DSA rate is around twice that.4 These voters aren’t necessarily “blue collar” in the sense of working with their hands. But that doesn’t mean they’re privileged. Common occupations among DSA members include teachers, non-profit workers, social workers, and public sector employees. ...

Could this just be some weird composite artifact of race? In the DSA’s 2021 survey, 85 percent of members reported their race as white5, which certainly isn’t representative of the country or the Democratic Party overall. But in the broader CES data, we find that the patterns mostly hold once you disaggregate by race.

Ed: Silver has several takeaways from this data, but the "sweet spot" for socialists appears to be those who went to college, got a useless degree, and now want government to redistribute social goods because they made poor choices. And they want to control that redistribution themselves and make it happen by any means necessary. 

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Bonus Material: Where, besides the usual occupations of turkey plucking and postage stamp licking, can gender studies majors find employment:

Gender studies can help prepare you for a huge variety of careers, including many that let you confront injustice or make a positive impact in other major ways. It could even be a key part of your journey toward becoming a CEO, physician, or judge. So check out the following career examples and learn more about the amazing potential offered by this important but sometimes misunderstood area of study.

Corporate, educational, and social service DEI departments, this site suggests. The problem is, DEI employees working in this area produce nothing, and private employers, having discovered this, are cutting their salaries or letting DEI die entirely, leaving only government-funded jobs as a source of employment.

What can you do with a gender studies degree?

From transvestites pretending to be women, to transgenders “identifying” as women, now they ARE women — the transition is complete

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I am woman, hear me roAR!