Teaching us a lesson: How to spot fake AI courses online


By Dr. Tim Sandle
February 15, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL


Man using a laptop at a conference. — Image © Tim Sandle

By 2027 nearly 44 percent of workers’ skills are expected to be disrupted, perhaps driving a surge in AI-powered tutors and courses as a go-to solution for upskilling? This of course depends on how AI advances.

While the AI development curve promises accessibility and efficiency, there are also concerns such as bias in AI training, lack of human oversight, and the risk of over-reliance on automation. Each of these could create more problems than they solve.

AI bias refers to biased results due to human biases that skew original training data or AI algorithms.

The company AIPRM has picked over some of the warning signs that the promises outlined by AI courses provide, selecting those that are particularly misleading. Digital Journal reviews the findings.

Fake Certificates & Degrees

Some AI courses misleadingly advertise “official” degrees or certifications that are not recognised by employers or academic institutions. These programs may use flashy titles to appear legitimate but ultimately fail to provide the credentials that will help you advance in your career. The lack of affiliation with reputable universities, well-known platforms like Coursera or edX, or established tech companies should raise significant concerns. Without these endorsements, the value of the certification is often non-existent, and it won’t carry weight in the job market or academic circles.

Be cautious if the course doesn’t have ties to accredited organisations or recognised industry leaders, as this could indicate a lack of credibility or industry recognition.

Premium Prices for Outdated or Shallow Content

Some platforms charge large fees for AI courses that provide outdated, low-quality, or surface-level information. These courses may claim to offer expert-level training but often lack depth and fail to equip students with real-world, applicable skills. You may find similar content for free or at a fraction of the cost elsewhere.

AI-Generated or Repackaged Content

Scammers sometimes offer AI courses that are essentially AI-generated or repackaged free content from other sources. These courses often lack the expertise or personal touch from experienced instructors, leaving students with little more than automated, generic lessons. This approach is designed to cut costs but sacrifices educational value.

Fake Job Placement Guarantees

Some AI courses make bold promises about job placements in the AI field upon completion, yet fail to provide actual job opportunities. These courses might lure you in with the promise of guaranteed employment, but in reality, they often do not have connections to real tech companies or clear pathways to secure a job.

Pay-to-Work Schemes

Certain “AI courses” require students to pay for access to job opportunities that turn out to be little more than unpaid internships or fake job offers. The promise of work placement is used as a tactic to collect upfront fees, but the reality is students are left without a meaningful job or career path.

Unrealistic Claims & Hype

Some AI courses make outlandish promises, such as “No coding required” or “Earn six figures in AI in a few months.” While AI is a lucrative field, these exaggerated claims can often be misleading. AI education requires significant learning and hands-on practice, and there are no shortcuts to becoming an expert.

Christie’s first-ever AI sale angers some artists


By AFP
February 21, 2025


A person looks at AI artwork created by Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst called‘Embedding Study 1 & 2 (from the xhairymutantx series)’

 - Copyright AFP Pedro PARDO

Thomas URBAIN

Christie’s has launched its first-ever sale dedicated to artworks created with artificial intelligence, riding the AI revolution wave — a move by the famed auction house that has sparked anger among some artists.

The sale, titled “Augmented Intelligence,” features about 20 pieces and runs online until March 5.

Christie’s, like its competitor Sotheby’s, has previously offered AI-created items but had never devoted an entire sale to this medium.

“AI has become more prolific in everybody’s daily lives,” said Nicole Sales Giles, Christie’s head of digital art sales.

“More people understand the process and the technology behind AI and so are more readily able to appreciate AI also in creative fields,” she said.

The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 transformed public perceptions of generative artificial intelligence and opened new possibilities for its widespread use.

The market is now crowded with AI models that allow users to generate drawings, animated images or photo-realistic images through simple natural language requests.

The use of algorithms in the art world, it turns out, is almost as old as modern computing itself. Christie’s is offering a work by American artist Charles Csuri (1922-2022) dating from 1966.

As a pioneer of computer art, he distinguished himself by using software to distort one of his hand-drawn sketches.

“All artists in the fine art sense, and particularly the artists that were featured in this auction, use AI to supplement their existing practices,” said Sales Giles.

The collection includes paintings, sculptures, photographs and giant screens displaying entirely digital works.

Among the sale’s highlights is “Emerging Faces” (estimated to sell for up to $250,000) by American artist Pindar Van Arman, a series of nine paintings resulting from a “conversation” between two AI models.

The first model paints a face on canvas while the second stops it when it recognizes a human form.

– ‘Controversy and criticism’ –

The sale has not been welcomed by all, and an online petition calling for its cancellation has gathered more than 6,300 signatures.

Many of the submitted works “were created using AI models that are known to be trained on copyrighted work without a license,” it says.

The petition says the sale contributes to the “mass theft of human artists’ work.”

Several artists filed lawsuits in 2023 against generative AI startups, including popular platforms Midjourney and Stability AI, accusing them of violating intellectual property laws.

Digital art heavyweight Refik Anadol, who is participating in the event with his animated creation “Machine Hallucinations,” defended the sale on X, saying the “majority of the artists in the project (are) specifically pushing and using their own datasets + their own models.”

Petition signatory and illustrator Reid Southern said that at a minimum, pieces should be excluded that don’t use the artist’s own software or data — accounting for perhaps one-third of the sale, he said.

“If these were oil paintings,” he said, and there “was a strong likelihood that many of them were either counterfeit or forgeries or stolen or unethical in some way, I don’t believe it would be ethical for Christie to continue the auction.”

Sales Giles responded: “I’m not a copyright lawyer, so I can’t comment on the legality specifically. But the idea that artists have been looking at prior artists to influence their current work is not new.

“Every new artistic movement generates controversy and criticism,” she added.

“Midjourney is trained on basically the entirety of the internet,” said noted Turkish artist Sarp Kerem Yavuz, who used this software to create “Hayal,” also being auctioned at Christie’s.

“There’s so much information (out there) that you cannot infringe on individual copyright,” he said.

Southern, the illustrator, pushed back.

“That’s essentially arguing that it’s bad to steal from one or two people, but it’s okay to steal from millions of people, right?” he said.

How to build AI as a force for social good?


By Dr. Tim Sandle
February 21, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL


People visit a booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 4, 2024 - Copyright AFP STR

The February 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris has recently wrapped up. This is a global gathering formed of governments, technology CEOs, and civil society leaders, focused on discussing the future of AI.

The Summit considered both progress and missed opportunities. Debates on the role of regulation took centre stage, while AI’s role in consolidating the power of the biggest technology companies lingered in the background. Issues around labour disruption and action beyond financial commitments were also generally avoided.

Nabiha Syed, Executive Director at Mozilla has assessed the most important findings from the summit, which have been reviewed by Digital Journal.

AI for the common good, not just profit

AI often feels like a global race, where economic interests dominate. However, with the Summit public interest AI took centre stage.

Mozilla cite Current AI, a new foundation launched at the Summit to advance AI in the public interest backed by the French government, and ROOST, a private initiative (backed in part by Mozilla) focused on building open tools for online safety and content moderation. These are examples of the more progressive aspects of artificial intelligence.

‘Who’s winning at AI?’

The assessment finds there is a highly-competitive global AI race that is unfolding within a tense geopolitical climate. Here, keeping pace with the U.S. and China represents a big theme. In response, France and the EU are announcing initiatives to mobilize in excess of €100 billion investments in AI.

This led to debates about the need for regulation to safeguard the public and a lighter touh to encourage innovation.

Notably, the U.S. and the UK chose not to sign the official Summit declaration —refusing to put their name to a declaration that emphasized, above everything else, inclusivity and sustainability.

This is just the beginning

The Mozilla report states that now “follow-through is what matters”. This means, according to Syed: “Now, it’s on government and industry leaders to turn words into action – to uphold their commitments to openness, transparency and trustworthiness, and invest in the initiatives launched at the Summit. It’s also on every one of us who cares about trustworthy AI to hold these leaders accountable, and to keep pushing for an AI ecosystem that’s not just innovative, but also fair, transparent, and built for the common good.”

The Summit was more inclusive

Mozilla recommend getting civil society in the room is not enough. On top of this, non-profit organizations, activists, and community leaders need a real seat at the decision-making table.

Build AI that serves all of us

AI appears to be racing forward without enough guardrails, This produces several risks: unchecked power and a widening gap between AI’s rapid development and the ability to ensure it serves the public good.

R

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Apple says halting data protection tool for UK users


By AFP
February 21, 2025


Apple says it will have to stop end-to-end encryption for British clients and iPhone users

- Copyright AFP Pedro PARDO

Clément Zampa

Apple said on Friday it was ending full end-to-end encryption for British customers and iPhone users, following US media reports the UK government had asked for global data access.

“Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users and current UK users will eventually need to disable this security feature,” it said in a statement.

ADP means only account holders can view content such as photos and documents stored online and in the cloud through what is known as end-to-end encryption.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the UK had issued “a secret government order” that Apple create a “back door” to enable the government to snoop on data uploaded by any Apple user around the world.

Many tech platforms pride themselves on being able to guarantee privacy through encrypted messaging channels, and providing access to law enforcement has long been seen as off-limits.

“As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,” Apple said on Friday.

The UK’s interior ministry told AFP: “We do not comment on operational matters.”

But a British official, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Post, that the right to privacy was not absolute, that “lawful access” systems can be made secure.

UK officials have argued that strong encryption can protect terror suspects and other criminals such as child abusers.


– ‘Step backwards’ –


The UK request to Apple was made under a sweeping 2016 law which enables the police and authorities force companies to comply with orders to collect evidence in criminal cases, the Post said.

The California-based tech giant, which is also the maker of Mac computers, added it was “gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP will not be available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy”.

End-to-end encryption stops law enforcement from intercepting messages, with only the sender and recipient able to read their contents.

Police officials worldwide say encryption can protect criminals, terrorists and pornographers even when authorities have a legal warrant for an investigation.

But civil rights and privacy advocates, along with cybersecurity professionals, advocate encrypting data to protect against wrongful snooping by authorities as well as hackers.

One of the main tech lobbying groups, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) said Friday’s events were “a worrying step backwards”.

“Law enforcement authorities should be working with companies to help protect people’s privacy against growing global threats, not forcing them to scrap important security improvements,” said CCIA senior director Matthew Sinclair.

Apple said it remained “committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and are hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future” in the UK.

Well-off Hong Kong (UN)-daunted by record deficits


By AFP
February 23, 2025


Hong Kong is facing its toughest fiscal test in three decades following a painful run of mammoth deficits - Copyright AFP Peter PARKS

Holmes CHAN

Hong Kong is facing its toughest fiscal test in three decades following a painful run of mammoth deficits, with experts urging the government to make careful cuts as the economy wobbles.

The Chinese finance hub last saw a string of deficits after the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s — but their scale was a fraction of the HK$252 billion ($32.4 billion) shortfall in the 2020-21 fiscal year.

Hong Kong has recorded annual deficits exceeding $20 billion in three of the past four years, according to official figures.

The city’s finance chief Paul Chan said Sunday that the deficits were caused by “multiple internal and external challenges” and that a new budget unveiled on Wednesday will tightly control public spending.

While Chan earlier predicted a return to surplus in “three or so years”, a former government minister told AFP that the situation is “not just due to economic cycles” spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

“If you look at Hong Kong versus other economies in the region, for example Singapore, those other economies have done much better,” said Anthony Cheung, who oversaw transport and housing policies.

Adding to the headache is the exodus of companies and high-paid workers as the city’s international reputation took a hit after Beijing quelled pro-democracy protests and imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020.

Singapore and Hong Kong suffered towering deficits in 2020 because of the pandemic, but the former has been able to keep spending relative to income in check as firms shift there from the Chinese city, helping it outperform its fiscal targets.

The challenge for Hong Kong is not just to balance its books, but to find fiscal sustainability amid US-China tensions and a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, Cheung said.

“In the past, we assumed that Hong Kong was geopolitically well-positioned… Now we have to be more careful about such presumptions.”

– Plunging land sales –

Hong Kong is required by its mini-constitution to “strive to achieve a fiscal balance” — a holdover from British colonial rule that kept the market mostly free from government intervention.

After returning to China in 1997, it kept taxes low and refilled its coffers with the help of land-related revenue, selling land to developers with deep pockets.

But last year Hong Kong collected just $2.5 billion that way, from a peak of $21.2 billion in 2018.

“(Land-related revenue) by itself has contributed to the majority of the income decline,” said Yang Liu, a financial economist at the University of Hong Kong.

“We have a very inactive land market and declining housing prices. That’s one reason that people (don’t) trade, so there’s no tax (income),” Liu told AFP.

Hong Kong still has healthy cash reserves and low government debt compared with most economies around the world.

But the prospect of three straight years in the red has fuelled public debate on how to spend less.

“All the new initiatives will be under much stronger scrutiny, so (the government) will be a lot more disciplined, a lot more careful,” Liu said.

In his upcoming budget speech, the finance chief is set to put the latest deficit at “under HK$100 billion”, adjusting for money raised from bond sales.

There are calls to roll back a transport subsidy for those aged 60 to 64, which can grow into a major burden on the government as Hong Kong’s population ages.

Lawmaker Edmund Wong cautioned against pay cuts for civil servants, which he said may cause private-sector employers to follow suit, but urged the government to slim down.

“In the long term, we can greatly reduce the manpower which the government is employing now,” he told AFP.

– ‘Welcoming’ image –

The deficits could prompt Hong Kong to rethink how it makes money, though past discussions on expanding the tax base — such as a goods and services tax — went nowhere.

The city’s low ratio of debt to GDP — which the government last year put at no more than 13 percent — means it can afford to issue bonds to fund huge undertakings, experts say.

Officials have signalled they will push ahead with a massive infrastructure project in northern Hong Kong, while backing away from a separate plan to create artificial islands.

As tensions flare between the United States and China, Hong Kong is seeking untapped growth potential in the Middle East and Southeast Asia that can translate to government revenue down the line.

The city’s economic fortunes are ultimately tied to how investors view the city as a regional and global hub, said Cheung, the former minister.

“We have to continue to showcase Hong Kong as a city that welcomes all kinds of views, all kinds of people, so long as they stay within the parameters of the national security legislation,” Cheung said.

Bottom-up construction: Cost of home rebuilds in the US revealed


By Dr. Tim Sandle
February 21, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL


The US housing. — © AFP

A recent study revealed the top ten big U.S. cities with the most affordable house renovations and Fort Worth is first, with an affordable median house price and one of the cheapest average pricings for a house renovation. The review further evals that Austin is ideal for modern renovation projects with the highest share of houses built since 2010 and a relatively new median house age of 20 years.

Another observation from the data is that Atlanta stands out for its strong per capita income and the highest rate of home improvement loans per 100,000.

These insights come from a recent study undertaken by Highland Cabinetry, who have revealed the top ten big U.S. cities with the most affordable house renovations.

The analysis evaluated key factors influencing renovation affordability, including median house price, average contractor rates, median house age, and the share of homes built since 2010. Additional metrics, such as income per capita, housing unit occupancy rates, and home improvement loan activity (total and per 100,000 residents), were incorporated to assess economic feasibility and renovation trends.

Each city was scored based on these parameters, with a higher score indicating a better balance of affordability and accessibility for home renovations. The study provides a comprehensive overview of cities where homeowners can achieve quality renovations at reasonable costs.

The top ten are:Fort Worth
Miami
Atlanta
Austin
Raleigh
Nashville
Jacksonville
Memphis
Houston
Mesa

From the above list, Fort Worth, Texas, ranks first with a score of 89.87. The city offers an affordable median house price of $299,000 and some of the lowest renovation costs starting at $54,000. With 22.5 percent of its homes built after 2010, Fort Worth provides ample opportunities for affordable and modern updates.

Miami, Florida, takes second place with a score of 77.48. While its median house price of $584,000 is nearly double that of Fort Worth, Miami stands out with the lowest contractor rates in the study at $23.46 per hour. It also leads in home improvement loans per capita, showing its homeowners’ strong interest in renovations.

Atlanta, Georgia, comes in third with a score of 75.43. The city has the highest per capita income on the list at $64K and the most active home improvement loan market, issuing about 2.3K loans per 100K residents.

Austin, Texas, comes in fourth with a score of 75.25. Its housing stock is the most modern, with 33.3 percent of homes built after 2010 and a median house age of just 20 years. This contrasts sharply with cities like Providence or Pittsburgh, where older homes dominate, and renovations are often driven by necessity rather than preference.

Raleigh, North Carolina, takes fifth place with a score of 74.42. With a median house price of $437,704 and 27.3 percent of homes built in the last decade, Raleigh is both relatively affordable and has a strong demand for home improvements.

Nashville, Tennessee, ranks sixth with a score of 73.22 and Jacksonville, Florida, takes seventh place with a score of 72.23. Jacksonville has the lowest median house price on the list at $290,000. Memphis, Tennessee, holds the eighth spot with a score of 71.59.

Houston, Texas, takes ninth place with a score of 71.38. As the third Texas city on the list, it has 23.1 percent of its homes built after 2010. While its renovation costs are similar to Austin’s, Houston’s vast population and housing market offer homeowners a range of opportunities for upgrades and improvements. Mesa, Arizona, rounds out the top ten with a score of 70.46.

Japan cabinet approves ’emergency’ urban bear shootings


More than 9,000 bears were killed in Japan in the 12 months leading to April 2024.

Across the country, 219 people were attacked by bears in 12 months to April 2024, with six human fatalities — the highest since statistics began nearly two decades ago.

By AFP
February 21, 2025


A brown bear on the loose after injuring four people in Sapporo, Hokkaido prefecture, in 2021 - Copyright AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE/AFP/File Handout

Japan’s cabinet approved a bill Friday allowing hunters to shoot bears in populated areas at their own discretion after human encounters with the wild animals hit record levels.

Across the country, 219 people were attacked by bears in 12 months to April 2024, with six human fatalities — the highest since statistics began nearly two decades ago.

Climate change affecting bear food sources and hibernation times, along with depopulation caused by an ageing society, are causing the animals to venture into towns more frequently.

The revised wildlife protection and management law allows “emergency shootings” following complaints that hunters were hampered by red tape.

The environment ministry hopes to present the bill to parliament in the coming months and get it enacted before autumn, when bear sightings typically surge, an environment ministry official told AFP, declining to be named.

Currently, shooting animals such as bears or wild boar in residential areas is forbidden.

Even when bears hole themselves up in populated areas, hunters are not allowed to shoot without being given the green light by police.

Even then, police “can only issue such a command in an extremely dire situation, such as when a person is seconds away from being attacked”, the ministry official said.

Under current rules, “you’d have to wait until someone is actually in danger to get police approval”, he said.

In December, a bear rampaged through a supermarket in northern Japan for two days before being lured out with food coated in honey.

It wounded a 47-year-old man before shoppers were evacuated and the bear laid waste to the meat department.

More than 9,000 bears were killed in Japan in the 12 months leading to April 2024.

Sri Lanka passenger train kills six elephants

By AFP
February 20, 2025


Six elephants died after a train hit them on the tracks and then derailed at Habarana in eastern Sri Lanka - Copyright AFP THOMAS KIENZLE

Amal JAYASINGHE

A Sri Lankan passenger train derailed Thursday after smashing into a family of elephants, with no passengers injured but six animals killed in the island’s worst such wildlife accident, police said.

The express train was travelling near a wildlife reserve at Habarana, some 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo, when it hit the herd before dawn.

Videos shot of the aftermath showed one elephant standing guard over an injured youngster lying beside the tracks, with the tips of their trunks curled together.

“Three baby elephants were among the six killed,” government spokesman and media minister Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters.

“Elephants being runover by trains is something that is not uncommon, but our attention is focused on this case because of the sheer numbers.”

Local police said two other elephants escaped with serious injuries.

Jayatissa said the government was working on a new mechanism to reduce the number of wild animals hit by trains in sparsely populated jungle areas of the island.

“All systems that were in place, like reducing speed, have failed,” he said.

Killing or harming elephants is a criminal offence in Sri Lanka, which has an estimated 7,000 wild elephants.

The animals are considered national treasures, partly due to their significance in Buddhist culture.

In August 2016, three elephant calves and their mother were run over by an express train and killed at Cheddikulam, about 260 kilometres (162 miles) north of Colombo.

One the baby elephants was dragged about 300 meters (990 feet) along the track after being hit by the train which was allowed to travel at speeds up to 100 kilometres an hour (60 mph).

Two baby elephants and their pregnant mother were killed in a similar accident by a train in Habarana, the scene of Thursday’s tragedy, in September 2018.

Since then, the authorities ordered train drivers to observe speed limits to minimise injury to elephants when going through areas where they cross the lines.



– Growing conflict –



The elephant deaths comes days after the authorities expressed concern over the growing impact of conflict between humans and elephants due to habitat encroachment.

Farmers scratching a living from smallholder plots often fight back against elephants raiding their crops.

Deputy environment minister Anton Jayakody told AFP on Sunday that 150 people and 450 elephants were killed in clashes in 2023.

“We are planning to introduce multiple barriers — these may include electric fences, trenches, or other deterrents — to make it more difficult for wild elephants to stray into villages,” he said.

A study last year in the Journal of Threatened Taxa detailed how Asian elephants loudly mourn and bury their dead calves, reminiscent of human funeral rites.

Asian elephants are recognised as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

An estimated 26,000 of them live in the wild, mostly in India with some in Southeast Asia, surviving for an average of 60-70 years outside captivity.

Killing of 14 donkeys in Turkish Cyprus sparks outrage

February 19 2025 
ISTANBUL

Fourteen donkeys have been brutally killed by unidentified individuals in Turkish Cyprus, triggering rage among the citizens.

Haberin Devamı

Donkeys, symbols of Turkish Cyprus and unique to the region, live in the Karpaz Peninsula's Taşkent Nature Park, attracting major attention among tourists.

However, 14 of these special, indigenous donkeys were found dead near a landfill, presumably shot at close range.

Similar attacks have also occurred in the past in the region as local farmers have previously expressed frustration over the donkeys damaging crops.

The latest incident sparked widespread outrage across the Turkish Cypriot community, with strong reactions from animal rights groups, politicians and the public.

Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar condemned the killings, vowing to closely follow the investigation.

Kemal Başat, the director of the nature park, on the other hand, criticized the lack of support for donkey conservation efforts, noting that the care of a single donkey only costs 200 euros for a period of ten years.

They care for around 3,000 donkeys; however, they could only find sponsors for five in the last 12 months, citing that public support and financial backing remains minimal.

“At least 14 donkeys were ruthlessly killed. Hundreds of people liked, commented on, and shared our post on social media regarding this matter,” he said, noting that authorities also continuously posted statements. “We had calls consistently and had in-person meetings. But what is the outcome? I'm not sure.”

The Karpaz donkeys have become an iconic part of the region, yet their protection remains an issue as authorities face mounting pressure to prevent further attacks.

- - - - 

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US agencies push back against Musk, telling workers not to reply to his email
Americas

Key US agencies, including the FBI, State Department and the Pentagon, have instructed their employees not to respond to an email from cost-cutting chief Elon Musk ordering federal workers to explain what they accomplished last week — or risk losing their job. The pushback from appointees of President Donald Trump marked a new level of chaos and confusion within the beleaguered federal workforce.


Issued on: 24/02/2025 
By:  FRANCE 24

Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. © Jose Luis Magana, AP


Multiple US agencies have told employees not to respond immediately to a demand by President Donald Trump's adviser Elon Musk to list their accomplishments in the past week or be fired, as a chaotic campaign to cull the federal workforce pushes forward.

Trump administration-appointed officials at the FBI and State Department sent their staff emails telling them not to respond outside their chains of command - a possible sign of tension between members of the Republican administration and the world's richest person in his campaign to slash the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce.

"The FBI, through the office of the director, is in charge of all our review processes," said FBI Director Kash Patel, a Trump appointee, in an email to staff seen by Reuters.

Musk leads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which in the first weeks of Trump's administration has laid off more than 20,000 workers and offered buyouts to another 75,000, across wide swaths of the government from the Defense Department - long a top Republican priority - to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where all staff members have been ordered to halt work.

The frantic pace has led the federal government in some cases to rush to rehire workers who perform critical functions like securing the nation's nuclear arsenal and trying to fight the worsening bird flu outbreak, which has caused egg prices to spike.

While there is bipartisan agreement that the US government, which carries $36 trillion in debt, would benefit from reform, Musk's tumultuous approach has drawn widespread criticism, including from voters in some Republican-dominated areas.

Federal workers on Saturday evening received an email instructing them to detail the work they did during the previous week by 11:59 pm ET on Monday (0459 GMT on Tuesday), shortly after Musk posted on his X social media site that failing to respond would be taken as a resignation.

The subject of the email read, "What did you do last week?" and came from a human resources address in the Office of Personnel Management, but did not include Musk's threat of termination.

Workers at the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Education and Commerce, as well as at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Institutes of Health and the Internal Revenue Service also were told not to respond pending further guidance, according to sources and emails reviewed by Reuters. Workers at intelligence agencies likewise will be told not to respond, according to a source.

"To be clear – this is irregular, unexpected, and warrants further validation," wrote a senior executive at the National Centers for Environmental Information, an agency that manages environmental data and is part of the Commerce Department.

Some officials welcomed the move. Ed Martin, Trump's nominee for US Attorney in Washington, DC, who is serving in an interim capacity, praised Musk and DOGE in an email response.

But other offices within the Justice Department, including the executive office that supports all US attorneys and the department's civil division, told employees not to reply pending additional information.

Employees at the Drug Enforcement Administration, part of the Justice Department, were told to respond, according to an email seen by Reuters.
Union questions Musk's authority

The largest federal workers' union, the American Federation of Government Employees, wrote on social media on Sunday that it did not believe Musk has the authority to fire employees who do not respond and would formally request that OPM rescind the message.

Meanwhile, the union advised members to ask their supervisors directly whether to reply and to follow their guidance.

The email left some employees even more frustrated and worried after weeks of uncertainty about their futures.

"I really wonder when someone is going to say, 'Enough,'" one IRS employee told Reuters.

Spokespersons for the Commerce, Justice, Education and Treasury departments, as well as at the FDIC and NIH, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment, and a State Department spokesperson referred questions to the White House.

Read moreUS judge halts Musk's DOGE access to Treasury Department data

Musk on his social media platform X called the email "a very basic pulse check" and displayed a fictional list he had generated using artificial intelligence.

"EXTREMELY troubling that some parts of government think this is TOO MUCH!! What is wrong with them??" Musk wrote.

US Senator John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, said he supports the Trump administration's efforts to reduce government spending but that Musk should take a more humane approach.

"If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it's, 'Please put a dose of compassion in this,'" Curtis said on CBS News. "These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages. It's a false narrative to say we have to cut and you have to be cruel to do it as well. We can do both."

Some federal judiciary employees, including judges, also received the Saturday email from OPM, even though the court system is not part of the executive branch, the Administrative Office of the US Courts said.

The judiciary advised employees that no action should be taken in response to the message, according to an email reviewed by Reuters.

In some cases, employees were left unsure how to respond even if they chose to do so.

Some lawyers, for instance, expressed concern that their work is confidential.

Workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also received the email, according to people with knowledge of the matter, even though they were all ordered to cease working since early this month, leaving them with little to do.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, said the email was "a complete overstep" that would be defeated in court.

"From a management perspective, you can see what a clown car this is right now," Christie said on ABC News.

(France 24 with Reuters)

ANTI-DEI

White House Dismisses Navy's First Female Leader, Plans Funding Cuts

ONLY WHITE STR8 CHRISTIAN MALES

CNO Adm. Lisa Franchetti (USN)

Published Feb 23, 2025 5:43 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

The Trump administration has ordered the diversion of eight percent of military spending and fired two senior service leaders, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to hold the post and the first female member of the Joint Chiefs. Franchetti's unprecedented dismissal brings her term to an end almost three years early.

The Pentagon dismissed Adm. Franchetti before selecting a permanent replacement, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Friday that he is open to nominations for candidates for the post. Vice CNO Adm. James Kilby has taken on Franchetti's role in the interim. 

Adm. Lisa Franchetti is a surface warfare officer by background. She commanded USS Ross (DDG 71), and she served aboard USS Shenandoah, USS Monongahela, USS Moosbrugger and USS Stout. She also commanded Carrier Strike Group 9; Carrier Strike Group 15; and headed Strategy, Plans and Policy (J-5) on the Joint Staff. She became Vice Chief of Naval Operations in September 2022, receiving confirmation by voice vote from the U.S. Senate.

Franchetti was promoted to Chief of Naval Operations in November 2023 and confirmed on a vote of 95-1. The sole objector, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KY) blasted her appointment as an example of diversity hiring, suggesting that her four decades in the Navy and her career in command of surface warfare units, carrier strike groups and fleet-level commands were not sufficient to make her a competitive candidate. 

"President Biden nominated Adm. Franchetti not because she is qualified or competent to do the job but because of this administration’s obsession with diversity and inclusion," Sen. Marshall said at the time. "[Former President Joe Biden] even disregarded the recommendation of his own Secretary of Defense for this position."

The Trump administration's pick for the next Secretary of the Navy, financier and art collector John Phelan, has no prior experience in any defense field, whether in uniform, in government or in a defense contracting role. He was a prominent donor and fundraiser for the president's successful 2024 election campaign.

Unexpected spending changes

Last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued plans to cut existing military programs by eight percent ($50 billion) and redirect the funding to other White House priorities. These new areas of focus include border security measures and a new "Iron Dome for America" missile defense system, inspired by Israel's achievements in reducing the threat of midrange ballistic missile and drone strikes.  

Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said Wednesday that programs targeted would begin with initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change. The savings "could be used to fund [the president's] priorities, as well as to refocus the Department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars," he told media. 

In a memo, Hegseth that 17 programs would be exempt from the cuts. The list protects the Virginia-class attack submarine program, but not the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, the Navy's costliest and most challenging acquisition program. The memo does protect modernization of nuclear weapons, which the Columbia-class will carry.

The Navy's chronically-underfunded shipbuilding program is protected for "executable" warship contracts only; the futures of long-term initiatives, like the DDG(X) next-generation destroyer or the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) are less certain. 

"The Secretary of Defense is injecting a colossal amount of confusion and churn and uncertainty into the budgeting process," Bryan McGrath, a defense and national security consultant and retired Navy commander, told Business Insider in an interview on Thursday.

The administration is also moving to fire thousands of probationary employees in the defense department. The contours of the dismissals are not yet known; the military has more than 900,000 civilian employees in the U.S. and around the world.

"It is not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission-critical," John Ullyot, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement last week.