'We Don't Hate Journalists Enough': The Story of an F-ed Up Deepfake

Question Everything

'We Don't Hate Journalists Enough': The Story of an F-ed Up Deepfake

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Published on Nov 13, 2025, 4:00:00 AM
Total time: 00:44:55

Episode Description

When journalist Julia Mengolini criticized her country’s president, Javier Milei, she didn’t expect to be targeted with one of the more disturbing uses of AI: a pornographic deepfake video designed to humiliate her. What began as trolling by online extremists spiraled into a government-amplified smear campaign, spurred on by senior officials and the president himself.

Juila tells reporter/producer Zach St. Louis what happened to her and what she’s doing to fight back against President Milei – an ally of Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s.  

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Guests:

Julia Mengolini — Journalist, radio host, and co-founder of Futurock

More about Question Everything
Question Everything is a weekly investigation into how the truth gets buried, distorted, and denied -- and the ways people are fighting to make it matter again.
Hosted by Brian Reed, of S-Town and This American Life.
Winner of the Webby Award, Ambie Award, and a Signal Special Achievement Award for pushing "the boundaries of the medium."