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Exchange Review August
Crypto Trends

XRP, DOGE Zoom Higher as U.S. Shutdowns, Japan Bond Slowdown Charge Bitcoin Appetite

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A U.S. government shutdown and fresh stress in Japan’s bond market failed to derail digital assets this week, as traders positioned for looser global liquidity conditions.

With Friday’s U.S. payrolls report potentially delayed and Japanese yields climbing to their highest levels since 2008, crypto markets are showing signs of decoupling from broader macro caution.

The setup has fueled expectations that policymakers may eventually be forced to ease financial conditions, creating a friendlier backdrop for risk-taking.

“The U.S. government shutdown and weak employment numbers from ADP have impacted markets this past week. Traders believe that these catalysts could be making a case for the Fed to further stimulate the economy and cut rates through the rest of the year, which could boost stocks and cryptocurrencies,” said Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, in a Telegram note to CoinDesk.

Shutdowns that delay data and weaken fiscal visibility often encourage central banks to act more cautiously, while rising yields in Japan hint at policy shifts that could ripple through global funding markets.

For crypto, these dynamics translate into speculation over fresh inflows and renewed appetite for volatility.

Bitcoin traded near $118,700, gaining more than 3% in the past 24 hours, while ether rose 5.6% to $4,374. Solana added nearly 7% to reach $223, and dogecoin surged almost 9% to $0.25, extending its outperformance among majors.

XRP steadied at $2.97 after volatile swings around the $3.00 level earlier this week. The broad rally lifted the market capitalization of all digital assets to over $2.37 trillion, per CoinMarketCap data.

Meanwhile, volatility metrics also reinforce the picture of steadier markets.

“The major theme this quarter is with lower implied volatilities, evident across equities, rates, FX, and even BTC. This has been driven by a collapse in realized volatilities thanks to an accommodative Fed, stabilizing global GDP, lack of significant tariff-passthroughs on CPI readings, and a flattening of geopolitics and tariff surprises,” said Augustine Fan, Head of Insights at SignalPlus, said in an email.

With bitcoin consolidating just under $119,000 and dogecoin pushing higher, the coming weeks may show whether flows can sustain momentum or whether renewed pressure from Washington and Tokyo will test crypto’s bid for decoupling.



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The Xenomorph on an Alien: Earth poster
Esports

How to watch skyscraper-size asteroid zoom past Earth on livestream

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A skyscraper-size asteroid named 2025 FA22 will make a close approach to Earth this week, and you can watch it happen live online.

The asteroid, measuring between 427 and 951 feet across, will pass by in the early hours of Thursday, September 18. It is set to come within 520,000 miles of Earth, about twice the distance of the moon, while traveling at around 24,000 mph.

Discovered in March by the Pan-STARRS 2 telescope in Hawaii, 2025 FA22 briefly raised concerns when early calculations suggested a slim chance of impact in 2089. It was even added to the European Space Agency’s Risk List, which tracks near-Earth objects with the potential to hit the planet. Updated observations have since ruled out any threat, and the asteroid was removed from the list in May.

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How to watch the asteroid

The Virtual Telescope Project will broadcast the flyby using its telescope in Manciano, Italy. The free livestream begins Wednesday, September 17, at around 11 p.m. EDT.

For those with stargazing gear, the asteroid may also be visible. At its peak, it could reach an apparent magnitude of 13, making it just bright enough for a solid backyard telescope or binoculars. Tools like TheSkyLive.com can help track its position in the night sky.

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NASA’s Goldstone radar telescope in California and other observatories worldwide will also monitor the asteroid closely, gathering more details about its size and shape.

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OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro lens in photographer's hands
Product Reviews

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro review: an incredible wildlife and sports zoom

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Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro: two-minute review

Having shot with the OM System 50-200mm F2.8 zoom, I’m now an even bigger fan of the Micro Four Thirds format for wildlife photography than I was previously. It’s a fabulous lens in every regard, with superb build quality, excellent handling and top-drawer image quality.

Above all, its bright maximum f/2.8 aperture – which is a first for a 100-400mm equivalent lens – delivers super-fast shutter speeds and better light intake than cheaper alternatives, which levels up the kind of telephoto wildlife action it’s possible to capture.

I tested the telephoto zoom with an OM System OM-1 II; together the IP53-rated weather-resistant pairing are impressively lightweight at just 59oz / 1,674g, and deliver incredible image stabilization and subject-detection autofocus performance, especially for birds – the lens’s autofocus can continuously keep up with the camera’s blazing 50fps burst shooting speeds.

I love how the lens balances with the camera, and I happily carried the pairing all day, rain or shine. Its internal zoom further protects against potential dust ingress over the long run, and I’ve no doubt it’ll last for many years of heavy use.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

Detail is impressively sharp, even at f/2.8, which is the aperture I used the most. This setting also enables the use of the fast shutter speeds that are crucial for high-speed wildlife photography.

Bokeh at f/2.8 is smooth for the most part, though in some scenarios it appeared a little fussy. Close the aperture down and you lose the circular shaping, and get harder edges instead. Bokeh is fine overall, but this is probably the only real negative to mention regarding optical quality.

Close focusing impresses – just 0.78m at any focal length, for up to half-life-size macro capture.

I do have to get the small matter of the price out of the way at this point. At £3,000 (US and Australia pricing is TBC), the 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro is less than half the price of OM System’s other pro ‘white’ lens, the 150-400mm F4.5, but almost three times the price of the 40-150mm F2.8.

In fact, it’s pricier than similar full-frame lenses – Nikon’s 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S comes to mind. However, considering the features on board, the build and optical quality, and that maximum f2.8 aperture, it’s still decent value, even if many will be priced out.

I can’t fault the OM System 50-200mm F2.8 as an overall package. It’s a superb telephoto zoom, and one that I can only dream will one day live in my gear bag. If you’re a serious wildlife shooter, OM System has produced one of the best camera and lens pairing you can find.

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro specs

Swipe to scroll horizontallyOM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro specs

Type:

Telephoto zoom

Mount:

Micro Four Thirds

Sensor:

Micro Four Thirds

Focal length:

50-200mm (100-400mm effective)

Max aperture:

f/2.8

Minimum focus:

0.78m

Filter size:

77mm

Dimensions:

91.4 x 225.8mm

Weight:

38oz / 1,075g (without collar)

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro: Design

  • IP53-rated weather-resistant design, internal zoom
  • Relatively lightweight at 38oz / 1,075g
  • 0.78m close focusing for 0.5x (equivalent) magnification

I can’t find any fault in the 50-200mm F2.8’s design. It’s IP53-rated, and is weather-resistant and freeze-proof to -10C; its internal zoom – a feature you’ll generally only find in high-end optics – is further evidence of its rugged credentials, as it’s one less place for potential dust ingress.

Check out the images below, which show how the lens barrel remains unchanged as you zoom through the focal range.

Considering its features – particularly that focal length and maximum aperture combo – it’s lightweight too, at 38oz / 1,075g (without the removable collar). Paired with an OM System camera like the OM-1 II, the total weight is only 59oz / 1,674g, making for a comfortable all-day carry.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

All the external controls you’d want in a telephoto zoom are here: optical stabilization, manual / autofocus switch, custom buttons, and a focus range limiter.

Focus range can be limited to 0.78-3m, which is handy for macro photography (for which the lens has that impressive minimum close-focusing distance 0.78m), or to 3m to infinity, which is the option I’d pick when shooting telephoto wildlife. A third option is the full focus distance range, which could increase the risk of focus hunting.

The lens is supplied with a tripod collar, and I tend to keep this attached even when shooting handheld, as it provides another point of contact or place to hold when shooting.

Image 1 of 5

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

There’s no built-in teleconverter, which is a feature you’ll sometimes find in high-end telephoto lenses, including OM System’s own monster 150-400mm F4.5. However, I’d happily use OM System’s 1.4x teleconverter with this lens – I’ve used it before, and I wouldn’t expect to see any significant drop off in image quality.

Adding the 1.4x teleconverter extends the maximum reach of the lens at the cost of 1EV of light, effectively turning this into a 560mm f/4 lens. That’s still seriously impressive, and a better reach for bird photography, where subjects tend to be small and tricky to get close to.

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro: Performance

  • 100-400mm effective focal length with maximum f/2.8 aperture
  • Optical and camera stabilization combine for up to 7.5EV stabilization
  • Sharp detail and, for the best part, smooth bokeh
  • Supports 50fps burst shooting with continuous autofocus

The OM System 50-200mm F2.8 is an impressive performer in every respect. Its autofocus speed and precision are top drawer; when paired with the OM-1 II, it quickly latched onto subjects such as birds, and was able to support 50fps burst shooting with continuous autofocus.

The lens’s optical stabilization can also combine with the OM-1 II’s in-body image stabilization to deliver up to 7.5EV of stabilization.

In real terms, OM System says you can shoot handheld at the maximum focal length, which is 400mm (effective), using shutter speeds as slow as 1/3 sec, and still get sharp results.

Of course, if the action is moving then 1/3 sec won’t be of much use, unless you want to intentionally blur your subject, but static objects will indeed appear sharp based on my testing.

Image 1 of 10

I used the continuous high burst shooting to increase my chances of freezing the action at the right moment in these two scenarios. (Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

For me, what’s even better to have than the superb stabilization performance is the bright maximum f/2.8 aperture. This enables fast shutter speeds to freeze action, which is personally what I’m looking for a lens like this to do – for wildlife, you can do so much more with a f/2.8 telephoto than, say, an f/5.6 one.

The 100-400mm effective focal length range easily covers a range of scenarios – it’s my go-to range for grassroots sports like soccer, and for large wildlife. To give you an idea of the difference between 100mm and 400mm, I’ve taken pictures of the same scene at those extremes, and you can see some examples in the gallery below.

Image 1 of 6

400mm(Image credit: Tim Coleman)400mm(Image credit: Tim Coleman)100mm(Image credit: Tim Coleman)400mm(Image credit: Tim Coleman)100mm(Image credit: Tim Coleman)400mm(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

I also explored macro photography with the 50-200mm F2.8, and you can see some of those pictures below. The 0.25x maximum magnification (which is 0.5x full-frame effective) is half-life size and super-versatile – there’s no such full-frame lens with such a feature set.

It was while using the lens to shoot macro, including a dew-covered backlit spider’s web at first light, that I started paying particular attention to the bokeh – the quality of the out-of-focus orbs of light.

At f/2.8 it’s smooth and rounded, but there are scenarios, such as the cobweb shots, where it becomes a little fussy rather than smooth – stopping the aperture down to f/7.1 to increase depth of field revealed polygonal-shaped bokeh. For less extreme scenarios, bokeh quality is pleasant, but I wouldn’t buy this lens solely for that attribute.

Image 1 of 10

I took this photo at f/7.1 to increase depth of field, and you see that the bokeh has hard edges and polygonal shape, produced by the lens’s nine aperture blades. (Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)Here I’ve opened up the aperture and bokeh is rounder, but detail in the spider is softer because of the shallow depth of field. (Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

Where this lens shines is in its wonderfully sharp detail, no matter the focal length or aperture (f/2.8 to f/11, at least). I’ve been really impressed by the quality of detail in my subjects, and I’ve been able to shoot images that simply wouldn’t be possible with cheaper gear, or even with full-frame lenses with darker maximum apertures, like the Nikon 100-400mm.

If anything is holding this lens back, it’s the limitations of the Micro Four Third’s sensor format, which is half the size of full-frame. It’s less clean in low light, and dynamic range is a little limited in high-contrast scenes, like the sunrise shot in the gallery below (scroll past those adorable guinea pigs).

The maximum f/2.8 aperture mostly makes up for any sensor format limitations, though, and in its own right the OM System 50-200mm F2.8 is a top-quality telephoto zoom, with no real drawbacks.

Image 1 of 10

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

Should you buy the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

How I tested the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro

  • Following an initial testing session with OM System, I used the 50-200mm extensively for an entire week
  • I paired it with the OM System OM-1 II
  • I took telephoto shots of wildlife, macro photos of spiders, and more

I first used the OM System 50-200mm F2.8 IS Pro at an event hosted by OM System at a wildlife trust in the UK, where I had some hands-on experience photographing exotic birds. I subsequently used the camera over a week-long loan period, paired with the OM System OM-1 II camera.

During my own time with the lens I’ve taken it out for sunrise shoots of birdlife on a common, been captivated by the macro world of insects including backlit spider’s webs, and snapped my family’s pet guinea pigs at last light.

I’ve made sure that all lens corrections are switched off in-camera, shot in both raw and JPEG format, used every key focal length and various apertures, then assessed image quality using Adobe Camera Raw, which has OM System profiles.

  • First reviewed September 2025



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Here’s how the Pixel’s AI zoom compares to a real 100x lens
Product Reviews

Here’s how the Pixel’s AI zoom compares to a real 100x lens

by admin


In case you missed it last week among other big news items, Google shipped a phone camera with a zoom feature that uses generative AI. That’s right: the Pixel 10 Pro comes with AI right inside the camera app that cleans up otherwise crappy digital zoom images all the way up to 100x. It’s a what-is-a-photo nightmare, but it’s also pretty good — at least it seems to be. But it’s hard to be completely sure what the thing you’re photographing is supposed to look like when it’s miles away. So I brought in a ringer for some side-by-side comparisons: the Nikon Coolpix P1100.

For those unfamiliar, the P1100 is a massive ultrazoom camera with an equivalent range of 24-3000mm. When you have optics like that you don’t need to do any upscaling like the Pixel 10 Pro does. The camera applies some noise reduction, sharpening, and color adjustments, sure. But it doesn’t have to completely guess at what any individual pixel should look like, because it had some information to start with.

Digital zoom, like the Pixel 10 Pro uses, is a different story. Upscaling an image 10 or 20 or 100 times without the benefit of optical magnification leaves a lot of gaps to fill in. Algorithms can make pretty good guesses, but they are just that: guesses. The Pixel 10 Pro’s Pro Res Zoom makes those guesses with the help of generative AI. And if we’re taking AI zoom photos, what better subject to start with than the moon?

1/3Taken with Pixel 10 Pro at 100x, no AI processing.

It is asking a lot of a smartphone camera to take a picture of the moon, and Google isn’t the first phone maker to bring AI to the fight. The Pro Res Zoom version certainly looks moon-like, but AI gives it a strange spongey texture that doesn’t look quite right — especially comparing it to the P1100’s version.

1/3Taken with Pixel 10 Pro at 100x, no AI processing.

The images above of Lumen Field’s exterior were taken from an overlook in downtown Seattle near Pike Place Market about a mile away. It was a hazy, overcast day so apologies for the drab images, but they give a better idea of where Pro Res Zoom excels and where it falls down. The AI model makes the numbers on the signs readable and cleans up edges really well, but it basically erases the metal cladding on the side of the building, like overly aggressive noise reduction. And once again, AI doesn’t know what to do with writing.

1/3Taken with Pixel 10 Pro at 100x, no AI processing.

These photos of Starbucks headquarters, a mile south of Lumen, were taken from the same viewpoint. On a small screen the AI version seems alright, but if you look closely you can see where it turned some lamps into windows and gave the clock on the tower a little Salvador Dalí treatment.

1/3Taken with Pixel 10 Pro at 100x, no AI processing.

On a sunnier day I pointed both cameras at another Seattle landmark. I was about three miles away from the Space Needle and encountered another enemy of long-range photography: heat haze. The AI didn’t quite know what to do with the distorted lines and created Tim Burton’s The Space Needle instead. But you can see that the P1100 didn’t fare much better, what with all the hot atmosphere between the lens and the subject.

1/3Taken with Pixel 10 Pro at 100x, no AI processing.

Heat haze is clearly a problem in this situation, too. I wasn’t standing too far from the planes at Boeing Field in the images above, but there was a lot of hot asphalt between me and the planes I was photographing creating heat waves. But this is clearly where AI shines. In fact, it might be your only option if you’re trying to correct for something as tricky as heat haze.

This is where everything gets complicated

This is where everything gets complicated. Generative AI has existed in photo editing tools for years now, and it’s extremely useful for things like removing noise from a photo taken with an old DSLR. Heat haze is an even nastier problem; the random distortions and waves are all but impossible to correct with traditional digital photo editing tools. Landscape and wildlife photographers are already embracing AI editing tools that can do things your regular Lightroom sliders can only dream of.

Is it different when AI is inside the camera app, not just in the professional image editor you’d use after the fact? Absolutely. Does Pro Res Zoom get things wrong a lot? Also yes. But this has been an illuminating exercise, and I don’t think this is the last we’ll hear of generative AI being used in the image capture tool itself.

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AI's 'Zoom and Enhance' Is Bullshit
Product Reviews

AI’s ‘Zoom and Enhance’ Is Bullshit

by admin


Speculation about Donald Trump’s declining health was running rampant on social media over the holiday weekend as Americans wondered whether the president was actually on his deathbed. Some people even turned to AI tools in an effort to get a better look at grainy photos of Trump, who seemed to only be captured in blurry images like Bigfoot in the wild.

But using AI like that is a complete waste of time. The AI only confused people because these “enhancements” can’t actually give you a more honest picture of a grainy photo. AI just adds bullshit that wasn’t there to begin with.

Patient zero for the AI-induced nonsense about Trump this weekend appeared to be a Bluesky user named Christopher Webb. The online sleuth wrote, “Today’s press pool photo shows Trump leaving the White House this morning,” while sharing a grainy photo from Getty Images.

“I enhanced the image. And seriously, can an expert explain what the hell is happening to his forehead? Right above his nose and right brow,” Webb continued, watermarking the image in the lower-right corner.

Today’s press pool photo shows Trump leaving the White House this morning.

I enhanced the image. And seriously, can an expert explain what the hell is happening to his forehead? Right above his nose and right brow.

[image or embed]

— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) September 1, 2025 at 8:49 AM

And that AI-augmented image rippled around the entire English-speaking internet.

Grok told me it’s real

It did look weird. The AI-altered photo showed what appeared to be a large mass on Trump’s forehead, causing people to insist that he had a stroke. Others came up with even more specific diagnoses, calling it a “decompressive hemicraniectomy,” in a screenshot on X that also appeared to rely on generative AI for information.

Two tweets speculating about the mass on Trump’s head, which was added by AI enhancement tools. © X

The AI image jumped from Bluesky to just about every other social media platform on the internet, including X, Threads, Instagram, and TikTok.

Users on X asked Grok, as they so often do, to check if the photo was legit. Grok insisted the photo was real “with no obvious signs of photoshopping.”

© X

Grok, of course, often gets things wrong, even when it’s not being intentionally manipulated by its billionaire owner, Elon Musk, to spit out far-right talking points. Musk, as you may recall, gave two Nazi-style salutes back in January and tinkered with Grok in ways that made it praise Hitler and spread conspiracy theories about white farmers being killed in South Africa.

But that massive lump on Trump’s forehead isn’t real. It was added by AI because applying tools that “upscale” an image doesn’t actually bring you closer to the truth. It simply brings you closer to an image that looks sharper and less pixelated. And these tools will take things like shadows or innocuous creases in a person’s face and make it appear as if there’s something there when there isn’t.

Check the flag

Maybe the best way to understand what’s happening is to look at the flags on Trump’s hat in the original photo and the AI-enhanced image. What do you notice?

Images: Getty / Bluesky

Yep, the AI image didn’t create a better version of reality. It made an educated guess about what the flag on the hat was supposed to look like and made it sharper. It managed to get rid of the stars in the process, only producing stripes. Sharper stripes, sure. But just stripes.

Zoom and enhance

This is far from the first time we’ve seen the rise of conspiracy theories aided by AI upscalers.

Do you remember when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars in 2022? The video circulated widely, given how shocked everyone was at the time, and people started applying AI tools to get what they assumed would be a better view. But it just added shit that wasn’t there, leading to conspiracy theories.

As I wrote at the time, images were going viral purporting to show some kind of weird prosthetic on Rock’s face. The conspiracy theory was that Smith’s slap had been planned in advance by the producers of the Academy Awards and that we were seeing some kind of pad that would cushion the blow of any physical contact.

Image likely enhanced by AI of Chris Rock from March 2022 that added a weird fold to his skin. © X

It was an odd theory, given the fact that a tiny protective cushion wouldn’t do much if you slapped someone. But that’s what the internet ran with. And it appeared that people were just uploading the more pixelated images of Rock to AI upscaler tools in an attempt to get a better look.

The “pad” on Rock’s face was created by the AI tools because it took the natural lines on Rock’s face and made them even sharper, highlighting shadows and creating new information that wasn’t in the original image.

Older than our current “AI”

These “enhancement” tools are even older than generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which was launched in late 2022. Back in 2020, a tool called Face Depixelizer was being promoted as a way to turn pixelated photos into sharp images. But people quickly figured out just how silly it was by using images of famous people like President Barack Obama, who was transformed into a white guy.

© X

The focus on social media at the time was about how these tools were racially biased. But biased or not, the tool simply didn’t work as advertised. You were supposed to be getting a better look at the world. And it gave you a more inaccurate one, regardless of race.

People shared some of the most humorous examples on X, which was then known as Twitter before Musk bought the site.

An image of @BarackObama getting upsampled into a white guy is floating around because it illustrates racial bias in #MachineLearning. Just in case you think it isn’t real, it is, I got the code working locally. Here is me, and here is @AOC. pic.twitter.com/kvL3pwwWe1

— 🔥囧Robert Osazuwa Ness囧🔥 (@osazuwa) June 20, 2020

As you can see, the AI tool is just doing its best to add information, often missing things that we can even see with the naked eye. And there is that bias, which may have previously been unintentional but is certainly much more intentional when guys like Musk are tinkering with the weights.

Should we write off upscaling completely?

When it comes to AI upscaling, not all applications are bad. If you’re trying to get a sharper image for a fictional scenario, like in a video game, there are use cases that make sense. But the confusion around what AI upscaling actually does can lead people to believe the computer program is giving them a better look at reality. And that’s just not true.

There was a trend a few years back to upscale some of the earliest short films, including clips from the 19th century, and it gave people the impression that they were seeing something more honest. And while the technique was interesting to see, it gave people a false impression.

The faces that viewers could suddenly make out (which had previously been too grainy and pixelated to see clearly) were just rendered by a computer as it tried to make something look better.

It wasn’t a more accurate version of a snowball fight, for instance, after upscaling. It was just a clearer one. And just like Chris Rock’s newly invented cheek pad, the faces on the people in that video include details that simply didn’t exist in the real world. They’re the AI program’s best guesses at what it should look like.

Trump’s health mystery

It’s not so weird to wonder about Trump’s health right now. He’s been seen with strange black marks on the back of his right hand for multiple weeks. But many social media users were asking conspiratorial questions that had reasonable answers over the weekend.

There were the viral videos that showed an ambulance riding along with the presidential motorcade. But there’s always a medical team traveling with the president in case of an emergency.

There were posts pointing out the fact that flags at the White House were lowered. But that was done to honor the victims of the shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. One popular video on TikTok even claimed flags are never lowered to half-mast except when the president dies, which isn’t true.

Then there were the claims that Walter Reed hospital, where Trump was treated when he got covid-19 during his first term, had closed off several roads on Monday. But, again, that had a reasonable explanation. Those roads are often closed during holiday weekends. Monday was Labor Day.

There were countless versions of this speculation, but the truth is we simply don’t know whether Trump’s health is seriously deteriorating. The fact that he’s shied away from cameras in recent days makes people think he’s on his last legs.

But AI upscaler tools aren’t going to give us any answers. In fact, they’re just going to make all of us less informed.





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