ChatGPT allegedly validated the worst impulses of a wannabe influencer accused of stalking more than 10 women at boutique gyms, where the chatbot supposedly claimed heβd meet the βwife type.β
In a press release on Tuesday, the Department of Justice confirmed that 31-year-old Brett Michael Dadig currently remains in custody after being charged with cyberstalking, interstate stalking, and making interstate threats. He now faces a maximum sentence of up to 70 years in prison that could be coupled with βa fine of up to $3.5 million,β the DOJ said.
The podcasterβwho primarily posted about βhis desire to find a wife and his interactions with womenββallegedly harassed and sometimes even doxxed his victims through his videos on platforms including Instagram, Spotify, and TikTok. Over time, his videos and podcasts documented his intense desire to start a family, which was frustrated by his βanger towards women,β whom he claimed were βall the same from fucking 18 to fucking 40 to fucking 90β and βtrash.β
X is still used by 21% of U.S. adults, Pew found, only down from 23% in 2021, despite increased competition from Meta, startups, and decentralized social media.
After years of pushback from the Federal Trade Commission over Metaβs acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, Meta has defeated the FTCβs monopoly claims.
In a Tuesday ruling, US District Judge James Boasberg said the FTC failed to show that Meta has a monopoly in a market dubbed βpersonal social networking.β In that narrowly defined market, the FTC unsuccessfully argued, Meta supposedly faces only two rivals, Snapchat and MeWe, which struggle to compete due to its alleged monopoly.
But the days of grouping apps into βseparate markets of social networking and social mediaβ are over, Boasberg wrote. He cited the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who βposited that no man can ever step into the same river twice,β while telling the FTC they missed their chance to block Metaβs purchase.