By Andrew Lawrence
Publication Date: 2026-02-19 15:35:00
When a U.S. government shutdown late last year limited the Snap benefits that low-income families rely on for grocery shopping, frantic videos spread across social media of the fallout. “I’m going to be serious,” a black woman said in a viral TikTok post, “I get over $2,500 worth of stamps a month. I sell $2,000 worth of them for about $1,200 to $1,500 in cash.” Another black woman railed against taxpayers’ responsibility to her seven children with seven men, and yet another failed after her food stamps were rejected at a corn dog counter.
Visible watermarks marked some videos as AI-generated – apparently too weak for racist commentators and agitators to believe the frenzy was real. “There are people who treat it like a sideline, who sell stamps and abuse the system,” complained conservative commentator Amir Odom. Fox News reported on the Snap deepfakes as if they were authentic before issuing a correction. Newsmax anchor Rob Schmitt claimed people were…
