Technologies

Trump Media Is Testing an AI Search Engine Powered by Perplexity

The president’s media company is beta-testing Truth Search AI, but will the results lean toward conservative opinions?

President Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media, is beta-testing a new AI search feature, Truth Search AI, on the Truth Social platform. The Florida-based company announced the news on Wednesday in a press release.

Trump Media and Technology Group is perhaps best known for its social-media program Truth Social. The company is separate from the New York-based Trump Organization.

«We’re proud to partner with Perplexity to launch our public Beta testing of Truth Social AI, which will make Truth Social an even more vital element in the Patriot Economy,» Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in the statement. «We plan to robustly refine and expand our search function based on user feedback as we implement a wide range of additional enhancements to the platform.»

Truth Search AI is now available on the Web version of Truth Social and will begin public beta testing on the Truth Social iOS and Android apps at an unnamed future date.

Representatives for Trump Media and Perplexity didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Will results be politically biased?

In today’s divided political landscape, one immediate concern is that a search engine from a conservative president’s media company will select only search results that favor conservative opinions.

UAE state-owned newspaper The National conducted searches using the new product and reported that the AI-generated answers, perhaps unsurprisingly, source conservative-leaning media outlets.

But 404Media was able to get some possibly surprising results. When reporters asked how the American economy is doing, the new search engine said it was «currently facing significant headwinds, with signs of slowdown.»

The media outlet pressed further, asking if the president’s international tariffs are to blame.

«Recent tariff increases in the United States have generally had a negative effect on economic growth and employment, raising costs for businesses and consumers while providing only limited benefits to some manufacturing sectors,» Truth Search AI replied.

Read more: What Is Perplexity? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About This AI Chatbot

Perplexity’s history

San Francisco-based Perplexity was founded in 2022. As CNET noted in a review, it calls itself the world’s first «answer engine,» and instead of showing a list of links, it pulls info directly from the sources and summarizes that information.

The company has made headlines for how it acquires its content. In June, the BBC threatened to sue Perplexity for unauthorized use of its content, alleging the artificial intelligence company reproduced BBC material «verbatim.»

At the time, Perplexity gave a statement to the Financial Times calling the BBC’s claims «manipulative and opportunistic» and that the broadcasting giant fundamentally doesn’t understand how the technology, internet or IP law works. Perplexity also alleged that the threat of litigation shows «how far the BBC is willing to go to preserve Google’s illegal monopoly for its own self-interest.»

As 404Media notes, Forbes, the New York Times, New York Post and the Dow Jones have all accused Perplexity of plagiarism, and News Corp’s Dow Jones & Co., which publishes the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post sued Perplexity in 2024 for copyright infringement.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Aug. 7

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 7

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

I was cruising through the Across clues on today’s Mini Crossword until I got to 5-Across, which threw me for a loop. But once the Down answers began filling in, I figured it out. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in The Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Parts of a museum dinosaur exhibit
Answer: BONES

6A clue: Smiling Face with Sunglasses, for one
Answer: EMOJI

7A clue: Painter’s stand
Answer: EASEL

8A clue: Restaurant item often asked for by signing the air
Answer: CHECK

9A clue: Overly slapdash
Answer: HASTY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Tree with smooth gray bark
Answer: BEECH

2D clue: Nebraska city that’s home to Union Pacific headquarters
Answer: OMAHA

3D clue: Features of bloodhounds that are said to be 1,000 times stronger than humans
Answer: NOSES

4D clue: Boot from a game
Answer: EJECT

5D clue: ___ smooth
Answer: SILKY

Technologies

Apple Commits $100 Billion More Toward US Manufacturing

«Every new iPhone and every new Apple Watch sold in the world will contain cover glass made in Kentucky,» Cook said.

Apple says it’s increasing its investment in US production by another $100 billion over the next four years.

The company said Wednesday in a wide-ranging announcement that was leaked early by the White House that it will expand to $600 billion total its commitment to hire more US workers and expand some of its manufacturing across 10 states.

Apple CEO Tim Cook joined President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday to unveil its American Manufacturing Program, which includes plans for 100% of its development of cover glass for its iPhone and Apple Watch products in Kentucky in partnership with Corning. Apple plans to commit $2.5 billion to that product effort alone.

«Every new iPhone and every new Apple Watch sold in the world will contain cover glass made in Kentucky,» Cook said. iPhone cover glass is already being made at Corning’s Harrodsburg, Kentucky, manufacturing facility, though it’s not clear when 100% of the iPhone glass will be made there.

The Apple CEO said that the company plans to create an end-to-end silicon supply chain in the US, increasing the amount of chip design, manufacturing and packaging in the United States.

Read more: Trump Phone Site Drops Its ‘Built in US’ Claim

«American innovation is central to everything we do,» Cook said. «We’re growing and hiring here. We support 450,000 jobs with suppliers and partners in all 50 states.»

In the announcement, Apple reiterated what it previously said in February: that it was also planning to hire 20,000 US workers over that four-year time period.

Trump praised Apple and Cook in particular, calling him a «visionary» moments before questioning his athleticism.

The president repeated his assertion that there will be 100% tariffs on semiconductors imported from other countries.

«I think the chip companies are all coming back home,» Trump said. «If you’re building in the United States or committed to build without question, there will be no charge.»

The manufacturing of smartphones in the US has other ties to the president. When the Trump Organization announced the launch of a Trump Mobile service in June, it promised a gold phone called the T1 that would be manufactured entirely in the US. Those claims were later walked back after it was revealed the $499 phone’s specifications appeared to be similar to one made overseas for T-Mobile.

Apple’s shifting strategy

Apple has been shifting the way it produces its products this year in response to the steep tariffs against countries where it manufactures most of its flagship products such as iPhones. While Apple and other major technology companies don’t make smartphones in the US, some assembly of products using components made overseas can be done in the US.

The company has moved some production from China to countries including India and Vietnam to bypass tariffs and to reduce its reliance on China’s extensive manufacturing supply chains. Smartphone-makers have been facing tariffs as steep as 25% and Apple is trying to avoid price hikes on its products. The company is gearing up for the launch of the iPhone 17 in September.

During the press conference, Cook was asked about the possibility that Apple could manufacture an entire iPhone in the US. Cook said that some components are made domestically and assembly can be done in the US, but stopped short of promising an entire device made in America.

Trump said that Apple’s supply chains have been in place for while.

«We may incentivize them,» he said, but suggested he was optimistic that an all-US-made iPhone could happen «one day.»

Apple’s announcement included news of partnerships with companies that include Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Applied Materials, TSMC and others. Some of those efforts will include increased chip development and manufacturing domestically.

The company has also opened up a new factory that produces servers for the company in Houston. It will gear up for mass production next year. Apple said those servers will help with its Apple Intelligence efforts.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 7 #522

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 7 No. 522.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle isn’t that simple of a topic. The spangram especially confused me. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Rock solid.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: So dependable.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

HOLD, DOVE, DATE, DATES, READ, MOLD, RENT, FAST, RING, SING, FLOW, VETS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: