SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, another look at the mass media’s mischaracterizations of prepping — now often AI-generated.

Britain’s Prepper Shops

In the UK Guardian: ‘People are worried’: the ‘prepper’ shops serving Britons who fear doomsday is coming.

ChatGPT Goes Wild on Mischaracterizing Preppers

Here is a nonsensical article that I found that was clearly written by an AI (such as ChatGPT), and illustrated by AI, as well: Understanding Survivalists and Preppers Amid Global Tensions. This article illustrates how absurdly over-used ChatGPT has become, and how its output is unreliable. Note how the article incorrectly applies the word “organizations” when it states:

“The term “prepper” is commonly used to refer to the other subculture in contrast to “survivalists.”

Both of these organizations believe that being prepared for everything is important.”

Also note that the AI-generated illustrations were apparently created with the cue phrase: “Show a survivalist woman with supplies in a shelter, holding a tool.”

The Philosophy of Doomsday Preppers

Reader H.L. sent us this recent example of one-sided leftist nay-saying: The Philosophy of Doomsday Preppers: What Would You Do to Survive?

Feds Partnered with Universities to Censor Americans

New Report Details How the Federal Government Partnered with Universities to Censor Americans’ Speech.

The FCC Votes to Approve Government Takeover of the Internet

Reader G.G.  sent this, from Trending Politics: The FCC Votes to Approve Government Takeover of the Internet.

Canadian Border Car Explosion

Several readers mentioned this incident: Authorities Reportedly Hunting for Second Vehicle After Border Bridge Explosion.

USDA Has Updated Their Climate Zones Map

Reader Chris C. wrote to mention that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has updated its Climate Zones Map. JWR’s Comments: The zones for about half of the country appear unchanged, and the other half seems to have shifted toward slightly warmer zone designations.  This begs the question:  Was this shift based on genuine data, or “climate change”  politics?

Nikki Haley Wants Social Media Users to Verify Identity

Martin W. Armstrong: Nikki Haley Wants Social Media Users to Verify Identity with Government.

Finnish Politician Charged for Quoting Bible Verse

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: “It Isn’t a Crime to Tweet a Bible Verse”: Court Dismisses Charges Against Conservative Politician.

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