Apple fixing bug that caused dictation feature to type the word ‘Trump’ when users said ‘racist’ | CNN Business

CNN - Feb 26th, 2025
Open on CNN

Apple addressed a technical glitch in its voice-to-text system that briefly replaced the word “racist” with “Trump.” Users reported the issue, and Apple confirmed that the speech recognition model occasionally suggested incorrect words with phonetic similarities, promising a swift fix. This incident coincided with Apple's announcement of a $500 billion investment in U.S. infrastructure, which former President Donald Trump claimed as a victory for his tariff policies. However, Trump expressed frustration with Apple after its shareholders rejected a proposal to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, despite the board's recommendation to maintain them.

The timing of the voice-to-text bug highlights ongoing tensions between Trump and Apple, particularly around DEI policies. Trump's response to Apple's investment and DEI stance underscores his critical view of corporate diversity strategies. Meanwhile, Apple's investment announcement is significant amid U.S.-China trade tensions, as many of its products are manufactured in China. These developments shed light on the complex dynamics between major corporations, government policies, and social issues, with potential implications for both Apple's business strategy and broader conversations about diversity and inclusion in corporate America.

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RATING

6.8
Fair Story
Consider it well-founded

The article provides a clear and timely report on a technical glitch in Apple's voice-to-text system, effectively capturing the immediate response from Apple and the political reactions from Donald Trump. It successfully balances the perspectives of the involved parties but could benefit from additional input from independent experts to enhance credibility and depth. While the story is engaging and relevant to current public interests, particularly in the intersection of technology and politics, it lacks detailed technical analysis that could provide a fuller understanding of the issue. The article maintains clarity and readability, making it accessible to a broad audience, but its potential for controversy is limited by the straightforward presentation of information.

RATING DETAILS

8
Accuracy

The story accurately reports on Apple's acknowledgment of a technical bug in its voice-to-text system that resulted in the word 'racist' being temporarily replaced with 'Trump.' This claim is supported by multiple sources confirming the glitch and Apple's response to it. The article correctly attributes the issue to phonetic overlap, as stated by Apple. However, the story could have benefited from more technical details about how such a glitch could occur, which would require verification from independent experts. Additionally, the connection between Apple's investment announcement and Trump's policies is presented as factual, though it is more interpretative and could benefit from additional context or expert analysis.

7
Balance

The article primarily presents Apple's perspective and their response to the glitch, which is crucial for understanding the issue. However, it also includes Trump's reactions to both Apple's investment announcement and the shareholder vote on DEI initiatives. While the story provides a platform for both Apple's and Trump's viewpoints, it lacks input from independent experts or affected users, which could offer a more comprehensive view of the situation. The narrative leans slightly towards Apple's perspective, given the focus on their official statements and actions.

8
Clarity

The article is written in clear, straightforward language that makes the story easy to understand. It logically presents the sequence of events, from the discovery of the glitch to Apple's response and Trump's reactions. The structure is coherent, with each paragraph building on the previous one to provide a comprehensive overview of the situation. However, the article could improve clarity by including more technical explanations of the glitch and its implications.

6
Source quality

The article relies on statements from Apple and references Trump's social media posts, which are direct sources for the claims made. However, it does not cite independent experts or third-party verification of the technical details of the glitch, which would enhance the credibility of the report. The reliance on official statements without additional corroboration from external sources limits the depth of the analysis.

5
Transparency

The article provides clear information about Apple's acknowledgment of the issue and their plan to fix it, but it lacks transparency regarding the methodology used to identify and resolve the glitch. There is no disclosure of potential biases in Apple's explanation or any exploration of how the glitch might have affected users. The lack of detailed context about the technical aspects of the issue and the absence of independent verification reduce the transparency of the report.

Sources

  1. https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/02/26/trump-racist-apple-dictation-error-iphone/
  2. https://whdh.com/news/apple-fixing-bug-that-caused-dictation-feature-to-type-the-word-trump-when-users-said-racist/
  3. https://www.weny.com/story/52456795/apple-fixing-bug-that-caused-dictation-feature-to-type-the-word-trump-when-users-said-racist
  4. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/apple-to-fix-iphone-dictation-bug-that-briefly-types-trump-instead-of-racist/articleshow/118570275.cms
  5. https://news.sky.com/story/apple-fixing-bug-in-iphone-speech-to-text-glitch-which-interprets-racist-as-trump-13317255