{"id":"1794713815511-tech-segment","slug":"spacex-catches-starship-with-chopsticks","title":"SpaceX catches Starship with chopsticks","summary":"NewsGuard did publish an investigation finding that a Russian disinformation network (the \"Pravda\" network) was producing massive volumes of AI-generated articles and that leading chatbots repeated its false claims roughly a third of the time in their tests. The \"poisoning\" or \"grooming\" framing, however, is contested: a Harvard Misinformation Review study found only about 5% of chatbot responses supported the disinformation, attributing the issue to \"data voids\" rather than deliberate manipulation. This is promotional, speculative content about AI's future with no specific factual assertion to verify. This is a truncated post promoting the author's own exploration of AI platforms for investors; it makes no checkable factual claim. This is a link-share post to an AI news podcast with no fa\n\nThe Verge reports that SpaceX successfully caught the Starship vehicle itself with its \"Mechazilla\" launch tower for the first time, after previously only catching boosters this way.\n\nTransportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference that the FAA's nationwide ground stop was tied to routine maintenance replacing old copper wire with fiber optic at a remote FAA facility.\n\nThe Verge reports that Magic: The Gathering is getting a Netflix animated series called \"Planeswalker,\" set for 2027, following an earlier 2019 tease that never materialized.","publishedAt":"2026-11-15T03:36:55.511Z","channel":{"id":"tech","name":"Oncast Tech","language":"en"},"show":"Tech Tonight","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"TRUE","notes":"TRUE: NewsGuard did publish an investigation finding that a Russian disinformation network (the \"Pravda\" network) was producing massive volumes of AI-generated articles and that leading chatbots repeated its false claims roughly a third of the time in their tests. The \"poisoning\" or \"grooming\" framing, however, is contested: a Harvard Misinformation Review study found only about 5% of chatbot responses supported the disinformation, attributing the issue to \"data voids\" rather than deliberate manipulation. This is promotional, speculative content about AI's future with no specific factual assertion to verify. This is a truncated post promoting the author's own exploration of AI platforms for investors; it makes no checkable factual claim. This is a link-share post to an AI news podcast with no fa\nSource: [axios.com](https://www.axios.com/2024/06/18/ai-chatbots-russian-propaganda) / [misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu](https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/llm (https://x.com/PawlowskiMario/status/2121245646346707314)\n\nTRUE: The Verge reports that SpaceX successfully caught the Starship vehicle itself with its \"Mechazilla\" launch tower for the first time, after previously only catching boosters this way.\nSource: [theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/science/1033930/spacex-chopstick-starship-catch) NAMES: Starship = SpaceX's fully reusable rocket; Mechazilla = SpaceX's (https://www.theverge.com/science/1033930/spacex-chopstick-starship-catch)\n\nTRUE: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference that the FAA's nationwide ground stop was tied to routine maintenance replacing old copper wire with fiber optic at a remote FAA facility.\nSource: [theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1033898/faa-ground-stop-sean-duffy-faa-copper-wire) NAMES: FAA = Federal Aviation Administration; Sean Du (https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1033898/faa-ground-stop-sean-duffy-faa-copper-wire)\n\nTRUE: The Verge reports that Magic: The Gathering is getting a Netflix animated series called \"Planeswalker,\" set for 2027, following an earlier 2019 tease that never materialized.\nSource: [theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1033909/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series) NAMES: Magic: The Gathering = trading card game; Roy Graham =  (https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1033909/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series)","claims":[{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"NewsGuard did publish an investigation finding that a Russian disinformation network (the \"Pravda\" network) was producing massive volumes of AI-generated articles and that leading chatbots repeated its false claims roughly a third of the time in their tests. The \"poisoning\" or \"grooming\" framing, however, is contested: a Harvard Misinformation Review study found only about 5% of chatbot responses supported the disinformation, attributing the issue to \"data voids\" rather than deliberate manipulation. This is promotional, speculative content about AI's future with no specific factual assertion to verify. This is a truncated post promoting the author's own exploration of AI platforms for investors; it makes no checkable factual claim. This is a link-share post to an AI news podcast with no fa","sourceName":"[axios.com](https://www.axios.com/2024/06/18/ai-chatbots-russian-propaganda) / [misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu](https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/llm","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/PawlowskiMario/status/2121245646346707314","claim":"Russia Is Trying to Poison Artificial Intelligence. And This Is Only the Beginning 🇷🇺🤖⚠️ A recent NewsGuard investigation exposed a Russian propaganda operation reportedly producing up to 43,000 AI-generated articles per month, deliberately attempting to influence what AI http","author":"Mario (@PawlowskiMario)"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"The Verge reports that SpaceX successfully caught the Starship vehicle itself with its \"Mechazilla\" launch tower for the first time, after previously only catching boosters this way.","sourceName":"[theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/science/1033930/spacex-chopstick-starship-catch) NAMES: Starship = SpaceX's fully reusable rocket; Mechazilla = SpaceX's","sourceUrl":"https://www.theverge.com/science/1033930/spacex-chopstick-starship-catch","claim":"Watch SpaceX successfully execute the first ‘chopstick’ catch of Starship - After aborting a planned catch of Starship Flight 15's booster, SpaceX successfully captured Starship with its \"Mechazilla\" launch and catch tower for the first time. The company has performed 'chopstick'","author":"The Verge"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference that the FAA's nationwide ground stop was tied to routine maintenance replacing old copper wire with fiber optic at a remote FAA facility.","sourceName":"[theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1033898/faa-ground-stop-sean-duffy-faa-copper-wire) NAMES: FAA = Federal Aviation Administration; Sean Du","sourceUrl":"https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1033898/faa-ground-stop-sean-duffy-faa-copper-wire","claim":"Work to replace old copper wire led to the FAA’s ground stop - At a press conference today, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that Friday's nationwide ground stop ordered by the FAA was related to work replacing outdated copper wire with a fiber optic line at a \"remote FAA","author":"The Verge"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"The Verge reports that Magic: The Gathering is getting a Netflix animated series called \"Planeswalker,\" set for 2027, following an earlier 2019 tease that never materialized.","sourceName":"[theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1033909/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series) NAMES: Magic: The Gathering = trading card game; Roy Graham = ","sourceUrl":"https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1033909/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series","claim":"Magic: The Gathering is getting a Netflix animated series. For real this time. - \"It's really happening. I promise. For real.\" Those are the first words from Roy Graham, Head of Story at Magic: The Gathering, in a video posted yesterday announcing Planeswalker, the animated serie","author":"The Verge"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/PawlowskiMario/status/2121245646346707314","name":"[axios.com](https://www.axios.com/2024/06/18/ai-chatbots-russian-propaganda) / [misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu](https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/llm","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Mario (@PawlowskiMario)"},{"url":"https://www.theverge.com/science/1033930/spacex-chopstick-starship-catch","name":"[theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/science/1033930/spacex-chopstick-starship-catch) NAMES: Starship = SpaceX's fully reusable rocket; Mechazilla = SpaceX's","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"The Verge"},{"url":"https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1033898/faa-ground-stop-sean-duffy-faa-copper-wire","name":"[theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1033898/faa-ground-stop-sean-duffy-faa-copper-wire) NAMES: FAA = Federal Aviation Administration; Sean Du","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"The Verge"},{"url":"https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1033909/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series","name":"[theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1033909/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series) NAMES: Magic: The Gathering = trading card game; Roy Graham = ","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"The Verge"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794713815511-tech-segment-spacex-catches-starship-with-chopsticks","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/tech","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794713815511-tech-segment-spacex-catches-starship-with-chopsticks","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1794713815511-tech-segment-spacex-catches-starship-with-chopsticks and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Matilda","text":"SpaceX just caught the Starship itself with those giant chopstick arms for the first time."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Not the booster. The actual ship. That's the one they've been trying to nail for years."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The Verge has the video. They aborted a planned booster catch, then went for the ship and got it."},{"host":"Chris","text":"So the backup plan was the harder thing. That's very SpaceX."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Okay, but why does catching the ship matter more than the booster?"},{"host":"Chris","text":"Because the booster catch they've done before. The ship comes back from orbit, belly-flops, then has to swing vertical and get grabbed. Way more violent."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And this is the piece that makes Starship actually reusable end to end."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Exactly. You don't throw away the second stage. That's the whole economic argument for Starship."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"But one catch doesn't mean it's reliable. They've lost how many ships on landing?"},{"host":"Chris","text":"Sure, but that's the point of testing! You fly, you break things, you fix them. Nobody else is even trying this."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I'm not saying it's not impressive. I'm saying let's see them do it twice in a row before we call it routine."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Fair. But this is the first time the full reusability picture has actually worked in one flight."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And the FAA ground stop story is a good reminder of how fragile the other side of infrastructure is."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Right, The Verge says the whole nationwide stop came down to replacing old copper wire with fiber at a remote facility."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Routine maintenance. That's what Sean Duffy called it. One facility takes down every flight in the country."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the part that should scare people. Not the wire itself, but that there's no redundancy."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"We can catch a rocket from space, but a single cable swap grounds the entire airspace."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Different worlds, same lesson: infrastructure is boring until it fails."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Speaking of things that fail quietly, there's a new fight about whether Russia is poisoning AI."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Mario on X posted about a NewsGuard investigation claiming a Russian operation pumps out massive volumes of AI-generated articles every month."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And the scary number: chatbots repeated the false claims about a third of the time in their tests."},{"host":"Chris","text":"A third? That sounds like a real problem."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"But here's the pushback. A Harvard Misinformation Review study found only about five percent of chatbot responses actually supported the disinformation."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Five percent versus a third? That's a huge gap."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The Harvard folks say it's not deliberate poisoning. It's data voids. When there's no good information, the model fills the gap with whatever junk it scraped."},{"host":"Chris","text":"But that's still a problem! If the model repeats Kremlin talking points five percent of the time, that's millions of wrong answers."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I'm not saying it's fine. I'm saying the framing matters. 'Poisoning' implies intent. Data voids imply neglect."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Who cares what you call it? The output is the same: people get lied to by a machine they trust."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Because if it's neglect, the fix is better sourcing and fact-checking. If it's an attack, the fix is... what, cyberwar?"},{"host":"Chris","text":"Okay, that's fair. The response depends on the diagnosis."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And the diagnosis is still messy. NewsGuard says grooming, Harvard says gaps. Both can be partly right."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Great. So the AI is either being poisoned or it's just eating garbage. Either way, don't ask it for news."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And if you want a break from all that, Magic: The Gathering is finally getting its Netflix show."},{"host":"Chris","text":"'For real this time.' That's literally the first thing the head of story said in the announcement."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The Verge says it's called Planeswalker, coming in 2027. They first teased an animated series back in 2019 with the Russo brothers."},{"host":"Chris","text":"So only eight years between tease and actual show. Very on brand for a game about waiting for your opponent to finish their turn."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I'll give them this: the lore is deep enough to carry a series. The question is whether they make it for fans or for everyone."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the trap every game adaptation falls into. Too much inside baseball, you lose new viewers. Too little, you annoy the people who actually care."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And Magic fans care a lot. They've been burned before."},{"host":"Chris","text":"I'll believe it when I see a trailer. 'For real this time' is not a release date."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Fair. But if they nail the tone, this could be the next Castlevania."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Or the next Halo. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."}]}