A viral recording purporting to show a Maryland school principal making racist remarks has been determined to be fake by police. WBAL-TV. Police said the recording was made by the school’s former athletic director, Dazon Darien, who was angry that his contract was not renewed. Darien was arrested and charged with multiple felonies in connection with the incident, including stalking, theft, obstructing school operations and retaliation against a witness.
Principal Eric Eiswart became the subject of national controversy in January after a recording purporting to be his voice was widely shared on social media. In the apparently fake recording, a voice resembling Eiswart’s made numerous racist comments about black and Jewish teachers and students. As Blaze News reported at the time, Eiswart vehemently denied that statement and even suggested that the “recording” was likely generated by AI. Despite his denials, Eiswart was temporarily removed from his position as principal.
baltimore police started investigating He enlisted the help of both the FBI and the University of California, Berkeley. Both parties independently conducted forensic analysis of the recordings and came to the same conclusion that the audio recordings were not authentic and contained AI-generated content. According to WMAR-TV, Eiswart immediately told police that she suspected Darien had been involved in the recording out of animosity over Darien’s refusal to renew his contract, and that she had been following Darien’s guidance. He reportedly stated that an investigation is currently underway into a scheme to secretly pay the teachers who helped him. his job.
LIVE: Update on Pikesville High School investigation into AI-generated misinformation – wbaltv.comwww.youtube.com
Investigators were able to trace the initial distribution of the recording to an email address belonging to Darien. Darien reportedly said he initially sent the recording to three different teachers, one of whom sent the recording to three different teachers, even though he knew it was fake. to media outlets and the NAACP, and admitted to police that he knew the clip would be widely disseminated.
Darien was arrested Thursday as he was about to board a flight to Texas, according to WMAR-TV.
When the recording was made public, officials from Baltimore County Public Schools also came to condemn Mr. Eiswart. “While we cannot go into specific personnel details, given the significant impact this incident had on the Pikesville High School community and local, national, and international coverage, the administration is We are considering the above changes.” It is unclear what these changes involve.
School officials confirmed that Eiswart will not return to school for at least the remainder of the school year.
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