$BTC Fact Check: Fox News video of Warren Buffett promoting bitcoin giveaway is a deepfake
A video of a Fox News broadcast showing American billionaire investor Warren Buffett promoting a bitcoin giveaway is fake, according to representatives for Fox and Buffett. An Instagram post, opens new tab shows a Fox News segment where Buffett appears to be promoting a Bitcoin website.
A voiceover on a clip of Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum says, “Warren Buffett, can you tell us about your spontaneous decisions lately?”
February 2, 2024 The Honorable Richard A. Jones United States District Judge Western District of Washington 700 Stewart Street, Suite 13128 Seattle, WA 98101-9906 Dear Judge Jones, While I know I will have the chance to address the Court in person at sentencing, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank the Court and the Probation Office now for the time and consideration given to me during this process. Probation Officers Whaley and Asbury-Baca have allowed me the chance to speak freely and candidly, and to understand me for who I am – as a whole person. I am grateful. And I thank the Court, for which I have enormous respect, for its thoughtful consideration of my case. I apologize for my poor decisions and accept full responsibility for my actions. In hindsight, I should have focused on implementing compliance changes at Binance from the get-go, and I did not. There is no excuse for my failure to establish the necessary compliance controls at Binance. I wish I could change that part of Binance’s story. But under my direction, Binance has now implemented the most stringent anti-money laundering controls of any non-U.S. exchange, and those controls have been in place since 2022. It is difficult to describe how quickly we grew and how chaotic it was to keep Binance afloat in those early years as we tried to keep up with the unexpected, extreme exponential growth. In the end, we built a great product, which has safeguarded all users and their funds at every turn. I also apologize to everyone I have let down: my family, friends, Binance employees, and the larger crypto community.While I take some comfort from the hundreds of people who have written Letters of Support on my behalf and about me, I am reminded about the heavy significance of this moment: my life has changed in many ways. I am no longer the CEO of Binance and it is impossible to describe how much of me was wrapped up in the company. Improving Binance, making it a secure platform, providing financial access for hundreds of millions of users all around the world, was a huge part of who I was. I assumed I would be doing that for the next several decades. That life no longer exists for me. It was difficult to come to terms with that at first, but I have accepted it. I look forward to making positive impacts elsewhere in the future. In looking to the future, I have taken time to reflect on the past. My path has been unconventional: I grew up in an immigrant family with both parents earning close to minimum wage. I have worked every day since I was 14 years old, and keeping a simple lifestyle, I was able to pay my own way through college. I took no student loans. In college, I fell in love with tech and tried my hand at multiple, failed startups before Binance. When those failed, I have always returned investor money and made everyone whole. I looked at myself and said, “Let me try again.” I also don’t like to leave issues unresolved. And that is why I voluntarily surrendered and took responsibility in this case—because I want to resolve the issue before this Court and to try again. I want to make things Case right, close the chapter, turn the page, and focus on the next chapter of my life. I originally became interested in cryptocurrency because of the inclusiveness and equal opportunity it provides to everyone in the world. Looking forward, I see many opportunities in biotech as well. Specifically, I feel too much of the current medical research is too profit driven. Big pharma has their quarterly earnings reports, nudging them ever so slightly to prioritize profits, such as drugs that people have to take for forever. I’d like to help fund small research labs with the aim of curing diseases once and for all, as well as providing medical access to billions in the world using blockchain technologies. I’d also like to fund combating health issues that are not widespread enough to make research and development financially attractive for the major pharmaceutical companies, but are still devastating to the unlucky few whose health is impacted by them. I have already spoken with a number of biotech startups in this area during the last couple of months and would like to make this one area of focus in the next chapter of my life. Another area I will continue to spend time on is helping the youth, which was a priority for me during my time at Binance. From education programs in Africa, to improving living standards for the underprivileged youth in Southeast Asia, to University programs in Europe, I intend to spend a significant portion of my time and resources in this area going forward, in as many places as possible, not limited to the examples mentioned above. Words cannot explain how deeply I regret my choices that result in me being before the Court. Rest assured that it will never happen again. Please accept my assurance that this will be my only encounter with the criminal justice system and that going forward I will live my life in a manner that will make everyone proud. Sincerely, Changpeng Zhao