WTF now?! #16 – Thursday 1–Wednesday 7 January 2026

Grok enabled online image abuse (and X doesn't care), libraries are booming but underfunded and Trump renaming the Kennedy Center has been met with boycotts, lawsuits and parody.

Welcome to the first WTF now?! round-up for 2026 – the first one in a long time and the first one on my new website. The X bin fire keeps on burning, this time because of a Grok image editing tool used to digitally derobe people in photos. Public outrage, media reporting and regulatory scrutiny hasn't seemed to encourge xAI to take responsibility though.

The latest move in Trump's hostile takeover of the Kennedy Centre has seen the esteemed institution renamed The Trump Kennedy Centre. Despite being in poor taste, the groundwork was put in place to make the change months ago – a pity no one at the time thought to buy the trumpkennedycentre.org domain though!

Less concerning is the resurgence of Australian libraries which have seen strong post-COVID visitation recovery. But there are concerns that funding and relevance may be putting pressure on these important players in the community.

Also: LEGO play goes digital and AI overviews called out for bad medical advice.

What's been going on?

Here's WTF happened this week:

Image editing Grok feature quickly became a tool for removing people’s clothing

In further proof that X is a bin fire, a new image editing tool is being used to generate non-consensual image abuse. Just before Christmas, X (formerly Twitter) added an ‘Edit image’ feature that lets users use AI to make changes to images they have uploaded or that other users have uploaded to the platform. Of course, some users took advantage of the new feature to partially or fully derobe photos of people.  How anyone thought that such a tool would be used for only innocuous purposes is frankly bewildering?!

⟨ Trust me, you don’t want to go looking for evidence but this thread gives you the gist. Warning, though, it’s alarming to say the least! ⟩

Unsurprisingly, a number of regulators have raised concerns. While the AI chatbot was apologetic – at least when prompted to be so – X certainly have not been. When asked by the ABC for comment, xAI’s autoreply to media simply said: "Legacy Media Lies".

⟨ To be fair, the X Safety account (@Safety) did post telling users not to use Grok to create CSAM but, as the first reply says, stopping Grok from creating it would be a better response. ⟩

If you really want to, here’s what’s worth reading about the Grok non-consensual image abuse controversy:

Grok under fire over complaints it let users undress minors in photos

The generative AI chatbot integrated with X is under international scrutiny after reports it was filling the social media platform with sexually explicit images of children and women.

ABC NewsABC News

Now Musk’s Grok chatbot is creating sexualised images of children. If the law won’t stop it, perhaps his investors will | Sophia Smith Galer

This may be a red line for those with ‘conservative values’ who fund his adventures in free speech, says journalist and content creator Sophia Smith Galer

The GuardianSophia Smith Galer

Grok chatbot allowed users to create digitally altered photos of minors in “minimal clothing”

Grok, the chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI, said it is fixing “lapses in safeguards” after social media users said it was generating sexualized photos of minors.

CBS NewsMary Cunningham Reporter, MoneyWatch

Libraries have bounced back post-COVID

I'm not sure why but a few articles about libraries have been doing the rounds in my feeds this week. ⟨ I suspect most of my audience already know this, but ⟩ libraries have always been social infrastructure and social connectors and continue to be. They run a wide range of public programs, are a place to read, study and work remotely and often loan much more than books. Libraries are also important digital access points for some members of the community.

For many libraries, a post-COVID decline in attendance has bounced back; a trend evident in the Australian Public Libraries Statistical Report 2023-24, put out in October last year by the National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA) and the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Reported key findings show that in the 2023–24 financial year:

• 88 million visits to libraries occurred in-person — up almost 10 per cent from the previous year.
• 174 million collection uses occurred, including 119 million physical loans and 55 million digital loans — averaging 6.5 items borrowed per person.
• 409,000 library programs were delivered nationwide, attracting more than 7 million participants, with literacy and lifelong learning sessions being the most well attended.
• Digital collections now account for 28 per cent of total holdings and 32 per cent of all loans, reflecting changing community preferences.

While increasing visitation and use of library services is a welcome trend, an ABC News article also points to some concerning causal realities:

• Library funding is not keeping pace with rising costs, hampening capacity.
• Greater physical and digital loaning is likely driven, at least in part, by people seek cost-of-living relief.
• With digital exclusion directly linked to social disadvantage and an increasing risk of a widening digital divide if AI skills are not widely deployed, libraries’ role in providing wi-fi, computers, one-on-one support and digital skills development remains crucial.
• Some libraries, such as  Lambton library, a small suburban branch of Newcastle Libraries, are no longer staffed, rather open+ technology allows it to run self-service, operating longer hours than staffed branches.

Even so, many people in the community are really aware of the full extent of what modern libraries offer. How do libraries get the word out? City of Marion Libraries have created a deadpan social media content series featuring librarian Denise Martin and marketing and communications support officer Jasmine Argent in quirky situations. Mixed in are subtle messages about the different services on offer.

⟨ I mean… who doesn’t like big books? ⟩

What’s worth reading about the state of libraries:

Libraries have bounced back after COVID. Here’s how they did it

Public libraries in Australia are experimenting with inventive ways to attract new members — but a lack of funding means they must do more with less.

ABC News

Adelaide’s viral librarians rack up fans on social media — including Ariana Grande

The team at Adelaide’s City of Marion Libraries grows a legion of fans on social media and sees their videos go viral, clocking up millions of views.

ABC News

Comedy writer trumped Trump to trumpkennedycentre.org ahead of Trump-Kennedy Centre name change

⟨ Okay, so this happened before this round-up period but it’s still worth flagging! ⟩

In late December, Donald Trump added his name to the Kennedy Centre. Given its name is defined in legislation, arguably only Congress can officially rename it. But since when did Trump care about the law? From the start of his second term in office, Trump has been actioning a takeover of the premier arts venue. Back in February last year, he spilled the Board of Trustees, appointing himself Chair, and installing a suite of loyal cronies as trustees. But things really ramped up in December.

On 7 December Trump took the unprecedented move of hosting the Kennedy Centre Honors – an annual ceremony recognising significant contributions to American culture through the performing arts – and admitted to being involved in who was honoured. During the event he 'slipped up', calling it the Trump Kennedy Centre. But only days later it was revealed that slip was actually foreshadowing a name change. On 18 December, those Trump-appointees voted unanimously to rename the venue to The Donald J Trump and The John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The next day the building’s façade and website were updated accordingly.

The renaming was made possible by rule changes passed in May 2025 that meant ex officio board members appointed by Congress no longer hold voting rights or count towards a quorum for meetings. Democratic US Representative Joyce Beatty – one of those ex officio members – has taken legal action to try to get Trump’s name removed. From the Notice of Filing:

“… in scenes more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic—the sitting President and his handpicked loyalists renamed this storied centre after President Trump. This is a flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order. Congress intended the Centre to be a living memorial to President Kennedy—and a crown jewel of the arts for all Americans, irrespective of party. Unless and until this Court intervenes, Defendants will continue to defy Congress and thwart the law for improper ends.”

As with Trump’s earlier Kennedy Centre actions, the renaming has received condemnation and protest. Living relatives of President John F Kennedy have denounced the move and a number of artists have cancelled appearances at the performing arts centre in protest.

Trump may have let the name change slip a few weeks early, but someone who anticipated it back in August was comedy writer Toby Morton. Morton registered trumpkennedycenter.org and trumpkennedycenter.com assuming the President and stacked board would add Trump’s name. These will soon add to the many political parody websites Morton operates. 

Here’s what is worth reading on Trump’s recent moves on the Kennedy Centre:

Donald Trump’s Name Added to Kennedy Center D.C. Exterior and Website, After Experts Say Renaming Move Is Illegal

Donald Trump’s name was added above the name of John F. Kennedy on D.C.’s Kennedy Center exterior and website. Legal experts said the renaming is illegal

VarietyTodd Spangler

Lawmaker sues to remove Trump’s name from Kennedy Center

Rep Joyce Beatty, who sits on the centre’s board, argues the name change is illegal because it requires approval from Congress.

BBC NewsByMadeline Halpert

New Lawsuit Challenges Illegal Renaming of the Kennedy Center

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Joyce Beatty today sued President Trump and others to stop the unlawful renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the Congresswoman in her capacity as an ex officio trustee of the Kennedy Center by Democracy Defenders Action and the Washington Litigation Group.

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty

Inside Trump’s Bonkers Kennedy Center Honors

I attended the Honors hoping to evaluate it on artistic merit, but politics was the star of this show. Now I just want to fund a production of ‘Lesbian Othello.’

DC Theater ArtsNicole Hertvik

A bit on the side

WTF else happen this week:

LEGO's new SMART Bricks are a few bricks more than a load! LEGO unveiled its SMART Play System yesterday at CES 2026. The system includes SMART Bricks which have LED lights, a speaker, an accelerometer and a 4.1mm ASIC chip that can sense and interact with other SMART Bricks, SMART Minifigures and SMART Tags (tiles that give SMART Bricks context as to how they are being used). The first SMART Play sets to hit the market will be Star Wars branded: Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, Luke Skywalker’s Red Five X-Wing and the duel in Emperor Palpatine’s Throne Room and A-wing set. Pre-orders for the new sets start this Friday and the sets will launch on 1 March.

Lego unveils a technology-packed Smart Brick at CES 2026

Lego’s technology-packed Smart Brick is unlike anything the company has created before.

Yahoo!Nathan Ingraham

Anna’s Archive’s .org domain down Anna's Archive are deluding themselves if they don't think the suspension of their annas-archive.org domain is related to their announcement that they had scraped 300TB of data from Spotify. It is rare for .org domains to be suspended and the US Public Interest Registry (PIR) which manages them generally does not suspend domains voluntarily, so it is likely the result of a court order. Although it could be related to other legal action against the service. In the meantime, Anna's Archive remains available at other domains.

Anna’s Archive Loses .Org Domain After Surprise Suspension * TorrentFreak

Popular shadow library Anna’s Archive has lost control over its main domain name. Annas-archive.org was suspended and put on serverhold status.

Ernesto Van der Sar

Medical AI search overviews bad for your health In a surprise to no one, medical advocates are calling out AI Overviews in Google Search which prioritise screen real estate at the top of search results for AI summaries that are known to include inaccurate health information. An investigation by The Guardian has found that the AI-generated summaries return false and misleading health information when users search for conditions such as pancreatic cancer, healthy liver function, vaginal cancer and mental health.

Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice

Exclusive: Inaccurate information presented in summaries, Guardian investigation finds

The GuardianAndrew Gregory

Colophon

Reuse

AI use

AI was used to generate the first version of the TL;DR summaries but were not included verbatim. The main body copy was not generated using AI, nor was it not modified or improved using AI.

The banner graphic (i.e. the first image at the top of the blog post) was adapted from vector graphics generated in Adobe Illustrator using Firefly 4 with 'Subject' content type selected and the lowest level of detail set. { Text to Vector Graphic prompt: Seamless pattern, very large simple shapes, 80s retro style, fluid organic elements, morphing, overlapping, blurred gradients, visible layers }

Provenance

This blog post was first published on Wednesday 7 January 2026. It has not been updated. This is version 1.0.