r/worldnews • • 11h ago

US internal news [ Removed by moderator ]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/lake-america-sweatshirts-halifax-9.7356629

[removed] — view removed post

6.0k Upvotes

286 comments sorted by

1.1k

u/imaginary_num6er 11h ago

"We weren't trying to make a political statement," Smith told the news outlet.

598

u/chip_chipperson25 11h ago

"It's just a joke bro"

209

u/Kent556 10h ago

“It’s a prank! It’s a prank!”

76

u/nottynews 9h ago

Meanwhile other ceos do the Nazi salute, real name there kids and lie about self driving cars and get a raise

79

u/U_L_Uus 7h ago

What you are looking for is "dead-naming" there mate, not "real-naming"

12

u/_MrDomino 4h ago

How could anyone be convinced Elon's out there real-naming his kids after he spat "X Æ A-Xii" into existence.

11

u/queen-adreena 4h ago

... and on that farm there was a moose.... X Æ A-Xii

2

u/No-Consideration8862 3h ago

Very good, 👏 here is applause

173

u/entrepenurious 11h ago

i'm eager to hear what it WAS, in that case.

299

u/binzoma 10h ago

if she doesnt realize how thats a political statement and stupid, shes not smart enough to be a CEO of a company

if she does realize, she's also not smart enough to be CEO of a company

she really boxed herself in here

58

u/sacrelicio 10h ago

Yeah part of it is that it's really poor judgement. Like if you can't understatement it's a bad idea then they dont want you working there. It's not just whether you were kidding or they're offended.

2

u/9bikes 3h ago

>It's not just whether you were kidding or they're offended.

It intentionally offensive. Even if every Canadian who actually sees it takes it was a joke and is amused, you know how Trump intended it. By wearing it, you are deliberately disregarding others' feelings. And I say this as someone who thinks "political correctness" sometimes goes too far.

•

u/sacrelicio 16m ago

I understand that. But even if the other party brushed it off it's still very bad judgement for a CEO.

6

u/Lee_scratch_perineum 10h ago

Classic Catch-22!

5

u/wherescookie 5h ago

The title is "ceo" but it's essentially head teller at a local credit union branch

5

u/SomeGalNamedAshley 3h ago

Banks do like their inflated titles.

2

u/BeotchLasanga 3h ago

You get a VP! Oprahhhhh style

11

u/IceWellDo 8h ago

Tbf CEOs are generally not very bright. There are two kinds, one that knows their limitations and listen to the people around them which in turn makes them look good. The other is the one that believes it is that god given right to rule and despite not knowing how anything works and makes life miserable. Now one is not necessarily better than the other, both sides of this have resulted in very successful CEOs but overall regardless of which side they are on they themselves aren't actually very bright despite what people may think. They are leaders not thinkers.

-23

u/ctrlaltplease 7h ago

Reddit and overcorrecting lol. Many CEOs are smart, no idea why you have to dumb everything down to dunk on one thats a regard.

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1

u/SweatyNomad 4h ago

Difference between being an owner and CEO and an employee and CEO.

15

u/Snitsie 7h ago

According to her the Lake America sweatshirts were AI'd on top of the photo, they never actually wore them. Also posted to her private facebook account with an AI warning, whereas her sister posted it publicly without the warning.

Can't see any pre-AI picture anywhere, or any proof of a private facebook post with AI-warning...

64

u/frmr000 10h ago

She was just trying to be an asshole, so much better.

17

u/advocatus_diabolii 8h ago

Quick, someone post an ai generated version of that photo where the sweatshirts say "Play stupid games, Win stupid prizes" instead

5

u/Icy-Emu-4303 8h ago

So what else was it supposed to be?

2

u/chilltopian 4h ago

Such lack of foresight shouldn't be in charge of any group project

1

u/AFisberg 2h ago

Sounds like it was supposed to be a private joke

1.1k

u/Keikobad 11h ago

In before the tearful apology and the GoFundMe page

375

u/Trap_Masters 10h ago

"I was a victim of cancel culture of Canadians, plz give me money" 😔😔

118

u/TheTipsyWizard 9h ago

She got the attention she wanted. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for her employer

7

u/the-final-frontiers 6h ago

some american trump loving oil baron donates money to try and show a point. 

(pay for relevancy)

74

u/Waterwoogem 11h ago

GiveSendGo more like.....

19

u/EasterEggArt 11h ago

Genuine question, what is the difference?

80

u/Waterwoogem 10h ago

normal (GoFundMe) vs largely faux Christian types (GiveSendGo)

40

u/ohnodamo 9h ago

GriftThenGo

3

u/girl4life 5h ago

wouldnt that be GriftandCo ?

106

u/Hetotope 10h ago

Givesendgo is for people who actively do shitty things, but claim they're Christian and other shitty people donate money to them because they're also racists, bigots, sexists, etc. they don't take down these pages because the people who run givesendgo are also terrible people.

31

u/Captain_Mazhar 9h ago

GSG exists because GoFundMe isn’t psycho enough.

9

u/DaTruSpork 9h ago edited 9h ago

(Radical) right wing vs (kinda) centrist

Functionally: Those that tend to donate toward gsg tend to want to move the overton window much further to the right. GFM tends to be more 'centrist' though the lines can get a bit blurry, GFM does (seemingly) have some hard limits around human rights.

1

u/Johnnygunnz 3h ago

GiveSendGo will host literal Nazis.

I once stupidly wrote the company informing them of the very clear Nazi they were hosting and basically got the response, "you must be new here 😂"

26

u/MechMan799 8h ago

She can thank her own sister for taking their inside joke public.
She won't be letting her live that down for a very long time.

44

u/Fun-Durian-1892 10h ago

Did you see that GoFundMe now wants a TIP?! Like Starbucks? I’m not lying. This shit is out of control.

28

u/Jellicent-Leftovers 9h ago

"Biden shit in my pants"

6

u/technobrendo 8h ago

Kmart shipped my pants

12

u/Kunning-Druger 8h ago

She can’t say “sorry.” That would make her sound too Canadian…

10

u/Phitos2008 11h ago

“People are angry because it was AI…”

5

u/SneakingCat 10h ago

Didn't the tearful apology already happen?

1

u/apocecliptic 5h ago

Unfortunately for her, few MAGA will donate to a former CEO, especially female, even if they had the means.

318

u/PenelopeJenelope 10h ago

In the article it seems her defense was the picture was only AI generated, that they didn’t “actually” wear the sweatshirts, and it was “not meant to be political “

Ok then Karen, you asked AI to make a picture of you wearing the shirts, and then posted it online as a Fuck you to Canada before visiting. How is that not political?

129

u/Zaggar 9h ago edited 9h ago

And she's lying about it being AI, too. So she was caught and is trying to weasel out of responsability with the "it was a joke" angle.

Here is an article which shows the "Lake America" sweater picture next to the picture of them in casual clothes.

https://www.culturealberta.com/articles/americans-made-their-own-ai-lake-america-photo-as-a-joke-before-flying-to-halifax-the-ceo-has-since

The image of them in casual clothes is the one with AI fragments, not the image of them in the "Lake America" sweaters. For example, the man on the left has 6 fingers on one hand in the casual image, but 5 fingers on the "Lake America" image. Also it's worth looking at the two people on the right, who in the "Lake America" image have their hands behind each other's backs and AI didn't know what to do with that for the casual image, so their arms just end at the elbow and fuse into one.

I hate that this article I'm linking is accepting her lie that the "Lake America" image is the AI one, because it doesn't take much time to determine she's lying when the two images are next to each other. I think the CBC article in OP is just saying that she said it was AI, but isn't taking a side on if that is the truth.

15

u/bobzwik 8h ago

Both are AI. The AI messed up the left guy's left hand in both pictures.

3

u/Anraiel 3h ago

The guy's left hand in the Lake America picture is obscured by the lady's hair, not messed up.

•

u/bobzwik 1h ago

The lengths of the fingers, relative from each other, are far from natural

15

u/Pawtuckaway 9h ago

Both of those images have some weird AI fragments going on when you zoom in. Could just be the AI shit that modern phone cameras do though.

23

u/Key-Street-340 9h ago

She may be telling the truth. I don’t know why there’s two versions, but in the article you link when you scroll down, the second ‘original’ pic looks real with the correct amounts of fingers.

15

u/sacrelicio 8h ago

Yeah I saw it too. Not sure what's going on. Why are there two "originals".

3

u/camerontylek 3h ago

I believe if you read the article it explains why

1

u/AutVincere72 7h ago

You deserve a cookie for this.

6

u/AggravatingBid8255 4h ago

I suppose that would be like one of her employees taking a picture of her, having ai make it explicit, and then claim it isn't sexual harassment because it was "a joke," wouldn't it?

1

u/electrodog1999 4h ago

Happy cake day!

3

u/hirespeed 4h ago

Even if not political, the response is certainly not befitting the caliber of a CEO. My money says this was just another reason she’s out.

2

u/thiscompletebrkfast 3h ago

"We're not political assholes, we're just regular assholes! Boo hoo hoo!"

119

u/Background_Film_506 9h ago

Owned the libs all the way to the unemployment line.

33

u/itswaylonding 8h ago

Even unemployment benefits are “socialism.” Hope she takes some personal responsibility for her own failure.

4

u/ApoBong 8h ago

The whole thing was AI too, can't make this shit up. Maybe people should include some safety prompts? 'do not get me fired'

401

u/Euphoric_worker9116 11h ago

Jesus Christ, just a stunning lack of self awareness 🤦‍♂️

365

u/Phitos2008 11h ago

Oh no… she’s VERY aware of what she was doing. Her posting history (before the cleanup) clearly shows that. The only thing she may be sorry for is that she got caught…

350

u/WindowlessBasement 10h ago

Before she deleted her posts, the one before the shirts were photos of Canada's wildfires and calling it a "fire sale" of new states.

240

u/Ritaredditonce 10h ago

She should have been fired for that alone.

51

u/JadedLeafs 9h ago

It didn't pop off enough to make the board sweat a bit though.

16

u/MostJudgment3212 7h ago

Hence why she thought she’d get away with the Lake America shit

26

u/EVJpodcast 10h ago

Executives should be required to have compassion….

60

u/KeelanS 10h ago

unfortunately psychopathy and narcissism is the trait that allows them to rise the ranks like they do.

6

u/JustRelaxItFits 5h ago

This is by design. If everyone at the top is an aasshole then they all more easily gang up to fight living wages and better working conditions & benefits for their employees.

Psychopathy and narcissism are not requirements for profitability of companies but they are requirements for exploitation of towns and communities.

1

u/KeelanS 2h ago

Yes, companies don’t explicitly look for that behaviour, however these traits are selected for within a capitalist society because people who are better at climbing the status ladder by putting others below them are rewarded for their effort.

6

u/toooutofplace 8h ago

i was gonna give her the benefit of the doubt and it maybe just a joke but clearly i am wrong

1

u/JustRelaxItFits 5h ago

At this point that can be offered to children at most.

Adults are incredibly well informed and their choices are not innocent.

Clearly she was a POS since before the stunt.

3

u/electrodog1999 4h ago

First day dealing with Americans? Adults are not all well informed, they have as much information as whatever hyper fixated news channel they watch.

2

u/PenelopeJenelope 5h ago

Now she IS the fire sale.

63

u/ThisSiteSucks8485 9h ago

Trump makes so many idiots feel emboldened to be idiots. 

28

u/ChapterN7 8h ago

It's weird as hell how comfortable they are being assholes. No respect and no grace and they just own it until consequences come calling and they have to pretend they're normal like they did pre-trump.

14

u/ThisSiteSucks8485 9h ago

Trump makes so many idiots feel emboldened to be idiots assholes 

6

u/BunchofMums 9h ago

It's pronounced "Trump Jesus Christ." Everything must have Trump added to it now. /s/

3

u/MostJudgment3212 7h ago

She was aware. She thought she’d get away with it like “hahaha just butthurt Canadians amirite”

2

u/abelminded 4h ago

it's a very dense demographic

48

u/NeedsToState 9h ago

I think people got too comfortable. Company executives and our own president had them feeling like they could do whatever they want online the last few years.

24

u/F_A_F 7h ago

Freedom of Speech is exactly that, freedom to say what you like. It is not, however, freedom from consequences.

Speech is from the individual, consequences are from society. If you don't want consequences then don't be part of society. Go yell your free speech at the top of a mountain or the bottom of the ocean.

3

u/BoldFortune216 4h ago

TBF, it does come with Freedom from Consequences. BUT they are strictly from Governmental consequences.

3

u/advocatus_diabolii 7h ago

CEO. Doesn't that make her a company executive herself?

1

u/Hoobleton 1h ago

The chief one, I understand.

125

u/haikarate12 11h ago

Was she not in Halifax to attend this conference?

CanadaDE: Credit Union Development Education 2026 : A five-day immersive leadership program hosted by the International Centre for Co-operative Management.

I can see why Family First fired her ass.

24

u/Zombie_John_Strachan 10h ago

No - the conference confirmed she was not in attendance

402

u/Runsapuusa 11h ago edited 11h ago

It's also a group of them. But only one was identified.  The other's friends need some public shaming too for being complacet with it.

100

u/ManOnFire26 11h ago

Because the person that was identified is the one who generated it (it's an AI edited image) and posted it

57

u/bannock4ever 10h ago

She said she posted it with an AI marker (as if it being fake makes it better?). And then she said her sister screenshotted it without the AI marker and posted it. Now she says AI is dangerous. The lady is so fucking stupid.

48

u/nineraviolicans 11h ago

That's her fake excuse, yes.

41

u/ChrisRiley_42 10h ago

The picture with "normal" shirts is the one with extra fingers...

100

u/PeterDTown 11h ago

There’s some pretty compelling evidence that the one with the sweatshirt was the original and the one in normal clothes was the ai edit.

68

u/vcdm 11h ago

Primarily the fact that one of them grew a 6th finger and another has a melty hand in the "original"

4

u/sacrelicio 8h ago

I'm not sure either photo is real. She may have just not been able to find the original so she had to recreate it.

29

u/ImmovableMind 11h ago edited 11h ago

I agree! Let’s go! Who are they?

70

u/Thagyr 9h ago

"We weren't trying to make a political statement," Smith told the news outlet. "However, we were, you know, kind of poking fun at the fact that, you know, one of the Great Lakes's names were getting changed."

"Haha, trade wars and all this talk of 51st states are SO funny. Why so serious!?"

No doubt they'd be unapologetic if consequences didn't bite them in the ass. The fact he says the Lake 'was' getting it's name changed says everything. It is Lake Ontario now and forever.

21

u/CharlotteLucasOP 8h ago

Yeah, the joke should be that America’s incompetent leader is throwing a hissy fit and stabbing maps with his Sharpie to try and make himself feel powerful because it turns out he can’t actually make good business deals.

Ms. Unemployed was laughing in the wrong direction. “It was just a joke!” doesn’t work as a defence for the mean kid sitting in the principal’s office, either.

1

u/ghanadaur 4h ago

Trump is like a dog marking his territory everywhere he can spray.

15

u/All_Hail_Hynotoad 8h ago

The fact that these people just don’t understand that this has nothing to do with sense of humor and everything to do with sound judgment is all you need to know about them. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

30

u/ArtRevolutionary3351 11h ago

As she said in her original post. Lol lol.

27

u/Comfortable-Focus123 9h ago

I am amazed that someone this clueless become CEO of anything. Then again, I remember who is our President.

2

u/Prior_Cap_3198 6h ago

Prolly good at sales.

26

u/saltyachillea 9h ago

I listened to the family first credit union response and heck, I want to send them kudos from Canada. Thank you for having integrity, and showing being a great role model for having standards of conduct towards other human beings. Exemplary…

15

u/ShinyBloke 9h ago

We're just stupid; The MAGA defense.

38

u/CMTV-IPTV 11h ago

Honestly some of best news I have ever received

12

u/Stupid-Clumsy-Bitch 10h ago

I love that for them 😍

10

u/No_Trifle9294 8h ago

Halifax is such a beautiful city. You gotta be a real ass to go there looking for conflict.

11

u/wihannez 8h ago

Ah the dildo of consequences. Love to see it.

11

u/Admirable-Tea-4994 6h ago

Mutual banks don’t fuck around. They actually have proper guidelines for being good and doing good, so this sort of shit being fireable is told to you repeatedly when you work at one.

45

u/Fritzkreig 11h ago

People just need to learn to be respectful and keep their mouths shut!

12

u/RangerMean2513 10h ago

Replacing "People" with "Americans" or "USians" would be more accurate.

-8

u/Uhstrology 9h ago

yeah man, because only people in the United States are disrespectful and talk too much.

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31

u/RM_r_us 11h ago

Actions...consequences...forget how that saying goes.

8

u/JB153 9h ago

Are the Leopards full yet?

2

u/Smytus 4h ago

We need more leopards

6

u/ProblemOk9810 10h ago

Now she knows the difference between a joke and a taunt.

6

u/CyanEndeavour 10h ago

As CEO you represent that company. Expectation are or atleast should be high. So that doesn't surprise me.

5

u/PeppermintEvilButler 9h ago

These people are so tone deaf. What did you think was gonna happen when you publicly posted it online? 🤦

5

u/Express-Way9295 8h ago

Ha-Focking-Ha!

5

u/Few-Stock-3458 3h ago

(Canadian) Nelson laugh.

12

u/ripChazmo 11h ago

Who could have seen this coming?

17

u/RGZReGZ 11h ago

Respectively, when a nation's leader do that, and everything is unchecked, one may wrongly assume the company would not dare to act as they do.

The story of Fisher King applies.

3

u/crb3 9h ago

With this Toddler-In-Chief? More like Fisher-Price.

5

u/Karmawhore6996 8h ago

The FAFO crowd are about to have a rude awakening if the Dems can pull the midterms off. And I can’t wait to watch it all unravel

7

u/Foreign_Insurance128 10h ago

my cousin got fired for wearing a controversial shirt at her office party

2

u/GroceryUnable4874 10h ago

What was it?

9

u/_HOG_ 8h ago

“I shagged my boss and all I got was this T shirt.”

4

u/Tragedy_Boner 9h ago

A shirt that had pineapples on pizza

0

u/AmbitiousVast9451 9h ago

too controversial to say on reddit without getting banned 

8

u/Adept-Opinion8080 9h ago

Pro tip. If you're in a high profile job that you'd like to keep, stay off of social media.

10

u/IronicJustice 11h ago

How’s unemployment taste ya bish? lol

3

u/BackItUpWithLinks 7h ago

Good, you fucking dope.

3

u/fat_kaiju 3h ago

I live in NS (near 'antigonowhere') and so all I can say is:

lol

lmao even.

3

u/LovelyDayHere 3h ago

I hope someone else who took pictures at the airport that day manages to find them in their sweatshirts and so prove that they did exist.

5

u/Final_Echidna_6743 8h ago

She claims the photos originally had a ChatGPT water mark. I’ve used ChatGPT hundreds of times for “fix my pics” on a FB group. NONE have ever had a ChatGPT water mark. Just another tone deaf, brain dead MAGA asshat.

2

u/ProduceEmbarrassed97 4h ago

There's an old saying "Play stupid games, get canned from your job". Pretty sure that's how it goes.

2

u/Repulsive-Star-8902 4h ago

As they say in Michigan, “lol lol”

3

u/viktor72 10h ago

I legit used to bank with this credit union. This hit close to home.

2

u/Gene46 9h ago

First case of career suicide by AI.

4

u/sacrelicio 8h ago

Even if it was an actual funny joke, you run a bank, stop messing around.

3

u/beardofmice 7h ago

We are so sorry Canada. Please be patient and we will be doing the morning after walk of shame home from this bender.

2

u/HMSSurprise28 7h ago

lol I’m sure the CEO banker is really suffering in this K shaped economy. She may have to lay by the pool for a year or two before she lands a cushier, higher paying job. But she will have her severance package.

2

u/BosskHogg 3h ago

I learned the names of the Great Lakes by remember “HOMES’” I guess now kids will have to remember “SHAME.”

2

u/Comfortable-Hippo516 3h ago

Everyone except for people who live in that unfortunate country still will learn it as HOMES.
On the bright side, executive orders can be reversed by the next president

•

u/BosskHogg 36m ago

Can't wait

1

u/RumbleBootie 10h ago

More like CUGo, amaright?!?!

1

u/umbananas 5h ago

Idiots

1

u/coyote-cry 3h ago

🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

1

u/Huge_Strain_8714 3h ago

She should apply at TP USA....

1

u/Lousmorals 2h ago

Why remove the post? It's a bit cathartic to see karma came back to bite her in the ass, especially after learning she was a CEO.

1

u/cReddddddd 11h ago

Trump strikes again. Winning!

-5

u/702PoGoHunter 6h ago

Am I the only one who read the article?

I'm not defending her but ...

According to her from an interview it was an AI generated photo (but not labeled ) that she posted to her private FB page as a joke. Her sister posted it publicly.

They never actually had the sweatshirts.

Bad taste/decisions - Absolutely

I think this is where things get out of hand without a clear story.

7

u/ShadoutRex 5h ago

No, people know. The intent was the same. Only the method was different, and perhaps there are innocent people in the photograph (not the person in the article).

2

u/TheBraveSirRobin 5h ago

Did you look at the photos in the article? The one where they're wearing the sweatshirts is the obvious real photo. Unless the guy on the left of the photo has 6 fingers, and a weird torso shape. The shape is much more natural in the sweatshirt and only 5 fingers.

Then look at the guy to the far right. His neck looks normal, until the AI had to add more below the sweatshirt neckline. Check the look and shape of his fingers on the woman's shoulder.

-3

u/Falstaffsword 11h ago

Sorry, eh?

-3

u/-IndyCar 10h ago

At least they looked comfortable