We haven't heard much (thankfully) from Jim Acosta since his departure from CNN earlier this year. Like many journalists who've gone independent (either by choice or circumstances beyond their control), Acosta has found a new home on Substack and YouTube. In the months that he's been producing his show online Acosta hasn't really generated any headlines, but that changed this week when Acosta "interviewed" Joaquin Oliver, who was killed six years ago in the Parkland shootings.
A show you don’t want to miss at 4p ET / 1p PT. I’ll be having a one of a kind interview with Joaquin Oliver. He died in the Parkland school shooting in 2018. But his parents have created an AI version of their son to deliver a powerful message on gun violence. Plus Texas State… pic.twitter.com/mbdM2WxwUR
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 4, 2025
This was a one-of-a-kind interview all right, and for good reason. What Acosta did here wasn't an act of journalism. The kindest interpretation of the bizarre back-and-forth with an avatar of Oliver is that he was helping to alleviate the pain of two grieving parents by engaging with the AI version of their son that they've created.
A more realistic take on Acosta's sit-down, though, is that the former CNN journo is looking for clicks in all the wrong places and an attention-grabbing stunt like this one was guaranteed to generate interest, even if it didn't produce any actual news. Or rather, the news that was produced is that Acosta has sunk to a new low in a bid to get attract eyeballs.
Asked, “Joaquin, I would like to know what your solution would be for gun violence,” the AI copy replied, “Great question. I believe in a mix of stronger gun control laws, mental health support, and community engagement. We need to create safe spaces for conversations and connections, making sure everyone feels seen and heard. It’s about building a culture of kindness and understanding. What do you think about that?”
“I think that’s a great idea, Joaquin,” Acosta responded.
As opposed to Acosta's terrible idea of interviewing a large language model designed to push for more gun laws. Acosta didn't even try to ask Oliver's avatar some critical and pointed questions. Instead, it was a softball interview with what is essentially an anti-gun chatbot. What would the AI have said, for instance, if Acosta had pointed out that violent crime and homicides are falling at record-setting paces while tens of millions of guns have been lawfully purchased over the past few years?
Even if Acosta had bothered to push back on the talking points produced by the AI, I don't think it could have redeemed this "interview" or the damage done to the tattered remnants of his reputation as a reporter. At the end of the day, this just isn't journalism. It's a cry for attention; both from the Olivers and Acosta himself.
“We asked our friend Jim Acosta to make an interview, to have an interview with our son because now thanks to AI we can bring him back,” said Oliver’s father in a video. “It was our idea, it was our plan, and it’s still our plan. We feel that Joaquin has a lot of things to say and as long as we have an option that allows us to bring that to you, to everyone, we will use it.”
I understand the pain of losing a child, and I feel for the Olivers. My oldest son died in 2022, and not a day goes by that I don't wish I could spend even five more minutes with him. But I can't bring him back any more than the Olivers have been able to bring back their son, and no matter how much his parents can pretend otherwise, Joaquin Oliver didn't say anything to Jim Acosta because that wasn't Joaquin Oliver that Acosta was speaking with.
Acosta's stunt was pretty much universally panned, with reactions ranging from "profoundly gross" (Jonah Goldberg) to "insane and evil" (Robby Soave). The vast majority of the criticism was leveled at Acosta himself, I assume because nobody really wants to criticize someone for how they're dealing with their grief.
As someone who's lost both a child and a spouse in the last three years though, I have to say that I don't think what the Olivers are doing is healthy. I can even understand their anti-gun activism, though I don't agree with it. Trying to find meaning and purpose in the murder of their son is natural. Generating an AI version of their child and pretending that they can bring him back to life, on the other hand, is most definitely not.
Still, if they want to pretend the computer-generated version of their son is real to help ease their pain, that's their decision to make; just as it was Jim Acosta's decision to lob a few softball questions at an avatar programmed to push for gun control and pretend it was actual journalism. He may have thought he was just helping out a friend, but I suspect he also knew that what he was doing would garner a decent amount of attention. He definitely got that, and in the process helped to remind us why his name has been a punchline for years now.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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