'Trump' Bug in iOS Dictation Ignites Debate: Glitch or Genius Prank?

Summary Apple has acknowledged a bug in its iOS dictation feature where the word 'racist' and other words with similar phonetics, such as 'rampant' and 'rampage,' are temporarily transcribed as 'Trump.' This glitch has gained attention on social media platforms like TikTok. An Apple spokeswoman stated that the issue is due to a 'phonetic overlap' between the words and assured that a fix is being worked on.

John Burkey, a former member of Apple’s Siri team, is skeptical of this explanation. He suggests that the bug may be a result of recent updates to Apple's servers and speculates that it could be a prank by someone within the company. The temporary correction of the transcription adds to his suspicion that there might be intentional software code involved.

Other sources, like The Wall Street Journal, have also noted similar issues with other words containing 'r' sounds, which lends some support to Apple’s phonetic overlap explanation.