Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: How a UC Berkeley researcher is tracking Venezuela’s AI-fueled fakes

You won't want to miss Flipper Upper Properties Tour: Real Estate on the Berkeley Patch calendar

Patch AM Team's profile picture
Patch AM Team, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
Monday January 12th Patch AM
Monday January 12th Patch AM (Patch graphic)

Cheers Berkeley! We’re back, helping you stay up to date with what’s happening. Let's take on the day together! ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • How a UC Berkeley researcher is tracking Venezuela’s AI-fueled fakes
  • How a UC Berkeley–trained historian reshaped America’s 19th-century story
  • Why Berkeley activists took their anger to Chevron and I-80

Also on today's calendar: Flipper Upper Properties Tour: Real Estate and 9 more events.

Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

And lastly, we have a post from a neighbor, Ann O.!

Today's riddle: What did one elevator say to the other? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Weather forecast:

  • Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high of 60 and low of 40 degrees.
  • Tuesday: Mostly sunny, temps: high: 62, low: 39.
  • Wednesday: Plenty of sun, with a high of 62 and low of 43 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• < How AI-generated content increased disinformation after Maduro's removal (npr.org) — A UC Berkeley expert is helping explain how AI-generated photos and videos flooded social media after Nicolás Maduro’s seizure, blurring reality for viewers worldwide. The report details how tools like OpenAI’s Sora enabled convincing fake celebrations and scenes in Venezuela, raising concerns about voter perceptions and the future of real-time news online.
   

• Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, dead at 88 (bostonglobe.com) — Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Daniel Walker Howe, who studied and later earned his doctorate at UC Berkeley, has died at 88. His influential work reinterpreted early 19th-century U.S. history, emphasizing how technological and social change could expand democracy and moral progress rather than simply disrupt traditional life.
   

• Protests against ICE and U.S. intervention in Venezuela held in Berkeley at Chevron station and I-80 overpass (berkeleyside.org) — Protesters gathered this weekend at Berkeley’s I-80 overpass and the Chevron station on University Avenue to denounce a fatal ICE shooting and U.S. military action in Venezuela. Local residents, many longtime Berkeley activists, linked foreign policy, corporate power, and local needs like housing and homelessness, while a related demonstration targeted Chevron’s Richmond refinery.
   

📸 Around Berkeley

Feedback image
📸 Here’s a Berkeley picture. —Ann O. Like

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

NEW: Like a shout-out or pic? Click the heart!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Berkeley

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making Berkeley PatchAM possible:

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Some sort of major fire incident at the Bayer facility tonight.
    If you have any sort of sensitivity to airborne pollutants I suggest you avoid going outside anywhere north of Ashby and west of at least San Pablo… (Nextdoor SW Berkeley (Dwight-Ashby))
  • Update from last post.
    A neighbor was able to get footage from their home cam of the two dogs that chased my dog out of the park and ultimately lead to his death. I… (Nextdoor Southwest Berkeley)
  • Goodwill San Francisco Bay posted a job opening for Donation Attendant Part Time in Berkeley. Apply here.
  • Berkeley Unified School District posted a job opening for Accounting Technician in Berkeley. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Berkeley here.

🗞 Nearby News

Emeryville

  • Jan. 2026 Emeryville Retail & Services Report: Two Closures, New Luxury Store, Xfinity on the Move (evilleeye.com)

Oakland

Ok Berkeley! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I think I’m coming down with something!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

👉 Help make Patch AM better

We use a combination of real people and machines to tell you what’s happening around town. Learn more about Patch AM.

Share to NextDoor     Share to Facebook

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Berkeley