Michigan CEO fired for AI 'Lake America' sweater post — SkimNews
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- Family First Credit Union terminated CEO Jane Smith after she used ChatGPT to edit a family photo so their sweaters read "Lake America," then shared it on Facebook on September 11 while traveling from Detroit to Halifax, Canada
- The post went viral and drew backlash from Canadians, who highlighted that Halifax hosted thousands of stranded airline passengers when US airspace closed on 9/11 — making the timing especially offensive
- Smith apologized to Detroit station WJRT, calling it "poor judgment," saying "I am not a person that would ever want to offend or hurt anybody," but the credit union still parted ways with her effective immediately
- Family First Credit Union, based in Saginaw, Michigan, named Jason Acosta as interim CEO and apologized "for the concern, disappointment and pain this situation has caused our members and community"
- "Lake America" originated from Trump's late August executive order renaming Lake Ontario amid his trade war with Canada; Canadian PM Mark Carney and several US Great Lakes governors rejected the change
- Trump's order has no authority over Canada's portion of the lake, international legal bodies, international mapmakers, or the rest of the world, per the source
Why it matters: A single social media post cost a CEO her job because it collided with two sensitive contexts at once — the 9/11 anniversary and a unilaterally imposed lake renaming rejected by both Canadian and US state officials. For community-facing institutions, the episode shows how quickly AI-edited imagery can be deployed without vetting, with immediate reputational consequences.
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