Apple is scrambling to correct a bizarre iPhone dictation glitch that briefly suggested the word “Trump” when users dictated words with an “r” consonant—most notably “racist.” The issue, which gained traction after viral videos exposed the error, has sparked a flurry of online debate.
Viral videos expose dictation bug
iPhone users took to social media platforms like X and TikTok this week to showcase the problem. In multiple clips, users activated the dictation feature, said the word “racist,” and watched as the word “Trump” appeared on the screen before quickly being replaced.
Apple quickly responded to the controversy, admitting that its speech recognition model was at fault and confirming an immediate fix was being rolled out.
Apple acknowledges the error
“We are aware of an issue with the speech recognition model that powers Dictation and we are rolling out a fix today,” Apple told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The company further explained that other words containing the letter “r” were also erroneously triggering the bug, though it did not provide a list of affected words.
Despite the controversy, The Associated Press was unable to replicate the issue on Wednesday, suggesting that Apple may have already begun deploying a correction.
Tech controversy meets politics
The glitch comes at a time when Apple is increasingly clashing with the Trump administration.
This week, Apple announced a $500 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing and job creation, including the hiring of 20,000 employees and the construction of a new Texas factory.
The move comes as Trump threatens to impose tariffs on Apple’s imported goods, putting pressure on the tech giant to increase its domestic footprint.
Meanwhile, Apple shareholders recently rejected a proposal to align the company with Trump’s efforts to eliminate corporate diversity programs—a stance that has further fueled political tensions.
A quick fix or a bigger issue?
While Apple insists the dictation bug was unintentional, the incident has ignited widespread debate about AI biases, tech censorship, and political influence over digital platforms.
With the fix already in motion, iPhone users will soon find out whether this was just an innocent software hiccup—or something more.
