Watching From the Outside: Why Some Are Drawing Uncomfortable Parallels With America’s Direction

28 January 2026

Paul Francis

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From the outside looking in, the United States feels tense in a way that is hard to ignore. Recent news has heightened that sense even further. On 24 January 2026, federal immigration agents fatally shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti during an operation in Minneapolis. Pretti was a lawful gun owner and had no significant criminal record, but video footage circulating online shows him recording officers with his phone and attempting to help a woman before being pepper-sprayed, wrestled to the ground and shot multiple times by agents. His death came amid a broader surge in immigration enforcement actions in the city that has sparked widespread protests and national debate about the use of force and accountability.

Police officers in black riot gear stand in formation on cobblestone street, holding batons, creating a tense and serious mood.

The killing of Pretti, who was widely remembered by colleagues and neighbours as compassionate and dedicated to his work, has drawn sharp criticism from civil rights groups, local officials and even former U.S. presidents. Public anger has spread beyond Minneapolis to rallies in other American cities and ongoing demands for transparency and reform.

For many people overseas, including in the UK, this adds a stark, human dimension to long-standing debates about immigration enforcement, executive power, and the use of force by federal agents.

Historical Echoes and Patterns of Enforcement

What unsettles observers most is not a superficial comparison to the worst chapters of history, but the processes that unfold when state power is exercised with increasing visibility and limited accountability. In the early 1930s in Germany, for example, enforcement and security agencies were expanded, rhetoric framed certain groups as threats to public order, and legal mechanisms were adapted gradually in the name of national security. Before the worst atrocities occurred, many citizens still believed institutions would hold firm.

The parallels some are drawing today are about how language, enforcement and public perception can shift over time, not about equating present-day events with the horrors of the Holocaust or claiming that history is bound to repeat itself. Democracies do not erode overnight. They do so when extraordinary measures become normalised and when fear is used as justification for expanding state authority.

Immigration Enforcement and Public Fear

The focus on agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol under the current administration has made enforcement part of everyday conversation in a way that was once reserved for national security crises. Actions such as raids, aggressive detentions, and high-profile shootings like the deaths of Pretti and Renee Good earlier this month have drawn comparisons to historical moments when internal policing exerted extraordinary authority over civilians.

From the outside, this visibility of enforcement is unsettling. In situations where armed federal agents are deployed in large numbers to American cities, and when deaths occur in contested circumstances, the tendency is for commentators and historians to look back at how other societies responded to similar shifts in state behaviour and to ask whether existing checks and balances are sufficient.

Rhetoric and the Framing of Threats

Language plays a powerful role in shaping public opinion and policy. In the early 20th century Europe, political leaders increasingly used rhetoric that framed certain groups as dangerous or incompatible with national identity. This language made previously unthinkable policies acceptable to a broad public.

In the U.S. context, political rhetoric around immigration has in some quarters suggested that foreign nationals or dissenters pose existential threats. Critics argue that such language sets the tone for enforcement actions that might otherwise be widely criticised.

The Legal System and Incremental Change

One of the most important lessons from modern history is that authoritarian systems often emerge through the reinterpretation or expansion of existing laws, rather than through the overt suspension of democratic systems. Courts, legislatures, and enforcement agencies remain in place in the United States, but when emergency powers or discretionary enforcement are normalised, the public’s trust in institutions can be eroded.

These concerns are not hypothetical. Critics have pointed out that the legal frameworks governing immigration enforcement give federal agencies enormous discretion. When enforcement is paired with aggressive tactics in civilian urban environments, it raises questions about oversight, accountability and the protection of civil liberties.

Why Observers Abroad Are Paying Attention

The United States has long been seen as a beacon of democratic values, a country where civil liberties and the rule of law are central to national identity. From the UK and Europe, watching developments in Minneapolis and across the U.S. feels significant precisely because it tests that assumption.

Modern communication accelerates polarisation and magnifies every incident. Historical memory informs how we interpret patterns. Europe’s twentieth-century experience serves as a backdrop that makes observers sensitive to early indicators of democratic erosion, such as expanded enforcement powers, heightened rhetoric about internal threats, and the normalisation of force against civilians.

It is not that the United States today mirrors Germany of the 1930s in outcome or intent. The difference lies in context, institutions and culture. What resonates is not the specific ideology, but the processes by which states can extend authority, restrict dissent, and normalise exceptional measures in the name of order.

A Cautionary Perspective

What worries many observers is not that a totalitarian system is inevitable. Democracies are resilient and multifaceted. The U.S. still has strong independent courts, vibrant civil society and free media. But history teaches that complacency is dangerous. Democracies do not disappear because people want tyranny. They erode when early warning signs are dismissed as exaggeration.

From Minneapolis to broader immigration enforcement debates, what is happening in the United States prompts reflection on how democratic societies balance security, liberty and accountability. From the outside, that balance feels more fragile than many expected.

And in a world where U.S. domestic policy often influences global norms, those questions matter far beyond America’s borders.

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Veo 3: Google's Leap into AI-Generated Video and the Questions It Raises

Paul Francis
May 26, 2025
2 min read

Google’s unveiling of Veo 3, its most advanced generative video model to date, signals a profound shift in how synthetic media will be created, consumed, and policed. Announced at Google I/O 2025, Veo 3 marks a major milestone in the race to produce high-quality, photorealistic videos directly from text prompts—at scale, with startling coherence and realism.

While the technical feat is undeniably impressive, it also introduces complex questions around truth, trust, and the future of digital content.

What Can Veo 3 Actually Do?

Veo 3 is capable of generating high-resolution (1080p and above) videos that feature longer sequences, dynamic camera movements, and stylistic control. Users can input detailed prompts—such as “a drone shot over a misty mountain range at sunrise” or “a surreal animation of floating cities in a purple sky”—and receive results that rival stock footage libraries.

Google has emphasized that Veo handles physics-based motion, fluid dynamics, and temporal consistency better than previous models. It also supports multiple cinematic styles, from realistic live-action to painterly animation. All of this is available via VideoFX, Google’s limited-access tool for testing Veo in creative workflows.

Where Could Veo 3 Be Used?

The implications for creative industries are vast. Veo 3 has immediate applications in:

Advertising and Marketing: Generating campaign visuals or animations without the need for physical shoots.
Education: Creating dynamic visual explanations for scientific or historical content.
Independent Film and Animation: Empowering small studios or solo creators to generate scenes that were once cost-prohibitive.
Stock Footage Replacement: Offering endless, on-demand footage for background visuals or B-roll.

As the model evolves, we may see it integrated into YouTube workflows, presentation tools, and even consumer devices—putting powerful generative video at nearly everyone’s fingertips.

The Misinformation Threat

Yet, with such power comes serious risk.

Veo 3—and generative video models like OpenAI's Sora and Runway Gen-2—can also be weaponised to create misleading or entirely fabricated content. While Google has embedded SynthID, an invisible watermarking system, to track and identify Veo’s outputs, not all platforms (or viewers) are equipped to detect or interpret these signals.

Potential vectors for misuse include:

Falsified news footage: Simulating war zones, protests, or natural disasters.
Political propaganda: Creating videos that appear to show public figures in compromised or fabricated situations.
Social engineering scams: Mimicking real environments to build fake authority or urgency.

The average internet user may not be equipped to distinguish real from synthetic—especially when these videos are viewed casually on platforms like TikTok or Instagram. Unlike written misinformation, synthetic video bypasses rational analysis and appeals directly to visual credibility.

🧠 What Comes Next?

We are entering an era where "seeing is believing" no longer applies. While Veo 3 represents a breakthrough in creative possibility, it also intensifies the arms race between synthetic media creation and detection.

The responsibility doesn’t rest solely with Google. Platforms, regulators, educators, and everyday users must all adapt to this new visual landscape. Media literacy must evolve—not just to understand what AI can do, but to critically question what we’re watching.

"Veo 3 may help people visualise their imagination. But if misused, it could help others manipulate ours."