Two federal judges<\/a> have ruled that the government cannot suspend SNAP benefits, with both requesting updates on the restoration of funding by no later than Monday.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, numerous videos claiming to feature SNAP recipients \u201cgaming the system\u201d and complaining about losing their source of income have gone viral in recent weeks, drawing ire from conservatives who have been quick to use the videos as proof of undeserving SNAP recipients. Almost all of these videos, which are likely the ones Che is referring to in his post, feature Black individuals.<\/p>\n Fox News contributor Brett Cooper posted a video<\/a> reacting to several of those videos, responding to one by saying, \u201cThis is insane. You\u2019re telling me that it is my responsibility to make sure that your children are fed?\u201d<\/p>\n However, the majority of clips conservatives have seized upon are not real<\/a>: many of the videos were made with OpenAI\u2019s Sora 2 video generator, and designed to play into racist stereotypes about people who receive SNAP benefits. <\/p>\n OpenAI, which was originally co-founded by Elon Musk and is currently overseen by CEO Sam Altman, did not immediately return a request for comment.<\/p>\n The AI videos also provided cover to politicians like GOP congressman Clay Higgins<\/a>, who told SNAP recipients to \u201cstop smoking crack\u201d if they couldn\u2019t figure out how to stock their pantries on $4,200, an amount he claimed was what the average SNAP family receives in a year.<\/p>\n A report<\/a> from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the average benefit per person is $188 a month, or $6.17 per day\u2014almost half of the number Higgins claimed. With food prices rising by more than 23 percent since 2020, the average American now spends more than $900<\/a> on groceries each month.<\/p>\n Fox News also reported on the videos, initially publishing<\/a> an article with the headline, \u201cSNAP beneficiaries threaten to ransack stores over government shutdown.\u201d<\/p>\n After learning that the videos were AI-generated, it changed the headline to, \u201cAI videos of SNAP beneficiaries complaining about cuts go viral\u201d and added an editor\u2019s note that read, \u201cThis article previously reported on some videos that appear to have been generated by AI without noting that. This has been corrected.\u201d<\/p>\n While Republicans wait for permission to feed the 42 million Americans who receive food stamps, food pantries across the country are seeing significantly longer lines than usual<\/a>. One food pantry in New York City, Che\u2019s hometown, saw 200 more people than average lining up for basic necessities on Saturday.<\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/UARINGEUD5EPBGLEYMKOOSYX3Q.jpg\")
Colin Jost and anchor Michael Che co-host SNL’s “Weekend Update.” NBC\/Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images <\/p>\n