Investigation exposes Florida news outlet as AI-generated fraud

function setButtonState(button, state) {
const hint = button.parentElement && button.parentElement.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-hint]’);
const followLabel = button.dataset.followLabel || ‘Follow’;
const followingLabel = button.dataset.followingLabel || ‘Following’;
const signinLabel = button.dataset.signinLabel || ‘Sign in to follow’;
const loadingLabel = button.dataset.loadingLabel || ‘Saving…’;
const pendingAuthLabel = button.dataset.pendingAuthLabel || ‘Loading…’;
button.classList.remove(‘is-following’, ‘is-loading’, ‘is-auth-required’);

if (state === ‘loading’) {
button.classList.add(‘is-loading’);
button.disabled = true;
button.textContent = loadingLabel;
if (hint) {
hint.textContent=”Updating your followed authors…”;
}
return;
}

if (state === ‘pending-auth’) {
button.classList.add(‘is-loading’);
button.disabled = true;
button.textContent = pendingAuthLabel;
if (hint) {
hint.textContent=”Checking your sign-in status…”;
}
return;
}

button.disabled = false;

if (state === ‘following’) {
button.classList.add(‘is-following’);
button.textContent = followingLabel;
if (hint) {
hint.textContent = followingLabel === ‘Unfollow’
? ‘Remove this writer from your followed list.’
: ‘Click again to unfollow.’;
}
return;
}

if (state === ‘signin’) {
button.classList.add(‘is-auth-required’);
button.textContent = signinLabel;
if (hint) {
hint.textContent=”Sign in to follow writers and manage your list.”;
}
return;
}

button.textContent = followLabel;
if (hint) {
hint.textContent=”Click to follow.”;
}
}

function renderWidgets(scope) {
const root = scope || document;
root.querySelectorAll(‘[data-author-follow-widget]’).forEach(function (widget) {
const button = widget.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-button]’);
if (!button) {
return;
}

const staffId = widget.dataset.staffId;
const hasToken = !!getBearerToken();

if (!isPianoIdentityReady() && !hasToken) {
setButtonState(button, ‘pending-auth’);
return;
}

if (!hasToken) {
setButtonState(button, ‘signin’);
return;
}

if (followedAuthorsMap.has(String(staffId))) {
setButtonState(button, ‘following’);
} else {
setButtonState(button, ‘follow’);
}
});
}

function renderManageList(container) {
if (!container) {
return;
}

const hasToken = !!getBearerToken();

if (!isPianoIdentityReady() && !hasToken) {
container.innerHTML = (
‘

Checking your account status…

‘
);
return;
}

if (!hasToken) {
container.innerHTML = (
‘

Sign in to load the authors you follow. ‘ +
‘Sign in

‘
);
return;
}

const followedAuthors = Array.from(followedAuthorsMap.values());
if (!followedAuthors.length) {
container.innerHTML = (
‘

You are not following any authors yet. ‘ +
‘Use the follow buttons on stories or staff pages to build your list.

‘
);
return;
}

container.innerHTML = followedAuthors
.map(function (author) {
return (
‘

‘
);
})
.join(”);

bindEvents(container);
renderWidgets(container);
}

async function refresh(scope, options) {
const forceFetch = !!(options && options.force);

if (!hasFollowWidgets(scope)) {
return;
}

// Wipe the cached map BEFORE the first render so a user-switch can’t
// momentarily display the previous user’s “Following” state.
discardCacheIfTokenChanged();

renderWidgets(scope);

const manageContainer = document.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-manage-list]’);
const managePreferencesContainer = document.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-manage-preferences]’);
const hasToken = !!getBearerToken();

if (!isPianoIdentityReady() && !hasToken) {
renderWidgets(scope);
renderManagePreferences(managePreferencesContainer);
renderManageList(manageContainer);
return;
}

if (!hasToken) {
renderManagePreferences(managePreferencesContainer);
renderManageList(manageContainer);
return;
}

try {
await loadFollowedAuthors(forceFetch);
renderWidgets(scope);
renderManagePreferences(managePreferencesContainer);
renderManageList(manageContainer);
} catch (error) {
console.warn(‘Unable to load followed authors.’, error);
if (error && error.code === ‘AUTH_REQUIRED’) {
renderWidgets(scope);
renderManagePreferences(managePreferencesContainer);
renderManageList(manageContainer);
}
}
}

function startLoginPoll() {
if (loginPoll) {
clearInterval(loginPoll);
}

let attempts = 0;
loginPoll = setInterval(function () {
attempts += 1;
if (getBearerToken() || isLoggedIn() || attempts > 25) {
clearInterval(loginPoll);
loginPoll = null;
refresh(document, { force: true });
}
}, 1000);
}

function stopPianoReadyPoll() {
if (pianoReadyPoll) {
clearInterval(pianoReadyPoll);
pianoReadyPoll = null;
}
}

function startPianoReadyPoll() {
stopPianoReadyPoll();

let attempts = 0;
pianoReadyPoll = setInterval(function () {
attempts += 1;
if (isPianoIdentityReady() || getBearerToken() || attempts > 40) {
stopPianoReadyPoll();
// Non-forced: if bindPianoInitRefresh already fetched, the TTL
// dedupes this call. If it lost the race, this call wins.
refresh(document);
}
}, 500);
}

function bindPianoInitRefresh() {
if (pianoInitBound) {
return;
}

pianoInitBound = whenPianoReady(function () {
// The Piano init callback is the canonical “identity is ready” signal;
// cancel the fallback poll so it can’t issue a redundant second fetch.
stopPianoReadyPoll();
refresh(document, { force: true });
});
}

async function handleWidgetClick(widget, button) {
const staffId = widget.dataset.staffId;

if (!getBearerToken()) {
setButtonState(button, isPianoIdentityReady() ? ‘signin’ : ‘pending-auth’);
if (typeof window.showPianoLogin === ‘function’) {
window.showPianoLogin();
startLoginPoll();
}
return;
}

// If the identity changed since the cache was last filled, drop the stale
// map before the follow/unfollow decision below — otherwise the click
// could issue the wrong action against the previous user’s state.
discardCacheIfTokenChanged();

setButtonState(button, ‘loading’);

try {
if (followedAuthorsMap.has(String(staffId))) {
await apiRequest(apiBaseUrl + “https://www.washingtontimes.com/” + staffId, { method: ‘DELETE’ });
followedAuthorsMap.delete(String(staffId));
removePushlyFollowedAuthorId(staffId);
} else {
const author = await apiRequest(apiBaseUrl + “https://www.washingtontimes.com/” + staffId, {
method: ‘PUT’,
body: JSON.stringify({
push_enabled: followDeliveryPreferences.push_enabled,
email_fallback_enabled: followDeliveryPreferences.email_fallback_enabled,
}),
});
followedAuthorsMap.set(String(staffId), author);
appendPushlyFollowedAuthorId(staffId);
}

saveStoredFollowDeliveryPreferences(
deriveFollowDeliveryPreferences(Array.from(followedAuthorsMap.values())),
);
syncPushlyFollowedAuthorsProfile();
renderManagePreferences(document.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-manage-preferences]’));
renderWidgets(document);
renderManageList(document.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-manage-list]’));
} catch (error) {
console.warn(‘Unable to update followed author.’, error);
if (error && error.code === ‘AUTH_REQUIRED’) {
setButtonState(button, ‘signin’);
}
renderWidgets(document);
}
}

function bindEvents(scope) {
const root = scope || document;
root.querySelectorAll(‘[data-author-follow-widget]’).forEach(function (widget) {
if (widget.dataset.followWidgetBound === ‘true’) {
return;
}
widget.dataset.followWidgetBound = ‘true’;

const button = widget.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-button]’);
if (!button) {
return;
}

button.addEventListener(‘click’, function () {
handleWidgetClick(widget, button);
});
});

root.querySelectorAll(‘[data-author-follow-manage-preferences]’).forEach(function (container) {
if (container.dataset.followGlobalPreferencesBound === ‘true’) {
return;
}
container.dataset.followGlobalPreferencesBound = ‘true’;

async function handlePreferenceChange() {
const pushInput = container.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-global-pref=”push”]’);
const emailInput = container.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-global-pref=”email”]’);
if (!pushInput || !emailInput) {
return;
}

const previousPreferences = {
push_enabled: followDeliveryPreferences.push_enabled,
email_fallback_enabled: followDeliveryPreferences.email_fallback_enabled,
};
const payload = {
push_enabled: !!pushInput.checked,
email_fallback_enabled: !!emailInput.checked,
};
// Drop a stale map if the identity changed before iterating — we
// don’t want to issue follow updates against the previous user’s
// authors with the current user’s bearer token.
discardCacheIfTokenChanged();
const followedAuthors = Array.from(followedAuthorsMap.values());

saveStoredFollowDeliveryPreferences(payload);
managePreferencesPending = true;
pushInput.disabled = true;
emailInput.disabled = true;

try {
await Promise.all(
followedAuthors.map(function (author) {
return updateFollowPreferences(author.id, payload);
}),
);
renderManagePreferences(container);
renderWidgets(document);
renderManageList(document.querySelector(‘[data-author-follow-manage-list]’));
} catch (error) {
console.warn(‘Unable to update author follow preferences.’, error);
saveStoredFollowDeliveryPreferences(previousPreferences);
pushInput.checked = previousPreferences.push_enabled;
emailInput.checked = previousPreferences.email_fallback_enabled;
} finally {
managePreferencesPending = false;
pushInput.disabled = false;
emailInput.disabled = false;
}
}

container.addEventListener(‘change’, function (event) {
const target = event.target;
if (!target || !target.matches(‘[data-author-follow-global-pref]’)) {
return;
}
handlePreferenceChange();
});
});
}

function init(scope) {
const root = scope || document;
if (!hasFollowWidgets(root)) {
return;
}
bindEvents(root);
renderWidgets(root);
bindPianoInitRefresh();
startPianoReadyPoll();
refresh(root);
}

window.WTAuthorFollow = {
init: init,
refresh: refresh,
};

document.addEventListener(‘DOMContentLoaded’, function () {
init(document);
});

window.addEventListener(‘focus’, function () {
if (hasFollowWidgets(document)) {
refresh(document);
}
});
document.addEventListener(‘visibilitychange’, function () {
if (!document.hidden && hasFollowWidgets(document)) {
refresh(document);
}
});
} else {
window.WTAuthorFollow.init(document);
}
})();