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Michigan credit union CEO is out after ‘Lake America’ blowback

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Michigan credit union CEO is out after ‘Lake America’ blowback

The executive privately posted an AI-altered photo of family members wearing ‘Lake America’ sweatshirts while headed to Canada for vacation. A public repost – without the AI label – went viral.

The CEO of a Saginaw, Michigan-based credit union has left the company after photos on Facebook appeared to show the executive and her family wearing “Lake America” sweatshirts.

Family First Credit Union named its chief operations officer, Jason Acosta, as interim CEO, effective immediately, the institution said in a letter to members Wednesday, adding that Jane Smith, the former CEO, “is no longer an employee.”

“We sincerely apologize for the concern, disappointment and pain this situation has caused our members and community,” the $96.8 million-asset credit union wrote Thursday in a Facebook post. “We understand that members of our community may hold different perspectives about this decision. Our responsibility is to act in the best interest of the Credit Union, uphold the trust of our members and continue putting our community first.”

Smith, in an interview with WJRT-TV, an ABC News affiliate in Michigan, said the photo posted to Facebook was altered using artificial intelligence. Smith and three family members were headed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Sept. 11 for a 10-day trip, she said.

Considering they would soon be in Canada – which neighbors Michigan – discussion among the group turned to President Donald Trump’s executive order last month renaming Lake Ontario.

“We weren’t trying to make a political statement,” Smith told the television station Sept.


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