iPhones are briefly changing 'racist' to 'Trump' due to an iOS dictation issue

Feb 26, 2025

An iOS dictation bug changes 'racist' to 'Trump', causing confusion among users.

iPhones are briefly changing 'racist' to 'Trump' due to an iOS dictation issue

: A strange bug in iOS's dictation feature causes iPhones to momentarily transcribe 'racist' as 'Trump'. Apple attributed this issue to 'phonetic overlap', despite the lack of similarity in pronunciation. Some speculate it could be a prank by an Apple employee. This incident coincidentally aligns with Apple's announcement of a $500 billion investment in AI manufacturing facilities.

A peculiar issue with the dictation feature on iPhones has surfaced, wherein the word 'racist' is briefly transcribed as 'Trump'. This anomaly was initially noticed by TikTok users and confirmed by Engadget who successfully replicated the issue.

Apple has cited 'phonetic overlap' as the reason for this glitch, although the two words do not sound alike. Beyond this explanation, some suspect that an internal prank by an Apple employee could be responsible for this strange behavior.

This bug arises at an inopportune moment for Apple, coinciding with their ambitious announcement to invest $500 billion in AI server manufacturing facilities. The decision was publicized shortly after a meeting between Apple CEO Tim Cook and President Donald Trump.