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Secretary of California State Dr. Shirley Weber recently confirmed on January 23, 2025, that an initiative has been approved to decide if California should become an independent country.
While Weber trends on social media, an AI-generated image of her has also gained attention.
The AI photo was added to a post shared by Dr. Jebra Faushay on X on Saturday, January 25, and it included the latest report of the new initiative confirmed by Shirley Weber. The original, unedited photo was previously featured in a 2018 KBPS news article.
Below the post, a context was added with a link to the article of KBPS and it reads:
"This is an AI altered photo with Bill Cosby's face added."
Shirley or Bill have not shared any response to the viral photo so far. The comments section of Jebra's post was also flooded with different responses where people clarified that the individual appearing in the picture was Cosby. Meanwhile, there are no details available on how and from where the photo was obtained at first.
Notably, Cosby has gained recognition over the years for his work in films and television. He made his debut during the '60s as a stand-up comedian and later became famous for being featured in projects like Let's Do It Again, Hickey & Boggs, A Piece of the Action, and Man and Boy.
Dr. Shirley Weber confirmed that the petition can start collecting signatures
As mentioned, Weber announced the latest initiative aiming to decide if California should be an independent country. Shirley Weber also stated that the petition can now accumulate signatures and the initiative was originally started by Marcus Evans from Fresno, as per Fox 26 News.
According to CBS News, the initiative must get more than 500,000 signatures by July this year and the state needs to create a commission of 20 members, who have to be selected by Shirley Weber, to understand the possibility of California becoming an independent country by 2027.
The commission members also need to fulfill other requirements, including that they need to have California residency for almost five years and must be nominated by almost 100 registered voters. It will additionally put a question on the November 2028 ballot which reads, "Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?"
A press release from the Attorney General's office stated that if the ballot question receives a "yes" from around 55% of voters, then the proposal would declare a vote of no confidence in the United States of America without any change to the state government or its association with the US.
As per CBS News, the measure would also lead to the removal of the US flag from all state buildings. Apart from this, the annual state cost to operate the commission is supposed to be around $2 million and an additional $10 million would be needed to form a new commission and for the elections.
While a deadline has been given to collect the required number of signatures, it remains to be seen if the proposal becomes eligible for the ballot by July 2025.
