Prigozhin Dies In Plane Crash, Fingers Pointing To Putin. I Walk ClaudeAI Through The Whole Thing.

These posts are going to be all out of order. This one counts for 8/23.

For this post, I decided to try something different. Rather than a one-and-go prompt, I walked ClaudeAI through all the details of the death of Yevgeny, Russian warlord and leader of the ruthless mercenary Wagner Group. It was fascinating. Here are my inputs. I won't include the responses, except for the haikus, because they're far shorter than the rest of the haibun.

Me: "write a haibun on Prigozhin's death"

C: "Caterer and spy
He stirred shadows and secrets
Now faded into night"

Me: "this is inaccurate" {Claude hallucinated that Prigozhin died of a heart attack in Moscow}

C: "Controversial chef
He stirs the pot for Putin
Many questions linger"

M: "Prigozhin is dead." {Claude overcorrected and falsely asserted Prigozhin was alive}

C: "The chef has departed
His secret recipes unfinished
Controversy lingers"

M: "Prigozhin died in a plane crash, and the belief is that Putin orchasterated it." {Claude reverted to talking about a death in a Moscow apartment}

C: "The plane fell suddenly
Silencing secrets and theories
Turbulence in the Kremlin"

M: "He was killed because 2 months to the dot from the day of his death, he led a failed mutiny to try and overthrow Putin" {Claude was uncertain about why Prigozhin died and it was quite clear that it had no clue why the death happened}

C: "The chef plotted treason
Kremlin's wrath was his repayment
Revenge served coldly"

Final Rendition

M: "add something about the plane crash he died in" {Claude forgot to talk about the plane in the previous rendition}

C: "Here is the haibun revised to include Prigozhin dying in a plane crash:

Breaking news - Prigozhin perished in a Moscow-bound plane crash. Two months after the exiled caterer-turned-mercenary led a failed coup against Putin. His betrayal was not forgotten.

Once a shadowy Kremlin confidante, Prigozhin turned rogue. Plotted to seize power but failed disastrously, forced to flee Russia. But forever beyond Putin's grasp, he was not.

Now Prigozhin’s life ends mid-flight. Sabotaged plane plunging into the sea. Revenge for the betrayal is swift and total. The Kremlin silent, message clear. This is the price of treason against Putin.

The chef's seditious plans permanently unfinished. His loyal mercenary armies abandoned leaderless. Dark secrets from years of dirty dealings silenced. Justice seems unsatisfied. But Putin's power is restored, order rising from the Kremlin's turbulent waters.

The haiku:

The plane fell suddenly
Silencing secrets and theories
Putin's power restored"

Note how similar this is to one of the previous haikus. 2 lines are the exact same, yet the one that is changed clearly reflects a new understanding of the situation. It's also interesting all of the things that Claude clearly seems to know about Putin and the Kremlin without me explicitly telling it. Not to mention, I definitely didn't mention Prigozhin's exile, meaning that Claude must have accessed some internet information about it. All around a fascinating exercise in increments.