Deepfakes! What are they and how can you tell?
by: Anne Stone
Deepfakes are a relatively new and particularly challenging type of audio, video or image disinformation according to News Literacy. They have the potential to rapidly spread false words and actions and can be extremely difficult to distinguish from real content.
What are they? Merriam-Webster defines them as “ a video that has been edited using an algorithm to replace the person in the original video with someone else (especially a public figure) in a way that makes the video look authentic.” They can also be a photograph or an audio sound bite.
Be suspicious when you see an alleged social media message that only circulates as a screenshot. One red flag that gives these images away as fakes is that they do NOT have a URL connected to the social media profile of the subject. Another red flag is the number of likes and shares are identical.
Of course you always want to see if it was posted or confirmed by a credible source, is there other evidence that supports the claim, and does it make sense. These are important questions to ask yourself before you believe the image and certainly before you forward the image.
Deepfakes can harass, intimidate, demean, undermine trust and destabilize. Tech firms are working on detection systems but do not have simple solutions yet. So it is up to us to pay attention and share this information with others.
To read more about Deepfakes:
- "What are deepfakes and how can you spot them?" from the Guardian
- "Deepfakes are going to wreak havoc on society. We are not prepared." from Forbes Magazine
If you know of a group that would be interested in the LWVOC presentation on Disinformation, please contact Kathleen Montgomery at disinformation [at] lwvorangecoast.org.
