WHAT IS DEEPFAKE?

(DEF)
an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and
manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying
something that was not actually done or said.

Deepfake AI is a type of artificial intelligence used to create convincing images, audio and
video hoaxes. The term describes both the technology and the resulting bogus content, and is
a portmanteau of deep learning and fake.

IMPACT OF DEEPFAKE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Spread of misinformation and fake news

In mid-March 2022, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine crept into its third week, an unusual
video started making the rounds on social media and was even broadcast on the television
channel Ukraine 24 due to the efforts of hackers.

The video appeared to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stilted with his head
moving and his body largely motionless, calling on the citizens of his country to stop fighting
Russian soldiers and to surrender their weapons. He had already fled Kyiv, the video claimed.

Except, those weren’t the words of the real Zelenskyy. The video was a “deepfake,” or
content constructed using artificial intelligence. Shortly after the deepfake was broadcast, it
was debunked by Zelenskyy himself, removed from prominent online sources like Facebook
and YouTube, and ridiculed by Ukrainians for its poor quality, according to the Atlantic
Council.
THREATS TO PRIVACY AND SECURITY

Not only has this technology created confusion, scepticism, and the spread of
misinformation, deepfakes also pose a threat to privacy and security. With the
ability to convincingly impersonate anyone, cybercriminals can orchestrate
phishing scams or identity theft operations with alarming precision. One of the
most problematic uses of the technology is when an individual’s likeness, typically a
woman’s, is manipulated and put on a sexually explicit video, making it appear as if
the individual they are targeting is participating in the sexual activity, says Marc
Berkman, the executive director of the Organization for Social Media Safety, a
nonprofit dedicated to making social media safe through advocacy and education.

A major threat that deepfake poses is nonconsensual pornography, which accounts for
up to 96% of deepfakes on the internet. Most of this target’s celebrities. Deepfake
technology is also used to create hoax instances of revenge porn.

For example, deepfakes of Emma Watson and Scarlet Johannson.

DISADVANTAGES OF DEEPFAKE

SOCKPUPPET: - a false online identity, typically created by a person or group in order to

promote their own opinions or views.

during the 2016 United States presidential election. It was discovered that a Russian
organization called the Internet Research Agency (IRA) had orchestrated a
sophisticated sock puppet operation on various social media platforms to sow
discord and influence public opinion.

The IRA created hundreds of fake social media accounts, posing as American citizens,
activists, and organizations, to spread misinformation, amplify divisive issues, and
undermine trust in the electoral process. These sock puppet accounts were used to
promote both left-wing and right-wing viewpoints, exploiting existing societal
divisions to deepen polarization.

For example, some of these sock puppets spread false information about candidates,
propagated conspiracy theories, and organized fake grassroots events to manipulate
public perception. They also engaged in targeted messaging to specific demographic
groups, exploiting their vulnerabilities and biases.

POLITICS/SCAMMING: -
Deepfakes have the potential to be used in political scamming by creating highly
convincing videos or audio recordings of politicians or public figures saying or doing
things they never actually did. These manipulated media can then be disseminated
online to deceive the public, manipulate public opinion, or damage the reputation of
targeted individuals or groups. One real-life example of deepfakes being used in
political scamming involves the case of a video featuring Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker
of the United States House of Representatives. In May 2019, a manipulated video of
Pelosi began circulating on social media platforms. The video was edited to make
Pelosi appear drunk or impaired, slurring her words and speaking incoherently
during a public event.

BLACKMAIL: -Deepfakes have the potential to be used in political scamming by

creating highly convincing videos or audio recordings of politicians or public figures
saying or doing things they never actually did. These manipulated media can then be
disseminated online to deceive the public, manipulate public opinion, or damage the
reputation of targeted individuals or groups.

FAKE NEWS: - Don Fallis argues both fake news and deepfakes have the negative
effect of delegitimizing real news. He says they decrease the amount of true
information available, reduce consumers’ trust in authentic media, and put an added
burden on fact-checkers to authenticate the vast amount of content online.

Ethical dilemmas: Deepfake technology raises several ethical dilemmas due to its
potential for misuse and its implications for privacy, trust, and truthfulness such as:
Misinformation and deception, privacy violations, Identity theft and fraud,
Undermining authenticity and trust, manipulation of elections and democracy.

Misuse in political campaigns:

Deepfake technology can be misused in political campaigns in several ways such as
character assassination, spreading disinformation, fabricating endorsements,
misleading voters, suppressing voter turnout as well as undermining trust in
elections.