Decoding Deepfakes: Navigating the Digital Disinformation Landscape

What are deepfakes?

Dimitry: They are typically videos but can also be images or audio recordings that have been manipulated by AI. Basically, a person's face or voice is replaced with another, making it seem that the person in the image or video is saying or doing things they never actually said or did. While the images may be fake, the harm they cause - from financial loss and political unrest to cyberbullying and blackmail - can be very real. Improvements in voice cloning have also seen an uptick in phone scams. Many unwittingly respond to phone calls that appear to be from family or colleagues, only to be defrauded.

How are they created?

Dimitry: Most are created using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), essentially two neural networks that learn by competing against each other. The first analyses the source content and generates realistic fakes, and the second evaluates their authenticity. The two networks pass information back and forth, training each other and making deepfakes more and more realistic.

What makes them dangerous?

Dimitry: A combination of factors. Deepfake technology is becoming increasingly accessible and easy to use, lowering the barrier to entry. This means that anyone with a computer or smartphone and basic computer skills could conceivably create a deepfake in a matter of minutes, and for little or no money.

The scale at which content can be produced, and abused, is enormous.

Lena: It's especially insidious when deepfakes prey on existing biases or preconceptions about public figures or organisations to manipulate public opinion. They could reinforce these biases, for example, regardless of their truth, and intensify existing tensions. This leads to a progressive erosion of trust in legitimate sources of information, and ultimately, in the authenticity of digital information.

What kind of damage can that cause?

Lena: With some two billion voters heading to the polls this year, including in the US, UK, India, and parts of the EU, disinformation warfare is a real threat, with deepfakes the tactic of choice to manipulate voters and sow chaos. Businesses face similar dangers, with deepfakes used to spread contradictory information that confuses stakeholders. The impact can be long-lasting, and difficult to counter, even when it is completely fabricated.

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