#Misinformation and deepfakes

[odinsblog]

These are demo videos made from prompts on OpenAI’s Sora. It’s similar to how you would prompt ChatGPT and get text or a still image output, but with Sora the output is video. (source)

I cynically believe that by November, Sora will have perfected its algorithm enough to make the upcoming 2024 election online ads … very interesting.

And even after the terrible job that Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (never calling it x) did in the 2016 elections and Brexit, they somehow still decided to cut back on their departments that could at least theoretically curtail attempts at political disinformation.

Anyway, be forewarned: Social media manipulation and disinformation campaigns are very real things. Don’t believe everything you see on social media. Slightly similar A.I. deepfake technologies already exist. (example) (example) (example) (example)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Chance Townsend at Mashable:

Amid a surge of political misinformation across the internet, X (formerly Twitter) CEO Elon Musk has taken to his own platform to share a manipulated video of Kamala Harris' presidential campaign video. The Tesla founder and billionaire reposted the video Friday afternoon featuring an AI voice of Vice President Harris calling herself the "ultimate diversity hire." The video, a "parody" created by right-wing YouTuber Mr. Reagan, is a re-edited version of Harris' "We Choose Freedom" campaign video. In this new version, the sitting VP is heard calling President Joe Biden "senile" and a "deep state puppet." On top of the DEI hire line, the video also posits that Harris believes she's above criticism because she's a woman and a person of color. Mr. Reagan notes in his post that the video is a "parody," however when Musk reposted it, the CEO did not give such a disclaimer. At the time of this writing, the video has been seen over 166 million times, with Musk stating in his post, "This is amazing 😂." Despite owning the platform, it seems Musk is willfully disregarding that the video violates X's terms of service, which prohibit "synthetic, manipulated or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm."

Right-wing X owner Elon Musk posted a deepfake and manipulated video of Vice President Kamala Harris’s Presidential campaign ad passed off as a real ad, disregarding the site’s rules against audio manipulation.

The video in question comes from right-wing influencer Mr. Reagan, who rightly noted it as a “parody.”

See Also:

Mashable: Kamala Harris deepfakes are going viral on TikTok and Elon Musk's X

MMFA: Fake Harris audio spreads like wildfire on TikTok after Biden’s announcement

[nobodywasneverhere]

while the release of sora will be terrifying, the one good thing that almost certainly will come out of it is governmental policies to protect against misuse of ai. it sucks that we have to wait till politicians themselves are being effected but there will be guardrails at the least.

[alchemistdetective]

Which outfits does Eri have the easiest time acquiring?

Kurumi, Nyalter, and Celestia aside, since they pretty much volunteeringly gave copies of their outfits for him to practice, on top of my head, it would be...

Reimu (Pretty standard miko outfit, really)

Reisen (Literally just a suit and a skirt)

Marisa (A witch's hat from the Halloween store works)

Monika/Yuri/Sayori (He just needs one uniform for the trio)

Nise (Literally just the female school uniform)

Youmu LOL

There is, however, a difference between easily acquiring outfits, but the biggest thing is the permission for something like it

He doesn't want to just run around as other people seriously because impersonation is a serious crime which, unlike OG Eri who's oblivious to such things, can have MAJOR reprocussions if he doesn't thread carefully

[yourprotector]

Please stop training computers to fool us just because it’s neat.

[reasonsforhope]

“Intel technology has created the world’s first real-time deepfake detection software to root out this most-sophisticated of impersonation technologies.

The software uses tiny changes in image pixelation related to the movement of blood through human veins to detect whether a recorded video is real or fake with 96% accuracy.

Called FakeCatcher, it’s the first program that can catch deepfakes in real time, as most other detection apps require uploading videos for analysis, then waiting hours for results. They tend to need large data sets for deep learning programs to pour over.

Refreshingly, Ilke Demir, senior staff research scientist in Intel Labs opted for a more organic approach; one that also increases efficiency, as it’s capable of monitoring 72 video streams at once.

“FakeCatcher is the first approach that is telling us why we are real, why we are authentic,” said Demir. “It’s like a watermark of being human.”” -via Good News Network, 11/28/22

[carlocarrasco]

COMELEC requires candidates and political parties to register their digital accounts for 2025 election campaigning

With the 2025 National and Local Elections gradually approaching, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) told candidates and political parties to have their social media and online accounts registered and they must follow the rules that were recently announced, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article. For the newcomers reading this, the heavy use of social media, digital…

[hellpuppetswithfleshymembers]

We’ve all seen people in the comments section oooing and ahhing, or getting enraged over clearly fake A.I. images on social media. Unfortunately, there’s just that many dumb motherfuckers out there. Elections are no time for bad actors who are aware of that to have free rein to take advantage of people and sway opinions with A.I. fuckery, spreading lies and propaganda.

I don’t know about you, but another four years of that orange stain on reality babbling incoherently about things he doesn’t understand while the christofascists in his administration systematically eliminate what little freedom we have, then use him as senile Emperor Palpatine to parade around until he dies or they find someone better doesn’t sit well with me.

I typically don’t have a great deal of faith in petitions, but politicians do like to weigh the risk/reward situation and will likely be more afraid of how deepfakes can hurt them, than they are excited about how they can use them. The ones who aren’t so arrogant that their self preservation instincts have withered away into nothing, anyway. I could go on at length about why so many of these fuckers have been in office for 40+ years, but it basically boils down to not wanting to spend a fortune on security for the rest of their lives, and it’s off topic.

Sign if you don’t think all the easily manipulated people out there should keep getting tricked into enabling psychopaths to fuck them over again and again.

[linda0609barron]

Mirror of Reality: The Rise of Deepfakes and Its Ethical Impact

Explore the growing threat of deepfakes and the challenges they pose to online trust and security. This blog by SG Analytics delves into how AI-driven deepfake technology is blurring the lines between reality and fiction, and what steps can be taken to ensure the authenticity of digital content. Read more : https://us.sganalytics.com/blog/the-rise-of-deepfakes-can-we-trust-what-we-see-and-hear-online/

[odenja]

AI and the real ‘Mother’ of Democracy

A review of “The Past, Present, and Possible Future of UK Democracy in the Age of AI” by Md Shabaz and Zeenat Firdaus From the Magna Carta to the Long Parliament Beginning with the Magna Carta forced upon King John in 1215by his rebellious barons, the United Kingdom has been at the forefront of modern democratic innovation. Enduring as a symbol of liberty and the rule of law, the Magna Carta…

[odinsblog]

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is accusing billionaire Elon Musk of spreading "manipulated lies" after he reposted a video on X featuring an AI-generated voice imitating the vice president. Musk, who has endorsed former President Donald Trump, shared the video on his social media platform without noting that the video was originally released as an explicit parody, violating X's own policy that bars users from sharing “synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm."

The fake video reiterates racist attacks against Harris, who previously served as a U.S. senator and attorney general of California.

“I, Kamala Harris, am your Democrat candidate for president because Joe Biden finally exposed his senility at the debate,” the voice says, adding she is a "diversity hire" who doesn't know "the first thing about running the country." The fake-Harris voiceover is played alongside real clips of Harris used by her campaign in an earlier ad, authentic Harris campaign branding and the occasional statement from the actual candidate.

The mocking statements by the voiceover echoes statements from Republican politicians that Harris was only picked as Biden's running mate because she is a Black and Indian-American woman.

…

Two AI experts told the AP that the video represents the growing power deepfakes in shaping popular opinion and belief.

“The AI-generated voice is very good,” UC Berkeley digital forensics expert Hany Farid told the news service. “Even though most people won’t believe it is VP Harris’ voice, the video is that much more powerful when the words are in her voice.”

Rob Weissman, co-president of the advocacy group Public Citizen, said that many people will be completely fooled by the video.

(continue reading)

[averythepirate]

“You can no longer solely rely on your human skills as a fact checker,” she said, explaining that standard reporting strategies had fallen short in verifying the video. Synthetic media experts largely agree that the rise of widely accessible generative AI tools over the past two years — across image, audio, and video — has led to a proliferation of political deepfakes. Some of this content is sophisticated enough that a studied human eye, or ear, in combination with ordinary fact-checking methods like a reverse image search or cross-checking details, is simply not enough to debunk it.

[trendamonium]

A POSITIVE LOOK INTO THE FUTURE WITH A.I.

[smhoaxslayer]

False Claims and Voice-Overs: Indian Actors Become Targets of Election Fake News using their Deepfakes

Amidst the growing pool of social media content on the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the major portion center around the political battles between the parties contesting in these elections. From on-ground videos to leaders' speeches - political content is being circulated at higher amounts than usual at present. This has also garnered a significant amount of misinformation being forwarded across platforms. One such set of misinforming content is pushing Indian actors at the center of the fake news. The cases of popular actors of the Indian cinema - Ranveer Singh, Aamir Khan, and Allu Arjun have gained attention in the recent few days, raising questions on the authenticity of election-based content spreading like wildfires across platforms. The deepfake dilemma of Ranveer Singh Recently, a video of Ranveer Singh was circulated across social media platforms where he was seen criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The video was connected to the actor's recent visit to Varanasi for Manish Malhotra's fashion show. Vote for न्याय 🇮🇳 Vote for Congress ✋ ये विडीयो किसने बनाई? pic.twitter.com/v5vwg9eKuc — Sandeep Chaudhary commentary (@newsSChaudhry) April 18, 2024 archive The video was a deepfake as it contained an AI voice-over on the original video clip, where statements criticizing the PM were synced with the original voice of the actor. This was a case of AI voice cloning. Several accounts on social media platforms had shared this video previously, but eventually many were taken down after the false claim was brought to attention. The actor also filed a complaint with Mumbai cyber crime cell. Singh took to his social media account and shared his feelings over the incident saying, "Deepfake se bacho doston" (Friends, beware of deepfakes). Deepfake se bacho dostonnnn 💀 — Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) April 19, 2024 archive Aamir Khan and the voice-over menace Indian actor Aamir Khan too became a victim of the fake news spreads around election based news stories. The actor is seen talking about 'two guarantees'- one hinting at the misleading promises and another which promised 'paanch nyay' (five justices) for development, as endorsed by Congress. The video was seen as a promotional video for Congress. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5wOC05SrSf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link archive However, it was found that this video was originally from a promotional video for the show Satyamev Jayate, uploaded on 30 August, 2016. https://youtu.be/10lhW8MRizU?si=BEMkJmpiKQiBxd7o Allu Arjun and the campaign claims Actor Allu Arjun became a part of viral fake news as his photo was circulated stating that he was campaigning for congress party. Posts of the actor with this claim were widely circulated across social media platforms. Allu Arjun the biggest super star of India is campaigning for congress party. pic.twitter.com/rSErtscMnM — KRK (@kamaalrkhan) April 20, 2024 archive Allu Arjun the biggest super star of India is campaigning for congress party.#Congress #Elections2024 pic.twitter.com/Z6auslVIuY — Salman⭐ (@salmanmkjw) April 21, 2024 archive However, it was found that this video clip is from the 40th India Day Parade in New York with the popular Telugu actor as Grand Marshal, therefore rejecting the viral claims being made about the actor campaigning for Congress in the recent elections. https://youtu.be/TWNF30tyIxE?si=XYpynHORvWANBi1t Read the full article

[l-in-c-future]

The PRC’s potential to interfere in elections with deepfakes has been noted, with strategies including creating false narratives around candidates and misleading information on electoral processes. Advanced AI tools could further sophisticate these interference efforts, impacting democratic processes worldwide. 

Beijing appears to have a dual stance on deepfakes—strict regulation domestically due to potential socio-economic and security threats, coupled with an ambition to leverage them for international influence operations. 

Beijing is likely to integrate deepfakes with AI to conduct smear campaigns against critics, amplify PRC propaganda by creating fake personae, and interfere in elections, exacerbating the spread of disinformation.

There is a clear and obvious potential for deepfake technology to be deployed and intertwined with older techniques to maximize their impact. From weaponizing deepfakes for smear campaigns, and electoral interference to fabricating testimonies for manipulating global narratives, it is only a matter of time until Beijing figures out the best way to integrate these new and evolving tools into its influence operation playbook.

[thehellsitenewsie]

New bipartisan bill would require online identification, labeling of AI-generated videos and audio (AP News)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House Thursday would require the identification and labeling of online images, videos and audio generated using artificial intelligence, the latest effort to rein in rapidly developing technologies that, if misused, could easily deceive and mislead.

So-called deepfakes created by artificial intelligence can be hard or even impossible to tell from the real thing. AI has already been used to mimic President Joe Biden’s voice, exploit the likenesses of celebrities and impersonate world leaders, prompting fears it could lead to greater misinformation, sexual exploitation, consumer scams and a widespread loss of trust.

Key provisions in the legislation would require AI developers to identify content created using their products with digital watermarks or metadata, similar to how photo metadata records the location, time and settings of a picture. Online platforms like TikTok, YouTube or Facebook would then be required to label the content in a way that would notify users. Final details of the proposed rules would be crafted by the Federal Trade Commission based on input from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a small agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Violators of the proposed rule would be subject to civil lawsuits.

“We’ve seen so many examples already, whether it’s voice manipulation or a video deepfake. I think the American people deserve to know whether something is a deepfake or not,” said Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat who represents part of California’s Silicon Valley. Eshoo co-sponsored the bill with Republican Rep. Neal Dunn of Florida. “To me, the whole issue of deepfakes stands out like a sore thumb. It needs to be addressed, and in my view the sooner we do it the better.”

Read more