“One of the biggest risks of fake news stems from something we don’t see every day, but that will continue to be a major presence in the future of fake news: deepfake videos. These ultra-realistic clips seem to have unlimited power to negatively impact every facet of our society, including and especially elections that affect all our lives. Deepfakes have so much power because they can basically show anyone doing anything, whether or not the content is based in reality, and we as humans are visual learners. If humans see it, they tend to also believe it. As is the case with many new industries bursting onto the scene, deepfake videos are largely being driven not by fake news but by pornography. In fact, one report estimated that about 96 percent of deepfake videos could be considered porn that is ‘nonconsensual.’ In other words, people are using existing porn videos to make it appear as though celebrities are in the clip. But that technology can, and likely will, also be used to interfere with legitimate elections. In fact, with the speed at which our video editing technology is improving, it wouldn’t surprise me if deepfake videos became the prominent form of political misinformation within a few short years. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a deepfake video could be worth a million misplaced votes for an unworthy politician.”
The future of fake news
