NEW DELHI: First Rashmika Mandanna and then Katrina Kaif. AI-generated morphed videos of the two actors created a flutter last week, highlighting the urgent need to stop the misuse of deepfake technology and prompting calls for better ways to identify it.
While Delhi Police on Friday registered an FIR against unidentified people in connection with the deepfake video of Mandanna, Amitabh Bachchan and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar among others have expressed concern.
The government stepped in with an advisory to major social media companies to identify misinformation, deepfakes and other content that violate rules and remove those within 36 hours after being reported to them.
The debate, in the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict that saw a surge in the use of deepfake videos to spread disinformation and manipulate public opinion, also led to many questions.
What are deepfake videos:
Deepfake videos are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness. While the technology has been around for several years, it has become increasingly sophisticated and accessible recently, raising concerns about its potential misuse.
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What can we do:
One way to combat the spread of deepfakes is to educate the public about the technology and how to identify fakes.
"Far more than technical expertise or abilities, there is a mindset we need to encourage. People need to be aware that the creation of fakes is rampant and becoming easier all the time.," Eoghan Sweeney, an open-source investigation (OSINT) specialist and trainer, told PTI.
"That is why, in a fraught atmosphere such as exists around a scenario like the current one, it's crucial to be aware that a huge amount of the information and content that finds its way to your attention is inauthentic," he added.
Some tips:
Several tools and techniques can be used to detect deepfakes, such as looking for inconsistencies in facial expressions, skin texture, and lighting. However, deepfakes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it more difficult to spot them.
Identify the source of information:
Where did the disinformation come from? Who posted it? What are their credentials? Verify the information.
Check the facts and see if there is any evidence to support the claim. If you can't find any evidence to support the claim, it is likely false. Once you have verified that the disinformation is false, explain why it is incorrect clearly and concisely. Be sure to provide evidence to support your claims. It's necessary to break the chain of disinformation at your end.
"The way that social media algorithms and human psychology work, it isn't likely to be the most credible material that forces its way most readily into your eye line, but rather that which attracts the most attention, often because it is dramatic and outrage-inducing.
Needless to say, dedicated purveyors of disinformation are practised in techniques that elicit such reactions. So in terms of winning the battle for minds and eyeballs, the deck is stacked," Sweeney told PTI.
The Berlin-based OSINT specialist suggested that people step back and ask themselves some questions before trying to evaluate photographs and videos forensically.