In the age of deepfakes, not every picture is worth a thousand words

Although the term fake news is sometimes used to describe any news that is biased or has factual errors, we must remember that the production and propagation of lies on the Internet can be very lucrative. Unlike inaccuracies in the news, which often occur due to journalistic carelessness, the information spread by fake news is deliberate and very well calculated.

Deepfakes do a great job of representing this difference. Because it is audiovisual content generated by artificial intelligence (AI), no press professional could use it – except for specific circumstances. Anyone who forges a statement through a deepfake demonstrates a very clear intention to mislead people.

The language of the news often uses images and statements from interviewees to bring in facts and expert analysis. As the deepfake intermixes videos and sound recordings, falsifying their content, it can simulate news elements and produce very convincing fake news.

Fake endorsement

Training artificial intelligence with images and recordings of a famous person makes it possible to tamper with videos to modify what is being said. If a famous person endorses a product or cause, the deepfake can easily direct the speech to some other type of merchandise.

Scammers are also able to edit the video to include visual elements that corroborate the narrative, but the key piece is a fictitious dialog in which the guest and presenter extol the quality of the particular good or service. 

The goal is to make it look like a spontaneous recommendation of the product during the news program.

One such example involved a presenter of one of the world's most famous podcasts, who had his image and podcast illegitimately used in advertising pieces to promote food supplements.

Forged statement

With news backed up by deepfakes, scammers can attempt to positively or negatively influence stock market movements.

Employing artificial intelligence, it is possible to use the image and voice of company directors to announce projects, profits, or losses that don't exist. Depending on the circumstances, the dissemination of this type of news can briefly influence investors.

In 2022, a fake profile of a pharmaceutical company announced that a drug would be offered for free, and the next day the company's shares fell by almost 5%. Although the statement was made without deepfakes and we can’t say for sure that the drop was caused by the publication, the account had a privileged status on the social network and left many people confused. The pharmaceutical company was forced to deny the information via an official statement.

A variation of this scam blends fake endorsements and entrepreneurs to promote investment opportunities, mainly in cryptocurrencies. Videos are disseminated during live broadcasts and advertisements on social networks, simulating a lecture or interview. Those who send in the requested money never receive any return.

Reputation assassination

Deepfakes can also be used to assassinate a person's reputation, either by placing them in upsetting situations or by falsifying controversial statements. Images can be combined with visual elements typical of TV news, giving them undue credibility.

Many social networks do not allow direct attacks on a person's image. As a result, such content generally tends to circulate only among groups of users or in temporary posts. We must all be careful not to share false content about other people – especially when the person is not famous, as it is also common for false content to be used to embarrass people close to us, such as a work colleague or family member.

Deepfakes and fake news are both already part of the Internet and pose a risk to society and each of us as individuals. No matter how real an image looks, it's essential to consider the possibility that something has been made up, especially when we don't know the source or when it's an extraordinary claim. In the age of deepfakes, not every image is worth a thousand words.