Deepfake Videos And A Divisive Election Are Both Upon Us. What Could Go Wrong?

We're about to see a flood of "deepfake" videos, which superimpose one person's face on another's body. Most of them will be fun and innocuous, thanks to new tools from social-media sites such as Snapchat and TikTok as well as stand-alone apps such as Zao, Doublicat and Morphin. Facebook and Instagram, meanwhile, are trying to crack down on the most abusive "manipulated media" images and video as part of a newly announced policy. But with a looming election, and an incumbent who has repeatedly shown willingness to spotlight fake material that attacks his opponents, this could be a long election season filled with dubious video. More importantly, are we sophisticated enough as video consumers to know when we're seeing deepfakes, especially ones that reinforce our own negative feelings toward a candidate? Buckle your seatbelts, dream babies. It's going to be a bumpy ride. Listen to my latest Bloom in Tech episode for more.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/davidlbloom/support