Deepfakes
Background
Deepfakes are videos that have been manipulated to falsely show specific people speaking or performing actions. According to Paris and Donovan (2019), an early set of these videos that gained attention were uploaded by Reddit user, “deepfakes” in November of 2017 (p. 1). In this case, deepfake videos were used to show “the faces of famous female actors, including Gal Gadot and Scarlett Johansson, grafted onto other actors’ bodies in pornography” (p. 1).
Perhaps an important milestone for the use of deepfakes was when Internet users were given access to the application, “FakeApp” in early 2018 (Goggin, 2019). There was also a deepfakes subreddit where users would post what they made with FakeApp (Goggin, 2019). Shortly after FakeApp became downloadable, Vice released an article that addressed deepfakes being used in revenge porn (Goggin, 2019). Deepfakes then became banned on websites like Twitter and Reddit banned the subreddit (Goggin, 2019).
Though the use of deepfakes in pornography is problematic for obvious reasons, it is just one of many forms of deepfakes. Another early instance of famous deepfake videos came from the University of Washington in 2017, when researchers made one that depicted Barack Obama speaking with audio taken from other clips (Vincent, 2017). Deepfake videos of politicians are not uncommon and have even caused some to believe that they can influence voters (Shao, 2019). Despite potential disadvantages that deepfakes can bring to society, their benefits cannot be ignored. For instance, deepfakes have created an online community. Though Reddit banned the “deepfakes” subreddit due to its pornographic postings, threads like “r/SFWdeepfakes” still exist (Roberston, 2018). When visiting this subreddit, which has the full name, “Deepfakes that are Safe For Work”, one can see Reddit users sharing deepfakes from YouTube and commenting on posts (“Deepfakes that are Safe For Work”). It can be said that an online community has been formed around deepfakes. As Lindgren (2017) wrote, “online communities can be defined simply as groups of individuals who interact around a common interest, where the interaction is mediated or supported by internet technology” (p. 109). In this case, the interaction between this community is supported both by Reddit and the actual deepfakes. Along with creating a “safe for work” online community, deepfakes have also opened opportunities for new forms of art and comedy.
Relating to digital media and society, the conversations around deepfakes reflect society’s concerns that are common with any technology. Though deepfakes can bring drawbacks to society (e.g. fake news), they can also positively contribute to society through new types of art. The impacts of this piece of digital media on society are completely dependent on what it is being used for. To examine the relationship between deepfakes and society, this case study will specifically focus on their use in politics and entertainment. It will also address the laws and policies that have been made to try to restrict their use.
Politics
Unlike other political deepfakes, the intention behind the University of Washington’s video of Obama was not to poke fun or start controversy. Rather, he was chosen “as a test subject for this work because high-quality video footage of the former president is plentiful” (Vincent, 2017). In 2019, another political deepfake was created that consisted of a digitally-altered sketch from a television show where actors played Obama and Trump (Parkin, 2019). In the video that was posted on YouTube, the actors’ faces were changed so that they had “features rendered almost indistinguishable from those of the presidents” (Parkin, 2019). However, it is obvious that the video is fake because a clip from the actual sketch was shown in the video before the deepfake footage (Parkin, 2019). Nevertheless, videos like this one have caused some to “believe the technology could be used to disgrace politicians and even swing elections” (Parkin, 2019). A perfect example of a deepfake that disgraced a politician was one in which footage of Nancy Pelosi was edited so that she appeared to be drunk (Parkin, 2019). According to an article from The Guardian, the deepfake “was quickly debunked, but not before it had been viewed millions of times” (Parkin, 2019).
The fear of the release of political deepfakes before elections is not completely unrealistic. In fact, deepfakes of a politician in India were made partly by his political party just “a day ahead of the Legislative Assembly elections in Delhi” (Christopher, 2020). The altered videos of the politician consist of him speaking different languages than what was spoken in the original (Christopher, 2020). There was also fabrication in the content of what the politician was saying (Christopher, 2020). However, the political party decided what would be said in the deepfakes (Christopher, 2020). A member of the party also claimed that the deepfakes “‘let us convincingly approach the target audience even if the candidate didn’t speak the language of the voter’” (Christopher, 2020). With this example, it is somewhat untruthful to state that the deepfakes “disgraced” the politician as they were made by his party. However, it is clear that this technology has a new type of power. Furthermore, this was not the only time that a political party used a deepfake.
In 2018, the Flemish Socialist Party, sp.a., posted a deepfake on Facebook of Trump encouraging Belgium to “exit the Paris climate agreement” (Von Der Burchard, 2018). However, the video was actually used by the party with the intention “to ‘draw attention to the necessity to act on climate change.’” (Von Der Burchard, 2018). The video was legal, but some could not tell that it was not real (Von Der Burchard, 2018). However, as written in an article by The Guardian, this video “is a poor forgery” and there are certain features of the president in the video that make it seem fake (Parkin, 2019). This use of a deepfake by a political party differs from the previously mentioned example. Firstly, it was not made by the same political party or country that the politician in the deepfake is from. However, it is not like this video was made to influence an election either. This example illustrates a unique use of deepfakes. An element of the video that could be argued to be problematic is that the following statement that “Trump” made in the video “was not translated in the Dutch subtitles”: “‘We all know climate change is fake, just like this video’” (Von Der Burchard, 2018).
Some have been understandably concerned about the impact that deepfakes could have on the 2020 election in the United States. According to an article from Inverse, though methods are being made to identify deepfakes, “the technology for creating convincing deepfakes is advancing simultaneously” (Benson, 2020). It is possible that in the future, convincing deepfakes will not be debunked before election day (Benson, 2020). Additionally, an adjunct law professor at New York University, Paul Barrett, stated the following: “‘If there are a multitude of deepfakes over the course of an election campaign, voters could grow cynical about the ability to tell truth from falsehood’” (Shao, 2019). UCLA professor John Villasenor, who focuses “on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity,” believes “that deepfakes can undermine the reputations of politicians and easily influence voter sentiment” (Shao, 2019). However, those who argue that deepfakes could influence the election seem to forget all of the controversies that surrounded Trump before he won in 2016. In fact, about a month before election day, footage from “Access Hollywood” was released in which one could hear Trump’s offensive remarks about women (Lindsay, 2017). Despite the uproar that this caused so close to the election, he was still elected. Therefore, it seems unrealistic that voters would be that influenced by deepfakes that tarnish the reputation of candidates.
Entertainment
There are additional uses of deepfakes for entertainment that are completely unrelated to politics. In 2019, a kiosk featuring a life-size deepfake of the late Salvador Dali was brought to the Dali Musem (Lee, 2019). According to an article from The Verge, the exhibition “aims to have visitors empathize with Dali as a human being” (Lee, 2019). This deepfake also interacts with museum visitors by taking a selfie with them, which can be sent to their phones (Lee, 2019). In this instance, there is clearly no malicious intent behind this deepfake. Another example of deepfakes in art comes from the artist, Gillian Wearing’s, exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum (Beer, 2018). The art piece is a video with different actors whose faces had been digitally altered to look like Wearing’s face (Beer, 2018). The artist said that she wanted to use deepfakes “‘to question the veracity of truth and identity’” (Beer, 2018).
It is clear that there are possibilities for this technology to be used for self-expression. Deepfake technology has also been used to bring the historical art piece, “Mona Lisa”, to life (Schroeder, 2019). In 2019, researchers from the Samsung AI center in Moscow transformed “a single still image (though the fidelity of the resulting video increases with more images) into a video” (Schroeder, 2019). In the video from the research center, Mona Lisa’s face is animated and it looks like she is talking (Schroeder, 2019). Whether deepfake technology is used for art exhibits or on art pieces themselves, these examples demonstrate how such videos can be useful and entertaining.
Deepfakes have also created new opportunities for comedic expression. The owner of one YouTube channel, “TheFakening”, makes deepfakes that they describe as “‘goofy memes’” (Dormehl, 2019). Their most popular video titled, “Baby Elon Musk Montage Deepfake”, contains clips of a baby with Musk’s face (TheFakening, 2019). Another YouTube channel dedicated to deepfakes is “Ctrl Shift Face.” It has almost 400 thousand subscribers and its most popular video (with over 14 million views), is a clip of the actor Bill Hader on the talk show, “Conan” (Ctrl Shift Face, 2019). As Hader begins to speak, his face starts looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, which fits perfectly with the clip as Hader was imitating Schwarzenegger (Ctrl Shift Face, 2019).
Similar to deepfakes in art, comedic deepfakes do not have the intention to spread misinformation. Furthermore, comments on these YouTube videos suggest that people truly enjoy them. For instance, on the Elon Musk video, one user wrote: “I AM lucky to be born in this era” (UB Praveen Rao) and another wrote: “YouTube algorithms have cured my depression once again” (Oz_Tee X23). On the Bill Hader video, a user left the following comment: “This is equal parts hysterical and terrifying” (spacetimecontinuum). There seems to be true appreciation for this type of technology when it is used simply for comedy. Furthermore, Lindgren (2017), mentioned how Constance Elise Porter noted that one motivation for being in an online community “is to just relax, hang out, play around, and have fun” (p. 109). This motivation can be seen through users that appreciate comedic deepfakes.
Laws and Policies
It is helpful to examine the laws and policies that have been created around deepfakes to see their impact on society. Facebook has stated that it will delete certain deepfakes (Raina, 2020). According to an article from Reuters, this was “a move aimed at curbing misinformation ahead of the U.S. presidential election” (Raina, 2020). In an article from The Atlantic titled, “What Facebook Did to American Democracy”, Madrigal (2017) mentioned how Facebook ads from the 2016 Trump campaign were used “to suppress ‘idealistic white liberals, young women, and African Americans.” Given how Facebook has been criticized for its potential impact on the 2016 election, it is understandable that they would take the precaution to ban deepfakes. However, Facebook will not ban satirical deepfakes nor those “made with less sophisticated software” (Holmes, 2020).
Furthermore, the deepfake of Nancy Pelosi being “drunk” will not be banned from the platform (Holmes, 2020). A spokesperson for the politician stated, “‘Facebook wants you to think the problem is video-editing technology, but the real problem is Facebook’s refusal to stop the spread of disinformation’” (Holmes, 2020). Another platform that has banned problematic deepfakes is Twitter (Robertson, 2020). This banning is also partially an attempt to prevent misinformation (Robertson, 2020). Therefore, “anything that’s been spliced, clipped, or overdubbed in a way that substantially changes its meaning, or any fabricated footage depicting a real person” could be banned (Robertson, 2020).
A deepfake law was also made in California in an attempt to prevent misinformation before elections (Paul, 2019). Specifically, it is “illegal to create or distribute videos, images, or audio of politicians doctored to resemble real footage within 60 days of an election” (Paul, 2019). However, the possible impact of this law has been doubted (Paul, 2019). Furthermore, the proposed DEEPFAKES Accountability Act, entails that creators of deepfakes note that their creations are fake (Coldewey, 2019). This law, however, has issues of its own. Firstly, it could be a burden for those who create unproblematic deepfakes (Coldewey, 2019). Additionally, it is typically “trivial to remove” watermarks (Coldewey, 2019). Finally, those who make problematic deepfakes will probably not “even attempt to mark their work as an ‘official’ fake” (Coldewey, 2019). Despite the possibility for this law to be ineffective, it does have its upsides. For instance, victims of deepfake pornographic content “can address the falsity of that video on the record, in court” (Coldewey, 2019).
Laws and policies that attempt to restrict deepfakes reflect concerns about the spread of misinformation. However, fake news has been an issue long before the time of deepfakes. As our society and technology become more advanced, it is almost inevitable that issues like fake news will become advanced as well. Langdon Winner (1980) defined technological determinism as “the idea that technology develops as the sole result of an internal dynamic, and then, unmediated by any other influence, molds society to fit its patterns” (p. 122). The possibility for deepfake technology to become more advanced and make more realistic videos could very well have a greater impact on society. However, it would be unfair to place blame on deepfakes in general. Furthermore, Winner (1980) also wrote, “what matters is not technology itself, but the social or economic system in which it is embedded” (p. 122). In a way, the policies that attempt to stop misinformation from deepfakes reflect society’s concern with fake news in general.
Conclusion
Deepfakes are technology that have gained significant media attention in a short time. Just a few days ago, NME published an article about Jay-Z’s company filing “takedown notices against ‘deepfake’ videos that use artificial intelligence to make him rap” (Akingbade, 2020). Deepfakes are likely not going away any time soon despite policies and laws made to restrict certain types of them. To solely focus on the downsides of deepfakes would be to disregard the new opportunities they have brought for art, comedy, and online communities. Of course, deepfakes that falsely depict women in pornography are morally wrong. However, they seem to reflect a sort of degradation of women that has always been present in society. This degradation has just been examined further through deepfakes. Furthermore, deepfakes of politicians also reflect misinformation, which has always been an issue in society. However, in the case of the deepfake of the politician from India, the altered footage was actually intended to support him (Christopher, 2020).
It could be argued that even though fake news has always been a problem, deepfakes have the potential to intensify that problem. It is one thing to write falsely about a politician, but it is another to technologically-alter videos of them. This makes laws, such as the DEEPFAKES Accountability Act, completely understandable. However, it is important to remember that deepfakes are not inherently good or bad. The nature of deepfakes is completely dependent on their creators. For example, the Salvador Dali deepfake at the Dali Museum has given visitors the opportunity to view a unique piece of art. Furthermore, comedic deepfake videos have provided entertainment and an online community. Though these examples do not eliminate the drawbacks of deepfakes, they show that they can be used in ways that are not controversial at all.
Deepfakes are a perfect example of both technological determinism and social determination of technology. Oppression has always existed in society and that is reflected through pornographic deepfakes. However, interest in comedy has likely always existed in society as well. When one examines the relationship between digital media and society, it is very clear that they both impact each other. For instance, if politicians did not receive such significant amounts of attention from society, would it be likely that deepfakes would still be made of them? Similarly, if political deepfakes did not exist, then there would be no fear about their potential to impact elections. Deepfakes are important for better understanding the interaction of digital media and society because their different uses reflect different aspects of society.
Notes
Akingbade, T. (2020, April 30). Jay-Z takes legal action against creator of ‘deepfakes’ of him rapping ‘Hamlet’ and Billy Joel. NME. https://www.nme.com/news/music/jay-z-takes-legal-action-against-creator-of-deepfakes-of-him-rapping-hamlet-and-billy-joel-2657120
Beer, J. (2018, December 11). This new deep fake video is both advertising and a piece of art. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90279597/this-new-deep-fake-video-is-both-advertising-and-a-piece-of-art
Benson, T. (2020, February 11). Experts Say Deepfakes Could Swing the 2020 Election. Inverse. https://www.inverse.com/innovation/how-deepfakes-could-swing-the-election
Christopher, N. (2020, February 18). We’ve Just Seen the First Use of Deepfakes in an Indian Election Campaign. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/jgedjb/the-first-use-of-deepfakes-in-indian-election-by-bjp
Coldewey, D. (2019, June 13). DEEPFAKES Accountability Act would impose unenforceable rules — but it’s a start. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/13/deepfakes-accountability-act-would-impose-unenforceable-rules-but-its-a-start/
Ctrl Shift Face (2019, May 10). Bill Hader impersonates Arnold Schwarzenegger [DeepFake] [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPhUhypV27w
Deepfakes that are Safe For Work [Online forum thread]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/SFWdeepfakes/
Donovan, J. & Paris, B. (2019). Deepfakes and Cheap Fakes: The Manipulation of Audio and Visual Evidence, 2019. Retrieved from the Data & Society website: https://datasociety.net/library/deepfakes-and-cheap-fakes/
Dormehl, L. (2019, August 13). The best deepfakes on the web: Baby Elon, Ryan Reynolds Wonka, and beyond. Digital Trends. https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/best-deepfake-videos-online/
Goggin, B. (2019, June 23). From porn to ‘Game of Thrones’: How deepfakes and realistic-looking fake videos hit it big. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/deepfakes-explained-the-rise-of-fake-realistic-videos-online-2019-6
Holmes, A. (2020, January 7). Facebook just banned deepfakes, but the policy has loopholes — and a widely circulated deepfake of Mark Zuckerberg is allowed to stay up. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-just-banned-deepfakes-but-the-policy-has-loopholes-2020-1
Lee, D. (2019, May 10). Deepfake Salvador Dalí takes selfies with museum visitors. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/10/18540953/salvador-dali-lives-deepfake-museum
Lindgren, S. (2017). Digital Media & Society. Sage Publications Ltd.
Lindsay, R. (2017, November 29). Trump Casts Doubt on ‘Access Hollywood’ Video [Video]. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000005573743/trump-casts-doubt-on-access-hollywood-video.html
Madrigal, A.C. (2017, October 12). What Facebook Did to American Democracy. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/10/what-facebook-did/542502/
Oz_Tee X23. (2019). Re: Baby Elon Musk Montage Deepfake [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHwQeetjLwk
Paul, K. (2019, October 7). California makes ‘deepfake’ videos illegal, but law may be hard to enforce. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/07/california-makes-deepfake-videos-illegal-but-law-may-be-hard-to-enforce
Parkin, S. (2019, June 22). The rise of the deepfake and the threat to democracy. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2019/jun/22/the-rise-of-the-deepfake-and-the-threat-to-democracy
Raina, M. (2020, January 7). Facebook to remove deepfake videos in run-up to 2020 U.S. election. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-deepfake/facebook-to-remove-deepfake-videos-in-run-up-to-2020-u-s-election-idUSKBN1Z60JV
Robertson, A. (2018, February 7). Reddit bans ‘deepfakes’ AI porn communities. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/7/16982046/reddit-deepfakes-ai-celebrity-face-swap-porn-community-ban
Robertson, A. (2020, February 4). Twitter will ban ‘deceptive’ faked media that could cause ‘serious harm.’ The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/4/21122661/twitter-deepfake-manipulated-media-policy-rollout-date
Shao, G. (2019, October 15). Fake videos could be the next big problem in the 2020 elections. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/15/deepfakes-could-be-problem-for-the-2020-election.html
spacetimecontinuum. (2020). Re: Bill Hader impersonates Arnold Schwarzenegger [DeepFake] [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPhUhypV27w
TheFakening. (2019, May 8). Baby Elon Musk Montage Deepfake [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHwQeetjLwk
Vincent, J. (2017, July 12). New AI research makes it easier to create fake footage of someone speaking. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/12/15957844/ai-fake-video-audio-speech-obama
Von Der Burchard, H. (2018, May 21). Belgian socialist party circulates ‘deep fake’ Donald Trump video. Politico. https://www.politico.eu/article/spa-donald-trump-belgium-paris-climate-agreement-belgian-socialist-party-circulates-deep-fake-trump-video/
Winner, L. (1980). Do artifacts have politics? Daedalus, 109(1), 121–136.
UB Praveen Rao. (2019). Re: Baby Elon Musk Montage Deepfake [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHwQeetjLwk
