Alex Roath LEAP 2

Video Link: https://youtu.be/wlG42kko86g

For my choice of harmful propaganda I chose to focus on Artificial intelligence. This includes the use of deepfakes, altered photos and voiceovers. This is a relatively new topic and something that has become extremely prominent on social media. It’s truly a fascinating topic but also very harmful to political figures and celebrities who have been affected by this.

Alex Roath

COM 416

LEAP 2

AI as Propaganda

The topic I chose to focus on for harmful propaganda was artificial intelligence. AI has become a prominent tool for assisting in research or studying however there has become a massive downside to this. Deepfakes and altered videos have become incredibly easy to create and use for propaganda. One example of this is Joe Rogan. When Rogan had Covid 19 he was taking the controversial drug Ivermectin in order to counter the symptoms. CNN got ahold of the video and edited it to make him look as if he was sickly and not well since he was taking the drug. This was done to push their agenda and help their views. However this was not the case and the drug was indeed helping him. Another example is Joe Biden. Many altered videos are created in order to show that he is stuttering. And yes, sometimes he definitely does. However there are many videos going around showing him stuttering more than he is or looking as if he is not healthy. There are also a lot of videos on twitter or x, instagram and tiktok that have AI voiceovers. This sounds eerily similar to whatever celebrity is being impersonated. This can have massive effects on people. Any celebrity that is impersonated sounds so much like the real thing it is crazy. Now that it is election season we will see more and more of these AI based edits, deep fakes and altered videos. People must be really careful when viewing them and understanding what is real and what is AI or an edit. I believe that it is important for people to understand how AI is used. Twitter actually does a good job of minimizing this with the community notes. These are put in on posts and state misinformation that is being put out. However on tiktok or instagram this does not exist and it is very easy to get wrong information or think that something is real when it is really AI. ChatGPT and other AI sites make it super easy to create these videos. I can put into ChatGPT “make me a photo of Joe Biden looking sickly.” And it will do it. This doesn’t even include places such as Israel, Palestine, Russia or Ukraine where AI can easily manipulate photos or videos and put things out that haven’t even happened. It is so important for people to understand how this works and that not everything they see is as it appears. I believe that there are ways for this to be fixed but as of now artificial intelligence is being used as a tool for propaganda and it can be extremely concerning and harmful to people and countries.

Works Cited:

1. Ryan-Mosley, Tate. “How Generative AI Is Boosting the Spread of Disinformation and Propaganda.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 3 Oct. 2023, www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/04/1080801/generative-ai-boosting-disinformation-and-propaganda-freedom-house/.
2. Burnett, Erin. “Joe Rogan Announces Positive Covid-19 Test | CNN Business.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Sept. 2021, www.cnn.com/videos/media/2021/09/01/joe-rogan-podcast-positive-covid-ebof-sot-vpx.cnn.
3. Helmus, Todd C. “Artificial Intelligence, Deepfakes, and Disinformation — Rand Corporation.” Artificial Intelligence, Deepfakes, and Disinformation, Rand Corporation, www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA1043-1.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.