How Faking Videos Got So Easy, and Why It’s a Threat: QuickTake

Now that artificial intelligence allows anyone with a smartphone to conjure up lifelike images and sound from seemingly nothing, it’s getting harder to tell if what you see and hear online is reality or fiction. At first, so-called deepfake technology was mostly used in adult videos where a celebrity’s face is mapped onto the body of a porn actor without their consent. Increasingly, however, it is being used to spread falsehoods and damage reputations: Intelligence services spread fake clips of leaders of rival nations to discredit them; Politicians publish doctored videos of their opponents slurring their words or saying things ...