The Best AI-Generated Deepfakes in 2023
As we reflect on the year 2023, Full Fact’s fact-checkers dove into analyzing photos that took the internet by storm, amassing tens of thousands of likes. These images, they found, share a common thread beyond their wild popularity among users – they are all deepfakes, ingeniously crafted by artificial intelligence.
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Full Fact, a British charity focused on fact-checking media and social media content, found their task intensifying with the AI leap forward in 2023. They now face the added challenge of verifying the authenticity of photographs and images that have seized the public's interest.
This year, we have seen repeated instances of fake AI images being shared and spreading rapidly online, with many people unsuspectingly being duped into sharing bad information,
comments Chris Morris, CEO of Full Fact.
A striking example includes images from the May 2023 coronation of Charles III. These depicted the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex in a warm embrace, an image especially poignant given the known strains within the royal family. The photos, shared on Facebook, garnered nearly 80,000 likes but were later revealed as fabrications. Full Fact identified that these images of Charles III’s sons were generated by Midjourney, an AI model that produces visuals from text descriptions. Intriguingly, the creator of these viral images openly admitted to fabricating the deepfake as a way to visualize a hoped-for reconciliation.
Princess Diana’s Sons: The Embrace That Never Happened Source: Full Fact
Another example involves an image of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. He has been incarcerated in a British prison since 2019, and according to the sensational photo, he seems to be in dismal conditions. Assange is depicted as a tormented figure in his prison cell. The snapshot was shared almost 30,000 times on X before its creator admitted to using artificial intelligence to generate it. This was done intentionally to draw public attention to the plight of the embattled journalist. The strategy worked – numerous reposts of the deepfake were accompanied by calls for Assange's release.
Deepfake as a Catalyst in the Assange Freedom Movement Source: Full Fact
Full Fact also scrutinized another deepfake – a viral photo of Emmanuel Macron, supposedly taken during a recent protest. It depicts the French President sitting amidst a street littered with burning debris. The post with this image amassed over 50,000 views. The fabricated portrayal of Macron's actions (which he never took) sparked outrage among viewers. They demanded the media investigate this incident and critique the President's alleged cynicism amidst the chaos.
Macron and the Fabricated Scene of Riot Aftermath Source: Full Fact
Full Fact emphasizes that the real peril of deepfakes lies not just in people occasionally mistaking lies for truth. The greater issue is the deluge of AI-generated imagery inundating the internet, leading to a widespread default skepticism towards all visual information.
Elon Musk's Deepfake Kiss with a Robot Woman Source: Full Fact
A lack of action risks reducing trust in what people see online. This risks weakening our democracy, especially during elections,
Chris Morris cautions.
AI's Fictitious Depiction of Trump in Prison Preceded Actual Events Source: Full Fact
Earlier, we discussed how artificial intelligence's capacity for creating hallucinatory content presents a novel challenge for society.
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