
Viktor Underwood, CEO at Quickchannel, warns deepfakes have the power to disrupt and damage trust in broadcasting
By Contributor
Published: July 29, 2021
Viktor Underwood, CEO at Quickchannel, warns deepfakes have the power to disrupt and damage trust in broadcasting
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
The internet has already got a taste of the disruptive power of deep fake technology, i.e. manipulated video clips that reproduce fabricated images and audio that appear to be real. Some deep fakes' have already become viral hits on social media, whether it's a clip of a comedian morphing into a movie star on a talk show or a global leader using some colourful language to describe a political opponent.
While the former is a great example of how deep fakes can be used for entertainment, the latter offers a more chilling view of how this sophisticated AI-powered technology can be used for more nefarious purposes, such as seminating disinformation and undermining trust in governments.
The prospects become all the more concerning if one were to consider deep fakes' power to take fake news' to the next level it wouldn't be out of place to expect popular news broadcast stations to get the deep fake treatment, whereby falsified newscasts are produced and shared across social media. When viewed through this lens, it becomes clear why combating the rise of deep fakes is set to be a defining trend in the broadcasting industry.
Seeing is believing Back in June 2020, Sensity, a deep fake detection technology firm, identified over 49,000 deep fake videos online a staggering increase of more than 330% since July 2019. A study conducted by Nanyang Technological University found that one in three Singaporeans who said they were aware of deep fakes believed they had at one point circulated content on social media which they later found out to be a hoax.
What's most disconcerting about these findings is not so much the rate at which deep fake videos are multiplying, but rather how frequently viewers will believe what they see and how easily they will share it with their network. With the technology evolving at a rapid pace, it won't be long before deep fakes will be able to fool even the most alert viewers.
Channel 4 broadcast an alternative Christmas message delivered by a deepfake Queen in 2020 It's also worth noting that these challenges raise an important issue about trust and integrity when it comes to broadcasting content. Authenticity and transparency are becoming increasingly important values for the average individual on the internet, which means that preventive measures need to be put in place if we are to tackle the spread of fake content effectively.
Detection leads to deflection The good news is that measures are already being implemented to mitigate the damage that deep fakes are able to inflict. For example, Twitter has put policies in place that outlaw deep fake technology. As a result of these policies, the social media platform is able to tag any deep fake videos that have yet to be removed. YouTube on the other hand put a ban on deep fake videos related to the 2020 US Census, as well as election and voting procedures.
Detection and filtering software also has a fundamental role to play. Microsoft announced the availability of a tool to spot deep fakes back in September 2020, whereby the software analyses photos and videos to give a confidence score about whether the material is likely to have been artificially created. More recently, Facebook scientists revealed they can create software that reverse engineers deep fake images to understand how they were made and where they originated.
But perhaps the most effective preventive measure against fake content is actually to build viewer awareness. Growing volumes of fake content and continuous advances in technology are only set to make the task more difficult, so training people to spot telltale signs might actually yield more results than actively trying to contain the spread. Bad lip-syncing, lack of blinking, as well as unnatural eye movement and facial expressions are all key signs in helping to identify and flag deep fakes.
Apply a personal touch to your content At this point, it is clear that any form of video content has the potential to be deep faked', with varying degrees of efficacy. This presents a challenge considering that, following the events of 2020, people are only going to increasingly rely on secure, high-quality video streaming, while businesses capitalise on web-based media streaming to get their message heard.
This puts added pressure on video content tech companies, who are taking preventive measures against deep fakes by implementing consistent communication structures, centralised monitoring and effective detection practices. However, what some businesses might not appreciate yet is the value of investing in personalised video content as a means for tackling deep fakes. After all, in a world where widely available content can be altered with relative ease, personalising your broadcast content might just be the most effective way to tackle this issue.
One of the most common pieces of advice given today is to make sure that the content we consume comes from a reputable source. With the right tools, companies can apply their personal stamp by branding their content, before streaming it securely and to the highest level of quality to their customers, minimising the possibilities of interference and preserving trust in the company brand.
Finally, brands can go one step further and choose to manage their original video content in a secure, controlled manner by creating and maintaining a video library. For a company, leveraging a platform to organise video files is akin to having a branded content bank, with no risk of it being mi
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
15/04/2026
NBCU-Versant notches 13.1% of TV viewing in February, its best since August 2024...
15/04/2026
New data reveals older Kiwis are financially resilient, loyal to local products,...
15/04/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, announces the market launch of the ACCE...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Evergent introduces its Agentic Revenue Orchestration Platform, transforming how subscription businesses across direct-to-consumer streaming, pay-TV, telecommun...
15/04/2026
Harmonic's XOS Media Processor Delivers Exceptional Video Quality to More than Half of U.S. Public Media Viewership
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announce...
15/04/2026
LONGMONT, COLORADO, APRIL 15, 2026 DPA Microphones N Series Digital Wireless System users in North America can now take full advantage of the system's exc...
15/04/2026
Cobalt Iron, a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today announced the launch of Compass Tape Gateway (CTG), a transformative enhancemen...
15/04/2026
Disguise to Showcase Cutting-Edge Experience Tech for Sports, Broadcast and More...
15/04/2026
Arooj Aftab Makes the Music She Wants to Hear The singular artist explores the juxtaposition of grief and joy, dark and light, in her distinctive sound.
Apri...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Interra Systems, a provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions for the digital media industry, is proud to announce its central role in the digital trans...
15/04/2026
VO Integrates Client-Side and Server-Side Ad Technologies with its Secure Video Player and Segmentation Tools, Leveraging Broadpeak's SSAI and BPK SmartLib ...
15/04/2026
TMT Insights, a leader in professional services and software development for the media and entertainment (M&E) industry, today announced the launch of TMT AI at...
15/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media, a global leader in managed broadcast and cloud-based media services, today announced an expanded partnership with Oracle Cloud Infrastr...
15/04/2026
Middleman Software, a leading provider of signaling and synchronization solutions for broadcast and streaming workflows, today announced it will unveil PhaseLoc...
15/04/2026
Deity Microphones today announced the PR-4, a compact six-track field recorder featuring four inputs, 32-bit float recording, advanced routing, and a workflow-f...
15/04/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Fairlight Live
Brie Clayton April 15, 2026
0 Comments
Powerful software-based live audio mixer with support for SMPTE-2110...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Strategic Alignment With the Riedel Group for Innovation and Growth
Thomas Riedel, founder and owner of Riedel Communications and the Riedel Group, has acqui...
15/04/2026
SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that the company's Rally platform has been deployed by Iyuno Media...
15/04/2026
Frequency, the engine behind many of the worlds leading streaming television channels, has become the platform of choice for leading U.S. broadcasters bringing ...
15/04/2026
New Service Simplifies Integration of AI Applications with Exceptional Reliability and Security
SAN JOSE, Calif. April 14, 2026 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) t...
15/04/2026
During the 2025 off-season, VIDI completed a major upgrade of the broadcast infrastructure across all 36 stadiums in Germany's 1st and 2nd Bundesliga. The p...
15/04/2026
Clear-Com announced significant updates to its award-winning Arcadia Central Station as well as enhancements to the Eclipse HX Digital Matrix System now runn...
15/04/2026
Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB SHOW 2026
Brie Clayton April 15, 2026
0 Comments
New system removes PTZ pan restric...
15/04/2026
LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB Show, Adding Direct File...
15/04/2026
This 24-Hour Performance Art Piece Needs Your Participation Keefer Glenshaws latest project is about collaborating with the Berklee community and beyond.
Apr...
15/04/2026
Traditional data centers only stored, retrieved and processed data. In the generative and agentic AI era, these facilities have evolved into AI token factories....
15/04/2026
Two Cities Television and Keeper Pictures to produce six-part series in association with Screen Ireland for RT and ITV Studios
RT has commissioned Two Citie...
15/04/2026
RT 100
RT unveils The Signal' a specially commissioned 60-second film
...
15/04/2026
The NAB Show 2026 trade show, running April 18-22 in Las Vegas, is set to showcase a wave of new features and optimizations for top video editing applications. ...
14/04/2026
ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 P...
14/04/2026
Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026.
...
14/04/2026
Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...
14/04/2026
Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...
14/04/2026
LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...