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
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
01/06/2026
Designed to solve a common problem in broadcasting, the automated workflow detects, identifies, removes, and documents copyrighted music
AudioShake has introdu...
01/06/2026
The sports-analytics company combines its data with proprietary AI to help leagu...
01/06/2026
Category line-up & sponsors announced
Photo: Paul Clarke
The Production Music Awards (PMA) have announced that submissions are now officially open ahead of...
01/06/2026
New hybrid sample/synthesis instrument revealed
Excite Audio have just released the latest instalment in their Evolve series, which has been developed in co...
01/06/2026
Latest TONEX expansion captures three rare vintage amps
The newest addition to IK Multimedia's ever-growing TONEX line-up introduces a set of three incr...
01/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
01/06/2026
SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026
1 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has secured Hyundai, Hisense, Macca's, Rexona, bet365, Com...
01/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Satellite Industry Days 2026 guided by the motto From Earth to ...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Marshall Electronics is showcasing a comprehensive lineup of next-generation POV cameras, purpose-built to power today's connected AV environments, at InfoC...
01/06/2026
Adobe Announces Concept to Vector
Deepa Subramaniam June 1, 2026
0 Comments
One of the biggest frustrations we hear from designers is how difficult it...
01/06/2026
Vampire Feature Night Patrol Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton June 1, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist shapes dark, gritty tone for horror thri...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Mardi 2 juin 14h00
FilmLight (ARRI), 10 rue Ren Boulanger, 75010 Paris
Rejoignez-nous pour d couvrir comment FLAPI (l'API FilmLight) peut transformer e...
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...
31/05/2026
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...
31/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Wins 15 Awards at the Canadian Screen Awards - See Pho...
31/05/2026
Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...
31/05/2026
As factories move from isolated automation to plant-wide intelligence, manufacturers need AI systems that can connect live machine signals, quality systems, wor...
31/05/2026
The NVIDIA AI Cloud ecosystem is accelerating the global buildout of AI factory infrastructure. Partners are expanding capacity to meet growing demand from ente...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
Viktor Underwood, CEO at Quickchannel, warns deepfakes have the power to disrupt and damage trust in broadcasting
