By Debra Kaufman
Wikipedia defines deep fakes as a portmanteau of deep learning' and fake', and refers to videos in which celebrities and politicians are doing or saying things that are shocking, dangerous and just plain false. Using artificial intelligence, the creators of deep fakes are able to create/superimpose very convincing fake faces and even bodies onto source images and videos, and add very convincing speech and lip synching. One example is Jordan Peele's public service announcement about the menace of deep fakes. At HPA Tech Retreat, I convened a panel on Deep Fakes, with Department of Defense principal engineer Ed Grogan, HBO head of cybersecurity Marc Zorn and Video Gorilla's head of AI Oles Petriv, all of whom agreed that deep fakes pose a risk. Not just for the mischief they might cause to national and international politics, among other real-world perils, but for the media and entertainment companies that might inadvertently disseminate them.
Tools to manipulate images have become increasingly democratized, as has compute power. But successfully manipulating human faces, lip-synching and body motion was the sole purview of artificial intelligence researchers and other academics - until very recently. At the heart of deep fakes is GANs, which standards for generative adversarial networks. Based on Google's open source machine learning software TensorFlow, GANs are composed of two neural networks that teach each other to produce photoreal images.
The generative network generates images and the discriminative network evaluates them. Over time, the generative network spits out better images, and the discriminative network hones its ability to spot errors - all without human intervention.
Deep fakes first appeared in 2017 in the form of fake pornography on Reddit, contributed by a Reddit user dubbed Deepfakes; the Reddit community jumped in to fix bugs and improve the software. By January 2018, the free open-source FakeApp application launched - allowing almost anyone to create his or her own deep fakes. More tools followed, including one from UC Berkeley that lets anyone dance like a pro. The Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Germany rolled out a technique that allows one person to take control of another person's face to make it say anything. FaceSwap, DeepFaceLab, myFakeApp and LyreBird for voice synthesis are all widely available for free.
One expert in the field, who prefers to remain anonymous, noted the dilemma posed by deep fakes. Professionals will evaluate both the picture (or video) and compare it with the story it's trying to tell, he said. They'll look for other evidence to backup or refute what the image is saying, then draw their conclusions. It's important to note that the image could be real, but the story could be a fake - so we dispute the story. The image could be fake, so we just regard the image. And both could be fake. We look to multiple sources to derive the truth. But, he added, the general public through lack of knowledge, lack of time, or selective evaluation may accept what's presented and these people with incorrect information may still derive a conclusion that is detrimental to society and act on it. With the growth of fake news, deep fakes and web attacks, he concluded, how do you prove that some piece of media is real?
Many in the media and technology industries are worried and taking action. Facebook has stated that it has a machine-learning model to detect possibly fake videos and send them to human fact checkers for further review. But given that company's trouble with disseminating misinformation and hate speech, it's obviously a flawed model. The Wall Street Journal has spoken out (in print) about the threat, announcing that it created the WSJ Media Forensics Committee, an internal deepfakes task force led by the Ethics & Standards and the Research & Development team. The news outlet is also training reporters, developing newsroom guides and collaborating with Cornell Tech to identify ways technology can be used to combat this problem.
Some tool manufacturers are equally concerned. According to audio synthesis company Lyrebird cofounder/chief executive Alexandre de Brebisson, his company is exploring different directions including crypto-watermarking techniques, new communication protocols, as well developing partnerships with academia to work on security and authentication.
According to reports, the Department of Defense, through DARPA, created tools for identifying deep fakes Media Forensics, which automates existing forensic tools, is now looking at deep fakes, discovering subtle cues in current GAN-manipulated images and videos that allow us to detect the presence of alterations, says DARPA program manager Dr. Matthew Turek. A San Francisco-based startup, Unveiled Labs, has introduced Amber, an iOS app of patented tools for detecting all kinds of fakes. For more information, check out this Bloomberg reporter's take on deep fakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ54GDm1eL0 Jordan Peele
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLoI9hAX9dw&t=32s Bloomberg
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
By Debra Kaufman
