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posted by chromas on Tuesday May 05 2020, @01:01AM   Printer-friendly
from the fake-it-'til-you-break-it dept.

"If you were to ask me what the key risk in the 2020 election is, I would say it's not deepfakes," said Kathryn Harrison, the founder and CEO of the DeepTrust Alliance, a coalition fighting deepfakes and other kinds of digital disinformation (that is: intentional, malicious false info). "It's actually going to be a true video that will pop up in late October that we won't be able to prove [whether] it's true or false."

This is the bigger, more devious threat, what's known as the Liar's Dividend. The term, popular in deepfake-research circles, means the mere existence of deepfakes gives more credibility to denials. Essentially, deepfakes make it easier for candidates caught on tape to convince voters of their innocence -- even if they're guilty -- because people have learned they can't believe their eyes anymore.

[...] "I don't think anyone's going to see a piece of video content, real or fake, and suddenly change their vote on Election Day," said Clint Watts, distinguished research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute who testified to Congress last year about deepfakes and national security. "Trying to convince people Joe Biden touches people too much or whatever….I don't see how people's opinions can be really shaped in this media environment with that."

What worries him more are deepfakes that undermine election integrity -- like an authoritative figure reporting misinformation about turnout, polling site disruptions or voting machines changing your ballot.

Another worry: Deepfakes could destabilize the vote on US soil by causing havoc at a US outpost abroad. Imagine a fake that triggers an attack like the one on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012, which became a political flashpoint in the US. State actors like China or Russia, for example, could find an effective strategy in forged videos that endanger US soldiers or US diplomats, particularly in war-torn regions or countries ruled by a dictator, where populations are already struggling to separate truth from propaganda and rumor.

[...] No matter what form an election deepfake tries to take, the time to be on highest alert is right before you cast your vote.

"If it happens 48 hours out of the Election Day," Watts said, "we may not have a chance to fix it."


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by PiMuNu on Tuesday May 05 2020, @12:58PM (5 children)

    by PiMuNu (3823) on Tuesday May 05 2020, @12:58PM (#990655)

    It is very clear to me, that "noise", deepfakes, whatever bullshit from whichever leader only matters to their detractors. No one really cares whether Trump (or whoever) hints that (s)he might be rascist, or sexist. What matters is policy, and for Trump those have been consistent vote-winners, much more so than any coming out of the Democrats.

    * What was Trump's policy? MAGA, the Wall, isolationism, low tax/deregulation.

    * What was Hilary Clinton's response? Wasn't it something about the Russians?

    In the UK (I am English):

    * What was Johnson's policy? Brexit. Less expenditure.

    * What was Corbyn's response? Mucking about for another year on Brexit. Massive government borrowing.

    I don't know or care which policy was better, though I have an opinion of course. My point is that the victorious candidates won on the grounds of their policy. This is a good thing! And all the crap about deepfakes or fake news or whatever is just bullshit and whinging from the losers. They lost because their policies did not win enough votes.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @01:19PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @01:19PM (#990665)

    What you're basically claiming is that people are stupid, and in order to win, politicians must cather to stupid people.

    Tell me again why democracy is Good Thing (tm) ?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:45PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:45PM (#990748)

      Because democracies require more consent from people to go to war.

      Democracies rarely war on other democracies, and war is bad.

      https://www.vox.com/2015/6/23/8832311/war-casualties-600-years [vox.com]

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:39PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:39PM (#990768) Journal

      Tell me again why democracy is Good Thing (tm) ?

      It's vastly better than the governments that don't have to cater to anyone.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @06:55PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @06:55PM (#990815)

      Tell me again why democracy is Good Thing (tm) ?

      Because this is my country too; it is not some fuck on SoylentNews' kingdom.

    • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Wednesday May 06 2020, @09:19AM

      by PiMuNu (3823) on Wednesday May 06 2020, @09:19AM (#991009)

      > people are stupid

      No, I'm saying bullshit doesn't matter - it is policy that matters. How is that stupid?