On the Threat of Deep Fakes to Democracy and Society

• Manipulated images and videos have already been posing major challenges to journalism, science, jurisdiction and politics in the past. New technology, however, has made the production of deep fakes widely available to the public – we are experiencing a democratization of deep fakes.
   
• Deep fakes used in disinformation campaigns can cause social cohesion and thus be a threat to democracy.
   
• Social media play an increasingly central role in informing the public and have become the main distribution platform of fake news. These platforms are operating unregulated and with different standards, presenting a particular challenge in the fight against disinformation campaigns. 
   
• Germany is at an early stage of this new challenge. There is still enough time to develop an effective defense mechanism against the threat of deep fakes.
   
• The fight against this complex challenge requires a multipronged approach which combines technical solutions with legal and public education measures.
   

Here you can find an interview with Prof. Dr. Hany Farid, Senior Advisor Counter Extremism Project: