The term "deepfake" appears again and again on the Internet. But what is it actually? And why is it important to find out more about this topic? You can find answers to these and other questions about fakes here.
What are deepfakes?
To cut a long story short, a deepfake is a video in which someone's face has been placed on someone else's body. It is usually done so well that you can hardly tell the difference, if at all - and that can of course be extremely problematic. In the long version this means: In the case of a deepfake, an image or video is processed with the help of artificial intelligence. The AI is fed with other images or video excerpts in order to edit and adapt the original in this direction. The process of "feeding" is called deep learning . Unlike traditional Photoshop edits, deepfakes are usually much more accurate.
While Photoshop is typically used to add a bit of graphic enhancement to images, deepfakes are specifically aimed at changing a person's face. With the help of simple software or a trained eye, it can usually be seen that an image has been manipulated by Photoshop or a similar program. It looks different with deepfakes: On the one hand, without the right professional software, it is not possible to determine that something has been changed. The quality of the change is significantly better than with Photoshop due to the AI integration..
On the other hand, not only images can be processed with a deepfake, but also videos. This is a big step, especially in video editing, because here, too, the changes or animation were otherwise made by human hands. By using an AI, the quality of the processing has increased significantly and a change can hardly be recognized. As technology evolves, deepfakes are now not only available to CGI technicians. There are various fake apps for smartphones that you can use to edit your pictures for fun.
How do I recognize deepfakes?
Unfortunately, some deepfakes cannot be seen with the naked eye. Often software is needed that pays attention to pixel differences. Nevertheless, there are a few tips on how you might be able to spot a fake video or picture:
- Does the picture or video make sense? This point does not have to apply to every counterfeit. But if "topless" pictures suddenly appear from a prudish Instagram model, this can be questioned. Of course, there are also situations in which people want to draw attention to themselves through unusual videos or pictures. However, this is usually rather a rarity.
- Is there a quality difference? Look at the quality of the face / head and the rest of the picture. If one of the two looks significantly better or significantly worse, this video or picture is probably made up of two snippets. A slight blurring or strange scaling can also indicate a fake.
- What about strong angles? Deepfakes often look deceptively real, but only as long as the whole face can be seen. If the face is briefly covered or turned to the side, it can often be guessed whether it is a fake.
- Is everything consistent? All faces have specific characteristics. These can be peculiarities on the eyebrows or nose or skin changes such as scars and freckles. Make sure that bone structures such as the jaw and cheekbones are the same as the original. In addition, the light or shade or skin tone can vary in the case of a fake. If different parts of the body suddenly don't fit together properly, it has probably been edited.
Where do I encounter deepfakes?
We encounter deepfakes again and again in everyday life. The well-known FaceSwap apps and filters also use this technology. Both faces are recorded and projected onto the other's head as a deepfake. Another example is Princess Leia in "Rogue One". Carrie Fisher, the actress in question, was already way too old for the role at this point. Therefore, another actress was appointed. A computer was then fed the original recordings from parts 4-6 in order to construct a face true to the original for Princess Leia via deep learning. This was then deeply faked into the footage of Rogue One that had already been shot, so that the finished scenes for the movie were created from it..
You can find some examples of deepfakes here.
Unfortunately, examples of deepfakes aren't always positive or useful. Since the technology was significantly refined in 2017, deceptively real-looking nude pictures have appeared again and again. Mostly they are deepfakes of women, often celebrities. The bad thing about it is that at first glance it is usually not recognized that it is not a real picture. This can have serious consequences for people. Because even if the original picture has been deleted, the following applies: The Internet never forgets. Such cases keep cropping up in the media. How something like this should be handled in the future, also with regard to penalties and sentences, is not yet entirely clear.