People are Already Making Deepfake Videos of Trump’s Arrest

2 years ago 847

Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast

Newswatchers don’t have to wait for real images of Donald Trump in handcuffs—deepfakes are already flooding social media thanks to artificial intelligence technology that lets any hoaxer pose as a breaking news photographer.

Trump announced on Saturday morning that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday on charges related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. It’s unclear whether Trump will be indicted, much less led to jail in cuffs. But AI programs like Midjourney have made it easy for Trump’s fans and foes alike to generate lifelike pictures of his perp walk.

“Unfortunately, these tools for creating realistic images are very useful for hoaxing the public,” Joan Donovan, a Harvard University researcher and author of the book Meme Wars told The Daily Beast. “We are witnessing a new form of ‘anticipatory disinformation,’ where rumors are made into reality through the creation of media covering events that never happened.”