Two eerily realistic videos featuring Boris Johnson and rival Jeremy Corbyn endorsing each other for the role of prime minister have been released by a thinktank to highlight the spread of deepfake technology.
Future Advocacy released the bizarre videos in a stunt to raise awareness on the dangers surrounding online disinformation.
This is the first time deepfakes of political candidates have been released during a live election in the UK.
In the election-style address a character resembling Boris Johnson says: ‘Hi folks, I am here with a very special message.
‘Since that momentous day in 2016, division has coursed through our country as we argue with fantastic passion, vim and vigour about Brexit.
‘My friends I wish to rise above this divide and endorse my worthy opponent the right honourable Jeremy Corbyn to be prime minister of our United Kingdom.
‘Only he, not I, can make Britain great again.’
While his rival, the fake Jeremy Corbyn, says: ‘I’m urging all Labour members and supporters to consider people before privilege and back Boris Johnson to continue as our prime minister.
‘A prime minister that works for the many, not the few.
Two eerily realistic videos featuring Boris Johnson (right) and rival Jeremy Corbyn (left) endorsing each other for the role of prime minister have been released by a thinktank to highlight the spread of deep-fake technology
‘But do you know what? Don’t listen to me. I’m not even sure who I am.’
The think tank is hoping the video, which uses the biometric data of the two candidates, will encourage all political parties to work together in tackling the threats posed by deepfakes and other online disinformation tactics.
Current political challenges facing society could be amplified by the technology which can be hard to detect.
The fake Jeremy Corbyn, says: ‘I’m urging all Labour members and supporters to consider people before privilege and back Boris Johnson to continue as our prime minister.
A means for detecting deepfakes at the point of upload or once it has been widely shared is needed to ensure real life information is not confused with the creations.
The thinktank shares their concerns surrounding how the sharing of deepfakes could undermine real controversial footage – that people may dismiss as fake.
They are hoping to enforce regulation and place limits on what deepfakes can be created legally.
Areeq Chowdhury, Head of Think Tank at Future Advocacy, said:
‘Deepfakes represent a genuine threat to democracy and society more widely. They can be used to fuel misinformation and totally undermine trust in audiovisual content.’
The thinktank believes damage limitations must be put in place for situations in which a deep fake video has been widely shared and mistaken for real information – and claim that politicians have so far failed to address the disinformation issue.
Pressures have instead been put on tech companies to protect our democracy, claims Future Advocacy.
The UK-based artist behind the two deepfakes, Bill Posters, said: ‘It’s staggering that after 3 years, the recommendations from the DCMS Select Committee enquiry into fake news or the Information Commissioner’s Office enquiry into the Cambridge Analytica scandals have not been applied to change UK laws to protect our liberty and democracy.
In the election-style address a character resembling Boris Johnson says: ‘Hi folks, I am here with a very special message.’
‘As a result, the conditions for computational forms of propaganda and misinformation campaigns to be amplified by social media platforms are still in effect today.
‘We urge all political parties to come together and pass measures which safeguard future elections.’
Bill posters has previously created widely shared deepfakes videos of Mark Zuckerberg, Kim Kardashian, and Donald Trump.
A spokesman for Future Advocacy added: ‘By releasing these deepfakes, we aim to use shock and humour to inform the public and put pressure on our lawmakers.
‘This issue should be put above party politics. We urge all politicians to work together to update our laws and protect society from the threat of deepfakes, fake news, and micro-targeted political adverts online.’
The bogus Boris adds: ‘Since that momentous day in 2016, division has coursed through our country as we argue with fantastic passion, vim and vigour about Brexit.’
Current political challenges facing society could be amplified by the technology which can be hard to detect
The deepfakes were created using generative adversarial networks (GANs).
Last year, Twitter banned deepfakes that digitally manipulate an individual’s face onto another person’s nude body – a widely condemned style of deepfake that has been used to superimpose celebrities onto porn videos.
In the run-up to the U.S. presidential election in November 2020, social platforms have been under pressure to tackle the threat of manipulated media, including deepfakes.
While there has not been a well-crafted deepfake video with major political consequences in the United States, the potential for manipulated video to cause turmoil was demonstrated in May by a clip of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, manually slowed down to make her speech seem slurred.
After the Pelosi video, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed in a spoof video on Instagram in which he appears to say ‘whoever controls the data, controls the future.’ Facebook, which owns Instagram, did not to take down the video.
