Video nasties: Russia’s faked broadcasts a new threat to West
“DEEPFAKE” videos produced by Russian-linked trolls are the latest weapon in the ongoing fake news war, official monitors warn.
Kremlin-backed trolls are already experimenting with video manipulation techniques that use artificial intelligence to create convincing doctored videos, according to the UK-led East Stratcom Task Force, an EU counterdisinformation unit that monitors, analyses and debunks disinformation operations. The Sunday Telegraph was given exclusive access to the unit’s work at its base in Brussels.
Realistic deepfake videos are already appearing online. So far the technology has been used largely to superimpose celebrity faces on to pornographic models. But spoof videos are cropping up now showing the superimposed face of Donald Trump. While they are often created for comedic purposes, it is easy to imagine how well-funded state-sponsored agents could produce similar videos for propaganda.
“Fake video technology is the most worrying element of fake news,” a source told The Telegraph. “It is already beginning to happen. Doctored videos can be created in which leaders appear to reinforce some of the common narratives Russia uses against the West. The technology represents a real risk because with it you can make anyone say anything at any time.”
Last week, a Belgian political party uploaded a video it had created of the US president in which Mr Trump apparently calls on the country to follow America’s lead and exit the Paris climate agreement. In the fake video, Mr Trump appears to give an address in which he says: “As you know I had the balls to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. And so should you.”
Vladimir Putin’s propaganda agents are already well-versed in using video to stir dissent and create division using different messages aimed at regional concerns and cultural sensibilities. In one example, a doctored video of Barack Obama sympathising with gay and lesbian victims of a shooting was broadcast through Russian-backed media in Georgia and spread on social media to its Christian communities susceptible to Russia’s narrative that the West opposes traditional family values.
Campaigns also aim to exploit divisions on issues such as immigration and minority rights and to undermine trust in reputable sources of information.
Kremlin provocateurs actively attempted to influence the Brexit referendum, the Catalonian independence vote in Spain and even the Eurovision Song Contest. Often the Russian policy is not to back one side or the other but to amplify extreme views to fuel conflict, confusion and disaffection. Russia is believed to spend up to $1billion a year on disinformation activity.
The East Stratcom Task Force says fake news is more sophisticated than many European governments realise, warning that pro-Kremlin disinformation aims to weaken the West and strengthen Russia’s global political and military ambitions.
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