 Technology |
Technology |
|
|
How Biden 'cheap fakes' are fueling misinformation |
White House officials are aggressively pushing back against a wave of "cheap fake" videos that purportedly show President Biden being confused or meandering and question his mental and physical fitness ahead of the election. |
© Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images |
The rise of the videos, which do not use artificial intelligence (AI) but are cropped or edited in a way that is misleading, marks the latest instance of how technology may be used deceptively during the 2024 campaign.
The use of "cheap fakes" burst into the national spotlight in recent days thanks to a trio of clips involving Biden that quickly went viral and painted him as confused or unaware of his surroundings.
One viral clip, which was first shared by a Republican National Committee (RNC) account, depicts Biden struggling to sit down at a D-Day ceremony in a chair that critics claimed didn't exist. But the clip cuts off before Biden takes his seat.
Another clip came from Biden's recent trip to Italy for the Group of Seven (G7) meeting, when he and other world leaders watched a skydiving demonstration. A cropped version of the video seemed to show Biden wandering off before the Italian prime minister nudges him back toward the group.
But the fuller angle makes clear Biden was gesturing toward a parachutist who had just landed. The New York Post made the incident the centerpiece of its front page the next day, with the headline, "Meander in Chief."
Right-wing media also spread a clip from a Saturday fundraiser, alleging Biden froze up on stage and had to be led away by former President Obama. Aides for both Biden and Obama disputed that characterization.
The video shows both Obama and Biden waving goodbye to the crowd at the end of the event. After a few moments, Obama grabs Biden by the hand and pats him on the back before they walk away. In response to a New York Post headline claiming Biden froze up and had to be led off stage by Obama, an Obama adviser responded, "This did not happen."
Although the "cheap fakes" are less convincing than sophisticated AI deepfakes, they still pose a danger — especially by eroding trust among voters, said Paul Barrett, deputy director and senior research scholar at the New York University Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.
"What they do is they further erode the distinction between what's true and what's not true, and I think they provide fuel that feeds highly polarized partisan attitudes that are already in place," Barrett said. Read more in a full report at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Rebecca Klar and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. |
|
|
How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: |
|
|
Elon Musk on Wednesday walked back his harsh comments to advertisers last November, when he told the industry to "go f‑‑‑ yourself" after several firms pulled their ad spending on his social media platform X. "It wasn't to advertisers as a whole," Musk said Wednesday in a conversation with WPP CEO Mark Read at the Cannes Lions advertising festival. "It was with respect to freedom of speech," he continued. "I think … |
| |
| Embattled former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) announced Wednesday he was joining a new creative platform: OnlyFans. "The moment you've all been waiting for! Only on #OnlyFans will you get the full behind the scenes access to everything I'm working on," Santos posted on social media platform X. "See ya all there!" The New York Republican made history late last year as only the sixth lawmaker to be expelled from the House. His … |
| |
|
The 911 system outage in Massachusetts earlier this week was caused by a government firewall meant to prevent cyberattacks, state officials said Wednesday The officials explained that a preliminary investigation by the Massachusetts State 911 Department and its 911 vendor Comtech found that Tuesday’s disruption was the result of a firewall that is meant to protect the system from cyberattacks and hacking. The statement … |
| |
|
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Tuesday he supports restricting the use of smartphones in the state’s schools, citing potential mental health risks associated with social media. Newsom said in a statement on Tuesday that he would work with the state Legislature to restrict the use of smartphones in schools, just one day after Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sounded the alarm again about the harms social media can pose … |
| |
|
News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: |
|
|
OpenAI's former chief scientist launches AI company |
Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's former chief scientist, has launched a new AI company called Safe Superintelligence Inc. after leaving the startup he helped found, TechCrunch reported. |
|
|
UK investigates $14B Hewlett Packard, Juniper deal |
The United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, Reuters reported. |
|
|
Branch out with other reads on The Hill: |
|
|
'Verzuz' will return after Swizz Beatz, Timbaland lock in new distribution partnership with X |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Swizz Beatz and Timbaland are bringing the "Verzuz" series back with a new major platform for viewers to watch musicians face off in a song-against-song battle. The legendary producers announced Wednesday that Verzuz cemented an exclusive partnership for independent distribution … |
NEW YORK (AP) — Ever get your McDonald’s order mixed up at an AI-powered drive-thru? The experiment behind the fast food giant’s current automated order taker will soon be coming to a close. McDonald’s confirmed Monday that it decided to end a global partnership with IBM, which … |
|
|
Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
|
|
President Biden is running out of time to complete his goal of ending Israel's war against Hamas and implement a megadeal to reshape the Middle East … Read more |
| Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA North Korea analyst, said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un does not look healthy, based on footage of him meeting with Russian … Read more |
|
|
Opinion related to tech submitted to The Hill: |
|
|
You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 |
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
|
If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe.
No comments:
Post a Comment