Understanding Deepfakes and Their Implications

Deepfakes represent a significant evolution in media manipulation, primarily using advanced artificial intelligence to produce realistic but false audio or visual content. This technology allows anyone, regardless of expertise, to create convincing fake images or videos simply by providing written prompts. Examples include fraudulent portrayals of political figures, which can be weaponized to influence elections or defame candidates. The troubling ease of creating deepfakes raises serious concerns about their potential to mislead voters and disrupt democratic processes, especially with the upcoming elections.