Tech experts might be able to fight the growing threat of deepfake videos. The videos are manipulated to change the message or even who appears in them. One altered video appears to shows Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg speaking about global domination on CBS News' digital platform, CBSN.
CBS asserted trademark infringement and asked the video to be taken down for copyright violation. However, the company refused, pointing to First Amendment concerns.
However, there is hope. Hany Farid, a computer science professor at the University of California Berkeley, has designed a software program that compares real videos to altered ones. "We take the video, we track facial expressions and head movements, we do 190 of those measurements and then we ask 'How distinct are they, and can they distinguish the real from the fake?" said Farid.
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He wants to offer the software to mainstream media outlets to determine whether or not they're fake. Farid explained the tool will allow companies to upload the videos and run them through the analysis. His team will then make an assessment on whether or not it's real.
Facebook gave a statement to CBS news saying, "Leading up to 2020 we know that combating misinformation is one of the most important things we can do. We continue to look at how we can improve our approach and the systems we've built."