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RTÉ HAS SAID deepfake videos made by Artificial Intelligence are a “growing challenge for trusted news organisations in the modern media environment”.
It comes after Facebook deleted a scam advert which manipulated video footage of Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Facebook ads are paid content that appear on Facebook apps and related services such as Instagram and Messenger.
The video footage was turned into a deepfake which falsely appeared to show McDonald talking on RTÉ about a “successful project” which prominent Irish celebrities had used to “multiply their assets”.
Deepfakes are digitally manipulated images, video and audio that are designed to create fake material featuring the likeness of an individual, often to misrepresent their views or speech.
“These people are successfully improving their wealth,” says McDonald in the AI manipulated video of the likes of Pierce Brosnan, Aidan Gillen and Ryan Tubridy.
The fake video also features an RTÉ News watermark and a fake RTÉ News chyron.
Fake ads using Irish politicians have become more sophisticated.
— Ciarán O'Connor (@ciaranoconnor) August 26, 2024
A manipulated video of Mary Lou McDonald currently available on Facebook features her promoting some financial investment scheme. The video also includes fake RTÉ footage. Probably made using AI pic.twitter.com/1wQX0yXQE4
The deepfake video uses footage from an actual 2020 interview McDonald gave to RTÉ and manipulated it to promote a fake financial scam.
An RTÉ spokesperson said RTÉ News takes the issue “seriously” and that in the event of being informed of such manipulations, RTÉ has the “option to pursue the matter with the platforms involved in an effort to have the material removed”.
The spokesperson added that RTÉ intends to also raise the issue with Ireland’s online and broadcast media regulator Comisúin na Meán “given the regulatory focus on the removal of illegal content”.
Meanwhile, Facebook’s parent company Meta confirmed to The Journal that the deepfake of McDonald was removed from its platform last week.
The Meta spokesperson said it removes content that violates its policies, whether it was created by AI or a person.
The spokesperson remarked that its advertisement review process includes both automated and human reviews.
“We have several layers of analysis and detection, both before and after an ad goes live,” said the Meta spokesperson.
They added: “It is against our policies to run ads that improperly use images of public or political figures for deceptive purposes, and we remove these ads when detected.”
Meta has previously acknowledged that reviewing ads from millions of advertisers globally is “not without challenges”.
“Our enforcement isn’t perfect, and both machines and people make mistakes,” said Facebook’s vice president of Business Integrity Jeff King in a 2021 statement on the social media platforms ad review process.
While an advert is typically reviewed within 24 hours, it may take longer in some cases.
Meanwhile, Meta said it has created additional detection models for so-called “celeb-bait” which uses manipulated footage of public figures.
Meta said these detection models “automatically incorporate what we have learned about the changing tactics used in ads to help us improve”.
Meta also noted that it “encourage users to report suspected scam ads to us so we can investigate and take appropriate action”.
Sinn Féin has been approached for comment on the now-deleted video.
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It should be a crime to deep fake someone without their consent.
@Jimmy Savage: Agreed, but when it happens to Martin, who in fairness went to the high court, he was derided.
And Google, etc, aren’t doing anything to prevent this, I’ve seen Anne Doyle, The girl from TV3 ,I’ve reported each one, the last one was ” Google couldn’t find the ad that I reported ” eventhough it still appears .
@Jimmy Savage: It is though. The Online Safety Act now makes it a criminal offence to share, or threaten to share, a manufactured or ‘deepfake’ intimate image or video of another person without his or her consent.
@Jimmy Savage: Sure, but over and over we see those social media companies not care a single whit once they make their profits. Any fines are are a rounding error.
I’m fine with labelled satire or parody or some stuff that is actually fun (things like Sassy Justice or ‘if My name is.. was written in 2021′.
There’s so much more that is just not okay at all that propagates on those platforms… faked political or Hollywood starlets…
Then you have the circular activity of bots responding to each other driving up engagement on those platforms, which is profit that they seem value more that any form of ethics.
@Jack Hayes: Explain why it continues then?
@ben wu: Absolutely and they don’t care . They have enabled suicide, self harm , allowed lies to seem acceptable they really are what the world needs to be angry at…..
@Paul O’Mahoney: There was more press coverage over here about something odd looking about a photo of Kate Middleton’s wrist in a family photo, than there has been about those issues…
@ben wu: Was there?
@Jack Hayes: no actually, it is a crime to share or threaten to share an intimate image shared with you. Nothing about manufactured or deepfake
@DerekF: Even if it was as he said then there would be nothing against sharing a non-intimate deepfake where the purpose is to deceive others.
@Paul O’Mahoney: Explain to you why people still do illegal things or how people get away with doing illegal things? You must be new to this world.
It was a paid advert so Facebook must know who paid for it. That person should be prosecuted!
Why is this not happening?
@Steve O’Hara-Smith: Most are ex our Jurisdiction, and are probably not real entities
There is some awful muck on Facebook…. Full Stop.
@james rowan: Still not as bad as all the nazi propaganda on X.
@james rowan: Hence FaceMuck
Very believable, apart from the American twang abd the way she pronounces Turbidy …
Thought it was a genuine SF broadcast. Fits well with their actual,financial policy.
@Alan: Yeah me too
Soon the default belief will be if it’s on the Internet it’s fake, hallucination, or just plain lies and propaganda.
Aka “I gave them all the tools but they could not use them.”
@smatrix mantra: I disagree with that , the Internet was launched for good intentions, and a reasonable return by investing is fine, but the way a minority has essentially monopolised its content is the problem.
All those software engineers, etc, could have equally written code that was of use to the world’s problems, but that didn’t happen .
I’m using it now to share thoughts, most don’t
@Paul O’Mahoney: Every leap in technology can be used as a tool or a weapon, unfortunately most of the time it’s both but weapons seem to have more impact globally.
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. Albert Einstein.
That’s plain fake , not exactly deep fake
So sort it you legislators. It might cost a few thousand jobs. But what is the price of political stability?
Dennis O’Brien will take these charlatans to China Town. They are going down now.
Delete your Facebook account and other social media crap.
You will live happier
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