How To Tell Deepfake From Real Videos

Deepfake is getting more sophisticated, and the future when we have no way to tell if a video is real or fake is scaring lots of people. One day, the technology might be used to create counterfeit announcements, and some bad actors can create revenge porn of someone they hate.

Recently, we have a deepfake video featuring Vladimir Putin’s head on the body of Gideo Lichfield, the editor-in-chief of MIT Technology Review. Viewers can be sure that the video is not real. Still, with the current rate of technology development, the future of fake videos with world leaders delivering something dangerous or someone being framed for a crime he or she does not commit is not so far off.

The technology behind deepfake is advancing fast, making it harder for us to recognize which is real and which is not. There will come a day when we have to question the authenticity of everything we see on the Internet.

So now, it is necessary that you arm yourself with some measures to spot deepfake videos, avoiding being manipulated by bad actors. These methods are relevant for now, but we do not know for how long they stay that way.

Pay Attention To The Difference Between The Quality And Resolution Of Facial Parts And The Rest Of The Video

Destinations videos usually have a lower resolution than the sources, so sometimes you might spot a disparity between the faces of those in the videos and their supposed bodies, and the background. You may want to watch the viral clip of Jennifer Lawrence/Steve Buscemi if you need an example.

Watch For Inconsistent Motion Of The Person’s Face When It is Obscured Or From A Sharp Angle

What you might notice is blurrier artifacts, sure signs of a video being manipulated with deepfake technology. You can see an example of this in the video of Jim Carrey in The Shinning.

Look For Inconsistency In The Scale Of Faces

Deepfake needs images from lots of different angles of the face to create a believable look in each scene. But when you see the whole video, you might notice the inconsistency in the scale of faces in the clip. The scaling problem can be seen in this deepfake video of Sylvester Stallone in Terminator 2.

Watch For Inconsistency In Features On The Borders

The facial features on the borders of a face, including cheekbones, facial hair, eyebrows, birthmarks, and chin, may change when the video runs from one scene to another. Inconsistency, even in the slightest amount can indicate manipulation. See this deepfake video of Tom Cruise and Bill Hader:

Watch Out For “Shimmering” And Inconsistent Tones Of Skin

Even with the current level of technology, matching facial movements and skin tone is still a challenging task, which is exactly what can give deepfakes away. You can see the issue for yourself in the video featuring Alison Brie/Jim Carrey.

Deepfakes are developing quickly as we speak and for now, there is nothing can stop it from spreading like wildfire. What you can do in this case is to train yourself to notice evidence of videos being manipulated and do not trust everything you watch on the Internet or other media channels.

Training your eyes and mind to spot shady details in videos now so that you are better prepared for a future when real and fake content is hard to distinguish.