I had my reservations about the story of a mom making deepfakes of her daughter's cheerleading rivals.
One of the videos released by abc doesn't appear to be a deepfake, but they still label it as one without substantial proof or analysis.
1/8
One of the videos released by abc doesn't appear to be a deepfake, but they still label it as one without substantial proof or analysis.
1/8
The following aspects make it highly unlikely that this video is a deepfake:
1) the vape pen/cloud/hand moving over the girl's face
2) the face moving outside the video frame
3) the awkward facial angles
4) the very low video resolution and high saturation
2/8
1) the vape pen/cloud/hand moving over the girl's face
2) the face moving outside the video frame
3) the awkward facial angles
4) the very low video resolution and high saturation
2/8
These aspects could be accounted for, but it would likely require a huge amount of work by a deepfake expert, with editing in post.
Given the mom is alleged to have generated the deepfakes using an app, it's unlikely that this video and the others are deepfakes.
3/8
Given the mom is alleged to have generated the deepfakes using an app, it's unlikely that this video and the others are deepfakes.
3/8
So where did the deepfake claim come from?
A more plausible explanation is that the mom may have generated deepfake 'nude' images of the girls using accessible deepfake software similar to the kind I investigated and reported on last year:
4/8
A more plausible explanation is that the mom may have generated deepfake 'nude' images of the girls using accessible deepfake software similar to the kind I investigated and reported on last year:
https://mobile.twitter.com/HenryAjder/status/1318576481346457607
4/8
This explanation would fit closer to the description found in the District Attorney's statement:
“The suspect is alleged to have taken a real picture and edited it through some photoshopping app to make it look like this teenaged girl had no clothes on to appear nude"
5/8
“The suspect is alleged to have taken a real picture and edited it through some photoshopping app to make it look like this teenaged girl had no clothes on to appear nude"
5/8
The District Attorney also stated that the original image was "a screengrab from the teenager’s social media in which she had a bathing suit on”
This mirrors some deepfake software's requirement for images of the target in underwear to generate more realistic nude versions.
6/8
This mirrors some deepfake software's requirement for images of the target in underwear to generate more realistic nude versions.
6/8
So while by no means certain, it's possible that this mom could have generated deepfake nude images of these girls using this kind of software.
Alternatively, these nude images could have been created by the mom using crude manual editing apps, or paying a third party.
7/8
Alternatively, these nude images could have been created by the mom using crude manual editing apps, or paying a third party.
7/8
Regardless of this explanation, it's worrying to see some media sources labeling this video a deepfake without explanation, even if it's a misunderstanding.
It hastens public distrust in all media and plays into the hands of bad actors who want to exploit that distrust.
8/8
It hastens public distrust in all media and plays into the hands of bad actors who want to exploit that distrust.
8/8
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
