Eliot Higgins Profile picture
Mar 16, 2023 15 tweets 9 min read Read on X
Playing around with #midjourneyv5 I decided to see if it could create realistic news images, so here's the entirely fictional Ukrainian peace talks between France, the US, Russia and Ukraine: ImageImageImageImage
It struggles a bit with Zelenskyy, but overall it does a pretty good job of creating entirely fictional images, and I can only assume this will get better. You have to wonder what sort of fake news could be created with #midjourneyv5 ImageImageImageImage
Here's photos from Vladimir Putin's entirely made up war crimes trial, via #midjourneyv5 ImageImage
Donald Trump's entirely fictional perp walk. I do appreciate that #midjourneyv5 has got the tie length just perfect for Trump. ImageImageImage
I redid "Donald Trump perp walk" and added "news footage" on the end that gave it an interest effect that makes it look like it's a screenshot from a video, hides the fact it's fabricated. Image
Someone asked for "Belarusian 2020 protests", what's interesting here is #midjourneyv5 put covid masks on nearly everyone. Image
Here's a previously unreleased image from the Tory leadership contest, via #midjourneyv5 Image
It doesn't work well all the time, especially with less well-known individuals, like in this image of Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump having a fight. This was the best Tucker it could generate. Image
Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry fighting in the Bake Off tent is also not so convincing, but still good. Image
Tom Cruise vs Harry Hill gives a good impression of Midjourney's fame gap. ImageImage
You can combine two famous people effectively, here's Tom Cruise as Donald Trump in the role of a lifetime. Image
It's not just people #midjourneyv5 can fake, imagine if pictures like this were spread across Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels in a coordinated campaign claiming a nuclear weapon had been used in Ukraine ImageImageImageImage
Keep in mind these examples were mostly all my first attempts at these images, so someone who actually spent time on this could select the most convincing, flaw free images. Anyway, here's some non-existent kittens to make you feel better. Image
Just as a final, final note, here's how I describe the issues with handling this sort of thing in terms of evidence vs information:
vice.com/en/article/3ak… ImageImage

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More from @EliotHiggins

Jun 7
🧵 I think what's key to answering this question is recognising that how we encounter and consume information has changed dramatically over the last 15 years, and this has particularly impacted Gen Z and Gen Alpha
We’ve shifted from a top-down, gatekeeped model of information consumption (for example getting our news from newspapers and TV news), to a more peer-to-peer relationship with information thanks to social media.
That also changes how we interact with information, where we’re more active participants in that flow of information, in both how we respond to it, and how we share it. Importantly, we have to understand that for Gen Z and Gen Alpha this is their default state.
Read 16 tweets
Jun 6
Reposting this to make the point clearer, this is a real image that is being dismissed as AI because of a crap AI detection website that doesn't actually work, because AI gives people a permission structure to deny reality. A video of the incident is here aljazeera.com/program/newsfe…

Image
It's not the first time I've seen someone do this with Israel and Gaza. Bad AI detection tools are used to deny reality, but ultimately people who don't want to believe something is true will just dismiss it as AI generated anyway.
It's no different from calling every video from Gaza Pallywood, or claiming the White Helmets fake videos in Syria. It's just propagandists creating a permission structure to deny reality.
Read 4 tweets
Jun 2
🧵 I've been digging into this, and it's pretty clear that part of this campaign against Graham Phillips is driven by an article on a fake news website that appears to be run by John Mark Dougan himself.
I'm not sure where this all started, but the first time the spat appears to have gone public is this post by Graham Phillips about John Mark Dougan, stating "Dougan is accused of having 'gone rogue', and suspected of having taken money from western agencies." t.me/grahamwphillip…Image
The following day, John Mark Dougan posted this now deleted Telegram post, making various allegations and linking to an article on a site called "ukpoliticking", published on the same day. t.me/BadVolfNews/16…
Image
Read 14 tweets
Apr 3
Several weeks ago the FvD's @PvanHouwelingen submitted questions to the Ministry of Justice based on reporting by @AndereKrant and @TheGrayzoneNews. Last week those answers were received, but neither Pepijn nor the two publications cited have reported on them. Let's find out why. Image
Just before Christmas the @AndereKrant and @TheGrayzoneNews published false claims that Bellingcat had submitted an article to the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV) ahead of publication to allegedly ‘attack journalists’. Image
@AndereKrant @TheGrayzoneNews These allegations appear to have been entirely based on claims made by @CeesCees72, apparently without any attempt to fact check the claim made in his tweet:
Read 11 tweets
Mar 5
The new OECD report is one of the better examples of an intergovernmental report on dealing with disinformation, and actually gets it's not just about factchecking, but also creating a cycle that includes transparency and accountability. oecd.org/publications/f…
Image
I believe that the current issues we face with disinformation are symptoms of a broader social and cultural shift that has occurred over the last 15 years, and Bellingcat and open source investigation is also part of the same shift.
One fundamental issue is people, especially in Western democracies, feel increasingly detached from political process, and don't feel part of the democratic process. It creates a sense of total disempowerment, and that draws them to online communities.
Read 13 tweets
Mar 1
Anyone who has followed George Galloway knows his head consists entirely of tankie brain worms, having taken a denialist position on a wide range of war crimes and atrocities in Syria, Ukraine, and elsewhere, because he sees the victims as being on the side of "imperialists"
So look forward to some tired tankie bullshit being repeated in Parliament on the rare days he bothers to turn up.
There's noting maverick about taking the opposite side to whatever you imagine is in the interests of the west and then denying a bunch of war crimes to justify your position.. It's boring, tedious, and basic, Twitter is full of idiots like that.
Read 6 tweets

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