With deepfake technology pushing to the forefront of the news cycle in the lead up to elections both here and in the US, ID Crypt has commissioned a survey of 1,221 members of the UK population to find out if they know what deepfakes are, whether they think they could spot a deepfake out in the wild, and whose job it is to ensure that fake news isn’t easily spread online.
The survey kicks off by revealing that almost half (47%) of the UK population is still unfamiliar with the term ‘deepfake’ and what it means.
As such, more than half of respondents (53%) are unaware of whether or not they’ve ever encountered a deepfake image or video online, while half of those who say they have encountered a (55%) only know so because it was included in a news story that was reporting on deepfakes.
When asked what their biggest concerns about deepfake technology are, the most common answers are fraud and identity theft (32%), and the spreading of fake news or misinformation (31%).
Despite the important elections coming up in both the UK and US, only 10% say they’re concerned about deepfakes manipulating political discourse or events.
As for their ability to spot deepfakes out in the wild, only 4% have absolute confidence that they can tell real from fake, while 61% admit to having little or no conference at all.
There is a school of thought that says deepfakes can be defeated if enough of the general population are vigilant and cautious with what they share online. However, only one in five respondents (19%) say they make any effort to ensure they’re not spreading false narratives on social media.
So if the public aren’t going to act as root out deepfakes, whose responsibility should it be?
27% say it’s the job of social media companies, 26% say search engines should identify and flag fake images and videos, and 25% say there should be some kind of technology that can quickly and reliably verify pictures and videos, alerting browsers when something might have been manipulated.
There is also a general consensus (94%) that the government needs to do more to crack down on deepfakes. As such, there is almost universal support (94%) for the introduction of new laws that will make it illegal to produce deepfake content.
CEO and Founder of ID Crypt Global, Lauren Wilson-Smith, commented:
“To understand the true ability of deepfake technology can only result in real concern. These fake images and videos are often entirely convincing to the naked eye, and, in theory, there is no limit whatsoever to what a deepfake can depict. It might be a politician using racist slurs, or a celebrity using violence, or even your best friend depicted in sexually compromising images. All of this can be created without any of it ever really happening. It’s a terrifying concept and already a reality.
The good news is that, while the naked eye can be easily fooled, there are digital tools available that can quickly and easily spot a fake or manipulated image and flag it to everyone who needs to know. That way, misinformation is quickly stifled rather than being allowed to spread like wildfire and lead to unimaginable consequences.”
How ID Crypt Global is leading the fight against deepfakes
Because of the damage and disinformation being caused by deepfake imagery, ID Crypt Global has created and launched an early access Authentic Media Protection program (AMP) that enables the likes of news and picture agencies to authenticate all of the images they publish so that, if one of them goes on to be manipulated and republished, it will be instantly flagged as a fake.
Survey Results
